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The diligent remodeler launches into the vast world of green building.
When Gary Rochman was a younger man and working as a designer in an architect's office, he would sneak away evenings and weekends to see the designs he had drawn being built. “It's a wonderful thing,” he says, “to see your designs come to life.” Not satisfied with just visiting the jobsite, Rochman...
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Event-based marketing is paying off for remodelers everywhere. But which event is right for your company?
The palette of materials — granite, wood, slate, and glass — used in this light and airy bathroom remodel is fitting for the home's woodland site and views of nearby treetops.
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Most remodelers are not skilled in every aspect of the business world — and they don't need to be. Part of learning how to thrive and grow in a competitive market means seeking outside help, and there are consultants who can help you become more effective in just about every business area. Many...
Efficiency and pleasing aesthetics blend seamlessly in a kitchen that marries contemporary elements with traditional roots.
They say the smartest companies are founded on the strength of an idea. That appears to hold true at Ilex Construction & Woodworking, which has grown from a scrambling startup in 1986 to a well-heeled business with 200 employees and more than $30 million in revenue.
When architect Robert Brennan was called to the Chevy Chase, Md., home of Nancy Sachitano and Paul Andrews, he felt right at home. That's because a few years before, the principal of Brennan + Co. in Baltimore had designed an addition to the 1950s ranch that included a family room, master suite...
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When he started out 16 years ago as a practicing architect and partner in Socha Builders, Rob Adler did not charge anything for the creative phase. “We charged nothing so as to get noticed, and we agreed in advance that if the client was pleased with the design, they were only obligated to pay for...
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It's a no-brainer that people want to hire people who they like and trust. And because much of remodelers' work comes from referrals and reputation, the most successful upscale companies not only do top-quality work but also build strong, enduring relationships with past and prospective clients.
When Austin, Texas, contractor Shiloh Hartman was asked to remodel an architect's personal home, he was apprehensive. “Often there is this thing between architects and builders,” Hartman says. “It would be a challenge for me working on an architect's house. That's their dream. It would be even more...
Jay Simon was concerned with just two things when the construction company he worked for in 1982 was about to go bust: One, he had to ramp up his sideline remodeling business to take on the clients that his former employer would abandon when it closed its doors, and two, he'd have to use his...
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Open book management, or OBM, is a management style that gives employees access to all the company's financial numbers. When coupled with profit-based bonuses, it's supposed to make everyone more invested in the company's success.
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With half the 120 million homes nationwide having been built before the bicentennial, new-home prices spiking, and built-up equity burning holes in homeowners' pockets, most remodelers have more work than they can handle. Some sit on 18-month-plus backlogs and mentally salivate as they watch their...
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In a sloppy or rushed handoff, details worked out by the designer and expected by the client can get lost like sand through the boards of a deck. Although a flawless handoff is key to a successful project, the foundations for it are laid long before the pre-construction meeting when the actual...
In the beginning, outdoor living was the only option. Early humans then took shelter in caves and huts, and with the progress of civilization retreated to cottages, condos, tract homes, and mansions. Eventually, humans ventured outdoors again, to cook on tin barbecues and nap on aluminum loungers...
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Geno Benvenuto is his affability. But he turns the oft-used quip about nice guys finishing last on its head. As owner of Benvenuti & Stein, Benvenuto has grown his Evanston, Ill., company from the blue-sky dreams of a 20-something carpenter to a profitable design/build company on course to take in...
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As a successful remodeling business grows from a one- or two-person operation to a company that warrants a dedicated sales staff, the owner must often assume the role of sales manager. But managing people who sell requires a different set of skills from selling itself. Though entrepreneurs tend to...
During the months that it took David Shall and Susan Corzilius to get a $65,000 remodel of their master bathroom, one moment stands out as especially gratifying. It was an August evening in their Southern California home. After five months of planning — and the day before construction began — Shall...
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When you're competing in a sea of upscale remodelers for homeowners already numbed by unsolicited mail, you might be tempted to save your money for another marketing medium. Bruce Wentworth opted instead to make a splash — an oversized one.
This custom-designed loft project began when homeowners Nancy Moses and Myron Bloom wanted to move a wall in their Philadelphia condominium to widen the hallway.
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The structural components of a building, if left exposed on the inside or outside of the home, can be artful expressions in their own right.
Architects and builders have been jockeying for control (and respect) ever since Thomas Jefferson called his architect a stubborn jackass — and then promptly punched himself in the nose.
When I was a child, there was an expression I'd hear my parents utter from time to time: “Things aren't what they used to be.”
