How Design Pros Are Handling a Busy Holiday Season
Communicating clearly with clients and adding a buffer to the timeline can ease project stress during the holidays
Erin Carlyle
November 16, 2020
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes to remodel. Former Forbes real estate reporter. Fascinated by cool homes, watching the bottom line.
Former Houzz Editorial Staff. Writing about the cost of renovation and what it takes... More
What’s your holiday plan this year? Will you take time off from your design or remodeling business in addition to Thanksgiving and Christmas Day? Or do you feel too busy this year to take an extended break?
We recently spoke with three pros about their holiday workload this year compared with last year and how they plan to handle projects this holiday season.
We recently spoke with three pros about their holiday workload this year compared with last year and how they plan to handle projects this holiday season.
A Busy 2020 Holiday Season
For many design and remodeling professionals, 2020 has turned out to be a good year for business. With people spending more time at home, many homeowners have reached out to pros for help with refreshing their spaces. That’s led to busy workloads even as we move into a phase of the year where inquiries and projects often taper off.
In San Diego, business is booming at Hope Pinc Design. “Generally things can be a tad slower during the holidays,” Pinc says. “However, this year is absolutely madness due to everyone being at home with COVID.”
Most years, Pinc manages eight to 10 projects during November, which she considers her slowest month. This November she’s juggling 20.
“Typically people aren’t wanting to have their homes torn up for the holidays,” says Heidi Clark, who runs the office and customer-facing functions for Clark Builders in Lompoc, California, where her husband, Brian, is the general contractor. But this year, clients are plunging ahead with remodeling projects.
One couple began demolition at the end of October. “I told them, ‘You know, by Thanksgiving you might not have a kitchen. By Christmas you might not have your living room back together,’ ” Clark says. But the clients don’t seem to mind. They’re grandparents, and Clark speculates they may be planning to spend the holidays with family elsewhere. Another client, who lives alone, is signed up for an addition that will make his home a holiday mess. “He’ll break ground in mid-December,” Clark says. “It baffles me but I’m grateful for it.”
For many design and remodeling professionals, 2020 has turned out to be a good year for business. With people spending more time at home, many homeowners have reached out to pros for help with refreshing their spaces. That’s led to busy workloads even as we move into a phase of the year where inquiries and projects often taper off.
In San Diego, business is booming at Hope Pinc Design. “Generally things can be a tad slower during the holidays,” Pinc says. “However, this year is absolutely madness due to everyone being at home with COVID.”
Most years, Pinc manages eight to 10 projects during November, which she considers her slowest month. This November she’s juggling 20.
“Typically people aren’t wanting to have their homes torn up for the holidays,” says Heidi Clark, who runs the office and customer-facing functions for Clark Builders in Lompoc, California, where her husband, Brian, is the general contractor. But this year, clients are plunging ahead with remodeling projects.
One couple began demolition at the end of October. “I told them, ‘You know, by Thanksgiving you might not have a kitchen. By Christmas you might not have your living room back together,’ ” Clark says. But the clients don’t seem to mind. They’re grandparents, and Clark speculates they may be planning to spend the holidays with family elsewhere. Another client, who lives alone, is signed up for an addition that will make his home a holiday mess. “He’ll break ground in mid-December,” Clark says. “It baffles me but I’m grateful for it.”
Coping Strategies for Holiday Projects
Communicating expectations with clients. Projects that take place over the holidays require extra care in terms of client communication. Some homeowners may prefer not to have tradespeople in their homes while they’re enjoying vacation time there. Others might want workers on-site as soon as possible to keep the project moving.
“It’s all about an upfront agreement, long before the holidays come, about whether it’s OK to work through the holidays,” says Brandon Bailey of Bailey Remodeling and Construction in Louisville, Kentucky. Bailey makes sure he knows homeowners’ preferences and then simply schedules workers to the jobs where homeowners are OK with having them on-site.
One way to make sure everyone is on the same page about the project is to use project management software like Houzz Pro. With Houzz Pro, you can share a personalized dashboard with your clients and give them access to helpful information such as your proposal, mood boards and project timeline. Houzz Pro also stores all your documents and communication in one central place, so everyone can see what’s been agreed upon and what needs to happen next.
Planning in buffer time for project overruns. A holiday-related deadline can be stressful. The homeowners’ holiday plans may depend on the deadline being met, which puts extra pressure on the pro to meet it.
