The Tim Faller Show

Estimating accurately is critical to the success of any remodeling business. As you grow your business or hand off estimating to an employee, having the right system in place is paramount. It can feel like an overwhelming decision — there’s so much software available. The wrong decision will cost you lost revenue, but even worse — lost time.

Fortunately, there’s a simple strategy to help you navigate this very important decision.

In this episode, Jef Forward talks about estimating software with Tim and Steve. He’s worked with several estimating software packages and systems over the years, and shares what he’s learned.

Jef Forward is the founder of Forward Design Build Remodel in Ann Arbor, MI. For more than 20 years, Jef has performed every role within the company, including designer, laborer, carpenter, bookkeeper and estimator — you name it, he’s done it. Now with 24 employees, Jef has two full-time estimators.

Start your decision-making by looking at two factors — getting the estimate itself right and how the program’s output will be presented to someone other than the estimator — especially your clients. The first step is to not look at any software, Jef says. You can get distracted by all the bells and whistles of new programs and miss whether it will really work for you. He talks about the vetting process, what it can do for your estimating, and some of his favorite software choices, including:

Choosing the right estimating software for your company depends on many factors, but the work done up front will ensure you’re not saddled with a system that doesn’t fit. Taking the time and involving the team will help you make the right pick.

There are many things that can destroy a company. Recession, pandemics, and yes, even growth; especially, if the growth occurs with no planning or control.

In the past few years, our economy, and our industry, have grown significantly, and many companies have struggled to keep up. Growth is usually controlled by the amount that a company can sell and subsequently produce.

Sometimes it is planned, and sometimes it just happens. If planned, the team can prepare for it and make the necessary adjustments. If it “accidental” or spontaneous, often the production team gets caught with too much work and not enough time or personnel.

So, what is the key to effectively manage growth?

Kevin Shultz, Vice President of Revision LLC outside of Minneapolis, joins Tim and Steve in this episode to talk about how he and his team have managed tremendous growth at Revision.

As a 28-year veteran of construction and residential remodeling, Kevin brings an immense amount of knowledge to the team at Revision, where they have recently celebrated their 10th year in business.

Tim, Steve and Kevin talk more about:

The Tim Faller Show aims to shine a spotlight on the diverse efforts within the remodeling industry. Today, we are joined by two accomplished production managers, Peyton Atchison and Solveig Haugland, as they share their inspiring journeys to becoming project managers.

Peyton is a project manager at Adams Company, a women-owned and operated remodeling firm in Austin, TX. She began her career in construction with Adams Company just two years ago. In her role, she oversees everything from estimating and ordering to scheduling and client relations. Despite entering the industry with no prior construction knowledge, Peyton has embraced the challenge and thoroughly enjoys learning every aspect of her job. She believes that anyone can succeed in real estate with the right mindset and dedication. Passionate about making the construction industry appealing to other women, Peyton emphasizes the importance of representation in the field.

Solveig Haugland is a Project manager at Adams Company located in Austin, Texas. She works hard at using her design background in her role as Project Manager bringing a new perspective to the work.

Peyton, Solveig, Tim, and Greg talk more about

Imagine you’ve just finished a job, and as you move the dumpster, it damages the client’s driveway. On the Tim Faller Show today, Vaughn Royer shares his strategies for keeping clients happy by taking steps to prevent these giant steel containers from causing any property damage.

Vaughn Royer is the Production Manager at Caine+ Company located in Scottsdale, AZ. He is a seasoned professional in the industry with over 10 years of experience. Through Vaughn’s expertise, he helped drive quality, profit, and client/employee satisfaction to the high standard that Caine + Company has today.

Vaughn, Tim, and Greg talk more about:

Today on The Tim Faller Show, an exciting conversation with Paola Enriquez. This is part 2 of the engaging discussion that Tim and Greg had with her on Season 5 Episode 3. In the previous episode, Paola talked about the upcoming Spanish-speaking training at JLC Live. Now, Paola will share her thoughts on how the training went at JLC Live.

