30-Year Remodeling Veteran Reveals Secret of Success

This is the story of a chance conversation at a Christmas party that led a successful remodeling contractor to give back to the industry by helping other remodelers achieve greater levels of success, faster.

Carol and Dan Longacre built a successful, full-service remodeling business.  For more than 30 years, Carol worked side-by-side with Dan.  Like most wives of contractors, Carol did not plan on getting involved in the business.  It started when Dan asked her if she would do the books for him.

Of course, Carol agreed.  She said, “I’m a VERY passionate person.  When I believe in something, I go all in, 100%.  So, of course when I started doing the books for Dan, I couldn’t just stop there.  I was 22 years old, full of energy, a new bride of a carpenter with no formal training in anything and I was going to help my husband grow our business.”

Dan and Carol searched for resources to shorten the learning curve.  Eventually they joined a local trade association.  They took every class the association offered. 

Because Dan was required to do the actual remodeling, Carol took charge of association involvement.  She got very involved with the local, state, and national trade associations.  Longacre also joined a buying group, a peer review group, and the local Chamber of Commerce. 

Through education, networking, and much community involvement, they grew their remodeling business.  They also built strong relationships with the amazing people who populate the remodeling industry from manufacturing, wholesalers, vendors, and other remodeling business owners.

A few years ago, Dan and Carol’s son, Rhett join the company.  According to Carol, “It didn’t take long until we realized that there was one Longacre too many at Longacre Construction.  So, I handed the reins over to our son Rhett to let him work with Dan in the business.”

After exiting the family business, Carol needed something to do.  At a Rotary Christmas party, Carol asked a fellow Rotarian about his business, Service Nation.  As Carol learned how Service Nation helped HVAC, plumbing, and electric contractors become better business owners, she became intrigued.  She recalled thinking, “You know, I wish the remodeling industry had something like this, because we need it.  It would have saved me a lot of time in running and growing our remodeling business.”

Service Nation pulls together all of the pieces of what it takes to run and grow a successful contracting business, and puts it all in one centralized place.  The mission of Service Nation is to help service contractors improve their business and financial performance.

At the fateful Christmas party, Carol shared her story and noted how the remodeling industry really needs something like Service Nation.  This is when Carol was invited to build it with Service Nation. 

She thought, “Wait, I get to still be a part of the industry that I have loved for years, there are no other Longacres working there, and I get to provide a resource for my friends? Of course, I’m going to jump on this. I get to take more than 30 years of experience, education and – let’s be real – mistakes, and make it easier for remodelers to be better business people without having to piece it all together themselves.”

With the help of a formidable Service Nation support team, Carol built the program she wished she and Dan had when they started.  But it is not just for young companies. Any remodeling company can benefit. 

On a high level, some of the services offered include educational classes, both in-person and online, two trade shows annually, a marketing team, a graphics team, downloadable and customizable content, vendor partners with cash back rebates, weekly advisory board calls led by professional mentors, a financial dashboard to track progress and key performance indicators, outstanding human resources support for every state, annual success planning, job descriptions, organization charts, an opportunity to network with some of the best subcontractors, and so much more.  Service Nation can be the secret of your future success.

Carol has been given the go ahead to offer her close peers special pricing, for a limited time.  Give her a call at 214-395-1302 or email her at Carol.Longacre@ServiceRoundtable.com.  Let her know what you need to grow your business and see if Service Nation can save you time, help you grow revenue, and make you more profitable.