People Power Ben Crawford, of Crawford Renovation, Houston, doesn’t come from the ranks of remodelers. He’s a sales and marketing guy with a finance degree — and, it seems, the relentless vision that characterizes successful entrepreneurs. (See “REMODELING Big50,” p. 85.) As the former managing director of a General Electric subsidiary, “We knew that if we applied the principles of Six Sigma to home remodeling, we could create a better delivery model,” says Crawford, who plans to take his business model national during the next year or two. The company managed to go from startup in 2002 to $2.5 million in 2003, and jump from $3.5 million in 2004 to $10.75 million last year. Although Crawford’s timing couldn’t have been better —launching at the height of Houston’s white-hot home-building market — he attributes the company’s fast growth to meticulous research and marketing, and to its ability to deliver on its crisp tagline: “Changing the Standard of Remodeling.”
Crawford’s quick-start strategy was to invest in a stellar management team made up of four vice presidents who oversee marketing, sales, operations, and production, plus five project and design managers. Three of them were former managers at D.R. Horton, America’s largest home builder. Early on, Crawford determined that the best point of market entry was real estate agents. “In a survey, we found that 9 out of 10 of them have clients who say they love the house but that it needs a new kitchen, and the agents don’t have a reliable remodeling source to help them close the deal with that buyer,” he says. So the company put together a sophisticated marketing program targeting the inner workings of Houston’s top three real estate firms, each selling more than $1 billion in residential real estate a year.
Currently Crawford Renovation runs about 22 jobs at a time, with an average construction cost of $400,000, up from $200,000 a year ago. The production team is charged with staying aligned to what its customers see as value: executing the job on time and on budget. Crawford says that if the project isn’t finished on schedule, clients can deduct $200 for each day it is late.
Predictable systems are the linchpin of sustainable growth, but they’re only as good as the people who invent them — and who are savvy enough to continually adjust them. That’s why Crawford puts his money on top-flight talent. “This initial growth in personnel costs was a risk in the beginning,” he says, “but to safely take risks means employing people on our team who are experts in increasing revenue, motivating talent, and developing new customers.” It’s a good point, and Case agrees. “The thing I find remodeling companies have the most trouble with is harvesting the next level of management,” she says. “To me, growth is about people: who you hire, how you coach people, and how you harness your team.”
As Gary Rochman’s company expands, he’s learning about himself as an entrepreneur. Now at $1 million in revenue, he’s been growing at a rate of roughly 25% a year — the most that Case recommends. His first two hires were an office manager and a lead carpenter. Now he is advertising for a project coordinator, and the next step is to add design help.
As Rochman evolves from being the daily go-to guy to being a dedicated rain-maker, he’s developing a core vision that Little says is crucial to an upward trajectory. The author writes: “Would-be business owners often mistake their love for a product or service as a sign of opportunity. However, most of the truly successfully growth leaders I know eventually find a greater passion in other facets of their business. You may start with a product or a service bent, but it normally takes a new-found passion to reach the next level — a passion for helping people realize their dreams, a passion for a fanatical base of devoted customers, or a passion for building something good, tangible, and lasting.”
—Cheryl Weber is a freelance writer in Lancaster, Pa.
