Fannin says that he has found his trades to be great business consultants. “They work for other general contractors,” he says, so they are exposed to a variety of methods for handling things like change orders or site preparation. “We’ve had great feedback [from trades] about how we can be more profitable.”
But most trades aren’t going to volunteer those opinions without being prompted. Fannin is sure he’s not the only remodeler to ask for that feedback, but the practice is “not so typical that they are expecting [remodelers] to welcome suggestions and criticisms with open arms.” Asking your trades or anyone else what they’d do differently in your shoes isn’t going to hurt anything, and it could be a big boost.
Other benefits you’ll see directly on your bottom line. Costolloe says he’ll take a reduction in his anticipated profit for the right contractor, “out of loyalty.” That might mean eating a change order, or working overtime without billing the remodeler for it.
On rare occasions, Costolloe has even put his crews on a night schedule to keep a job on track while avoiding conflicts with other trades. “Good remodelers are a source of constant business for us,” he says. “We are prepared to bend over backward to accommodate them.”