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How Important Is an Experienced Guide When Building Your Dream?

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Been There Done That, Now Let Me Help You

We all have areas in our lives in which we are more skilled and knowledgeable than others. These areas of talent are fewer than the more common areas of our lives. This is why it’s important to find those qualified professionals to guide you through places where you are less qualified.

Recently I was working with a customer that gave me a home blueprint they were considering building. It was a large one-story home (2975 square feet) over a full basement. The proposal to build their project was more than they had budgeted.

Now what do we do?

After spending some time visiting with them there were several options that were discovered. Things that the novice wouldn’t consider or understand how it would affect the price. This is one of the benefits of getting experienced guidance early in the process.

The first thing was to figure out what the priorities were. Here are a few:

  • Dollars were a concern, as is almost always the case – This can be addressed by stacking the construction. If a second floor is included in the overall square footage less foundation and roofing is required to achieve a similar total square footage. This decreases the per square foot price.

 

  • Style and architectural design – During the discussing it was discovered that she wanted a wraparound porch which wasn’t a part of the first plan but fit in nicely on the second one.

 

  • Additional optional living space – Space for family during the holidays and for visits. Space for mother to live during the week when she is in town working.

By offering them some guidance and knowing what questions to ask we were able to come up with a plan that is going to meet the majority of there needs and wants at a 25% reduction in price. This is what I can offer with my almost forty years at the school of hard knocks.

The benefits of working together on any project has value. This value increases exponentially as the size of the projects increase. A new home is definitely a sizeable project.

One of the biggest challenges with building a dream is getting all parties involved moving the same direction. Too many times these parties are pulling in different directions. Just like two horses pulling together as a team can accomplish more, we can do the same thing. That team of horses need someone to take control of the reigns and give direction. We need that same kind of guidance.

I think guidance is the most important thing to building a dream. I also think it’s one of the most overlooked and under used pieces of the process. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It is up to each of us to know what ours are and give or get guidance where needed.

The Value of a Professional Builder

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What’s It Worth to Hire A Professional?

I was talking with my wife, who’s a realtor, earlier this week. She was telling me about an individual that had been trying to sell their house themselves and not having any luck. Reluctantly they are now considering listing their house with a realtor.

Her question was why would someone not list their house with a professional? I have thought about this same thing regarding construction for years.

The ‘Do It Yourself’ philosophy has become an industry on its own. This is not to say that doing things yourself is all bad.


The question should be about value, not about dollars.

To hire or not, is the question. I’m pretty capable with a wide range of skills, but there are some things that are just better done by professionals. I don’t know about you, but I would prefer not to do my own surgery or fill my own cavity.

The number one reason that most people don’t hire a professional is the cost. When the purchase or project is in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars the professional fee is big. Is the money saved by not hiring the professional really a savings? The actual cost in dollars, time and heartache may be a lot more in the end.

The value of hiring a professional can go well beyond the dollars spent.

 

 

  • They have been through the pitfalls and can help you avoid them. It breaks my heart the number of times that I have been asked to come finish a project that someone started and then realized they were in over their head.

 

  • There is a process to everything and construction is no different. If you do things in the wrong order the eventual cost is often more than the professional fees. If the walls are sheetrocked before the electrical wiring is ran it isn’t going to turn out well.

  • Doing all the different things a good professional does takes a lot of time. If you plan to do them and do them well, you need to plan to spend the time. As is the case with most things, looking at something from the outside it looks easier and quicker than it really is. What is your time worth?

Once you’ve decided to hire a professional keep in mind that not all of them are created equal. You need to give some consideration to the hiring process and find the right builder for you. In some situations professional may not be the best term when describing some builders. The wrong builder can be as much of an issue as not having one at all. What is the cost of cheap? Good communication with fixed pricing are both crucial to a good professional experience.

The important thing is for you to give some thought to the question of hiring a professional before moving forward and then regretting it later. In Proverbs 19:2 it says, “Being excited about something is not enough. You must also know what you are doing. Don’t rush into something, or you might do it wrong.”, ERV.

What is the value of a skilled professional’s guidance?

 

 

The Importance of Intentionality for Building Your Dream Life

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Because It Isn’t Going to Magically Build Itself

For years people have asked me where I came up with the business system and procedures that I use. As I thought about it, I realized that my business and life had been developing for years without much intentionality.

After my accident in 2012 it caused me to think about what my life was and what I had expected it to be. Not that my life was terrible before, it just wasn’t what I had envisioned it to be. I had been living without a clear plan and there was so much more that I wanted to accomplish.

At that point I decided to become more intentional. I’ve always been a planner but it’s sad that it took a hit in the head for me to realize the importance of being intentional about the plan.

