Table of Contents December 2003

FEATURES

• Remodelers benefit from second-generation: Worked for people who will pass along the wealth

  Remodelers in markets attractive to both middle-aged and older home buyers, or markets now affordable to affluent home buyers with children, report that second-generation customers are easy referrals. "We're now into the second generation of 10 or 12 customers," says Tim Moore of Keating-Moore...

   
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  Pros and cons of commercial construction market

  Remodelers need to consider the pros and cons of commercial construction before pursuing the market.

   

Before and After

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  Redeeming a craftsman-style bungalow

  In a race against the calendar, Utah contractor Merlin Taylor set out to resurrect a Craftsman bungalow.Merlin Taylor found out about the house on Valley View Ave. through his wife, Joan, a real estate broker. Having succeeded in getting the house on the National Register, Taylor's tax credit came...

   

Reader Panel

• Commercial Remodeling

  About 86% of respondents remodel commercial projects, with the top three projects being offices, retail, and health care locations. What is the biggest difference between the commercial and residential work that your company performs?

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

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  Shut down for the last week: Evaluate the year gone by: Plan for the next year

  Instead of struggling against the current, consider using it to your advantage by shutting down for the last week of the year. In fact, it's a perfect opportunity to close out your accounting and spend some time evaluating the year gone by and planning for the year that's fast approaching.

   

News + Notes

• NEST: Online tool lacking vital industry information

  The customer who knows "just enough to be dangerous" now has a new weapon in his arsenal.As of now, NEST -- National Economic Service-life Tools -- consists of two features.

   

• Yellow Pages: Major source of home improvement/remodeling leads

  According to the Yellow Pages Integrated Media Association (YPIMA), headings related to home improvement and remodeling generate more than 1 billion searches or references annually.Research conducted by Knowledge Networks/SRI estimates that 50 million of those references are made under the "Home...

   

• Problems with EIFS: Driving force behind AWCI Insurance Co.

  The insurance crisis facing the construction industry has been well-documented and shows no signs of slowing down. The company offers a full-service plan, but according to Steve Etkin, executive vice president of AWCI, the "driving force" behind AIC's formation was problems related to exterior...

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

• Company trip/cruise to treat December symptoms

  Ideas about what we could do to make everyone's days less frustrating and more productive.

   

LINDA CASE

• Ways to ensure personal financial well-being: Precautions to protect your business from financial problems

  I'd like to encourage you to give both yourself and them something more -- in fact, a great deal more. The dictionary definitions for security include freedom from anxiety and fear and a defense against financial failure -- not exactly glamorous, but a very big gift to give yourself, your employees...

   

MARK RICHARDSON

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  Great companies have common ingredients

  Great companies have three common ingredients: First, they are led by passion; second, they believe they are the best; and third, they are guided by metrics.

   

WALT STOEPPELWERTH

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  Immigrant Labor needed for Remodeling Market

  In the past 10 to 15 years, use of immigrant labor in home building has skyrocketed. And as foreign craftsmen improve their skills and learn the building industry, many will start their own companies.

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• Prepping for a Sales Call

  Three veteran remodelers offer tips on what to do before you walk through the door.

   
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  Remodelers Council Tour: Home tours more successful than home shows

  Planning for the March tour wraps up this month, but preparations occur all year long. The effort is worth it because it brings prospects right to his latest project, a showcase for his work.Based on his success, Metke has decided to avoid home shows.

   

• Tips for talking to local yellow page reps

  Demand special treatment. Publishers save "red folder treatment" for clients left out of the book or for those who have experienced problems.

   

• Christmas Tree Giveaway

  Last November, over 85 Kansas City families received a unique invitation in the mail. Each family was then sent off into the woods with a special Schloegel tag to pick a tree from the hundreds of specimens available.

   

BOTTOM LINE

• Loans covering operating cost for active duty employees

  Small businesses with essential employees called to active duty may still apply for Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. For the past two years, the MREIDL program has provided loans to cover operating costs that cannot be met due to the...

   

• Incorporating: Apply more operating expenses to the company: Not better, tax-wise

  Some experts believe that being incorporated provides better tax benefits than any other business designation, but they are wrong. --Howard Scott is a business writer and small business tax preparer in Pembroke, Mass.

   

• EFTPS: Free tax payment system: Moves tax payment information and funds

  The Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) is offered for free from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Financial Management Service (FMS). There are two primary payment methods, EFTPS-Direct and EFTPS-Through a Financial Institution.

   

BY DESIGN

• Whether hiring staff designers benefited your company

  We hired a kitchen and bath designer with 10 years of experience working in a manufacturer's showroom. Clients want better products, and there isn't enough time to do everything else and help the client make selections.

   

FIELD NOTES

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  Difficult Clients: Understand warning signs: Get the boss involved

  To paraphrase an old saying, "Clients: Can't live with 'em; can't live without 'em." And don't be afraid to insist the boss become more involved with the really tough clients.

