While stick building remains the standard, remodelers are taking a cue from new home builders' use of pre-assembled trusses when it comes to big jobs. Manufactured roof and floor trusses can ease and expedite the process of installing the roof and floor systems in an addition, and more importantly, provide time, labor and material savings in the process.

It's a no-brainer: Every house has at least one kitchen and one bathroom. Homeowners spend a lot of time in these rooms, and they get heavy use. Trends come and go, but kitchens and bathrooms will always be big sources of remodeling business. The part that's not so obvious — at least, not to homeowners — is how to go about getting a kitchen or bath remodel done.

Who wouldn't want to spend his late 30s working part time, savoring time with his wife and three children in the Southern California sunshine, building a new home, and enjoying the income of a profitable, growing business? Jason Larson, CR, certainly did. So at a time in his life when many remodelers are still putting in backbreaking hours building their businesses, Larson, owner of Lars Constr...

Twenty years ago, Benvenuti and Stein had designed the kitchen of this home on Chicago's North Shore. The new owners liked its basic form and function, especially the center island. But the homeowner, an art collector, wanted the space recast in the modern, minimalist Scandinavian design she loves.

The food at Fiorentino's outclassed the building the way grilled brie outclasses melted Velveeta. Rob and Rose Billas had opened the family-friendly Italian eatery in 1999, immediately after buying the 200-year-old building — once a restaurant, most recently a biker bar.

Referrals are the bread and butter of the remodeling business, but not all referral leads are created equal. Whether a prospective client finds a contractor via a friend or a phone book, the remodeler has the responsibility of choosing projects that will fit the company's schedule and resources and be most profitable.

Vital legislation promoting affordable health care for small businesses will hit the Senate floor for the first time in more than a decade, thanks to a March 15 vote by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act would allow professional associations to provide group health insurance across state lines.

With a proactive marketing plan, you can not only survive but thrive through the tough economic times.

Today's sales process is more casual than the old high-pressure approach.

Creating a steady stream of qualified leads and closing profitable jobs requires two things: providing products and services worth buying and communicating that value to the customer.