Some Good News for the Home Improvement Industry… Opportunities Abound If You Seize Them!

The housing market is in somewhat of a slump. Okay, maybe it’s more than a slump. Any way you want to look at it, many Americans are coming to grips with the fact that they won’t be moving out of their current house anytime soon. In fact, many of them are just happy they have a home at all. That actually can be good news for someone who wants to start a business in the area of home improvement, or who might want to expand the business they’ve already got. Hard to imagine, but true. As with most things, it all just depends on how you want to look at it.

Outlook on the Home Improvement Industry

According to the Home Improvement Research Institute, business owners in the home improvement industry have experienced some slowed growth overall as of late. Not surprising when you consider the huge decline in new home construction and sales. But sales of home improvement products for existing homes are anticipated to turn positive this year by comparison. And even though the overall growth in this market sector will be below trend, the majority of growth that is anticipated will be in the consumer market.

So, who’s the consumer market? It’s all of us who already own a home and who want to invest in it for any number of reasons. As sad as it is to even imagine the number of people who are losing their homes, there are millions more who are staying put and doing some work to freshen up what they’ve got. The average homeowner feels lucky to have a home at this point. And now that many of them have realized they might be living in their homes for quite some time, doesn’t it stand to reason that they will need or want to invest in making them more functional…or even just more “homey?” If homeowners have the financial means to tackle reasonably priced projects, and many of them do, then it sure does.

Two companies in particular have taken careful stock of what consumers need and want when it comes to enhancing their homes. Both of them are capitalizing on two of today’s hottest trends in the realm of kitchen and bath design?aging-in-place and tile murals?and they’re doing it very well.

Aging-in-Place: How a Simple and Affordable Upgrade Makes All the Difference

They call it aging-in-place, and it is one of the fastest growing trends in America today. As people are living longer, they need and want to stay in their own homes as long as they possibly can. As such, the increase in demand for products that make that process easier is skyrocketing. And roll-out shelves like those manufactured and sold by a company called Shelf Improvement certainly fit the bill.

Armand Gagnon is the company’s President and Founder. He and his partner, Vice President of Sales Mark Barone, have worked together in the home improvement industry for years now. Having had great success as partners in the window fashions business, they were looking for a way to broaden the array of services and products they could offer their existing clients. They wanted to create something that their clients really needed and that would help them, and it had to be reasonably priced and easily installed. They were adamant that this product be of the highest quality and innovative. In other words, no junk! They tried a variety of product ideas, but nothing really seemed to meet all of their exacting criteria. That is until they stumbled upon the idea of roll-out shelves.

“My kitchen is the lab where our unique, roll-out shelving concept was born and perfected,” says Gagnon. Barone adds, “I had some roll-outs made for my wife as a present. She loved them, and before you knew it, we’d outfitted the whole house. Well, when I saw how much my wife loved them and couldn’t live without them, I knew we were onto something big! We were on a mission to build a better mouse trap.” And they did.

“One of the most important home improvement trends today is to make people’s lives easier, especially the elderly, in any way possible,” Barone continues. “But it’s not just older people that love these shelves! No matter what your age, these shelves save your back, help you get organized and enhance your home.” After all, who hasn’t had a pantry or cupboard full of food they can’t see and didn’t even know they had? So, they’re also a bit of a money-saver…once you know where things are, they aren’t as likely to go to waste.

Shelf Improvement’s roll-out shelves are completely American-made and are of the utmost quality, with dovetail joints and a revolutionary steel slide system that defies the competition. Best of all, when the shelves are in place, there is no hardware to be seen at all. But what is perhaps most remarkable is how affordable the shelves are. Any shelf, any size (and there are a number of them to choose from), typically retails for just $79. Ultimately, they’re a truly economical way to make any home an easier and nicer place to live, which almost goes without saying when you consider the company’s sales are up 20% this year. And the nicest thing about them is that anyone can install them. In fact, Gagnon’s background in engineering has enabled him to create a patent-pending tool that allows for installation in less than a minute, and each of the company’s dealers is trained in how to install the shelves perfectly every time.

But making sure its dealers can install the shelves is just one small part of Shelf Improvement’s business opportunity. Dealers are trained and fully supported in all matters related to marketing and selling their product. The good news is that the shelves often sell themselves. And dealers stand to make substantial revenue as a result. Given their cost for each shelf is just $38 plus shipping and they keep all the profits, any installation fees they generate constitute additional revenue.

