Charles Barnes

Owner

Barnes Custom Builders, North Falmouth, MASS.

2017 Revenue: $1.7 million 

Biggest Challenge: We’re trying to establish a systematic approach to communication, and make it fluid within the company and with our customers. It’s a big challenge with the workload that we have, and I’ve had to put someone in the office full time to deal with our project management software on a regular basis because it’s so time-consuming. A lot of our customers are seasonal, so they aren’t around when we’re working on their house, and with technology, they want to know what is going on all the time. It’s a good way to eliminate phone calls and emails and to allow customers to see where the time is allocated and where their money is going.