Still, the employees were “so overwhelmed, they couldn’t do it all,” he says. So some things began to fall off the radar. That included, unfortunately, job schedules and margins. When Hinkson returned five weeks after the kidney transplant, he faced a handful of upset homeowners. But a few weeks of damage control got the company back on track.
Looking back, Hinkson says there are some things he would do differently, including letting his customers on the bigger jobs know about the transplant. “I was a little nervous that they would say ‘we don’t want to take a chance,'” he admits. But being upfront with your clients will ensure that you “have them on board so it doesn’t feel like they are being hoodwinked,” Hinkson says.
Another strategy he wishes he’d used was to ask his mother, who helped start the company, to return during his hiatus. With mom at the helm, the “owner” role would have been filled.
Although everything didn’t go exactly according to plan, Hinkson is pleased with his employees’ effort. “They really gave their heart and soul. They tried to do their very best for the company,” he says. “We were able to recharge up, and we’re meeting or beating our gross margin target, and we’ve smoothed the jobs out.”
Like Hinkson, Conner had a plan for his business. He knew other contractors whose companies had gone under during a divorce, so he procured a good line of credit and had systems in place to ensure his company’s continued growth. He also had faith. “Trust that if you just keep at it, it will work out,” he says — even if that means letting go of your business.
Paul Floramo made this painful decision when his wife Cindy was diagnosed with cancer in 1993. Floramo had started his business during the early ’70s. After years of struggling, he and Cindy had built a successful company and expanded their showroom in 1993 .
But shortly after moving into the renovated facility, Cindy was diagnosed with cancer. The couple was able to hang on to the company until 1997. But running a business while caring for Cindy — who had been an integral part of the company — and the couple’s two elementary school-age children became overwhelming for Paul. He closed the showroom and went to work for a fellow remodeler.
Although a difficult decision, Floramo says it was the right one. “I was able to spend more time with my wife and take care of my family,” he says. “It allowed me to focus more on sales and design for another company than on the day-to-day running of a business.”
Once freed from the obligations of keeping a business running, Floramo found that he enjoyed his work as a kitchen and bath designer.”I crawled into my work when I could,” he says. “The work became a distraction from the illness, from the day-to-day issues at home.”
Two years after Cindy lost her battle with cancer in 2000, Floramo began anew. “Starting over was difficult,” he admits. But he found a business partner who was skillful in roofing and siding. In November 2006, Floramo and his second wife, Colleen, relocated to Central Florida and opened a showroom under the name Kitchen & Bath Studios of Ocala. A second showroom was under construction as of late 2007.
FINDING A BALANCE
For too many remodelers, little time is invested in pursuits outside the office. “It’s very hard to be a small-business owner,” Floramo points out. “You are 100% hands-on. You write the checks, worry about the sales, do the scheduling. The business becomes you.”
Scheduling time away is “how you get away from the distractions of the business,”Floramo says. “You have to spend time with the family. You cannot work 13-hour days and expect to enjoy your children’s childhood. You have to make time.”
After his wife’s death, Floramo realized that he had put so much of himself into his business that there was little room for family life. “If I could do it all over again, I would probably do it a lot differently,” says Floramo, who used to work 12 to 13 hours a day, six or seven days a week.
When Floramo started another company, he made significant changes in his work habits. He now works “regular business hours,” takes vacations, and enjoys life. “When you realize that life is very short, and you think about the things you’ve missed, you have significant regrets,” he says.
Now, Floramo says he leaves the business behind when he walks out the office door. Last year, he and Colleen enjoyed a two-week trip in the Mediterranean. “A few years ago, I would have never done that,” he says. “You learn you have to be able to have a life.”
Balancing a remodeling company and family life is an everyday challenge for Ruth and Jonathan Kantar, owners of Sage Builders, in Newton, Mass. When the Kantars’ son was born in 1995, he suffered from multiple birth defects, requiring numerous surgeries over the past decade.
Creating an office suite in their home has made a huge difference for both their company and the family. “That has really been key for us and has enabled us to keep the business going and still be available to our son,” Ruth says.