The Abundance Mentality
While every good remodeler is a good teacher, most hoard details about costs and profits out of fear that an employee will become a competitor or a competitor will unseat him. This is antiquated thinking, says Clay Nelson, a business coach. “There’s no better feeling than bidding against people you trained at one point or another,” he says. It’s self-defeating to refuse to teach anybody who is or could become your competitor. Why? “Because they’ll keep your edge sharp.”
Case agrees. “Nobody is so smart and so good that you can’t pick up something from another remodeler. Am I going to give something that’s a huge competitive advantage?” she asks hypothetically. “No. But if someone asks how you get a P&L statement or your job costs in order, I’m so far beyond that that it’s like a chef telling a newbie how to boil an egg. I’m really not giving away anything that’s going to sink the boat.”
The fact is, says Case, “competition has very little impact” on remodelers. Echoing Strite, Nelson states emphatically that “our job as successful remodelers is to create the space for more successful remodelers to show up. I don’t care where you are, but they need more remodelers.” Nationwide, remodeling expenditures totaled more than $233 billion in 2003, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Most signs point to continued growth, including rising homeownership rates, aging housing inventories, and rapidly growing home values and owner equity.
“The market is pretty well unlimited if we can get rid of the negativism of the remodeling experience,” says Strite. “I’m coming from an abundance mentality rather than a scarcity mentality. Even if another remodeler has the same information I do, it won’t be presented in the same manner. I can give them my whole pricing structure, my markups, my agreements, and still we won’t be the same because they’re not collecting the same direct costs as I am, nor are they looking at the project the same way I am.”
What if the other guy wins the project over Strite Design + Remodel? “Good for them,” says Strite. “It means either that wasn’t a good client for us or I need to improve. If I can raise their bar, it’s going to raise my bar.”
Finding a Mentor How big a difference can a mentor make? “It’s huge,” says Linda Case. “The amount of time and money a mentor can save you is amazing. Conceivably, you can find that tip in a book, but there’s nothing like finding another person who’s been in the trenches like you.” Tips for finding that person:
- Make the call. If you admire a more experienced remodeler, don’t let pride keep you from inviting him or her to meet you for coffee. Chances are he’ll welcome your interest and may even pass on leads for smaller jobs. Also consider suppliers and other associates. Chan Cornett credits a roofing supplier with telling him about Certainteed’s Contractor Program.
- Join a nearby industry group, such as your local chapter of NARI (www.nari.org) or NAHB’s Remodelors Council (www.nahb.org). Getting involved with NARI “was one of the best things that happened to me,” says Eric Hoff, echoing a popular refrain. Then be active. “If you don’t go to the meetings and get acquainted with people, you’re missing the big part,” cautions Don Van Cura.
- Hire an expert. Remodelers Advantage and Business Networks are two of the best-known consulting firms that offer paid coaching services and peer review groups.
- Form an informal breakfast club. Or a dinner group. Or a lunch bunch. Numerous remodelers’ groups meet periodically at local restaurants to discuss topical matters or tap into the collective knowledge.
- Shadow a more experienced coworker. “My dad told me, ‘if you want to do well in this business, watch the guy ahead of you,’” says Kelly Vogan.
Making It Work Don’t be intimidated by the idea of mentoring, says Dr. Linda Phillips-Jones, principal consultant of The Mentoring Group, which helps large employers set up programs. “The stereotype is that you have to be a mother figure or father figure who has to take a person under your wing for a long time.”
In fact, she explains, relationships should last no more than a year, so that both parties remain fresh and mentors can move onto other mentees. (Some remodelers disagree, feeling it takes time to build trust and go beyond scratching the surface of an issue.) Phillips-Jones adds that mentoring should demand as little as two hours of the mentor’s time each month, but that the mentee should do some extra work — perhaps read a book, take a class, or interview other people in pursuit of a single goal at a time.