Table of Contents January 2005

FEATURES

• Targeting profitable jobs

  Separating the wheat from the chaff within that customer plain is how remodelers reap profitability. Case, for example, relies on computer-aided analyses of its extensive project database to predict future customer buying patterns. Other remodelers take the more basic route of screening potential...

   
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  Tapping the minority market

  If the buying power and homeownership rates of minorities increase as predicted, remodelers across the country who want to break into this lucrative market will need to understand the needs of and target Hispanic, African-American, and Asian customers. Remodelers in California, Florida, and Texas...

   
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  Understanding marketing basics

  Marketing: it's everything a business does that touches prospects and clients. It should be the heart of your business, from which all operational and management plans flow. So why do so many small-business owners fail to market or to develop marketing plans?

   

Before and After

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  Remodeling with absent owners

  Not many people could buy a house 1,300 miles away, hire a design/build firm, then return home to wait out the remodel. But Candace and Larry (they've asked that their last names not be used) are just the sort of people who could do it — and did. And David and Peggy Mackowski, owners of Raleigh...

   

Reader Panel

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  Survey of marketing methods

  Barely 29% of remodelers surveyed prepare a marketing plan and budget each year, and 80% spend 3% or less of annual revenues on marketing.

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

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  Working with what you have

  I no longer fight myself on what I used to perceive to be a character flaw and have come to accept my inability to keep the horizontal surfaces in my office clear.

   

News + Notes

• Measuring for mold problems

   

• Dodge trucks are recalled

  Under pressure after a CBS News report and a recommendation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DaimlerChrysler has announced a recall of Dodge Dakota pickup trucks and Dodge Durango 4x4 SUVs with model years from 2000 to 2003.

   

• Material prices on the rise

  While 2004 was a strong year for the construction industry as a whole, contractors were faced with dramatic price increases on certain materials. Good news — in the form of projected price decreases — was announced by experts at the NAHB Construction Forecast Conference held in October.

   
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  ServiceMagic announces best businesses

  ServiceMagic, an online service that matches consumers with registered contractors and home service professionals —recently announced the winners of its first “Best in Business” awards. (Hanley Wood, the company that publishes REMODELING, has an investment interest in ServiceMagic.)

   
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  Higher remodeling spending predicted

  It's morbid — and a bit of a cliché — to say that someone benefits from a natural disaster, but if you're looking for a silver lining in the thunderclouds that lurked over the Southeastern United States during hurricane season, you'll find it in the projected home improvement spending numbers...

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

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  TV shows not close to reality

  I call the programming remodeling porn because, like other pornography, it bears no resemblance whatsoever to real life. The projects appear to be completely finished in 22 minutes (between commercials), the “crews” work for free using ridiculously low materials budgets, and the homeowners...

   

LINDA CASE

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  Playing to your strengths

  I love the fresh start of the new year. The hard work, roadblocks, and disappointments of last year are forgotten. The slate is clean, and we can plan, create, and hope again.

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• Riding market fluctuations

  Peaks and valleys represent risk. The less extreme the fluctuations are, the less risk your market has. Just as you know that investing in a CD is less risky than most stocks, you should be aware of your risks in the remodeling business and learn to manage them.

   

WALT STOEPPELWERTH

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  Managing markups

  When it comes down to it, the real point of being in business is to charge enough money for every job so that the company is making a profit on every project. That means contractors need to know what their overhead is on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis, as well as knowing — almost down to...

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• Learning from mistakes

  Michael T. Zabec knows the remodeling industry. As the executive vice president of Homeview Contractors and host of the weekly WCBM radio show “Your Home, Your Views,” he has 36 years in the business behind him. That also means 36 years of making mistakes and learning from them.

   

• Turning projects to promotion

  This type of marketing tactic works well for two reasons: It ups Blue Ridge's name recognition in the neighborhood, and it satisfies the desire of most contented homeowners to parade their new remodel in front of the neighbors a bit.

