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PowerTips: Resolutions for Better Business Results

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 by victoria

Since January is the year for resolutions, I want to get on my soapbox to encourage you to make some important resolutions for your business. Pledge to take these actions and you’ll see productivity, efficiency, and team morale all improve. And when these essential parts of your company improve, profits will follow.

Resolution 1. Create a Plan for Profit! Smart remodelers take the time to create a plan for their business on paper so they can see exactly what they need to sell during the year and at what price. Without this powerful piece of paper, also called a Budget, you’re flying blind.

Resolution 2. Praise more often. Let your valuable team members know that you appreciate their efforts. Everyone wants to get an “atta boy” once in a while and your employees are no different.

Resolution 3. Focus on customer service. This is a key to long term success and will help you rise above competitors who don’t understand how to run professional businesses. People will still pay more for a great experience.Talk to your team about the importance of beating client’s expectations and how each individual on the team can impact this.

Resolution 4. If you’re thinking about hiring this year, hire the best people you can get. Don’t get scared by the higher price tag. Superstars will bring so much productivity to the table that they will quickly earn their keep and more.

Resolution 5. Get the word out! Most remodelers who are succeeding today have increased their marketing budgets from the 1-3% of revenue to 3-5%. Include a healthy marketing allocation in your budget and then track the results. Ask everyone how they found you and then tweak your plan regularly to get the most bang for your buck. If marketing has been on the back burner for years, it’s time to bring it up front and center.

Resolution 6. Make Meetings a priority! Yes, yes, I know that you see your Production Manager every day and talk about projects on the fly but it’s not the same as holding a sit-down meeting during which you eliminate distractions and focus on production issues and opportunities.  Scheduled meetings should be a priority for you and your team.

Happy New Year and I, for one, am expecting 2012 to be a blockbuster!

Cordially,

Victoria signature

For more information on Remodelers Advantage and the array of services they offer to help remodelers build strong, consistently profitable businesses, visit our web site at www.RemodelersAdvantage.com

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Growth, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTips: Leveling The See-Saw Called Life

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011 by victoria

Each member of the Remodelers Advantage team brings a unique and powerful point of view to our organization and I love it. Having an array of personality types, and people with differing sets of experience on our bench means that we can have a wide set of information at our fingertips, and we deliver that much more value to the members of our learning community. One of our most effective business coaches and  popular facilitators is Paul Winans. Paul’s thoughtful yet exacting input helps our members identify the stumbling blocks that are holding them back from reaching their potential. Here, Paul shares his views on the importance of building a balanced life.  I thought it was particularly appropriate for this time of year.

Remember going to the playground when you were young and riding the see-saw?  Some people call it the teeter-totter.  Little more than a board centered on a fulcrum, you and a friend would get on each end, alternately pushing one another up and down.

After doing that for a while (sometimes trying to move the see-saw so violently that you would knock your partner off!) you might work with the person on the other end to try to get the see-saw balanced, so nobody’s feet were touching the ground.  This took a little more work than simply pushing up and down, and you and your playmate had to work together to make it happen.

I mention the see-saw because the way we played with that is a lot like how we approach trying to create work-life balance in our lives as adults.  It IS possible to create it, though not without investing effort that is often counter-intuitive for motivated people.

Why bother creating such a balance in your life?  My wife, Nina, and I went to a wedding recently.  The bride was the daughter of dear friends we met 33 years ago.  We knew them before their daughter (the bride) was born.  Now we were watching her get married

Sitting in the chapel I couldn’t help but reflect on where did all the time go?  How did she get to be such a beautiful young woman, no longer the young child who once played with our children?

I was grateful for the choices I had made which allowed me to see much of the growing up their children and our children did in all those years.

At the same time, there were times when I was too consumed with work.  So much so that I was not able to appreciate how ephemeral so much of what I took for granted as being permanent truly was.  My see-saw got out of balance pretty regularly.

My experience of being alive for all these years so far is that each year makes it easier to understand how important it is to get the board level.  Yes, there will always be that tension between work and life on either ends of the see-saw.  Those choices about what to pay attention to are your life in the long run.

How to make it happen in your world?  Simply put, take a long term perspective when trying to decide what to do today.

