Richard Steven, president of Fulcra Consulting, specializes in helping
remodeling companies create and implement effective management plans.
Management, metrics, financials
The first big development step for many remodeling company owners is a transition from tradesperson to businessperson. They begin, as author Michael Gerber says, to work on their business not simply in it.
A signed contract sits on a remodeling company ownerís desk. Several jobs come in at once and there arenít enough carpenters. Sales promises a client a start date that canít be met. Materials havenít arrived. Any of these events can create a bottleneck, restricting the workflow or decision-making process.
A full-service remodeling firm with annual sales of $3 million likely has a sales and office staff of six, including the production manager. Six people working 40 hours per week for 49 weeks per year (allowing 3 weeks for vacation/holidays) is a total of 11,760 hours.
Just as you rely on your car's gas gauge to alert you to the need to refuel before your tank is empty, the value of business metrics is their ability to expose potential problems before they become crises.