The Design Builder's Blog

Is Your Business Ready For The Expected Surge In Remodeling Spending?

Remember back in 2006 before the great recession how much work there was for remodelers?  Remember how busy you were and how easy it was to sell your services?  And, back then, there was a good supply of experience workers and subcontractors.  Then the recession came and things changed forever.  Well, the remodeling economy has become healthy again and is predicted to get even better for the next year.  According to one article in Qualified Remodeler magazine the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies predicts an 8% increase in remodeling spending between now and the end of 2017.  That means a lot more work for remodelers, but only if they and their businesses are ready for it.

Below are three things to consider if you want to be ready to take advantage of the surge in sales predicted to begin in the first quarter of 2017.  How you address the third one could make or break your ability to take advantage of the surge.

Decide what your price point will be:

When demand for services picks up so does the market price for those services.  If you have been selling on price and as a result haven’t been making enough money to live the lifestyle you desire, both today and when you eventually retire, now is the time to start charging more.  And, in addition to raising your prices, be careful how much work you say yes to. The point here is to make sure you don’t pre-sell a whole bunch of work at your current margins.  If you do you will prevent your business from being available to sell and complete work when demand and therefore job prices rise due to supply and demand. Although having a good backlog of work can be comforting, coming to realize you could be making a lot more money may lead to strong regrets.  Also, keep in mind that material and subcontractor costs will also climb due to supply and demand.  Make sure you estimate direct job costs based on when you will actually do the work, not what it would cost if you were doing it today.

Related article:

Why Building a Backlog of Work Could Cost Some Contractors a Lot of Money

Be selective about customers and job types

The surge in spending will lead to a surge in job leads. This will afford remodelers the opportunity to be much more selective about who they will allow to become customers as well as what job types they will accept from those customers.  Remember, the customers you serve will be sending you referrals. Those customers hang around with other people just like them.  If you work for customers who beat you up on price and micromanage how you do business, their referrals will likely want to do the same.  To avoid working for the wrong customers first define the profile of your target client.  Then, armed with that information, make sure you also have a great prequalify process to help you filter through you leads.  When it comes to job types be selective there too.   If you have been doing so I suggest you stop allowing customers to buy their own materials.  It may save money for them to do so, but at the same time it costs your business if you cannot get any margin on those materials.  Instead concentrate on material intensive project types like kitchens and baths.  Earning gross profit by selling more and more expensive materials is much easier than trying to do so by selling and managing labor.

Related article:

25 Sample Questions Contractors Can Use For Prequalifying Prospects

Get your production resources ready

Selling the work and selling it at high margins is one challenge.  But in my option that’s a much easier challenge these days than trying to find and keep enough quality production staff and trade subcontractors to keep up with the work, and complete it with quality. Don’t wait until you already need the help to start looking for them.  Instead, recruit good workers now and test them out to be sure they are right for your business and your business is right for them. During the winter months many employees are let go or laid off by contractors who lack good sales and marketing skills. This makes the winter a good time to look for prospective employees because there are more to choose from and because their options of available jobs are limited. Use the next few months to vet out the good ones and send the underperformers back out looking for jobs. Using this strategy it’s likely you will be able to produce the work you sell much easier while your competition has to do the best they can with the workers you passed up and or let go.

Related article:

Afraid To Hire Employees For Fear Of Running Out Of Work For Them?

How to Have a Hassle-Free Tax Season: 3 Tips for Small Business Owners

Small business owners usually cringe at the thought of tax season. They are busy enough with their daily operations that they don’t want to spend all of the time and energy getting ready to file on time. They also may dread of thought of paying more in taxes than they feel they should. While small business owners cannot avoid taxes altogether (even though they wish they could), they can take some steps now to avoid the hassles that typically come at tax time.

Consult Last Year’s Return

One of the best moves small business owners can make now to prepare for the upcoming tax season is to review last year’s return carefully. You may realize that you missed some deductions or expenses that you want to be sure to take advantage of this year. Or, you may realize that you underestimated this year’s taxes and need to start saving now.

On the other hand, if looking at last year’s return makes you feel completely overwhelmed, it’s time to invest in W-2 software and/or 1099 software tax software or hire an accountant or tax lawyer who specializes in small business taxes. Sometimes it’s better to admit defeat and utilize the tools and resources available to you and leave the hassle to someone else. It’s also important to note that it’s not advisable to wait to consult with a tax attorney or hire an accountant. These professionals become swamped after the first of the year and may not be able to schedule an appointment with you if you wait too long to reach out for help.