What does that mean in real practical terms?  Consider this: When you are lying in your death bed what will you be reflecting on?  Probably not that you wish you could have worked more hours and days!

Rather, you will likely be thinking about the relationships and memories you helped sustain and create.  Try keeping that in mind when the board is being pushed down by the weight of work and all its attendant obligations.

Put into your planner all those things which will help keep you healthy and keep you connected to family and friends.  THEN fit in the remaining space your work.  This looks like a simple thing to do and I know that it is not.  Remember how you had to work with your friend to get the board balanced and that it took more work than simply pounding your side of the board up and down?

Your life is as balanced as you take responsibility for making it be.  There is no right way or wrong way to live your life.  Do keep in mind what you want to be reflecting on when watching people who used to be your age going through one of life’s wonderful transitions.  That is all up to you.

If creating the life you really want is a challenge for you, let us give you a hand. Everything we do is aimed toward helping you life a better life — and our coaches are ready to work with you.  Contact our friendly staff today at 301-490-5620 or complete this form and we’ll give you all of the details on this very effective service. Learn how we’ve helped our clients — straight from the horse’s mouth!

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Posted in Business Coaching, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011 by victoria

I’ve been talking to dozens of our members over the last couple of weeks and 95% of these remodeling company owners tell me that business is up, backlog is building and they are very optimistic about 2012. This is great news as it means personal income will rise again, profits will be generated and new options will be available. One of the options that business owners will be considering as the market continues to improve, is whether or not to grow the company to an entirely new level.

Below, Remodelers Advantage founder, Linda Case, discusses the challenges and the opportunities that come with significant growth.  Are you ready?

The “When to Grow?” Challenge

This may seem a strange question when so many remodelers have shrunk because of these economic times but there will be a time when you wonder “Should I grow my company?”

Many folks want to know the best way to grow quickly. There actually are a number of routes. You could raise your average job size, which for many companies can be the simplest and least disturbing. You could add a new profit center, increase your geographical area, or just do more of the type of work you already do. Or you could join forces with another company, which can work but may be the most problematic way of all to grow. You are adding the complexity of working with a new partner to the complexity of growth.   Your company cultures may be quite different.  Spend lots of time talking through all the issues of partnership and know that you will still be surprised when some you haven’t discussed, arise.

So the question of how to grow your company is not just by selling more but could also be by selling different or bigger.  You do want to account for the distraction of trying to start a new division – it will take away from your focus on your base business and can be damaging.  So be sure you have those proverbial ducks in a row, have done the requisite planning and “what if” scenarios before you head out to conquer new territory.

Caution Signals

We get asked “What are the caution signals that would say slow down and get your house in order before you grow substantially?”  If you are planning a greater than 10-15% growth in one year, make sure you’ve conquered this list of cautions:

  • Your company does not consistently reach an annual net profit of 5% or more.   A remodeler has to learn the recipe that leads to consistent profitability.  Growing more than 15% will be disruptive (not necessarily bad) and you are unlikely to do much infrastructure improvement while experiencing fast growth so learn to make money before you head out.
  • Your company has poor infrastructure. Your employees are not harnessed to work toward company goals. Accountability is weak. Systems are spotty.  Many times, the company is held together by what is in the owner’s head.  As you grow this will break down with an increase in errors, decrease in profitability and a dropping satisfaction level for clients.
  • You do not have a strategic plan and vision for the business.  You don’t know where you are going.
  • You are not managing by the numbers using accurate P&L’s, balance sheets, job-cost reports, and budgets.  Without these numbers, you will have difficulty spotting trends and keeping your finger on what is working and what is not.
  • You are not using a professional level markup—most likely in the 50% to 67% range resulting in a 33%-40% gross profit to cover overhead and net profit. This markup is what you will need to buy the increased overhead growth will demand and allow for a net profit each year.

Many business experts feel that if you grow without getting rid of the above problems, that your “baggage” will substantially increase your risk of failure.

Green Lights

As your market improves or as your market share increases you are likely to begin thinking about how to expand.  What are some of the signals that might give you a green light to increasing volume substantially?

