PowerTips Unscripted

You may have thought that the design-build business model is a recent phenomenon. But years ago, all builders practiced design-build, but something happened along the way to create separate industries. In this episode, David Supple takes Victoria and Mark on a deep dive into the history of the design-build model, the truths about it, and why it’s been around as long as buildings have. David...

We’re under an almost-constant barrage of information from every angle. As leaders in our business, it’s imperative that our messages are clearly understood. But it’s equally important, if not more so, that we get messages clearly.  Looking ahead to 2020, Jeremy Steinruck is focusing on clarity in communication and cutting through the white noise.   In this episode, Jeremy discusses...

As a seasoned business professional, you’ve probably been on both sides of the equation when it comes to giving and getting help. Get advice, give consultation. Gain a mentor, bestow some wisdom. While in these essential moments, we want to help and be helped, that doesn’t always happen.  It helps to know there are differences in the types of support we can give and get — and what...

Having a business partner can be an enormous advantage if you approach it correctly. Most people underestimate the commitment and work that goes into a partnership. Ensuring that you’re on the same page and share the same vision goes far beyond having a plan on paper. In this episode, Matt Carlson shares his story with Victoria and Mark, and what he’s learned as the minority partner in his busines...

Working with just a few Realtors can bring additional jobs to your remodeling company. It’s not about appealing to the masses, but about developing relationships with several realtors who appreciate how you work, your quality, attention to detail, and exceptional client experience.  In this episode, Kathi Fleck discusses working with Realtors with Victoria and Mark, and how to establish...

Our Roundtables members share their financial metrics at every meeting, in what we call the composite report. But there’s one field that’s almost always reported as zero. It’s the proactive outbound sales call metric. It’s confusing to many, not just as a field on a spreadsheet, but as an activity. Abe Degnan says this metric is valuable to all remodeling companies, and making those calls bu...

It’s that time of year — it’s time to put together your company’s marketing plan for next year. If you don’t know where to start or what your plan should include, Mark’s here to help. In this episode, Mark is on a one-man mission to get your strategic marketing plan into shape. First thing to know — your marketing budget isn’t your marketing plan. It’s the most common error we see, and that’s just...

There’s not much that’s more frustrating than missing out on business opportunities close to home. Understanding the numbers that surround your business’s trade area is critical to determining what may be flying under your radar. Through analytics, you can interpret those numbers and take advantage of what they tell you. In this episode, Nick Ogle talks to Victoria and Mark about how u...

We’re just back from the 2019 Remodelers Excellence Week, Remodelers Summit, and Roundtables meetings, and our opening video was about thinking like a child, and allowing yourself to fail so that you can learn from what went wrong. It’s all a part of evolving as a business, as a person, and the art of growth. Then we came across the latest video blog from our friend Wayne Rivers. It dovetail...

All remodelers have a sales department. All remodelers have a production department. But few officially recognize a human resources department.  Alex Raisanan used her experience to build an HR department for TraVek, a remodeling company in Scottsdale, AZ. Through skill and creativity, the department was able to build its team by 123 percent in a tough labor market. In this episode, Alex shar...

An aging skilled workforce is retiring, and there’s a shortage of younger people taking their place. It’s a hot topic among remodeling companies, who are still searching for the right answers to solving their labor shortage. In  this episode, Mischa Fisher, Victoria, and Mark discuss what you can do to bridge the skills gap, and how to change deep-seated perceptions around joining the h...

Caring for our veterans should be a national priority when they come back home. The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) program offers grants to service members and veterans who have certain severe service-connected disabilities. The grants assist with building, remodeling, or purchasing an adapted home, but the program needs remodelers and builders to make it work. Most people in the remodeling indus...

In a low-unemployment economy, recruiting and retaining the best talent is a continuous effort. You need a powerful competitive advantage — one that’s nearly impossible for anyone else to copy.  It’s your company culture. In this episode, Steve Anderson tells Victoria and Mark why that is, and how you can develop a successful culture — or turn around a faltering one.  Steve’s an au...

It’s easy to be successful in a great economy. You can get away with a lot of bad habits, lack of systems, and high overhead when jobs are large and margins high. But when the economy contracts, job sizes shrink, and margins erode, those bad habits can have a huge affect on the health of your company. Focusing on the right things when times are good are key to recession-proofing your business. In...

It’s time for another Unscripted Back-Up. It’s a chance to revisit some of our best and most informative episodes. They’re jam-packed with information you can use — so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance to catch up. This is one of our most popular episodes, and digs in to a part of your remodeling business that few people really consider — managing your clients. ...

It’s incredibly busy in the remodeling world at the moment — leads are pouring in, proposals are flying out, and jobs are being scheduled like crazy. We’re seeing businesses with 30 percent growth, year over year. Yet there’s a silent killer lurking beneath all the fevered growth: insufficient cash flow. In this episode, Mark’s flying solo and he tackles the phenomenon of “growing broke” — being b...

Everyone would love to have raving fans — and today’s guest is the most popular mascot in sports.  Tom Burgoyne has had a 30-year career as the best friend of the Phillie Phanatic — the most popular mascot in sports.  In this episode, Tom talks to Victoria and Mark about what the Phanatic has taught him about the importance of customer service in business — and how it can be the differen...

Victoria and Mark are just back from their own peer group meeting, and were inspired by what they learned. In particular, they were excited by something they heard from another member, Wayne Rivers. Wayne has a video blog, and we’re picking up one of his episodes about leadership. He says leaders tolerate bad behaviors in their organizations too often, and it can cost you money and time. The cultu...

It’s time for another Unscripted Back-Up. It’s a chance to revisit some of our best and most informative episodes. They’re jam-packed with information you can use — so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance to catch up. Growing your remodeling company is filled with pitfalls and challenges that can prevent you from getting to the next level successfully. So many of o...

A successful remodeling business isn’t only dependent on tactics or the larger strategy behind them. A company’s culture plays a crucial role in executing any business strategy.  In this episode, Brian Gottlieb discusses the key steps needed for a business to implement their desired strategy with Victoria and Mark. Brian Gottlieb is the founder and CEO of Tundraland Home Improvements , which...

So many things go into a successful remodeling project — the design, the materials, the actual build — but what’s really the most important part? It’s your client.  Remodeling a home can change your clients’ lives. Robert Kauffman says the secret to a successful remodel is working upfront to get to know your clients to the greatest extent possible. In this episode, Robert shares his story wit...

Physics and chemistry affect the interior of every home, every day. Performance testing can enable remodelers to predict and prevent health, safety, and comfort issues, earn more for your work, and predict and prevent callbacks, claims, and lawsuits. As a remodeler, you have two choices. You can test for and design performance controls into your projects to predict and prevent side effects. Or you...

Most remodelers wear many hats, and sales management is only one of them. So you have to handle sales functions on a part-time basis. As you grow and add salespeople, overseeing that department becomes yet another job duty. In this episode, Chip Doyle discusses how to successfully manage the sales department on a part-time basis with Victoria and Mark. Chip wrote the book Selling to Homeowners — T...

Here at Remodelers Advantage we set aside the month of June to focus on an issue that plagues most service-based businesses, but can be a critical metric in looking at the success of a remodeling firm. This is our third annyal  “Slippage Awareness Month”  and this year you’ll see content submissions from our consulting, sales, and production experts here at R/A. Enjoy! Every remodeling busin...

If everyone in your remodeling business feels like they’re invested in your company — so invested that they think and act like owners — they’ll make better decisions, solve more problems, and make it more profitable. But how do you get there? In this episode, our own Steve Wheeler talks to Victoria and Mark about how to get your employees to think and act like owners. It’s a process he started whe...