Have Your Records in Order

Even if you are diligent about keeping receipts, a tax organizer or tax diary is a must. It’s also critical that small business owners keep their expense logs separate from their tax organizers, especially because high-quality tax organizers cover all of the questions the IRS will want answers to regarding travel, entertainment, and expenses should you be audited. Small business owners who keep tax organizers are better protected if they are audited because the burden of proof rests on the IRS when they have all of their expenses and taxes in order and logged properly.

Be Diligent about Deductions and Expenses

While you are keeping your records in order, you need to be diligent about it. Taking legitimate deductions is one of the best ways to lower your tax liability, but without the proper documentation, it is difficult to take the deductions and arm yourself should auditors come calling. It’s also a good idea to decide now whether you are taking the home office deduction or not; if you have a dedicated space in your home where you conduct business and nothing else, you are entitled to the home office deduction. You’ll also have to decide whether you are going to calculate this deduction using the standard method of calculating square feet and adding up costs for rent or a mortgage and utilities before multiplying by the percentage of the home that you use as an office or the new method of taking a deduction of $5 per square foot of office space.

Categorizing expenses as equipment instead of supplies can cause a lot of headaches when it comes time to file your taxes. Keep in mind that supplies are things that you use during the year and replenish frequently, such as printer paper, pens, staples, file folders, and printer ink. On the other hand, equipment typically includes items that are more expensive and that last longer than a year. Equipment usually includes computers, software, furniture, and servers. You also should decide now whether you are going to write off the whole cost of new equipment this year or take depreciation over several years.

As a small business owner, you have the power to make your tax season hassle free if you learn from past years and take advantage of available tools and resources, have complete records in place, and correctly categorize deductions and expenses.

Guest Blogger: Julie Morris

LED Lighting Guide for Contractors

A clear understanding of how LED lighting works can open immense possibilities for contractors to be able to evaluate and compare performance of luminaires. It will also enable providers to propose the right luminaires for clients based on knowledge of light installations and how they are predicted to perform.

Benefits of LED Lighting

LED or light-emitting diode has revolutionized light installations. This type of lighting requires less energy and loses less heat. The life of a LED bub is longer compared to the traditional ones. Life spans are quoted by companies from 50,000 to 100,00 hours or nearly 100 times longer than the traditional bulb.

In addition, it does not need a lot of maintenance and replacement making it cost-effective. To demonstrate, a typical LED lighting will produce over 100 lumens per watt (LPW). Lumen is the amount of light emitted from a source.  A 100W incandescent bulb will produce the same luminosity but will use up more energy compared to LED bulbs.

Not only is LED cost-effective, it has outstanding color quality and excellent efficiency. Color rendering index (CRI) is the term used to define the ability of light or lamp to replicate the colors of an object on a scale of 1 to 100 where 100 is the equivalent of sunlight.

LED lighting is also smaller and compact, an easy and quick job for contractors.

What to Look for When Purchasing LED Lighting

The most important specification when buying LED is lumen output. This means that when proposing lights for certain living spaces, you will consider the amount of light it produces (brightness) and ensure it is adequate for your customers' requirements. For example, you will need brighter lights in working spaces such as the kitchen and dimmer lights in the bedroom to induce sleep.

Then you will need to look at the LPW or lumens per watt. Put simply, this is the amount of lumens produced for every watt that is used. The higher the number, the better it is in order to match the CCT or the correlated temperature (measurement of coolness or warmth) measured in kelvins (K). It indicates whether a light is warm, neutral or cool white in appearance. Finally, you have to compare the CRI, with a higher rating a better choice, that is, greater than 80 is rated as good and greater than 90, very good.

Other Features to Consider

Safety certifications vary across different regions in the world such as UL, ETL, CSA, NOM and CE. Products must be rated for moisture conditions and intended use/application such as dry, damp or wet. You might see two codes: ingress protection (IP) and insulation contact (IC). IP ratings consist of two numbers: first one indicates protections against solids including dust (0-6 where 0 means not protected and 6 well-protected). IC ratings indicate protections against liquids (0-8 where 0 means not protected and 8 means that it can be submerged in liquids).

Overall, contractors have a large number of reasons for using LED light bulbs as opposed to rival bulb types. As mentioned above these range from flexibility of design and function, to lower energy costs and longevity. The LED bulb's market share is growing just as its purchase price decreases. This is giving contractors the perfect opportunity to create new, stunning and innovative designs, features, and displays that has not been possible until now. Using LEDs will give you the design edge you are looking for to stand out from the crowd.