  • The market is signaling that it will support your growth. You have strong leads and a good backlog of work in the 3-to-6-month range. The economic outlook in your community is bright.
  • Your company is thriving at its current level.
  • A larger company will fit your vision both personally and professionally.
  • You have staff ready to grow, willing to grow, and craving the career advancement that comes from growth.
  • As owner, you can and will delegate. You will be able to see your primary role as coaching the team. You have a key management team in place that meets regularly to work on the business.
  • Your business approaches each new challenge by creating a plan and looking at what the pros and cons of taking that step might be.  You don’t make big impulsive moves that could put the company at risk.

Growth is an exciting adventure into new territory. Just be sure you are as prepared as you possibly can be.

If you are planning significant growth, then be a smart entrepreneur and learn from the experiences of others who have already grown successfully– and avoid the pitfalls that can cost you thousands of dollars and hours upon hours of hard, unprofitable work.

Join the dozens of  savvy business owners who are a part of  Remodelers Advantage Roundtables, the remodeling industry’s largest peer group. Members of Roundtables drill deep into the successful practices of each company and share the best they have to offer. By analyzing hard numbers–the performance metrics of each business–members uncover best practices that drive profitable sales, build strong teams, and deliver the ultimate customer experience. Want to learn how Roundtables can help you?  Give us a call at 301-490-5620 to learn more today. There’s no obligation so very little to lose . . . and so much to gain!  www.RemodelersAdvantage.com

Posted in Business Growth, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTip: Characteristics of Successful Companies

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 by victoria

Even though we have several weeks still in October, it’s time to begin planning for 2012. We believe strongly that the companies who plan are the companies who are most successful. Just like planning and preparation are the keys to bringing a job in on time and on budget, so are they the keys to a successful company.

Remodelers Advantage founder, Linda Case, and I just completed a seminar on Targetting Profitability at The Remodeling Show in Chicago and we highlighted several characteristics that we see in the most successful of our many members. Here’s our list.

You and all your staff are Committed to “live within the company means.” This means creating a budget and sticking to it!

You have an adequate Markup policy applied to all jobs and change orders. You’ve proven your plan on paper and are confident that your company’s pricing policy will deliver every one of the gross profit dollars your company needs in the coming year. Once you know that the plan is workable, stick to it! Understand that each time you sell a job for less Gross Profit than your plan says you need, you’re taking one step away from a successful year.

Your company has a bias toward Planning before taking major actions.  Like we said above, the companies that plan are the companies that have the most profit, are the most efficient, and have employees that are happier. It’s the thrashing around without a plan that adds stress and anxiety for everyone.

Your company has a proven ability to Implement across the company. It’s fabulous to have the ability to come up with ideas and direction but only if you can implement the tactics that actually bring an idea to life. At each meeting, wrap it up by reviewing the action items, who is reponsible, and the deadline agreed upon.

? Your culture includes Accountability for results on the part of every team member. Give responsibility to your team members and hold them accountable for making things happen. This doesn’t mean abdicating your responsibility — it means training, monitoring, and helping your top team members focus on the most important activities and meet their commitments.

You have built a company culture that embraces Continuous Improvement. One thing I’ve learned since being a business owner is that this is a journey, not a destination. We are always looking for ways that we can deliver more value to our members. You and your staff should be doing the same.

You have key Information feedback loops in place. These feedback mechanisms are typically an array of accurate and timely reports which deliver exactly the  information that helps you make the best decisions for the company. The reports you should be reviewing regularly begin with. . .

  • Profit and Loss Statement
  • Budget to Actual Reports
  • Balance Sheet
  • Marketing Statistics
  • Job Cost Report(s)

And there are many more that you may find very useful. This is just a start.  You may not have any of these available to you now but that shouldn’t stop you from getting started.  To me, the most important starting point is also the most important report you can create and that’s your Company Budget. Without this important planning document, your results will be a shadow of what’s possible.

Start today to embrace your role as a business owner and begin creating your 2012 budget (if you haven’t already).

