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Building A House Can Be Scary, But It Doesn’t Have to Be

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Get Excited About Building Your Dream and Enjoy the Thrill

With Halloween season there is a lot of ‘scare in the air’. This includes haunted houses, spook walks, movies, TV shows and a whole assortment of scary costumes. People deal with being scared differently. Some love it while others hate it.


Most Halloween scares aren’t real. The same thing is true when it comes to building a new house, a remodeling project or even simple repairs. The unknown associated with something big like a building project can be scary. Or maybe you’ve had a bad building project experience and are afraid to do another project for fear it will happen again.

Too often customer’s expectations aren’t met. I believe there are a couple of reasons for this. First is the builder’s lack of guiding the customer and clearly communicating the process. Second is the customers lack of knowledge and/or experience with the complicated building process. Both things can be remedied with improved communication and information.

 


There is an adrenaline rush that comes with being scared. According to Merriam-Webster, there are “…physiological symptoms (such as increased heart rate and respiration) that occur as part of the body’s fight-or-flight response to stress, as when someone is in a dangerous, frightening, or highly competitive situation, as well as the feelings of heightened energy, excitement, strength, and alertness associated with those symptoms.”

Look at some of the words used in this definition; heightened energy, excitement, strength, and alertness. Being scared sounds like a pretty good thing.

According to this article on WebMD, thrill seekers thrive on the scary. There is something that as humans we naturally seek from getting scared. There’s something rewarding when we go through the process and come out on the other side braver and stronger than when we started.

When researching thrill seeking the internet redirected my search to the word adventure. I think viewing a building project as an adventure is great way to look at it. Adventures can be scary but take us to exciting new places.


Whatever scary situation you find yourself in, you have the internal ability to use that scare in your own productive “fight or flight” way. Lissa Rankin, MD tells how fear makes you sick, but it doesn’t have to. The mind is a powerful tool. It is up to us to decide if we are going to work through the situation or run from it.

 

Happy Halloween

How to Simplify A Complicated Business System

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Focusing on One Shovel Full of the Mountain at A Time

With my years of construction experience, I tend to view things from a building perspective. The things needed to build a good structure are the same for building a good business.

 

These things are:

• Purpose – The why, the reason for building it, who is it going to serve?

• Design – How is it going to look, how is it going to serve (products, services or both)?

• Style – Personal preference of the finished project, not everyone wants everything to be the same, we are all individuals.

• Foundation – This is what supports everything else, the core values of the construction.

• Framing – This is what sets on the foundation and connects everything, it is the system of operating.

• Tools – These are used to put everything together and maintain it daily.

• Team – The people employed to put the pieces together and to perform the daily operations.

 

There is a lot that goes into building something. I have written about how building and operating a business can be like standing in the shadow of an overwhelming mountain and the importance of having a clear plan and being organized. It is easy to be pulled in many different directions when trying to build and operate all the different pieces of a business.

 

By nature, I tend to make things complicated (sometimes more than they need to be). This is in part due to my focus on detail and isn’t all bad. The down side to being like this is that things don’t get done very fast. I know that I need help to build my business and move my mountain.

 

I have been working to get better at sharing shovels. I have determined that one of the things I’ve done in the past is to overwhelm new team members. So, to avoid this I am working on ways to simplify the system and to focus on one shovel of the mountain at a time.

 

Our business has three areas of focus; Sales/Marketing, Production/Operations and Administration/Finance. There is a lot in each of these areas and they all are critical to the support of the business. Keeping them operating equally is one of the most important and difficult tasks.

 

The focused shovel today is preparing a Proposal. This is the area that I’m currently working on in preparation for my Administrative Assistant. It involves things that both I need to do and things I can delegate.

 

Preparing a Proposal involves:

• Meeting with the customer – Finding out what the project consists of and helping them figure out what their dream is. Take pictures, get measurements and make the necessary notes needed.

• Writing down the scope of work to be done – Fill out the areas and categories of the Bid Sheet with the explanation of the work to be done.

• Preparing the price for doing the work – Use the information gathered to determine lineal feet, square feet, cubic feet, etc. of the different areas described in the Bid Sheet and enter it into the Worksheet.

• Compiling this information on to the Proposal – Take the information of the two previous bullet points and put it on the Proposal to be presented to the customer.

I know that I have almost forty years of developing this system and I need to get it out of my head, simplify it and put it on paper if I ever hope to move this mountain.

