The show is a tool that I use for recharging. The industry can burn you out a little. Having dialogue with others from other parts of the country and discussing what they find works and what doesn’t — that’s what I look forward to. Not only do you learn from the instructors, you learn from the people who are doing the job every day.
Marion McGrath, vice president, Jonathan McGrath Construction, Longwood, Fla. I love that the Remodeling Show is really geared to remodelers — not builders or custom builders. We always bring something back that will help our business, a marketing idea or something in the field to make things go smoother, or a way to make more money. We meet new people and see people we know from other years at the show. It’s excellent for our company.
We picked up a tip from an estimating class that has saved us thousands of dollars. I also took a seminar with Steve Maltzman, CPA, and learned percentage of completion accounting, which has really helped us. The marketing classes at the show have been phenomenal. Seminars offer a lot of really good tips on things you never think about and give you ideas about what to look for. Little things like that make a big difference.
Michael Kaiser, owner, Kaiser Building Co., Cranbury, N.J. At the show I enjoy meeting remodelers from around the country and trying to expand my business. I encourage everyone in our company to go, and I use my upper-level people to guide the mid-level guys so that they get more out of the experience.
We’ve basically modeled ourselves after the more successful companies we’ve talked to at the show. We learned about the production manager role from other remodelers we met who have had success with it. Four years ago, we made the move from no production manager to one person who handles all the production in the office. Then, after consulting with other remodelers, we added an office manager position. These things have given us the opportunity to increase our volume — and they have freed my time to be the owner. Every year we bring something back from the show and try to implement it.
The best seminar session we went to was on developing a lead sheet: learning how to decide who you want to work for, how to qualify clients, and how to spend time with clientele who are best suited for us. It has made a big difference in our business, allowing us to spend our time developing clients who are willing to pay the markup and who appreciate our business — it has helped us keep our profit margin where we want it. We’re always looking for those kinds of solutions.
Bill Simone, president, Custom Design & Construction, Los Angeles I bring the production department, the design department, and the office manager to the Show. We use the pre-planning guide religiously to map out who’s going to which seminars that will enhance their knowledge, skills, and ability.
It’s sort of a company retreat for us. Everyone enjoys going. It’s a chance to gain industry knowledge and for the team to get together out of the office environment. We spend time together and learn from one another.
You gain as much industry insight from networking with other remodelers as you do from the seminars. That, in and of itself, is well worth the investment. And you typically come back with a boatload of ideas you want to implement. If you can implement one or two of those things, you’ll see real business benefits over the course of the next year.
Debra Moore, president, Custom Design/Build, Ann Arbor, Mich. The show is a good team-building thing to go to. It’s fun because you can have dinner with the team. It’s a benefit. Plus, employees get to see the level of professionalism in the industry. They get to talk to others like themselves, and they lose any sense of isolation.