Leading business coach for residential home builders, the Association of Professional Builders (APB) celebrates its seventh birthday with triple sales growth since the business first started, demonstrating increased demand for business coaching in the construction industry during the pandemic.
Since launching in 2014 with only two full-time staff, the business has expanded into New Zealand, Canada and the United States and now boasts 20 employees, with 483 members worldwide turning over $1 billion AUD revenue in residential projects.
Co-founders and father-daughter duo Russ and Sky Stephens are dedicated to improving standards for residential builder businesses, which has led their business to grow from $93,000 revenue in 2015 to over $3.2 million in 2021, while at the same time tripling revenue growth in the past 12 months.
Mr Stephens credits this success to helping construction businesses reach their full potential in a market that is facing growing uncertainty.
“We witnessed so many failing construction companies who could have been successful if they had the right coaching, so we quickly identified a gap in the market where a vital service should be,” Mr Stephens said.
“Building companies have been facing a slew of issues recently, like cash flow problems, and are left without the proper tools they need to take their company to the next level.”
“We work hard to provide customised one-on-one coaching that covers strategic planning, construction financials, marketing and sales enabling residential building companies to grow safely and securely.”
Following APB’s expert guidance, Clare Harbinson from Coy’s Constructions discovered the formula for pricing their jobs so that they started making money from their construction business.
Similarly, Tye Alroe from Alroe Constructions grew his construction business from $5 million to $30 million in three years with the assistance of APB.
Co-founder Sky Stephens believes builders are being under-remunerated for their skillset, expertise, and service in delivering custom homes, especially in the current climate where the housing market is at an all-time high and in unprecedented demand. While consumers also deserve a better experience than they are currently receiving, as seen with supply shortages and contract delays.
Ms Stephens also attributed their success to their robust nature, adapting quickly to the pandemic by delivering valuable insights into the market and innovative business strategies that helped many companies survive the economic challenges of COVID-19 with training and workshops online.
“Adding an online learning portal expanded our training modules to a wider audience, particularly overseas clients,” Ms Stephens said.
In July 2021, Russ and Sky launched their debut book Professional Builders Secrets with Best Seller Publishing, which, within weeks of its launch, ranked in the top 10 of business coaching new releases, and is now an international bestseller in seven countries.
With the team at APB surpassing its growth goals, the business is expanding further with live events, conferences and workshops across all four countries, a new podcast to be launched later this year, more books in the pipeline with an ultimate goal of reaching 50,000 members in order to bring meaningful change to the industry.