Paola Enriquez is the conference education manager at JLC LIVE Residential Construction Show. She is part of a standout team that has successfully put JLC LIVE together for 28 years. She gets to oversee all Conference classroom education at the show, and most recently, spearheaded their new JLC LIVE En Español program. Paola enjoys connecting with people and making a difference. She is an active member in her community and volunteers for numerous causes by lending her bilingual and leadership skills to GED En Espanol, Financial Peace University in English, Paz Financiera in Spanish and Apartment Life, to name a few. Paola has been part of the JLC LIVE team since 2022.

Paola, Tim, and Greg talk more about:

Do you have a way to be sure that your clients understand the scope and plans of the services you offer?

Simply asking for their signature on future plans does not necessarily guarantee that they understand what it is they are signing.  Like many of the topics discussed on this show, there is no magic answer to ensuring that a client is aware and knowledgeable about the services they may want or are receiving.  Host Tim Faller suspects that it is important to educate based off of the entire sales and production processes, so he speaks with guest Chris Landis to search for some answers.

Chris is the Co-Founder and Principal of Landis Construction, and is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). After graduating with an MA in architecture from Columbia University, he worked with Fortune 500 companies. He served two terms on D.C.’s Historic Preservation Review Board and is a past president of the DC chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.  

Tim, Steve and Chris talk more about:

The future of remodeling hinges on the next generation of skilled workers. Tim has previously engaged with teachers who mentor young people in the trades. Our guest today, Gregg Helmich, is one such teacher. Gregg has been instrumental in working closely with students in the trades and has employed unique industry partnerships to enhance the students’ learning experience.

Gregg Helmich serves as the Building Trades Instructor at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC) in Mason City, Iowa, and has held this position for 17 years. He has successfully nurtured over 15 industry partnerships, resulting in donations exceeding $200k. Furthermore, Gregg has celebrated numerous student successes, with former students ascending to leadership positions within companies in less than 1/3 of the normal time. Gregg’s ultimate satisfaction stems from the success of his students.

Greg, Tim, and Gregg talk more about:

Today on the Tim Faller Show, Tim and Greg are joined by David Parraquirre, a presenter at JLC Live this year. They discuss the abundance of skilled craftsmen in the Latino world, particularly in the metro areas where many sub trades comprise diverse cultures. David also provides a recap of the JLC Live Spanish Speaking program.

David Parraguirre is the Owner and founder of Pro Builder Solutions and Mexicancarpenter.com. He is based out of the DMV area roughly 20 minutes from the nation’s Capital and has served his community as a builder for over 20 plus years. David’s work has garnered some notoriety over the years because of his extraordinary attention to detail. You can see some of his remarkable content on social media by simply searching @themexicancarpenter or going to mexicancarpenter.com and learning more about what he does.

David, Tim, and Greg talk more about:

The production professionals that we work with in our Roundtables Peer Group Program for Production Managers are creatively solving problems and finding new ways to manage jobs.

Whether it is motivating their teams, finding new way to drive profit or measuring dollars with a new metric, sometimes we just hear about a cool idea. During our fall meetings, we heard a few new concepts and strategies that we wanted to learn more about.

Therefore, in the spirit of talking with people that are solving challenges, we welcome back a former guest, Chris Peterson, VP of Production at Schloegel Design Remodel in Kansas City, MO to talk more about how he and his team address and handle constraint management.

Chris has been with Schloegel for 24 years and has served in every role on the production side of the business. Three years ago, Chris and his business partner, Charlie Schloegel, purchased the business, which just celebrated 40 years in business!

Tim, Steve and Chris talk more about:

Change can be very elusive. Podcasts, seminars, books, classes, webinars, virtual classes all give us great ideas for improving processes. But how many actually take root and become what we do as a regular habit or process? 

Maybe we just don’t know how to change, so we substitute other activities.  In a recent training, guest Doug Howard of Remodelers Advantage discussed LEAN with a company and one of the concepts that he outlined may be beneficial to us all.  

Doug is an experienced leader, entrepreneur and business consultant with over 25 years of success in leading organizations, starting new companies and assisting client businesses as they start-up, grow or transition. Doug joined Remodelers Advantage as Director of Consulting Services in 2017, and now specializes in helping remodeling company owners develop strategic plans, streamline processes, improve profitability, and navigate growth.

Tim, Steve and Doug talk more about: