success

Outsourcing 3-Dimensional Design with Lauren Campuzano- [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Lauren Campuzano joins the show to discuss outsourcing 3-Dimensional (3-D) Design. 3-D designs can help remodelers sell their plans, but finding the right talent can take time and effort. Lauren found that 3-D designs were great communication tools within the design department, construction department, and sometimes with clients. Creating 3-D models in-house was difficult for Lauren, so she outsourced them.  

Lauren is the Principal Designer at New Market Builders LLC. After working within the Design- Build industry, and many years teaching Interior Design at The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Lauren joined her husband, Michael, at New Market Builders to launch and oversee the Design portion of the company.

Victoria, Mark, and Lauren talk more about:

  • Online marketplaces to outsource
  • Payment terms for the designing
  • How long it takes to make the designs
  • And more…

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

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…

Solving the Challenges of Leadership Development in Remodeling Companies with Wayne Ottum – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

As remodeling companies grow, owners face the challenges of deciding when leaders are needed, how to find them, and train them to be good leaders. In this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Wayne Ottum discusses these challenges and provides tools and methodologies for facing these challenges head-on. In addition, he talks about how he helps owners create a business that works for them.

Wayne Ottum is a senior consultant at Remodelers Advantage. Wayne has over 30 years of experience, with 15 of those years specializing in the remodeling industry. He helps create clear and compelling paths for owners to meet their goals.

Wayne, Victoria, and Mark talk more about:

  • Checklist of leadership skills
  • How to know when to develop or hire leaders
  • Managers vs. Leaders
  • And more…

How Cybercrime WILL Impact Your Remodeling Business with Charles Hammett – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

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… 

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

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]

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 

Gauging Your Designers’ Workload Effectively With Jeff Talmadge – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

In this episode, Jeff Talmadge discusses how he and his team created a point system for his design staff to spread their workload.  Each designer is assigned a predetermined number of points, weighted by criteria such as permitting, scope, and complexity of the job.  The team tracks points weekly and has found that designers are less stressed, customers are given more accurate timelines, and production can plan their workload better.

Jeff Talmadge is the president of Talmadge Construction, a large, premium design-build firm based in Aptos, CA.  Jeff and his team pride themselves on their commitment to customer service, quality workmanship, and a strong team culture.  

Jeff’s five words of wisdom – patience, persistence, never give up.

Listen as Jeff, Victoria, and Mark discuss:

  • Increasing job satisfaction across the company by managing designer workloads
  • Improving customer service by managing expectations with accurate timelines
  • And more…

How to Compete Against BIG Competitors and Win with Mark Harari – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

You shouldn’t have to slog through a dry, term-laden textbook  to successfully market your business.

So in this episode, Co-Host turned guest, Mark Harari takes a deeper dive into his book, “Lobster on a Cheese Plate,” a practical handbook that shows how to effectively market your business. Or, as the book’s subtitle states, “how to stand out, attract the best clients, and win every sale that comes your way.”

Mark is an accomplished speaker and writer, as well as the Vice President of Remodelers Advantage, President of R/A Marketing Inc., author, and co-host of this podcast.  He provides strategic direction for Remodelers Advantage’s internal and external marketing and communications programs, in addition to being responsible for the company’s brand identity, and ensuring marketing alignment across all channels.

Victoria and Mark talk more about:

  • The “six stones”
  • How narrowing your focus can broaden your appeal
  • Marketing plans VS. marketing budgets
  • And more…

Links from this episode:
Lobster on a Cheese Plate on Amazon
Lobster on a Cheese Plate Audiobook on Amazon’s Audible

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

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…

Employee Reviews: It’s Time for a Change with Tim Faller – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted]

Reviewing employees in the remodeling world is, at best, a struggle.

It is often an employee’s opportunity to ask for a raise and an employer’s opportunity for frustration.

Tim Faller joins Mark and Victoria to talk about the necessary fundamental shift in the employee review process. Tim makes the transition from podcast host to guest to talk about his efforts towards reworking the employee review process in this episode.

Tim is a senior consultant here at Remodelers Advantage and known throughout the industry as the “Guru of Production.”

Tim is a well-known author and works with remodelers and production teams across the US and Canada. In addition to being the lead facilitator for the R/A Production Manager Roundtables Groups, he is also the Co-host of the popular podcast, The Tim Faller Show.

Victoria, Mark and Tim talk more about:

  • The challenges of the “old system”
  • The inspiration behind the reworking of the employee review process
  • The parts that need reworking
  • Objectives and goals of the rework
  • Implementing the rework
  • And more…
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