Patience and Persistence

So a funny thing happened to me today as I was in Baltimore City’s Permit Office, well it’s probably not that funny but it was a “throw your hands up in the air moment”. 

 I have been working with a client since June of 2009 anticipating building an addition for him on his boyhood home which he inherited after his mother had passed.  We wouldn’t be able to start on the addition project until he sold his primary residence since the proceeds from the sale  were going to fund the project.

Okay, I thought to myself how long will it be until your house is sold in this market, well summer passes and fall is quickly turning to winter, and of course my hopes for this project to happen in 2009 are pretty much non-existent at this point. November rolls around and after a few contracts that had fallen through he finally makes it to the closing table just after Thanksgiving.  Great I think as we signed our construction contract the first week of December, I will start the new year with a project on the books.  God is so good, just when you think all is lost a blessing falls into your lap.

 The Christmas holidays roll around and architectural drawings are completed so now the fun task of going through the permitting process.

This brings me to January 4th in which I made two trips to the permit office, once to submit drawings, the drawings of course need some additional notes and details.  The second time to make sure the requested corrections to the drawings were correct. Corrections were approved so I need to make copies and re-submit.  January 5th out of bed early, copies made, down to the permit office. Woman at the counter is pleased that I have done everything she has asked for and issues me  a ticket for the 1st station which is zoning. As I’m sitting there waiting I’m so excited and then I get the “oh, you’re going to have to go  next door to have your project approved”. That’s never a good sign when you have to go next door, well as it pans out the project is going to require a zoning hearing which can take between 6-8 weeks.

Well the funny thing is that all I could do is laugh, I told the gentleman at the counter I had been through the zoning hearing process before so I knew it would be a little more time before we would be able to start the project.  I called my client, informed him of the news, and thought well I guess well have to be patient a little longer, but don’t worry well get through the zoning hearing and before you know it you’ll have your addition.

Today’s events were a reminder to  me that in order to survive in the construction industry in todays economic climate one has to learn to be patient or should I say work on the virtue of patience. Also I realized if I hadn’t kept in touch with my client, you know the “touching base” phone call that everyone in a service oriented business has to make to keep and make new clients this project may have never come to fruition or gotten to the point of a zoning hearing.  Persistence is a definite job skill requirement.

So I offer a word of encouragement to those reading this who may be a little beat down by life’s twists and turns. Remember have a little patience and be persistent in reaching your goals, eventually you will succeed!

Please visit our website http://www.theolivegroupmanagement.com to learn more about The Olive Group.

Stimulus Money….Seen Any?

As a small Construction Management and General Contracting business Owner I recently completed a phone interview with Baltimore Sun reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins. The topic of the interview was “how is the economy effecting you? ” One of the questions she asked me was related to stimulus money and had my business felt the effects of the government  stimulus being pumped into the economy.  Basically, have you seen any stimulus money? My answer was “no, not really”. 

I told her that most of the construction projects that have been highlighted as a direct result of a state receiving stimulus money have been highway projects or other large commercial ventures. My sense is that too many small  businesses have fallen into a high risk for lending category viewed from a banks perspective. This is all due to lack of consumer spending which is tied directly to the high unemployment rate in this country.  Small businesses can’t qualify for loans from banks who have received stimulus money which means businesses aren’t growing or creating new jobs. It’s a cycle that does not seem close to ending.

The next question naturally was “What are you doing to keep your  business going?”  I said with a laugh, ” a whole lot of creative free advertising”.  I’ve posted flyers in coffee shops, posted project videos online, started “tweeting or twittering”  all in an effort to increase business and networking capacity.  Word of mouth is still the best free  advertisement.

As I reflected on the interview I shared with my wife that it’s not going to be all bad all the time. I can maintain a positive attitude since life usually works out and the bumps along the way are just part of the ride. So I hang on and keep on spreading the word about my business.

To learn more about my company, The Olive Group, LLC  visit http://www.theolivegroupmanagement.com

Baltimore District Court: Where’s my customer service?

So today I had the experience of going to District Court as a witness in a landlord vs. tenant escrow case.  It was probably the most entertaining afternoon I have had in quite awhile. Definitely worth a visit if you have a free afternoon and are looking for a unique experience.

As I sat there in the courtroom listening to the other cases being presented it dawned on me that everyone just wants decent “customer service” if you will.

One case in particular stood out since it was brief, basically the landlord had satisfied the housing code violations that had been issued and the housing inspector confirmed this. The tenant was upset since during the repair process her windows were painted shut, so she complained to the judge. The judge basically told her find a sharp object to loosen the paint so she could use her windows. It wasn’t a serious enough issue for the court to address.

Everyone knows what a pain it is to deal with wood windows or even vinyl windows that don’t open easily or open at all. We all know the drill of straining, pushing,  and usually cursing  trying to open a window  all the while just hoping you won’t have to find a screwdriver, knife, or other object to open the window (nothings ever handy when you need it).

Here’s where the customer service comes into play…the tenant just wanted operable windows and reached out to the judge to get it…no dice. The landlord probably wished whoever he hired to do the work went the extra mile and cleaned off the extra paint so the windows weren’t stuck in the first place…no dice.  Both parties didn’t receive decent “customer service”.  

It made me stop and think as the Owner of a General Contracting company it’s imperitive that we as a company provide great customer service in order to stand out in this competitive market. 

In actuality if everyone just tried to provide “decent customer service” to our friends, family, co-workers, strangers we run into  life would be so much easier all the way around.

This is Matthew Tuttle from the Olive Group signing off for Renovation Nation.

To learn more about the Olive Group visit our website at www.theolivegroupmanagement.com

Renovation Nation- How’s the economy affecting your business?

Hello! This is Matthew Tuttle, Owner of The Olive Group. We are a General Contractor and Construction Management Company located in Baltimore, Maryland. We specialize in residential renovations and rehabs. I thought I would start blogging about our experiences and some common questions we are asked by clients and potential clients. The most common question I am asked today is “How’s the economy affecting your business?”  Well I usually respond with “its much more competitive” since banks aren’t lending as freely as they used to. Construction loans for residential renovations and rehabs are typically a percentage (80-90%) of current neighborhood sales comps and since the housing market has really gone south with foreclosures and house values dropping. Sales comps aren’t very high which in turn makes getting a rehab loan for say $100K very difficult in a neighborhood where typical house sales/values are only $100-130K.

Competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It forces you to be creative with your marketing strategy which can lead to new contacts and new projects. Also it can motivate you to stay on top of your game in order to be a standout in a crowd of potential contractors during a project walk-thru.  The down turn in the economy has really made people focus on value for money spent or money to be spent which has made us focus on how we can provide the best value to our clients for the money they are spending.

So even in the worst of economic times there are some positives…sometimes you just have to look a little harder for them.

Visit our website to learn a little more about The Olive Group.

http://www.theolivegroupmanagement.com

Matthew Tuttle