NAPCO Ltd.

“Mike, it’s important to me to be as efficient as possible in my business, so I can maximize my income. Call backs are always the #1 threat to that, so what can I do to significantly decrease the occurrence of those?” Let me perfectly clear on this: The more you skip steps and substitute cheap […]

Small businesses don’t always have small expenses. As larger needs with your business come up, you’re going to want to explore some financing options. And that’s where it’s smart to know what a lender will be looking at in order to potentially approve you for financing. Credit is credit, right? Wrong. There’s a difference between […]

In the most recent release of its home price index, the Federal Housing Finance Agency showed that the prices of U.S. homes rose only .8% in the second quarter of 2014. That’s important because while that’s the 12th quarter in a row that we've seen a home price increase, it suggests that compared to the […]

“Hey Mike, I’m thinking about exhibiting at a Home Show, but I’m not sure. Do you think it would be a profitable experience?” Sure, that upcoming home show on the calendar looks like it could bring some good exposure to your refinishing business – and it very well may. But if you have a booth […]

Believe it or not, everybody needs to be networking. Even tradesmen. Sure, your customers will hopefully refer you to others and that’s terrific. But in between those nice referrals, you’ve got to make connections among people who might be able to introduce you to prospective customers. Where do you begin? Especially if you dread the […]

Some jobs may seem like “no-brainer” deals where your customer has a need, you’ve supplied a solid bid and the stars should align for a project to come through. And then you wait. And wait. And wait. Time to give up and move on? Before you throw in the towel, ask yourself these questions and […]

You’re busy. You have another tub to get done today and you’re running late. What do you do? Maybe skip a safety measure or two to save a few minutes? Think again. Recently in San Diego, a refinisher wasn’t using a fume exhaust system and caused an explosion, rocking an apartment building. The explosion and […]

How do you always know just what your customer has in mind so you can used those well-polished skills to deliver on the project when it counts? It’s not just about being better when it comes to being hands-on. It’s about using those instruments attached your head called ears – because by improving your listening […]

Question: Do you know what your very best customer looks like? A lot of tradesmen don’t or they’ll say, “Anybody who has money.” Sure, money is obviously important - but so is knowing where you should be spending your quality time. Ah yes. Time. We all have a limited amount of it and in your […]

There’s one silver lining to an unusually long and bitter Winter that a large part of the country recently experienced: It may have made homeowners all the more anxious to get rolling on home improvement projects. A recent poll by Piper Jaffray suggests that nearly a third of all homeowners nationwide reported having their home […]