Posted by Mark Paskell on Sat, Nov 21, 2009 @ 10:56 AM
Contractors and remodelers agree that 2009 has been a challenging year for our country and the residential construction industry. In spite of the current economic environment there are numerous examples of successful remodelers and contractors.
At the recent national NARI business meeting and Remodeling Show in Indianapolis, I met several such companies. These companies have adapted to the new economic environment skillfully. They are focused on working smarter to maximize their time. Some claim that they are not working any harder than before the recession hit. Following are some observations from these winners.
Working Smarter, Not Harder, Maximize Time
1. Identify your niche; insure that consumers want what you are offering. Find a void in the marketplace that your company is uniquely positioned to satisfy and then exploit it fervently.
2. Client type; define the type of clients you want to attract and work for and avoid the ones you do not want. The clients you don't want are time wasters, profit drainers and are not worth the trouble.
3. Your vision and plan; create your long term vision. Build a plan that stages your growth. Review your plan often and adapt to changing conditions.
4. Know your strengths and limitations; hire a team that is highly capable to create a balanced team. You cannot do it all yourself. Hire people that share your outlook, learn to trust them to help you fulfill your vision. Stategically align yourself with professional partners and trades.
5. Clearly share your vision and strategy to build your company with everyone on your team. Don't assume they know what you want by osmosis. Coach them thoroughly and validate that they understand what you expect. Praise for jobs well done often.
6. Deliver service that is REMARKABLE; your satisfied clients will stick to you. They will buy more and refer you to their friends.
7. Passion; make sure that what you are doing is something that you are passionate about. If you think your business is just a job you are probably in the wrong business, maybe you should get a job.
8. Have a life, stay fresh; on purpose make sure you take care of what is most important in life, family, fun, recreation, worship, health, self-development and down time. Sun up to sun down schedules lead to burnout, broken homes, loss of profit and poor health.
9. The right business model that matches successful construction companies; what ever the cost insure that your business model is in line with successful companies in your industry. Traits of a successful model include vision, goals, a business plan, capital, implemented systems, business education, legal compliance, certifications, the right employees, professional trade partners, sales training, effective marketing, use of technology, integrity, leadership, superior service, constant and on going training for all stake holders, coaching, the ability to be resilient and the willingness to embrace change positively.
One remodeler stated "the commitment and time to properly align my business with best practices in the industry was the best decision I ever made for my business. I now have more time for my family and the things that are most important to me. I have discovered that taking care of what's most important first makes me better when I am servicing my clients."
mark the coach
Posted by Mark Paskell on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 @ 01:02 PM
How many times have you or your team gone to the job and you find out you are missing something necessary to do the work?
Without checklists you or your team are guaranteed to forget something. The big question is what will it cost you?
Potential losses from not having a checklist
1. Money
2. Employee hours lost going back to get what's missing.
3. Men standing around doing nothing.
4. Sub shows up and can't do the work, has to re-schedule one week later causing a domino effect for all the subsequent trades.
5. Embarrassment for your men, morale takes a hit.
6. Embarrassment because the homeowner now knows you don't have you stuff together.
7. Next progress payment you need is delayed and you can't make promised payments.
8. Building inspector due to come to inspect but you have to cancel because you won't be ready.
9. Employees are ticked off because this may impact their ability to complete the job within the budget. Loss of bonus.
10. Loss of referrals from homeowner who was ready to refer you to their next door neighbor.
Surely, if you have been in the business long enough you could add to the list. In our contracting coaching sessions we go over the philosophy of having the right system and then develop checklists to insure that the system is implemented. Without checklists we are left depending on our memory to remember. Contractors and entrepreneurs are too busy juggling numerous balls in the air to remember everything that must be done on a project.
You worked hard to sell the job at a number that will cover materials, labor, overhead and profit. Insure that you realize your hard earned profit and develop the habit of using checklists to jog your memory.
mark the coach
Posted by Mark Paskell on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 @ 05:30 PM
Now that the recession is a year old, most business owners realize that former methods of doing business are producing poor results in this economy. The old ways of marketing, selling and running a business are giving way to new processes that require learning new business concepts. The new business training for today's contractors can help bridge the gap from old to new provided it includes implementation of the training into the business. In Webster's the definition of implementation is: "provide the power and authority necessary to accomplish or put into effect". Education and training without implementation is a complete waste of time and money. Failure to implement will lead to the same poor results. We all remember the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result".
Implementation through coaching
Coaching for contractors, from a coach who is experienced in the industry, that is delivered with the "hands on approach" insures that the investment in education is not squandered. This type of coaching usually includes on site assessments of all personnel and existing systems. Then the new processes are strategically put in place by modifying old processes and replacing those that no longer work. The new concepts need to be installed gradually so that they take root and don't overwhelm the company personnel. The desired outcome should yield processes that are owned and accepted by the entire team. To insure success the owner should instill accountability measures for him or herself as well as all employees. Frequent reinforcement of the training needs to accompany the implementation.
In the contracting industry, this is presenting unique challenges for the residential contractor. Many residential contractors come from the school of hard knocks with minimal business education. The younger contractors age 30-45 have a unique advantage over the 46-60 crowd with more relevant education in business and technology. Where as the many older contractors have a unique advantage in craftsmanship and street smarts.
The challenge the industry is facing is providing education to two diverse groups. The older group tends to show more stubbornness and reluctance to trust new ideas where the younger contractor is more open to the change that new business concepts presents.
In either case, the need for implemented education and training for both groups of residential contractors is essential to operate a successful contracting business and earn business from today's Next Level Consumer.
Recently we have talked to contractors who invested in education and training and they have not implemented that training into their business. They swear that they thought the education was all that was needed and that the implementation would miraculously occur. Unfortunately, osmosis, baptism by fire or assuming your employees will do it doesn't work.
Before you invest in education and training make sure that you also account and plan for the implementation into your business. Will you, the owner do it, or should you plan to bring in a contractor coach to protect your investment and hold you accountable for the results you desire?
mark the coach
helping today's contractor excel in a new economy