If you have trouble viewing the newlsetter below, click here. Customer Spotlight - Charles Sidi Building Technology Trends for the Next Decade Support Center Customer Referrals BuilderTREND Presentation and Speaking Engagements House Plans             Share         " BuilderTREND has saved us in several ways. Our Superintendent is so much more efficient now. We field far fewer phone calls from clients and they are MUCH more satisfied with our communication from Production. I use the demo video and screen shots of BT very effectively in the sales process. " - Troy Eggert - Frontier Construction, Inc. » read more Customer Spotlight - Charles Sidi Company Profile: Company: Scottsdale Arizona Custom Home Builders LLC CEO: Charles Sidi Location: Scottsdale, AZ Website: www.azchb.com Finding Success in Scottsdale I recently had a chance to interview one of our newer clients Charles Sidi, owner of Scottsdale Arizona Custom Home Builders. Charles caught my attention from the very beginning, mostly because of his location. We have clients in every state, but very few from the Arizona area because of how hard that market has been hit by the housing slump. After learning more about Charles and his business, his story became even more intriguing. It became clear that it was important to find out how he is finding success in one of the hardest hit markets in the country. Charles Sidi, native to the United Kingdom grew up in the industry. By age 5, he was visiting construction sites with his father who was a builder and developer. He took on his first job at the young age of 18 converting a 17th century barn into a luxurious home. Charles went on to build a successful business building and remodeling throughout the Manchester region, and won the distinguished award of Best Large Contemporary House in the UK. In 2006, Charles Sidi took a leap of faith and moved his wife and two sons from the UK to Phoenix, Arizona. A move that was prompted by a relationship forged with an American builder who was looking to retire and pass on his business to someone that was looking to build on the work and reputation of a 30 year career. Charles purchased the company and was ready to begin the American Dream. Following the purchase of the company in 2006 the "American Dream" for many American families and businesses was fading. We all know the story by now, the domino effect of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown was unfolding fast and many homeowners could not afford their mortgage payments and home values were dropping dramatically. New home construction basically was at a standstill. This was not exactly what Mr. Sidi had envisioned for in his new venture in Scottsdale, Arizona. So like many business owners, Charles had to adapt and change his vision for his company. Charles hit the streets; he has worked hard to build on relationships that the former owner of the company had established. "I stay very active in the community; networking is such a big part of our business," Charles Sidi, President of Scottsdale Arizona Custom Home Builders, said. "It does not matter if people are interested in a project right now; being new to an area I find that it is crucial to our business success to start building relationships with potential clients they may want to start a project in years to come." Further, Charles started helping out former clients and their friends with simple handyman and property management services. "I really have strong belief that we have a certain skills set that can really benefit any homeowner," Sidi said. "If we can help someone with a simple issue that is troubling them in their own home and they are aware of us and the type of work we do, we really believe that will eventually lead to more referrals and larger projects." The hard work and extra time spent on non-paying handyman work paid off. Projects started to come to life and Charles was working on five separate large scale renovations and custom homes in Scottsdale, Arizona. At this point, Charles recognized that he needed to enhance his business processes and take advantage of new technologies to be on the forefront in the industry. Charles always had the vision of what he wanted and how he wanted to interact with his client's in this new world of constant internet access, but was unable to find the right solution to meet his needs. In early 2010, Charles found BuilderTREND online and looked into how our system may fit his vision. In just one web-based meeting, Charles realized he had found a simple, customizable solution that fits his vision of online communication with clients and subcontractors. He decided to immediately add BuilderTREND to his business process and found quick success from the very start. "When I found BuilderTREND, it was perfect timing," Sidi said. "I was actually just talking with a friend of mine and telling him that we needed to invent a program that would help us interact with our clients on the internet, and all of the sudden I found BuilderTREND and it was exactly what I was looking for." At the same time Charles implemented BuilderTREND to his business, he also purchased the Apple I-Pad. "The I-Pad and BuilderTREND work great together, I will be out in the field working on a job and meeting with the client and all of our information about the job is right in front of us," said Sidi. It makes my job so much easier in a sense that I can go anywhere and have my work with me." We all know it is hard to find success in any market these days, especially a tough market like Scottsdale. Charles has some traits that we are fortunate to see all the time in our BuilderTREND clients: builds beautiful homes, won numerous awards, invested in technology, and is a great networker. What I found most intriguing about Charles is his passion for his business and people. What Charles reminded me of is that the business of custom home building is about building relationships that can last a lifetime. Home builders are responsible for what is typically the largest investment a person or family will ever make. This is an awesome responsibility and