[The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyone else looks for work.  - Robert Kiyosaki

Networking 101
Networking takes on different forms as you are building a business.  For Anderson Hill Construction – our early networking involved eating some frogs.  We literally went door to door with real estate companies and banks to talk to them about our REO Preservation and REO Rehab service.  This was really challenging, took guts and we had to endure rejection.  But this led to incredible results in a short period of time.

Networking 201
The next level of networking was organized leads exchange groups.  Local chambers of commerce typically have these groups to help their member businesses.  We also attended some more formal groups like RLI (Referral Leaders International) In these groups you have an opportunity to give an elevator pitch and ask for a referral.   This type of networking helped us establish ourselves in the business community and led to some excellent relationships.

Networking 301-401
Once we had a steady stream of happy customers, we felt a strong pull to give back.  Our ‘networking’ took a radically different form.  We got involved in a non profit and joining some industry groups. For Mercy Ministries, we donate, sponsor events and ask our other friends in business to get involved.  We don’t receive bottom line business benefits from this type of networking – the true benefits are internal, and remind our whole team that we have something to work for instead of JUST a paycheck.

One of the groups we will be joining is the GNAR (Greater Nashville Associations of Realtors Inc.) and recently we were invited to sit on a panel discussion with other professionals in the real estate business facilitated by well known Crye-Leike, Mid-Town REO Divison Broker Cindy Stanton.  Being aware of and available for these types of events advances your branding and allows many people to get to know you, and will ultimately lead to opportunities.

As your business grows, remember to expand your networking as well.  It enhances your visibility and ultimately leads to more business!

Eric Poulin
Anderson Hill Construction

One of the most important aspects of the StengthsFinder philosophy is to decipher how YOUR strengths work together with your TEAM, because strengths are highly dependent upon one another.

Think about a house – every last piece of raw material works together to create a finished product. When we reach a property, it is our job to put the pieces back together again. Some parts need to be completely replaced, others salvaged and repurposed, yet others pulled and polished to reveal previously unseen potential. Every component is valuable and necessary to create a livable space – each scrap, slab, and splinter perfectly intended for a specific purpose. Without proper drainage, what use is a shower? Without a shower, what use is a bathroom? Without a place to bathe, how can a family live in the house?

Any pile of bricks can be called a “house” just like any group of people can be called “a team.” However, at Anderson Hill we have a well-developed, highly functioning, exceedingly motivated, crew of game-changers. We believe completely in working in our strengths and only focusing on rehabbing homes. We don’t take our eye off the ball and try to be all things to all people. Each team member is really good at what their role is, and as a team, we’re really good at rehabbing homes. So why stray from our strengths? We focus on our strengths as team members, and our strengths as a company, and we love rehabbing homes. Do you know what your strengths are as an individual and as a company? I encourage you to find out! Check out http://www.strengthsfinder.com

Every entrepreneur I know has a mile-long list of tasks and responsibilities that needs to be tackled each day. Some are actually enjoyable, such as conversations with mentors, creative brainstorming, vision-casting for future projects, etc. However, there are also the dirty, slimy, wart-covered tasks that we would prefer to ignore or put on the back burner. What if instead of procrastinating, we had to “eat a live frog” every day for our endeavors to succeed? “Eating the frog” is the idea that if you tackle the most time-consuming, energy-draining, tedious items on your to-do list in the first part of morning, the remainder of your day can only get better.

Here is my theory: There is a certain level of human potential that we all have. Those who are willing to eat some frog might actually realize the full capacity of that potential.

Here’s My Story
After first relocating to Tennessee, I had one option – pull my chair up to the table and learn to love frog…for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The day after arriving, I did three things – bought a pair of slacks and black shoes from Kohls, printed business cards at Staples, and began knocking on doors. My moving truck was delayed by a whole week, and I simply did not have the luxury of waiting or wasting time.

Ever make cold calls? I spent two weeks doing the live version! First I researched the real estate brokers in the area that listed REO properties. Driving from office to office, I spent two weeks introducing myself and personally informing each broker that I was launching a new construction company to specifically rehab REO properties.

Once my licensing was solidified, I called each broker again to let them know I was ready. Brokers began calling for quotes and hiring Anderson Hill Construction to rehab their REO’s before they went back on the market. Day after day of in-person, ‘cold’ meetings was awful, humbling and exhausting, but it is what needed to be done. Plain and simple.

What are the dirty, slimy to-do list items that you know you’ve been avoiding? Make a list. Prioritize them. Stop being a productive procrastinator who does multiple small (although often unnecessary) tasks, while evading the big (often important, time-sensitive) tasks. Don’t let “frog projects” hang over your head all day. Instead look that ugly amphibian right in his bug-eyes and dig in!

