‘Remove the confusion and simplify the process’ is the aim of the game for UK construction company Ressi, who specialise in anything from loft conversions to complete bathroom and kitchen refurbishments. Founder Josh Fortnum, believes renovation projects should be an exciting and stress-free experience for the homeowner, alongside a team that is fun to work with and passionate about what they do. Here he shares his expert tips on creating a thoughtful and trustworthy team who respect their work and the processes that support them, while he also offers valuable nuggets of advice about the savvy tech that’s won him back time with his family.
Gaining the right type of experience
Talk to any successful business person, and they’ll say there’s nothing quite like ‘learning on the job,’ and for Fortnum, despite studying at Nottingham Trent University for a BSc Honors Degree in Quantity Surveying, it was his experience working as a surveyor alongside his studies that developed his business acumen. “There wasn’t even one module on my course on how to run your own business. That is something that you have to be in industry to understand and work out for yourself,” he says. “I think you could go to business school and understand the concept of everything that you need to run a business, and that’s totally fine, however, I don’t think you can learn it all from a desktop. You have to be in the industry and doing it for yourself, whether that’s starting your own company or picking it up from somebody else to learn the ropes. If you’re really passionate and knowledgeable about what you do, then the business side can either be outsourced very quickly or learned very quickly by you, especially more so now with technology that will help.”
Fortnum will be the first to admit he’s not the most tech-savvy, but he knows the advantages of putting in place easy-to-use systems at an early stage to get a business off the ground. “Clever business tech solutions can be used as a safety buffer to get you started and point you in the right direction, particularly if you haven’t had lots of experience managing a company before.”
Qualities of a professional builder
Finding the right builder for your type of renovation and who you feel comfortable working with, is often key to the success of a project. But just how to determine your builder is the correct fit is the million dollar question. Fortnum shares some helpful insight into sieving through your options. “If you are trying to do an extension, a loft conversion, or even a more straightforward refurbishment, and you get one page of pricing information with a small amount of detail, that’s not the builder for you. You want somebody that breaks their price down fully, so you understand which element of work your builder is talking about. You should be able to follow that process and understand how they’ve arrived at the bottom line. I think that’s probably the most important advice,” says Fortnum. “Secondary to that is obviously good references. We don’t leave any job without saying, ‘Could we do more for you? What else can we do at the end of this project? Are you happy? Is there anything else that we can do for you to make this experience better?’ We go away knowing our client is incredibly happy with what they’ve got, and we offer anyone to go back to any of our clients to ask about their experience with us.”
Leading by Example
In any business, a company’s ethos and vision are filtered from the top down, with managers leading by example and communicating their goals and plans effectively and efficiently. Fortnum runs a tight ship and expects his team to convey the same professionalism and passion for his construction company as he does. “I think my expectation of my team is that I shouldn’t have to go onto a site and say ‘oh, guys, you need to tidy up,’ or ‘you need to be aware of designated smoking areas.’ Those things should be inherent within each member of staff that works for us. Ultimately, I make sure those things are happening, but that needs to be passed down to our managers too,” he says. “Our team loves wearing branding, and relaying our brand values wherever possible. These are the key things that make clients think, ‘oh they are actually listening, they understand,’ and that it’s not just a job where our team turns up, does something that is half decent and goes home. For a lot of homeowners, this is the second biggest investment that they’ll make in their life, and it’s really important to them. They want to have that special experience of shopping for materials and furniture, and you’ve got to go on that journey with them. I think as a leader, it comes naturally to me. I’m clearly very passionate about doing all of these things, but I do expect that from my team as well.”
Solving Supply Chain Issues Creatively
Everyone in construction and design is feeling the pressure when it comes to meeting deadlines due to supply chain issues, however, Fortnum has found a nifty way of combating such conundrums. “We have a large storage facility an hour away from London, so we can order everything upfront. We ask for a mobilisation deposit from our clients and often if it’s a larger project, you can protect yourself as a client through a bond. Aside from that, we ask for a deposit to cover key materials that have long lead times, or materials that have been volatile in the past, such as timber,” he explains. “Anything we can purchase ahead of time and get delivered to our storage facility is very beneficial, we are then just responsible for transporting it to and from the site. It is a luxury to have the storage facility, but it certainly provides a lot of clients with that safety net that they’ll get their project finished on time and within the same budget quoted at the beginning. That really does ease their anxieties, and ours.”
