Greetings fellow members,
I just returned from the International Builders Show and I have to say it was one of the better ones I have attended! There was positive energy all around and you could definitely feel it with the packed crowds!
I think combining the Kitchen and Bath Show was a great move and just added to the quality of products to look at on the floor. One of my favorite things to do is attend the many great seminars. I love hearing the latest design trends, marketing ideas, and many financial management classes. One stood out to me called Moneyball, put on by Bob Whitten with SMA Consulting. He correlated using the metrics in the movie Moneyball to homebuilding financial metrics. With a very low budget for hiring good talent, the Oakland A’s focused on key metrics to hire the right players to put a winning team together. He stressed how builders need to focus on key financial metrics in order to drive up profits. He gave insight on what benchmarks to strive for gross and net profit, and general overhead expenses
I have a copy of the slides, if interested shoot me an email and I will send your way. Don’t worry, it was not all business, we still managed to pack Vegas fun in each night! It was great to see a strong showing from the SSHBA and see our group mix with other state organizations. It’s always good to meet other members and share ideas.
We were fortunately able to reschedule our January speaker David Crowe to March 19th at Ruffled Feathers.
I sincerely apologize for having to cancel the meeting last minute; unfortunately Mother Nature got the best of us that day! We will be having a GMM on February 19th at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club which will feature Bill Ward, HBAI Executive Officer and Mitch Levinson of mRelevance. I am looking forward to hearing what Bill has to say about the happenings in Springfield now with Bruce Rauner at the helm. Always great to hear from top marketer Mitch Levinson, he will be giving us a brief recap of the 2015 Marketing trends.
To get the most out of your membership you should REALLY consider volunteering to join a committee. It’s a super easy way to network and to give back to the best home building organization in the industry!
All committees could use a little boost, please consider getting involved. Please reach out to Shannon if interested in joining.
If you were not able to attend IBS this year consider attending Better Buildings: Better Business Conference at Crowne Plaza in Rosemont February 26-27. Visit betterbuildingsil.org for more info. SSHBA members get a $50 discount.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the GMM on Feburary 19th.
Stay warm!
Thank you,
Matt
