Blog Post Archives - Page 9 of 10

Pinnacle Finance Blog

March 5, 2019

Economic Update February/March 2019

Continued Strong Job Growth Should Help Drive Home Improvement Industry… In what should be quite beneficial for the home improvement industry job growth in the United States has remained strong. January nonfarm payrolls grew 304,000, higher than the consensus expectation of 165,000, with December adding 222,000. The average monthly gain in 2018 was 223,000. An additional positive is that average hourly earnings for employees increased to 3.2% in January compared to January 2018 reflecting rising pay for employees after many years of stagnant earnings growth. …With Consumer Confidence Bouncing Back… The Conference Board reported that its’ consumer confidence index rose […]

March 6, 2019

Do You Have a Plan for Marketing Your Home Improvement Company

When owners start a home improvement business they typically plan and budget for things like lead generation, computers, office supplies, employee salaries, rent, equipment, electricity and phone costs. You need these things to have a viable business. However, there is often no plan for marketing. This translates to – there is no budget for marketing, particularly when it’s a smaller company. Marketing should also be in that category of “must-haves” for both short and long term success of the business. The problem is often a resources issue. Can a business afford a full-time or part-time employee to do […]

June 4, 2019

Economic Update – May/June 2019

Strong Economic Growth In Q1 But Slowing In Q2…. The most recent estimate for GDP growth in the first quarter of 2019 was quite strong at 3.1%, up from 2.2% in the fourth quarter of 2018. Much of the GDP growth in Q1 was from a buildup of inventories and net export of goods. Many have speculated that the buildup of inventories was related to the prospect of the tariff increases that have made headlines in the past several months. If that was the case then a reduction of inventory should have a negative impact on growth in future quarters. […]

June 5, 2019

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – What Does That Mean for Your Remodeling Company?

We have all heard the old phrase – a picture is worth a thousand words. In the world of marketing your business, this is very true. There is data that shows people retain memory in what they see in images far more than they do in the words they read. Research shows: Only 10% of people remember what they hear. Only 20% of people remembering what they read. However, 80% of people remember what they see and do. The remodeling business ultimately is a very visual business. Your prospects can be sold on a project and choose you as their […]