Navigate the twists and turns of homebuilding and remodeling with expertise from a veteran who's seen it all — me, the owner of three successful construction companies. This episode packs a punch with real-world advice on managing the chaos that often accompanies construction projects. We'll unravel the importance of crystal-clear communication and contracts that protect both you and your builder. Get ready to uncover how to face unexpected setbacks head-on and keep your job site, and your sanity, in impeccable order.
Then, we swap hard hats for hashtags as we tackle the art of storytelling for your brand on social media. I'll guide you through creating a narrative that not only resonates with your audience but also cements your business's identity in their minds. We'll weigh the pros and cons of intertwining personal and business accounts online, and I'll share insights on how your personal social media presence can amplify trust and credibility for your business. Strap in for a podcast episode that marries the gritty details of construction with the finesse of online branding, all aimed at helping you lay a firm foundation for success.
Navigate the twists and turns of homebuilding and remodeling with expertise from a veteran who's seen it all — me, the owner of three successful construction companies. This episode packs a punch with real-world advice on managing the chaos that often accompanies construction projects. We'll unravel the importance of crystal-clear communication and contracts that protect both you and your builder. Get ready to uncover how to face unexpected setbacks head-on and keep your job site, and your sanity, in impeccable order.
Then, we swap hard hats for hashtags as we tackle the art of storytelling for your brand on social media. I'll guide you through creating a narrative that not only resonates with your audience but also cements your business's identity in their minds. We'll weigh the pros and cons of intertwining personal and business accounts online, and I'll share insights on how your personal social media presence can amplify trust and credibility for your business. Strap in for a podcast episode that marries the gritty details of construction with the finesse of online branding, all aimed at helping you lay a firm foundation for success.
The Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. Let's go. Welcome everybody to the Homebuilding and Remodeling Show. My name is Chris Kirby and I'll be your host. I am the owner of three construction companies on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The show is about residential construction. We're going to cover topics of homebuilding and remodeling. Are you thinking of doing a remodel or building a home? Are you a contractor looking to improve your knowledge base or grow your business? Have you ever done a remodel project or built a home? There were so many things you wish you knew or that you could have done differently during the process. Then this show is for you. We break down the process of building and remodeling and how to have the best results during your project. Whether you are a DIYer looking for tips, someone looking to hire a contractor to do a project, or a contractor looking to expand your knowledge base or your business, welcome aboard. Glad to have you. Stay tuned. We kick off the show with my thoughts on homebuilding and remodeling. I'll share best practices and talk about some of our experiences in business and out in the field. These shared thoughts and lessons learned are meant to help you on your very own journey. Let's go.
Speaker 1:
Number 12 is what is the plan for handling unexpected delays or issues. Okay, it's always important to talk about this up front. Once you get into the situation, reactions and emotions may overtake the situation. So it's always smart to reflect on what you talked about from the beginning with from the client side and from the contractor side, because you can always refer to that conversation to calm the situation down. It's the best practice as a contractor to to make sure that you emphasize that there are delays in projects. There can be delays, so don't expect that everything will go perfect and that it will go smooth all the time. And the reason that you want to be up front about this fact is because, especially with what we do in kitchen and bath, you never know, when you start peeling back and doing demo, what you're gonna find beyond the walls that could extend the time of the project. So make sure that you're having a conversation up front and the client needs to ask you and you need to be able to answer what is going to happen if there's unexpected delays or unexpected issues during the project. Make sure you talk it through, reflect on the conversation, use it as a tool going through the project, but also make sure that you're covered in your contract. There should be things like, if there is a change to the schedule, that should be outlined on on your contract, even if it's a one-page contract. For a smaller job, there may be material issues, weather issues, so many other factors that come up during a project, especially a larger project. You both sides need to cover themselves the client and the contractor. So number 13 is can you provide a written contract? This is a best practice for both sides and I so.
Speaker 1:
When we first started out we didn't have contracts. We would just get a call. We would say, yeah, we could do it. We would go to the person's house, look around, verbalize what we were going to do. If they agreed at that time, we would do the work. And then, as we continued to grow our business and things started to change for us, obviously we needed a contract, and so we would. You know we made up our own and then, as we got larger and larger projects, we actually use a contract for the remodeling side and for the home building side. That was drafted by the Home Builders Association and you can get one too at the NIHB, so the National Association of Home Builders website. They do provide basic contracts that you can purchase and then adapt them to how you need to perform the work. It's a. It's not a one size fits all, but it's a great template for you to use. So I recommend using those and make sure that your client is protected and make sure that you are protected. Again, the client is protected because they've got a legal binding contract and you are protected because you've got a legal binding contract, and the reason you want that in place is because, from the client side, it holds you to a standard and it holds you to a timeline, and it also gives them some reinforcement that there is some remedy that they could take if something were to go wrong. So if you're going to do a good job and do things right, you should have no worries. However, from the contractor side, it does the same thing. You also have legal remedies that you can seek if the if there is something that goes wrong, you don't receive payment. You're going to receive timely payment. These things happen. So it protects both parties to have a contract.