If you’re ready to take your business to the next level — or if you’re a business owner who’s tired of working alone –it’s time to join a group of smart business owners who are facing the same challenges you are.  Whether you’ve been in the business 20+ years and want to talk business with other experienced business owners . . . or if you’re just starting and want to share with other young entrepreneurs, we have the group for you. That’s the beauty of having the industry’s largest, longest-running peer group for motivated remodeling company owners! Give us a call today to learn how you can join us. 301-490-5620 X106

Posted in Business Growth, Business Management, Financial Management, Leadership, Why Join a Peer Group | No Comments »

Monday, September 19th, 2011 by victoria

Everywhere you look, people are looking at life and business in an entirely new way. We all realize that we have to invest in learning new things to give us the best chance of thriving in this environment. To continue to grow, to realize profits, and to see referrals increase once again, every remodeler should step back and take a fresh look at the business for ways to add value–and then take that message to the streets. Below, industry expert and long-time Remodeling columnist, Linda Case,  shares one interesting way to look at business today. . .

Someone e-mailed me after I used the expression “finding the pony in the manure pile” asking what in heavens name that meant.  It comes from an apocryphal story of why the young boy continued to shovel manure with such enthusiasm.  He was looking for the pony.

It’s similar to the  “making lemonade from lemons” expression.  The economy has dealt us either a manure pile or lemons depending on your sensibilities and the question is how will we view it?  As a tragedy?  As an opportunity?  As a challenge?

There is really no choice.  There’s no need to be a talented fortuneteller to know that there is no way we will return to the “good old days” in the next couple of years no matter who gets in office.  So let’s grab this opportunity to

  • Reinvent our companies by examining our systems to be sure they are streamlined and customer-satisfying. For many companies, the old way of doing business does not fit their new smaller jobs, lower closing rate.  Start with a fresh piece of paper and redesign your company organizational chart and roles for today.
  • Remove or retrain our B and C players so that we can honestly say that we are the A team.  Isn’t that what we as professional remodelers are selling?  There are great people available today looking for great jobs.  Don’t miss this opportunity to rebuild your team with the absolute best people you can find.
  • Sharpen our sales and marketing skills.  Nothing happens in your company until a lead arrives.  You must become expert in the new realities of sales and marketing.
  • Add value to our services by sharpening the pencil of everyone who works on our team including subs and vendors.  Let’s face it, we know this is a difficult competitive environment and we are working in an industry that has been very error-prone and inefficient in delivery of projects.  It’s time to change.
  • Create a realistic plan for 2012 by developing a budget you and your staff believe in.  Hoping it will work is not a plan.  Prove it by putting it on paper.  What is a realistic volume?  What is a realistic gross profit?  What is a realistic overhead cost?  And what will your net be?  Yes, I said net.  Line item everything.

Truth is, it isn’t lemons.  It is a manure pile.  Now let’s use that manure to make that beautiful compost that encourages everything to grow.

If you need help to make the most of today’s reality and continue to provide for your company and your family, give us a call today. For the last 30 years, we’ve helped remodelers build strong, consistently profitable businesses through one-on-one business coaching, our peer group, Roundtables, the largest in the industry, and our variety of educational and training programs. There’s nothing better than working with experienced industry experts to catapult you into a better situation. 301-490-5620 RemodelersAdvantage.com

Contact us today.

Posted in Business Growth, Leadership, Marketing | No Comments »

PowerTip: Your #1 Tool for Maximizing Profits

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 by victoria

Judith Miller is known as the industry’s “numbers” expert.  She uses her in-depth knowledge of remodeling company operations and financial statements to help remodeling company owners “own” the numbers of their businesses and make improvements from what they find.  Judith believes that a deep understanding of company financials is the foundation for consistent, long term success. We agree.  Below, Judith shares her thoughts on how to identify priority areas for your continual improvement efforts.

Over the years of working with remodeling contractors, some simple patterns have become apparent.  One remodeler’s strong interest in people leads to success in sales.  Another’s love for design produces award-winning projects.  Both companies can enjoy a certain level of success and stability over time.

But to develop a larger company complete with beautiful office space, internal staff and consistent profitability sufficient to develop a nest egg for retirement demands an owner with another attribute – a love of numbers.

