PowerTips Unscripted Remodelers Advantage

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 company owners get into trouble by growing the wrong way. There are potential downsides, and to avoid them, you have to keep you basic best practices — and customer satisfaction and net profits lie at the center, says Judith Miller.

In this episode, Judith joins Victoria and Mark to talk about the ways to grow your company the right way.

Judith recently retired but before that she been a facilitator for Remodelers Advantage Roundtables for more than 15 years. She’s a QuickBooks expert, the author of The Remodeler’s Ultimate Guide to QuickBooks, and has been a columnist for Remodeling magazine for more than 10 years. Judith isn’t just a financial guru, she’s a high-level strategist who understands that numbers prove your strategy. 

When trying to grow, the biggest stumbling block is a lack of control, preparation, and not focusing on the best practices. Judith tells you what those best practices are, and how to grow the right way, while explaining the details, including:



* The critical need for leadership

* Why your financials have to be in order

* The Top 5 things you need to do to build a strong, profitable company

* The predictable stages of growth — and which is best to grow in

* How large you can get

* Why hiring a sales force is the riskiest transition

* How to build a company you can sell

* Why growing over 20% may be crazy

* And more…

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 review process in this episode.

Tim is a senior consultant here at Remodelers Advantage and known throughout the industry as the “Guru of Production.”

Tim is a well-known author and works with remodelers and production teams across the US and Canada. In addition to being the lead facilitator for the R/A Production Manager Roundtables Groups, he is also the Co-host of the popular podcast, The Tim Faller Show.

Victoria, Mark and Tim talk more about:



* The challenges of the “old system”

* The inspiration behind the reworking of the employee review process

* The parts that need reworking

* Objectives and goals of the rework

* Implementing the rework

* And more…

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 short years?

Guest Rob Krecak is on a mission to positively impact the lives of one billion people with his company, Humans First, which aims to show people how technology impacts their mental health, relationships, and productivity at work.

Victoria, Mark, and Rob talk more about:



* How technology impacts us in ways we are unaware of

* Technology’s role in our relationships

* Being more mindful of technology usage

* And more…

It’s not about the money, rather the feelings the money can bring.

In this episode, Jay Wheeler dives into the psychology of financial management and investing in order to provide listeners with the potential reasons behind the way they may manage money. 

Whether it’s business or personal finances, Jay describes how to better manage your behavior surrounding spending.

Jay is the President of Wheeler Financial and while he provides traditional financial planning and investment advice, he believes the best value that he provides his clients is helping manage their behavior when it comes to money.  He also believes that there is a lot that goes into the decisions we make around our finances and that many of those decisions are based on emotions.

Victoria, Mark and Jay talk more about:



* How behavioral finance differs from traditional financial management

* Using behavior and emotions as a guide for choosing investments

* How behavioral finance applies to investing

* And more…

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 Paul. They have vacillated over the years, from employing and training carpenters to using all subcontractors. Currently, AMEK operates a hybrid model of carpenters and subcontractors when the job dictates it.

Victoria, Mark and Andrew talk more about:



* Hiring the right people

* The training and development process

* Creating an engaged culture

* And more…

Welcome to another episode of PowerTips Unscripted. This week, we go into the vault for an informative episode. Victoria and Mark talk to guest Andrew Schroeder about using your remodeling experience to grow your business by profitably flipping houses, minimizing the risks and maximizing the benefits, and the challenges of acting as your own client.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional in the remodeling industry or just starting, this episode is for you! Victoria and Mark dig deep with Andrew to uncover all the tips and tricks for success in the lucrative world of house flipping.

 

Andrew joined the Schroeder Design/Build team in 1999 and became owner in 2011. In addition to running SDB, Andrew volunteers time with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI).

Victoria, Mark, and Andrew talk more about:



Where to invest your time and money to get your best returns

How to fill your production pipeline without getting new clients

Determining your profit margins in real estate

And more…