Remodeling Mastery by Mark Richardson

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (0:27) In This Episode: Google Insights Google’s access to millions of American homeowners gives them unparalleled insight into who your consumers are, what they do, what they care about and how things are changing. If you’re a builder or remodeler looking to attract more and better-quality leads, they are a resource you can’t afford to ignore. In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark goes over five Google insights that should inform your messaging, your marketing focus, and even your product or service offerings. (17:16) Thought Leader Interview with Larry Green, CEO and Co-founder of System Pavers Larry’s story as a business owner is one of resilience and adaptability. Having started two home improvement companies and carried each through major economic recessions on both sides of the Atlantic, he has a unique understanding of what it takes for a business to survive the worst. Tune in as he and Mark discuss the value of taking action, making tough decisions, having a Plan B, and more. “You have to have a system of processes to be successful… Trying to scale anything without good systems in place guarantees failure.” —Larry Green

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (1:17) In This Episode: Why We Struggle Running a remodeling business isn’t easy. In an industry full of challenges and potential missteps, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that struggle is just another fact of life. But what happens when conditions are favorable and everyone else seems to be thriving? How do you explain the struggle then? In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark urges businesses to take a closer look at the common denominators between floundering businesses and what you can do to catapult yourself out of the struggle and into success. (13:49) Thought Leader Interview with Michael Anschel, President of Otogawa-Anschel Design+Build Few remodelers understand the value of transparency quite like Michael, whose company is known for their atypical approach to pricing—one that emphasizes what he calls PHAT: profit, honesty, accuracy and transparency. Now that it’s become such a big buzzword in construction circles, we ask: how can we become more transparent, and are we really going to see returns? Find out in this episode’s Thought Leader Interview. “We actively promote the fact that we’re fully transparent… that they get to see everything. They get to see how the sausage is made, and that’s huge. They love it. They love the fact that they can proceed with confidence and never feel like they’re stuck with a black box.” —Michael Anschel

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. In this episode... (1:18) In This Episode: Transparency It’s a quality two-thirds of homeowners look for when researching remodelers, but one many contractors are uncomfortable demonstrating. With customers demanding that transparency be the norm in business, and companies feeling forced to give away their secret sauce, can we find a middle ground that satisfies and delivers value to both? In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark explains the ins and outs of disclosing some information traditionally kept private—think pricing structures, internal processes and profit margins—and why meeting homeowners’ expectations of transparency is to everyone’s ultimate benefit. (12:28) Thought Leader Interview with Brian Gottlieb, CEO of Tundraland Home Improvements If anyone deserves to be called a thought leader, Brian Gottlieb is it. It takes a special kind of thinking to be able to start a business in the middle of the Great Recession and then grow it into a brand with an almost unheard-of conservative goal of $50 million. In this riveting interview, Mark and Brian talk about the value of hanging out with other growth-focused individuals, how genuine community service builds business, Tundraland’s out-of-left-field approach to solving a communication crisis, and more. Stick around; you’re in for a treat! “When the conversation of competition comes up, we don’t pay much attention to it—because if our competition wants to copy our performance, they first have to copy what goes on inside of our people’s heads.” —Brian Gottlieb

Keep your finger on the pulse of your business and that of the larger remodeling industry by tuning in to this episode of Remodeling Mastery, with Mark Richardson and special guest Erika Taylor. Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (1:42) In This Episode: Digital Fitness One inevitable effect of technology revolutionizing the remodeling industry is that digital fitness is now a key aspect of overall business health. No “unfit” brand can expect to thrive in a complex, competitive market in the digital age. But how do you know you’re fit enough to compete? In the same way physical fitness is a function of strength, flexibility, balance, speed, mobility and endurance, digital fitness is a product of multiple factors. In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark Richardson uses the analogy of a bike wheel to break down the seven essential “spokes” a business must maintain in order to achieve optimal digital fitness. (16:13) Thought Leader Interview with Erika Taylor, Director of Content for Professional Remodeler As chief of content for one of the nation’s leading construction and remodeling trade publications, Erika has an unequaled vantage point into the hottest trends and issues moving and shaking the home improvement space. Tune in to this Thought Leader Interview, where she and Mark take the pulse of the market and give us a closer look into what today’s homeowner wants and expects from remodelers like yourself.

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (0:27) In This Episode: Misconceptions Mark wraps his head around a few common misconceptions he sees out in the industry. If you are led by misconceptions and guided by these beliefs, then you might find yourself in some unique challenges...all of which are avoidable, if you just had a good pulse on the industry. Mark walks us through 10 common misconceptions and shares how you can think about these in your own business. (13:03) Thought Leader Interview with Bill Baldwin, CEO and Principal of Hartman Baldwin Business is business, but when you’ve got a $9M entrepreneurial company on one hand and a $21M professionally-managed company on the other, you’re dealing with entirely different beasts. Bill Baldwin has dealt with both, to great success. What did it take for HartmanBaldwin to bust through the entrepreneurial ceiling and become one of the top design/build firms, not just in SoCal, but nationwide? Tune in to find out!

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (1:27) In This Episode: How Are You Doing? It’s a question many of us resort to when breaking the ice, one that often just disappears into the background of day-to-day conversations. But when we’re talking shop, knowing how to look at the question, run it through objective filters, and answer it critically is a vital skill. Mark G. Richardson breaks it down in a way that will take you beyond your personal glass-half-full/glass-half-empty biases and help you come to terms with the true state of your business. So… how are you doing? (13:36) Thought Leader Interview with Kermit Baker, Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and Chief Economist for the American Institute of Architects If anybody has anything close to a crystal ball into the future of remodeling, it’s Kermit Baker. Tune in as he and Mark compare notes on what’s been going on so far in 2019, what the latter half of the year has in store for us, and what’s likely to come in 2020 and beyond. Are we seeing storm clouds up ahead? Headwinds? Tailwinds? How should these forecasts affect your game plan for your business? Find out all this and more in this Thought Leader segment.

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (1:06) In This Episode: Tailwinds How do you know if your remodeling business’s health is a product of your efforts or of current headwinds and tailwinds in the industry? Are you really going at it with all pistons firing, or are you just along for the ride? These are the questions Mark challenges you to answer in this episode of Remodeling Mastery. Don’t miss out! Your ability to identify and address the macro phenomena affecting your business can spell the difference between making it to your destination and sitting dead in the water. (13:37) Thought Leader Interview with Mark McClanahan, President of Mosby Building Arts Today’s Thought Leader segment is a case study on successful succession planning. Mark McClanahan gives us an inside look at Mosby Building Arts’ secrets to smooth leadership transitions. How do you avoid the all-too-common pitfalls of leadership vacuums, loss of momentum, and watered-down brand identity? How do you raise forward-looking leaders who can stay in alignment with your original vision without getting mired in “the way things are done around here”? Keep your Notes app on standby—there’s a lot to learn!

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of the 40,000 listeners by subscribing today at www.surefirelocal.com/remodeling-mas…ery-subscribe/ or by searching for Remodeling Mastery on your podcast app of choice. In this episode: (1:09) In This Episode: Disruptive Influences Nothing forces a remodeling business to change (for better or worse) quite like a disruptor. From the big box stores of the 80s and home and garden shows of the 90s, all the way to today’s Google Local Services ads, we’ve seen time and again how disruptors change the game irreversibly and in the most fundamental ways. But more important than knowing what’s behind these far-reaching changes is knowing how to react and adjust to them. In this episode of Remodeling Mastery, Mark talks about three disruptive influences displacing established systems in home improvement: time, technology and transparency. (11:24) Thought Leader Interview with Tony Mancini, Publisher and Group Director at SGC Horizon For today’s Thought Leader segment, Mark brings in Tony Mancini, whose long career in design and construction journalism and publishing has given him incredible insight into key areas of the home improvement industry. They talk about seismic shifts in the marketplace, the scale and pace of change, trends in tech innovation and adaptation, and much, much more. If you’re an overwhelmed, time-starved remodeler struggling to stay current, make sure you stick around to the very end of this episode. In 2019, Mark G. Richardson is taking his popular podcast series to the next level with a fresh new format in store for listeners. Mark will be integrating interviews with thought leaders who have experienced tremendous success in the industry and growing their own businesses to share snippets of wisdom to help you achieve the same. Additionally, Mark is bringing in some experts to share key indicators that they're seeing out there in the marketplace that could have a monumental impact on your business.

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of our 50,000 listeners by subscribing today—just search for ‘Remodeling Mastery’ on your podcast app of choice. (0:52) In This Episode: Are You Stressed Out? This episode of Remodeling Mastery gives us a much-needed look at something all business owners are intimately familiar with: stress. Contractors today experience stress at levels higher and in ways more complex than ever before. Not managed properly, it can suck the joy out of your business and make effective problem solving near impossible. So what’s a business owner to do when things are threatening to spiral out of control? That’s what Mark Richardson is here to talk about. (17:52) Thought Leader Interview with Rick Wuest, President and CEO of Thompson Creek Window Company Mark and Rick take a trip down memory lane to see how Thompson Creek and the larger home improvement industry have changed over the past couple of decades. They go deep into the importance of balancing forward momentum and stability at a time when the pace of change is accelerating everywhere in the home services space: do we stay ahead of the wave, behind it or just in it? Finally, Rick touches on the difference between worrying about things you can’t control and active problem solving. If you’ve ever been kept up at night by the thought of where your business is heading, make time to tune in to this segment. “Charles Darwin figured it out a long time ago: it’s not the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent that survives, it’s the one that’s most able to adapt.” —Rick Wuest

Thank you for listening to Remodeling Mastery! Become one of the 48,000 listeners by subscribing today at https://www.surefirelocal.com/remodeling-mastery-subscribe/ or by searching for Remodeling Mastery on your podcast app of choice. (1:28) In This Episode: Time is Not on Your Side Mark talks about the biggest disruptor for a business, discussing how time between the moment a prospect connects with you to the point they decide to actually do a project is growing, no thanks to time-starved busy clients to a proliferation of choices that can also overwhelm. In this episode, he also outlines what he believes businesses can do to offset the effects of time, helping spur growth by knowing your numbers, tweaking processes, categorizing prospects, and creating urgencies. (12:40) Thought Leader Interview With Eric Minkiewicz, President and CEO of Huff ‘N Puff Eric starts off with how Huff ‘N Puff got its name, giving listeners a quick rundown of the company’s history and talking about his career experience leading up to joining the home improvement industry professionally in 2001. He and Mark also got into the nitty-gritty of creating focused products and services, as well as the keys to Huff ‘N Puff’s success (Clue: A great deal of it involves 100% commitment) and the mistakes business owners should avoid, including what keeps Eric up at night. Don’t miss out on this episode! Subscribe to Remodeling Mastery using your favorite podcast app! In 2019, Mark G. Richardson is taking his popular podcast series to the next level with a fresh new format in store for listeners. Mark will be integrating interviews with thought leaders who have experienced tremendous success in the industry and growing their own businesses to share snippets of wisdom to help you achieve the same. Additionally, Mark is bringing in some experts to share key indicators that they’re seeing out there in the marketplace that could have a monumental impact on your business.