How to Dream Big in A Small Space

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The Strength of More Than One

A few weeks ago, I wrote about creating realistic expectations for customers and how important it is for the builder to honestly manage those expectations. In that conversation I spoke about Hannah’s project of building her home using grain bins.


This is going to be a dream project for both of us, but it takes planning and working together to make a dream come true. There also needs to be patience and understanding. Too many times people’s dreams become nightmares.


Her most recent floor plan has several changes from the first one. These changes are a normal part of the process (they probably aren’t the last). Some people don’t have the patience for this and plow forward throwing caution to the wind.

On the other hand, some of us tend to plan things to death. No dream is going to be built if there isn’t some action. That’s why it’s important to find the balance of planning and doing.

I think when Hannah’s dream project is finished she will agree that some outside ideas and input helped her project be better than if she hadn’t had any.

All of us have been made to strengthen and support each other. We accomplish more when we work together. In Ecclesiastes 4:12 it says, “…two people can stand back to back to defend each other. And three people are even stronger. They are like a rope that has three parts wrapped together – it is very hard to break”. (ERV)


It’s like the two-horse rule. A single draft horse can pull 8,000 pounds so it would stand to reason that two draft horses could pull 16,000 pounds. But they can actually pull 24,0000 pounds. That is three times as much. Each horse has its purpose and working together can accomplish more.

This is the benefit of collaboration. The working together makes each of us as better as individuals and the dream stronger. Hannah and I are both slower more detailed horses. I think we might need to add a race horse to the team so that we can plow a little faster.

 

Keep following this blog and Hannah’s for more updates as the dream moves closer to reality.

How Building Things Is Like Giving Birth

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There’s Something Emotionally Fulfilling About Creating

 

I was having a conversation earlier this week with Cheri at Agora Architecture about a project that we are working on. As we visited about the project we both became excited about the new ideas that were developing. I told her that what we’re doing was like giving birth. I then explained what I meant by that and then decided that I should share it with you.


I’ve had this same discussion multiple times over the years. When talking with someone who understands this, the connection is intense. It really is amazing the similarities there are with building and giving birth.

CONCEPTION – “The forming or devising of a plan or idea.” This is where both creating and birthing start. There is a spark or an idea that begins to grow inside of us. Maybe it’s an idea for a new home, a new business, a new design, a new book, a new painting. There is something that has been planted inside by God and we need to pay attention to and act upon it.

GESTATION – “The development of something over a period of time.” As this little idea grows it will want, no need, to get out. We need to be aware and nurture this creation. As it goes through this process it will change on its way to becoming what it is meant to be. This can be painful as the idea continues to grow and stretches us, but it’s a necessary part of the process.

EXTERNAL HELP – When a mother becomes pregnant there is a need for support and help from spouses, family, doctors, nurses, specialists, etc. the same is true for other creations. To the project that I referred to earlier, it started as the idea for a new and used book store and café of Floyd Enterprises. There have been several people involved to this point and will be many more before it is finished. Currently there has been the Floyd family, Debby the realtor, Timber Creek Construction the contractor, Cheri and Hannah the architects. Giving birth requires help and a lot of it.

MESSY – Just like giving birth has some mess involved so do all creations. The process isn’t going to just happen without some clean up.


EXCITEMENT – This is the comparison that I think is the most pronounced. It’s hard to describe the feelings of holding the newborn for the first time. It’s the same when you have been a part of creating something that wasn’t there before. To see, touch and feel that thing that came from somewhere inside and is now tangible is amazing. There is a part of your DNA that has been transferred to it and it will be there forever.

There is something natural about the act of creating, whatever the creation may be. This is something that was implanted in us at our conception. This is God’s DNA in us. We are created in His image, Genesis 1:26-31. He created the world and everything in it. This desire to create and the joy it gives is a part of who we are.

If you haven’t yet figured out what it is that you were put here to create, keep looking until you find it. When you do you’ll know it, because nothing else feels as satisfying as that.

Why Me…Why Not Me?

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What Can I Do to Improve My Self-confidence?

 

Why is it that so many people struggle with low self-esteem or the lack of self-confidence? I know that different people deal with it in varying degrees, but I think everyone deals with it. People who appear confident have just figured out how to deal with it better.

The huge amount of self-help books, speeches, programs, etc., speak to this struggle. I have been battling with this feeling regarding these blogs. Why is it that so few people are reading them? Then my inner evaluation begins. The content isn’t any good. The writing stinks. It doesn’t make any sense. The topics aren’t relevant. Am I wasting my time…and on and on.

