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Custom Builders to Gather at New Orleans Symposium
 Custom home builders, remodelers, architects, developers and other industry professionals can build their knowledge at the 2005 Custom Home Builders Symposium in New Orleans so they can better deliver what their custom home clients demand.
Featuring industry-specific education and networking opportunities, the symposium will be held Nov. 11-13 at the Sheraton New Orleans. The theme this year is “Build Your Passion.”
“As custom home builders, the more education we get, the better we are at exceeding our customers’ expectations,” said Mary Schroder, of Miller Homes in Brookfield, Wis., and chair of this year’s symposium.
Fifteen educational sessions will include these topics:
- Contracts
- Business succession planning
- Scheduling
- Building a brand
- Green building
- The builder/architect relationship
- Dealing with challenging customers
- Negotiating
- Growing your business
- Controlling profits
In addition, pre-symposium Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) and Graduate Master Builder (GMB) designation courses will be offered at no additional charge.
Attendees also can attend several advanced, two-day educational sessions, a roundtable discussion with industry veterans to swap business tips and best practices, and two home tours.
Andersen Home Tour ― Nov. 11
The tour features New Orleans’ distinctive architecture with an up-close and personal look at premiere custom homes and historical restoration projects.
Sights, Sounds and Story Tour — Nov. 12
This year’s tour is truly lagniappe — that’s Cajun for “a little something extra.” The tour includes a visit to an antebellum home in the Crescent City’s Garden District and a stop at Old Algiers Point for sizzling blues, Cajun and zydeco music followed by a second music stop outside the French Quarter to hear more jazz.
Register before Aug. 31 and save $50. Go to www.nahb.org/custom to register online or for more information, or call 800-368-5242 x8338.
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