Contractor Coalition Summit Recap | Huntington Beach, CA

Contractor Coalition Summit Recap | Huntington Beach, CA 1

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Our second Contractor Coalition Summit was this past month in Huntington Beach, CA and it was a hit! I’m still feeling the post event blues from being surrounded by so many incredible and successful humans within this industry.

If you’re new here, we have teamed up with AFT Construction and NS Builders to put on this four day summit geared towards General Contractors. To be a resource, learn, share and educate. There’s nothing we leave off the table. Everyone left with tangible action to elevate their business. This was our second conference we put on together, and we’re just getting started. Next up come May of 2023 will be in Austin and we’re already planning out well into the future. You can find all of the details and tickets here. If you’re a contractor in this industry, this is an event you don’t want to miss. 

Here’s just a few of the reviews from our last couple of conferences … 

A huge thank you to everybody who organized, contributed, and helped make the #contractorcoalitionsummit a smashing success. I will admit that I was a little skeptical going into this – I have been building for over 17 years, have a small tight-knit group of trusted employees and trade partners, and like to think we have a pretty good gig. But, my mind was blown. My cup is full of new knowledge, inspiration, and new friendships, thanks to Morgan and Jamie (@construction2style ), Brad (@aft_construction ), and Nick (@nsbuilders ). THANK YOU for imparting your epic knowledge and experience, and for laughing with me…for four straight days. For a guy who takes extreme care to protect our nights and weekends, this was well worth it.”

– Mark D Williams Custom Homes | Minneapolis, MN

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It’s been such an honor and a treat working alongside Nick and Brad this past year. These are two power houses that I’ve always deeply respected and admired for what they are doing within the industry. What I love about this partnership is that Brad is out of Scottsdale, AZ, we are here in Minneapolis, and Nick is out of Boston – from the east, midwest to west. And we all run into the same hurdles, obstacles, challenges, clients, and more. We truly are trying to elevate this industry as a whole nation wide and throughout this conference we share it all from our processes, managing client expectations, how to build an SEO and social content strategy to drive sales, how to build a pull plan, reviewing contracts and more. Between the three of us, we have a lot of similar yet also different ways about going over things and all of that is yours to take home and implement.

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Sunday night, day one, we kicked things off with Mark LaLiberte from Construction Instruction. I love this guy! He also spoke at Nashville and my mind was blown. 

Mark LaLiberte is the co-founder and president of Construction Instruction. He has dedicated over 30 years to the building industry. Through his lectures, site assistance, Building Better Homes video series and his mobile App, he provides builders, architects and manufacturers with an in-depth look at the current and future state of housing. His work has earned him a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA), where he developed the highly acclaimed Houses that Work lecture series. The HTW Series has been delivered for over 16 years by the Ci team in 100’s of North American cities.

He was the 2013 Building Science co-chair for the Hanley Wood Vision 2020 project and he has provided technical assistance and a voluntary board position to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska for over 10 years. Mark also helped develop the training curriculum for the 2012 Repair Corp Project for Habitat for Humanity that provides assistance to improve existing housing for our Veterans.

He works with various manufacturers to assist in developing products and services for the next phase of efficient homes. Mark is the co-creator of the Ci App and animation studio, which developed the number one mobile App in the construction industry and builds realistic state of the art contextual animations on building science concepts and technical installation practices.

He is also President of Sales Instruction Inc., helping to bridge sales and marketing efforts to our industry. Working with leading industry suppliers and manufacturers, his sales training company creates a common language to drive sales and increase productivity for sales teams.

His passion for educating lies in knowing how vital the building industry is.  Building healthy, safe, durable and efficient homes has an effect on the buyer, the builder, the economy and the planet.

Expertise: Ci’s events are far more than just presentations; they provide real solutions contractors can implement the day they meet our team. We present real-world applications gleaned from thousands of site visits, from all over the world. Audiences have a chance to learn the best techniques for building better buildings through our hands-on, casual, yet informative discussions.

Mark also leads the Ci’s Team to provide the next level of training at Ci Live in Denver, CO. This facility incorporates classroom, mock-up walls and lab experimentation over two days to define best practices of entire building systems from framing to advanced HVAC.

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Day two, Monday morning we kicked things off with breakfast and networking, getting everyone fueled up for a very intensive day. We went straight from 7:00 AM until 10 PM. 
Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and, when done correctly, can yield great results for years to come. -Diane Helbig.

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And 8 AM sharp, we dove right in with – How do you Price a Project and Make your Company Profitable?
 
Construction is a complex business. By the end of this session, you will know how to price in your market, how to bill fees and pay your employees, how to job-cost and track payroll and know your costs. We will teach you the best method to immediately increase your profit and bottom line. It will help you understand how to bill for overhead, insurance, warranty, and incidentals. Pricing is a significant concern, especially with inflation and fluctuating price points during the pandemic. Understand how to protect yourself and your company moving forward.
 
Each session is two hours long and it flies by fast. After chatting how to make your company profitable we dove into – Construction Business Management and Contracts.
Contracts are an essential part of your business. We will teach you how to properly contract your clients and sub-contractors and protect yourself from potential litigation. In addition, we will spend time discussing escalation clauses. How do pay apps, pay cycles, and lien waivers play a role? What is a pre-construction lien? NDA’s and Photo approval when the project is complete—the pros at the Contractors Coalition Summit will share some of their experiences and show you their contracts used to get you from start to finish.

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At noon, lunch was served and sponsored by Manomin Resawn Timbers. Who is personally one of our favorite team and brands to work with here at c2s.

