PowerTips Unscripted

Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Lauren Campuzano joins the show to discuss outsourcing 3-Dimensional (3-D) Design. 3-D designs can help remodelers sell their plans, but finding the right talent can take time and effort. Lauren found that 3-D designs were great communication tools within the design department, construction department, and sometimes with clients. Creating 3-D models in-house was diff...

As remodeling companies grow, owners face the challenges of deciding when leaders are needed, how to find them, and train them to be good leaders. In this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Wayne Ottum discusses these challenges and provides tools and methodologies for facing these challenges head-on. In addition, he talks about how he helps owners create a business that works for them. Wayne Ottum...

Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Mark and Victoria are joined by Michael Hodgin to discuss using the financial review to pivot to profitability. A complete understanding and review of your company’s financials is a practice that requires a disciplined effort. However, with this practice in place, an owner will be able to use the information from these reviews to pivot when and where necessary to be...

Are you worried about your business being the next victim of a cyberattack? Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Charles Hammett joins the show to give some advice on how to protect your business from cyberattacks. Charles breaks down some of the types of cyberattacks and how remodelers could be affected. He also talks about some of the benefits of having cybersecurity and the protection it brings to yo...

On this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Jody McLeod joins the show to answer legal questions, including whether companies are set up to withstand a legal challenge. Jody discusses the best way to ensure having a complete personnel file for each employee, including documentation of conversations and key facts,  so that you can support yourself and your company during a legal trial. Jody also advis...

Sean Castrina joins the program to discuss why everyone should think like an entrepreneur and the importance of developing a strategy for determining what business you want to start. He shares that when he lost his job, he found another one so he could take his time to figure out his next steps.  Sean Castrina is the Founder of  The Weekend MBA , host of The 10 Minute Entrepreneur Podcast (a top 1...

The post Top 5 Remodeling Sales Secrets You Must Know with Jeff Borovitz – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted] appeared first on PowerTips Unscripted .

Have you given any thought to your exit strategy? How are you going to leave your business when you’re ready to retire and enjoy your remaining years? It is never too early to start, and you should really be planning for that day, no matter how many years you have left. There are many options when it comes to planning a successful exit and our guest, Dave Leff, joins us to talk more about his proc...

A personal vision statement charts your course — in life and in business. If you don’t have one, you might as well be lost at sea when you’re making decisions. For Dave Bryan, his personal vision statement serves as his North Star, allowing him to plot his course through his life. “There are a million ways in any given day to get knocked off course,” he says. “Everything you do should be in suppor...

Jobs are won or lost during the design process. With so much on the line, it’s clear that your design department should be running at peak performance. But there are so many ways the process can get derailed. It all depends on how you structure your design department, and what metrics you use to hold them accountable. In this episode, Chris Landis discusses about how to build and run an efficient...

You shouldn’t have to slog through a dry, term-laden textbook  to successfully market your business. So in this episode, Co-Host turned guest, Mark Harari takes a deeper dive into his book, “Lobster on a Cheese Plate,”  a practical handbook that shows how to effectively market your business. Or, as the book’s subtitle states, “ how to stand out, attract the best clients, and win every sale that co...

Learning the best way to work with purchasing managers can help create great outcomes for both sides of the remodeling business.  With over a decade of experience in operations and purchasing for a national homebuilder, Bradley Hartmann has researched and found the importance of having purchasing sales teams devote their time exclusively focused on the specific needs and opportunities for remodele...

The Great Recession gobbled up a whole slew of remodeling companies, but more of them fail during an economic expansion than during a contraction. Growth is great, but it’s risky, and knowing how   not  to grow will put you ahead of the game. In this hot market, there are so many opportunities, you can get ahead of yourself too quickly for the health of your company. And that’s where remodeling co...

Reviewing employees in the remodeling world is, at best, a struggle. It is often an employee’s opportunity to ask for a raise and an employer’s opportunity for frustration. Tim Faller joins Mark and Victoria to talk about the necessary fundamental shift in the employee review process. Tim makes the transition from podcast host to guest to talk about his efforts towards reworking the employee revie...

As a society, we spend nearly four hours daily on our smartphones, a 59% increase compared to just two years ago. The total amount of time each person spends in front of all media per day is 12 hours and 21 minutes, up 11% over two years, and the amount of time we spend socializing each day has dropped 18% compared to 2003.  So, if we extrapolate these trends, where will humanity be in just ten sh...

The labor shortage has been a frequent topic on this show, and this episode is going to join the ranks.  Guest Andrew Schmidt is here to talk about  AMEK’s  apprentice and internship program, and the importance of investing in future generations. Andrew and his twin brother started their business as roofing installers in 1996, and have grown into a leading design-build firm in Minneapolis and St P...

Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Thomas Croessman joins the show to discuss the need for small business owners to plan for their company’s transition in their estate plan.  While your business might be humming along now, how will it perform if you’re not around? Unfortunately, most small businesses only survive the first generation because of estate planning and communication failures. Thomas...

Do you know you can increase the effectiveness of your digital marketing with handwritten notes?  Jesse Stein joins the show to take us on a deep dive into the world of digital marketing. He discusses how using handwritten notes can help remodelers grow their business, and provides us help with improving our digital marketing. Jesse has an impressive background as a serial entrepreneur. He’s...

Are you worried about your business being the next victim of a cyberattack? Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Charles Hammett joins the show to give some advice on how to protect your business from cyberattacks. Charles breaks down some of the types of cyberattacks and how remodelers could be affected. He also talks about some of the benefits of having cybersecurity and the protection it brings to yo...

In this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Iris Harrell discusses the importance of having women in key positions within remodeling companies. They make up half of the US workforce, so there is a sizeable recruitment pool, and they also relate on a deeper level with female customers, who often drive decision-making. Women are multi-taskers, organizers, collaborators, and task-oriented, making them a...

The Kaizen practice focuses on improving existing, standardized processes by eliminating waste and was first practiced in Japanese businesses after World War II.  Kaizen translates to “Change for Good,” and that can mean many great things for your growing remodeling company. The process of constant improvement, with every team member participating, allows your company to constantly raise the bar o...

Do you remove your shoes when you visit a customer’s home?  How do I control others’ first impressions of me? Is it ever appropriate to begin eating before everyone is served?  Find the answers to these questions and more when Daniel Post Senning joins the show.     Daniel is the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and discusses the importance of etiquette and how you can use it while interacting w...

Have you ever heard of SCRUM? SCRUM is a workflow management technique that accelerates projects, and while it is mostly used by software development teams, its principles and lessons can be applied to all kinds of industries.  Guest Dean Tompkins is here to explain how SCRUM is useful in his remodeling business, and how it can benefit you as well. Dean Tompkins is the owner and Vice President of ...

In this episode, we take a closer look at the sales process. We are always looking for fresh ideas and concepts that apply specifically to remodelers and those in the building community. Our guest Jen Neige is adamant that you should be selling to design, NOT designing to sell, and she shares how you can improve your closing ratio, gain more control of the sales cycle and earn a design fee within...

Are you looking for innovative tax strategies to reduce you or your clients’ tax burden?  Or, simply sick of paying more than you need to in taxes? Then tune into this episode to hear vital information that you won’t want to miss! Guest Shauna Wekherlien, CPA provides proven, legal, effective, and easy strategies that any audience member can implement to keep more of their hard-earned money.   Sha...