Diversify Your Business – Expand Your Marketplace
In my last post, I reviewed how opportunity buyers do not look at a remodeling company as a good investment. Why – because every year we start over! We don’t have clients call us back after a major remodel asking to do another one. Most homeowners won’t do more than 1 major remodeling project in their life. If they do, there will often be a 10-year wait until they call back asking about another project.
Let me ask the question this way – would you want to buy your company? I think I know the answer to that one. By and large, we have remodeling company owners who have the majority of their funds invested in one thing – their business. The question here is how to convert this lifetime of work into a successful retirement plan (whatever that might look like). Here are some key points:
- There are over 100 million homes in this country
- Over half of these homes were constructed before 1980
- These homes are aging just like we are
- These homes need ongoing repairs, upgrades, and improvement
We need to expand our marketplace. I call this diversification. Instead of doing the large and complicated projects, can we start to assist homeowners with all of their home-related needs and concerns? Can we assist them with a seasonal check-up? The HVAC industry understood this years ago and they regularly offer annual maintenance plans. Guess what happens – homeowners sign up for and use these plans. Let’s build on this… Can we assist homeowners with understanding and planning for the replacement of key home systems:
- Roof
- Furnace
- Hot water heater
- Exterior siding/paint
- Exterior windows
Can we work with a home performance company so that we can provide our clients with an energy audit to reduce energy bills while making the home more comfortable? Can we help them plan for future improvements, helping them understand costs, and assisting them make home improvement decisions that make economic sense? Can we refer them to competent subcontractors and suppliers that will insure that any work done is done professionally and that complaints are handled quickly and professionally?
Summary
We develop remarkable relationships with our homeowner clients. Can we optimize these relationships, and become our client’s home advisor, assisting them with every home related decision? They have a family doctor. A family dentist. They probably have a family car mechanic.
