by Meg Dehn

The Home Building industry…  what is the first word that comes to my mind when discussing our industry? Challenge! It has been a challenge for many years now; many more than most of us dreamed. However, being somewhat of an optimist, with 2011 on the horizon, I made a decision to search for the light.  So I squeezed our budget and a few staff members and I went to Orlando for the International Builders’ Show in January; searching for the light!

This was a great opportunity for all of us. We heard many enlightening ideas and had a chance to talk to other building professionals from several areas of the world. Jason, Ty and I attended many educational sessions covering various topics in our industry.  We learned about technology, new products, business efficiencies, and customer relations; just to name a few.

In addition, the show floor which offered products from 1,137 exhibiting companies, was impressive! It covered everything from windows, to plumbing fixtures, electronics, exterior products, the list really was endless. It was reiterated by many that the upswing we are waiting for will be slow but sure, that our economy has a long way to go and quite frankly, we will probably never see activity in the housing industry like we experienced 6-10 years ago.

However, in my eyes, that’s not all together bad! Those of us who have struggled to perservere and improve, by changing our operations, listening to our customers and searching for best practices, are still here. And we plan on staying. The Builders’ Show was attended by 47,000 housing professionals, all in search of some kind of inspiration. I feel fortunate because we were inspired!  The trip gave us 4 days to learn, to open our minds a little wider, to see new products and innovations in our industry, and to spend valuable time with our team.

We came back refreshed and ready to excel in this “challenging” yet rewarding industry.  And yes, we are still ready to “fight”!

See our Spring Preview Model for a sneak peek at some new Innovative Products!