NBN Online for the week of January 8, 2007

Remodelors Council Education at the Builders' Show

Build your business by attending these Remodelors™ Council-sponsored education programs while at IBS.

Wednesday, Feb. 7

• "Schedule Management for Profits"
  8:30-10:00 a.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 314
  
  MM (Mike) Weiss, CGR, CAPS, GMB, of WeissRCMI, will de-mystify scheduling as a management tool with a practical template presentation that will be useful for making everyone buy into using the schedule the same way you use plans and specs.
  
  
• "Spanish in-a-Pinch: Learn New Spanish Language Construction Tricks"
  8:30-10:00 a.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 308
  
  Deby Jones, 2nd Language Success, will teach attendees a practical, In-a-Pinch Approach to communicate Spanish on the job site. Trade-specific "cheat sheets" are part of the session.
  
  
• "Business Planning Basics for Today's Builder"
  11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 304 E-H
  
  Learn the real purpose behind writing a business plan, what it provides and the common business plan mistakes to avoid.
  
  
• "Achieving Accurate Numbers and Reliable Reports With QuickBooks"
  3:30-5:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 315
  
  Avoid dangerous information and bad accounting data with month-end wrap-up controls for your accounting records, reports and files. Learn how to help ensure that your financial information is useful, reliable, understandable, timely and accurate.

Thursday, Feb. 8

• "Ten Best Practices From NAHB's 2006 Remodelor™ of the Year and Remodelor™ of the Month Award Winners"
  11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 315
  
  Honored as the industry's best during 2006, the teams behind NAHB's Remodelor of the Year and Remodelor of the Month Awards share 10 of the best practices that helped put them on top.
  
  
• "Employee Labor: Measuring Costs and Profits With Excel & QuickBooks"
  1:30-3:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, West 315
  
  How much does each employee really cost per production hour? What is the true cost of lost or wasted time? What should you charge per hour for each employee? This seminar will help you measure and control employee labor costs, your “riskiest cost.”
  
  
• "The Shortest Effective Paper Trail Between First Call and Final Approval"
  1:30-3:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 310 E-H
  
  Cut down on the paper shuffling and replace current paperwork with six, critical, multi-use, versatile forms that will give you the quality records and information you need.
  
  
• "Cheap Tricks: Simple Technology Solutions to Big Business Problems"
  4:00-5:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 310 E-H
  
  In this "show and tell," attendees will learn about the latest software, hardware Web services and handheld devices that they can put to work right away.

Friday, Feb. 9

• "The Remodeling Market"
  9:00-10:00 a.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 320 A-D
  
  Gopal Ahluwalia, NAHB economist; William Apgar, Joint Center for Housing, Harvard University; Kermit Baker, Joint Center for Housing, Harvard University; and Vince Butler, CGR, CAPS, GMB, Butler Brothers, will discuss where the remodeling market is headed in 2007. This session will examine the categories, cost and volume of residential remodeling activity for the year ahead.
  
  
• "Profiting From Home Performance Contracting"
  11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 320 A-D
  
  Learn how home performance contracting can take your business to a new level of profitability and professionalism. Find out how the home performance approach can position your company as the expert in diagnosing and fixing a home’s comfort, health and energy problems while satisfying customers and earning higher profits.
  
  
• "Secrets of Selling to Multicultural Customers"
  11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 320 A-D
  
  In the past decade minorities bought 2 million pre-1985 homes throughout the county. Learn how to meet the unique needs of multicultural customers. Learn how to build relationships with them in a totally different way.
  
  
• "Profit Debate: Cost Plus vs. Fixed Price!"
  4:00-5:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 310 E-H
  
  Builders Dennis Dixon, of Dixon Ventures Inc., and Jay Grant, of Grant Homes, debate and compare the perpetual custom builder conundrum — “cost plus” vs. “fixed price” contracts. Which is simpler? Which generates more profits, is easier to manage and is right for your projects, clients and company? And, of course, what percentage is reasonable? Join in on the debate.

Saturday, Feb. 10

• "Do Your Policies and Procedures Build Profit and Reduce Risk? They Should!"
  11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
  Orange County Convention Center, South 310 E-H
  
  Save money, time and hassles. Discover how to create a policy manual, integrate it into your business and train the people who run your office to monitor compliance.

To Register

To register for the educational sessions listed above and more, visit the educational seminars on the International Builders' Show Web site, www.buildersshow.com. Use the "My Show Planner" tool to register for specific courses.