We’re heading back to the annual International Builders Show in Orlando Florida. Yes, somebody has to go to Florida in February, so we drew the short straw. We’re one of the Louisville Builders taking one for the team.

This show has been an almost annual event the last few years. We attend this show in part because I serve on the local HBAL Board of Directors, the HBAK Executive Board, and in part because even us older builders like to keep up with our industry. As we’re using Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, we have to keep up with all the latest products and trends in our industry.

Every year, we come back with new ideas and updates on the pros and cons of green building and developing, new regulations making home building more difficult, the state of the housing market, and the latest product enhancements that affect our customers. Those are all very good reasons to make the annual trip.

This year’s NAHB International Builders Show is February 8-11. Normally, this would be a perfect time for builders to take in a conference, although this year we actually have two, possibly three custom homes we’re starting in January and early February. We’re also finishing up a dental office addition for our friends over at A Winning Smile Dental Center in Okolona. If you’re looking for a Louisville Dentist, they are expanding and accepting new patients. We won’t complain about the activity, or the break to sharpen our saw.

P.S. If I can get my new iPhone 4 working before the trip, I will be live tweeting, shooting videos, and blogging about the show like in years past. Stay tuned for more.

Rocky Pusateri of Elite Homes talks about many of the benefits of building a Homearama home in 2012 at Shakes Run.

We figure Rocky hit on all the high points, so we’ll list the bullets here and you can watch the quick video for the rest. He summarizes it well as he usually does.

• Shakes Run gives you the feel of the country (think Spencer or Shelby county but without the bedroom community feel) but has the city life within three miles at the Gene Snyder in Middletown (think churches, Target, Kroger, schools, and restaurants like Wild Eggs).
• A home in Shakes Run (or any Homearama site) would give you an instant value. As Rocky states, many of the contractors and subcontractors want to put their best foot forward. Often times they are willing to discount new products or services in order to get the massive free publicity that a Homearama home gives.
• Shakes Run has lots of green space, lakes, and many walk out wooded lots. Balance this with a clubhouse and pool, and you have the suburbs meet the country.

Perry Lyons of P.L. Lyons just finished up a home in Shakes Run. He knows the ground, the restrictions, and the process. He’s also a respected builder in the community, and serves alongside Rocky on the board at the HBAL. Needless to say, we’d love to build a contract home or Homearama home for you at Shakes Run.

If you’d like to visit Shakes Run, we’d he happy to give you the nickel tour, simply fill out this convenient form or call us at 244-0114 to set it up.

Here’s a quick, fun video of us at the scramble. This is an annual event. We always announce upcoming scrambles and events on our blog, so be sure to follow along if you’re interested in participating next year.

The Home Builders Association of Louisville (HBAL) will be having its annual golf outing at Quail Chase on Monday, September 12 from 11 AM to 5 PM.

This is a very popular event that draws nearly 210 golfers each year. The outing consists of a golf scramble, hole-in-one, closest-to-the-hole contests, and a nail driving contest. Golfers are treated to complimentary beverages and snacks throughout the day and each golfer receives a special gift. Immediately following golf, a free buffet is served.

I’ll be at the event so if you’d like to get a team together, please let me know. Or, you can read more about the golf outing here.

Here’s something you might not know about the HBAL. You don’t have to be a registered builder in order to be a member. They also have affiliate and associate membership opportunities available. You can read more about membership benefits and opportunities on the website, or contact me if you have any questions.

I hope to see you on the golf course!

We hope you enjoy the video.

Here’s how the Home and Garden Show fared in our eyes.

On Friday and Saturday there were a steady flow of people just out looking for education and information. Of course, just like at any trade show, there were the usual “stuff grabbers.” You know the ones, equipped with two bags and looking for any widgets they can score. Most seemed to stop at our booth and take a DVD or a brochure. Some asked questions. Most of the interest we saw on Friday and Saturday was around remodeling or home improvements.

The show was not quite as large as years past which makes sense given the state of the economy. There were plenty of TVs to watch the NCAA games, and the same good fairgrounds food. The show is always a great opportunity to connect with friends in our industry, see our subcontractors in a more informal way, and get a pulse on the market.

Sunday after about 3:00 the traffic at our booth really picked up. Sunday from 3:00-5:00 was the best time (after the ball games but before the selection show). During that window alone we had four quality leads.

First were a couple of good remodel leads, then a custom home lead, plus four appointments.

We also had a handful of people sign up to receive our monthly email newsletter.

Overall, I would consider it a successful show! By the way, check out the Home and Garden Show’s website to search for information you may have missed.

If you read my newsletter this weekend, you may have noticed that I’ll be attending the Home Garden & Remodeling Show again this year.

The show runs from March 11-13 at the Kentucky Expo Center and is produced by the Home Builders Association of Louisville. Exhibitors at the show will be offering information on any home-related topic you can think of.

I’ll be exhibiting a full booth this year and will be talking to people about custom home building and remodeling. I’d love for you to stop by my booth and say hi. If you have any questions about home remodeling, improvements, or custom home building, please make sure to ask.

Also, I’ll be collecting business cards at the booth. Be sure to drop yours in for a chance to win a prize.

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

P.S. It’s worth the trip out for a famous Ky fairgrounds pork chop sandwich. Also, if you have the time, the Kentucky State Fair flea market is in town.

The article ran in this month’s Louisville Builder magazine. We are very honored by the award. We do a lot every day to make sure our work stands up to quality standards and to meet our customer’s expectations. This helps solidify our hopes.

Here is a really bad picture of a very nice award.

If you know of a better way to take a picture of a glass object, let us know in the comments.

You can enlarge the screencast tutorial video by clicking the bottom right button to full screen mode. You can exit by clicking the esc button.

Although we’re doing many creative things with our inbound marketing, we still realize you can’t pass on the chance to get your name out in an event of this scale.

We’d like to thank the Homebuilders Association for organizing the event and Trend Appliances for their main sponsorship.

Three reasons we gleaned for getting an annual booth in this event:

1) You get your name out there and you can get a few leads. One lead that turns into a paying customer probably pays for most of the cost. Then the rest of the exposure is just gravy.

2) You get to say hi to all the old faces you’ve done business with over the years. They keep getting older but they also get a little wiser too.

3) You get the pulse on the industry. You can walk around and see who is still in the game, who’s new, and what innovative products catch your eye.

We gave away some Lowe’s gift cards to individuals who signed up for our monthly newsletter. They will be contacted directly via the email address they used to register. We have some more cards for a future contest or promotion.