Career Mirror-- by Tom Babin

Maybe the reason big growths in population, like the one Calgary is experiencing, are called booms is because they are so loud. The sound of erecting and renovating houses for all the people flocking to the city seems to be everywhere. Residential contractors are among those reaping the biggest benefits of Calgary's population growth, but their work requires more than just a pool of willing clients. To be successful, residential contractors must be one part builder, one part contractor and one big part salesman.

"We got tired of being pushed around by the big boys," says Jared Bernard of his original desire to help launch Ber-Nard Custom Homes, a Calgary home builder. "I had the opportunity to join this company and I took it." Originally a framer, Bernard now focuses on building new homes, mostly in existing areas where the owners want to tear an old house down and start over. By starting out as a framer, Bernard had basic knowledge of construction, but found he needed to learn a lot more before he knew everything that went into building a home. "There was a steep learning curve," he says. "There's a lot more to building a house than framing." Originally, Bernard says his company did everything on a house from beginning to end, but as they got busier, they didn't have time to do things like painting and began to sub-contract them out. As they got busier, Bernard also says he realized the way to make the most money in the business was to spent more time selling, and less time building.

"Building knowledge is definitely important, but what it boils down to is the sales," he says. Over the years, Bernard says the time he has spent building has given way to time spent marketing, networking and spreading his company's name to sell more contracts. Once a contract is secured, he can hire other people to look after the work while he moves on to new projects. "I know a lot about building a house," he says."I guess that's good - at the end of the day its nice to have (that knowledge), but if you're only building two houses a year, you're not going to do so well." Those who do the work on houses, like all tradesman, make a respectable amount of money, but Bernard says when you are a part of a residential contracting company, the best way to get ahead is to sell as much as possible. "I see guys who know nothing about a house and are making a ton of money," he says, then laughs. "It took me five years to figure that out."