Remodeling Mastery by Mark Richardson

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 future outcomes. 6) Consistency in terms of results – sales, lead flows, profitability, both short term and long term. 7) Thinking in terms of growth – positioning themselves correctly, working very much on the business, not just on the day-to-day projects.

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 get done. Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. That's the key to how you can get to that 4th level of mastery.

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 business today, knowing how to define growth and working towards achieving it is how one in the remodeling industry can become successful.

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.