Guest Blogger: Leigh Marcos worked in home design and lighting before becoming a mother of two and a freelance writer. A keen photographer, she enjoys taking her dogs for long walks through the countryside in the hope of getting that perfect shot.

These 12 Hard Questions Can Help You Decide if You Own a Remodeling Business or a Low Paying Job

Are you pretending to be a remodeling business owner but in reality you are actually just a "job owner"?  The questions below are tough and may make you feel real bad about yourself depending on how you answer them. But that’s not why I assembled them. Don’t kid yourself. If you are not cut out to be a business owner recognize that reality now. Don’t wait until you lose you all your money, your home and maybe even your family.  If being in business is not your calling keep in mind the industry is desperate for good employees.  Real remodeling business owners offer good jobs with great pay and benefits.  Answering these questions might just be the best thing you do for yourself this year.

1. Are you one of about 85% of remodeling business owners who have no clue regarding how to calculate your required markup and gross profit margin (WAG)?
2. Are you one of those business owners who uses a convoluted scheme for marking up different things at different markups even though you have no idea whether you are buying or selling jobs (WAG)?
3. Are you one of those business owners who doesn't know the difference between markup and margin, or worse you think they mean the same thing (WAG)?
4. Are you one of about 80% who do marketing without a marketing plan?
5. Are you one of those business owners who has no idea whether you made or lost money until your taxes are done in March or April by your “historian accountant” (WAG)?
6. Are you constantly getting tax filing extensions because your books are a mess and or because you don't have the money to pay the taxes you were surprised to find out you owe (WAG)?
7. Is your business up to its eyeballs in debt and you have no idea how or why you got there, or how you will ever get it paid off (WAG)?
8. Are you, or will you be, one of the 52% of Americans ages 62-65 who have less than $25K saved for retirement?
9. If you divided your total pay Wage plus net profits) by the number of hours you worked this past year are some or all of your employees making more per hour than you?
10. Are you able to still say you’re still in business because of your wife’s job and health care plan?
11. Do you brag that you do no marketing and totally rely on referrals but at the same time complain about the jobs and customers you get?
12. If you answered yes to most or all of the above are you ready to do something about it?

7 Ways to Use Mobile Technology for Construction

Contractors tend to have a practical approach to their work, and in a competitive market with many moving pieces and complicated projects, investing in the latest technology can help good contractors do their work better. In fact, 75 percent of small to mid-sized construction firms in North America have used a mobile device for work. Like any good tool, using mobile technology can make construction more efficient, accurate and cost-effective. Here’s how:

1. Attract More Clients

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has revolutionized the planning phase of construction, drawing in more clients because owners can understand the design better. This technology is quickly rising in prominence, and with it comes the client’s expectation that the outcome of a construction project will be clear to them from the very beginning. With programs like BIM 360 Glue, contractors and clients with a tablet can see a model come to life before their eyes exactly where they stand in the building.

2. Tracking Workers

Say goodbye to messy timecards, spreadsheets and wondering where your employees are when they say they’re working. With GPS-enabled mobile technology like ClockShark, construction workers can clock in remotely via a smartphone app. Location and hours are logged automatically, and administrators can save time spent managing payroll by at least 50 percent.

3. Tracking Equipment

Rather than digging through piles of equipment or replacing lost items, construction companies around the world now use RFID tags to find misplaced or stolen equipment. High value assets can be tracked remotely, and managers can see in real time where each piece of equipment or tool is located.

4. Increasing Productivity

Mobile technology gives construction professionals the ability to track orders, make phone calls, read emails and solve problems from anywhere. Workers can view client contracts, share blueprints or submit maintenance requests from a tablet. Managers can respond to needs as they arise, saving time and moving the project ahead at a faster rate.

5. Improving Communication

Mobile phones and tablets can be used for photo sharing and video conferencing with clients. Use an app to schedule meetings and sync your mobile calendar with your desktop calendar. Push notifications out to all of your workers when you’re on the job instead of wasting time returning to the office. The new Apple iPhone 7 is equipped with a 12MP wide-angle camera for top-notch photo and video quality and is both water and dust resistant, which can come in handy on a construction site.

6. Lowering Costs

Streamline processes with mobile apps and automatic notifications. Virtually eliminate data entry with mobile time clocks and job write ups. Use BIM software or a simple photo sharing strategy to ensure that your work is approved by the client at all times. This improved communication process will result in less reworks, which saves both time and money. That way you can save the company’s bottom line for the really important stuff: getting the job done right.

