Remodeling Mastery By Mark Richardson

The calendar year may be nearing its end, but that doesn't mean it's too late to plan for the new year. It's up to you whether or not 2016 is the best year your remodeling business has to date or if it will be a less than stellar year. The choice is up to you! Remember, it's never too late to begin planning.

How do you develop and mature your remodeling business? This is the question Mark Richardsons proposes in this episode of Remodeling Mastery. He sees 7 key attributes of more mature businesses: 1) A clear sense of purpose – they know what they are about, i.e. mission statement and core values that are clearly communicated to the team. 2) The sweet spot – they know what their core project is that really defines what their business is about. Which project is your bread and butter that your team excels at? 3) Hungry and not desperate – They do the right things, the smart things at the right pace. Desperate businesses make a lot of mistakes and often seek out the wrong client that won’t allow them to grow and make a profit. 4) Balance – short, medium and long-term strategy and goals are well balanced - positioning for the future. The more mature businesses have a very nice balance perspective. 5) Ability to predict – They watch the market conditions, look back at history and use that skill to predict futur

This week’s episode to Remodeling Mastery by Mark Richardson is focused all on planning for 2016. Specifically, how to plan, prepare, and think about the New Year. How you plan is what distinguishes a great remodeling business from simply a good one. As we reach the end of 2015, common logic takes us to a place where we step back and think about the business as a whole. As you think about what your plan for 2016, Mark addresses 7 big themes he’s seen so far within the Remodeling industry. Theme 1 – Work on your business vs. in your business Theme 2 – If you fail to plan, plan to fail Theme 3 – Change or Become Irrelevant Theme 4 – Defining Success Theme 5 – How Fit is Your Business? Theme 6 – Aggressive but Realistic Theme 7 – Creating Alignment

Today, Mark Richardson, host of Remodeling Mastery, discusses the subject of questions. There will always be times where you don't know the answers, but the key to success lies in knowing the right questions to ask to get to those unknown, much-needed answers. The following questions are meant to help guide you as you take your business to the next level. What is your motivation? What is the business's motivation? What is the core purpose of the business? What role do you have to play in that core purpose? What do you want the business to be and feel like in 3 to 5 years from now? What would you like to see your business look like in 3 to 5 years from now? Do you really want a business or do you want a practice? This is a hot debate in the remodeling industry! As an owner, what do you love doing? Is it in line with your business? What is your exit strategy? Do you even have one?

In honor of this week being Thanksgiving, Mark Richardson takes a pause from his traditional teachings to bring a holiday message – one of reflection and inspiration. This episode of Remodeling Mastery is about taking the time for reflection. It’s time to reflect on where your business is heading. Where do you want to see your business go? When you take this step back, breathe in what the business is all about, you’ll be able to visualize if your business is currently constructed for future success, or if you should make adjustments in 2016. This reflection should bring you a new found inspiration. The ability to make a meaningful, real impact in the lives of your clients when you work on their homes is one that should not be taken lightly. You should take gratitude in the fact that you are helping others. What are you thankful for this year? Happy Thanksgiving!

In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark teaches you to learn how to talk to talk on the various business models that are seen in the remodeling industry. All remodeling businesses are not created equal in the sense that business models, clients, project types, and the level of risk can all be different. Listen to this episode as Mark goes into great detail on how to define your business in terms of vertical and scale. You can also view the blog post for more information as well: www.surefiresocial.com/blog/remodeling-mastery-business-models-in-the-remodeling-industry

In this week's episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark Richardson drills down into the core question: What is Mastery? This question of what is mastery is something that we all know what it feels and looks like when we see it, but articulating it is another matter altogether. How do you go about improving? How do you take your game to the next level? Mark Richardson offers 4 levels to achieve the highest level of mastery, coined by Vince Lombardi Jr.: Level 1 - Unconsciously incompetent: You don't know what you need to know. You are just becoming aware. Level 2 - Consciously incompetent: Don't necessarily have the mastery but you are really working on it to improve. You know how to do it but not how to do it well. Level 3 - Unconsciously competent: You can do something, but you really have to work on it. You have the added stress of having to work really hard to achieve. Level 4 - Consciously competent: You don't have to think about it. You are automatically capable of doing whatever it may be that needs to

Today, Mark discusses the topic of growth and, in particular, how should you define growth. It's one that can be a very subjective question. The big question you have to answer is how do YOU define growth? And how do you incorporate that thinking into every activity that you do? Among all the ways you can define growth that Mark mentions in this episode, some include: 1) Top line growth - how do you raise the top line? 2) Increased market share - most remodeling businesses have a small part of the market share, but it's market share that get's you through the tough times 3) Portfolio blend - the types of services and products that you offer - are you balanced? 4) Your team - growing your team and bringing on different talents and skill sets to enhance the overall team 5) Profitability - not quite about top line growth but can look at efficiency and processes and getting more clients through sales 6) Client experience - do you offer a red carpet experience? Whatever your motivations are for being in busine

What does a healthy business look like to you? It's not always an easy thing to measure when applied to a business. Can you tell a fit business from an unfit one? Mark has 10 criteria to help. How does your business rank? 1. Do you know your core numbers? 2. Do you have and know the processes & systems in place? 3. Do you have the right leadership in place? 4. Do you have a fundamentally strong team? 5. Do you offer quality & a well-defined product? 6. Do you earn a profit? 7. Do you have a lot of stress within the business? 8. Do you have a formidable reputation and manage it? 9. Do you have a plan for the future? 10. Do you have strategic partnerships & alliances? Having a fit business is one of the core fundamentals to becoming a successful. Check out Mark Richardson's book "Fit to Grow" that goes into greater depth on this topic!