Joining the Shelf Improvement team requires an up-front investment of just $495 and is an ideal option for someone who wants to earn part-time income. However, the full-time option is becoming increasingly more viable as word about these shelves spreads. In addition, many of the company’s dealers sell the product as an enhancement to their already existing home improvement business, or they form partnerships with cabinet manufacturers or handyman services. “The possibilities for how to market this product are practically endless,” Barone says, “It’s an ideal opportunity for someone who is looking for a low-cost and potentially very profitable business venture that is positioned for tremendous growth in the days ahead.”

Tile Murals: Customized, Colorful and All the Rage

Tile murals are one of the hottest trends today; everyone in the kitchen and bath design world is talking about them. They’ve been gaining in popularity as of late, adding color, form and incredible design elements to just about any home or office. There are a wide variety of patterns available to suit any customer’s taste, and each one can be personalized using photographs and graphics in just about any way you can imagine. But, as is true in any trade or profession, there are some companies that just plain do it better than others and who are destined to succeed. Why? Because they’ve got a superior product, a great business plan and, perhaps most importantly, a clear vision of the future.

Ken Horgan is the President of American Custom Tile, Inc. His company manufactures Duramax Tile™, the only true architectural grade tile on the retail market today. Using its unparalleled Duramax Tile as its base, the company has developed and patented its own unrivaled technology to reproduce any mural image. Unlike other printed tile products, the combination of Duramax Tile and this technology results in murals of incredible color, stunning clarity and unmatched durability and chemical resistance. The finished product is also incredibly scratch and fade resistant, so it is very suitable for everything from floors, kitchens and back-splashes to bathrooms and exterior applications, such as swimming pools.

With so many potential applications out there, Horgan sees every home in America as a potential customer for his product…and rightly so. Although American Custom Tile’s murals are expensive looking, they are unbelievably affordable. And in these tough economic times, a simple and affordable upgrade is always in demand. At an average cost of just $400 installed for a kitchen back-splash mural, these incredible works of art can transform any home kitchen or bath into a real showplace for very little money.

“People are looking for ways to upgrade their homes, to invest in them in a way that they can realize a return on that investment when the economy improves. Tile murals really fit the bill; they are extremely popular,” Horgan says. The big retailers, according to Horgan, all carry tile, but then they often don’t offer a mural option. Or, if they do, the selection is very limited. Horgan gets calls all the time from people who have found a tile they want, but they can’t seem to find a mural, any mural. Or, they simply can’t find one that they like. Tile stores also call all the time saying their customers need a mural, and inquiring as to whether American Custom Tile can help them.

“The demand is there,” Horgan says. “We know better than anyone out there what consumers want in a tile mural, and we’ve got it. In addition to our technology and all its advantages, we’ve developed the most complete selection of today’s most popular artworks available,” he adds. “And we can personalize any mural…whatever the customer wants, we can make it happen.”

“This is an exploding opportunity,” he continues. “For a very modest up-front investment, our distributors receive exclusivity rights to market our tile and tile murals to retailers of all kinds in their own territory. They also get discounted, guaranteed pricing, which allows them to turn a substantial profit. And they receive our manufacturing commitment that we will produce the most high-quality product possible for each of our customers.” In other words, Horgan guarantees each dealer will be backed by a product to be proud of and proud to represent.

Dealers also receive access to marketing materials and displays, brochures, websites, postcards, point-of-purchase displays, rack cards…anything that will support them in their efforts to market the product most effectively. They can feel confident that a full-service call center is there for a quick response to questions or if there is a need for a special quote. And, of course, access to those thousands of images, including original art, is what makes American Custom Tile the industry leader and this opportunity one of a kind in this market sector.

“My goal is really quite simple,” Horgan says. “I want to see the Duramax Tile brand logo on the front door of every retail tile and home remodeler in the country and around the world. This year marks our first serious call for strategic partners to join us in achieving that goal, and we are well on our way.” In addition to the partners it has already recruited across the U.S., the company has recruited a number of international dealers as well.

The fact is that there is no other company out there right now with the quality product, advanced technology and the well-conceived business plan in place to do what Horgan is set on doing. American Custom Tile is the only company of its kind with the national and worldwide vision, as well as the capability to penetrate the international retail market with its mural products right now. And as they say…In business, timing is everything!

Horgan asserts that, “For anyone who wants to work hard and has the initiative, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. You’ll become part of the family and get yourself a seat at the table while there are still seats to be had,” he says. “We’ll do everything we can to help you, and you’ll get 100% of our attention.” Given the anticipated growth in this sector of the home improvement market in the next few years, it sure seems like a good time to pull up a chair.