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Rod Sutton, CGRA
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Recent Columns from Rod Sutton, CGRA
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Sometime it is more then just the finished product that revels quality work.
4/1/2001
Blueprint for Success: Chapter 1
Bill Shaw explains how he uses his sales system as a tool to control the sales process.
2/1/2001
Freelance Solution
There's one less estimator needed in the Seattle market because two companies are sharing one.
1/29/2001
The Perfect Fit
Nothing frustrates remodelers more than a client or project that doesn’t play out the way it appeared when the lead first came in.
12/1/2000
Bull Market for Clients
Times are good when remodelers complain about too many leads. In addition to the usual telephone leads, electronic leads from Web-based referral services and remodelers’ Web sites add to the deluge.
12/1/2000
Prepare to Exit
Maybe it's just another boomer phenomenon, but the industry is starting to talk about retiring from remodeling.
11/14/2000
Eye on the Product
Misorders and inaccurate estimates should be history with Remodeling Designs Inc.’s new purchasing manager.
11/3/2000
Winans Construction Wins NRQA Gold
Silver Award goes to Stebnitz Builders, and Cupertino Kitchens wins honorable mention.
10/31/2000
The Gap Is Widening
Remodelers who are professional continue to separate themselves from those who aren't.
10/19/2000
NRQ 2001
Remodelers who understand remodeling quality know that it’s much more than excellence in construction.
10/1/2000
The Human Version
Consumers turn to the Internet every day to research and gather more and more information.
10/1/2000
The Union Label
Union labor enables St. Louis-area remodelers to find skilled and reliable help at rates slightly higher than nonunion workers cost in the area.
9/28/2000
The Larger Challenge
After nearly three years of conversation, Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the NAHB have convinced the Census Bureau that the remodeling market is indeed undervalued.
9/8/2000
Office Built on Beliefs
Shirey Contracting’s commitment to environmentally sound construction carries over into its new office building.
8/25/2000
Production Managers Network, Too
Remodelers Advantage puts together a series of roundtables for production managers that brings the power of networking to the employee level.
8/7/2000
Small-Firm Benefits Program
Bob Bell employs only two, but he’s built a benefits package that rivals many larger remodelers. And it doesn’t cost him an arm and a leg
8/4/2000
Remote Remodeling
Island retreats create special challenges for remodeling.
7/27/2000
A Number You Don't Know
A professional remodeler, one who is financially successful and whose business is stable, “knows his numbers.” That means the company’s financial health can be determined by examining the profit and loss statement, general ledger and other reports.
7/1/2000
Chrysalis 2000
This year, the Chrysalis Awards expands beyond the Southeast and honors remodelers in five regions across the country.
7/1/2000
Pinnacle Presented to Medina
Bill Medina, CGR, was presented with the 2000 Remodeler Pinnacle Award on June 14 in Salina, Kan. Medina, along with members of the local community, clients and media, celebrated the award at the offices of Medina Construction during a reception.
6/23/2000
Remodeling Roller Coaster
The remodeling process throws the client's household into an uproar. Stress levels rise, tempers can shorten, and all the preconstruction conversation tends to fade into distant memory. Even for those who fully understand what turmoil awaits, they face...
6/16/2000
Online Financing
Tom Poulin’s sales consultants take financing applications during sales calls. He’s found that for Poulin Design Remodeling in Albuquerque, N.M., the service is a great closing technique.
6/7/2000
Ripples in the Pond
A couple of months ago, we bragged a bit about the terrific effort on the part of our local Remodelors Council to introduce high schoolers to remodelers, showing them the variety of career opportunities available in this industry
6/1/2000
Remodeler’s Hub
Last week, we talked about HousingZone project and development manager Todd Shraiberg’s idea that the new home builder will be capturing e-commerce through the use of community intranets.
5/10/2000
Handing Off the Business
Remodelers, as with most entrepreneurs, often have children interested in the business. Some children have no interest, although that may change later in their lives. In either case, owners with children never stop thinking about succession.
5/9/2000
Tale of Three Planners
Rod Sutton discusses the process of selecting a facilities planner for his local high school's renovation project.
5/1/2000
Remodelers Web Worthy Too
If you’ve been reading the series on e-construction written by HousingZone’s project and development manager, Todd Shraiberg, you may be wondering how the remodeler will fit into this brave new world. It’s pretty heady stuff.
4/26/2000
Banking on Basements
Homeowners love to capture their basement space and turn it into truly usable living space, but the idea of dealing with the damp and the concrete has killed more than a few projects.
4/17/2000
Green Remodeling Comes of Age
Last week in Denver, several dozen remodelers who attended the Green Building Conference gathered to hear two remodelers share their efforts to remodel green.
4/11/2000
Less Talk More Action
Labor, labor, labor. Ever tire of hearing the refrain? As the crescendo builds, some remodelers are taking action instead of adding their complaints to the din.
4/1/2000
Remodeling’s Online Future
The Net will bring the industry together through 'virtual consolidation.'
3/31/2000
Quantifying the Market
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies attempts to put some numbers on the remodeling industry
3/10/2000
Software Selection Tips
Technological advances over the past 12 months have accelerated the pace of business and of life.
3/1/2000
Remodeling Data Still in Short Supply
The remodeling industry has received a boost from government reporting agencies, but those same agencies continue to be unable to gather information on remodeling spending.
2/24/2000
Green Cabinets Win for Remodeler
The Neil Kelly Co. in Portland, Ore., has taken the lead on being environmentally conscious.
2/11/2000
Freeware links to suppliers
John A. Buttaro spends most of his day in the field, working his projects.
2/4/2000
To Russia, To Observe
The Iron Curtain’s long gone, but capitalism continues to struggle in the former Soviet Union. Not for lack of desire, discovered Alan Derrick, but rather lack of knowledge.
2/3/2000
Online Business Documents
Rob Blodgett has spent a lot of time systematizing his remodeling firm, Blodgett Construction & Home Improvement Co. in Grand Rapids, Mich. As a result, he has created a wealth of business forms. But as a member of Business Networks, he saw others in h...
1/21/2000
Rolling Billboards
Creative marketing gives Boardwalk Builders signage that makes an impression all over town.
1/2/2000
Mini-Demonstration Project
Innovative products put remodelers in a bind.
1/1/2000
Coming in 2000: More Products
Next year, Professional Remodeler will publish 12 issues--including three product tabloids.
11/1/1999
Knowledge Trumps Information
Years ago, while writing about the building materials retail side of this industry, we interviewed remodelers to determine how they bought product and how retailers could better serve them.
10/2/1999
Gentle Power of the Pen
The pen is a powerful weapon. Harnessed correctly, it can do powerful good.
9/1/1999
Motivation Muscle
Employee incentives
9/1/1999
Editor's Notebook -- Who's Your Real Competitor?
Editor's column advising remodelers to look at other industries that are 'stealing' away laborers as competition.
7/1/1999
Editor's Notebook - Stop the Decay
Tax relief for historic renovation enables remodelers to stop city decay.
6/1/1999
Editor's Notebook: Take Credit
Editor Rod Sutton encourages remodelers to take credit for the environmentally sound work they are probably already unknowingly doing.
5/1/1999
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