Only by digging through job cost reports, understanding financial statements and developing trend-lines for current concerns can an owner truly understand, protect and forecast company profitability. Your financial statements are truly your #1 tool for maximizing profits.

Embracing this role is not a task for the faint-hearted;  neither can it be delegated in the early stages of company development.  The owner must understand certain vital components of the business and measure them continually.

To many whose interests lie elsewhere, the task seems overwhelming.  But long-term success rests on determining not just what to measure, but when.  Some indicators, such as cash flow, merit weekly tracking, others, such as gross profit margin, are job dependent so are measured throughout the course of a project.   Monthly and quarterly tracking suffice for still others, such as accounts receivable and payable turnover ratios.

Certain problems quickly point out where you should put your focus:

  • If vendors and subs continue to hound you for payment, then maximizing cash flow should be your number one priority.
  • If your produced gross profit margin is always more than 2 or 3 points different from what was estimated (either way), then an in-depth look at estimating and production jumps to the top spot on the priority list.
  • When sales are erratic and you complete one job only to wait for the next, marketing–including the analysis of lead flow and closing ratios– bears scrutiny.

Just as the emergency room crew determines which patient to handle first, you must learn to use your financials and other performance metrics to  identify which problem should have top priority and then perform ‘triage’ on that area quickly.  Triage looks at the current situation, establishes relative importance and operates ‘first on the worst’, then moves on to the next. It’s a never ending cycle that continues the life of your business – just as one variable is stabilized, another takes on greater importance.

The result of this focus on continual improvement is company performance that improves and improves, delivering greater stability, greater profits, and greater results overall.  Treat this process with the importance it deserves and you will earn the life you deserve.

Posted in Administration and Human Resources, Business Management, Financial Management, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTip: Reduce Stress and Prepare for Tomorrow

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 by victoria

One of our most popular business coaches is Paul Winans.  Many of you know Paul from his days as President of NARI or from his many blog posts and articles in the industry press.  Today, many of our members call on Paul to share practical steps they can take to improve their company performance.

Many times, these steps include a thoughtful assessment of your business situation and tactics to reduce stress and help understanding that it won’t always be like this.  If you’re feeling burnt out and overwhelmed, listen to Paul as he shares what he learned from being a remodeling company owner just like you.

Tomorrow Will Come

In my work as a consultant to remodelers I am hearing from clients about the challenges they are facing. A downturn looks different in each person’s world. A signed job (or two or three) is canceled. Permitting obstacles delay or prevent a project from starting. Pricing pressures tempt or force the reduction or absence of profit, as work is needed simply to cover overhead. And so on.

It is worth noting that there are remodelers who have work and are doing more than well. Why? To some extent the answer to this question is the same for both situations, both good and not so good. For most remodeling companies, getting the job or not makes a huge difference. If your company does twenty jobs a year and you don’t get 5 in a row that can be devastating. On the other hand, if your company gets an unusually large job the business can be carried for several months until more sales occur. In doesn’t take a lot to make a big difference, one way or the other.

So what can you do?

Consider all possibilities

In general, people tend to get wrapped up in the way things are. The thing is that is just the starting point. Take some time for yourself to reflect on what you would do if…. Many of us never think about such things. We just work a little harder and a little longer thinking it might make the difference.

In the meantime we are miserable, finding very little satisfaction with anything.

Break the patterns and do something different. A client loves to fish but had a hard time finding the time to do so, particularly with the down market he is in. He realized he could take a great client fishing, building the relationship that will translate into more business and referrals, while doing what he loves. What is the equivalent for you?

Live in the present being pulled forward by the future

It is very hard to get up every day and go to work when yesterday was not as successful as you wanted it to be. More of the same old, same old, with likely the same results being realized.

That mindset can cripple your business. You set the tone for your entire company. If you are in sales it is imperative to be focused in a positive way on your future, not being anchored by a yesterday you wished you never experienced. How can you do that without being a wishful thinker?

A client was experiencing real hurdles with his team. They just were not performing the way he thought they could. At the same time, he was not clear about his own goals, the life he wanted for he and his family.

