Table of Contents April 2007

FEATURES

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  Understanding your sweet spot job

  Your “sweet spot” is “a particular kind of project that you enjoy doing, [and] know you can do efficiently, on time, and on budget with a delighted customer and minimal stress,” says consultant and REMODELING columnist Victoria Downing.

   

• Always help your customers, in whatever way your business model allows

  Some helpful advice as to how one can become the first--and only--person your clients think to call.

   

• Understanding what boomers want in universal design and luxury

  When the pre-boomer generations hit their 60s and retired, they substantially cut remodeling dollars. Will 76 million boomers do the same?

   

• Protect your business from disaster

  There's no sure way to disaster-proof a remodeling business, but it's usually instructive to look back and identify any mistakes, shortcuts, omissions, or denials that might have allowed little problems to snowball into big ones, and big problems to turn calamitous.

   

Before and After

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  Lakeside house remodeled skyward

  Scott and Jennifer Ericson remodeled their home in Lake Oswego, Ore., two years ago, but the family's remodeling challenges originated in 1957, when their low-slung bungalow was built in the midst of a lakeside building boom. Back then, half a century ago, zoning laws at the lake were pale or...

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

• Too many choices complicate product selection

  When it comes to making product selections, homeowners not only miss deadlines, they sometimes seem incapable of making any choice at all.

   

News + Notes

• NARI's Gordon resigns

  The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) reorganized its leadership following the March resignation of president-elect John Gordon. Coming just two weeks before he was set to become NARI president, Gordon resigned so he could focus completely on his job as director of pro business...

   
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  The cost of accepting credit cards

  An increasing number of suppliers are rethinking their policies to limit the benefits of paying with credit cards.

   

MARKET WATCH

• Highlighted market statistics

  Spotlight on figures from the field.

   

• Health insurance costs rise

  Health insurance prices have risen dramatically in recent years, to the point that coverage is nearly prohibitively expensive for small-business owners. Remodeling, and the construction industry as a whole, has always lagged behind in providing health insurance for its workers, and that problem is...

   
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  Remodeling performed relatively well in the fourth quarter

  Remodeling performed relatively well in the fourth quarter despite a slower overall housing market, according to the latest release of the Remodeling Market Index (RMI).

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

• Consider charging for design work

  One might argue that giving away design is a part of marketing. But design is so much more

   

LINDA CASE

• Creating a good marketing plan

  Here's your five-step guide to developing, funding, and implementing a good marketing plan.

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• Position yourself for future growth

  As time marches on and your skills advance to new levels, you discover that you need to develop new passions to keep the flame alive. Otherwise, you risk becoming disillusioned or burned out.

   

SHAWN MCCADDEN

• Look at spending as an investment rather than as just an expense

  When business slows down or cash gets tight, remodelers tend to look for ways to save money. They lay off carpenters, slash marketing dollars, lower margins on bids, and perhaps even strap on their old toolbelts. It's instinctive. It's immediate. And sometimes it's completely wrong.

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• Turning prospects into sales

  You thought you had several strong prospects lined up for work. Time has passed, and you're waiting to hear back from them. Where do you stand?

   

• Educate to give clients confidence

  A bit of education can go a long way toward giving clients the confidence to proceed with their project, with you as the trusted authority to guide them through it.

   

• Target prospects with affinity marketing

  Whether you're launching a new service, targeting a different audience, or formally introducing your company to the community for the first time, you'll do it more successfully if you hit your target market with a splash. An emerging tool for leveraging your impact in such scenarios may be affinity...

   

BOTTOM LINE

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  Toolchex administers expense reimbursement

  To help carpenters or mechanics who need tools as a condition of employment, a company called Toolchex offers a method to administer reimbursement of this business expense.

   

• Everybody watches the numbers

  Greg Antoniolli has used several methods to improve his company's bottom line. His first step was to hire a great office manager who also acts as controller.

   

BY DESIGN

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  Make the kitchen more than a cabinet showroom

  When remodeling a kitchen, the tendency is to fill all the walls with cabinets and counters. Everyone wants more storage and work space, but there are other things that need to happen in a kitchen

   

FIELD NOTES

• Let clients know how to reach you

  Even after hours, anything that happens on the jobsite is the responsibility of the remodeler. From a burst pipe to a door left unlocked, a long list of catastrophes can destroy an otherwise good relationship with a homeowner.

   

• A daily checklist saves lives and headaches

  It's not quitting time at Heritage Builders until each project's lead carpenter has verified and initialed 34 jobsite tasks on a one-page "end-of-day checklist." The 10-minute effort can save lives and headaches, and it definitely builds client confidence and goodwill.

