Restoration Today

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 activitie...

In restoration, there is no opening time - or closing time. It is a 24/7 business that relies on taking calls after hours, on holidays and weekends, and being ready the moment the phone rings. No matter the company size, having someone ready to answer the phone at all hours can be tricky. Finding a call center or answering service with knowledgable, compassionate staff is also difficult. In this e...

Communication between restorers and adjusters has been breaking down for years and that’s created a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation. It’s something we see every day: restorers assume pushback is inevitable; adjusters don’t feel the documentation supports the invoice; policyholders expect to get screwed over. This industry is ripe with mistrust, creating a losing situation for everyon...

Kinyon and Natalie Martin from Restore Rite in Blackfoot, Idaho, serve a unique area that includes the Fort Hall Indian Reservation and a city with a wide span of incomes and properties. In this episode, Kinyon and Natalie share their techniques and outside-the-box ways to attract and retain talent, and how they work with their team to serve the people in surrounding communities. Plus, a little ch...

The Experience is back in Las Vegas Sept. 7-9, at the all-new, state-of-the-art Caesars Forum! In this episode of the Restoration Today podcast, Larry and Michelle chat about what makes The Experience special - the industry awards and parties, hands-on training including a flood house right on the show floor, multiple tracks on various topics, and more. For a sneak peek at what's coming this Septe...

When business owners and leaders look to accelerate their business growth, there are often two types of people: those who will lean into their industry peers, especially those outside their markets, and the others who won't discuss business with peers at all. The latter often believes all other restorers and cleaners are competition, or "trade secrets" could get back around to competitors. Yet som...

Meet the 2022 Unsung Heroes Award Office Hero of the Year: Tyler Wright Project Coordinator ATI Restoration, Auburn, WA.   Tyler rises to the occasion, no matter how tough things get.  In her five years in the industry, all with ATI, Tyler has proved her mettle and not sat still. She started by working the front desk, then rose to program coordinator. From there, she became a restoration coordinat...

Meet the 2022 Unsung Hero Award Winner Field Hero of the Year: Kurt Smith Environmental, Flood, & Mitigation Dept. Manager Dalworth Restoration, Euless, TX.   One word rings through in speaking to Kurt, and in his nomination: positivity.  Kurt has been in the restoration industry for 18 years and counting. He joined at 21, and admits he never looked back, saying “this was the career for me.” ...

This week, we welcome ATI's Chief Marketing Officer Kenneth Schweighofer to the podcast! ATI is known for utilizing data to grow its marketshare, increase customer base, and acquire companies. The marketing department is no different. Kenneth and Michelle discuss effective marketing techniques for restoration companies, setting yourself apart from the competition, the advantages of organic marketi...

In this week's episode, Michelle catches up with fellow podcasters, Brandon Reece and Chris Nordyke from the Head Heart and Boots podcast, and columns in C&R . This conversation covers everything from personality types and tests and learning to embrace, hone in, and grow in who you are. There are also discussions on tough topics like anger and regret, and managing expectations. Plus, the impor...

Are you ready to take your company to the next level? Want to drive profitability upward? What about getting paid for the job you should do? Reets Drying Academy is revving up for their Next Level event , happening Aug. 10-12 in Peachtree City, GA! Next Level is a hands-on, interactive learning experience involving some of the cleaning and restoration industry's top instructors. In this quick conv...

O.P. Almaraz and Tim Bauer of Allied Restoration Services join Restoration Today to discuss building trends and how restorers can help create and restore homes and businesses to be more insurable, and less disaster-prone.   In a recent C&R article , Tim wrote about the Great Californian Insurance Crisis, but the lessons apply everywhere. As natural disasters increase, our role as restorers is...

Elan Pasmanick is the equipment guru behind Born to Repair, a company specializing in restoration equipment repair. Have a broken dehu? Elan can fix it. Need some tips on deep-cleaning difficult equipment? Also, Elan. In this video, check out our conversation with him on equipment repair tips and tricks, how he found himself in restoration, the art of effectively cleaning equipment of all kinds, a...

Gary Findley, chairman of the board for Stellar Brands, has had quite a year. First, he released his new book, fondly titled "The Redneck CEO", then he appeared on ABC's Undercover Boss. Gary joins Restoration Today to talk about the growth of Stellar Brands, which is parent company to Restoration 1 , his knack and passion for franchising, what he's learned from some mistakes - and wins over the y...

In an industry with many events, every planner and coordinator has to be up to the challenge to find ways to innovate and draw in attendees and vendors. From education to networking to expo hours, there are a lot of variables that can make or break an event, and impact future attendance for better or worse. Plus, there are key details like location, hotel, and accessibility to consider. Now going...

Katie Smith, CR, CEO of PHC Restoration and President of RIA 's Board of Directors, proudly calls herself an "everyday restorer" - and embodies servant leadership. Through thick and thin in business and in life, Katie remains true to herself, her beliefs, and her ethics, while giving her all to everything in which she is involved. Her clear calling to serve others has made Katie a highly-sought-af...

Getting paid is a common pain point for restoration contractors. There are a number of reasons for this – communication, working with adjusters, coverage issues, multi-party checks involving lenders, etc. In this episode, Michelle is joined by Mark Whatley (founder) and Sean Duffy (VP) of sureti - a new app is paving the way for better customer service and faster payment times for property insuran...

Colorado State University hurricane researchers have increased their forecast and now call for a well above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2022.  Research Scientist Phil Klotzbach returns to Restoration Today to give an update on his team's latest forecast, reasons behind the increase, and resources for restoration companies wanted to stay on top of what is happening in the tropics. View the...

This quick bonus episode of Restoration Today takes us to the show floor at The Experience! Michelle and two special guests discuss the ongoing need to expose customers, especially those with chemical sensitivities, to fewer chemicals during remediation projects. Roger Berry, CEO, and Brian Lester, product specialist, talk about the 30+ years of science, testing, and more recently real-world use o...