Restoration Today

Scott Whitaker, owner of Restoration 1 of Spokane, leans heavily into our industry's most popular standard to get paid: the ANSI/IICRC S500. Whitaker is a big believer in training and education, and makes sure his team understands the scope, purpose, and application of the Standard. This includes knowing which section(s) of the S500 they should be using to bring in experts like IEPs, backing up wo...

SERVPRO Team Wall has seen massive growth in a few short years. In business since 2009, things got “real” in 2019 just before the pandemic. Today, SERVPRO Team Wall has three physical locations, 12 licenses, and more than 155 employees. Owners Jim and Trish Wall have leaned into organizational structure and putting the right people in the right seats to grow in a healthy, sustainable way. They are...

Kustom US is in its third generation of leadership, and part of the group of larger restoration companies looking to grow through purposeful mergers and acquisitions. In this episode, Kustom US CEO Andy Zavodney discusses mergers and acquisitions, what sets Kustom apart from other industry players, what they're finding sellers want in a buyer, attracting future generations into the trades, the val...

Doug Schaedler and Brandon Donatelli from HOMEE join Restoration Today to talk about the evolution of InsurTech. We discuss using Net Promoter Scores to streamline the claims process, the shift in customer expectations and communication, creating a platform to to handle smaller, less complex claims efficiently, effectively and getting contractors paid quickly, and more.

Reese Darlington is a project manager for Venturi Restoration (formerly Response Team 1) in Southern California, and joins this episode of Restoration Today right from a job site! Reese shares how he juggles 40+ projects at a time, establishes good rapport with clients, finds and maintains good relationships with his subcontractors, and avoids the burnout that comes with long hours in a 24/7 indus...

David Hart grew up a tinkerer. Never caring much for school, he preferred to take things apart and reassemble them, learning how the world around him worked. A series of twists and turns in life sent Hart on an interesting journey that may or may not involve an entire set of flatware, military intelligence, the U.S. Army, hanging out in an ozone chamber, and more. Join us for a great conversation...

The energy and excitement at this year's International Restoration Convention & Industry Expo was palpable. Using experience and feedback as their guide, it was clear everyone involved in the planning of this year's event wanted it to be valuable and memorable, and they succeeded.   In this episode of the Restoration Today Podcast, we are joined by RIA leadership:   Kristy Cohen, RIA CEO Katie...

Penco Restoration has been serving cities surrounding Atlanta, GA., for about a decade. Over that time, they've faced all the extremes: the triumphs of explosive growth, the heartbreak of tragedies within their team, and the pressures of a tornado leveling their town. Through it all, the team has remained strong and loyal to their customers and community. In this episode of Restoration Today, Penc...

When a career on Wall Street left him feeling unsatisfied, Mike Bevilacqua decided to explore other directions for his career and was surprised by the restoration industry. Fast forward 15+ years, Mike now runs a large restoration company on the East Coast - Mammoth Restoration, with eight locations across three states. Over the years, he learned what does and does not work for effective growth, h...

The same month 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in the United States, the team at KnowHow launched the Restoration Workforce Survey, the largest-ever industry survey targeted specifically at capturing the voice of the industry’s workforce. Together with C&R and more than dozen other industry partners, KnowHow surveyed hundreds of workers across the USA and Canada, drawing from more than ten...

John Monroe is a Senior Advisor with Violand Management Associates, and specializes in training and empowering business development and sales professionals in the restoration and cleaning industry.    In this podcast, he dives into restoration sales to complement a panel on the topic featured in the March/April issue of C&R.

The 2022 hurricane season officially begins on June 1, but scientists like those at Colorado State start assembling predictions for future hurricane seasons long before it actually begins. By studying historic data and trends, Research Scientist Phil Klotzbach and his fellow scientists are able to make accurate projections of what the tropics might brew in the coming months. Insurance carriers use...

Making predictions in today’s business environment is very difficult due to the high speed of change, political uncertainty, health challenges and radically different feelings on the work environment. The next decade will bring changes that will be inconceivable to many, and will radically change the way we work, communicate, learn, travel, purchase and so much more.  The reality of this change wi...