When we’re young the tendency is to think that we’ll have all the time we need. There’s no hurry to plan for the future…we’ll get around to that someday. Then one day we wake up and realize life is flying by and we haven’t done all those things we wanted to.

 

You don’t have to wait until you’re smacked in the head to become intentional.

 

While explaining my business operating system to my team, it became evident that even though I now have an intentional plan, it needed to be written down. When working alone, I would just do the next thing that needed done. I didn’t need a written plan, so I thought. Not only do I need a written plan to communicate to my team, but it helps me to be clearer.

Think of your life or business as a construction project. It all begins with a dream. You can see the vision of the completed project in your mind. The tricky part is getting that dream out of your head and making it a reality? Having it drawn out will let you see if it looks like your dream or not. It’s better and easier to make changes and corrections during the planning, rather than the construction. It improves the clarity of communication between all parties involved.

It’s also a good idea to have the help of a professional when drawing out your plans or building your dream. Their experience, knowledge and skill, can save you time and money. Done well, it will make the entire process more enjoyable.

In last week’s post, it once again was reinforced how important intentional planning for the future is and how rarely it is done.

Having a clear picture of what it is that you want your life or business to look like when you’re finished building it, takes intentionality.

Be intentional.


Don’t wait to be smacked in the head to get intentional about planning for the future. Let me know what areas you need some help with planning or building the life or business of your dreams

To Hire or Not to Hire, That Is the Question?

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Over the last several years ‘Do It Yourself’ has become a popular theme for TV programs as well as marketing for building product suppliers. As a builder, one of my pet peeves is the DIY shows and marketing. There are even whole TV channels dedicated to this. My problem with it is, that in 30-60 minutes’ whole rooms are transformed. This can be misleading, not to mention 898282907_10c68e3ac4_odown right impossible. Don’t get me wrong, the satisfaction that comes from doing a repair, changing a light switch or faucet, installing a window, building a deck or even remodeling a complete room can be extremely rewarding. The thing is, you better know what you are getting into before you start.

 

Reasons for hiring a professional – You need to consider what your skill level is and what the parameters of the project are before tearing into it. Depending on the specific project there is a lot to be aware of. Even something simple like painting a wall can be more complicated than many people realize. Once you start getting into things that are structural, for example, cutting an opening in a wall or building a deck. You sure need to understand what is involved. Not knowing how to do something like this can lead to big problems or maybe somebody getting hurt. It can be hard for those of us that are micro managers to give up the control.

It comes down to priorities. Of all of the things I can choose to spend my time and money on what’s going to be the most important? With over 35 years of construction experience I have determined that getting the right help is a good plan. I just can’t do everything myself…as much as I would like to.

 

Benefits of hiring that professional – Time is a precious commodity. If you are like me, I can’t ever seem to be able to get everything done that I want to. So when I find someone that I can trust, who I have determined has the desire and skills to do the thing that I need done, doesn’t it make sense to pay them to do it? This allows me to be able to do something else that I am better suited for or maybe would just prefer doing.

Then there is the whole ability thing. Having grown up on a farm I learned how to do a lot of different things. I learned how to be pretty self-sufficient. I am proud of this heritage and I think this is a good quality. The thing is, I was taught this from an early age, over several years and through trial and error. I didn’t just watch a 30-minute TV program or go online to learn it. I am sure that I could make a car given enough time and money, but doesn’t it make more sense to buy one made by professionals.

 

Reasons for not hiring a professional – The key here is defining ‘professional’. If you’re considering hiring someone then you need to do some research and make sure that you get the right person. There are a lot of people out there that seem to be qualified and aren’t. If you hire someone that isn’t then the outcome might not be much better than if you did it yourself.

Maybe you have the time and desire to learn something new. This is a great reason for doing the project yourself. Just be careful to not get in too far over your head. Be clear on what it’s going to take to do this.

You could save money by not paying somebody else. Just be aware that there most likely will be more time spent in researching, planning, buying, exchanging, returning, redoing and cleaning than actually constructing.

Doing physical work is good exercise. Some people go to the gym or have equipment at home. Some people walk, ride bikes or run. Depending on what your normal routine is doing a home project can be a great way to exercise.

 

A third option – If you really want to do your own home project, but need some help with knowing how, what, when and where. You might consider finding an experienced professional to guide you through the process. Finding the right person for this can be as tricky as anything. Just realize the value of knowledge and the benefit that it can have.

 

Once you have determined that you have the ability (knowledge, time, money and physical strength) to do your project, then by all means go for it. There is nothing much more rewarding than stepping back and being able to see something that you have built.