Restoration Today

C&R's State of the Industry report asked restorers what is keeping them up at night. Unsurprisingly, hiring was among the top answers. As the worker shortage in the trades continues, regardless of economic conditions, contractors are always looking for new ways to hire - and fresh ideas to attract good talent to their organizations. Gregg Taylor from Xactly byGTE , a company offering recruitin...

It is a seat no business owner expects to be in, yet according to the Small Business Administration, 20% of new businesses fail in the first year, 45% fail in the first five years, and 65% in the first decade. Only one-in-four businesses make it 15 years or more. All that in mind, every business struggles from time to time, or goes through slow periods - even in an industry that is considered "eco...

The landscape of the restoration industry seems to change almost with the tide. Over the last several years, we have seen a major increase in mergers and acquisitions, private equity interest, more pushback and requirements from carriers, more restorers moving away from TPA work, and the list goes on and on. Among the many changes appears to be an explosion of franchise opportunities specific to r...

On January 5, 2022, Kustom US announced the acquisition of Sacramento-based Five Star Restoration. Now one year into new ownership, we wanted to catch up with Five Star's GM Aaron Provencal to chat about what the transition has been like for him, and the rest of the team. Aaron shares insights on: The first steps to take when it might be time to sell. Choosing the right buyer. Highs and lows of th...

Digital marketing is an overwhelming topic for a lot of restorers, especially as algorithms and best practices are constantly evolving and changing. The good news: there are experts to help! In this episode, Ashlee Southworth and Amanda Stichter from Virtual Vision join Restoration Today to answer questions like: What makes a website good? How important is content on a website? What is SEO, exactl...

In C&R 's State of the Industry report, restorers agreed software choices - and software onboarding - are ongoing pain points for their companies. Clean Claims and E3 are two of the platforms looking to ease this pain point by full integration of the two platforms that complement each other well. Chuck Dewald III, of the Dewald Academy of Drying and creator of E3, and Lane Larsen from Clean Cl...

Garret Gray , CoreLogic's President of Protect (although likely going through a title change soon!), returns to Restoration Today to catch up on all things InsurTech and RestorTech-related. Garret and Michelle discuss: The latest with Symbility/Claims Connect. Symbility's pricing methodology. Ongoing efforts to update pricing, and gather industry feedback. Deviating from standardized price lists....

The Certified Mold Professional (CMP) designation has been available to restorers and cleaners for more than 20 years. For most of that time it was offered through the Restoration Industry Association. But in August,  C&R  shared news from Wonder Makers Environmental that the designation is going through a rebrand, and getting a refresh! Today, the Certified Mold Professional (CMP) i...

Welcome to Phil & Michelle’s Happy Hour – a podcast designed to make you smile, and hopefully learn a few things along the way. A few times a year, Phil Rosebrook Jr. of Business Mentors and Michelle Blevins of C&R Magazine sit down with restoration and cleaning industry leaders and icons to chat about all-things restoration, share stories, and have a few laughs. In Episode 2, we are joine...

Ahead of the C&R State of the Industry reveal, we sat down with Violand Management Associates GM Tim Hull to discuss overall industry trends, the economy, what might lie ahead, and more. This conversation explores the belief that the restoration industry is economic-proof. While that is true to a certain degree, businesses can still struggle in a down economy, or when faced with high inflation...

Everyone who starts a business knows profitability is important, but too often contractors treat it as optional.  This podcast goes along with a recent C&R article titled "The 4 Modes of Profitability for Contractors." It was the first in a series to attempt to help new entrepreneurs, in-progress contractors, and aspiring persons in a position of leadership to better grasp the essential n...

Every state has different rules and regulations regarding construction work - Florida is certainly included in that. From changes in Assignment of Benefits (AOBs) in 2019, to mold remediation licensing, to laws governing work after catastrophic events, like hurricanes, restoration contractors are well-advised to do their homework before traveling to Florida to work. In this episode of Restoration...

Mammoth Restoration is one of the many restoration companies that mobilized to Florida following Hurricane Ian's landfall in late September. As the CAT team drove semis packed with equipment toward Ft. Myers and Sanibel, other members of the Mammoth team, based in Pheasant Gap, Penn., readied themselves to handle necessary logistics, paperwork, and other tasks that could be done remotely. In this...

