Growing a company isn’t easy. It requires thinking big, developing innovative strategies, and taking risks. There is no magic bullet for success and remodelers must be willing to mix several strategies to achieve growth aims. For Todd Jackson of Jackson Design & Remodeling, maintaining his company’s marketing budget during the recession, developing a unique company software, and becoming a director supplier of products have helped him quadruple his company’s revenue.
In addition to adopting innovative strategies, focusing on company culture helped attract the right employees to help his company grow, Jackson, the CEO and president of the San Diego-based company said on a recent episode of the PowerTips Unscripted Podcast, The Remodeler's Guide to Business hosted by Remodelers Advantage. The strategic changes made by Jackson helped boost his company’s revenue to $23.5 million from $6.7 million in the last decade.
One element that contributed to the large growth for Jackson Design & Remodeling was the continued budgeting for marketing by the company during the recession. Jackson said that companies which cut their marketing budget in financial bad times typically grow 17% to 20% after recessions, while companies which maintain their marketing budget during slowdowns grow by as much as 150%. Jackson said his company was able to absorb losses during 2007-2009 and reaped the rewards of the maintained marketing budget by 2010. Jackson caveats that there must be financial capital in place to absorb the losses of continued marketing during recessions. His company lost as much as $250,000 per year during the early years of the recession.
In addition to maintaining a marketing budget during the recession, Jackson said his company employed a software programmer to help develop unique software for his business. The software encompasses the architectural, design, sales, and remodeling departments of the company, Jackson said, and promotes transparency. Jackson said the online software is an improvement on paper processes and procedures as it breed greater accountability across all departments. Jackson said the organization afforded by the unique software allowed his company to take on a larger volume of work, which aided overall revenue growth.
The development of Jackson Design & Remodeling's product supply inventory also allowed the company to grow at an accelerated rate, Jackson said. Rather than purchase slab materials for fabricators or hardwood floors for installers, Jackson said his company has developed their own inventory which they mark up and sell directly to clients on remodeling jobs. Cutting out indirect purchases with a wholesale system enabled greater profit and promoted a greater efficiency in project turnaround, Jackson said.
The organization of employees and company culture has also cultivated success for his company, Jackson said. The design department for his company can turn around projects in weeks rather than months because of the integration of the salespeople, interior designers, architects, and engineers in the design process. The greater inter-department communication has afforded not only quicker turnaround times but has allowed Jackson Design & Remodeling to take on a larger workload, Jackson said.
Jackson also said the culture of his company has promoted growth. Jackson said taking time to be more selective in the recruitment process has allowed his company to hire the right people to promote growth. Jackson said any employee can be trained with the skills to operate in a well-defined system, but that if an employee is not a fit culturally for a company, it can throw off the synergy of an entire firm. Jackson acknowledges focusing on company-culture in the recruiting process is difficult with the current labor shortage, but said there is a big payoff for making a hire based on culture.
