Setting an organized structure to your remodeling business will greatly reduce unexpected disruptions in your daily business operation. When unexpected disruptions do occur, you have to first ask yourself if there is a system in place that can handle this. If not, then you need to go back to your work process and improve upon it.
The first step toward improving your work process is to become a better communicator with your workers and your clients. If you do not communicate well, there will be errors and omissions in the work you do. Speak to any construction lawyer and they will tell you that the number one reason their client (the contractor) is in legal trouble is that they failed to communicate effectively with their client, verbally and in the written contract. You need to let your clients know what you plan to do and when you plan to do it throughout the project. Otherwise, the trust they are placing in you can drop to abysmal levels.
Effective communication in your business, with your workers and your clients, is also not purely relegated to the spoken word. Utilizing digital project management software such as Basecamp 3 and Teamwork Project Manager enhances the flow of digital communication between workers, clients, and you. Keep in mind that some clients may not be into technology, so you may have to resort to leaving them written work progress memos.
Text messages are also a good way to communicate with clients and workers as most people have cell phones these days, and tend to read texts on their phone more frequently than emails. Texts are a tactful way to communicate as they will not interrupt a person’s day (as calling them directly will) and will still get the message across. Effective communication happens when you utilize the right set of communication tools which rest in their—and your—technical comfort zone.
Take it to the Bank
When running a business, it really helps to have cash on hand to deal with unexpected financial hurdles. You may ask: How does one get the money to handle unexpected financial issues? The answer rests in following sound accounting procedures that will help monitor your business’s cash flow better. If you chart the financial progress of your business each day in QuickBooks accounting software, you will be better prepared for any unexpected financial hiccup that comes along.
I highly recommended that you never do work for a client with your own money. Make sure the client is on time with their payments. This practice will go a long way toward keeping a consistent cash flow in your business and keeping you out of debt. The simple rule to follow to improve cash flow throughout a project is to first obtain a significant amount of money in the down payment from the client.
Next, agree with the client to have scheduled weekly payments that you will collect. Do not depend upon a large final completion payment from the client to be debt free and profitable in your remodeling business. If you schedule your payments to be weekly, then you will be OK if the work has to be stopped for whatever reason.
Keep Your Marketing Moving
Finally, you want to keep your sales funnel full at all times. When you reach a peak period in your business and have lots of work to do, it can be tempting to reduce your marketing plans. But do not make this mistake! Just as there are busy periods in a business there also are slow periods. Always stay proactive in your marketing.
Marketing is a month to month, ongoing process that all businesses must engage in to stay competitive and viable. In some struggling businesses, marketing is the first cost to be cut—but this will only exacerbate the loss of income. If marketing is not your strong suit have it delegated to a reputable company or marketing consultant. Often you get what you pay for when it comes to marketing so it is best not to be cheap with those you hire.
The best return on investment will be in a solid digital marketing plan. At no time in history has there been such an opportunity to both make and save money as digital marketing presents. With a properly configured Google AdWords and Bing Ads paid search account, which targets client-specific shopper/buyer keywords, you can reach an active target audience and obtain new customers who are seeking out home remodeling services.
Advertising with older mediums presents a greater deal of risk. For instance, a half-page ad in the Chicago Tribune costs $15,000 and a full page ad costs $35,000. Such a print ad will only be shown once in a buried part of the newspaper for one publication day. And other mediums such as television and radio are even more expensive! Digital marketing must be where you place the core of your marketing budget.
With the average cost per click of a keyword such as ‘Chicago kitchen remodeling’ priced at about $10 a click, you can have 1,500 potential customers for the price of $15,000. And the best part is that you have control of when and where your ads are shown. No remodeling company that I know of can handle 1,500 leads in one month, so such an amount of clicks from potential customers can be spread over years of monthly online advertising.
