From changing expectations around value and trust to heightened sensitivity around timing and cost, today’s clients are weighing decisions differently. Bruce and Bill dig into the external factors influencing those choices—interest rates, consumer confidence, tariffs—and how they’re reshaping the buying journey. They also look at what makes a remodeling experience feel safe and worth it in today’s climate, and which marketing platforms are (and aren’t) breaking through. If you’re trying to reach...
Jul 01, 2025•34 min•Ep. 20
In this episode of Design Build Central, hosts Bruce Case and Bill Milholland dive into the critical importance of conducting a mid-year business review. They emphasize the value of stepping back to evaluate financial performance—not just overall numbers, but also how results stack up against your original budget. The conversation explores the vital role of cash flow management in sustaining operations and seizing opportunities, especially as the business environment shifts mid-year. Bruce and B...
Jun 05, 2025•30 min•Ep. 19
In this episode of Design Build Central, your hosts Bruce and Bill dive into two hot topics reshaping the remodeling industry: tariffs and trends. Our guest is Allie Mann, Case Design’s longtime Manager of Materials and Vendor Relations, who brings over two decades of experience and insight to the conversation. We break down what today’s shifting tariff landscape means for remodelers and clients alike—from pricing pressure on imported goods to how teams like ours are navigating supplier relation...
May 06, 2025•37 min•Ep. 18
In this episode of Design Build Central, hosts Bruce Case and Bill Milholland continue their series on uncertainty in the remodeling industry, focusing this time on the critical importance of mitigating risk. As more clients defer home remodeling projects due to economic or personal hesitation, it’s never been more important for design-build firms to take a proactive approach to managing both general business risks and project-specific vulnerabilities. Bruce and Bill explore the layers of risk t...
Apr 01, 2025•28 min•Ep. 17
In this episode of Design Build Central Bill, Bruce and their guest Maddie Millholland dive into the most effective strategies for remodeling businesses to generate business through collaboration with their teams and clients. We’ll explore how we use social media and email marketing to reach new clients as well as how to nurture relationships with past and existing clients. Learn how educational seminars can position your business as an expert in the field, and discover creative ways to turn you...
Mar 06, 2025•26 min•Ep. 16
In this episode, Bruce and Bill dive into the topic of Navigating Uncertainty in the remodeling industry. While the long-term outlook remains strong, economic uncertainty in the short term is creating challenges for some remodelers, particularly when clients feeling uncertain choose to slow down or defer their projects. Bruce and Bill share strategies for addressing this, including breaking annual goals into smaller quarterly or monthly targets for easier tracking, focusing on what you can contr...
Feb 04, 2025•28 min•Ep. 15
In this episode, Bruce and Bill tackle a trend making waves in the remodeling industry: homeowners hitting the pause button on renovation projects. They explore the reasons behind this slowdown, from economic uncertainty and busy schedules to expectations of lower interest rates in the future and other big-picture trends. The conversation doesn’t stop at the “why”—they also share actionable ideas for navigating these challenges. Learn how to build value for your clients, adapt your approach, and...
Jan 07, 2025•31 min•Ep. 14
In this episode, Bruce and Bill explore the cyclical nature of the remodeling business and how shifts in consumer confidence, real estate values, and other macroeconomic trends impact the industry. Drawing on decades of experience since 1961, they highlight how fluctuations in average job size play a significant role in these cycles. The discussion dives into the ripple effects of changing job sizes, touching on how they influence sales and design processes, affect margins and estimating strateg...
Dec 03, 2024•20 min•Ep. 13
In Episode #12, Bruce and Bill are joined by Sr. Vice President, Rick Matus for a conversation on hiring new salespeople. It's a wide ranging discussion and touches on many areas to consider if you're thinking about growing your team. First: Hiring and Recruiting - Where do you find new Project Developers? - What attributes or traits do you look for? - How important is “fit” in deciding to hire a new employee? Bruce, Bill and Rick discuss onboarding and training a new hire. Finding the right can...
Nov 12, 2024•33 min•Ep. 12
In this listener Q&A episode, Bruce and Bill tackle crucial questions for remodeling businesses at various stages: Starting a new remodeling business: They highlight creating opportunities, gaining industry knowledge, starting small, and understanding financials. Growing a 5-year-old business: Hiring priorities (sales, production, or design), emphasizing process documentation and financial preparedness for team expansion. Managing homeowner involvement: While ideally minimal, Bruce and Bill ...