Sales were down. This was before the downturn. Getting people to commit was impossible.  He started getting clear about the life he wanted. He began by doing some simple exercises that got out of his head thoughts that were in there but to which he was not paying much attention. The resulting clarity changed his expectations of his people so that all in the company feel more successful. Clients are signing contracts and the company has work, even when many other companies don’t.

I am not saying it is magic and it works in all cases. I do think that being clear about the point makes you more effective in all areas of your life, not just in business.

For many of us our work is how we define ourselves. After all, we spend most of our working life at work.

Running a small business is very hard, even in the best of times. It does not take much to make it close to impossible to succeed.

I remember in the early 90’s living through a set of circumstances that felt like a perfect storm. Dealing with several difficult remodeling clients, the prospect of no upcoming work in the foreseeable future, and new challenges coming every day: when was it going to end? I was doing everything I could think of and nothing seemed to be working.

I found that stepping away, in even little ways, made a big difference. Carving out some time for me to stop being a remodeler and be a person made me able to be more effective doing what the business needed me to do. For me it was taking walks, reading, spending time with my wife and children, and taking inexpensive short vacations.

You are not your business. Things will get better. What do you want your tomorrow to be? Craft a vision that will pull you forward. And start living it today.

Thanks, Paul!

If you’re looking for an experienced business coach to help you improve the performance of your remodeling business, contact Remodelers Advantage Inc. today.  Our team of coaches are ready to dive in and share the best practices that they have seen work over and over again. Why struggle alone when you can have a business coach to help you become more profitable and productive. To get started, call us at 301-490-5620 x106.

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTips: Words of Wisdom from an Industry Guru

Thursday, August 11th, 2011 by victoria

I’ve worked with one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. Linda Case, for over 20 years and it’s been an unbelievable pleasure.   You’ve been reading her column in Remodeling magazine for even longer and if the notes that we receive from readers are true, Linda’s changed many lives with her words of wisdom. Well, Linda is retiring from the remodeling industry at the end of this year and she’ll be sorely missed. However, you’ll still have a bit of her business savvy to help you build strong, profitable remodeling companies. That’s because she’s compiled a fabulous selection of essays on the topics you need most, and this valuable information will soon be available in her new book, Business Straight to the Heart: The Remodelers Guide to Leadership, Management and Success. Here’s a taste of what promised to be another best seller . . .

Are you wondering what you will do “when you grow up”? Are you feeling blah about your business and where you are in life? Do you wonder if there is more (satisfaction? money? free time? balance? fun?) than you are currently experiencing?

No, this is not a commercial for hair implants, little blue pills, or a singles dating service. It is not uncommon for me to work with remodelers who question the direction they have taken in their business lives. So what do I do? I ask them more questions.

This may sound like a fortune cookie, but I’ve learned over the years that the right answers come from asking the right questions. And the right answers come from reaching back to the bedrock in your life (what you love, what you believe, what is really important to you) and then working forward.

Here are some tried-and-true questions that I use to help elicit answers from clients that can point the way to the company that best suits their abilities and lifestyle. You can use them, too. Just be sure to write down your answers so you can adjust and edit them and return to them in order to mine the information they hold for you. To give you some idea of how your answer might look, I’ve provided a few of the answers recently given by a remodeler in his quest for a better fit with his company.

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a person?

What are your strengths and weaknesses in business?

“I tend to take on too much. I over-commit. I fail to follow through….I am sometimes almost visionary. I am particularly creative, resourceful, and a great problem solver. And I have always been exceptional at bringing in business…but not so good at handling it once I’ve brought it in.”

What do you love to do in your personal life?

What do you love to do at work?

What do you dislike doing at work?

“I hate being disorganized or not on top of my details. I also dislike being hectic, particularly because I tend to lose focus when I am hectic and then I can miss important things. I get tired and bored when doing repetitive tasks….”

If you had just the company you want 3 years from now, what would it look like?

How do you like managing others in your business? Are you good at hiring? At coaching? “I like managing. I can be a good coach, and I can tell people hard things, too, when necessary, usually in a productive way. I do, however, need a good structure to make sure I follow through on all of the details….”

What kind and size of projects please you the most?

What kind of clients (including education level, finances) do you prefer working with?

Do you read business books? How many in a year? If so which have been your favorites?

