If you are not meeting your business goals and aspirations, there are several types of opportunities that might fit:
1. Educational: Keep your business independent but join a community to share best practices, learn from industry leaders and to feel part of something bigger. Check out www.CaseInstituteofRemodeling.com

2. New Business Engine: Add a new arm to your business to improve short/mid term cash flow, effectively add new clients and to enhance the stability of your business. There are a number of options like gutter licenses, sunrooms, etc. Case’s new “Handyman Express” licensed product gives you the tools to add Handyman services under your current business name/brand at a low level of investment.

3. Franchising: Franchising is more akin to getting married than the options outlined above. This approach is good if you are ready, willing and able to make a larger investment of time and money to embrace the systems of the franchise. If you think you’re ready for franchising, plan on spending a good deal of time researching your options. I’d recommend giving franchisors a “test drive” first by experiencing their educational or licensing products.

The good news is that’s exactly what our clients are doing when they remodel their homes. But have you translated this trend within your own team? We can come up with lists and lists of great ideas on “what” we should be doing, “what” the future might hold and “what” we did in the past. But the real test comes when someone starts asking “how.” How will we get input from our team, how will our team implement these ideas, how will our clients react to these ideas, how will we monitor the implementation?

Think back to wonderful ideas, systems and processes you have had over the years that were not implemented by your team. I’ll bet the lack of implementation was rooted more in the “how” than in the “what.” Employees want to have a say. Then they want to understand the path that was chosen and why (even if it doesn’t agree with their input). This puts some extra pressure on all of us to work through a process rather than demanding something from “on high.” But think about it – Employees that don’t want these two things, a say and feedback, shouldn’t be on your team.

The plant is hearty to live (at least partially) through the cold stretch…but it also has heart. Not that different than the balance we all strive for in the current environment. We need to be hearty to live through the “cold stretch” but we also need to have heart. We need to remember each and every second that we are dealing with people’s lives – the lives of our employees, the lives of our clients, the lives of our subcontractors. The good news is that we aren’t truly in the line of fire such as those in our armed forces, firemen, policemen and other heroic endeavors. But we need to find the right balance of being “hearty” while also having “heart.”

On second thought, maybe the two are one in the same?

It is a tough time to be in the home remodeling business. Average job size is down, financing is harder to get, and the phone just isn’t ringing like it used to. I have been talking with other remodelers about the situation and they are really starting to worry. Everybody is looking for the magic bullet- the secret to creating more opportunities. The problem is that they are approaching the situation like it was still 2006. Unfortunately, the world has changed; the strategies and tactics that used to work just aren’t cutting it anymore. Direct mail, ads in local magazines and other general marketing efforts just don’t work. All the easy stuff is done.

So what do we do? I think there are two choices- stick with the old ideas and sit by the phone or change the strategy. If general marketing efforts are failing, it’s time to get personal. Host a Project Celebration party at a completed project. Where else are you going to get the opportunity to meet a large group of people who are marveling at the quality of your work? Mine your past clients, they have trusted you before and they can play an important role in your future- if you keep the relationship alive. Reward them with a gift of your services or product, especially if they refer someone. If you have done a great job for them they will be happy to promote your company. Find the right tools/ strategies to keep them as advocates long after the project is finished.

At first glance, these are pretty simple concepts. But dig a little deeper and it’s a huge cultural shift (at least for us!). The shift is to move away from general marketing efforts being responsible for creating opportunities and move toward salespeople creating their own leads. The salesperson cultivated the relationship with the client. Who better to maintain it and have it grow to include their coworkers, family and friends? If this more personal approach is going to get us through this storm, the salesperson needs to be at its center.

This transfers quite a large responsibility to the salesperson- are they up for the challenge or will they be left behind in this new world? There’s more to the story too- the days of ordering taking have ended. Salespeople need to sharpen their skills in this new environment. But that’s a topic for another day….

What are you doing to create business for your company?

When there is scarcity it is imperative that limited resources go to the core – the heart and soul of your business. Why did you start the business? What are your personal goals today and in five years? How do those goals tie into the direction of your company? Answers may include key people within your team, key clients, your family and/or key initiatives.

Seeing the forest through the bark, the leaves and the roots is refreshing and inspiring. Not to mention it keeps you and your company moving in a unified and effective direction.

As you see your production lead times shorten with winter, the holidays and the market; keep this critical blend in check. Do more work with in-house labor to keep your A-level carpenters busy and productive. But don’t swing too far that way or you will be putting at risk your entire team.

This market is going to take some time to rebound – too long to have this blend and other key metrics of your business not be balanced.

In early September, I had the opportunity to speak at the 2008 Remodeling Show about a number of subjects – but one that seemed to spark the most interest related to cash flow. In home remodeling, we typically get paid and then do our work/provide our service – this is relatively unique in the business world. Most businesses don’t get paid until AFTER they have provided the product or service (think buying a pair of shoes, getting your taxes done, etc.). I believe this is the single greatest reason remodeling ranks near the top (if not at the top) of consumer complaint lists:

• Consumers lack trust because they pay and then “hope” the project will be finished.
• It makes the business very easy entry – yet that is deceiving because it takes capital to sustain the business
• If the cash flow is not effectively tracked, it is easy for remodelers to think they have more cash than they actually do – which can spell disaster if the money is spent before all the bills arrive.

How do you effectively manage your cash inflow and outflows?