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Issue link: https://qualifiedremodeler.epubxp.com/i/120710
Michael Williams: And what kind of a lead time, from getting that call to starting the job, would you average? How booked do you get? Darcy Warner: It depends. I could be there the next day. It could be quick, or it could be long and drawn out; it doesn���t make a difference. Jory Brigham: For me, it���s really how customized the job is, what kind of details go into the furniture. It can be quite quick. Or, it can drag out if they switch things up. I just had a job where, throughout a year, the client was very particular on everything. His wife was even more particular [laughs]. It was a big investment for them, and they really wanted to make sure everything was perfect. So I suppose it can be anywhere from a year to a week. Greg Burnet: We used to be a design/ build/remodeling firm. For us, it just became a grind to go through the overall process. Realistically, from concept to completion, we could be talking a year or more. Now we specialize in doors and windows. Michael Williams: We were talking about a long lead time in terms of the planning process. How do you guys assess your needs for a project? Eric Martinson: My firm doesn���t do design and build in any way. All of the things that we do are on a menu. The homeowners choose the project they want. For any product we use, it���s a three- to fiveday turnaround with my manufacturers. Over the course of 15 years, I���ve gotten us to that point where I choose manufacturers who can deliver quickly. We���re on the job the very next day after the sale, during the revision period, remeasuring and recalculating all of our work. The admin work, calculating all the materials we bring or whatever, is done electronically now through an iPad. The information goes back to our warehouse, where we have people who gather and sort things for every job. Rarely do we run into a situation where we need an item that we don���t already have in stock, and if that happens, we still have a couple of days to get it after waiting for the other materials to get there. Greg Burnet: For us, it really comes down to the scope of the work. Most of our projects tend to be pretty similar in terms of the actual work or the product we���re installing. But, in many cases, we may have issues where we���re going into a multi-unit building or a high-rise. It comes down to what a one- or two-man crew can handle versus a project that requires multiple sets of hands or multiple crews. So, it really is product driven: What are we installing and what���s the most efficient and safest way to install it? Michael Williams: That leads me to ask how you book yourself? Do you generally get booked throughout? Do you take a project one after another? If you get three calls, do you just put them in succession? Darcy Warner: I just overextend myself. I usually end up having two or three things going on at most points in time. There are some things that I get to a certain point on my own, and then somebody has to come in and do something else. There are always a couple of jobs revolving for me. I try to stay constantly occupied. It works best for me. Jory Brigham: For my guys in the shop, I need them to be able to switch from one project and move to another one. I do give incentives when I���m building furniture ��� if I can build two at a time, or if I have two customers that want the same thing. If I can do a whole piece at the same time, that���s great for me. Eric Martinson: For us, probably again a little bit different. Our company will do between 100 and 130 projects a month. If we sell them this month, they���ll all be done by the next month, so we have a 30-day deal on how we accomplish that. We cross-train all of our employees, all of our workmen. We���ll take those crews that have been cross-trained and make sure they���re able to do the other project. Michael Williams: I am curious; where do you find the talent? Greg Burnet Chicago-based Greg Burnet has been a professional carpenter and remodeler for decades. Greg, with his wife Sue, owns Chicago Window & Door Solutions, a full-service window and door firm that emphasizes durable installations and historically accurate components. He is also the co-owner of Toolbelt Productions Inc., a company devoted to building-industry education and training programs. Eric Martinson: For our company, I���ve hired a full-time crew for the past three years, and we���re constantly running ads for skilled craftsmen. We���re constantly interviewing, and we���re always wanting to improve our stable of installers. We have a full-time recruiter on staff that does the initial interview and, if they pass the initial interview, then they get sent up the chain. That���s how we build our crews. Greg Burnet: We are a much smaller company, and what I���ve found interesting is that over the past 10 years or so, whenever we���ve needed employees, they���ve tended to find us. For one reason or another, when people find us, we keep their names on hand if they approach us and we���re not hiring at that point. The last several people we���ve hired have come from online groups and forums that I belong to. We started a networking group about four or five years ago, so we have a pretty deep pool consisting of a number of contractors in the Chicago area, and we tend to trade work off back and forth as necessary. Some of these guys are one-man operations; most have very specific strengths; and some of them dovetail really well with what we do. We tend to subcontract them, and it works pretty well because we all have a similar mind set. For us, because we are so customer-driven and focused, we have to make sure that they���ll reflect well on our company. Darcy Warner: The only thing I have to add would be that I���ve been teaching my ForResidentialPros.com QR April 2013 17