 

Our book club just finished reading Cara Brookins’ book “Rise: How A House Built A Family”. The club collectively thought I might struggle reading this book (part of the reason it was picked 😊). You know, me being a professional builder reading about a woman and her four kids building a house using “how to” videos. I just want to say; this book is now in my top ten. Cara and her family really impressed and inspired me! Inspired me so much so that I gathered up the courage to email her (way out of my comfort zone).

And you know what.

She replied…to me…to little ole’ me and not only that, we had the opportunity to have a Skype conversation with her during our review of her book during book club. How cool is that! If she can build a house…I can write a blog.

Her current projects are based on her “firm belief that everyone who wants to can build themselves a bigger, better life. And the feeling…of being stuck and frustrated is exactly what most people are feeling. It’s a sign you’re on the right path, because feeling discontent creates action.”

Helping people build a bigger better life is exactly what I plan to do with my coaching, consulting and constructing here at Solution Building.

Her building of this house is proof that what is required to get past self-doubt is choice and action. We must decide to do something, something big, something as big as a house and then do it. It doesn’t matter how good the information in the self-help program is, it’s not going to do any good if it isn’t put into action.

God did not put us here to fail. Satan on the other hand is a master of using our weakness to keep us from doing the great things that God wants for us. Like our low self-esteem to keep us stuck. We must decide if we trust and believe. If we do, then it is up to us to start building.

Another one of my top ten books is Andy Andrews’ book, “The Traveler’s Gift”. It was turned down by fifty-one publishers before it was accepted.

Fifty-one.

Okay if Cara can push through the months and months of building her own home and Andy can go through fifty-one rejections I can keep blogging. Nobody said that persistence was easy, but it’s the thing that separates quitters from successful people.

I can persist – I can succeed – WHY NOT ME!

If you have any feedback on my blogs or if there is some specific topics you would like for me to write about let me know in the comments below.

The First Next Thing to Building A Better Business

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Action Is Required for Building Anything

 

It doesn’t matter if we are building a home, a business or a life…they all require physical action. Planning is critical but not enough.

At a lunch meeting with my financial assistant (my sister) earlier this week we were discussing what is needed to move closer to achieving the company’s goals. This conversation confirmed what I already knew. By nature, I am a planner, a dreamer and a recovering perfectionist. I have lots of ideas and plans, all great ones too, no doubt. 😊 But it takes more than just plans.

The necessary thing needed to build the business, just like a building, is action. You can’t live in a blueprint. The same is true for a business. You have to move beyond planning. You have to do the first next thing.

When doing a construction project, I understand the order of the process – to start, proceed and finish. I asked myself why the physical construction comes naturally but I struggle with building a business. I have come up with a few reasons for this:

  • It’s hard for me to delegate – I know that I suck at it. People who know me know that I suck at it. This leaves me with two options; do everything myself and do less or share the shovels. I listened to a Story Brand podcast a few days ago that pointed out that successful entrepreneurs don’t try to do everything by themselves.

  • I have a broken people meter – I was thinking about the discussion with my sister and came to the realization that part of the delegation problem is that my people meter is broke or maybe I just don’t have one. So, I need to incorporate the help of people who have good people meters into the process of finding the right people to delegate to.

 

  • My “to do list” is too long and I like lists – When the list of things that need to be done is too long we become overwhelmed. Being pulled in so many different directions leads to confusion and causes a lack of clarity. Trying to spin too many plates doesn’t move things forward it just makes us dizzy. Trying to do too many things causes chaos. I don’t have the time to do everything on my list. We need a plan for this but if things are going to change there needs to be some action.
 

  • Recovering perfectionist – Finding the separation between perfection and excellence is tricky. This is a very fine line. Having been a perfectionist for years it is difficult to not cross back into perfection. Perfection causes inaction. It slows down all the processes and makes it difficult to leave the planning and start the doing.

 

Moving forward with the first next step I must narrowly clarify excellent delegation.

 

Just like I can’t drive more than one nail at a time when doing physical construction, the same is true when building a business or a life. If I don’t quit trying to perfect the plans and start swinging the hammer I will never get anything built.

Taking Off the Blinders Helps You See the Big Picture

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Without A Vision…You Run into Things

One of my core values is, “take off the blinders, be more observant”. I told you in a previously post that I would go into each of them in more detail later, so here’s the third one.

