Are You a Tech Geek or a Tech Avoider? Make it Work for You
Pros share tips for getting up to speed on technology and using it to run your business better
While laptops and smartphones are a fact of life, renovation and outdoor professionals vary in how they feel about adding technology and software programs to their work. There are those who geek out over apps and gadgets as a way to better run their businesses, while others prefer to be tech minimalists.
But no matter how you feel about technology, the administrative details of running a business are unavoidable. And when used well, technology can help this part of your business to run more efficiently, freeing up time for you to focus more on the construction or outdoor work you love.
We recently spoke to pros – both natural lovers of tech and former tech avoiders – to understand how they make technology tools work for their businesses.
But no matter how you feel about technology, the administrative details of running a business are unavoidable. And when used well, technology can help this part of your business to run more efficiently, freeing up time for you to focus more on the construction or outdoor work you love.
We recently spoke to pros – both natural lovers of tech and former tech avoiders – to understand how they make technology tools work for their businesses.
Understand how technology has helped other businesses
Of course, not everyone can be married to an IT expert. Fortunately, there are other ways to learn which technology offerings would best support your business.
Builder BJ Barone, of 41 West in Florida, hired a business coach years ago who got him started with software programs. The coach “taught us that there were three things that would have the greatest impact on your business: people, processes, technology,” Barone says.
For Barone, who wasn’t a natural tech lover, the key to getting interested was realising how new technologies have improved construction manufacturing. As an example, he cites the CNC router, a computerised router used to carve or etch images into wood products, such as cabinet doors.
“I was always the kind of guy to fall into the trap that custom-made was better than factory-made,” he says. “But because of technology, that’s not true. Factory-made cabinetry can outperform the handmade process of cabinet-making with consistent production and higher-quality details, such as door carvings and wood panel details.”
The recognition of such innovation opened Barone’s eyes to the possibilities of software technology for his own business, he says. He advises fellow builders “just to be open to using technology as a tool.
“We have a totally paperless business,” Barone says. “Unlike most builders, I’m never chasing money. I don’t have to check the bank every day, because we have systems in place.”
He uses project management software to keep his project teams aligned, and he has his mobile phone set up to audibly ring only if the caller is in his contacts, helping him to avoid spam calls. “I’m unusual for a builder in that I have a scheduling app,” he says. “My Houzz rep five years ago told me about it.”
There are many project management software programs available to help you better run your business, including Houzz Pro, designed specifically to meet the needs of renovation and design pros.
Of course, not everyone can be married to an IT expert. Fortunately, there are other ways to learn which technology offerings would best support your business.
Builder BJ Barone, of 41 West in Florida, hired a business coach years ago who got him started with software programs. The coach “taught us that there were three things that would have the greatest impact on your business: people, processes, technology,” Barone says.
For Barone, who wasn’t a natural tech lover, the key to getting interested was realising how new technologies have improved construction manufacturing. As an example, he cites the CNC router, a computerised router used to carve or etch images into wood products, such as cabinet doors.
“I was always the kind of guy to fall into the trap that custom-made was better than factory-made,” he says. “But because of technology, that’s not true. Factory-made cabinetry can outperform the handmade process of cabinet-making with consistent production and higher-quality details, such as door carvings and wood panel details.”
The recognition of such innovation opened Barone’s eyes to the possibilities of software technology for his own business, he says. He advises fellow builders “just to be open to using technology as a tool.
“We have a totally paperless business,” Barone says. “Unlike most builders, I’m never chasing money. I don’t have to check the bank every day, because we have systems in place.”
He uses project management software to keep his project teams aligned, and he has his mobile phone set up to audibly ring only if the caller is in his contacts, helping him to avoid spam calls. “I’m unusual for a builder in that I have a scheduling app,” he says. “My Houzz rep five years ago told me about it.”
There are many project management software programs available to help you better run your business, including Houzz Pro, designed specifically to meet the needs of renovation and design pros.
Take a cue from tech lovers on the power of research
“I’m definitely the oldest person in my firm,” says designer Cheryl Kees Clendenon of In Detail Interiors in Florida. “I’m also the most technologically savvy. If the computer isn’t working, they come to me.”
