Edward Lane, Lane Homes & Remodeling, Richmond, Va. It’s hard to overstate the positive impact Edward Lane, 31, has had on the remodeling company owned by his father, Ed.
When Edward, just out of college, joined Lane Homes & Remodeling nine years ago, the company did a volume of $800,000. This year, the company will do $6 million.
Edward, who would never allow himself to be called Eddie, began learning about the business as a youngster, handing tools to his dad on jobsites. As a teenager, one carpenter or another would pick him up and take him to work, where he did grunt work such as digging footings.
“It kept me out of trouble in the summer,” he says, noting that once he was able to drive, one of his favorite jobs was making dump runs.
In college, Edward studied business and thought about things he learned tagging along with his dad to peer network meetings. His first goal when he joined the company: Write a mission statement — which he did with his dad’s full support.
The company’s mission statement is: “Every job done right the first time, on time, every time, and to have every customer feel like they’re our only customer.”
To help that mission become reality, the younger Lane has incited these changes:
- Networking all company computers. Admittedly, this wasn’t much of an issue when Edward joined the company because all the office staff were in one room where everybody knew what was going on. Now, however, volume is so high that networking is critical.
- Keeping the company software up to speed: ACT for client tracking, HomeTech for estimating, Chief Architect for design, and the slate of Microsoft programs. “I pretty much take care of the computers,” he says.
- Investigating new products and systems for the company, and researching areas of future growth.
- Introducing 3-D virtual walk-throughs to help clients conceptualize their projects and have the ability to tweak them before the job starts.
Helping develop marketing programs such as sponsoring Little League teams, putting out a newsletter, and stocking carts in golf tournaments with Lane Homes–labeled water bottles. Although Edward and Ed do not have a succession plan in place (that is their assignment for their next peer-group meeting), they know that getting Ed out of sales will be critical for any retirement plan.
Edward is now training a salesperson to replace his dad; and when she is up to speed he will bring in another salesperson to replace himself so that he can run the company full time.
The two Lanes are so compatible and easygoing that it appears that the elder Lane is hesitant to leave the company anytime soon.
“Edward joining me in the business has been one of life’s most wonderful, rewarding, and successful experiences,” Ed Lane says.
“He’s not in any fired-up hurry to retire,” Edward Lane says, “and I’m not in any fired-up hurry for him to retire, either.” —Kathy Price-Robinson has been writing about remodeling since 1989. She can be reached at www.kathyprice.com.