May 4 2007 9:48AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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In our February issue, I wrote that now was a good time for healthy, established remodeling firms to take advantage off the current state of the economy and expand their businesses and grab more local market share.

My reasoning for saying this is two-fold: 1) the downturn in new home construction in most markets across the country has forced builders to lay off a lot of experienced and talented people - from laborers and lead carpenters to sales people and managers; 2) because interest rates for buying a new or existing home have priced a lot of people out of the market, their alternative is to remodel the home they're already in.

This scenario sets your company, or your competitor, in a unique position to leverage a strong brand with established systems in place by selling and producing more jobs annually to increase revenue, and market share.

I'd like to know what you think of this proposition. Have you begun a growth strategy that includes hiring recently laid off workers from builders in your area? Are you seeing a growing number of homeowners who are staying put and considering remodeling? Is your local remodeling market suffering along with that of new home builders because of rising interest rates? Other thoughts or comments?