Qualified Remodeler Magazine

AUG 2015

Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.

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said, Gidley has seen a slackening of leads lately. He's hoping it's a temporary blip, as it often is, but he thinks it may take a bit more time than that. He sees something that only a remodeler with long experience can see — the impact of a coming election. News about candidates and debates gives people a reason to pause. Or at least that is the received wisdom not just from profession- al operators like Gidley, but from leaders of large and small businesses in most sectors of the economy. Te only industry that gets a boost is broadcast ra- dio and television and the agencies that create campaign ads. But a new study from three researchers at Princeton University and the University of Chicago upends this notion. It shows that while there is an im- pact on consumer sen- timent during election years, actual spending is completely unafect- ed. By looking at credit card purchases as well as automobile purchases over the past three presidential election cycles there was no material change in the trend of spending for Democratic or Republican leaning counties. I take this information with a grain of salt. I take it like the recent news that kale is not as good for you as has been recently reported. Please enjoy our annual Top 500 issue. It is a work of blood, sweat and tears from our editors. And in each line of it are the daily struggles of remodelers and home improve- ment professionals who continually hustle on behalf of their clients and their employees to successfully make it happen. | aving covered the remodeling in- dustry for many years, I've come to know a lot of great remodelers. When I see old friends or talk to them on the phone, we inevitably get to the question: How's business? It is not small talk when I ask the question, and I usually get serious answers. I am always struck by how much day-to-day combat there is in this business. "I have a presentation tonight; if it goes well, my year will go well," responses like that. Or I will hear that the phone was ringing for the frst few months of the year then when April 15 rolled around, the number of leads re- ally slowed down as if tax-day payments were the root cause. Very little of this day- to-day worry and work comes through in the information highlight- ed in this, our 38th an- nual listing of the Top 500 remodeling frms. For all of the macro and micro information coming from hundreds of applications, it remains what it is — an industry landmark of big-picture reporting and analy- sis. Most frms post continually higher revenue numbers, though a few fall back a bit as well. From the outside it looks like a smooth trajec- tory. But annual snapshots do not entirely tell the ground-level, in-the-moment story. I was recently speaking with a remodeler friend in Connecticut, Stephen Gidley, who is a true professional. He's been in business for more than 40 years and is one of the guys who gives the industry a very good name. He describes 2015 as having started of very fast with lots of leads for bigger jobs. Tat being Reading the Business Tea Leaves Our annual Top 500 list remains what it is — an industry landmark of big-picture reporting and analysis. H EDITORIAL DIRECTOR'S NOTE 6 August 2015 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com Patrick L. O'Toole Published by SOLA Group, Inc. 724 12th Street, 1W, Wilmette, IL 60091 847.920.9513 Publisher and Patrick L. O'Toole Editorial Director Patrick@SOLAbrands.com Managing Editor Laurie Banyay Laurie@SOLAbrands.com Assistant Editor Kacey Larsen Kacey@SOLAbrands.com Proofreader Nancy Mueller=Truax Audience Development Mike Serino MSerino@magservgroup.com Creative Director & Tracy Hegg Production Manager Tracy@SOLAbrands.com Graphic Designer Cathy Petersen Editorial Advisory Board Stephen Gidley, GMB, CAPS, CGP, CGB, CGR, CPRC, CR Jeffrey Holloway, CKD, CBD, CGR Michael Nagel, CGR, CAPS Scott R. Sevon, CGR, CAPS, GMB, CGP, GMR Donna Shirey, CGR, CAPS, CGP Kenneth P. Skowronski, CR Group Sales Director Paul DeGrandis Midwest Manager Paul@SOLAbrands.com East Sales Manager Beth Emerich EmerichB@SOLAbrands.com West Sales Manager Reed Fry Reed@fry-comm.com National Automotive Tom Lutzke Sales TLutzke@ACBusinessMedia.com Literature Galleries/ Mike Serino Classifieds Mike@SOLAbrands.com Digital Programs Tim Steingraber Manager Tim@SOLAbrands.com Operations Marie Snow Manager Marie@SOLAbrands.com A preferred publication of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the NAHB Remodelers

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