Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Mark and Victoria are joined by Michael Hodgin to discuss using the financial review to pivot to profitability. A complete understanding and review of your company’s financials is a practice that requires a disciplined effort. However, with this practice in place, an owner will be able to use the information from these reviews to pivot when and where necessary to be more profitable year over year.

Using his expertise as a former business owner and a business coach, Michael talks about how he examines a company’s financial statements, including what KPIs to review and whom to review the financials with.

Michael was an owner of a successful remodeling company for over 22 years. He has since left and is the owner of Maestro’s Toolbox, where he works with owners of design-build companies across the country to help them build better companies and, therefore, better lives.

In addition, Michael has been part of the roundtables as an owner, a facilitator for roundtables meetings, and part of the Remodelers Advantage Business Coaching team.

Victoria, Mark, and Michael talk more about:

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Are you worried about your business being the next victim of a cyberattack? Today on PowerTips Unscripted, Charles Hammett joins the show to give some advice on how to protect your business from cyberattacks. Charles breaks down some of the types of cyberattacks and how remodelers could be affected. He also talks about some of the benefits of having cybersecurity and the protection it brings to your business.

For over 25 years, Charles Hammett has managed IT and cyber security initiatives for several businesses throughout the US. He has worked closely at the federal level, building secure data centers and at the public level protecting businesses of all types.

Victoria, Mark, and Charles talk more about:

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On this episode of PowerTips Unscripted, Jody McLeod joins the show to answer legal questions, including whether companies are set up to withstand a legal challenge. Jody discusses the best way to ensure having a complete personnel file for each employee, including documentation of conversations and key facts,  so that you can support yourself and your company during a legal trial. Jody also advises business owners to help them avoid lawsuits through a complete onboarding process and proper training for all managers.

Jody, an attorney, and former Fortune 500 legal executive is the Founder and Principal of McLeod Legal Solutions (MLS). MLS partners with business owners to protect their business during HR and employee relations disputes with direct access to litigators, employment lawyers, and legal executives from Fortune 500 companies.  Jody specializes in employment law, litigation and litigation management, compliance, investigations, and training.

Jody, Mark, and Victoria talk  more about:

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Sean Castrina joins the program to discuss why everyone should think like an entrepreneur and the importance of developing a strategy for determining what business you want to start. He shares that when he lost his job, he found another one so he could take his time to figure out his next steps. 

Sean Castrina is the Founder of The Weekend MBA, host of The 10 Minute Entrepreneur Podcast (a top 10 entrepreneurship podcast), an author of 4 bestselling books, and a serial entrepreneur.

Sean, Victoria, and Mark discuss:

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In this episode, Jeff Talmadge discusses how he and his team created a point system for his design staff to spread their workload.  Each designer is assigned a predetermined number of points, weighted by criteria such as permitting, scope, and complexity of the job.  The team tracks points weekly and has found that designers are less […]

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The post Top 5 Remodeling Sales Secrets You Must Know with Jeff Borovitz – [Best of PowerTips Unscripted] appeared first on PowerTips Unscripted.

Have you given any thought to your exit strategy? How are you going to leave your business when you’re ready to retire and enjoy your remaining years?

It is never too early to start, and you should really be planning for that day, no matter how many years you have left.

There are many options when it comes to planning a successful exit and our guest, Dave Leff, joins us to talk more about his process, one that he is closing on within the next few weeks.

Dave, President/CEO of Leff Construction – Design/Build, explored a number of different options over the past five years and ultimately determined that an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was the direction that provided the best outcome.

Victoria, Mark and Dave talk more about:

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A personal vision statement charts your course — in life and in business. If you don’t have one, you might as well be lost at sea when you’re making decisions.

For Dave Bryan, his personal vision statement serves as his North Star, allowing him to plot his course through his life. “There are a million ways in any given day to get knocked off course,” he says. “Everything you do should be in support of your life, and having a personal vision statement can help you stay on the path and keep on track.”

In this meaningful episode, Dave talks to Victoria and Mark about the genesis of the idea for him, how he did it, and gives tips for how you can write your own. Most importantly, he shares his reasons why you should.

Dave president of Blackdog Builders, with offices in Salem and Amherst, NH. After starting his business in 1989, he’s built Blackdog into a strong, consistently profitable business, with several diversifications under its umbrella. Dave is an entrepreneur who is known for the discipline and care with which he runs his company. Dave is also one of our popular Roundtables facilitators, where he shares his story with the groups.

Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, with no one to keep you accountable. Planning your life and using a personal vision statement can help define your goals. Dave’s path to writing his own statement began with the recession in 2008. “It was brutal,” he says. But defining the goals and intentions for his life going forward was a turning point.

You’ll hear Dave’s personal vision statement and learn why he won’t share it in written form. But you have to do the work yourself for your own, he says. Dave covers how to develop your personal vision statement, and what it can do for your life and business, including:

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Jobs are won or lost during the design process. With so much on the line, it’s clear that your design department should be running at peak performance. But there are so many ways the process can get derailed.

It all depends on how you structure your design department, and what metrics you use to hold them accountable.

In this episode, Chris Landis discusses about how to build and run an efficient design department with Victoria and Mark.

Chris is a partner (with his brother Ethan) in Landis Architects/Builders in Washington, DC, and is a longtime Roundtables member. He’s a registered architect in four states (MD, DC, VA, NY). Chris graduated from Vassar College, and earned his M.A. in architecture from Columbia Architecture School. Chris is a member of the American Institute of Architects, and has 28 years of experience in residential architecture. He is a current member of the DC Historic Preservation Review Board and past president of the DC Metro area chapter of NARI.

Chris has a design department of nine people after 30 years in the business. When the company got to the point of having three designers, Chris hired a manager for that department to ensure that the work was standardized and high quality. He talks about how to set up your own design department for success and create a quicker process, including:

Design can be a profit center, not a loss-leader, and you have to know how much you should be charging for it — even if you don’t.

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You shouldn’t have to slog through a dry, term-laden textbook  to successfully market your business.

So in this episode, Co-Host turned guest, Mark Harari takes a deeper dive into his book, “Lobster on a Cheese Plate,” a practical handbook that shows how to effectively market your business. Or, as the book’s subtitle states, “how to stand out, attract the best clients, and win every sale that comes your way.”

Mark is an accomplished speaker and writer, as well as the Vice President of Remodelers Advantage, President of R/A Marketing Inc., author, and co-host of this podcast.  He provides strategic direction for Remodelers Advantage’s internal and external marketing and communications programs, in addition to being responsible for the company’s brand identity, and ensuring marketing alignment across all channels.

Victoria and Mark talk more about:

Links from this episode:
Lobster on a Cheese Plate on Amazon
Lobster on a Cheese Plate Audiobook on Amazon’s Audible

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