Once reserved for teens and techies, podcasts are becoming a hot marketing trend for some remodelers. Riggs Construction and Design, in St. Louis, launched a series of podcasts last year hoping to reach young homeowners. More
According to experts, how much to spend on advertising can range from 2% to 16% of gross revenue depending on where you put your dollars ó print, yard signs, Internet, TV. Knowing where to advertise means knowing which market to target, what differentiates your company from another, and what type of work you do best. Figuring all that out, of course, costs money. More
How do you control costs in a down market, or when job costs run over budget? What's the hardest part about growing your company? How do you motivate production staff? What's your opinion of cost-plus pricing? In a "town hall meeting" for remodelers, the owners of three successful but very different remodeling companies answered these and other questions from a capacity crowd of hundreds of attendees of the 2007 Remodeling Show in Las Vegas. More
What can we learn about accountability in business from The Apprentice, Donald Trump's televised search for his next executive? In Trump's version, you're on a team where you avoid taking responsibility and sometimes even undermine team performance to protect yourself. To survive, you may have to throw teammates under the bus. Most importantly, a small mistake will get you called on the carpet for public humiliation, and probably will get you fired. More
The annual Big50 gala dinner at the Remodeling Leadership Conference is always a special event. This year's was even more special, however, as it marked the introduction of a new honor in the industry: The Fred Case Remodeling Entrepreneur of the Year Award. More
Iris Harrell was starting to see a common thread in the referrals she was gettingfor her business. Customers were coming to her after positive recommendationsfor her company, Harrell Remodeling in Mountain View, Calif., appearedon Angie's List (www.angieslist.com), an Internet-based business referralservice where clients grade companies based on performance. More
Just after Sept. 11, when everyone everywhere seemed to be nervous, one of Iris Harrell's soon-to-be clients was followed by a stranger and it scared her. When Harrell Remodeling, Mountain View, Calif., was about to begin the remodel, the client wanted to know how she would be able to identify the nearly 100 tradespeople and Harrell Remodeling staff who would be coming and going from her house. More
Many company owners are becoming increasingly aware that creating an atmosphere in which women thrive helps everyone in the company. More
One-third of the biggest Standard & Poor's companies are family businesses, and on four economic indicators they outperform the other two-thirds. This is according to studies by Temple and American Universities, detailed in a November 2003 BusinessWeek article, that say one of the biggest strategic advantages a company has is bloodlines. More
Designer Iris Harrell created a light bridge for the shelf with two sets of lights: uplights, to show off the homeowners' collection of glass and ceramics, and downlights, to illuminate the island's work surface. The wood soffit looks deceptively simple, Harrell says, but it was difficult to hide the fittings and screws. More