Posts and beams provide a form of interior décor that is at once functional, attractive, and informative.
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While maximizing your return on customer (ROC) sounds like a purely financial goal, the fact is it requires a customer-oriented perspective.
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Crucial elements that should be on your Web site.
Taylor Hicks probably won this year's title of “American Idol” as much for his individuality as his talent. To voting TV viewers, the 29-year-old's salt-and-pepper hair, down-home casual singing style, and rough-around-the-edges manner may have seemed like a refreshing change from what they might...
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A hinged door is a wonderful device for separating one room from another, but it's by no means the only one. By including sliding doors and panels into our set of spatial connecting devices, a number of common visual problems can be solved.
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If you can learn about what is happening in your past customers' lives — their “lifestyle changes” — you can anticipate what services they will need from you in the future. Lifestyle changes are all the occurrences that mark shifts in life, such as getting married, buying or selling a house...
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Most upscale remodelers have already embraced the Web site as a promotional tool, but a well-planned Web site can accomplish so much more. It can boost morale, act as your company's institutional memory, serve your clients during and after their project, and even head off prospects who are not a...
Product introductions reveal so much more than an individual manufacturer's agenda. Reading between the lines or, rather, across the lines can help you ascertain design directions and get a handle on the consumer interests and lifestyle needs they are intended to satisfy.
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Have you ever noticed that when you are looking for a comfortable place to sit, you often select a corner rather than the center of the room?
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To grow your business, you can expand your client base, but why not also make money by seeking more business from existing clients? You'd save on selling costs and would have fewer discussions about pricing because the clients already have done business with you.
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Are “upscale” clients really different? Well, for starters, upscale clients usually don't remodel because they need to — they remodel because they
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Are you a good listener? Dean Brenneman and Martha Rogers think you need to be. In this issue, both begin their stints with us as regular columnists by exploring the nature of your relationship with the upscale client.
Tips on balancing business and personal relationships in a family-owned company.
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Provide the extra service that high-end clients expect by giving them the “white glove” treatment.
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You're talking to the client sitting before you when you notice his head is down and he has angled his chest away from you. The client's body language is saying he's “closed.” He can no longer hear what you're saying, so you may as well stop talking.
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Upscale remodelers must not only keep pace with competitors but find ways to differentiate themselves.
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When it comes time to select paint colors on a project, upscale remodelers Cress Carter and Chris Withers do what they've been doing for years and what others in the industry have recently begun to offer: they bring in a color consultant to help clients choose the right hues for their homes.
Real estate broker and author Mark Nash reveals what home buyers crave and what they will run from in 2006. His findings come from his dealings with clients who have homes at price points ranging from $300,000 to $2 million in the Chicago market, but he notes that many agents in his network from...
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The human resources hat gets passed around a lot at remodeling companies. But as companies grow, an ad hoc approach becomes less tenable. Dedicating a staff position to the job is an option, but it's one that remodelers rarely consider until their employee roster tops three or four dozen.
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In the early 1990s, New York City interior designer Chris Prince plunged into the world of finials and faucets when she joined (and later became a partner in) Simon's Hardware, a decades-old decorative hardware store that had just emerged from bankruptcy. Though renowned for its specialized...
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Truth, dreams, and trust go a long way in the minds of upscale remodeling clients. They also lend themselves to significant projects for remodelers who understand that the upsell — in fast-food parlance, “Would you like to supersize your order?” — isn't really about selling at all. It's about...
"Our tile contractor fired us,” Peggy Fisher says. “He said our work was too difficult.” That was what led Fisher Group, Annandale, Va., a design/build company, to find someone in-house for tile work.
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Riggs Construction didn't act quickly enough to terminate a difficult executive and so subjected its entire staff to his toxic attitude for five damaging years. By contrast, a criminal background check that is part of the meticulous hiring process at Rockland Inc. prevented the company from putting...
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Nobody wants an accident to happen or unsafe conditions to exist on a jobsite, but these circumstances do occur and can result in citations being issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
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Whether it's to remember your best customers during the holiday season or to reward a client who has recommended friends and family to your business, there comes a time when you need to express appreciation with a gift. Why not select a gift that does double-duty by delighting your client while...
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A remodeling company that takes care of its customers after the job is done is sure to get great referrals. That's why Classic Remodeling & Construction of Charleston, S.C., uses its handyman service to generate goodwill. The service is normally billed out at a rate of $80 to $100 per hour, but the...