In September, Encircle and Phoenix Restoration Equipment announced the integration of the Encircle platform with Phoenix’s DRYLink technology. Kris Rzesnoski, VP of Encircle , and Erin Hynum, Business Unit Lead for Phoenix , have spent many years with their teams pushing toward greater innovation and collaboration in the industry. In this podcast, Kris and Erin discuss why integrations like this a...

So, what is the difference between sales, marketing, and branding, anyway? People often lump those first two words together, when they are in fact quite different roles - and require different talents! In this episode of Restoration Today, Jeff Jones, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Violand Management Associates, brings his knowledge of the industry - after having spoken with hundreds of r...

Building a strong, healthy restoration company doesn't happen by chance. Success and sustainable growth require processes, efficiencies, KPIs, and an owner who is able to run the business, instead of the business running them. In this episode, RBA Founder Gokul Padmanabhan joins in for a conversation on what he sees at work within the most successful restoration companies, what it means to have a...

There is a new franchise in town - the Mold Medics ! The company's CEO, Tim Swackhammer, joins Restoration Today to discuss his background in franchising, remediation, and the launch of this new franchise system specializing in mold removal. Plus, Tim discusses specific services, training, certifications, and more!

Corey and Lindsay Brandon are familiar faces in the restoration industry. Today, they work together as a team as Director of National Projects for Insurcomm . Michelle sat down with Corey and Lindsay at The Collective to talk about what it looks like to mobilize for catastrophes, the importance of partnerships and working together, and how they effectively tag-team their role to serve customers at...

The world of sales today involves hunters and farmers, marketers and sales people, managers and representatives. In restoration, prospects have shifted somewhat in the last few years, and the process itself of running a successful sales team requires diligence, strategy, and structure. In this episode, we are joined by Justin Sifford and Alex Puertas, the drivers behind Wylander’s Remote Sales Man...

Michelle sat down with CORE Group CEO Dan Cassara during The Experience in Las Vegas in early September. The goal was to have an open dialogue about the restoration industry today: the good, the so-so, and even the ugly. Dan shares his insights, after sitting in multiple seats in the industry over the years, on popular topics like mergers and acquisitions and the impact they're having on our indus...

Mike Fulton rejoins the Restoration Today podcast for the third time! He has consistently been our most popular and listened-to guest, and we are honored to have him back for this episode! Fulton is the President of Property Estimating Solutions at Verisk (AKA the Xactware arm of Verisk). In this episode, Mike and Michelle discuss topics like: Verisk's Pricing Analyst Program that is now well unde...

Forensic Operator, Microbial Warrior, and seasoned restorer Jeff Jones returns to Restoration Today to discuss Monkeypox, and what our industry needs to know. - What is Monkeypox? - Where did it come from? - How is it DIFFERENT from COVID? - What are some of the big misconceptions about Monkeypox? - How is it being transmitted? - How long is it living on surfaces? - What are best practices for cle...

In this episode, Michelle is joined by two incredible, and highly celebrated scientists to discuss toxic chemicals in our lives - and how they disrupt our bodies, hormones, and environments. Pete Myers , PhD, a founder of sudoc, is one of the world's top experts on endocrine disrupter chemicals. He coined the term "endocrine disruption" in 1991, and coauthored a book in 1996 that discusses the top...

Welcome to Phil & Michelle’s Happy Hour – a podcast designed to make you smile, and hopefully learn a few things along the way. A few times a year, Phil Rosebrook Jr. of Business Mentors and Michelle Blevins of C&R Magazine sit down with restoration and cleaning industry leaders and icons to chat about all-things restoration, share stories, and have a few laughs. In this debut episode, Phi...

Are you still relying on a traditional human resources mentality to grow and manage the people within your organization? If so, it’s likely keeping you from acquiring and retaining top talent.    Effective human resources departments have embraced a new paradigm, “Human Capital Management” (HCM). This ideology recognizes that employees are assets managed and developed through a system of...