Writing about the state of the housing market isn’t engaging news; the dire state of the market is a known fact and truly amazing news will be news stating the market has somewhat gotten on its feet. I catch up with my real estate desire by indulging in HGTV shows, especially “Selling New York” and I previously enjoyed the last season of “Million Dollar Listing”. I always have an interest in the ways people help themselves stay afloat and thus, keep their industry going. “Home-Remodeling Businesses Get New Business Models” by Jason Fell of Entrepreneur.com showcases three home improvement companies and the changes they have implemented to adapt to economic conditions. I’m going to try my best to give a quick summation for each business; please refer to the article for more info.
Princeton Air Conditioning Inc.
This company originally focused on air conditioning and heating. 2008 was the beginning of change. “Company president J. Scott Needham laid off 10% of his 40 person staff and called an emergency meeting with his top managers” and began to consider changing his target market. He decided to make his business a franchisee of GreenHomes America and expanded the business to “offer energy-efficiency services, including insulation, high-efficiency hot-water systems, and geothermal heating and air-conditioning systems”. The result: 2009 revenue 17% higher than 2008 at $6.9 million and 2010 revenue was $8.5 million.
Formerly Crossroads Custom Carpentry, now River’s Edge Project Management
Matt Vetter’s business was home remodeling and centered in Detroit, MI. But as Detroit struggled so did Crossroad Custom Carpentry. 2006 was a turning point with revenue dropping and Vetter considered targeting the restaurant business. He started River’s Edge Project Management “which assists quick-service restaurant franchisees with new store construction and development”. The business was funded by whichever remodeling jobs he could do and he built his client list from his network. 2007 he got his first client and according to the article “revenues last year were up about 70% over 2009”.
Beach & Barn
Rusty Meador’s business, Beach & Barn, was inspired by his previous work “remodeling coastal homes and restoring historic barns.” While this was his work for more than a decade, he, unfortunately, started his business, during the financial crisis in 2009. According to Meador the problem is “I was naïve and didn’t really understand how to turn the relationships I had built over the years into revenue.” The solution was to brand his business to stand out. He and his wife designed a logo (a logo shirt is shown in the article) and represented the logo on clothing and the website. This turned into a retail business. The logo apparel helps to contribute to capital for his business; it is 10% of overall revenue for the company.
These entrepreneurs did not abandon their businesses, although they might have abandoned a previous business model. With these three examples, the businesses decided to expand, change, and brand their services to survive the economic downturn. From J. Scott Needham, the lesson is to think out of your comfort zone but realistically thinking about what you are able to do. Lesson from Matt Vetter: think of the clients you haven’t served and the ways your expertise is a product also. And from Rusty Meador, the lesson is branding; a great brand represents you and your company to help you stand out from the many others who do the same job and this brand can expand to more opportunities such as retail. These lessons can also be applied to those who are still struggling to find a job, change careers, and/ or move up within their position.
As mentioned the article has more information and entrepreneur.com is filled with multiple links and tools to help anyone with their business or personal branding.
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