The home remodeling launch plan
Every step from deciding to opening, in the order it happens, shaped to your situation, with your own numbers beside it. About 47 steps in 8 phases, 21 of them specific to a home remodeling. Free to read; ticking steps off and putting in your own numbers come with membership.
The plan47 steps
- 01Not started0/6Fold
Decide with the numbersa week or two
Before a dollar is spent. Most expensive mistakes happen here, and this phase costs nothing.
A home remodeler sells projects, estimated one at a time.
Typical for one unit is $750,000 to $2,000,000 a year; the owner keeps 10 to 22% of it before paying themselves. If that band does not cover what you need, that is the signal to pause and look again.
~50% survive 5 years. Roughly half of all new U.S. employer businesses are still operating after five years.
Twelve questions about your money, time, experience and temperament, scored. Then the 5 questions this business asks of its owner, about the hours and the work. Answer both before you spend a dollar.
Rule of thumb: buy an established remodeler with a real referral base and a retainable crew when you want cash flow and lower risk; build from one crew when capital is moderate and you can ... Answer it in your situation above and the plan reshapes.
Customers, prices, rent, staff pay, what it costs to open. We filled in typical numbers; change what you know and everything on this page follows.
- 02Not started0/5Open
Plan the moneya week
What it costs to open, where the money comes from, and the cushion that keeps you alive until the business pays for itself.
A home remodeler opens without a storefront: the money goes into crew trucks, saws and dust-control tools, the license, lead-safe certification and insurance, and a cash reserve to carry and...
The itemized cost to open8 lines
- Crew trucks (lease down payments) & dump trailer: $13,800 to $34,400Two pickups, plus a dump trailer at Standard and one per crew at Premium; buying both trucks new costs about $92,000 to $114,000 instead
- Saws, tile, dust-control & demolition tools: $7,300 to $28,700Table and miter saws, cordless kits, a wet tile saw, HEPA dust extractors and scaffolding
- Safety gear, uniforms & office setup: $3,500 to $10,700
- Tablets, logo, website & truck graphics: $2,500 to $24,700Door signs at the low end, full truck wraps at the high end
- Licensing, lead-safe certification, bonding & setup: $1,200 to $6,200State license or registration, EPA lead-safe firm and renovator certification, contract and change-order setup
- Insurance (liability, builder’s risk, auto, workers’ comp & tools): $4,600 to $12,100First premiums and deposits; a remodeling franchise budgets $7,500 to $12,000 for its first insurance
- Launch marketing: $2,500 to $16,000Yard signs, door hangers, a portfolio and the first 60 days of local ads
- Initial working capital: $40,000 to $120,000Payroll and materials carried between deposits and progress payments for the first 3 to 6 months; your plan computes your own figure
Costs start on day one; customers take months. Map the first twelve months of cash so the business does not run out of money while it is getting going.
The business has to earn your pay like any other bill. Set it in your numbers and watch the month it move.
How deals in this business are financed5 lines
- SBA 7(a) loan (Up to $5M · 10 yr (25 with real estate) · 85% guaranteed up to $150k, 75% above)The workhorse for buying an existing remodeler or funding a startup’s trucks, tools and working capital.
- Working-capital line of credit (Revolving · secured by receivables)A revolving line that carries payroll and materials when a job’s next payment is weeks away, then pays down.
- Seller financing (Often 5-20% of price · 3-7 yr)Common when buying a remodeler.
- Equipment & fleet financing (Secured by the trucks & equipment)Lease or finance the trucks, trailer and bigger tools, secured by the equipment itself, so cash stays free for payroll and materials.
- Homeowner financing (for your clients) (Via third-party lenders)Not for you, but worth offering: third-party remodel loans and home-equity financing at the kitchen table close bigger kitchens, baths and additions.
Most new shops pair an with 10 to 20% of your own cash. Know the monthly payment before you look at a single space.
Before you shop. A lender tells you what they would fund, what they need from you (credit, your cash in, a plan with numbers), and a pre-qualification letter makes a landlord or a seller take you seriously.
- 03Not started0/4Open
Set up the companya day or two
A day of paperwork, and it has to come before the space: a lease, a loan application and every permit are in the company’s name.
Your state’s business name search, the trademark register, and the domain, before the name is on a sign, a van, or a lease.