Speaker 1:
Number 14, how will you handle cleanup and disposal of debris? So this is great information for the client and for the contractor to have. So one one thing you can do contractor tip is you need to outline If it's a large scope remodel or a home build, you need to provide some sort of disposal, so a dumpster on site and stuff like that or a dump trailer. But you need to talk about where you're going to set the dumpster, where you're going to set the dump trailer or where you're going to park, and just leads into a larger conversation about the logistics of the project what door to come in, where to park noise ordinances, who knows that you're in their house? The neighbors making sure you know? Is it on street parking, off street parking? Can you fit a dumpster? If you can't, you need to come up with a way to dispose of the materials every day, the waste, and especially, like during the demo phase of the project, what are you going to do with those materials? And then, every day, how does the job? Is the job site expected to look by the end of the day?
Speaker 1:
If you have a conversation with the client about where you are in the project and what you're leaving on site, if it is considered waste, if you can't take it, you need to let them know why, because the last thing you want is for the client to think that you're just doing a dirty job and it starts to bleed into. Well, if they're not considerate of my home or taken out the trash, then the work that they perform probably follows along that same line and it may not be a quality project, but the truth is you may not have the means or a way to take it that day. So just communicate and let them know how. That way they may also know hey, you can't put a dumpster here. I know there are for us, like downtown, midtown mobile and stuff like that. Downtown and midtown mobile. You cannot put dumpsters in certain spots and it is very, very hard as far as parking facing dumpsters and waste disposal.
Speaker 1:
So these are conversations that if the HOA knows, if the client knows, if you know the community knows that, hey, we're going to be here, you're going to have a dumpster for a certain amount of time, then it will be off the property. These things help the flow of the project and they help to ease the burden of stress when things start to pile up and Most of the time the client is coming in after work. So if you aren't passing each other and there is no Communication as far as they just show up after work, and I guarantee you, every client that comes home is Going to analyze the project, especially if you're not there, they're going to walk to that space and they're going to look around. They are judging that space every day. They're judging the quality of the, they're judging the quality of the work that's performed and they are judging the cleanliness and safety of that job site. So just be mindful.
Speaker 1:
If you're not, if they're not there every day talking to you Before you leave, you need to have a means to communicate with the client about how you are going to pick up and why things are the way they are on the job site. This is our contractor shout-out segment. We are going to pick 40 contractors a month that tag their business page in our post on the home building and remodeling show Facebook page and this month we have with us Flatline services out of Washington, pennsylvania, diligence construction projects out of Ocean City, new Jersey, and reconstruct realty out of New Hampshire. Thank you all for commenting on the monthly post. We will do another post next month.
Speaker 2:
Like, subscribe and share our Facebook page and hopefully you get a shout-out next time and, with that, catering it to a certain strategy based on your, your certain goals and and utilizing those certain platforms to reach those goals. For example, as a contractor, I would say Facebook is definitely a an amazing platform to be on, just because one if you're a contractor, more than likely you're serving your local community and your local community is on Facebook. And then, of course, when, if Facebook and Instagram are together, meta, it is gonna be. I don't want to say the same, but Similar, similar strategies. However, you're reaching a different demographic, different ages, different types of people are on Instagram. How are you gonna reach those people? How are you gonna show your content?
Speaker 1:
Just having, if you're, if you're in it for the long haul, those, those the Clients or potential clients who are seventeen, eighteen and maybe even in high school right now, in five years maybe buying their first home and need work done. They're growing with you if you're already reaching them now. And is there a different demographic as far as age that Facebook you would say reaches versus Instagram? Like our younger people on Instagram, more are they on tick tock more and stuff like that will.
Speaker 2:
Naturally. Through research, it is shown that different age ranges are on different platforms. I think it also has to do with when social media platforms were created. Obviously, facebook is a lot older than tick tock, but, with that being said, you're able to reach not only new audiences, but the same audience, your target audience, in a different way. I would say yes, you definitely have to cater your strategy, what you're doing, your content, to the platform itself and then your, your targeted audiences, and that can change between platform.
Speaker 1:
What are the questions always get asked and it's frustrating because it's the target audience question. Right, even when you look at when I was doing those Facebook ads, they would ask you the demographic stuff, age range and all of that. It's so how.