Oct 22, 2024•28 min•Ep. 11
In this episode, we break down five critical elements that are essential for building a robust business plan for the coming year. First, we’ll discuss the importance of taking inventory—assessing your business performance, the state of the economy, competitor positioning, and even a personal reflection on your leadership. Next, we’ll dive into defining strategic initiatives for the year, understanding their budget impact, and getting your team to executive on these initiatives. From there, we mo...
Oct 01, 2024•26 min•Ep. 10
In Episode 9 we discuss a listener question related to employee retention (shout out to Steve Nash at Upscale Remodeling!). We think retention is closely tied to culture so we brought in an expert- Allison DeLand. Allison is the VP of Administration at Case and has worn many hats for the organization during her 20 years with the business. The conversation is wide ranging and addresses what we do in our business to retain employees and foster a healthy company culture: - events: company picnic, l...
Sep 12, 2024•28 min•Ep. 9
At Case, we’re big believers in the design-build approach to residential remodeling. Our definition of design-build is design, development, project management, and much of the construction of the project is done in house by Case employees. As outlined in previous episodes, we have a carefully developed process to move a client from an initial conversation through the completion of the project. It’s a relay race where the baton is passed back and forth between development, design, and production....
Aug 20, 2024•33 min•Ep. 8
In episode 7 we unpack what happens at the initial meeting with the client. This topic comes directly from listener feedback requesting deeper dives into specific steps in our process. The conversation begins with a brief description of how we track incoming opportunities, assign them to Project Developers, and use batchgeo.com to map nearby projects. It continues to address several details of this initial engagement with the potential client that includes: - what to bring on the initial appoint...
Jul 30, 2024•39 min•Ep. 7
In episode No. 6, Bruce Case and Bill Millholland are joined by David Vogt, a director of project development at Case Architects & Remodelers in Bethesda, Maryland. Vogt has been with Case for nearly 27 years and is an 11-time top sales winner. In the conversation, Vogt shares that he's hearing more concerns about disruption. Many clients are working from home and want to limit disruption to their routine. Vogt outlines his approach to those conversations and discusses his thoughts on a rang...
Jul 09, 2024•42 min•Ep. 6
Join Bruce, Bill, and their guest Neil Martin (Case Design’s Director of Production) as they discuss the “build” side of design-build. While there is much focus on top-line lead and sales metrics, the key to building a successful design-build remodeling business, both financially and otherwise, often lies in what happens in production. They discuss Case Design’s production structure and production team, compensation, key metrics, processes, and other vital insights.
Jun 18, 2024•42 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Sales are more challenging than they were a year ago. This podcast goes behind the scenes to give an in-depth review of what Case Design/Remodeling is experiencing with its’ sales team and with homeowners….and what they are focused on right now. Learn how sales are done and how they are managed at Case. Who leads the sales effort. What is the sales/design process. What tools have they developed to increase close rate and to address objections. Effective adjustments are required to compete and to...
Apr 23, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Pricing design/build projects poses unique challenges. First, every project is custom – the existing conditions, the team members, the clients, the design solutions, the access. Second, we have to bring costing together from a myriad of sources including distributors, trade specialists, and direct providers often 6 months before we even start the project. Third, we should break down our estimates into cost codes and segments so that we can better compare actual to estimated costing to inform fut...
Mar 25, 2024•27 min•Ep. 3
Clear, proven, and consistent processes bring comfort. Comfort to clients because they know what to expect and when. Comfort to team members because they are clear about their responsibilities and empowerment every step of the way. Comfort to the business because consistent processes lead to predictable results. This podcast will share Case’s design/build process that has been developed over several decades. The roles involved. Who does what at each phase. How we mitigate challenges at “joints” ...
Feb 26, 2024•36 min•Ep. 2
The business of design-build remodeling is the focus of a new podcast series produced by Qualified Remodeler and Case Architects & Remodelers of Bethesda, Maryland. Case is the legendary remodeling firm founded in 1961 by Fred Case that later pioneered the use of the design-build process in \ residential remodeling. Celebrating its 50th year, Qualified Remodeler is a business-to-business media brand that serves the professional information needs of remodeling and home improvement professiona...
Feb 26, 2024•15 min•Ep. 1
