It is a career dream of many professionals in the kitchen and bath industry to own their own firm. More experienced business owners are on a continuous quest to learn how to improve their earnings and overall performance. To help you reach these goals, Kitchen & Bath Business and Project Management has been written by Hank Darlington, Darlington Consulting, and Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, Ellen Cheever Associates, in collaboration with respected professionals in the kitchen and bath industry.
This volume offers you a step-by-step management tool to be used to convert the novice business owner’s entrepreneurial ideas into a successful business venture. It also provides many ideas for business improvement for the more seasoned business owner and manager.
Learning Objectives
- Describe good business management practices vital to operating a successful business.
- Identify the three main areas of business management.
- Recognize the importance for Kitchen and Bath businesses owners and managers to build a team of experts.
- Relate how learning to be a good business manager can be easier than becoming a really good Certified Kitchen or Bath Designer.
This document is not intended to take the place of a professional management team: business attorney, accountant, financial planner. Rather, the guidelines and insights within have been gathered and organized with the aim of sharing winning strategies for business management from people recognized as leaders in the field.
About the Authors
The coauthors provide a balanced view of proper guidelines to manage a business.
Hank Darlington, Darlington Consulting
Hank Darlington has over 40 years of experience as a business owner, professional manager, industry consultant, author, and speaker. He founded, owned, and managed a multi-branch kitchen and bath showroom on the West Coast for much of his career. Ellen Cheever is recognized as a leading authority and has over 35 years as a design and marketing consultant in the industry.
Hank has been active in the kitchen and bath industry for the majority of his career. Hank’s experience stretches from a large wholesale plumbing distributor organization to an upscale, full-service (one-stop shopping) kitchen and bath showroom with three locations in Northern California.
Hank served as past president of the NKBA Northern California Chapter, served on the NKBA’s Board of Directors, and was a founding member of the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Council. Hank was recognized for his industry contributions when he was inducted into the NKBA Hall of Fame in 2004. Hank was made a Fellow by the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware Association in 2004 for his contributions to that industry.
As the author of four industry textbooks, Hank continues to contribute by presenting seminars for the National Kitchen & Bath Association, writing monthly articles for two national trade publications, and serving as a consultant to manufacturers, distributors, and dealerships.
Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID, Ellen Cheever & Associates
Ellen Cheever is an author and marketing specialist whose practical, yet innovative design solutions and professional writing and teaching helped shape the North American kitchen industry over the past 40 years. When working on residential kitchen projects, she collaborates with noted kitchen specialists throughout the United States, combining her design talents with the product specification expertise and skillful project management of trusted professionals within the client’s community. In addition to her residential practice, the firm Ellen Cheever & Associates designs retail showroom spaces, major trade show exhibits, and editorial sets.
A 1992 inductee of the National Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame, Ellen was recognized as the Designer of Distinction for 2002 by the American Society of Interior Designers, Pennsylvania East Chapter, and won first place honors in the 2004 KWC Kitchen Design Competition.
In addition to these respected professionals, this volume quotes topical articles from major industry trade publications: Kitchen & Bath Design News, Kitchen & Bath Business, Qualified Remodeler, and Remodeling. These sources understand our industry.
As the author of more than fifteen books and technical manuals covering the details of kitchen and bathroom planning standards, Ellen continues to write and speak about emerging design trends, ergonomic planning standards, and winning business strategies within the kitchen design industry.
In addition to Hank and Ellen, the following experienced individuals have made key contributions to the content based on their areas of recognized expertise within the kitchen and bath industry:
- Leonard V. Casey—Strategy Acceleration
James W. Krengel, CMKBD—Kitchens by Krengel
Leonard V. Casey, MBA, Strategic Acceleration
Educator, corporate executive, entrepreneur, and global leader have all been used to describe Len Casey. After receiving his MBA and teaching at Florida Atlantic University, Len started a twenty-year career with the DuPont Company in 1972. While at DuPont, Len was responsible for such product groups as Teflon/Silverstone, Automotive and Corian. Because of these contributions at DuPont, he was awarded the DuPont Corporate Marketing Excellence award for both the Teflon and Corian businesses.
In the early 1990s, Len and a team of industry leaders purchased a respected upscale cabinet company and, for the next 8 years, he applied his business talent to growing the company into an industry leader. Today, he serves on the boards of several companies, using his experience of over thirty years to advise an array of domestic and international firms and supports a number of non-profit organizations to reach their organizational goals.