7. Capture Real-Time Analytics

If equipment, inventory, job progress and workers’ time are all being tracked with a mobile device, then it’s possible to obtain real-time analysis of how all of those moving parts relate to each other. Being able to respond to real-time analytics means that you can achieve great efficiency and more profits that much faster than your competition.

Contractors Should Know About These Popular New Sink Styles

The kitchen is one of the most desired spaces for a home remodel. This should come as no surprise as this area is often the gathering place of friends and family. Today more than ever, homeowners are all about customizing this area of the home.  Contractors can better serve their customers by knowing and differentiating the trending sink options available in the marketplace.

In addition to knowing the current trending sink styles, contractors should also be knowledgeable about popular faucet options, too. A helpful online resource, such as Angie’s List, can allow for contractors to read up on what homeowners are seeking out, from pull-down to touchless faucets.

These are the sink style trends that are popular among consumers right now.

Drop-In

Drop-in, also called self-rimming sinks, is one of the most popular styles and also very easy to install. With this style, its weight is supported by a rim that runs above the countertop surface. These types of sinks are available in different materials including stainless steel, enameled cast iron and porcelain. Not only are these sinks affordable, they are also durable and easy to clean, earning them a top spot on the consumer’s most desired list.

Undermount

Installed below the countertop, undermount-style sinks offer consumers an easy cleanup in the kitchen and a seamless look. However, contractors should know that this style of sink can only be used with solid-surface kitchen countertops, such as granite, composite or marble. Undermount sinks are an affordable option, and like drop-in sinks, these are available in a variety of different materials — like enameled cast-iron — for example, and colors to fit a kitchen’s design.

Integrated Quartz

A popular choice among homeowners who prefer quartz countertops in their kitchen, this style of sink offers a seamless and sleek look. It is built into the countertop using the same color and materials as the countertop. Today many manufacturers, such as Cosentino North America, are offering this style of sink as an option when installing quartz material countertops in the home.

Porcelain Apron

These sinks are made to resemble the old-fashioned style of sinks that were often found in farmhouses. Quite large and made from materials including the popular porcelain option, stainless steel and even copper, they're hardy and can stand up to whatever task needed.

Integrated Marble

Although similar to the integrated quartz style sink that is built-in using the same materials as the countertop, this kitchen sink trend has a more luxurious flair because of its material. Natural stone marble, which is pricier than quartz materials, is available in a wide variety of stone colors, which makes it easy for homeowners to customize and also clean, offering a seamless design for the kitchen space.

Bamboo

This sink style is not yet mainstream but it is gaining popularity for its unique and exotic appeal. Bamboo has long been a staple in home design and decor for its durability and eco-friendliness. With a water-resistant coating, a bamboo sink can make a kitchen truly stand out.

Food Prep Sinks

Sometimes homeowners want to add more than one sink to their kitchen and cooking area. This is called the prep sink. This style of sink is available in styles like a crescent moon shape, for example, often offering a modern and unique look to a kitchen. This is handy if a homeowner plans to entertain frequently.

Construction is a large umbrella ranging from handyman projects to large, multi-funded developments. Some contractors are all tools and skill while others are masters of management and leverage. Fitting all of this under the single category of e-commerce is futile. To truly create a web presence, you need to know your marketing voice and develop your site around the things that drive your audience.

Expert Driven Design

Some people are selling themselves as experts in their industry. For this central marketing message, a blog may be the best. Blogs tend to be written in first or second person, using “me” and “you,” which automatically develops a bond between the writer and the audience. They are usually descriptive, telling the reader how and why something should be done. Take a look at the Amway blog as a good example of a business blog concentrating on industry expertise. Inc Magazine has some good tips for creating content for a great business blog as well.

The Supply Chain Site

In manufacturing, the supply chain is extremely important. The supply chain is the total process from inception to customer care, including suppliers, marketers and the title company that assists in closing. In construction, this is project management and some e-commerce sites use its unique issues as the driving message. An e-commerce supply chain site will be broken down into specific topics of project management. One section may have a supplier and a shopping cart for these items. Another section would have human resource information and your services listed. The idea is that the website will guide a user through the entire breadth of project development.

Product as the Traditional E-Commerce Website

When most people think of e-commerce, they think of Amazon with its departments and lists of item after item. If you are selling products, the traditional e-commerce rules apply. Your site needs to have an easily identifiable navigation bar and solid search functions. The images need to be clear and sharp, being part of a good preview system. Your descriptions should be both poetic and specific, enumerating the product specs in bulleted form. As part of a larger marketing plan, the site and every individual item needs to be easily shareable on social media.