Start by categorizing into these categories:

1. Tasks I avoid, but are important and valuable to my immediate survival (Eat first!)
2. Tasks I appreciate, and are important and valuable to my sustainable success (Eat next)
3. Tasks I appreciate, are important or valuable to my future ventures (Eat last)

Naturally, eating the frog is easier said than done, so above all be disciplined and enlist a mentor as an accountability partner. Make a plan, start immediately. Cold Turkey. It is the only way to be a frog-eater.

Take the first bite. Bon appetit!

Had I taken the easier path I would be serving no one. Our clients’ would not receive the quality repair that they expect. I would have jeopardized our company’s standing with our clients. I would probably have gotten home even later, thus not serving my family well. And the painters would have been none the wiser and the oversight would have probably been the same at the next house, increasing pressure between those team members and management. Not to mention the extra work involved and all of the energy invested in damage control instead of being able to leverage it elsewhere. Whew, that could have been bad!

Thankfully, I was able to take 30 seconds and ask, “Which decision best serves everyone involved?” In a moment, it was clear that the right answer was calling the painters back out, grabbing the blue tape and marking the spots requiring repair. Now, our client is served well with a house that is rip-roaring-ready to outsell all the other houses on the block. Anderson Hill is served well because we not only continue to have great standing with the clients, but with every well-done job they are more reassured of our commitment to provide that service every time. My family is also served better, because I didn’t get home at midnight after doing the repair myself. (I’m still later that my wife would like most days, but she’s amazing and understanding!) And, our crew is served well because they have the opportunity to make the repair and take note of unmet expectations that they can focus on at the next job. Who knew that all it would take to serve well would be some blue tape and a phone call?

When were you last put in a situation of making the “small stuff” count?

Ched Heiss
Regional Manager

I contemplated putting my truck into 4-wheel drive and barreling through the bridge anyway, but instead took the better option which was to change the settings on the GPS and head back down the dirt road and follow the alternative route 7 miles around town.

This made me think of the story about the airline pilot who was halfway to his final destination and realized that he was a few degrees off course. The pilot didn’t go back, regroup, refuel and try again; rather he adjusted his instruments a little and made it to the correct location.

Similarly, when we are rehabbing vacant homes, we often come across issues that are not part of the original scope of work. In those situations, if it’s an error on our part, we make necessary adjustments in the field and complete the work order. Sometimes we may have an issue with quality. In those cases we address the issue with our tradesman or subcontractors immediately and move on. Every now and then, we have internal issues that arise. There again, we make proper adjustments and move forward quickly.

One thing about leadership I am sure of is that leaders are always correcting the course. We are consistently correcting the course of our business and recommend you do the same.

1. Course-correct your entire company, and most important yourself.
2. Be consistent in expectations.
3. Don’t recreate the entire process; adjust on the fly as needed.
4. Show dignity to team members by not delaying correction.

When was a time you had to correct the course (or yourself)?

At Anderson Hill, we rehab homes. That’s it. We focus on rehabbing homes so our clients can focus on what they’re good at: Selling homes. If we’re not focused on the bottom line of a) What needs to be done b) Getting it done on time and within a budget, then we aren’t doing our job and our clients don’t get to focus on what they’re good at. No one is working in their strengths, the job isn’t getting done right, and no one is making money. The bottom lines for us means making a profit so we can provide the following:

• Quick turnaround times
• Delivering high-levels of quality work
• Adding value to team members and clients
• Supporting community outreach programs

Most people feel good about these four points, but for some reason many attribute the bottom line and making a profit as something evil. Without a healthy bottom line and everyone turning a profit, no one is in business. For us this means, we don’t rehab homes and our clients don’t get to sell homes. We’d prefer to be healthy and serve well.

Always considering the bottom line while providing good service and making a profit is where everyone should be focused. It’s ok to be in business and make money – actually it’s absolutely necessary to the health our economy. So let’s be focused, provide great service, and always keep in mind the bottom line.

I went down stairs to more of the same destruction. Trash everywhere, a “TV Room” with about 7 80’s style TV’s in different states of disrepair, and dirt and grime everywhere. This was a LARGE “Trashout” project.

What I found out later was that the house belonged to a Nashville wannabe country star with a — pet monkey. The monkey had free reign of the upstairs – which explained the baby bottles (they were his food) and the poop (wannabe country stars can’t be bothered with cleaning up).

We cleaned it, took the trash away, did some lawn repair/maintenance, fixed the flooring/walls, stairs, added new paint and carpet and repaired some water damage. This was one of the more interesting and disgusting projects that we worked on. Anderson Hill Construction is not afraid of the tough stuff, even when it involves monkeys!

Eric Poulin
Managing Partner
Anderson Hill Construction