“Those were the good old days” is an adage that rings particularly true when it comes to building products. These days, you’ll find a lot more windows and siding in vinyl than you will in wood, and composite flooring often replaces the solid, real thing. Forestry has evolved, too, with speed-to-market ruling the day. Stands of trees are harvested at the precise moment they’ll generate the most profit.

The big casualty has been choice. End users have a shallower well from which they can draw ideas and options to make a space uniquely their own: In today’s market, what will make the most money often trumps what could be possible.

Manomin Resawn Timbers is all about “the good old days,” and we work passionately to bring that era to you and to your project. We recognize that reclaiming old lumber is about much more than tearing boards out of old buildings. We know that maintaining our high standards will result in the best, most beautiful outcome for you. Our diligence starts with sourcing the highest-quality wood and continues with precise milling that accentuates the best qualities and unique character of each and every board.

From the first hello to the completion of your project, we can lead or follow: We’ll inspire you, or you can inspire us with your own vision or that of your architect or interior designer.

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A huge thank you to all of our sponsors for not only sponsoring the event, but showing up, and also providing all attendees with a whole lot of swag to take home! 

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Following lunch, we chatted all about – Time is money: Build a pull plan and control the process, enhancing subcontractor participation, profitability, and customer success!
 
Whether you are an experienced contractor, project manager, or a newbie, construction projects are never easy. Think of all the moving parts – employees, sub-contractors, equipment, materials, delays, and don’t forget about expectations. But, if any project needs a well-thought-out execution plan and carefully mapped schedule, it’s a construction project. No stone will be left unturned during this session. Learn how to involve your trade partner base to ensure success!
 
And lastly, before heading to dinner, we ended the day with Sara Schultz. More about Sara …Brand identity designer, creative director, and your biggest cheerleader

I quit a fortune 500 retail career to chase my dreams. Which resulted in my husband and me chasing summer around the world, learning about new cultures, and experiencing things I never could have imagined. When our travel ended over two years later, I opted to invest all my energy into nurturing a business that provided an ever-full, ever-exciting life. Today, that business has me working as a branding designer and branding coach for female entrepreneurs.

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And dinner was a hit! My favorite thing about this four day conference is that no one even wants to take a moment for themselves. For both conferences, we were together the entire time. We had a couple hour lull before dinner and yet, everyone was right there in the lobby chatting, diving deeper and digging in before going to dinner. Even with the downtime we give – everyone wants to and remains together diving into one another’s brains.

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Relationships that will last a lifetime, that I know! 

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Day two, we were back at it again at 7:00 AM with breakfast with by Andersen Windows.
 
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After breakfast, 8 AM we dove right into – How to Build an SEO and Social Content Strategy to Drive Sales
 
This session will dig deep into various ways to use social content to drive traffic to your blog, website, online shop, and podcast to create and grow your revenue. Also, we will cover additional topics like search engine optimization (SEO), what it is, and how you can use it to grow your business and drive traffic from Google.
 
Followed that conversation up with – How to Setup, Maintain, and Elevate Vendor Collaboration
 

Have you ever noticed how some companies don’t experience product delays? Have you asked yourself why? This is because they know how to nurture their relationships with vendors. They have been developing them for years, they have direct contacts, and that’s why they receive excellent customer service.

It’s vital to build strong relationships with vendors and treat them with utmost loyalty and respect. As a result, your strong collaboration will always create significant value and bring returning income sources for you.

 

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Then we took a two hour break to have lunch, sponsored Brizo. Another one of our favorite brands!

Brizo is a luxury fittings brand for those who understand that fashion isn’t merely about the clothes they wear—it’s about their entire lifestyle.

We create distinctive designs that don’t just complete rooms, they inspire spaces.

To that end, Brizo creates high-end collections for the kitchen, bath and shower that are constantly pushing the limits on design, craftsmanship and innovation. No detail is ever too small to be thoughtfully designed, meticulously handcrafted—and thoroughly obsessed over.

Befitting its position at the forefront of design, Brizo is the primary sponsor of renowned fashion designer Jason Wu, and the two fashion brands collaborated to bring the Jason Wu for Brizo collection to life.

Brizo is also the first national sponsor of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Dream Home® Giveaway—a reflection of its ongoing commitment to improving not just rooms, but entire communities

Available exclusively in showrooms, Brizo products are more than just fittings; they’re inspired pieces of art. And that’s why we sign our work, much like an artist or fashion designer, with two simple words that speak volumes: By Brizo.

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Before dinner, we ended with chatting about – Producing Multiple Streams of Revenue Beyond Construction within the Industry.
This session was jam-packed because there are so many different revenue streams available and all you have to do is leverage your current business. We discussed ad revenue, affiliate links, vendor and brand partnership referral bonuses, online retail and brick & mortar shops, courses and workshops, social media coordinating and website SEO, and the list goes on and on.
 
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Our final and last day/morning together is a lighter but yet was way in depth day! Our first conference, we all chatted and dove into questions for four hours, but this year because the days prior went over on our time, we ended the summit talking about Managing Client Expectations. Which was one of my favorite sessions this year! 
 
We live in a different world today than we have ever lived before. We are adapting, catching up, and managing client expectations daily. During this session, we’ll teach you how to attract an ideal client, set up those appropriate client expectations from the start, establish proper regular communication, go over documentation to use, and more. Being authentic and transparent about the process and realistic about pricing and timelines, defining goals, and inviting your client into decision-making process can be vital. Learn to think like a customer!
 

 

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