Small Business in Denver

I had an interesting call a few months ago from a reporter with a large local news paper. She was new on the beat and thought that an article on how even during these difficult economic times that the remodeling industry was doing great. Her logic was, and she had heard that re-modelers were busier than ever because home owners were not moving up, choosing to up grade kitchens, baths, basements and complete home additions.

I have always subscribed to a construction monitor report that shows all the permits issued in the state for residential construction. We have been tracking it on and off for 7 years.  We can take the data )number of permits by type and average value by type) and see the trends in residential construction.

This reporter could not have been more off track.  Basement finishing was down 60%  in value or permits,  and that trend runs across all major dollar residential construction.

I referred her to that report, and the Home Builders Association for more information. Yet with all of these difficult statistics there are in fact residential contractors doing well.  In these cases, the owners have adjusted to the current situation, changed their business models, and moved into higher volume services.

A great example is Stellar roofing and solar. They continue to expand at a rapid rate by using the very smart strategy of becoming one of the country’s largest residential energy experts.  Starting with Roofing and Solar, they have now expanded to include electrical services, home energy audits, Replacement windows and soon will be adding HVAC.  By combining all of the important services that go into energy in your home Stellar is becoming the one stop shop for energy savings, and becoming more cost effective for the home owners.

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• Denver Solar (myonecall.wordpress.com)