The Successful Remodeler

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Woodstock, GA
The Successful Remodeler

I Started my remodeling company in 1996 and sold it in 2019 and now I help others achieve success.

My particular strength is helping create systems and processes to eliminate chaos. Jesus follower and mentor, married for 35 years, father of 5 girls, enjoy mountain biking, hiking and going to the gym.

10/26/2026

Before you start your next bathroom remodel, how much of the job is actually ready to go?

Not just priced. Selections made, materials purchased and either delivered or scheduled to arrive when needed, and subcontractors committed to pricing and scheduling.

Think about plumbing fixtures. You may not need them on day one, but you'll need them just a few days into the project. If they're not selected, purchased, and ready when needed, you're already setting yourself up for delays.

The goal isn't to have 100% of every project ready before starting. That's rarely realistic. But you need a minimum standard.

Here's what I recommend:

Identify early decisions. Know which selections, materials, and trades are needed during the first half of the project.

Set a minimum. Aim to have the first 50% of your schedule covered by completed selections, purchases, and confirmed trade commitments before starting.

Get commitments from trade partners.

Someone needs to drive selections and keep decisions moving.

The bottom line: Delayed decisions should mean a delayed start, not a stalled project.

It's much easier to explain why you're postponing the start date than why a bathroom is torn apart and nobody is working. And remember, even when nobody is working on your job, that job is still costing you money.

Good project management starts before the project does.

09/08/2026

That new $700-a-month expense doesn’t cost your construction company $700.

Not really.

If you’re running at a 30% gross profit margin, you have to sell about $2,333 more every month just to pay for it.

That’s roughly $540 in additional sales every single week.
So before you add another software subscription, vehicle payment, admin person, office expense, or “small” monthly cost, stop looking at the monthly payment by itself.

Ask this instead:
“How much more do we have to sell to cover it?”
At 30% gross profit:
$700 in added monthly overhead = $2,333 in added monthly sales.

Stack enough of those little expenses together and suddenly your company has to sell a whole lot more just to stand still.

Know your gross profit.

Know your overhead.

Know what every new expense really costs.

That’s how you protect profit instead of just chasing revenue.

04/16/2026

Seeing things as they are—not how we wish they were—is a requirement for success in this industry.

03/27/2026

Most remodeling companies don’t have a sales problem.
They have a process problem.

If your sales feel inconsistent, it’s usually because there’s no clear path from first call to signed contract.

Here’s the framework we usually suggest:

• Initial call → set prequal
• Prequal call → qualify hard (we eliminate ~75%)
• On-site meeting → define scope + set expectations
• Follow-up within 24 hours → clear price range
• Move forward → preconstruction agreement
• Send invoice (3%) → commit to the process

Simple. Repeatable. Trackable. Get paid to write a Construction Contract.

Key numbers:
• 75% eliminated at prequal
• 60% move from onsite → precon
• 80% move from precon → build

That’s not luck. That’s structure.

If you’re chasing leads, doing free estimates, and hoping they turn into jobs… you don’t have a sales system.

You have activity.

Build a process. Track it. Enforce it.

That’s where consistency—and profit—comes from.

👉 If you want this dialed into your business send me a message. I’ll show you how to implement it without overcomplicating your operation.

02/02/2026

When Estimating… How Big Are Your Buckets?

Accuracy in remodeling estimating starts with how you organize the work. If your estimate is one giant bucket labeled “Kitchen Remodel,” you’re already losing money.

Break it down.

Use templates that list every small bucket of work:
Demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, air sealing, insulation, drywall, trim, painting, flooring, punchout—all the way down the line.

The smaller the buckets, the clearer the scope and the more accurate your numbers.

Then match those buckets inside your accounting software. Track costs the same way you estimate.

When the job is complete, do a job autopsy: estimated vs. actual, line by line.

This is how you sharpen your estimating, eliminate surprises, and create predictable profit—project after project.

01/21/2026

Accurate estimating is the foundation of a profitable remodeling company. Until you know how to estimate properly, everything else is just wishful thinking.

You don’t need a complicated system—you need a consistent one. I use a trade-by-trade approach that breaks each project down by scope and cost for every task required. Then I apply markup per trade, carefully and intentionally. No optimism. Just accuracy.

The key is tracking consistent unit costs, comparing your estimates to actuals, and adjusting. That’s how you dial in your numbers and build predictable profit.