if done right the rewards can last a lifetime. Charles Sidi's story is why we at BuilderTREND have a passion for working in this industry. Charles is truly an inspiration to our team and we are proud to have Scottsdale Arizona Custom Home Builders as our Spotlight Builder. To learn more about Scottsdale Arizona Custom Home Builders LLC, please visit them on the web at www.azchb.com Tell us your story? If you are interested in being featured in our Builder Spotlight please contact Dan Houghton at 402-905-2506 x 1002 or dhoughton@buildertrend.com Business of Building Technology Trends for the Next Decade By Craig Schweikart     Share Into the next decade the role technology will play in a builder's operation will become increasingly important. In the past, builders have typically been slow to adopt and use technology. Often they have avoided cutting edge or leading technological advancements. The three leading reasons seem to be: 1.Cost of adoption; 2.Understanding and applying new technology; and 3.The reality that a failed initiative can severely impact a builder's business. Cost of adoption will continue to be an obstacle for at least the next couple of years. The constricted financial markets, combined with the economic reality of the housing market, will hamper the ability to find funding for technology initiatives. However, many of the most essential technological advancements for builders have initial costs that are offset by the savings the upgrade produces. In other words, the builder can actually save money by investing in technology. Many technology providers are working hard to reduce the builder's initial cost or capital requirement, and they offer solutions that require little hardware and less expensive infrastructure. As a result, the cost of adopting better and necessary technology is lower.... » read entire story Support Center Did You Know? - You can add Non-Working 'Holidays' to the calendar. In order to You help maintain the most accurate calendar possible, be sure to add non-working holiday’s to your schedules. To do this, click on the Setup button at the top of your page (underneath the Warranty tab). You will find the Global Non-Working Holidays underneath Company Information, and Schedule Options : To add a holiday, complete the fields for the title, and date, and choose whether or not it occurs on the same date every year. Then click on the green plus button. After you have finished entering all of your holidays, be sure to click on the save button at the top of the Setup page. Your calendar will now label those dates accordingly, and not count them as working days. Safari Browser Updates BuilderTREND is now 100% compatible with Safari. Our support staff has previously identified Mozilla Firefox as the preferred web-browser for our software for Macintosh computers. Safari and Mozilla will now provide you with equal levels of functionality on your Mac. Subcontractors and Customer Help Just a reminder...if you have any subcontractors, or homeowners that need assistance on the software, we are happy to meet with them. Your account manager will setup a meeting with them to assist in any area of the software that they need help with. Custom Selections Enters Beta Testing Our development staff is putting the finishing touches on an exciting new feature to help you manage custom selections through BuilderTREND. We have a group of our current users that will be beta testing the pre-release of this new feature. If you would like get an early look, and join our beta test group, feel free to contact your account manager, they will be happy to get you setup. BuilderTREND Customer Feedback We are always looking for your feedback to improve BuilderTREND. Our goal is to have the most effective and easy to use software program in the marketplace. To accomplish this goal we count on our customers for feedback to make BuilderTREND even better. Please submit all suggestions and product enhancements to support@buildertrend.com We constatntly research, and make updates to the program based on your feedback everday! Be Rewarded for a Customer Referral: Participating in the customer referral program is easy. 1. Complete the form - Complete the online referral form. We will then verify your eligibility and check that the form is complete and accurate. If we are not already working with the prospect, and you meet other requirements, BuilderTREND will give you a $10 credit on your account. 2. Complete the form & make an introductory 3-way call - Complete the online referral form and introduce us on a 3-way telephone introductory call with the potential prospect. We will then verify your eligibility, make sure we're not already working with the prospect, and BuilderTREND will give you a $50 credit on your account. 3. Successful referrals - If this referral results in a new signed contract for BuilderTREND, your company will receive a $200 BuilderTREND credit. FAQ What is a referral? - a referral is a potential prospect you notify us of that you feel would be a good fit for using the BuilderTREND system. This prospect cannot be someone that our sales team has already been involved in the sales process with. When did the program begin? - The program began in 2009. All NEW referrals starting January of 2009 are eligible for the referral program. What if I have more questions? - We sincerely appreciate your business and support. If you have any questions about this program please feel free to call us at 402-905-2506. For more info or to submit a referral click here: http://www.buildertrend.com/contactreferral.aspx BuilderTREND Presentation and Speaking Engagements: Are you looking for a guest speaker or sponsor for your next association meeting? If so please contact Dan Houghton at 402-905-2506 x 1002 or dhoughton@buildertrend.com Are you looking for new House Plans? As a BuilderTREND client you can receive discounted house plans of 50% through Advanced Designs, Inc. To learn more please visit www.advancedhouseplans.com or call 402-445-0489 Discount Code: BTC                           Share                   www.buildertrend.com