Month: May 2016

Restotech DKI Renews Franchise Membership with DKI

May 22, 2015 – DKI, North America’s largest disaster restoration contracting organization, today announced that Restotech DKI of Laguna Hills, Calif. has renewed its Franchise Membership with the DKI network.   

By continuing its DKI Franchise Membership, Restotech DKI will continue to utilize DKI’s 24 hour call center, its claims tracking technology, and other tools to enhance its ability to serve its insurance and corporate customers. Restotech DKI also gains access to DKI’s training seminars and workshops to ensure they remain abreast of all changes in this rapidly evolving industry.

“We are delighted that Restotech DKI will continue to be a part of the rapidly growing DKI network,” Dan Cassara, DKI’s president.  “Restotech DKI’s commitment to quick response, superior workmanship and outstanding customer service reaffirms DKI’s position in the marketplace as The Source for Quality Restoration.  We look forward to continuing our rewarding association with Restotech DKI.”

Company president, Tony Elsa, is pleased Restotech DKI meets DKI’s high standards for continued Franchise Member, as DKI has always stood for excellence in the industry.  The opportunity to work in partnership with other quality firms in the DKI network has allowed Restotech DKI to expand their scope of services, introduced them to new markets and has helped ensure their continued success.

In addition to being able to use DKI’s technology and training capabilities, Restotech DKI can also continue using the DKI branding in its marketing efforts, participate in its various co-op programs, and leverage DKI’s corporate marketing efforts.

 

Why Purpose Matters

May 16, 2016

Guest Blog by Howard Shore, Founder Activate Group

The trademarks of a great operation are how well its leader and team use time and set priorities. Too often people confuse activity with productivity. Setting priorities starts with a plan. A good plan creates focus, sets goals, creates alignment throughout an organization, and provides a means for accountability. Have you reduced organizational activity down to the minimum necessary to achieve maximum results? Are anyone’s priorities working at cross purposes to those of the organization? Are the organization’s daily activities properly aligned toward its goals? You are likely emphasizing the wrong set of priorities to your team if you don’t address these issues.

Two Indications That You Have a Problem

As a business coach, one of my essential roles is to assist you in determining the key components of your business plan. My experience is that many companies do a poor job of creating their plans, costing them serious growth in revenue and profits. If you are like most leaders I’ve worked with, your annual planning process may need some fine-tuning. Often, I find leaders spend too much time focusing their attention on goals rather than on the components of their plan that will cause them to achieve those goals. Two indications that you have a problem are:

  • You do not find the need to visit your plan weekly, monthly and quarterly with your executive team to make sure you are following it.
  • You are not consistently hitting your revenue and profit numbers on a monthly basis. Or, you are hitting those numbers, but because of reasons other than your plan. In other words, you are growing by chance rather than by planned actions.

Creating a business plan helps to find the simplest path for your company to follow to produce maximum results. Lack of prioritization is by far the most common issue preventing companies from reaching consistent performance. While most leaders like to blame external conditions, it is usually an internal shortcoming.

What are the 8 Key Components of a Business Plan?

In order to accomplish focus, prioritization, alignment and accountability, your business plan should clearly answer the following 8 concerns:

  1. Why does your company exist (purpose)?
  2. How are you different (unusual offering)?
  3. Who is the core customer that you will build your business around?
  4. What are your goals?
  5. Which critical number(s) will you elevate this quarter?
  6. What are your 3 to 5 essential annual priorities? Remember, these are the difficult changes that need to be made in terms of products and services, systems and process, and people.
  7. What are the 3 to 5 quarterly company priorities that will drive the annual priorities?
  8. What are the 3 to 5 quarterly personal priorities for every leader that aligns with the company priorities and functional priorities?

How to be a Morning Person

May 11, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

Have you been staring at your New Year’s resolution to start running, but feel there aren’t enough hours in the day between rushing the children to school and working? …Why not start your days earlier?

Run in the early mornings before anyone wakes up. It will put you one step ahead of fulfilling your day’s goals, and give you positive energy to continue your day. Not all of us are morning people. However, it’s not difficult to train yourself to start your day early.

If how you start sets precedent to the remainder of the day, why not wake up early, happy and productive? Here are some tips to help you embrace those early mornings.

Purpose

In our industry, we have to be morning people. Disasters happen during all times of the day – when we least expect them, and we have to be at the ready. That is our purpose. What’s yours?

If you’re not on emergency call every morning, make a list at night of your goals for the next day. Remember, there are 24 hours in each day; there’s no excuse as “I didn’t have the time” if you can start early and are aware of your goals from the start.

Forget Snooze

The snooze button only puts us back into our sleep cycle, and makes waking up harder each time. As comedian Kyle Dunnigan jokes, “It’s like, I hate getting up in the morning, unless it’s over and over and over again.” We agree. Instead of hitting snooze to fall back to sleep and be jolted awake ten minutes later, stretch your body out, shake your legs, stretch your arms, and open your eyes. It allows you to lay in bed for a couple extra minutes, and calmly wake your body up.

Hydrate

After sleeping for hours under warm covers, your body is parched, which could make you feel tired. Keep a water bottle or glass next to your bed. When you first wake up, drink some water. This can also help your body rejuvenate before your feet even hit the floor.

Remember: Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day

As Rebecca Scritchfield, R.D., a Washington D.C. based nutrition and exercise expert says, “After sleeping all night, our metabolism and blood sugar are at their lowest; we need a healthy breakfast to re-energize us.”

If you’re someone who feels nauseous eating a full breakfast before 9AM, try making a smoothie or eating an egg with a piece of fruit. It will provide you protein and sugars to reboot your brain, without making you feel bloated.

Do the Hard Work First

Start your day with the project that requires the most energy. Your alertness is highest in the mornings. Not to mention, if you start your day on a high productive note, the rest of your day will follow suit. When your midday slump hits, you’ll have already completed your biggest projects, and can focus on the smaller items that require less detail.

Sleep

Regardless how often you try to successfully perform the above, if you do not receive enough sleep, your body may not acclimate to your new early morning routine.

Try to go to bed at a decent hour. If you cannot fall asleep immediately, read a book or write. Set a curfew for your electronic devices. Using these up until the hour you fall asleep could keep your brain awake from information overload.

I’m a morning person – I thrive in the mornings. Yet, I wasn’t always this way. I had to train myself from an early age to wake up early and start the day. Oftentimes, I am asked how I transitioned to become a morning person; how do I get an early, productive start to the day, every day?

I know some people claim they can run off of less than eight hours of sleep each night, and I used to too. But, then I realized I may be able to wake up early, but it may not be so easy, and my day may not be as productive and focused as I wished.

Food

Not everyone can eat a full breakfast as soon as they wake up. I know several people who don’t consume anything but coffee until 10AM. For me, this is snack time.

Purpose

Starting in about second grade, my mother would wake me up on her way into work. If I didn’t wake up at that moment, most likely I would not make it to school. I had a schedule to live by, at least on school days, and most importantly, others counted on this schedule:

7:15AM: I would meet my best friend a block away at her house.

7:30AM: We would meet another friend and her sister three blocks away at their house, to catch a shortcut from their backyard to the school grounds.

8AM: Be in front of my classroom’s door.

You see, if I was late to my best friend’s house, it would make three others late to school as well.

Setting Priorities Starts with a Good Business Plan

May 5, 2016

Guest Blog by Howard Shore, Founder Activate Group

The trademarks of a great operation are how well its leader and team use time and set priorities. Too often people confuse activity with productivity. Setting priorities starts with a plan. A good plan creates focus, sets goals, creates alignment throughout an organization, and provides a means for accountability. Have you reduced organizational activity down to the minimum necessary to achieve maximum results? Are anyone’s priorities working at cross purposes to those of the organization? Are the organization’s daily activities properly aligned toward its goals? You are likely emphasizing the wrong set of priorities to your team if you don’t address these issues.

Two Indications That You Have a Problem

As a business coach, one of my essential roles is to assist you in determining the key components of your business plan. My experience is that many companies do a poor job of creating their plans, costing them serious growth in revenue and profits. If you are like most leaders I’ve worked with, your annual planning process may need some fine-tuning. Often, I find leaders spend too much time focusing their attention on goals rather than on the components of their plan that will cause them to achieve those goals. Two indications that you have a problem are:

  • You do not find the need to visit your plan weekly, monthly and quarterly with your executive team to make sure you are following it.
  • You are not consistently hitting your revenue and profit numbers on a monthly basis. Or, you are hitting those numbers, but because of reasons other than your plan. In other words, you are growing by chance rather than by planned actions.

Creating a business plan helps to find the simplest path for your company to follow to produce maximum results. Lack of prioritization is by far the most common issue preventing companies from reaching consistent performance. While most leaders like to blame external conditions, it is usually an internal shortcoming.

What are the 8 Key Components of a Business Plan?

In order to accomplish focus, prioritization, alignment and accountability, your business plan should clearly answer the following 8 concerns:

  1. Why does your company exist (purpose)?
  2. How are you different (unusual offering)?
  3. Who is the core customer that you will build your business around?
  4. What are your goals?
  5. Which critical number(s) will you elevate this quarter?
  6. What are your 3 to 5 essential annual priorities? Remember, these are the difficult changes that need to be made in terms of products and services, systems and process, and people.
  7. What are the 3 to 5 quarterly company priorities that will drive the annual priorities?
  8. What are the 3 to 5 quarterly personal priorities for every leader that aligns with the company priorities and functional priorities?

DRS Expands into Hopedale, Mass

May 3, 2016 –  DRSlocDKI, North America’s largest disaster restoration contracting organization, today announced that one of its member companies, Disaster Restoration Services (DRS) of Middletown, Conn. has opened a new location in Hopedale, Mass.

Since February 2016, DRS has been fully servicing Massachusetts as well as Connecticut. On Thursday, April 28, DRS completed all renovation for its new location at 9 Rosenfeld Drive Hopedale, Mass.

The grand opening of the new site will be released shortly.

DRS President Danny Strong says he lives by Max Simon’s words, “You must be willing to invest in your own personal growth and expansion and then others will invest in you.”

 

About Disaster Restoration Services

Disaster Restoration Services can take any disaster clean up from start to finish. DRS is available 24/7 and services all of Connecticut. DRS provides services for: Water Mitigation, Fire Damage Clean Up, Storm Damage Clean Up and Mold Remediation. Not only can DRS do the mitigation, but DRS can also handle the remodel. Doing Restoration Strong! For more information, visit www.drscleanup.com.

About DKI
DKI, headquartered in Chicago, is the largest disaster restoration contracting organization in North America. DKI Franchise Member companies provide full service restoration to their customers: emergency response, water damage mitigation, fire and contents cleaning, mold remediation, complete reconstruction and much more, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. DKI returns damaged property to its pre-loss condition quickly and efficiently, delivering complete satisfaction to our consumer, insurance, and corporate customers. For more information about DKI, visit our website at www.dkiservices.com.