Dolores Davis
Company: CG&S Design-Build
Market: Greater Austin, Texas
Years in Business: 61 years
Focus: Full-service design-build

Exacting Professionalism
"When you're raised in the remodeling industry, and you're involved in organizations that work to promote the industry, you understand how difficult it is to be a professional. Anybody can be a remodeler. There are no credentials, many states don't have certification, there's nothing required by every member. And it's a hard business. Roughly half of all remodeling businesses fail every year.

"There are organizations in our industry, such as the HRA and NARI, that promote being a professional. But Remodelers Advantage takes it to a higher level. You have to prove that you are conducting business in a professional manner to a jury of your peers. That requires a bigger commitment than other organizations, and is more effective than any school.

"Just to become an Impact finalist—an MVP—is hard for the very reason it is so important: You have to want to come and be willing to give back as much as you receive.

"Remodelers Advantage is especially good at building a community of giving people. It instills in people the desire for others to succeed."

Jeremy Martin
Company: RisherMartin Fine Homes
Market: Greater Austin, Texas
Years in Business: 8 years
Focus: Whole-house renovations

Courage and Humility
"The Impact Award honors that you've had a big impact on other people. But what makes this group so powerful is that regardless of how much you put into it, you get much more back.

"I obviously attempt to make a big impact serving others in the group, but if you measure the impact it's had on me, it far exceeds the impact I've had on other people. That's the secret sauce of the whole organization that makes it work so well.

"For me, it's this journey of continual improvement. But what's unexpected is the impact you get walking into a room with very high performing people who are super successful. A lot of it is just the stretching of yourself. Having people push you higher and farther.

"To get the most out of it, you have to have this interesting blend of courage and humility. You're basically walking into a room saying, 'I'm not good enough, I want to be better.' You have to be super courageous, too, because you're saying , 'I'm willing to bear my soul here.' In the end, that's the only way we get better."

Bryan Sebring
Company: Sebring Design Build
Market: Chicago-land, Ill.
Years in Business: 19 years
Focus: Kitchens, baths, basements, additions

Business Is Life
"When I first joined Remodelers Advantage, I was intimidated by the process of having to expose my numbers. I knew that when I got under the spotlight with a bunch of other people who really know what they're doing, they would find those places where I didn't know what I was doing. It was intimidating, but at the same time, everyone was very kind. They had all been here before.

"It is life changing. That sounds dramatic, but business if life. Everything rolls over to the personal... When I'm at work, I'm away from my family. So I want to be making money, but I don't want to be working 80 hours a week.

"If you're in the mindset of being humble and giving back to others, it comes back to you. There's a weird accountability that happens when you help other people. When I give someone advice it reminds me to ask, 'Am I really doing that? Am I doing my job the way I'm telling them to do it? That's what makes it worth my while to spend that time.

"There are so many people in RA who want to help, want to connect, if you are willing to take a step out, connect, and make yourself vulnerable."