Local Tamworth builder Peter Verrier has been building homes in Tamworth over 10 years. After joining the Stroud Homes team 18 months ago, Peter explains how the Stroud franchise system and level of support has dramatically changed the way he does business and improved his work/home balance.
Transcript:
So I started my trade as an apprentice carpenter. And then I did site management for a few years for a big coastal company, got Jack at that and decided to work for myself as a subcontract carpenter. I can only make so much money and I was really struggling building for other builders that just didn’t care about quality. So I decided that I wanted to do it myself, setting up a building company on my own. And by the time I started looking at developing plans, getting all the systems in place, trying to figure out what systems work together, I found it really expensive and really hard. So I decided to find a franchise. I looked into a few. James’s programs and attitude towards franchisees seemed to be very good. After talking to a few franchisees before signing up, they all spoke very highly of James and what he had done.
And after seeing a few of James’s display homes up in Queensland, I thought his product was good. The attitude of the people in the display homes was great and doing a fair bit of research, Stroud Homes was a good franchise to go with. James was really good to talk to, easy to get along with. Called me back, I think, within a day of inquiring. We’ve been really lucky so far with our neighbouring franchises. So, we’ve got a coastal hub and Port Macquarie very close to us, and we’re quite good friends with them on a personal level, as well as a business level. And if it wasn’t for the other Stroud builders’ support, it would have been a lot harder. I’ve been with Stroud Homes 18 months now.
Our opening was very crazy. We had so many leads we didn’t know what to do with them. We also didn’t know the systems quite well enough, so we were lucky James would come down and he would train us as well as he would train us in conferences and help us deal with our leads and help us with the systems that he has in place getting to streamline the business. So now, we get about the same leads, but we can deal with them in a much better way. And we can spend more time building the homes for the customers.
Being with Stroud Homes has made my work, my home life, a lot better. I seem to be more efficient with all the programs that we have in place, and it gives me more time to be at home. It also speeds the jobs up. So, we’d build a 24-week contract. At the moment, I’ve got a 20-week contract, but we seem to be building in about 18 just by using the programs that are there for us.
After site management for big companies, having experience with the daily running of sites, so obviously my position was more site-orientated and job running. We all had programs and things that we used every day, but after using Onsite and the other programs like Data Build, it’s so much easier. Just the efficiency that everything runs it all talks together. When you’ve got those systems dialing, it’s just so easy. They’ve got a great team of guys. If you’ve got any questions on the training, they’re there. It’s a flight away, so no matter where you are, I’m in Tamworth, a bit remote. If I’ve got a problem, they’ll send Matt right up and he’ll help me out, if I can’t get another builder to help me out with it.
This year, our goals were about six houses for the year and we’ve easily done that. I think we’re gonna have seven done this year. Next year, we hope to build one a month. With our goals to achieve these 12 homes James has been really, really good. He supplies us with a great marketing team that we can benefit from. Since I’ve been with Stroud, I’ve been able to take the nail bag off. I haven’t picked up a hammer for at least 12 months now, and it’s been great. I am not as dirty. And it’s just great to be able to build better quality homes with my brain, instead of my brawn. We actually sold a house on the day we opened which is our first, it was a good-sized house as well.
The best thing with Stroud is the other builders, so, the other franchisees, they’re amazing. Just they’re one phone call away and give them a call and they’ll help you because they’ve all been through it. No matter what you’re going through, someone else has been through it. The biggest challenge with Stroud Homes is turning clients away because you are too busy. You can’t physically build all the homes that come in. You’re not chasing work. It chases you.
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