Social Motivated Websites

Where some contractors are focused on their expertise, others are social and friendly, providing a marketing message centered on trust. In the construction industry, this is huge. A trusted contractor is worth his weight in gold. Like the expert site, the social site is content driven but here it is a dialogue instead of a monologue. It should revolve around active social media feeds that allow for a conversation format. A question and answer section will keep people on your site longer and keep them coming back, both being keys to successful e-commerce sales.

The Mix

The gut reaction is to try and do everything, but the reality is that you do not have experience in every facet of the construction industry. Your specialization should be reflected on your website. As your e-commerce site is developed, some things will be added while others will be discarded. A shopping cart is only useful for selling products but generally not for services. Just make certain the website can be shared on social media since it is a good source of marketing.

How to Get Prospects to Buy Remodeling Services When the Investment Cost is Higher Than the Return

One of the selling points of a home improvement project is its projected return on investment.  But let’s say you’re talking to a potential client and you’re making a presentation for a home remodeling project. What if the client points out that he can’t get a 100% or more return on his investment? How can you still get him to buy your remodeling services?  Read on for some strategies that can help you get them to buy.

Your presentation should focus on the benefits they can get right away

• Focus your presentation on the benefits that the homeowners will get once the remodeling project is done. For example if they’re considering an attic conversion, help them feel that the investment is worth it because they can get an extra living space and maybe use it as a bedroom. It’s surely more affordable than a new bedroom addition.

Treat the future return on investment as a bonus

The real returns on investment are the benefits they’ll experience as soon as the remodeling project is done. That’s what they’ll be paying for. As soon as they’ve realized that the benefits make the cost worth it, you can then tell them that as a bonus, they can recoup a good part of their investment when they sell their home in the future.

Of course, it wouldn’t hurt if you’ll mention it as if selling their home in the future will be out of the question with all the benefits that they’ll get to experience and love.

Condition the mind of the prospects to be appreciative of the price

What problems are going to be solved with the remodeling project? Will it solve the problem of lack of space, outdated fixtures, damages, etc.? Condition their mind in such a way that their investment is to solve these problems. Prospects will be more appreciative of the price when they’re conditioned to think that it’s going to solve their problems.

Focus on you as a remodeler

The National Association of Home Builders conducted a survey in the 70s that showed that price was 7^th in the list of considerations of homeowners purchasing a new home or remodeling an existing one. The 1^st on the list is the reputation of the company.

Sure, that survey was more than 4 decades ago, but it’s hard to think of homeowners not giving the company’s reputation prime consideration in their decision. Besides in a 2013 survey conducted by Houzz, 81% out of 100,000 respondents said that good reviews and recommendations are very important. In the same survey, 70% of the respondents said that expertise in their field is very important.

On the other hand, only 8% of the respondents said that getting the lowest cost option is very important.

Help them invest in you and not on your services. Point out to your credentials. Showcase your portfolio. Share the feedback that you’ve been getting. Address their fears.

Give them a detailed quote

You can’t just quote them without showing them what they’re going to get. Help them understand what they’re going to get. If they see a comprehensive list of needed products and services, they’ll be more open to the cost.

Help them lower the cost

If the cost is really important to them, you can help them lower the cost but not to the point of cutting into your profit margins. For example in a kitchen remodeling project, you can recommend painting the backsplash instead of tiling it. They can save thousands of dollars without you compromising your margins. It’s very different from lowering your overall fee and still sticking with tiling the backsplash.

Hopefully, these strategies will help you sign up prospects even if they’re having second thoughts due to the ROI that’s lower than the investment cost. To get a better understanding of the expected ROI of remodeling a home, visit Contractor Quotes to see the infographic on the topic.

Guest Blogger: Thomas Jepsen is the owner of the website Contractor Quotes which helps homeowners save time and money by putting them in contact with screened contractors in their area. Additionally, Contractor Quotes provides an array of articles on different kinds of home improvement.