A , an , and the S-corporation election each change what you keep and what you are exposed to. Compare them with the numbers, confirm with a CPA and an attorney, then file with your state.
After:The is free from the IRS in minutes once the company exists. The bank account needs both. Keep business money separate from day one.
After:Pick the accounting software and connect the bank account now, so every cost of opening is captured and the numbers you later are real.
- 04Not started0/5Open
The territory and the vehiclea week or two
A home remodeler's "location" is its service territory and the homes and homeowners in it.
What decides it for this business: older, owner-occupied housing stock, homeowner, middle-to-high income base, access to skilled lead carpenters & subs, realtor & designer referral network, workable permitting & inspection process.
Mobile businesses still answer to city rules: where the vehicle can be kept overnight, whether you can run the business from home, and what the state licenses.
The van or truck is the shop. Price it, outfit it, insure it, and brand it before the first job. The quotes go into the loan application.
Most health departments require a licensed kitchen where a food truck preps, stores and cleans. The agreement is part of the permit application.
Commercial auto for the vehicle, for the work. Customers and any lender will ask for the certificate.
- 05Not started0/2Open
Get the loanfour to eight weeks
Four to eight weeks with an SBA lender, longer if the file is incomplete. Everything else waits on this, so send a complete file.
Your plan with numbers (download it as a PDF from this page), the company’s papers, the vehicle and equipment quotes, your personal financial statement, and proof of the cash you put in.
The lender funds against the quotes and the insurance; the money goes to the vendors and the build.
After:
- 06Not started0/9Open
Permits and the vehicletwo to four weeks
Remodeling is licensed or registered in most states, inspected by the local building department, and governed by home improvement contract rules that protect homeowners.
Bind the policies you had quoted before a contractor, a vehicle or a customer is in play. Keep the certificates; the landlord, the lender and the city will ask.
After:With the money in hand: the vehicle, the , the branding, and the state inspection most cities require before it can work.
After:Register your or corporation and obtain a city or county operating license.
With your state, before the first taxable sale. Usually free and online; check your state.
Many states license remodelers: California has a B-2 residential remodeling license, Florida a residential contractor license and Georgia a residential-basic license, each with...
Many states and cities require a license bond and proof of to license a contractor or pull permits.
State home improvement laws set what a written contract must include and can cap the deposit you take up front, and contracts signed in the client’s home often carry a three-day...
Builder’s risk covers the work in progress against fire, theft and storm; commercial auto covers every truck and trailer.
The health department inspects the truck and the commissary agreement, then issues the mobile food permit.
After: ,
- 07Not started0/10Open
Set up to runduring the build
During the build, so the business runs from day one: the systems, the prices, the people and the routine.
Takeoffs, estimates, scheduling, selections, and change-order tracking are the operational core: they capture and keep jobs on schedule.
Realtor and designer relationships, reviews, and local SEO are the pipeline; the referral base is the cheapest path to high-trust, high-ticket jobs.
Progress draws and homeowner financing at the table lift close rates and size on kitchens, baths, and additions.
Carpenter pay, sub payments, and lien waivers get complex; you need this the moment you have a crew and subs.
Per-job and clean job-cost books are essential for managing and financing growth.
, workers' comp, and builder's risk for residential remodels: non-negotiable for a licensed trade.
See the price the the business needs implies, then check it against what the market pays.
Daily: Walk and estimate jobs, follow up on bids, sequence crews and subs,... Weekly: Review the bid pipeline and close rate, job progress and inspection... Monthly: Review per-project margins vs the bid, change-order capture,...
Opening, closing, the sale, the complaint, the cash. One page each. This is the manual a franchise would have sold you.
Free, and it is how most people will find you. Address, hours, photos and the menu or price list, live before opening day; then the sign, the soft opening and the first regulars.
- 08Not started0/6Open
Open and measurethe first ninety days
You own it. Now run it on the numbers.
Friends, neighbors and a short menu or list. Find the problems while the room is forgiving.
Enter the real numbers and see every cost line against the for this business.
Unmanaged change orders; Underbidding and overruns; Permit, inspection & schedule delays.
Wages are the start: , insurance, training time and the hours you stop billing. Register as an employer and carry workers’ comp before the first payday.
Growth consumes cash before it produces it. Find the rate your own cash funds before you push.
Remodelers sell to owner-operators, SBA buyers and larger design-build firms that want crews, a referral base or a new market.