In the past episode, Mark focused on how you can pick the right client. Stating, that 1 in every 5 remodeling clients will not allow you to make a profit. Today, Mark gives his take on how to pick the right projects in order to grow your business the right way. Listen as he raises the following questions that will help you decide if a project is worth your time & valuable to your business. 1. Is the project within your knowledge comfort zone? 2. Is the project within your team's core abilities? 3. Is the project predictable? 4. Is the project well defined? 5. Is the project the right context? 6. Is the project the right size?

How do you determine who the right client is for you? Not every potential customer is truly a potential customer. The secret to success is knowing how to pick and choose the right clients to position your business on a path to success. 1 out of every 5 remodeling clients will not allow you to make a profit. Mark Richardson has created a checklist to help you make sure that you push that 1 in 5 to perhaps 1 in 20. Listen to Mark as he walks you through each question on his checklist to helping you achieve success by knowing who the right client is for you.

How can you control your day? Don't let your day control you! This is a classic problem with how quick the pace is in business today. Clients expect near instant results and your team is working at a far faster rate than in the past. Ask yourself this – why is being in control of your day important to you? If you can find the reasons why, then you will then find the conviction and confidence to improve. As you listen to Mark talk during this episode, he'll present to you a number of reasons why being it's important to be in control. Register for Mark's webinar: New Year Business Planning: How to Set Goals & Dominate 2016 at: http://www.surefiresocial.com/2016-planning-business-trends-marketing-sales-and-lead-management-with-mark-richardson-and-tim-musch/ Enjoy!

If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. Plan your day every day. Do it consistently. Then you work your plan. Without a blueprint, otherwise it becomes chaos. People oftentimes just dive in with a short checklist and don't take the time to truly plan. Challenge: make it a point to plan each and every day.

How can remodelers become a master of time mastery? You can’t feel it, can’t touch it, but everyone understands it…the subject of time. Time is such an important element in today’s business in terms of sales, client expectations, and production processes. In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark gives you 3 touch points: 1) Thinking about time differently, 2) Learning about time and the implications in the remodeling realm, and 3) How to master time and how to take your time mastery techniques to the next level.

What does success look like to you? Among the most successful businesses in the remodeling industry, I've found that they all share these three common principles: 1) They have the right mindset, 2) They are fundamentally fit, and 3) They are able to and willing to change. Join me in this episode of Remodeling Mastery as I delve into these three principles and how they can be applied to your remodeling business.

The theme Mark talks about in his book, "Fit to Grow" is one of people being your greatest asset. It's an important principle to live and breathe. An asset is an investment and you treat your greatest asset with great care and attention. In the remodeling industry, people are more important than the actual stuff. The employee carrying the table saw is more important than the table saw itself. The driver is more important than the van itself. If you can believe in this theme, you can potentially set the right foundation for retaining and growing the right kind of organization.

A big theme that I have coined and speak on is your organization needs to become a magnet, not a net. There's a tendency in the remodeling industry to just throw out and use old ways to attract people but this metaphor of being a magnet where the talent is drawn to you as compared to being a net where you toss out into the ocean and you don't know exactly what's going to swim in it.

The culture of your business is something that you need to figure out, now. If someone were to walk up to you and ask you, “How’s your business like?” or “How is it working for XYZ Company?” – would you know how to answer that question? The culture of your company should be something that ultimately drives those who work for you, into a mindset where they WANT to succeed. It should define who you are and the mission of everyone associated with it. The culture doesn’t manifest overnight; you’ve got to train it, and you’ve got to be patient with what’s going on around you. Embrace the opportunity and live by who you are and what you want your company to become. More podcasts at: http://www.surefiresocial.com/podcast Register for the FREE Google Webinar on August 27th at 4PM: http://www.surefiresocial.com/googlewebinar Subscribe to the Surefire Social Blog: http://www.surefiresocial.com/blogsubscribe

Let's face it, most people didn't go to Remodeling University. They weren't trained on how to do the business or how to formulate it in the best way possible. The first two parts of this series covered the motivations to having a dashboard followed by the three key metrics that you must track in the dashboard. But in this segment, Mark Richardson covers between 5-7 other elements to your dashboard that you should think about having that will take it to the next level: things such as the demographics of your client, your client's reviews, financing rates, your team, cancellation rates, time spent, and the health of your business. All of these factors will help you monitor and maintain the effectiveness of your company. For more podcasts: http://www.surefiresocial.com/podcast Learn about the tools that Google provides to help your home improvement business succeed in maximizing your online presence: http://www.surefiresocial.com/googlewebinar

Once you get past the motivations of developing a dashboard for success, now you must actually HAVE the dashboard. Mark Richardson touches on key points in managing your overhead expenses, sales, and gross profits of your business. Maintaining these three elements to your dashboard is what will determine effectiveness in your operations. Deeper metrics that he suggests monitoring are your leads, cost per lead, and lead source, while also being aware of your close rates and average ticket price. Sign Up for the webinar: "How Google’s tools Help Home Improvement Businesses Succeed In Digital Marketing" - www.surefiresocial.com/googlewebinar For more podcasts visit: www.surefiresocial.com/podcast