Communication is important, who needs to communicate anyway?

Who needs to communicate anyway?

“You are not born with great instinct. It’s the culmination of education, trial and error, upbringing, history, knowledge, and acquire taste—and all that together creates a cauldron of information from which instinct grows” ~ Michael Eisner former CEO of Disney.

 Communication is an accumulation of experiences from our past that affect current and future communication with others.  Emotions are a big part of the process, we all have emotional situations that affect how we process what others are sharing with us.

   Cinthia Hiett MC, LPC  state’s “feeling are very real, but not always true” 

 

We like to believe communicating takes little or no effort! Some people make it look easy while others are constantly saying things that should have been filtered.

In the Contracting business we must communicate with different personality types.  We work with the sub contractor, Employees, REALTORS, Lenders and most important the Homeowner.  Building a new home or remodeling your current home, emotions tend to run high. This is our home where  families memories are being built. Here at Knipp Contracting, while we do not claim to be perfect we strive to keep an open communication and set the proper expectations.

Setting the proper expectation is key when starting a relationship, when this is not done anger and frustrations about the process as well as suspicion and lack of trust occurs.  How we say our words is just as important as what we are saying. I saw a cartoon recently that said;

Let's eat Frank. VS.  Let's eat, Frank. both use the same words, however how we say it makes a difference.  

 What are steps in setting the proper expectations? 

According to the Author Cheryl Hamilton Communication For Results there are four communication styles: Closed, Blind, Hidden and Open. Understanding these will help with your own personal communication style when communicating with other.  I recommend reading the book for other ideas and understanding of communication techniques. 

 The Closed Communicator Style tends to seek little feedback from others and disclose information.   When in a situation with a closed communicator they feel mostly disappointed with sales people they would rather be lead and feel to embarrassed to ask.  These are individuals who do not like to look like a fool. They would more than likely never use your services again and you would never know why. Closed communicators generally are nervous around people.

The Blind Communicator Style: “These are individuals who thrive in situations in which they can demonstrate their expertise and experience” who share everything, this because they know everything. Giving advice even when its not wanted. When dealing with this type communicator putting everything in writing and going over it line item at a time will offer the confidence to the seller. Be aware that the blind communicator will like and even enjoy being argumentative. These are communicators that have no problem expressing frustrations to everyone. 

 These loyal and expressive people are open and will ask questions about the short sale process.

 The Hidden Communication Style:  This style is what I would call the pleasing person. They like to hide feelings and are usually liked by everyone.

Because of there desire of social acceptance be discrete when discussing issues about them in front of others.

They want other social salespeople to help them and need feedback at all times which means they are good listeners but not so much on sharing.

Open communication Style:  They are open and share information freely. In fact they may share too much information. They will require feedback and explanation more often then most. Making calls, texting or emailing a little more frequently is desired. (Hamilton: Communicating for Results)

Communication is a two way process, with a sender and the receiver.  When discussing a situation we should not assume they know all the details. The receiver does not know what we know, our experiences and what we have knowledge about.  Listen to what they are saying and repeat back to them to ensure understanding is met. We also have the out side noise source, these could be an illness, actual noise in the back ground or a situation at home that is affecting the communicator. 

Should I remodel before the holiday to save money?

The Holidays are just around the corner, well at least in three month’s it will be.  Before you know it plans are being made to host and attend holiday events.

 The thought of having to clean the base-boards, touch up the paint in some areas and clean out my drawers in the kitchen is daunting; this, of course in case someone reaches for a plate. We wouldn’t want to scare them with the dirt that has accumulated. Oh wait, is that just my house?

 One wouldn’t think September or October would be a good time to remodel, but it is! Most homeowners are not thinking of the holiday events, yet they should,  labor pricing could be reasonable this time of year. In the holiday season mostly the week before Thanksgiving or Christmas homeowners want items done NOW! These are the homeowners who; due to the demand end up paying a premium for labor.

Last month I spoke about remodeling the kitchen on a budget. Same thing can be done for painting  bathroom cabinets.

As a contractor we are asked about new carpet and tile for the holiday season. When looking into the idea of new carpet ask your contractor early if they have any carpet that was preordered and not used.  Ask about padding for the carpet. The thicker the pad the more cushion you have.  Walk on the padding; can you feel a difference between the middle grade and one grade higher? If not, save on the padding too.

Are you longing for a fireplace in your home for the holidays? Hearing the crackling of the wood and smell of the fire?   Many options to choose from when selecting a fire place. It's important to find the local code for the city you are living in.  Houselogic does an amazing job going through the details of adding a fire place to your home. I would recommend reading the article.

Is the outside of your home needed some attention? Recently we painted a home that was built in the late 90’s while that doesn’t seem that long ago in house years it needed a new look. The home color was a light cream color, nice for the 90’s  however when the homeowner choose tan it brought new life to the home and the neighborhood was revitalized. 

 Adding stone to the outside will give it a custom updated look.

Before you start your holiday plans think about being proactive in your home projects. It can save you time and money when taking the time to look for that special deal on carpet or tile.

When looking for a contractor contact your local Registrar of Contractors to ensure the company you are looking for has a General Contractors license and no unresolved complaints. 

Remodeling Kitchens on a budget - Money saving ideas

Remodeling projects completed on T.V.  look so easy to accomplish. The 30 minute episodes where the entire kitchen is remodeled with new cabinets, counter tops and flooring. The professionals of HGTV The Property Brothers make it look so easy from design to completion. 

Even I, the wife of a contractor would like to blink my eyes as Jeannie did or twitch my nose like Samantha from Bewitched.

Poof! The Kitchen is remodeled and I can now cook like Julia Child.  

While we cannot go back in time I would like to share with you some ideas about remodeling the Kitchen; it can be more cost effective that previously thought possible. Knipp Contracting takes pride in guiding each homeowner through the construction process. Remodeling is just that, a process. 
Things come up throughout the construction phase and soon budget becomes a bad word.

Over the years we have come up with some ideas that can help spruce up the kitchen without sacrificing the college or retirement fund.

Saving the cabinets could help with the remodel budget. Before replacing the cabinets consider these options. 

Painting the cabinets will give it a new look. In the example below the cabinets are painted a darker color. Any color can be used depending on your décor. Wow! What a difference a little paint can make. 

 For a more eclectic look paint the upper cabinets a different color than the bottom cabinets.

Do you have a center island? This too can be painted a different color than the rest of the cabinets. Adding some trim can make the island look like a piece of furniture. Another option would be staining the cabinets darker.

 Painting Kitchen cabinets could cost approximately $1500.00 more or less depending on the detail and the amount of cabinets. Much more cost effective than purchasing new cabinets. 

Adding a back splash with tile can give your new kitchen a custom look. Ask your contractor if their tile sub contractor has any out of stock tile left over or perhaps someone ordered too much and needs to sell off the remaining. It may or may not match your décor; it’s worth a try.

Counter top materials are increasing in variety. Concrete has become popular as well as wood that has been stained and treated.  The home owner put a new product in this Kitchen called called  Spanish Moss Quartz. 

 Twitching our nose or blinking our eyes will not get our remodeling project complete, however these money saving ideas will help stay within budget.   

We are here to help! Contact us at www.knippcontracting.com

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