Written by Zach Hansen
Now more than ever we’re seeing a trend of growth in the remodeling industry. You may be thinking about starting a remodeling business. Before you dive in, we thought we’d share some helpful tips on how to run a successful home remodeling business.
Develop a Business Plan
Now that you’ve got the excitement behind starting your business, it can be tempting to want to just jump in. We encourage you to take a step back and create a remodeling business plan. A business plan is a way to help you think through all aspects of your business and ensure you will be prepared to handle things as your business continues to grow. It also helps you identify your goals as a business, your financial structure, who your customers are and what differentiates you in the market. As your remodeling business grows your business plan with grow with it, so think of this as a working document you will continue to change.
Create Your Brand
We are in the age of branding! With digital presence as a major touchpoint, it’s more important than ever for you to be able to differentiate yourself from other businesses. Your brand is a representation of how you want to be perceived. It creates a way for customers to understand who you are as a company and what they can expect from your company.
Big components of creating a Brand are name and logo.
For names:
- Keep it simple
- Make sure your name matches your service
- Do some research (make sure no one else already took your name)
For logos:
- Use colors that match with the energy or feeling of your company
- Do some research on symbols that relate to your name or mission
- Make sure your logo is unique and identifiable
Register Your Business
Once you’ve created your business plan and chosen a name you’ll need to register your home remodeling business with your local government. This will be called a “DBA” or doing business as name. Each state has different register requirements so make sure to check your local government.
Insure Your Business
The remodeling business can span many different types of work, so you want to make sure you protect yourself and your employees by getting licensed, bonded and insured. Usually general contractors need a business license and general liability insurance. You may want to look into a small business license if you plan on having employees. Each state has different regulations so do some research into what your state requires for you.
Hire & Train Your Employees
So you’ve started your home remodeling business and now you want to hire employees.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Register new hires with your state
- Train them in your company policies
- Prepare an employee handbook as a written record of all policies
- This may include dress code, sick days, protocols and safety information
Lastly don’t forget that you are leading a team now. It’s a good time to hone your leadership skills. As a leader, it’s important that you communicate with your team both on and off the job to make sure employees feel valued and comfortable in their work environment.
Plan for Subcontractors
Even the best remodeling pros will need to call in a subcontractor at some point. Usually these subcontractors are skilled in a specific trade that may be needed on a project. Before you bring on your subcontractors make sure your agreement of work being done is clear and in writing. This may include the scope of work, your business policies, and inspection of completed work. Keep in mind the financial cost of hiring a subcontractor when you are pricing the project with your client.
Generate New Leads
Generating new leads is one of the most important parts of running a home remodeling business. Our last article dove into ways to find free leads, but here some tips:
- Write a newsletter
- Use customer referrals
- Network with your local community
Continue Your Education
When you’re a business owner, your work is never done. There are always ways to grow and develop professionally. There are always things you will be learning and having to adapt to as your business grows. It is important to continue your education in order to keep on top of your business. There are many ways to learn including podcasts, networking with other remodeling pros or taking an online course. The results will show!