   

GOOD FORM

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  Scoring each potential job

  By scoring each prospective job, you can develop an idea as to how profitable the work can be as soon as you take the initial call.

   

Tech at Work

• Making phone calls on the internet

  A look at useful VOIP services.

   

• Extranet Web site boosts productivity

  About a year ago, Mike Winn, of Winn Design, Fairfax, Va., got serious about taking his business paperless. His most recent step in the process: a password-protected extranet Web site where clients, subs, and suppliers can access updated job information 24 hours a day.

   

Ways + Means

• People + Skills: A Tale of Reward and Profit

  Developing an effective compensation program that fits your business' needs.

   

• Employee retention pointers

  What can one do to maintain a skilled workforce in an environment where qualified personnel are rare and emplyee poaching is prevalent?

   

• Cut down on unnecessary appointments

  Cut down on unnecessary appointments by holding potential clients to some rigorous standards.

   

• Evaluating new hires with a personality test

  Long gone are the days when Jim Orr, owner of Bennett/Dover Home Remodelers, North Olmsted, Ohio, would simply hire a carpenter who walked onto a job. But it wasn't until five years ago that he began using a personality test to help him gauge how a job candidate will fit his company's culture as...

   

• Engaging prospects in a conversation

  A gatekeeper is more than an office manager or receptionist. He or she, although it's usually a woman, asks a series of specific questions to elicit responses about what a prospect wants, needs, and anticipates in a remodeling project. Those who are good at it engage prospects in a conversation...

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

• 

  Design/build firm sets client expectations

  A profile of Big 50 firm HUB Design/Build co-owners Mark and Lynne Graves Stephenson.

   

FACE OFF

• Opening up your books to employees

  Should employees be given details of your company's total earnings, profit structure, and other financial information?

   

SECOND LOOK

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  Second Look: Richard Pratt

  A second look at Big 50 firm Classic Homeworks' owner Richard Pratt.

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

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  Warmth and elegance in a master bath renovation

  Having easy access to everyday bathroom items was the idea behind this open-shelf vanity. The homeowner, along with interior designer Carolyn Jordan of Interiors by Decorating Den, came up with the design for this master bath suite and turned to remodeler Erik Anderson of Anderson-Moore Builders in...

   

SPEC BOOK

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  KBIS show products

  Keep an eye out for these and other new products at the upcoming Kitchen/Bath Industry Show in Las Vegas, May 7-10.

   

Management

• National Kitchen and Bath Association online training

  The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), in partnership with Century College, now offers online training for industry professionals.

   

• Reico Kitchen and Bath adds high-end kitchen group

  Reico Kitchen and Bath, the largest supplier of kitchen and bath products in the Mid-Atlantic states, is adding an exclusive group to cater to high-end kitchen projects in the Washington, D.C., area.

   

• Model appliances on Google's SketchUp

  To make it easier for architects and designers to specify KitchenAid appliances, the company is offering 3-D appliance models for the 3D Warehouse Web site on Google's SketchUp.

   

SUSTAINABILITY

GREEN SPEAK

• Benefits of bio-diesel

  After researching alternative fuels, Craig Kersemeier, president of K-tech Kleening, in Schofield, Wis., chose to switch from diesel to soy-based diesel. He chose this fuel because it does not require any engine conversions.

   

• Claiming its green doesn't make it so

  Responding to growing consumer demand for green construction, companies industrywide are brandishing green credentials. Critics, however, warn of "greenwashing," the practice of claiming limited or superficial green practices as representative of a true green identity.

   

PRODUCTS

FIRST LOOK

• Appliances at K/BIS

  K/BIS Appliance Highlights. Appliance manufacturers rolled out their latest wares at this year's K/BIS Expo in Las Vegas, and REMODELING was on hand to capture the highlights. Live from the convention floor, we bring you great new modern pieces from Ariston, a ventilator hood from Siemens that...

   
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  First Look

  The newest products for the remodeling market.

   

IN FOCUS

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  Worker Gear

  The latest in worker gear.

   
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  Products: Home Automation

  The latest in home-automation products.

   
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  Exterior accessories add style

  Houses lacking exterior accessories tend to look unfinished. It's the millwork, fascia, and other accents that add style and curb appeal on the block. And while plastic-based materials are leading the way on this front, smooth white trimboards aren't the only option out there.

   
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  Let the Sun Shine In

  Many door manufacturers, in response to the trend of blending indoor and outdoor living spaces, are introducing long-span and "corner-meet" patio doors.

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

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  Building a Client Base

  Building a client base is a process that involves your entire marketing and sales system. After marketing delivers your message to the target prospects, the sales steps are like workstations on a conveyor belt; each one adds time, money, and energy to the initial marketing effort.