How Contractors Can Build and Better Their Client Relationships

Though going above and beyond with the project at hand is usually the No. 1 priority for contractors, creating and cultivating client relationships follows closely behind in position No. 2. Any business owner and manager knows that building and maintaining great relationships with clients — otherwise known as relationship marketing — is key to a company’s success. Many companies, however, do not employ a dedicated customer relationship manager (CRM). But that doesn’t mean relationship marketing should be pushed to the wayside. We’ve gathered four tips on how you can help cultivate positive relationships with clients right now:

Connecting the Dots

One CEO says her best tip is to be a connector. In other words, when meeting a potential new client, or even a current client, ask yourself what you can do for them. Aside from the job or project at hand, perhaps you’ve gleaned from the conversation that he or she could use a referral to a good painter, or even something as minor as a good place for lunch. Giving clients or potential clients access to your network can help them gain confidence in your advice. Always having an “I can help” attitude, even if it doesn’t directly benefit you, will leave a positive effect on people...and could result in more business or a referral one day.

Get Clear

Experts also agree that clear communication goes a long way in keeping clients happy. They say to be upfront from the very moment you meet with clients or potential clients so you can bid in a fair and accurate way. Also, be sure you are completely clear on client expectations and that they are clear on what you can deliver to ensure a united vision. Additionally, using layman’s terms with clients who may not have excessive construction experience can help them understand better and not feel awkward by asking for clarification.

Further, deciding from the start who the point of contact will be on both ends, as well as determining the preferred mode of communication — whether text, email or phone calls — can help avoid ambiguity.

Number One

Another best practice is to treat every client like your most important client. Since satisfied clients are more likely to refer you, it is wise to provide each and every client with your very best service, no matter if they are bringing you the largest payment or the smallest. Just like in life, you never know who people know, and who they may (or may not) refer you to. Not to mention, today’s startup could be tomorrow’s Fortune 500 Company. So provide service accordingly.

Tokens of Appreciation

While offering clients your own company swag — pens, T-shirts, etc. — is a nice way to share your appreciation and get your name out there, it is wise to consider doing more. Sometimes, even the smallest form of a “thank you” is deeply appreciated by clients. Don’t underestimate the power of something as small as a hand-written thank-you card. However, if you’d like to go above and beyond, an unexpected gift delivery at the end of the project or on a holiday can send a bigger message of thanks.

An unexpected delivery can brighten anyone’s day. Perhaps you know that your client is a wine enthusiast or enjoys a good microbrew. As such, a gift delivery with these items offers a personal touch. If you’re unsure of what to send, custom gift baskets full of luxury spa items, gourmet chocolates or sweet treats and cookies are always a safe bet. Beautifully designed and wrapped, FTD gift baskets offer a touch of class and will be something your client is sure to remember and appreciate.

Guest Blogger: Sheryl Coonan is a lifestyle, fashion and business writer from metro Detroit.

A lot of remodelers have contacted me recently looking for help with Design/Build.  Unfortunately many think they are doing or claim to be doing Design/Build, but they are not.  I know this because I know what Design/Build is, how to market it, how to sell it and how to manage it.  I find it sad to see how many hours and dollars are lost and wasted by contractors trying to figure out how to do Design/Build.  Worse, many pretend to be Design/Builders and actually have no idea what they are missing out on through their ignorance.

I find too many contractors pretending to do Design/Build lack the skills and experience to do it right.   Unfortunately their lack of knowledge coupled with their decision and or stubbornness to figure things out on their own leads to them to repeat the same mistakes so many other remodelers made before them.

I suggest there is always more than one way to do things.  I also know that the many things you are concerned about changing were things that I found were holding back my company and our ability to attract the right clients and project types for Design/Build.  I too was hesitant and said no one would pay that much to design and estimate, and pay for it in full up-front.  I also said people would not give up bidding.   I also said they would never go for Design/Build if they could not have the plans unless they also contracted for the construction. 

I was wrong and I was really glad I found out I was wrong.

Yes, becoming a real Design/Builder will be an evolution of change, if you are willing and able to commit to making the changes. The changes will not be easy and will require getting out of your current comfort zone to gain new experiences and results.

In the beginning selling real Design/Build will be challenging.   If you do it right you will come to trust Design/Build and so will your clients.   Here is what one of my clients shared:

“Shawn McCadden is the best business mentor and coach I have ever met.  He has a special talent for getting right to the heart of an issue, helping you find the solution that is right for your situation and then helping you implement the solution and monitor it.  His communication skills enable him to relate to a wide variety of people in ways that make his message interesting, understandable and memorable.  I have called on Shawn many times to help me through situations and am always glad I did.”

Trust is earned.   If you do Design/Build well with some clients they will come to trust you and will then let those they refer you to know you and your process can be trusted.

Just remember there are plenty of contractors already doing the things you are challenged to consider doing.  Once I discovered that fact I knew I could do it too.