Core values are foundational for the life that God designed for each of us. They are critical for building our best life.

We all have core values, whether intentional or not. You may not have given much thought to yours, but they are there regardless. It is important to think about the ones you’re building your life with and choose the right ones.

I decided to write about this core value while reading “The Seventh Most Important Thing”, by Shelley Pearsall. In the story Mr. Hampton leaves a hand-written message for Arthur on a piece of cardboard, “where there is no vision, the people parish”. Arthur is a teenage boy struggling through adolescence and the death of his father. He has no idea what this saying means. At this point Arthur can’t see past all the bad things happening in his life. He has blinders on.

I think there are a lot of people like Arthur. They just show up to life each day without any vision or plan for what their life could should be. Trudging through life focused on a narrow image. Neglecting or are unable to see the bigger picture. It is like they have blinders on that allow them to only see the slim view of what is directly in front of them.

I chose this as one of my core values because I certainly can be too focused on my work and neglect other areas of my life. My core values serve two different purposes. One is to confirm my natural strengths. The other is to remind me of my weaknesses. I need to keep both of these in sight to help me “find and maintain the balance” (another core value for a later post).

I want to work toward building the dream life that the Master Architect designed specifically for me and “honor God in all that I do”. If I am going to do this I need to take “intentional action” in the construction of that life. I also need to be open to new and different ideas and input from other people and places. I need to “take off my blinders and be more observant”.

It has been my experience when building a building that people have a dream of what they envision the finished project to look like. The problem is, they don’t know how to get that dream from their head to a physical structure. This is where vision comes in. The vision is the process of taking the imagined and turning it into reality. This provides a clear and intentional plan for building the dream.

It is helpful to have experienced professionals (architects, engineers, contractors, etc.) guide the construction process. The same is true in building a business or life.

If you have questions about turning your dreams into reality contact us below.

 

How to Build A “Rainy Day” Fund for Your Business (part 1)

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The Nuts and Bolts for Saving Money

 

Last week I wrote about the importance of having a savings, both individually and in business and the high percentage of people who don’t. This tendency to spend everything you have is a problem when the unexpected happens. This isn’t to say that you should put all your money, after paying the bills, in a savings account hoping to retire someday on that savings. What I’m talking about is having money ready for big planned purchases or unexpected emergencies. This way you can use your own money and don’t have to pay someone else to borrow theirs.

Last week I told you about the tool that I use for this, the “Savings Transfer Sheet”. This spreadsheet is easy to use and makes saving simple. What it doesn’t do, is force you save. Maybe I should figure out a way to hook peoples’ deposit tickets up to electricity so that they would get a shock when depositing money without saving.

The biggest problem with saving money is not having a plan to do so. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out how much should be saved when depositing revenue. One of the things that makes it hard is inconsistent amounts. If every day or week you deposited the same exact amount, you could decide once and always put aside a set amount for savings.

It’s rare in business that every job or every customer pays you the same amount every time you do business with them. There are some businesses like lawn mowing, hair cutting, pet boarding, etc. that a preset recurring price has been established, even so the number of recurrences each day or week is going to vary.

The purpose of this spreadsheet is to provide a simple accurate way to know how much money the right amount to save is, regardless of the amount being deposited. The most difficult part is the initial set up. This part requires some research, thought and time.

First – look back through your financial records of the last several years. The more research you do the more accurate your understanding will be of your financial history. Even if you’ve only been in business for a short time it will give you a place to start. This will let you see areas of unexpected expenses as well as dollar amounts.

 

Second – determine what things or areas that need to be saved for. Some examples of what these could be are:

Repairing and/or replacing equipment

Equipment increases or upgrades

Repairing or replacing vehicles

Large building repairs or maintenance items (HVAC, new roof, etc.)

Building or facility upgrades, expansions or purchases

Taxes (income, property, sales, etc.)

Irregular payments (bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)

Retained earnings (emergency fund because they are going to happen)

 

Third – take the dollar amounts for the different areas that you have determined to be above or outside your normal operating costs and figure the percentage each one is of your net revenue. This will give you a place to start when setting up the “Savings Transfer Sheet” for the first time.

Building a “Rainy Day” savings is critical to the foundation of your business. It is one of the solid cornerstones that will help your business weather the storms of life.

Next week we will go into the “Savings Transfer Sheet” deeper still and see how the information we gathered fits in to it.

