PR February 2006

With a proactive marketing plan, you can not only survive but thrive through the tough economic times.

The typical entrepreneur, whether starting a remodeling company or some other small business, has a general idea of what he or she wants to do: Build a company with a great reputation. Be known for quality work. Be his or her own boss. Provide a good life for his or her family. Most of us want these things from our remodeling companies.

If you think green building and remodeling practices are a fad, try to remember what it was like when cellphones were first introduced. I recall a lot of people saying they were too expensive and nothing more than a fad for yuppies. And yet, just a few short years later, everyone I know owns a cellphone.

Consider the condition of the existing flashing, the frame and the surrounding wall before deciding on a partial replacement, replacement window or entire new window assembly.

Our fourth Business Results Study suggests that remodelers are modifying their strategies to combat costs and promote profits

The new owners of this ramshackle rental cottage in Columbus, Ohio, intended either to fix up the house or to raze and replicate it, then sell. During four years of permit battles, design brainstorms and evolving building plans, the owners became so attached they moved into the redone cottage themselves.

Generation X has a higher homeownership rate and spends more on remodeling than baby boomers did at a similar age, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

  Jeld-Wen       The IWP exterior folding door system provides light and outdoor views even when closed. Door sections slide on an overhead track and…

Do you have to pick either small improvements or large projects? Can you do both? Tom Swartz asks remodelers Larry Murr and Scott Mosby how they balance their businesses.