Can Small Business Succeed?

Edited excerpts from "Nation's Building News" www. nbnnews.com 12/12/05

Industry experts told how to compete with "giants," run a paperless business, survive a market slowdown, and more in educational sessions at the International Builders' Show January 11-13th in Orlando, FL.

"The education is selected by builders," said John Barrows, of J. Barrows, Inc. who led the selection committee. "We incorporated a broad array of topics that builders would be interested in learning about. Then we chose the most dynamic speakers with the greatest expertise in those areas."

Some educational sessions offered:

1. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST- Can the local builder still compete?

Scott Sedam of TrueNorth Development, Inc. debunked the myth that local and smaller regional builders are destined to be swallowed up by the "giants" -- he gave tips for improving their operations and increasing their competitive edge.

2. PROCESS YOUR COMPANY AND COMPETE WITH THE GIANTS

Bill Jagoe, of Jagoe Homes, showed builders who are building 50 to 200 units a year how to earn better margins.

3. THINKING OUTSIDE THE FILE CABINET, BUILDERS DOING MORE PAPERLESS

Use document management to provide superior customer service and manage capital and financial operations.

4. TWENTY-FIVE SURE WAYS TO IMPROVE PORFITABLITY

Chuck Shinn of Lee Evans Group gave 25 practical and understandable steps to improving your bottom line.

5. SURVIVING A SLOW MARKET

Two builders gave the inside scoop on how they decided to expand their geographical reach because of saturated local markets, economic slowdowns, and job losses.

6. EFFECTIVELY MANAGING THE 3 TYPES OF TEAMS

Marylee Putnam of the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association discussed the best ways to manage new, temporary, and transitional teams.

7. INSURANCE ROUNDTABLE

The nation's top underwriters addressed critical issues facing home builders, including escalating insurance costs, market trends, risk transfer, and quality assurance measures to reduce your insurance risk.

You can see future business management educational Builders' show website. For a list of current seminars, the link is: www.buildershow.com/Events/EducationalSeminars.aspx?trackId=149

Cor more information, call Wil Heslop at NAHB at 800-368-5242 x 8472, or Marcia Childs at x 8388