Guest post by Blair Edmiston, who writes the Edmiston Design/Build Blog. All views in the post are the author’s alone.
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You have the tools, the experience, the drive and will to do things the sustainable way. How do you get the clients? Let’s face it, they are the ones who make this all possible and without the clients everything just sits idle, under-utilized and under-appreciated.
If you represent yourself as a sustainable remodeler, you will likely find your clients through a combination of networking, social media and conventional advertising. Networking by using social media and attending networking events are, in my opinion, the best ways to expand your client base, since the cost is lower and you are more likely to succeed in finding people who share your values this way.
Social media
If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth largest in the world, and it is rapidly growing. Social media has taken off like no other media before its time and it is quickly changing the ways in which businesses and customers interact. There are many gurus in the field of social media who can help you find your way, but I find that tinkering at it and being actively involved is the best way to truly and authentically represent myself.
Places that I am currently using to represent my business are:
- Facebook – Create a page for your company where you can have photos of projects. Update your company’s status on a fairly regular basis. Be authentic! You want to interact with your audience and give them the opportunity to respond to what you post.
- Twitter – Many people ask, “What’s the point of Twitter?” I can understand the puzzlement felt by those new to social networking sites. Without some time, Twitter does seem to just be a lighter version of Facebook. To me, Twitter seems like a way to reach more people with quick news-blasts and links to things that you find interesting. Facebook is more of a discussion where Twitter is like a post on a bulletin board.
- LinkedIn – Here you can link to your blog, have professional contacts, recommend the work of your associates and colleagues as well as be recommended by them. I under-utilize this great resource, but know that many business professionals have excellent results with their time spent on LinkedIn. If you are looking to hire, definitely look at finding your candidates through LinkedIn!
One more thing I would like to say about LinkedIn – I am seeing the Groups really take off on this site. I am currently a member of the Oregon Remodeler’s Association and the Construction Business Owner’s Group. Members of these groups can post questions that other members can reply to, and this allows users to interact and engage one another. I think this has a lot of potential.
There really are so many other social media sites and it is rapidly developing. Ultimately, I think the best strategy is to blog, pick two or three social media sites that work for you and then link blog to at least one of those social media sites.
Groups and associations
Social media is great and will do an enormous amount for your credibility, but it has to be coupled with face to face interaction with people. Joining groups and associations that are in line with your values and give you the venue to meet other professionals will greatly accelerate the growth of quality connections. For me, it isn’t about the number of connections but the quality of the connections. If you invest the time into your associations, you will find a network of people whom you respect and care for. It takes time, but it is well worth the effort.
- Oregon Remodelers Association – The ORA is a division of the National Association of The Remodeling Industry and includes member events such as the Annual Golf Tournament, Summer Social, Membership Luau, the Home Improvement and Remodeling Show, the Remodelers Home Tour, the Suppliers Fair and Holiday Party. This is a great place to meet some of your peers and find excellent subcontractors (if you are a general contractor). The Home Improvement and Remodeling Show is a good way to connect to potential clients, but besides this the ORA is more about business to business networking. If you have work to showcase, entering it into the “Outstanding Remodeling Achievement Awards” is a great way to gain recognition for your company. There is a “Green Building Remodel” category for the award, so go for it!
- Architectural Heritage Center – My favorite part of the AHC is the educational seminars they put together. These are usually on Saturday and 10:00 am and vary in scope and quality, but the quality is generally quite good and the presenters are usually top-notch. The AHC has also been having occasional networking evenings at their headquarters on SE Grand. The “Old House Fair” in June allows AHC members to set up small stations to present to old house lovers and prospective clients. It is less trade-show-esque and more information fair, but certainly a good way to meet homeowners that need a good contractor.
- EcoBuilding Guild – This one is new for me, so I’m still figuring it out. Above all else, the Eco-Building Guild is a collection of die-hard green builders who really push the “envelope” (pun intended!). I’ve gone to two great meetings on Passive Houses, which have had that (un)conference feel – the agenda is set by the attendees, attendees vote on the items they’d like to discuss, people are welcome to cross between different presentations. The quality of the discussions is phenomenal simply because the members are such whizzes when it comes to engineering, design, building and so on. I’m into it and look forward to more meetings with this group.
There are A LOT of other places for sustainable builders to network – Cascadia, ReDirect Guide events, Energy Trust of Oregon events and so many other meet-ups that are out there. My strategy is to get out there and incrementally adjust how I network to fit what I value and where I want to take my practice and business.
Networking can feel like work. The more you follow your joy, the less like work it will feel. Do what you love and find others who resonate that love for their work as well. Your business will grow from this, you will be happier and it follows that your clients and associates will be happier as well. We can’t talk about sustainability without happiness at its center!