Additionally, Fortnum believes it’s essential to thoroughly prepare each project to foresee any supply issues or other possible delays. “I will never, ever rush a project to site. If you can clearly list out your specification, your material, what are you buying, where are you buying it from, have that full understanding, and make that list as long as possible before you get into the contract with the builder, it will save time and money during the construction phase. Yes, it’s exciting to get builders on site, but the most costly thing that can happen is that something isn’t available and if it’s not the builder's fault they may say ‘well, I’ve got 10 guys on site, you have to pay for that.’ That really creates a strain on the project. I think it’s something that architects and builders need to advise on and say ‘look, slow it down. We’ll get to the site, but let’s do this preparation first.’”
Adopting Time-Saving Tech
Houzz Pro Takeoffs allows you to quickly measure and mark-up your takeoff on screen and turn it instantly into a professionally branded estimate, and for Fortnum, it has saved a significant amount of time in tendering. “At the very early parts of the project chain, we have to over tender to make sure that we get enough projects throughout the year for our expected revenue. That means that week on week I’m doing two or three tenders, as well as managing live projects and communicating with clients. It’s really important that those tenders don’t take up too much of my time. However, it is super important that they’re accurate,” he says.
Originally, Fortnum would have been manually creating his takeoffs with a scale ruler on print drawings, which used to take forever. With Houzz Pro Takeoffs there’s no more printing plans as it’s all done on screen. “That process that used to take me two or three days, is now taking me less than half a day,” says Fortnum. “The reason I chose this software as well is because it was kind of basic in nature. I liken it to SketchUp when that came out, which was super usable. I’m not exceptionally technical, however, Houzz Pro Takeoffs are very clear and I immediately knew my way around.”
Training up other colleagues couldn’t be simpler either, so you can be rest assured as a manager that everyone is onboard using the same systems and processes, and the work is flowing smoothly. “It took me about half an hour to explain how Houzz Pro Takeoffs work to a fellow director of the company,” says Fortnum. “He’s also a surveyor so he does understand how to measure drawings too, but he’s been pitching to takeoff manually for a long time. However, I think it took him just 20 minutes to pick it up. He totally understood it and he ran with it, and now uses it nearly every day, just like I do.”
But you don’t have to be an ardent technophile to pick it up, as Fortnum’s non-tech-savvy project manager proved. “In just 40 minutes to an hour of showing him the ropes, he got it. He now takes his computer onsite and works out quickly how much skirting, cornicing and wall coving he needs. Then he sends it off to the procurement department to be purchased. It’s very simple for him,” says Fortnum.
Invest to Succeed
For Fortnum, Houzz Pro has already proven a significant return on his investment. “My investment in Houzz Pro has saved two days of my time each week, which is around £500 a day. That’s £1,000 a week - a significant time and money saver for me,” says Fortnum. “I’m using that benefit elsewhere within my company to propel my business and to improve communication with clients and architects. I can also use the time better for other things. As a dad, I do want to be at home with my family, I do want the option of picking the kids up from school, and I think that should be an equal responsibility for a parent. I’ll do anything to save time during my working day to spend more time with my family.”
Looking Ahead
So, what plans does Fortnum have to grow his construction company in these volatile times?
“We’re spending time seeing what other Houzz Pro tools will benefit our company and how they can be integrated into our business. The next service I’d like to look into is being able to store consistent labour rates and also certain material prices, along with descriptions of our activities. This will offer clearer transparency for our clients,” he says. “I think from a year-on-year perspective, I would like to be in a position where we have a two or three-year pipeline of work, then we can really grow or plan to do things. At the moment we have a one-year pipeline. We also want to buy our own development as well. Right now we have a development site that is dormant because we need to save cash to make sure that we can develop it into apartments at a later date. With a longer pipeline or a clearer vision or visibility of what we’ve got coming in, we can then plan and implement those plans sooner and very specifically related to our income on a monthly basis and we can plan ahead.”
If Fortnum’s masterful leadership prowess and proficient management processes are anything to go by, we’re certain he’ll achieve that desired pipeline of opportunities, as well as plenty more time to spend with his family.