CoreLogic President of Protect Garret Gray is back on the Restoration Today podcast! In this conversation, Garret and Michelle discuss a number of hot topics in the restoration industry today including (but certainly not limited to): Data Integrations Marketplace competition Contractor relationships Plus, Garret shares some of his background, the growth of Next Gear Solutions over the years before...

Rico Garcia is the talent behind the Restoration Domination podcast. A restorer and marketer to his core, Rico's passion bleeds through in every single podcast he creates. In this episode of Restoration Today, we are turning the tables and putting the Rico in the hot seat - to answer our questions about hiring, marketing, favorite guests so far, industry trends, and more. C heck out Rico's podcast...

We are in an interesting time in the restoration industry. The chasm between contractors and carriers continues to be a pain point, and more contractors are veering away from program/TPA work. Today, there is an entire franchise that has chosen that route and is finding amazing success with their unique model. Sherry Rose is the CEO of Stellar Brands, the parent company of Restoration 1 . She ente...

Check out our recent conversation with Larry on Restoration Today above! He shares some of his favorite trade show memories, the history of the Hall of Mirrors, what's on tap for education, and more! The Experience Conference and Exhibition in Cincinnati has just added a Taste of Cincinnati Reception on Wednesday April 6th at the Hilton Netherlands Hotel following the closing of the trade show.  T...

As Abatix expands its footprint into the Chicagoland (and Midwest market), Regional Manager Dan Vaughn joined the Restoration Today podcast to discuss: Benefits of having vendor and supplier partners who specifically understand cleaning and restoration. Tips for choosing products and chemicals. Supply chain and labor shortage difficulties - and wins. Keeping up with restoration trends and hot topi...

Mike Fulton, CEO of Xactware (now known as Verisk Property Estimating Solutions) is back on the Restoration Today podcast for round two! He  first appeared on our podcast last November, and we are excited to keep these open conversations going with Mike as the restoration landscape continues to change and evolve. In this podcast, which is audio-only due to a hiccup on our end, Mike and Michelle di...

Gerrett Stier, founder of GMS Distribution , sits down with Michelle to talk about what it has looked like to build a company over time, with great intentionality and focus on quality and customer service. "If you want something, you go work for it," he said. Plus, there is a lot of discussion on finding a work-life balance, and learning it is okay to step away for a moment. The work and relations...

With all the changes and evolutions in the restoration software space in recent years, we wanted to have a conversation with Ryan Pritchard from Canam Systems/PSA on the current state of tech in the industry.   PSA is one of the original software platforms in the industry, founded in 1994. That puts the team in an interesting place to talk about the evolution of software for restoration contractor...

In this episode of Restoration Today, we are joined by Doug Hoffman, the CEO of NORMI . NORMI is the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors. Today, the organization is about 7,500 people strong - and facilitates a variety of training courses related to environmental remediation. Doug discusses some of the best practices of mold remediation, clears up some of the common misconcept...

Asbestos abatement has a storied (some would say infamous) U.S. history dating back to the 1960s when exposure started getting wide- spread attention; the 1970s with the first guidelines to reduce exposure; and then the 1980s with the first laws regulating asbestos. Although mining and manufacture of the six types of asbestos minerals was sharply curtailed in the U.S., there is still no asbestos b...

Tom McGuire has more than three decades of experience with large loss and disaster recovery projects. He specializes in structural damage restoration/decontamination, ambient control/stabilization and vital document recovery/vacuum freeze drying systems. McGuire is the founder of the restoration industry's massively popular Large Loss Mastery courses. These courses teach the full gamut of large lo...

FLEET Response is a growing national restoration company, building on the foundation of the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. In this episode of the Restoration Today podcast, we are joined by Mark Springer, president of Dayspring Restoration. Dayspring is one of FLEET's founding companies. Mark shares the evolution of FLEET, the involvement of private equity and th...