Drew Liljedahl

President

Liljedahl Bros

West Hartford, Conn.

Projected 2023 Revenue: $4.6 million

On free estimates: Our work runs the gamut. We’ll do a half million or a million dollar project, and then we’ll do 20 bathrooms for $35,000. So in the past, a homeowner would call me and say, “Hey, come over on Tuesday,” and we’d go and it wouldn’t be a fit. It’s draining mentally to go on all these leads that you realize during the meeting are going nowhere. So today, we actually don’t answer the phone all that often, which sounds crazy, but it’s not. Everything is directed to our website, where there’s a Contact Us form that asks a couple of simple questions, but gives me a little time to prepare myself for when we do speak. And then I’m prepared to talk to you, and assuming that conversation goes well, that’s when we schedule a meeting. That has evolved further to a system where when we do meet, all we are doing is a walk through. I’m not taking a bunch of measurements, I’m not writing down every little nook and cranny that you want to talk about. I’m just there to confirm that what we discussed over the phone is relatively accurate, and that I do think we can do this job for the budget we discussed. After that, we are going to be paid to develop the scope and provide you with an estimate. That process has freed up a lot of our time to focus on the people that are serious about doing a remodel and serious about working with us. So many companies in our industry provide free estimates, and it was hard to wrap our heads around the idea that we’re going to charge. But it’s been great for us. 

Podcast Recommendation: Fireside Chat with Dennis Prager