Features

  • Image

    The Life of Brian

    Brian Elias, owner of 1-800-Hansons, in Detroit, gets his inspiration from a wide variety of places and uses it to generate impressive business results.

     

Before + After

  • Image

    Top Form

    A California cottage expansion with modern flair.

     

Business How-To

  • Show Me

    Think you can show up at a trade show and just wing it? Think again. Use these tips and tricks to get the most out of the next trade event you attend.

     

First Word

  • One Step Ahead

    With changing standards and rising consumer concern for the environment, remodelers need to stay not just up to date but a step ahead of consumers when it comes to sustainable building products.

     

Dashboard

Opinion

Shawn McCadden

Guest Columnist

  • Hitting the Curve Ball

    JIM RAFFERTY on how finding help for a weakness enhances your strengths -- and how enlisting the help of a mentor or business coach can help you get there.

     

  • Overcommunicate

    SCOTT SIEGAL on how having a process in place and effectively communicating can win over even the most difficult clients and make even the most challenging jobs profitable.

     

  • Methods & Values

    ALLISON IANTOSCA says that new employee training should include not just processes, but your company's values, too.

     

  • It’s Not All About the Money

    KYLE HUNT offers tips on building relationships with clients and why building trust is essential.

     

  • Selling Against Type

    COLETTE CARLSON describes the advantages and challenges faced by women who sell remodeling.

     
  • Image

    Hiring How-To

    RICHARD STEVEN on hiring: If you're growing your company, you'll need a formal process to help you make good hiring decisions.

     

Your Business

  • Resolution Solution for Customer Disputes

    A clear process is key to effectively resolving customer disputes. Here are the steps necessary to create that process.

     
  • Image

    Major Modifications

    Tailoring Microsoft Access database software to a remodeling company's specific needs.

     
  • Image

    On the Edge

    Facebook's EdgeRank algorithm can be key in generating traffic to your company's Facebook page. Here's how to use the algorithm to your advantage.

     

  • Dance With Me

    Partnering with local retailers and service providers is a low-cost lead-generating strategy.

     
  • Image

    What I Like: 100 Contractor 2013 Software

    Office manager Kathy Shertzer talks about using 100 Contractor 2013 for accounting, job costing, and more.

     
  • Image

    Organization Unlimited

    This free online collaboration system resembles a logistics board and helps organize multiple jobs, employees, and anything else you choose.

     
  • Image

    Hand Up

    Although finding a mentor can happen by chance, it's worth making it a formal process.

     

  • Tips for Capturing Universal Design/Aging-in-Place Leads

    Highlights from Victoria Downing’s presentation at the 2012 Remodeling Show focusing on effective marketing techniques for getting more universal design leads.

     

Benchmark

  • Bruce Case

    To Hire or Not to Hire?

    Calculate the total cost of hiring new staff before you make your move to increase the size of your team.

     

Your Clients

  • In the Moment: Managing Client Communication

    Listen to your clients and be clear about what you can and can't deliver. Clear communication is key to setting expectations for a project.

     

  • Get Out There

    Victoria Downing offers ideas for how to keep your job pipeline full by reaching out to past clients.

     

  • Promotional Value

    Move clients from being simply staisfied to decidedly loyal by defining and marketing the experience you create for your customers.

     

  • The Old & the Textless

    Similar to real estate agents, some remodelers are finding they can better connect with young clients by using a short message service (SMS).

     

  • Don’t Be a Liar: How to Communicate Clearly With Clients

    Expert tips from business consultant and speaker Beverly Koehn on avoiding misleading proposals and creating a smooth – and pleasant – remodeling process for clients.

     

Your Team

  • Personality Plus

    Using the DISC profile to determine the qualifications for the ideal lead carpenter.

     
  • Tim Faller

    10 Questions Before Turnover

    Tim Faller outlines the 10 questions a lead carpenter should ask as part of the hand-off from sales to production.

     
  • Image

    In Sickness & in Health

    In many cases, when insuance companies administer wellness programs, they use the information they gather to raise a company's premiums.

     

Your Projects

  • Image

    Guide Us

    Amber Mazor, owner of Perfect Renovation, in Brooklyn, N.Y., uses a detailed project binder as a sales and communication tool.

     
  • Image

    Bright Idea

    Instead of a skylight, a vertical roof window is a more interesting way to bring natural light into a home.

     
  • Image

    History Lesson: Keep It Simple

    A refresher in the classic principles that boost curb appeal and make a home solid and attractive in its simplicity.

     

K+B

  • Image

    His & Hers

    Ask lots of question during the discover phase to see who does what in the kitchen. Your assumptions about gender roles might not be accurate.

     

Design Clinic

  • Image

    Island Life

    Using modeling software to help clients compare and contrast design elements and help the design evolve.

     

Spec Book

Home Performance

  • Energy on Loan

    Though it's a long way from becoming law, the SAVE Act promises to add the value of energy efficiency to appraisals.

     
  • Image

    Truly Green Power

    New research into photosynthesis looks at how to use it for powering photovoltaics.

     
  • Image

    Tankless Gas Water Heaters

    One "low-hanging fruit" for energy-wise appliance retrofits is the tankless gas water heater. Here's why.

     

Products

Sustainability

  • Toward Sustainability: Vision 2020

    ECOHOME's Vision 2020 program brings together leading experts in sustainability, providing a great resource for remodelers and building professionals.

     

Products

In Focus