   

• Soil condition causes foundation wall to crack during excavation

  Remodeler Kevin Wallace learned an expensive lesson on a project in Pacific Heights. Wallace's crew completed the 1,400-square-foot room, but for future projects, the company added a line item about soil conditions to its "Not in Contract" list.

   

GOOD FORM

• Job Site Inspection Form: Written photograph of the site

  It gives him a "written photograph" of the site, so he's able to check up on a project without necessarily having to see it for himself.

   

Tech at Work

• Modifying ACT! to meet company's specific needs

  A handful of companies, including the New Hampton Group (www.tnhg.com), pinpoint tools (www.pinpointtools.com), and eGrabber (www.egrabber.com), produce low-cost software designed specifically for ACT! Popular add-ons include tools to extend layout flexibility and automate data entry.

   

• Useful, easy ACT! Tricks

  Want to track your customers' kids' birthdays or take credit card orders but can't find a place in ACT! You can add fields for any information you need to capture and custom design screen layouts with different fields for individuals in your company who perform different jobs.

   

Ways + Means

• The Time Trap: List biggest time wasters: Time management skills

  Tom Menold, owner of Menold Construction, in Morton, Ill., a $6.5 million company with 45 employees, believes time management skills make employees far more efficient. Menold was sent a free copy by the American Management Association when he joined.

   
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  Knowing the future of your business as it relates to production

  Scott Mosby's company, Mosby Building Arts, St. Louis, generated $4 million in sales last year. "If the business is going to be $10 million," Mosby says, "the implied question is, What does your staff look like when it reaches that point?"

   

• Using emotional intelligence (EQ) to solve problems

  There are ways to measure EQ, but the most important thing, according to Sparks, is to be aware that it does exist.

   

• Weekly reports used to make informed future decisions

  Gary Porter surveys his present condition to chart his company's future. Porter has been using one version or another of this report for more than two decades, so within 10 or 15 minutes, he's able to determine which bills he needs to pay that week and when he'll need to sign a contract for another...

   

BIG50

FACE OFF

• Face Off: Should I work from my home or set up outside office space?

  My office looks out on a park, and there is a pond right next to me with a fountain and goldfish.

   

SOLUTIONS

• Q+A: Employees of the Year

  In the past eight years, the two best people I hired came in different ways. In the past, my best field employees have come from knowing somebody in the industry and getting referrals from that direction, or knowing somebody's work prior to them coming with us and being able to work them into our...

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

Management

• Special needs division: Widening doorways: Adding wheelchair ramps

  Over the past few years, Mike Miller has received phone calls about performing small repairs that would make houses accessible for the elderly and disabled. A year ago, he decided to formalize the niche by creating the Special Needs division at Apex Remodeling, Highland, Ind. One of the ways Miller...

   

• Using PowerPoint to project kitchen and bath designs

  In his quest to offer the most professional presentation possible, Thompson Price has turned to PowerPoint and a large screen to show his customers their kitchen designs. "When someone sees their kitchen in full-scale view on the screen, they are impressed," says the president of Callier & Thompson...

   

PRODUCTS

IN FOCUS

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  Ventilation Control Systems

  The Premier line of self-cleaning residential gas water heaters includes three models: Select, Select High Efficiency, and Select High Output. The SoftSound 1400R split-system air conditioner delivers an efficiency of 14 SEER and uses environmentally friendly R410A refrigerant, which does not emit...

   
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  Trucks and Accessories

  A Quick Install Kit reduces installation time for the Rear Obstacle Sensing System, which senses obstacles up to 12 feet away. H&H Sales Co. Designed to fit Ford's E-Series utility vans, Knapheide KUV Series service bodies feature accessible outside storage compartments and adjustable interior...

   
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  Tool Storage products

  The Crawford Portable Pegboard tool and parts organizers all mount to a Peg-Board but can also be moved to the jobsite easily. Several organizers are available, including the Multi-Bin Parts Organizer, the Parts Bin, the Wrench Holder, and the Tool & Parts Tray.

   

READERS CHOICE

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  Skid Steer: FilterVent: DustDoor

  Lonnie Cox of Brothers Strong was looking for a way to ventilate upper-story additions along existing roof lines.

   

TRENDS

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  New Flushing Technology: Improved water flow mechanism

  After two years of studying fluid dynamics, talking with consumers about what they want in a toilet, and extensive development and testing, American Standard introduced its new flushing technology, the America's Best Flushing System, at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show this year.

   
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  Ridgid handheld corded, cordless, benchtop, and stationary power tools

  Ridgid has introduced its first-ever line of 35 handheld corded, cordless, benchtop, and stationary power tools for contractors and other professionals. "Ridgid was looking to create a best-in-class brand of contractor-grade tools that contractors would want to use on the jobsite," says Bryan...

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

• End-of-Year Accounting checklist

  By Sal Alfano. The data you collect throughout the year for each job holds a wealth of information about what aspects of your business are running smoothly and what parts are costing you money. In a perfect world, you would evaluate critical numbers weekly or at least monthly, but an end-of-year...