Clendenon learns about technology through her constant reading. “I’m a huge reader and information junkie,” she says. “And a little bit of an Apple geek. I get a lot from the internet, I subscribe to a lot of different magazines.” Sometimes she also finds out about technologies through other design teams.
While she likes to try out new tools herself, Clendenon also has her teams test products. “What may be great for you, you need to make sure is great for them, too,” she says.
Among the tech tools that In Detail Interiors uses are an accounting software and a project management software. “The one thing I would say is that automating your business as much as you can – doing replicates of processes and anything that would help you save time – is really important,” Clendenon says.
To that end, she believes in documentation. “We have a document for just about everything,” she says. “Document 605-2 for taking out the trash. We revamp them every year.”
“I’m definitely the oldest person in my firm,” says designer Cheryl Kees Clendenon of In Detail Interiors in Florida. “I’m also the most technologically savvy. If the computer isn’t working, they come to me.”
Clendenon learns about technology through her constant reading. “I’m a huge reader and information junkie,” she says. “And a little bit of an Apple geek. I get a lot from the internet, I subscribe to a lot of different magazines.” Sometimes she also finds out about technologies through other design teams.
While she likes to try out new tools herself, Clendenon also has her teams test products. “What may be great for you, you need to make sure is great for them, too,” she says.
Among the tech tools that In Detail Interiors uses are an accounting software and a project management software. “The one thing I would say is that automating your business as much as you can – doing replicates of processes and anything that would help you save time – is really important,” Clendenon says.
To that end, she believes in documentation. “We have a document for just about everything,” she says. “Document 605-2 for taking out the trash. We revamp them every year.”
Maegan Swabb of M Swabb Decor + Style in California is also a believer in technology’s ability to help her business run more efficiently. “I embrace tech as much as possible,” says Swabb, who uses multiple technology applications to streamline her work and that of her team.
One of those is the Houzz Pro software, which Swabb uses to share visual information with clients, as well as to send invoices and payment requests. “It keeps us looking good from the front end; it keeps us organised on the back end,” she says, adding that it’s great to “be able to send off invoices on a smart device and get paid”.
Swabb is the person in her firm who tends to find out about and try new programs that might smooth processes. “I think it’s important to do research,” she says. “I’m a solution-based type of person. If something isn’t working for me,” she says, she’ll change it.
Tell us…
Are you a tech lover or a tech minimalist, and has that changed over time? Please share your experiences in the Comments.
One of those is the Houzz Pro software, which Swabb uses to share visual information with clients, as well as to send invoices and payment requests. “It keeps us looking good from the front end; it keeps us organised on the back end,” she says, adding that it’s great to “be able to send off invoices on a smart device and get paid”.
Swabb is the person in her firm who tends to find out about and try new programs that might smooth processes. “I think it’s important to do research,” she says. “I’m a solution-based type of person. If something isn’t working for me,” she says, she’ll change it.
Tell us…
Are you a tech lover or a tech minimalist, and has that changed over time? Please share your experiences in the Comments.
“I’m 59. I didn’t go into it willingly or with open arms,” general contractor Linda Machmeier, of Signature Homes of the Chippewa Valley in Wisconsin, says of using technology in her construction business. “But as I had some support to understand what it could do for me, it’s grown to be exponentially more important to me in terms of how I find all of my data and how I communicate with people.”
Six years ago, Machmeier remarried, and her now husband has an IT background. “He has taken the time and effort to show me what [technology] can do,” she says. “That’s an amazing thing to have somebody one-on-one who says, ‘Hey, here’s what you can do with this.’ He’s generated through technology and the website more work than I can do.”
As part of her marketing technology stack, Machmeier relies heavily on Houzz. “That’s where I put my reviews,” she says. “I tell someone if I meet them, ‘Check out my projects there.’
“I’m working with a client now and I tell them to create an ideabook and start to create folders: ‘Make a kitchen portfolio, make a living room and, after you gather, edit it for me. Write notes about what you like about it.’ Pretty quickly I’ll see what they like,” she says.
Machmeier also now takes great pleasure in merging calls –something she taught herself – to efficiently solve a problem. “I love merging a call with two contractors,” she says. “You’ve got a question? Let me get the plumber on. We’ve solved it, and done.”