It took awhile, but New Outlooks Construction Group no longer bids on jobs; every project the company does is design/build. To that end, Vogel has dedicated a substantial amount of manpower, time, and materials to creating a retail showroom, which generated $50,000 in net profit in 2005. Vogel believes that a showroom will be important in every remodeler's future. “Our relationship with home centers is going to change,” he says. “They're not able to hire and train people who have the expertise to help homeowners select good things for their homes and install them.”
Vogel put himself through school as a cabinet-maker, then taught at The College of New Jersey in Ewing Township. His teaching skills come in handy as he is very active in many industry and community associations. “I believe in promoting the industry,” he says. Vogel works hard educating his employees as well as other remodelers. He collaborated on developing a multilevel flowchart and spreadsheet to help fellow remodelers in a peer group systematize from first call to punch-out, and hold employees accountable.