Do you read trade magazines, trade books, etc.?

How do you view the importance of finances in your company? How do you judge if you are doing well or poorly financially?

“It’s as if I have had blinders on these last 6 years. All I paid attention to was the checkbook balance, my billables, and what I was able to draw out as take-home pay….I understand that to move forward I must discipline myself to pay close and regular attention to the P&L and the balance sheet….”

Each of us can design a company that complements our goals and talents. It takes stepping back, analyzing what is working and what is not, assessing our strengths and weaknesses, and then building a company where our strengths are maximized to their highest impact and value—and one where we love what we do and what we deliver!

And More Questions….

The following is the quickest quiz you’ll ever take. It will take you approximately 10 seconds. If you can answer “yes” to the following three questions, you don’t need to read any further. Pat yourself on the back, for you are a success in business. However, if some of your answers are “no,” keep reading.

1. Do you make a good salary and a net profit that compensates you for the risks you take as owner?

2. Do you work 50 hours a week or less in your business?

3. Are you generally happy in your business?

The last question is undoubtedly the most important but is usually dependent on the first two. So let’s start with money.

1. Can a remodeler make both a good salary and a healthy net profit of 5 to 10%? Absolutely. Is it easy? Not particularly. But it’s not easy to be financially successful in any field. After working with thousands of remodelers, I have learned that turning this critical area around starts with convincing the owner that there is no use staying in their business if they can’t make adequate money (the “stick”) and showing them that others no brighter or more talented than they have conquered this problem (the “carrot”).

This is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of Business Straight to the Heart: The Remodelers Guide to Leadership, Managment and Success.  The book is in production and will begin shipping in mid-September.

To tap into more of this knowledge and insight,  join the community of successful remodelers and array of industry experts who are all a  part of Remodelers Advantage. Over 300 remodeling company owners and staff have experienced the difference Remodelers Advantage can make.  Click here to contact us today and see your life improve tomorrow!

Posted in Administration and Human Resources, Business Coaching, Business Growth, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTip: Dealing with Unpleasant Conversations

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 by victoria

One of the toughest parts of managing for many people happens when they have to talk to an employee, sub, or client about an unpleasant topic — whether it’s underperformance, a disagreement about a bill, or a misunderstanding about a project. Many people don’t know the best strategies for dealing with these tough conversations so what could have been a productive discussion often turns into an angry exchange after which both parties feel betrayed and hurt.

Because most of us don’t know the most effective ways to deal with these tricky conflicts, we do what most people do — simply avoid it! Hey, if you ignore it, maybe it will go away! Unfortunately, that rarely happens and putting it off just makes it worse.

What a difference it would make to our lives if we could all handle these touchy situations with aplomb, elegance and productivity!

Authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler, call these situations crucial conversations and, in their book of the same name, identify them as a discussion between two or more people where 1) the stakes are high, 2) opinions vary, and 3) emotions run strong.

That could describe many situations in the remodeling world. Especially since you’re dealing with someone’s home, a direct reflection of the owner, emotions are particularly vulnerable.

In the book, Crucial Conversations, the authors take a very different approach to dealing with conflict. They share the reasons why we act like we do when faced with a problem from the adrenalin rush that muddies our thinking and pushes us to fight aggressively or flee the situation — to the way our minds create angry stories about the other person’s actions which starts us off on the wrong foot altogether.

These human relationship experts believe that we can all learn how to create productive discussions without anger or defensiveness by using a variety of simple strategies.

For example, the authors describe a tendency that most of us have to let our emotions take over when somebody does something that we disagree with. When this happens, we begin to unconsciously invent stories about why the person involved took the action they did. And in these stories we overemphasize the other person’s guilt and assume the worst possible motives while ignoring any good intentions a person may have.

Then, when we approach them to discuss it, we’re walking in with our minds made up and immediately attack! With this approach, we’re acting as our own worst enemies and the chances of getting what we want is severely diminished.

