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E DIT O R I A L DI R E C T O R ' S c o mm e nts Find a partner B A usinesses and individuals have sur- vived this fragile economy in many ways and to varying degrees of suc- cess. For many business owners, sur- vival has meant finding partners who are willing to ride some rough waves together. For example, car rental companies Alamo, Enterprise and National are partnering by sharing expenses for the courtesy buses at airports that transport travelers between ter- minals and rental stations. The marketing material inside the buses promotes their com- bined effort as one that is keeping the air cleaner, but there's no doubt it's reducing operating costs as well. Kudos to all three companies for doing their part to improve the environment, and for finding a way to survive at the same time. Clever marketing, too, by the way. For custom home builders, a wave-riding partner can take many forms. The partner can be a private investor willing to take a risk, a software company with a solution to effi- ciency problems or a real estate agent ready to share referrals in exchange for a little less work and an easier path to payday. custom home builder I spoke to recently told me how he built and sold spec homes as part of his survival plan. A little surprised, especially considering his state is one of the worst hit in the housing market, I asked him how he funded the spec homes. "We certainly didn't go to a bank. Banks don't exist anymore for small builders like us," the builder told me. Instead, he found private inves- tors willing to partner with him on a small development involving multiple prime pieces of real estate. It's a sweet deal for the investors now that the two spec homes are sold and new construction is occurring on other lots within the development. The builder is benefit- ting as well, and in fact is doing quite well, keeping busy working with cli- ents and cultivating prospects. H ome building industry veteran Brad Simons recommends a different partner for custom home builders. In his article on page 20, Simons suggests finding the best and hungriest local real estate agents to partner with. A custom home builder himself, as well as a Realtor, Simons shares his dual perspec- tive on the benefits of such a relationship and provides a list of action items for making a partnership like this succeed. As stability finally begins to establish itself in the housing market, although on loose footing at this point, many housing professionals have made it through the worst of this economic depression. Feeling confi- dent and proud, they might wonder why they should partner with anyone at all. They don't have to, but they must understand that potential partners might connect with their competitors instead. Are you willing to take that risk? ■ EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Rob Heselbarth rob.heselbarth@cygnus.com MANAGING EDITOR Laurie Grant laurie.grant@cygnus.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jay Grant, Luis Jauregui, AIA, John D. Wagner ART DIRECTOR Richmond Powers PRODUCTION MGR. Steve Swick CIRCULATION MGR. Tammy Stellar READER SERVICE MGR. Rich Hendricks PRODUCTION SERVICES REP. Kathleen Weaver ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Jenni Ehlke-Heyer CEO John French CFO Paul Bonaiuto EVP BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION Kris Flitcroft VP CONTENT Greg Udelhofen VP MARKETING Debbie George VP AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Julie Nachtigal VP TECHNOLOGY Eric Kammerzelt VP PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Curt Pordes HUMAN RESOURCES Ed Wood © 2012 by Cygnus Business Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form, including electronically, without written permission from the publisher of Residential Design + Build. Residential Design + Build (ISSN 1934-7553, print; ISSN 2150-7694, online; USPS 070-080) is published six times yearly (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/ August, September/October, November/December) by Cygnus Business Media, 1233 Janesville Avenue, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send all change of address to Residential Design + Build, P.O. Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Printed in the USA. Subscription Policy: Individual subscriptions available without charge in the USA to qualified readers. Publisher reserves the right to reject nonqualified subscribers. One-year subscription to nonqualified individuals. U.S. $35; Canada $50; all other countries $75, payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank. Single issues available (prepaid only), $10 each. Canadian GST #231910168. Canada Post PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Residential Design + Build, Station A, P.O. Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. Vol. 77, No. 5. By Rob Heselbarth, editorial director 4 www.strongtie.com/strongframe