Speaker 1:
I don't know how to come up with that because in general in construction I just leave it at 18 to 65. But some people will say, well, that's not, that's not realistic, it's too broad of an audience. Do you have any knowledge or any any answers to the target? How do you come up with a target audience?
Speaker 2:
Base it. I would say that, actually, before starting with your target audience, you have to start with your storyboard for your brand, for your company.
Speaker 1:
Storyboard. Get it? I don't and I don't know. I'm a contractor and I'm learning. This is, this is the benefit of the show a storyboard.
Speaker 2:
Yes, that is ultimately the starting point to figure out your target audience. And I say that because your storyboard is your story, who you are, how you do things, why you do things and, with that said, the solutions you can provide for your clients. And that, I feel like, is how you figure out who your target audience is. If you don't know, ultimately, the foundation of the values and the solutions that you can provide as a contractor, how are you going to be able to figure out who your clients are, hearing that out, nailing that down and saying I know, as a company, that we can do this because of how we do this. I would start there and then, from there, you're able to figure out well, these are the individuals with these pain points and I know that our solutions can help them. This is the target audience that we want to cater to begin with the storyboard and craft in your story.
Speaker 1:
I haven't done that. I have one and when I do an introduction to hey, I'm Chris Kirby and just generally give a background, is there a way to what, what? How do you craft a storyboard for those audience members who don't know, that are just really beginning out in this? Is it your background, your history, where you come from? What are you trying to hit on when you're, when you're starting that storyboard?
Speaker 2:
Ultimately it's, it's a comprehensive of all of that, but I would say, at the basis of it, it's how you do business and why. And why are you different? Why, why should someone choose you? And I feel like that's the million dollar question.
Speaker 1:
And maybe why you started it right. There is a reason, there's a reason you started social partner. There's a reason I started the company I did, and it has to deal with my family and stuff and is it important to make your story relatable. I'm not saying fabricate, but what I'm saying is what, as you're telling and crafting your story, you may get in your feelings a little bit, because it really does touch people's hearts as to why they started business and so putting your story out there now that is who you are and it should reflect in your company right and from the storyboard, you're starting to really develop who you want your target audience to be. And so once you figure that out, getting the right message and getting the right awareness of who you are and what you do how do you recommend getting it out?
Speaker 1:
Social media is one part. That's what we're primarily talking about. But how do you tell your story through visual and through media? What? How can you get it out there? What are some ways that hands down? If you want to market your construction company, you need to start here.
Speaker 2:
I would definitely say that all content is king. Presenting yourself online means complete transparency if you want to be the business that you say that you are and have your clients trust you and potential clients trust you, is showing the ins and outs of your business and I feel like Kirby custom renovations does a great job of this but showing what it's like to not only run run a business, but the issues that arise, but also the, the the wins of it all, and and how and how you do services, how you perform services. One that is how. That is how people trust you. People need to see how you're doing business, how it works, and the thing is, the great thing about social media is the main thing I feel like is it's for brand awareness and, with that said, you're able to showcase your business in any way you want it to, and those, those tools are videos and photos and really any type of content that you can take and showcase that you feel like provides value and Lights to your business.
Speaker 1:
Is is amazing and I've been told before we've done work for people that have said we really hired you because we watched some of the videos you've done and speak about the construction industry and things like that, and for brand awareness, and I say that a lot. I have a. I have a personal page that's the Christopher Kirby page, and then we've got the business pages. Do you recommend having both or Can you just have the business page and launch it? How does that? You know, what is your thoughts there? Because that's where most people hesitate the personal page, because there's a lot of stuff that happens on social media and sometimes they view it as negative. But from a business sense, do you need both? Should you have both and what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 2:
my personal opinion, I you've got to understand that social media is not only a financial investment. You are investing yourself in it and, with that being said, people are, of course, people are paying for your service. However, they're paying for you. They're paying for you, and If you want to represent yourself in the way that I feel like a business owner should to be a community leader, to have the business that Will can trust, I would say that I would, yes, I would consider having your own personal page, because that is a your business is a reflection of you, and I know for me, when I'm when I'm searching for a business, I go immediately to that business page.
Speaker 1:
But I go to the about so I can see if it lists the owners and kind of look, there is some truth in that and that's kind of how the world is today. They're going to look, even when we are looking at clients and stuff. Sometimes I will go and look at this person called the office. We're going to this client's house. I look and see if they have a Facebook page just to. It is a. It's a good way to see what people are about. Thanks for joining us today. As always, we are grateful for our listeners and your continued support. Please subscribe to our YouTube channel, follow us on social media via Facebook, instagram and Tiktok, and get more info at our website, wwwtheshomebuildingshowcom. And, as always, remember who we are the home building and remodeling show.
