Vision. Mission. Purpose. Culture. Core Values. Do you ever find these concepts fuzzy, overlapping and a little hard to grasp? If so, you are in very good company. You might also question whether they even belong in a small entrepreneurial business. Or you might wonder if time spent thinking about them, and work spent defining
Over 27 years of working with remodelers around the country I’ve encountered nearly every problem to confront a remodeling company: the dissolution of long-term partnerships, ineffective marketing, sales systems which don’t produce results, unmotivated production crews, theft from overhead coffers, bankruptcy, and terrible accidents on the job.
One of your fellow remodelers posted the following heartfelt plea on a discussion forum the other day: “With all the RRP rules and OSHA rules, workers’ comp, liability insurance, licenses, taxes and more how do we compete with the people who don’t have all this? How can I make money? HELP!!!” Sound familiar? The challenge
It is 10:45 A.M., May 8. The six of you are standing together somewhere in the Mojave Desert in the Southwest United States. You are looking at the charred remains of the twin-engine plane you were riding in 20 minutes ago. Identify your four greatest problems and the best strategy for your survival. Then, decide
We know that many company-owners face the challenge of getting the best out of their employees. Linda Case provides helps you can hone your leadership skills with volunteer employees. At a recent Remodelers Executive Roundtable meeting 12 highly successful remodelers were discussing how they could hone their leadership skills. I asked each attendee to think
It’s annual planning time and I’m hoping that you and your team are well underway. We just completed our planning session and it was extremely worthwhile. Here are some tips on making this time successful: Include Your Staff in the Planning Process After all, they are the people who are going to make the plan
To make money consistently in remodeling, you need accurate estimating. In order to have accurate estimating, you need accurate job costing to give you constant feedback on your estimating system. As you prepare a project estimate, you are setting many goals. Your goals are the material cost you hope to meet or beat, the labor
Recently, I met over 70 savvy renovation company owners and staff who attended the first RenoSummit held in Vancouver and Calgary. I was joined by Robert Koci, associate publisher of Canadian Contractor magazine, Paul Winans as we led a series of sessions focused on critical areas of business management including creating a plan for profit,
Good cash flow and profitability are two different entities and often do not coincide. Let me give you an example. Months of heavy construction volume mean you have the need for lots of cash to pay your labor and job costs. Often, draws do not keep up so while you may be earning profit you
You probably feel that you shouldn’t have to “babysit” your employees. After all, the people that have been hired are all professionals. They know what has to be done. They don’t need monitoring, right? Is this a realistic . . .or an effective point of view? Remember, there’s a big difference between being a good
