Management
Management
How to Create a World-Class Remodeling Team
Great remodeling companies position themselves for the future with the right players
Management
Everyone Should Have a Number: KPIs for Your Design Build Team
Measuring key performance indicators guides your team to success while creating accountability and ownership
Management
How to Revamp Your Pre-Construction Process
Experiencing too much slippage and delays? See how Bridget Bacon of Red House Design Build solved these issues by improving the remodeler's pre-construction process
Women at WIRC
How This Remodeler Revamped Their Pre-Construction Process
Bridget Bacon of Red House Design Build outlines how she helped transform the pre-construction process for improved finances and morale
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Six Key Fundamentals to Success
Last month, I discussed remodeling business treasure: strong margins and quality of life. Let me ask you a question: Do you have those at the level you would like them to be? Depending on the cycle of business growth you are in, the answer is often no. It takes two sets of keys to successfully open the lock to the treasure inside.
There is Nothing Gross About Profit
Part 7 of a Series on Benchmarking Setting a gross profit target — finding a pricing, staffing, operating expense and profit model that is SMART — is the key to all business success. (SMART is defined as specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive.) No one can tell you what to charge for your work or what markup to use.
Perfect Strangers
My wife loves to entertain; the more the merrier. She can make fettuccine Alfredo with one hand while preparing flan with the other. An intimate dinner at our house may mean 10 people in the dining room or 20 on the deck. My wife is always as cool as the ceviche, even when the event is spontaneous or the guests have never been to our home before.
Winners Offer Competitive Advantage
Interestingly, what product manufacturers think sets them apart from the competition isn't necessarily what remodelers actually value.
Two Birds, One Stone
Creativity doesn't simply extend to remodelers' bump out ability and wall placement strategies. Remodelers' products are an expression and reflection of their experience and credibility. Products are what you leave behind, and they speak volumes after remodelers have walked off the site, especially if something is wrong.
Putting in the Fix
Just when you think you can spot a lemon of a remodeling job, along comes a lemon that turns into lemonade. The project that Gehman Custom Remodeling completed for David and Terri Wyher this summer is a thirst-quenching case in point. At first the project looked straightforward enough — exterior repairs and a few other things.
Using the Lead Carpenter System
Some remodelers insist the lead carpenter system is the only way to maintain quality control and customer satisfaction. A lead stays on one project for its duration, doing most of the work himself and communicating directly with the homeowner. Others prefer to use a project manager to handle communication and logistics, outsourcing most labor.
For Remodelers Only
Not every product is cut out for remodeling. Windows and doors have to fit existing openings. Fixtures must work with existing plumbing. Styles and finishes should complement the overall architectural theme. Even when building an addition — technically new construction — remodeling contractors need to blend the new part of the home with the old.
Financing the Dream
Lending has been part of the Custom Design & Construction business model since its inception in 1986. A big part, in fact — not only do the majority of the Los Angeles firm's clients finance their projects, 70 percent of them do so through the residential remodeling company's in-house financing arm, Custom Funding.