For 18 years, Patrick Crowley (Big50 1994) has remodeled medical offices. Crowley Medical Office Interiors in Johnston, R.I., offers design, construction, and cabinetry, creating one-stop shopping for doctors and dentists. He now offers a franchise that taps this expertise. More
With an average project size of $143,000 and a clientele consisting exclusively of dentists and doctors, Patrick M. Crowley Inc. (Big50 1994) has some of the baseline characteristics of many upscale remodeling companies. But instead of residential kitchens and master suites, Crowley's projects involve reception areas, examining rooms, and laboratories. And instead of being executed during the standard workday, projects are usually carried out on nights and weekends, when clients -- and their patients -- are at home. More
Separating the wheat from the chaff within that customer plain is how remodelers reap profitability. Case, for example, relies on computer-aided analyses of its extensive project database to predict future customer buying patterns. Other remodelers take the more basic route of screening potential customers to determine everything from the limitations of their budgets to how easy they would be to work with. These interviews help remodelers avoid customers who might impede their companies' productivity objectives. More