organizational development

Estate Planning 101 with Thomas Croessman – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

September 7, 2023 Legal 0:24:58

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.

Thomas, Victoria, and Mark talk more about:

  • What is an Estate Plan?
  • What is Power of Attorney, and when is it used?
  • And more…

Using the Financial Review to Pivot to Profitability with Michael Hodgin – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

August 24, 2023 Business Management, Financial Management 0:38:49

Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Mark and Victoria are joined by Michael Hodgin to discuss using the financial review to pivot to profitability. A complete understanding and review of your company’s financials is a practice that requires a disciplined effort. However, with this practice in place, an owner will be able to use the information from these reviews to pivot when and where necessary to be more profitable year over year.

Using his expertise as a former business owner and a business coach, Michael talks about how he examines a company’s financial statements, including what KPIs to review and whom to review the financials with.

Michael was an owner of a successful remodeling company for over 22 years. He has since left and is the owner of Maestro’s Toolbox, where he works with owners of design-build companies across the country to help them build better companies and, therefore, better lives.

In addition, Michael has been part of the roundtables as an owner, a facilitator for roundtables meetings, and part of the Remodelers Advantage Business Coaching team.

Victoria, Mark, and Michael talk more about:

  • When is it best to review financials
  • What should be getting reviewed
  • What is the next step after reviewing
  • And more…

Will Your Personnel Files Survive a Legal Trial with Jody McLeod – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

August 3, 2023 Legal 0:39:04

On this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Jody McLeod joins the show to answer legal questions, including whether companies are set up to withstand a legal challenge. Jody discusses the best way to ensure having a complete personnel file for each employee, including documentation of conversations and key facts,  so that you can support yourself and your company during a legal trial. Jody also advises business owners to help them avoid lawsuits through a complete onboarding process and proper training for all managers.

Jody, an attorney, and former Fortune 500 legal executive is the Founder and Principal of McLeod Legal Solutions (MLS). MLS partners with business owners to protect their business during HR and employee relations disputes with direct access to litigators, employment lawyers, and legal executives from Fortune 500 companies.  Jody specializes in employment law, litigation and litigation management, compliance, investigations, and training.

Jody, Mark, and Victoria talk  more about:

  • Complete personnel files 
  • Best practices to avoid legal trial 
  • Inappropriate or incomplete personnel files 
  • And more… 

Everyone Should Think Like an Entrepreneur with Sean Castrina – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

July 27, 2023 Entrepreneurship 0:23:44

Sean Castrina joins the program to discuss why everyone should think like an entrepreneur and the importance of developing a strategy for determining what business you want to start. He shares that when he lost his job, he found another one so he could take his time to figure out his next steps. 

Sean Castrina is the Founder of The Weekend MBA, host of The 10 Minute Entrepreneur Podcast (a top 10 entrepreneurship podcast), an author of 4 bestselling books, and a serial entrepreneur.

Sean, Victoria, and Mark discuss:

  • Critical components of building a successful business
  • The top reasons why most entrepreneurs fail
  • Why you must constantly look for new revenue streams 

Top 5 Remodeling Sales Secrets You Must Know with Jeff Borovitz – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

July 13, 2023 Business Management 0:30:10

Preparing a Successful Exit Strategy with Dave Leff – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

July 6, 2023 Business Management, Financial Management 0:35:49

Have you given any thought to your exit strategy? How are you going to leave your business when you’re ready to retire and enjoy your remaining years?

It is never too early to start, and you should really be planning for that day, no matter how many years you have left.

There are many options when it comes to planning a successful exit and our guest, Dave Leff, joins us to talk more about his process, one that he is closing on within the next few weeks.

Dave, President/CEO of Leff Construction – Design/Build, explored a number of different options over the past five years and ultimately determined that an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was the direction that provided the best outcome.

Victoria, Mark and Dave talk more about:

  • When Dave first started thinking about exiting his company.
  • The main things Dave did to prepare his exit strategy.
  • The main options Dave considered for your exiting and the pros and cons of each option.
  • The decision to go with the ESOP option.
  • How an ESOP works and the benefits and challenges.
  • And more…

How to Structure and Run a Profitable Design Department with Chris Landis – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

June 22, 2023 Design 0:27:50

Jobs are won or lost during the design process. With so much on the line, it’s clear that your design department should be running at peak performance. But there are so many ways the process can get derailed.

It all depends on how you structure your design department, and what metrics you use to hold them accountable.

In this episode, Chris Landis discusses about how to build and run an efficient design department with Victoria and Mark.

Chris is a partner (with his brother Ethan) in Landis Architects/Builders in Washington, DC, and is a longtime Roundtables member. He’s a registered architect in four states (MD, DC, VA, NY). Chris graduated from Vassar College, and earned his M.A. in architecture from Columbia Architecture School. Chris is a member of the American Institute of Architects, and has 28 years of experience in residential architecture. He is a current member of the DC Historic Preservation Review Board and past president of the DC Metro area chapter of NARI.

Chris has a design department of nine people after 30 years in the business. When the company got to the point of having three designers, Chris hired a manager for that department to ensure that the work was standardized and high quality. He talks about how to set up your own design department for success and create a quicker process, including:

  • The metrics to gauge success
  • The designer’s role in his company
  • Recruiting and hiring for the department
  • Working back from net profit
  • When to hire a design manager
  • His three-phase process
  • How he charges for them
  • Figuring out a healthy close ratio
  • Taking on a design-only project
  • Why to conduct a feasibility study — sometimes
  • Working with design sub-contractors
  • And more …

Design can be a profit center, not a loss-leader, and you have to know how much you should be charging for it — even if you don’t.

How NOT to Grow Your Remodeling Business with Judith Miller – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

June 1, 2023 Business Management 00:28:31

The Great Recession gobbled up a whole slew of remodeling companies, but more of them fail during an economic expansion than during a contraction. Growth is great, but it’s risky, and knowing how not to grow will put you ahead of the game.

In this hot market, there are so many opportunities, you can get ahead of yourself too quickly for the health of your company. And that’s where remodeling company owners get into trouble by growing the wrong way. There are potential downsides, and to avoid them, you have to keep you basic best practices — and customer satisfaction and net profits lie at the center, says Judith Miller.

In this episode, Judith joins Victoria and Mark to talk about the ways to grow your company the right way.

Judith recently retired but before that she been a facilitator for Remodelers Advantage Roundtables for more than 15 years. She’s a QuickBooks expert, the author of The Remodeler’s Ultimate Guide to QuickBooks, and has been a columnist for Remodeling magazine for more than 10 years. Judith isn’t just a financial guru, she’s a high-level strategist who understands that numbers prove your strategy. 

When trying to grow, the biggest stumbling block is a lack of control, preparation, and not focusing on the best practices. Judith tells you what those best practices are, and how to grow the right way, while explaining the details, including:

  • The critical need for leadership
  • Why your financials have to be in order
  • The Top 5 things you need to do to build a strong, profitable company
  • The predictable stages of growth — and which is best to grow in
  • How large you can get
  • Why hiring a sales force is the riskiest transition
  • How to build a company you can sell
  • Why growing over 20% may be crazy
  • And more…

How Cybercrime WILL Impact Your Remodeling Business with Charles Hammett – [PowerTips Unscripted] S4 E13

March 30, 2023 Business Management 00:34:13

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?
  • And more… 

Using Kaizen to Improve Your Business with Michael Sauri – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

March 16, 2023 Business Management, Personal Development, Production 00:35:02

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
  • And More…
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MASTER NAVIGATION

This website is part of the Remodelers Advantage Network.

Visit our other properties: