Making a Management Team
Part of our “Building Business” series appearing in Fine Homebuilding magazine.
By HELM Business Consultant Paul eldrenkamp
In the spring of 2014, I worked with my employees to map out a plan to sell my design-build remodeling business and retire in 2024. In the end, I sold the business to my employees in October 2021 — nearly three years ahead of schedule. Even before the final sale, my role at the company had shrunk enough that I could launch a second career as a business consultant at HELM Construction Solutions.
We tried several strategies to make this transition possible. Establishing a four-person management team that met monthly to review company performance had the biggest positive impact on the business. I now recommend this strategy to my HELM consulting clients whether they're actively planning an ownership transition or not. A successful management team hinges on three things: who's on it, what gets covered in meetings, and how those meetings are run.
The rationale
I think of a management team like sistered joists: any weak spot in one is offset by strength in another. In small construction businesses, I’ve often seen the organization mirror the owner’s weaknesses. If the owner isn’t confident with financials, the company’s profitability may suffer. If the owner struggles to say “no,” the team may be chronically overcommitted.
A strong management team fills in gaps in the owner’s skillset. One member may be particularly good at looking at financial statements, quickly identifying trends, and explaining them to the other members: “Our produced gross profit margin has slipped four months in a row. Why?” Another member of the team, closely involved in production, has a pretty good idea of what’s happening: “We started a couple big projects before they were ready, and we’re losing productivity as we wait for answers to time-sensitive questions.” A third team member, the one responsible for sales and project development, knows the solution: “We need to manage backlog better so that we’re not feeling pressured to start jobs too soon. Let’s look at our list of projects in development and see what changes we can make.”
Continue reading at Fine Homebuilding Magazine (October 2025, Issue 334)