The sluggish remodeling market hasn't hit Curb Appeal Renovations, in Keller, Texas. “I haven't seen our leads slow down, thank goodness!” says CEO Robin Burrill. But, she adds, “we are very cognizant of what is going on in the rest of the country.” So she and husband and co-owner Rob Mathews have started taking small measures to give their company a head start should business begin to dwindle.
For instance, the company typically doesn't work on evenings or weekends and will generally decline to work with clients who insist on meeting after-hours. Now, “if a prospect is adamant that they will only meet in the evening or on a Saturday,” Burrill says, “we'll make the first appointment for that time — with the understanding that all future design appointments will be during our working hours.”
Additionally, Burrill says, Curb Appeal Renovations has a larger marketing budget for 2008 than in previous years and has aggressively targeted homeowners in neighborhoods where the company is working or recently completed jobs. For more on how remodelers are coping or preparing for leaner times, turn to page 76, “Scaling Back.”