“You just have to be honest when first connecting on whether it is doable or not,” Pinc says. “I had several potential clients this year that requested a holiday deadline when first speaking. I knew it was not doable and was completely transparent about it. Better to be upfront than let anyone down in the end!”
If you do agree to meet a holiday deadline, make sure you build in a buffer for those inevitable project delays. “If someone tells me that they want it done by Christmas, I schedule it as needing to get done by Dec. 1,” Bailey says.
See more resources for pros in Houzz Pro Learn
Communicating expectations with clients. Projects that take place over the holidays require extra care in terms of client communication. Some homeowners may prefer not to have tradespeople in their homes while they’re enjoying vacation time there. Others might want workers on-site as soon as possible to keep the project moving.
“It’s all about an upfront agreement, long before the holidays come, about whether it’s OK to work through the holidays,” says Brandon Bailey of Bailey Remodeling and Construction in Louisville, Kentucky. Bailey makes sure he knows homeowners’ preferences and then simply schedules workers to the jobs where homeowners are OK with having them on-site.
One way to make sure everyone is on the same page about the project is to use project management software like Houzz Pro. With Houzz Pro, you can share a personalized dashboard with your clients and give them access to helpful information such as your proposal, mood boards and project timeline. Houzz Pro also stores all your documents and communication in one central place, so everyone can see what’s been agreed upon and what needs to happen next.
Planning in buffer time for project overruns. A holiday-related deadline can be stressful. The homeowners’ holiday plans may depend on the deadline being met, which puts extra pressure on the pro to meet it.
“You just have to be honest when first connecting on whether it is doable or not,” Pinc says. “I had several potential clients this year that requested a holiday deadline when first speaking. I knew it was not doable and was completely transparent about it. Better to be upfront than let anyone down in the end!”
If you do agree to meet a holiday deadline, make sure you build in a buffer for those inevitable project delays. “If someone tells me that they want it done by Christmas, I schedule it as needing to get done by Dec. 1,” Bailey says.
See more resources for pros in Houzz Pro Learn
Prioritizing time off. Despite their plentiful workloads, pros say they’re still planning to take at least a short holiday break this year. Bailey takes several days off during the holiday season to visit with out-of-town family, though construction projects continue while he’s off work.
Pinc typically takes a trip from Christmas Eve to Jan. 3, and on the weekdays she gets up early to work for three to four hours before enjoying no work for the rest of the day. “I haven’t had a vacation without work in over four years, but getting away and partially decompressing is key to balance,” she says.
Clark and her husband, son and father-in-law, who all work in the business, will take off Thanksgiving and the Friday after and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. “We try really hard to take that time to stop and breathe and connect with family,” she says. “Taking a break during the holidays is super important to us. And we have to make ourselves, and remind ourselves, to do it.”
Download our Relationship Management Checklist
Pinc typically takes a trip from Christmas Eve to Jan. 3, and on the weekdays she gets up early to work for three to four hours before enjoying no work for the rest of the day. “I haven’t had a vacation without work in over four years, but getting away and partially decompressing is key to balance,” she says.
Clark and her husband, son and father-in-law, who all work in the business, will take off Thanksgiving and the Friday after and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. “We try really hard to take that time to stop and breathe and connect with family,” she says. “Taking a break during the holidays is super important to us. And we have to make ourselves, and remind ourselves, to do it.”
Download our Relationship Management Checklist
Your turn: What does your holiday project load look like and how are you handling the holidays this year? Please share in the Comments.
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While it is busier than a typical year in terms of folks doing really messy projects, you manage it the same way as any other year or time of the year. You mange the expectations.
Noticeably different this year? The availability issue. Appliance orders lag and drag. Carpet from the mills can take longer than expected. The spring Covid shut down, our flat planet with regards to where pieces and parts of anything are made and the world wide impact of virus cases - all factors.
I've got people building, remodeling, and simply redecorating. It's all the same! When will I be done? Answer: When you are done!!
If you're a planner and control freak such as me, you ALWAYS smile and answer that way, and then you always deliver in the best time frame , even in the nick of time. But . You aren't God. Contractors have subs with plans for time off, you don't drive the truck, you don't have control over the MIA Sub Zero.......you can't control a looming shut down that could halt progress yet again.
You simply have to manage the expectations of the client, and your own as well. : ) All warnings need reinforcement, there will be whining. There always is : )