Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Thomas Croessman joins the show to discuss the need for small business owners to plan for their company’s transition in their estate plan. While your business might be humming along now, how will it perform if you’re not around? Unfortunately, most small businesses only survive the first generation because of estate planning and communication failures. Thomas explains Wills, Powers of Attorney, and Trusts, when those documents become effective. He also gives some practical tips to help the transition go smoothly.
Thomas Croessmann is the Managing Partner of Croessmann & Westberg, P.C., a construction law firm in the DC area. The firm is a full-service law firm for construction contractors.
Do you know you can increase the effectiveness of your digital marketing with handwritten notes? Jesse Stein joins the show to take us on a deep dive into the world of digital marketing. He discusses how using handwritten notes can help remodelers grow their business, and provides us help with improving our digital marketing.
Jesse has an impressive background as a serial entrepreneur. He’s founded, grown, and sold multiple ventures throughout his career, including SportsMemorabilia.com, a skincare brand, and DietSpotlight.com. Jesse also holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA from UC Santa Barbra. He is currently the CEO and Founder of Audience.co.
Are you worried about your business being the next victim of a cyberattack? Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Charles Hammett joins the show to give some advice on how to protect your business from cyberattacks. Charles breaks down some of the types of cyberattacks and how remodelers could be affected. He also talks about some of the benefits of having cybersecurity and the protection it brings to your business.
For over 25 years, Charles Hammett has managed IT and cyber security initiatives for several businesses throughout the US. He has worked closely at the federal level, building secure data centers and at the public level protecting businesses of all types.
Victoria, Mark, and Charles talk more about:
Are small businesses at risk?
How does this impact the remodeling industry?
How can you protect your business from cyberattacks?
In this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Iris Harrell discusses the importance of having women in key positions within remodeling companies. They make up half of the US workforce, so there is a sizeable recruitment pool, and they also relate on a deeper level with female customers, who often drive decision-making. Women are multi-taskers, organizers, collaborators, and task-oriented, making them assets to any organization.
Iris founded Harrell Design Build, a large, female-led, employee-owned, full-line remodeling company. Harrell has consistently committed to high-quality design and craftsmanship and conscientious customer care since their inception in 1985. They also employ only people who share these ideals, including their reliable, rigorously selected subcontractors, and they are very proud of their commitment to women and diversity in the workplace.
Iris, Victoria, and Mark discuss:
Women in key positions in your company are a competitive advantage
The Kaizen practice focuses on improving existing, standardized processes by eliminating waste and was first practiced in Japanese businesses after World War II. Kaizen translates to “Change for Good,” and that can mean many great things for your growing remodeling company. The process of constant improvement, with every team member participating, allows your company to constantly raise the bar on its target metrics.
In this episode, Victoria and Mark learn more about the Kaizen practice of process improvement by welcoming Michael Sauri, CEO of TriVista USA, to the show.
Michael and his wife Deborah started TriVistaUSA in 2005 with the goal of providing an outlet for creativity and a Ritz Carlton-level client experience. “Our Thoughtful Design Builds Fine Living,” is their mission statement and their mantra as they bring phenomenal, award-winning design to the Design/Build community in the Washington DC area.
Victoria, Mark and Michael talk more about:
The background of Kaizen and how TriVista got involved
Hiring and developing a team within the Kaizen structure
The differences between Kaizen and other process improvement practices
Do you remove your shoes when you visit a customer’s home? How do I control others’ first impressions of me? Is it ever appropriate to begin eating before everyone is served? Find the answers to these questions and more when Daniel Post Senning joins the show.
Daniel is the great-great-grandson of Emily Post and discusses the importance of etiquette and how you can use it while interacting with affluent clients who expect a certain standard of conduct. He explains that etiquette is really a combination of manners (language), plus principles (consideration, respect, and honesty), and how they guide behavior and how that behavior impacts others.
Daniel Post Senning is from the Emily Post Institute, which is a fifth-generation family business that promotes etiquette tips and techniques based on consideration, respect, and honesty. Daniel is also an author and co-host of the Awesome Etiquette podcast.
In this informative and fun podcast, Victoria, Mark, and Daniel talk more about:
Table etiquette for any setting
Business advice that can help you control customer impressions
SCRUM is a workflow management technique that accelerates projects, and while it is mostly used by software development teams, its principles and lessons can be applied to all kinds of industries.
Guest Dean Tompkins is here to explain how SCRUM is useful in his remodeling business, and how it can benefit you as well.
Dean Tompkins is the owner and Vice President of Payne and Payne Renovations and Design, a firm that specializes in renovation and design projects in the Greater Cleveland area. Dean was also named president of The Greater Cleveland Home Builders Association in 2019 and is dedicated to providing a full scope of services to his clients.
In this episode, we take a closer look at the sales process. We are always looking for fresh ideas and concepts that apply specifically to remodelers and those in the building community.
Our guest Jen Neige is adamant that you should be selling to design, NOT designing to sell, and she shares how you can improve your closing ratio, gain more control of the sales cycle and earn a design fee within two hours.
Jan Neiges is a National Kitchen and Bath certified Kitchen Designer and on the nine-member board for NKBA. Jan brings her 20 years of experience as a kitchen and bath designer and her 40 years of sales experience to share the selling process that she has developed.
Victoria, Mark and Jan talk more about:
Background on how Jan began working on this process.
Why this process is so important for remodelers to consider.
What some of the issues are within the industry faces that drives the need for using this process.
Are you looking for innovative tax strategies to reduce you or your clients’ tax burden?
Or, simply sick of paying more than you need to in taxes? Then tune into this episode to hear vital information that you won’t want to miss! Guest Shauna Wekherlien, CPA provides proven, legal, effective, and easy strategies that any audience member can implement to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Shauna is the founder and business owner of Tax Goddess, a company ranked in the top 1% of all tax strategists in the USA. The team at Tax Goddess is committed to helping clients reduce their tax burden to the bare legal minimum with proven strategies that are guaranteed to save thousands off of tax bills each year.
Victoria, Mark, and Shauna talk more about:
The difference between a CPA and a Tax Strategist
The most commonly missed deductions
The types of business owners that can benefit from a Strategic Tax Coaching Program
As a distinguished author and CEO, David brings his knowledge of world-class sales, sales management tactics and actionable strategies into this episode.