We are about to start a little remodel and so I’ve been thinking about contractors and how they work. I think this idea came up when I was talking to John Lyman, our very good contractor at the end of our last job. But I just remembered it since we are about to start a new one.

A remodel opportunity

I decided that if I were a contractor and wanted to profitably grow my business. I would raise my prices 15% and give half of it to the subs. With my half I would spend half on this idea A Digital Completion Package as a marketing tool and half (three to four percent of revenue) I’d put in my pocket. When I went in on a bid I would show the potential customers a sample of the digital completion package they would get when the remodel was done. It would include photos from our weekly job meetings, all of the relevant documents, all of the data on the house and before and after photos of the job. The trick would be to shoot digital photos of the general job site every week and of the nameplate or box label of every piece of equipment installed. Photograph the subs business cards for starters in fact almost all of the data could be gathered using digital cameras.

Some potential customers would be so pleased that they would gladly pay the increase and it would be easy to find good reliable subs because you can afford to pay them more. The package would have the additional benefit of creating a good historical record for dispute avoidance purposes.
This is an example of what would be in the Package:

Builders Completion Kit for: ____ Any Street, Any Town

• Before and After Photos

Very good photos. Video?

• Weekly Job Photos

Cell phone photos. Video?

• Documents

1. Plans
2. Permits
3. Bid
4. Statements
5. Weekly meeting minutes
6. Change orders
7. Correspondence
8. EPA data sheets

• Job Data

1. Paint Mfg, type and colors
2. Appliances Mfg, Model Serial Number, Photo
3. Fixtures Mfg, Model Serial Number, Photo
4. Prints
5. Stucco Mfg, type and colors
6. Data on all materials for finish
7. Subcontractor list