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Ed Lane had run a successful remodeling company for 20 years before he hammered out an effective bonus plan for his project managers. The breakthrough idea, suggested by his production manager and finessed over a period of months, was to focus on actual job costs, rewarding project managers for...
Upscale clients respond to sophisticated, high-quality printed marketing materials.
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Take preventive measures to secure jobsites so materials and equipment stay safe.
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Your designer may be a computer guru, but does that mean he or she should also be running your company's networks and data security infrastructure? Or answering the call when someone's monitor freezes? Or troubleshooting when the high-speed Internet connection goes on the blink?
An earthmover tips into a foundation hole … your super backs a truck into a homeowner's car … a subcontractor gouges a glass cooktop while installing a fan. Accidents happen, and when they do a strong case made by photographs will bolster your insurance claim.
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Long criticized for being Internet Luddites, remodelers have in recent years woken up to the necessity of a Web presence. And rather than sit back and wait for the hits, many upscale firms are using e-mail both to broaden and to refine their marketing reach.
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Remodelers and architects are notoriously uneasy partners. Interior designers and decorators also often leave contractors leery. For most firms, though, third-party design partners remain a fact of business, and making those partnerships work is essential to completing jobs on time, on budget, and...
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How do you find, mobilize, schedule, and compensate the specialized craftspeople who do such meticulous work?
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Referral management is not just about data management,” says Terry Parker, marketing and event coordinator for HomeCraft, a Lenexa, Kan., design/build company that derives 90% of its business from referrals. “If we're not managing referrals properly, we're not managing our company properly.” Strong...
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A lax policy toward starting time is one of the main causes of late-running meetings.
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Since long before PDAs and PowerPoint presentations became conference room staples, meetings have had a reputation for dragging on, wasting time, and allowing attendees to get away with bad behavior.
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Sticker shock is universal, and clients each respond differently. It's up to you to manage expectations and present cost issues in a way that clients understand and feel comfortable with.
Construction defects … overshot deadlines … miserable owners shuffling into “finished” remodels with seven-page punch lists. For a group of master builders from the Boston area, the era of “bigger, faster, cheaper” must end.
Upscale remodels must be picture-perfect the day clients move back into their space. Anything sub-par —from landscaping to lighting — will downgrade client satisfaction and endanger the possibility of repeat business. “If an owner gets a bad landscape job, it's the last thing they remember about...
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Setting fees is relatively straightforward. Knowing how and when to raise them, however, can be a bit tricky. Costs such as labor, insurance, and equipment tend to rise steadily with occasional sudden spikes; materials are more volatile. If your fees don't account for that fluctuation, your profits...
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Small service-oriented businesses do it. Large product manufacturers do it. And upscale remodeling companies should be doing it, too. It's a strategy known as “reinvesting profits,” and it's something all growing companies should be thinking about — or risk stunting their own growth.
The market is flooded with digital cameras and salespeople extolling the quality of computer-printed photos. So who needs a professional photographer to record their remodeling work? An expensive digital camera will do the trick, right? Wrong.
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Larry Parrish has heard all the excuses for late payments —from “I've been out of town” to “I thought my wife took care of it.” Although most clients handle payments responsibly, too many times, the check isn't in the mail.
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Two decades ago, no one thought people would pay a buck fifty for an element that flows freely across our planet, but today bottled water is a $10 billion industry. Now, it's air's turn.
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To call upscale remodeling a volatile business understates the case. With cash constantly flowing in and out, one missed draw can cause big problems.
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How do you pinpoint an appropriate growth target? It begins, experts say, with knowing both yourself and your company: Who are your ideal clients? What's an ideal project? Where in the region do you prefer to work?
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Throughout most of the nation, upscale remodelers are struggling with the ever-thinning pool of skilled labor. With fewer quality hands around, it's an employee's market.
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Kelvin Pierce of Commonwealth Home Remodelers in Vienna, Va., can give accurate ballpark estimates on design/build remodeling jobs in about 20 minutes. How accurate? “Although we tell clients [that we can estimate to within] 10% or 15% of the final selling price, we're usually within 5%,” he says.
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Most remodelers use historical job costs as part of their estimating process. Maryland-based Brenneman & Pagenstecher goes a step further, calculating labor costs as a percentage of a job's direct costs.
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The credit check is one of the most sensitive aspects of the relationship between customer and remodeler. In fact, not all remodelers take this step. “It's not prevalent even with some of the more sophisticated contractors,” says D.S. Berenson, an attorney with Johanson Berenson LLP in McLean, Va...