Tales from the road

I am writing this from Phoenix, Arizona after a long day of seminars in which some 60-plus builders from the US and Canada (mostly Canada) associated with the Alair Homes franchise received what I considered some of the best training on the renovation and custom home building business I’ve heard in a long time.

Last week, I spent a couple of days in Edmonton at the Home Hardware PRO Contractor Show, part of a six-city road show that Home puts on every year as a thank you to their contractor customers. It was another great opportunity for me to talk to scores of contractors about their businesses – and what they wanted to see in our pages.

Next week, I’ll be heading to Baltimore to chat with Victoria Downing, president of Remodelers Advantage. Long-time readers of Canadian Contractor will know Victoria and Remodelers Advantage from the RenoSummits we hosted in the past and the quality business advice Victoria has provided for the last 10 years in this magazine – and online.

When I get home, I’ll have a nice chat with Mike Draper of Renovantage, one of our sponsors of last year’s RenoFocus and a partner in our efforts to bring some powerful, one-on-one coaching to our readers. (More on this soon. Make sure you are subscribed to our e-newsletters to catch up with Renovantage’s latest programs.)

Add all that to the International Builders Show (IBS) I attended in Vegas this past January, an important paint industry show Steve Payne attended in Orlando a few weeks ago and an upcoming conference John Bleasby will soon attend in Baltimore, and it’s no doubt we are going to be able to put together some terrific future issues for you.

Where have you been in the last year? What have you done to get your nose off the grindstone and your eyes looking up at the prize that you so dreamed of when you started in this business? Who have you been talking with outside your company to keep you loose and motivated? Try to find some time to get off your own jobsites and talk to some new people in the industry, in new places. It’s where great ideas come from.