James W. Krengel, CMKBD, Kitchens by Krengel
Jim Krengel, CMKBD, began his career in 1966 at Kitchens by Krengel in St. Paul, Minnesota. Today, that design studio is in its third generation of ownership and Jim spends the majority of his time sharing his expertise through professional seminars and via frequent contributions to industry publications.
During Jim’s design career, he won numerous design awards, served as the Design Director of Maytag Kitchen Idea Center, and was a consultant to Wilsonart International as well as several other manufacturers. Jim helped form the Minnesota Chapter of the NKBA and was its National President from 1989–1990. The industry recognized his contribution by inducting him into the NKBA Hall of Fame in 2003.
Jim is the author of two design books: Kitchens: Lifestyle and Design and Bathrooms. He served on the Advisory Board for Kasmar publications, and in collaboration with this respected book publisher, developed the first bathroom and kitchen CDs, each containing over 250 pages of ideas, articles, and portfolios.
ABOUT THE COURSE
This course is written for business owners, sales managers/directors, and branch managers of kitchen and bath design firms (dealerships) which operate with a showroom, sell cabinets and counters, and provide installation services—either with their own crew or through a network of qualified subcontractors. Where appropriate, comments are made for the independent kitchen designer whose business model does not include representing products or offering installation, but who can still benefit from the business information included.
This volume is particularly valuable to emerging business leaders—great salespeople who now are managing a sales force, for example, as well as individuals with experience in the kitchen industry who may have a career opportunity to manage a branch operation or a second showroom location for their organization. The material is also useful for companies in the midst of a succession plan with new family members who will become owners “learning the ropes” from the current company officers.
We have selected this business model focus because a dealership operating from a showroom is the most typical business model in the kitchen and bath industry, and many people “grow” into business management positions.
It is important to note that this book is a reference book—including material covering all aspects of business management for a new entrepreneur.
It is also valuable to existing companies who are interested in “refreshing” their business practices. Successful firms can benefit by evaluating their current business practices with an eye towards a better organized firm with a renewed focus on profitable projects.
Successful Business Are Led By Balanced Management
Lastly, this entire book is based on the premise that every business is made up of three parts: financial management, human resource management, and marketing management.
The authors understand that there are always two parts of each business for the owner: those things one loves to do, and those things one must do. Most kitchen and bathroom firm owners are fairly strong in the marketing segment (design, sales, advertising, promotions), but are weak in—or, too often, reluctant to invest the time and effort to improve upon—financial management (budgets, financial statements, cash flow) and the human resource (people management) part of the business.
Studying high-profit businesses affirms that balance in all three areas is needed for success.
Business management forms and checklists appear throughout this book. The customizable version of “Forms for Managing People, Profits and Projects” is available online at wiley.com. The forms and checklists can be printed or integrated into your electronic management system. It is important to start a discussion of business management by recognizing the reason you are considering investing in your own business or have invested in an existing business: you are expecting a reasonable financial return on your investment “ROI”. Many individuals in our industry work hard, develop excellent reputations and a strong repeat or referral business but, at the end of the day, have very little return to show on the investment they have made in their business.
Although conservative rate of returns vary with shifts in the economic marketplace—quite simply, you should make a before-tax profit on the money you have invested in your business equal to or greater than conservative returns found in the financial marketplace. Do not be satisfied with a 3% to 5% profit before taxes on your business endeavors—think about the money you’ve invested in your company and realize that this sum could be invested by your financial planner to reap a specific return for you. Demand of yourself that you spend the time to learn to manage your existing business better, or begin a new business venture managing your operations to enjoy an acceptable rate of return—and an acceptable “ROI.”
Make an Appointment with Yourself
To plan properly or to initiate changes in your current business practices, begin by setting aside time to study this material. Consider making an appointment with yourself to work on your weak areas.
A chart detailing the steps that even the simplest new construction/remodeling projects go through follows. Each step involves people management, financial management, and marketing management skills.
Think about your own business and identify areas where you think you could improve. Following this self-evaluation, start the book at the beginning and, much like a novel, read it to the end.
For sales directors/managers or branch managers, consider “The Kitchen/Bath Project Process” detailed above. As you manage a sales team or a branch of your company, look for ways that you can increase the efficiency of the organization in specific areas, or for improvements you might suggest to the business owner. Bring a fresh viewpoint and a new skill set to your management team. Use your experiences to review the process that currently typifies your organization and set time aside with the company’s principals or your manager to work on efficiencies of scale.
