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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What would be your ideal project to complete? We love doing interior whole house renovations that require reworking the spaces to improve our client's lifestyle, such as a complete kitchen and bathroom gut while removing walls to open up the space. What is the best advice you've received in your career? My dad told me a long time ago that if you give someone a job to do, and they're competent enough to do it, let them do it their way and they'll do a better job and appreciate the trust that you've put in them to execute. When and why did you join a roundtable peer group? We joined R A in 2013. We had been looking for the peer group experience because we needed confrmation that we were doing things right and/or direction to make changes that would help us be the best we can be. What has been the most im- portant lesson you've taken away from your roundtable peers? Percentage-of-completion accounting is the only way to track whether you're making mon- ey or not. If you never do a work-in-progress, or WIP report, then you will never know how much money you've earned over any period of time. If you could change one thing about this industry, what would it be? Te shortage of talented trades people leads to higher prices and lower quality work. Tis makes it harder for me to meet our client's budget expectations and limits the fnished product that we can produce. As you were growing up, what did you want to be? I failed to set my sights on a career growing up. It wasn't until I was 25 that I realized I liked the idea of remodeling. Tat is one thing that I wish I had put more emphasis on when I was in school. I should have done more internships and been ex- posed to opportunities that were out there for me. What is your most treasured possession? My faith is most important to me. It brings me peace in the midst of the busyness of life. What motivates you every day? Taking care of my family and serving Christ is what makes me get up and do the hard things required to be successful. When things get tough, that's what motivates me to do the things I don't want to do. Right now, what is your fo- cus as a remodeler — more growth or steady revenue at greater proftability? Long term, we want to in- crease our margins, but in the short-term, we are working on increasing our marketing activ- ities to create backlog. Tat backlog will give us the fexibility to choose the projects/clients we want to work with and eventually will allow us increase what we charge due to a higher demand for our services. I am also focusing on Sandler Sales training with Chip Doyle to increase my efciency so I'm able to handle the higher volume of leads and increase our volume in the same or less amount of time that it took me before I started the training. | Te "everyone needs to go to college" mantra of the past 40 years has led to a diminished opinion of the trades and deterred people that could have made a great living as an electrician or plumber. How has your business changed since weathering the economic downturn? We've invest- ed a lot into our business, peer groups, sales coaching, building retained earnings so that we will be more prosperous when things are going well, and will be less afected when things aren't. We are more set up to be suc- cessful regardless of the economic climate. If you could have a 30-minute conversation with any busi- ness leader in the country, who would it be? We are big fans of Dave Ramsey, a best selling business author. We have built our business on the principles of having no debt. Dave's built a big business and his employees seem to love to work with him. Proft Focused Peer-group roundtables have helped Bailey Remodeling implement efective business metrics and create a thriving company. By Laurie Banyay BRANDON BAILEY (pictured) & JON STEIMEL Owners Bailey Remodeling & Construction, LLC Louisville, Ky. baileyremodel.com YEAR FOUNDED: 2005 NUMBER OF TEAM MEMBERS: 5 INDUSTRY INVOLVEMENT: Remodelers Advantage, Building Industry Association of Greater Louisville Each job begins with a conversation about why the customer is looking to remodel. PROFITS: Remodelers Advantage Peer Profile 20 March 2016 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com