   

• Preparing a press release

  There's a general assumption that getting your company mentioned in the local paper is free publicity. Yes, it's publicity — but it ain't free In fact, if done poorly, it can be a most costly experiment in futility.

   

BOTTOM LINE

• Giving crews ownership of budget

  Endless phone calls. Extra trips to the site. Irate, tired-of-waiting customers. All of these problems worsen when a budget question crops up mid-project and goes unresolved for a period of time because only the company owner can answer it.

   

• Book covers tax deductions

  A new book, Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn, by attorney Stephen Fishman (Nolo, www.nolo.com, $34.99), is a tax primer designed to help people who work from home keep their taxes to a legal minimum by taking advantage of the tax deductions for home-based businesses.

   

BY DESIGN

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  Model provides visual guidance

  With clients there's sometimes a vast distance between imagination and visualization. Complex rooms, intricate rooflines, and curved walls can be great ideas but difficult for a client to picture and to understand how each piece must relate to the whole.

   

FIELD NOTES

• Keeping an eye on building codes

  A familiar scenario is repeated all over the country: An inspector arrives on the job and even though a detail was included in the permit set of plans, and you were not informed by the inspection office, your job fails because of a code change. Here are some tips to help avoid surprises like this.

   

• Avoiding electrical hazards

  The most common electrical hazard on today's construction sites is from ground fault electrical shock. In order to reduce shock-related injuries, the OSHA electrical standard requires employers to provide either ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) for receptacle outlets or an assured...

   
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  Store rents small excavators

  The Home Depot has introduced a new rental excavator to make life easier for remodelers who occasionally need an excavator for tight spaces.

   

GOOD FORM

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  Questionaire helps define project

  There are two reasons why Denny Conner gives potential clients this questionnaire. First, it encourages his clients to start thinking and reflecting before the first design meeting. Second, it provides a record of the evolution of the project.

   

Tech at Work

• Shopping for business software

  The year 2005 is upon us, and the odds are pretty good that you'll be shopping for some software to remodel your own operation. Here are the steps we use to make sure that our clients' shiny new software doesn't become next year's “shelfware.”

   

• Building a web site

  A Web site can help establish company brand, preference for your company, and can reduce the number of unqualified leads.

   

Ways + Means

• Managing people effectively

  Few of you got into business for yourselves because you relished the prospect of managing a team of people. But as most of you — and I — now know, unless you work alone, being an effective manager is a critical role that you have to play.

   

• Inducements not legal everywhere

  In the remodeling business, we generally use the term “inducement” to refer to the giving of something of value — cash, a coupon, a free gift — to a prospective customer and, in exchange, we are able to demonstrate the product, conduct a sales presentation, or close the sale.

   

• Letting the business run itself

  Step right up. See the remodelers who took a 20-day European vacation and didn't phone the office! When they returned their business was still standing! Believe it or not.

   

• Getting involved in the community

  Tom Avallone, Cobb Hill Construction, Concord, N.H., encourages his staff to join nonprofit boards, code review committees, and service and community organizations. “This increases our visibility, and it is good for our company to be represented,” he says.

   

• Boosting morale key to worker retention

  According to the online career management service Monster.com's 2004 Work/Life Balance survey, 82% of Americans are unhappy with their work/life balance and 89% hoped to change jobs within six months of the August survey. Unhappiness among employees may lead to turnover — and worse.

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

• Interview with Josh Baker and Lawrence Weinerg of BOWA Builders

  When Josh Baker, Lawrence Weinberg, and their company, BOWA Builders, were named Big50 in 1992, they already had strong numbers and a great approach to their work. In recent years, however, they've taken steps to ensure that all their employees share their commitment and vision by clarifying their...

   

FACE OFF

• Participating in home shows

  There are few other events where you can meet 1,500 people looking for home improvement answers and introduce yourself as the industry expert.

   

SECOND LOOK

• Interview with Jim Maguire of J.P. Maguire Associates

  J.P. Maguire Associates has always been involved in reconstruction, but five years ago, president Jim Maguire (Big50 1989) noticed the industry changing and transformed the company from reconstruction-only to a full-service cleaning, remediation, and restoration business.