If you want my basic Excel estimating template, send me a message. I’m happy to share it and walk you through how I use it.

11/18/2025

💰 While you’re working on your budget and thinking about that new truck…

Here’s a question that stops a lot of remodelers in their tracks:

🚚 How does a $750/month truck payment really cost me $30,000 a year?

Because at a 70% job cost, you only keep 30% of every dollar you invoice to cover overhead.

So to make a $750 payment, you need:

👉 $750 ÷ 0.30 = $2,500/month in sales
—which equals—
👉 $30,000/year in sales just to cover the payment

And that’s before insurance, fuel, and maintenance.
This is why budgeting matters — and why smart remodelers run the numbers before they buy.

11/11/2025

💰 Budget — Do You Have One?

It’s that time of year again to start thinking about your budget for next year.

Most remodelers don’t. They make decisions based on their checking account balance, not real numbers.

I know that because I’ve been there—and I’ve talked with plenty of remodelers who still are.

Let’s walk through the budget basics

1️⃣ Start with your P&L.
Run a Profit & Loss report for the year and see where your money went.
If everything runs through your accounting software, you’re already ahead of the game.
Print it out, then project expenses for the next 45 days to complete the year.
2️⃣ Determine your job cost.
If you’re running around 70% job cost, that means you’ve got 30% left for overhead, your salary, and company profit.
That’s your minimum margin.
3️⃣ Review all expenses.
Are your car or truck payments, loans, or financed equipment included? If not, add them in.
Divide total annual expenses by 12 months, adjusting for quarterly items like taxes or insurance.
Take time to make sure every cost is accounted for and placed in the right month.
4️⃣ Break down expenses by week.
Take your monthly expenses and divide them into weekly or biweekly numbers depending on your billing system.
Example: if your total weekly expenses are $7,500 and your job cost is 70%, that means your margin is 30%.
Margin is what pays your bills—so divide $7,500 by 0.30.
That means you need to bill $25,000 per week to cover all expenses, your salary, and company profit.
5️⃣ Check your annual goal.
Multiply that weekly or biweekly number by 52 or 26 to get your annual sales target.
That’s your budget framework—simple, clear, and based on facts instead of your bank balance.
If these numbers don’t make sense yet or you struggle to pull them together, I can help.
Once you get this part dialed in, you can confidently answer questions like:
💭 “Can I afford that new truck?”
💭 “Can I upgrade my tools?”
💭 “Can I give myself a raise—and my spouse a little more grocery money?”

Build a budget. Build a plan. Review regularly and then you will begin to build predictable profit.

11/10/2025

Accurate estimating is the foundation of your business.

Until you’ve got control over your estimates, everything else you want to build is just a dream.

Without accurate numbers, you’ll struggle to create steady revenue — and you’ll lose control fast. You’ll chase jobs for the next down payment, start more work than you can finish, and rely on payment schedules that hide what’s really going on.
Sooner or later, that pressure leads to taking the wrong job — the one that can sink your business.

Get your estimating right first. Everything else depends on it.

👉 Want help tightening up your estimating system? Visit TheSuccessfulRemodeler.com and start turning process into profit.

08/20/2025

What made you successful in the past won’t make you successful in the future.

In remodeling and new construction, a lot of owners start out as natural salespeople. You’re a good listener, you solve problems, you’re likeable, friendly—even endearing. Those attributes help you win jobs in the beginning. Clients enjoy being around you, and that charm lands work.

But as you transition from “one-truck chuck” to running a company, those same attributes can become a liability.
The “people-pleaser” side of you wants to say yes to every request.

You hesitate to charge what you should, fearing the client won’t like you. You give things away just to keep people happy.

The reality: your role changes. Running a construction company requires discipline, systems, and the courage to enforce them.

You’re no longer just trying to get the job—you’re leading a team, protecting profit, and ensuring the business survives and grows.

What made you successful in the past won’t make you successful in the future. Growth requires new skills, new boundaries, and a mindset shift from “pleasing clients” to “building a sustainable business” then subsequently happy clients are a byproduct.

**If you’re struggling with this transition, I can help. I’ve guided many remodelers through this exact shift—using proven strategies that increase profitability and free you from being tied to every job.

Address

6234 Old Highway 5
Woodstock, GA
30188

Website

https://thesuccessfulremodeler.com/

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