 

How to Convert Your Construction Project from Unrealistic to Wow

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The Importance of Having Realistic Expectations Before the Project Ever Starts

 

One of the most consistent issues that I hear from people who have been involved in construction projects, is disappointment. These displeasures show up in a variety of ways and most often it comes down to unrealistic expectations and less than desired results. This discontentment can come from either customers or contractors and usually the responsibility lies with both.

The solution to this problem also belongs to both.

As a customer you aren’t continuously involved in construction projects. You don’t have the experience and knowledge that construction professionals do. This is not to say that every person or company that claims to be a professional is. It’s important for you to know what you need in a contractor and take the time to find the right one for you and your project.

The excitement that comes with the beginning of a project starts to wain after a while. You just want to have your project, whether it is a big renovation or a small repair, done. You want to get your life back to normal as quickly as possible. Regular life is disrupting enough without a construction project, but to have trades people coming in and out of your home or business periodically and/or unexpectedly wasn’t a part of that initial excitement.

The best way for you to prepare for a construction project is to learn all you can about what is involved, before you start. Even small projects have several pieces that need to be fit together to achieve the desired outcome. This takes knowledge and experience to get these pieces to fit together at the right time and in the right way.

Watching home remodeling programs on television isn’t the best place to learn realistic expectations. Often these programs are more of a problem than a solution. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of valuable information that can be gleaned from these shows. The thing you need to realize is that the purpose of these programs is largely to generate viewers not create realistic expectations for your construction project.

This is why it is important to get the right contractor. If a contractor does their job well, all the various pieces will fit together in the way that you wanted. This doesn’t mean that it will be what you initially expected, but rather an informed realistic expectation. What is important for you as the customer to do is to know how to determine if a contractor is the best one for you.

There are several things to consider when looking for a contractor.

  • First and foremost is compatibility. Are they going to be someone that you can work with day in and day out for the duration of the project? This is critical to the outcome.
  • Second is honesty and integrity. Often you can tell this with a few conversations and can confirm it with references.
  • Third is the experience and skill level. How long have they been doing construction and what types of projects have they done previously?

Projects rarely go the way the customer or the contractor think they should or would like, but this doesn’t mean that they need to be disappointing for either. The key is to plan and learn all that you can before you get too far into the process. If you will do this, you will decrease your chances of unrealistic and increase your chances of a wow project in the end.

Building the Best Life, Means It’s Always Under Construction

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My Life Lessons Learned From Almost Forty Years of Building

 

It is amazing to me the similarities of building a quality structure and an excellent life. The longer I do it, the more amazing it becomes. These parallels have been in place since the beginning of time. When God made the world these building principles were used. These time-tested practices work for physical buildings as well as great lives.

At an early age we begin the process of planning our lives. We have an image of how our life is going to look, what we are going to do, who is going to enjoy it with us, etc. Sometimes those plans are well thought out and designed. They come with pages and pages of blueprints including all types of details, complete with engineering calculations. Some plans are more the ‘scribbled on a piece of scrap paper idea’. Either way we have that picture of what we think our life should be.

It is important to note that we have access to the ‘Master Architect’. He offers this design service at no cost, it has already been paid for. If we will take advantage of this offer, we will end up with the best finished project.

Like building, the better the plans are before we start, the less problems we will have during construction. This doesn’t mean that it can’t be built without plans, it just means there may be more change orders needed.

A solid foundation is the next thing in the process. A good foundation is what supports the building and keeps it straight and standing tall. The better the foundation the better it weathers storms. This doesn’t mean that some storms won’t come along and knock it down. Even if a storm scatters our lives, a good foundation will still be there to rebuild on.

Once we complete the construction of a building, it doesn’t mean that we’re finished. Nothing in this life is permanent. Everything wears out or deteriorates over time. If we use better quality building material it will last longer, but everything needs maintenance. Often people neglect this part more than any. It is easy to get in a rut and forget to periodically do a checkup, whether it is a building or a life. We need to be good stewards of what we have been given. If we intentionally keep working on it, it will be better in the end.

Remodeling and additions are common in construction. We come across something new that will be an improvement, or there is a change in our circumstances. These things are true for our lives as well. If we aren’t working to improve then we are deteriorating.

 

A message from the Master Architect’s Blueprint –

…but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. 20 You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building. 21 The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

 

Let us know if you need help finding solutions for building your dream life.