   

SOLUTIONS

• Handling complaints about employees

  The first thing I do is assure the customer that I'm not going to go back and tell the employee that “Mrs. Jones said you didn't clean up adequately.” That might make the customer uncomfortable, particularly if the job isn't finished yet.

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

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  Designing a kitchen nook

  When Gary Milici of Coastline Construction began work on this 1925 kitchen, he and his team were challenged by the small breakfast nook connected to the kitchen via a narrow arched doorway. The homeowners did not have any suggestions, so the crew began work on the main part of the kitchen without...

   
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  Glass Block Windows

  Pittsburgh Corning offers the LightWise line of pre-assembled vinyl frame glass block windows that come in 78 sizes and install like standard windows.

   
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  Working with glass block

  The need for light, privacy, and decorative accents are the driving forces behind the use of glass block in bathrooms. Designer Peter Lawton says glass walls allow light to pass through so they give the perception of a larger space.

   

SPEC BOOK

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  New countertop products

  Countertops are quickly becoming the new high-end upgrade. Laminates still top the list for popularity, with solid surface a close second, but natural surfaces such as stone, granite, and quartz are rapidly gaining ground. The selections for all materials run the gamut from rustic to glamorous.

   

REPLACEMENT

DECKS

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  Upgrading decks to screened porches

  The time is perfect for replacement decks,” says Jim Craig of Craig Sun-decks and Porches, based in Manassas, Va. “CCA-treated wood came on strong about 30 years ago and was the primary decking until recently. These decks will need replacing over the next 20 years. During that time, the ‘retro'...

   

SIDING

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  Comparing sales people

  Does money trump all when gauging a salesperson's value?

   
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  Know what's under siding

  Today's re-siding industry has improved from the bad old days when vinyl- or aluminum-siding contractors hacked off window sills and brought J-bead right to the edge of the sash. Now, best practice typically calls for stripping the wall down to the sheathing. This not only allows siding to butt the...

   

PRODUCTS

IN FOCUS

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  New interior trim products

  Ideal for trim installations that require a soft contour curve,

   
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  New window products

  The Renaissance Series composite window is composed of an alloy of four resins and wood fiber and will not warp, peel, rot, or absorb water, says the maker. The windows come with a lifetime warranty for service and parts and are offered in six colors: white, almond, taupe, Sierra, bronze, and...

   
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  New software products

  Drafting software is becoming more user-friendly as companies recognize that not everyone who needs to sketch a project has the time or desire to learn a complicated drawing program.

   

READERS CHOICE

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  Shower like a personal spa

  Installing the Grohe multiple-head body spray shower gives clients a master bath that's tour-worthy, say Jeff and Robert Jertberg, cousins who own Van Berg Construction in San Diego.

   
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  Camera gets the picture

  Steve Zimmer used to use an instant camera to record site conditions before he started a job. But the expensive film and the camera's bulkiness made taking pictures a hassle. About eight months ago, he started using the Canon PowerShot A300 digital camera, with extraordinary results.

   

TRENDS

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  Selling siding

  How do you sell vinyl siding to upscale customers who think it's beneath them? Many remodelers have found an easy answer to that question in the new crop of insulated siding that's on the market today.

   
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  Doors that do more

  Homeowners no longer content with simple slabs to close one room off from the next are looking for bigger doors with pizzazz that enable them to create “illusions of grandeur” — a trend toward striking interiors where all components harmonize, explains Jeld-Wen's product marketing manager, Chris...

   
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  Flooring under distress

  High-end flooring and cabinetry is looking a bit better for the wear these days. Manufacturers and craftspeople are taking hammers, chains, chisels, and custom-made blades to fine wood in service of a hot new trend: the distressed look.

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

• Measuring your marketing plan

  Is your marketing program working right? To find out, look back over past projects and, assuming all things being equal, see how many fit the following factors.