Remodeling - February 2009 - (Page 37)

50 Insight and opinion from the BEST in the business Big50CloseUp SecondLook John Kiernan Brad Cruickshank H ow many major changes can a remodeling company undertake in a few short years — and why fix what doesn’t seem to be broken? John Kiernan (Big50 2005) responds: Name change. John Kiernan Construction became Kiernan Remodeling + Design in 2006. The 19-year-old firm, in Bradenton, Fla., was not only embarking on an eventual ownership change, but the new name “is more selfexplanatory,” Kiernan says, adding that the old name begged the question, “Do they build dams or bridges or what?” Succession plan. Kiernan has designated 34-year-old general manager Ben DePrenger to take over the reins when Kiernan can very accurately predict our Kiernan retires in 2014 at age 65. The fivegross profit,” DePrenger says. year time frame “lets us go through Remodeling + “And there’s less slippage.” this curve together,” says Kiernan, Design embarks Half the staff. Kiernan referring to the economy. “He’ll on some major Remodeling + Design now be much better for it.” DePrenger changes to has eight employees, down is in the process of obtaining his stay fresh and from 15. “We had a lot of inFlorida contractor’s license. house carpenters and found proﬁtable. Design staff. Hiring a we weren’t very efficient runfull-time interior designer means ning a carpentry business,” clients can finalize finishes prior to contract. DePrenger says. Careful pruning has made the “She’s amazingly good at getting clients’ likes company more of a construction management and dislikes,” Kiernan says, referring work that firm with a small in-house production staff. he does not enjoy. Also, the company designer Though still set up for larger jobs, the comhas earned his Florida architect’s license, fur- pany is taking on small projects as well. In ther helping clients see “the true value” of previous downcycles, “we’ve been insulated,” using the firm, Kiernan says. Kiernan says. “When people couldn’t move, No more allowances. With design staff they improved.” Now they’re reluctant to spend nailing down details in advance, the company at all — but he believes a carefully honed new has been able to eliminate allowances from image will help the company survive its toughconstruction contracts. “For the first time, we est economy to date. —L.T. S Photos: left, Don Hall Productions; right, courtesy Cruickshank Inc. tores, like homes, require maintenance. From repainting dressing rooms to repairing fire exit doors, Reliant Commercial Construction — sister company of Cruickshank Remodeling — demonstrates even in economic downturns “that diversification [can be] a smart business move,” says the owner of both, Brad Cruickshank (Big50 1990). Atlanta–based Cruickshank branched into commercial handyman work in 1993, but it wasn’t until 2007 that a re-branding campaign established the two distinct entities. Today, 13 Reliant “field technicians” perform thousands of work orders each year for retailers in five southeastern states. There are three business models in retail handyman work, Cruickshank explains: stores with in-house repair crews, brokers with networks of qualified contractors, and “selfperforming” contractors like Reliant. “We’re cautiously expanding,” he says, thanks to sophisticated software and carefully screened technicians with broad handyman skills. Meanwhile, the Yale-educated architect still oversees the designintensive world of Cruickshank Remodeling, which shares an office manager with Reliant. A strength of his company “is the way the two businesses fit together,” Cruickshank says. With residential remodeling a “roller coaster,” the service business “fills in the troughs.” —L.T. remodelingmag.com Remodeling February 2009 37 http://www.remodelingmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Remodeling - February 2009

Remodeling - February 2009 Contents First Word Market Watch Linda Case Mark Richardson Shawn McCadden Ways + Means Bottom Line Sales + Marketing Field Notes By Design Tech@ Work Good Form Close Up Second Look Going Green Clinic Specbook Upscale Remodeling Start Right People, Process, Profits Interview: Sara Ryan Duffy, President of SRD International New + Notable Products Final Touch Green Speak Green Spec In Focus First Look Benchmark

Remodeling - February 2009

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