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.
Issue link: https://qualifiedremodeler.epubxp.com/i/665737
how to price a job. Te post was not specifc enough or clear enough to do anyone good. Tat's when he laid the second great word of the day on me: schema — "a conception of what is common to all members of a class; a general or essential type or form." McCadden contends that, like the ofending blog post, much of the educational information ofered at industry seminars, in trade magazines and online are reported by people who lack sche- ma about the business of remodeling. Tey assemble the sources, but they lack the ability to put things in prop - er context. It's a great new word for me that accurately describes our central role as ed- itors for this important industry media brand. W hat constitutes remodeling industry business schema? Let's use pricing as an ex- ample. Many experts in the industry agree that completing a remodel- ing job requires a 40 percent gross-proft target. Tis number puts a remodeler in range to earn 10 percent on the bottom line. At the same time, there are many difering expert opinions on the proper method for calculating markup in order to achieve that 40 percent gross proft. McCadden's specifc point is there seems to be too many ways to skin the cat, which results in too much information that is slightly incorrect and could lead folks astray. At Qualifed Remodeler we aim to publish and post articles by our staf and industry ex- perts, and to edit those articles with real con- text. We appreciate feedback like McCadden's. His point is an excellent one. And I am person- ally grateful for the new words. | am a word guy, which is not a big sur- prise coming from an editor. It started in high school with an English teacher who was a vocabulary taskmaster. Each week, from August until May, he assigned 25 new words to defne, use and be tested on. Tese were not nickel or dime types of words. Tey were 25-cent words, long and obscure: corpu- lent, sesquipedalian, etc. So you can imagine my high level of interest when in the course of a single conversation with remodeler-consultant Shawn McCadden, I heard two completely new words, words he had to defne for me. Te frst word was bricolage. It is a French word meaning to "con- struct or create some- thing from a diverse range of available things." Bricolage is a word that resonates quite well in the context of residen- tial remodeling. In re- modeling, problems are continually solved using a diverse set of materials. Look no further than 19th century farmhouses and outbuildings, where leftover barn wood was assembled into sheds and more. Tis was bricolage. McCadden was using the word in a more ab- stract sense. He used it to describe the diverse information sources remodelers draw upon to get the information they need to be bet- ter managers of their businesses and to build proftable companies. It is well known that many remodelers launch their frms knowing only the craft, not the business. Most business information comes through bricolage. McCadden had called to say that a blog post on QualifedRemodeler.com (submitted by a re- modeler) was misleading in its instructions on Remodeling Industry "Schema" I A conception of what is common to all members of a class; a general or essential type or form. 8 April 2016 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com Patrick L. O'Toole EDITORIAL DIRECTOR'S NOTE Published by SOLA Group, Inc. 1880 Oak Ave., Suite 350 Evanston, IL 60201 847.920.9513 Publisher and Patrick L. O'Toole Editorial Director Patrick@SOLAbrands.com Managing Editor Laurie Banyay Laurie@SOLAbrands.com Associate 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 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 Midwest and West Paul DeGrandis Sales Manager Paul@SOLAbrands.com East Sales Manager Beth Emerich EmerichB@SOLAbrands.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 Manager Marie Snow Marie@SOLAbrands.com Projects Manager Heidi Riedl Heidi@SOLAbrands.com A preferred publication of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and the NAHB Remodelers