November 10, 2009

Lee Evans Passed Away Today

Today the housing industry lost a real icon and I lost a friend, mentor and my professional father. This morning at approximately 3:20 am Lee Evans passed away peacefully in his sleep. Lee was 92 years old and was suffering from pancreatic cancer. This is the end of an era for the housing industry. Read more...

 
 
October 05, 2009

Direct Cost Definition

As we near the end of the year, it is time once again to really dive into those financials and start setting budgets and targets for next year. While your attention is there, I would like to encourage you to also review your overall accounting classifications and methods to ensure you are tracking in a manner that gives you timely and accurate reports you can use to manage your business. Read more...

 
 
September 22, 2009

Beware the Double Dip Housing Recession

Earlier this year, Jim Weigel began his Financial Impact webinar series with a session comparing the recent economic activity to what happened during the Great Depression. It was interesting to note the similarities. The reason for doing this was to try to learn a bit from history and to help prepare builders for the emotional and economic roller coaster that we may be facing as the economy begins its journey towards recovery. Read more...

 
 
July 28, 2009

2008 Financial and Operational Study Results

The 2008 study marks the sixteenth consecutive year of our financial analysis and operational study. It also marks the worse performance in the industry since 1970, when Chuck and I started analyzing financial performance for the housing industry. Chuck published the first Cost of Doing Business Study as the Director of the Business Management Department at NAHB in 1971. Since then we have been monitoring builders’ financial health. Read more...

 
 
July 14, 2009

Part 25: "Build the house right the first time"

I have been building up to this last point, as every step we have described will lead you to build the house RIGHT the first time. The home building industry operates very inefficiently, thus providing you with increased opportunities to excel in your market place. Take a good look at all your processes: how you work with your customers and homeowners; the way you manage your jobsites; how you work and communicate with your trades; how you negotiate and purchase; your change order policies during the construction process, just to name a few, and you will hear the inefficiencies calling out for help. Read more...

 
 

About the Blogger

Chuck Shinn

thumbnail image Charles C. Shinn, Jr., Phd, often referred to as the Profit Doctor, created the Shinn Group of Companies, The Lee Evans Group, and Builder Partnerships to help increase the professionalism and management standards of the homebuilding industry. His constant focus is to help builders and manufacturers to improve performance of their companies, improve relationships and ultimately maximize their total profits. Chuck inspires hundreds of builders each year through his frequent speaking engagements and educational seminars. Chuck Shinn holds a BA in Economics, and an MBA and PhD in Business Administration from the College of Business Administration at American University in Washington, DC.