Instead, the authors suggest, if we learn to recognize this pattern, we won’t be drawn into inventing the reasons behind the decision. We’ll understand that we don’t really know why the person did what he or she did – we’re just imagining that we do. All we really know is the action they took. With this mindset, we walk into a conversation trying to explore the reasons behind the action – which more often than not are totally different than the story we have told ourselves. Once we understand the reason behind it, we can work together to come to a solution. No attacking, no defensiveness – just a dialogue between two people who both want things to work.

I highly recommend that we all read this fabulous book and follow the guidelines that it provides.  If we can all learn  improve in the way we approach and address difficult issues that will always be there, we’ll find less stress and greater satisfaction in all aspects of our business.

Posted in Business Coaching, Business Management, Employee Retention, Leadership | No Comments »

PowerTip: A Key To Accountability — Company Meetings

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 by victoria
You probably know that industry guru and long-time Remodeling columnist, Linda Case, is the founder of Remodelers Advantage. We were recently talking about the importance of company meetings and below, she shares some thoughts with you.

Meetings.  Are they time-wasters, money-squanderers, gripe sessions, and ill-planned interruptions to actually getting work done?  That’s what many remodelers think.  Consequently, they don’t hold formal meetings even in multi-million dollar companies.

I disagree.  Well-run meetings harness your team to achieve goals and to be accountable for results in their day-to-day roles.  They allow an owner to communicate a uniform message efficiently and build future leaders for the company.

Picture such a meeting.  It’s the weekly Key Management Team Meeting. It is always held Tuesday’s at 8am.  It includes the company owner, the office manager, the sales manager, and the production manager.  Everyone has learned to be there on time because they know the meeting will start right at 8 and they will be embarrassed to walk in late.  They know that it will end by 9:30 and have scheduled their day accordingly.  There are no interruptions for answering phone calls, etc. unless it is a true emergency.  The meeting is facilitated by the company owner working from a written agenda.  But if the company owner is on vacation, the meeting is run by one of the key team.

The office manager has e-mailed the agenda to everyone before the meeting.  She compiles it by checking with each attendee as to whether they have an issue they want to discuss, how much time should be allotted to that issue and how high a priority it is (just in case there is too much on the agenda.)  She arranges the agenda with departmental reports first, ongoing project reports next (they are working on streamlining the handoff from sales to production and each attendee has some “homework” they’ve agreed to bring to the next meeting), and new issues last.

She also makes sure the Flash Report – a concise one page report with key data – has been compiled and copied for each attendee.  It includes leads taken in, sales made, jobs closed, client evaluation scores received, and much more.  The Key Team finds that having this information pre-packaged for the meeting saves considerable time and keeps them focused on the important numbers they want to track.

Once a month, analyzing the latest P & L and Balance Sheet is on the agenda as well as reviewing the company Budget to Actual report.  This meeting is two hours long because the Key Team’s goal for the year is to get better educated about how to read financials and use the information they provide to manage better.  To train themselves, they read and discuss a chapter in a book on financial management for non-financial people and their friendly neighborhood accountant comes in to answer questions and teach a short lesson.

As the meeting progresses, the office manager takes minutes of what has been agreed upon, who will do what by when.  These minutes will be e-mailed to all attendees and the agreements of what will be done by the next meeting are rolled forward into that new agenda.

The facilitator keeps the meeting on task and time and will ask participants who might have gotten off track to work on that later outside the meeting.  Everyone leaves the meeting updated on the state of the entire company, and with a sense of accomplishment that they are invested in the company’s success and that the company is continuously improving.

Yes, this is the picture of the perfect meeting!  But the point is that great meetings don’t just happen – they are the result of organization and planning.  So if your meetings are floundering, make them productive with these seven tools:

  • A clear purpose
  • Guidelines for behavior
  • Written agenda
  • Defined time frame
  • Facilitator
  • Minutes
  • Flash Report – Pre-meeting information gathering

And don’t forget to throw in some fun, celebration and recognition.  They will make good meetings even better.

Thanks, Linda.  We know that regular meetings are one of the best ways to save time. In fact, since we started following the techniques shared in Death by Meeting by Patrick Lincioni, it’s made a dramatic difference in our efficiency and productivity. It will do the same for you. Try it for at least three months. I guarantee you won’t go back.

Posted in Administration and Human Resources, Business Growth, Business Management, Leadership | No Comments »

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