Scaling Excellence in Kitchen and Bath Remodeling With Andrew Blate
Scaling Excellence in Kitchen and Bath Remodeling With Andrew Blate High-end remodeling company Beautiful Home Services, founded by Andrew Blate and Craig in 2006, has built a reputation for honesty, exceptional craftsmanship, and specialization in kitchens and bathrooms. By narrowing their focus, they established a highly profitable and efficient business model. Andrew highlights how long-term employee retention and strong leadership are pivotal to maintaining their company culture and delivering consistent quality. https://youtu.be/BmPNbmClxQc?si=iRA6R_VqlJ9DSDHa Andrew Blate, co-owner of Beautiful Home Services, joined The Contractor Grow Show to discuss how his company became a leader in high-end kitchen and bathroom remodeling. Starting in 2006, Andrew and his business partner Craig built their company on the foundation of honesty, quality craftsmanship, and specialization. After experimenting with various types of projects, they chose to focus on remodeling kitchens and bathrooms, allowing them to hone their skills and maintain a drama-free, highly profitable high-end remodeling company model. Andrew emphasized the importance of team retention and leadership, sharing how long-term employees contribute to the success of their high-end remodeling company and culture. Business is like a riverit never runs straight for long, and success comes from going with the flow. — Andrew Blate By prioritizing relationships with clients and referral partners, Beautiful Home Services has developed a steady flow of business through word-of-mouth recommendations. The company’s commitment to excellence is reflected in their numerous awards, such as “Best of the Best,” and their community involvement, including fundraisers and charitable contributions. Andrew’s philosophy of caring for employees, clients, and the community drives the company’s values and growth. With a focus on building trust, delivering exceptional results, and avoiding unnecessary stress, Beautiful Home Services continues to raise the bar in remodeling. Topics Transcript Topics Discussed The Power of Niching DownHow Beautiful Home Services focused on kitchens and bathrooms to deliver superior quality and profitability. Importance of Trial and ErrorLessons learned from stepping outside their comfort zone and why sticking to their strengths pays off. Leadership and Team RetentionHow Andrew and Craig foster long-term loyalty and build a culture of accountability and trust. Referral-Based Business GrowthWhy Beautiful Home Services relies on repeat clients, referrals, and strong community connections. Adapting to Market ShiftsInsights into growing through housing downturns and post-pandemic market dynamics. Balancing Profit and QualityThe challenge of delivering exceptional work while maintaining profitability in the remodeling industry. The Role of Awards and ReviewsHow industry recognition and client feedback reinforce their reputation and attract new business. Audio Transcription Mark LamberthHello and welcome to another episode of the Contractor Grow Show. My name is Mark, I’m your host, and today I have the special pleasure of talking with Andrew Blake at Beautiful Home Services in Poolsville, Maryland. Andrew runs company with his partner Craig s Bulk S Close enough. It’s not bulk. Okay, great. And so I have Andrew on the show today. Andrew, thank you so much for being here. Andrew BlateThank you. It’s my pleasure. I’m very excited to join you. Mark LamberthFantastic. So we’ve talked a little bit about the company, exciting stuff going on for you guys. You’re in Poolsville, Maryland, just about an hour away from dc. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about the story of the business, history of the business and where you guys are at today. Andrew BlateYeah, it’s going to be a long podcast if you want the whole story. So Craig and I grew up together in Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburb of DC. We’re best friends, we’ve been friends since early high school. I’ve actually known him since elementary school. I was in kindergarten with his wife, Jessica, and we became really close friends in high school and after college. Craig studied engineering at Syracuse, I studied history and accounting at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and we both went off and did, we ran a painting company together in college in the summertime, painting outside of houses, making some money, having some fun. We both graduated college and decided we wanted to do other things. I actually went into public accounting and achieved my CPA license, and Craig worked in commercial construction. And after about two years of working for other people, realizing we absolutely hated it, we decided to start Beautiful Home Services in the spring of 2006, a high-end remodeling company. Today, Beautiful Home Services is a thriving high-end remodeling company, growing from that humble beginning. This high-end remodeling company has thrived because of its foundation of honesty, quality craftsmanship, and specialization. So perfect timing for the housing crash that happened about a year and a half later. We started as a painting and drywall company, mostly interior next year, painting, hanging drywall, finishing basements. We quickly pivoted the company into more of a remodeling company. So we started slowly into bathrooms and got really, really good at bathrooms. And then we started having customers ask us to do kitchens. Hey, will you do our kitchen? Hey, will you do this small kitchen in our basement? And that was sort of the gateway drug into kitchen remodeling. And then that parlayed into whole house remodeling, so flooring and kitchens and bathrooms and moldings and painting and whatnot. And so that transition happened in the early 2000 tens. And I tell other entrepreneurs all the time that business is like a river. It never runs straight for very long and you kind of have to go with the flow of the river. The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (APSP) is the largest and oldest industry association representing manufacturers, builders, designers, suppliers, and service technicians in the pool, spa, and hot tub industry. APSP promotes business growth, public safety, and industry standards through professional development, legislative advocacy, and consumer outreach. And in the beginning, we sort of changed to a remodeling company, and then we realized this is the direction our client base wants us to go. This is the direction that the company wants to go. This is the direction that our staff wants
