Wouldn't it be great if the newspapers and TV stations understood this and then made an effort to help consumers understand the difference. Builders* are quite frankly not equipped to handle the difficulties of the remodeling industry, and they just tarnish the good name of remodelers when they get involved with our market.

*directed at the majority of builders, not the few rare custom shops that do great work

I have always looked to the commercial and new homes market to predict some of our obstacles in the remodeling industries. We saw in the mid '80s and again in the early '90s, when the commercial construction virtually stopped, laid off crews or companies try our market niche on, only to find it is a totally different business. It took two to three years for those folks to either a) go out of business, b) go back to what they knew, or c) learn ours. I think we have yet to see the other shoe fall for us in this economy. This new “competition” will cause a lag in the rebound for professional remodelers. With that said, we cannot try to meet or beat this new segment or we will go the way they do. We still have to sell our professionalism and let our prospective client know that, no matter how much they would like it, there is still no such thing as a free lunch.

Folks, don't worry about the others, as people (or tradesman for the matter),  will come and go.  Every profession has a cycle, and the new home market is trying to find the floor in the credit crunch.  Some builders are still building, hopefully based on opportunity, rather then using the model of ‘build it, and they will come - those days are gone, of course!  

I find the remodeling business in residential and commercial to be fairly strong in the DC area – home of the Federal Government.  I believe its time to be creative, think outside the box, and find a mechanism that works for your company.  The old way of doing business no longer is viable, and new innovative ways will be the trend.  The guys in the pick-up may always have a place, but consumers are growing wiser everyday and expect more for the money in the areas of service.  There are so many avenues and procedures to run a sound (large or small) business, and no matter how bad the economy continues to plunge, people still have to do the basics or bare bones to maintain the home or property.  

Educate your clients, give them information about your warranty, workmanship, materials, years in business, insurance, bid procedures, etc.  Also, ask them questions about what their looking for in a contractor or remodeler or for the most part, in YOU, so you can gauge whether you want the business and that customer fits your bill or criteria.  The interview process goes both ways.  If they say balance between quality and money, its probably a good fit, its time to go to work.  But the motivation on bottom line and cheapest bid, its all about the dollar, leave it to the low hanging fruit and move on to the next.  It cost money to perform a project from start to finish, and that’s where the education and your experience play a vital role in the decision making process.

As for the others making the transition over from building new houses, to remodeling/renovation, they have a long journey ahead of them.  Use your experience, knowledge and know how to set you apart, and get only the good quality jobs that make money – you will be glad you did, so will your bottom line.  Happy Remodeling.