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MAY 2012
Built Right A Day in the Life of Scott Mosby, president of Mosby Building Arts
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A DAY IN THE LIFE SCOTT MOSBY
Scott Mosby, president of Mosby Building Arts, does more listening than talking. A bit ironic for a guy with his own radio program.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Built Right Eighteen hours with Scott Mosby, president of Mosby Building Arts, who took his company from a mom-and-pop to an industry leader words Jeremy Nulik photos bill sawalich
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s recently as 15 years ago, Mosby Building Arts looked like most remodeling firms. Scott Mosby, the company president, would go out and win some business, do some of the work, complete the project, and then sell the next job. It was hand-to-mouth. At the time, the company was pulling down $600,000 in annual revenue and had a 10-person team. 20 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2012
Most companies (no matter the industry) are happy to stay there. However, today the company employs 75 people, and it had $10 million in revenue just last year. So, how does a contractor go from the guy-in-the-truck business model to the president of an aggressively growing firm (even through a recession) with an impeccable reputation?
The answer is not necessarily in the words he says. Scott, in his self-effacing humility, admits he is not somehow specially gifted at business, nor would he accept the label of “genius.” He did not get lucky, nor did he reinvent the way business is done. The answer is simple: He asked for it. Scott’s desire for knowledge showed up shortly after he purchased the business from his father, Sam Mosby, in 1983. “I learned a lot about business from my father’s example,” says Scott, who is also the host of the KMOX “Home Improvement Show.” “He knew that there was a logical process to building a house. You have to plan the work and work your plan. The same is true in business.” After he purchased the company, Scott used the hardworking ethic he learned from his father to move into the remodeling side of contracting. For many years, the margins were tight. Scott and his wife, Judy, worked out of the basement of their home. It certainly appeared that Scott was going to carry on the tradition of being a small, scrappy remodeling company. That was until a catalytic opportunity dropped in his lap in 1993. Because of his company’s reputation for finish carpentry, Scott and his team rebuilt the inside of seven railroad cars for Union Station in St. Louis. The work was so high in quality that Mosby Building Arts received recognition in Remodeling Magazine as one of the “Big 50.” As part of that honor, Scott attended an awards ceremony where he met a group of contractors whose lives were very different from his. “It was like going to school,” says Scott. “I got to see what the path to success looked like. At the time, I was full of hard work, perseverance and stupidity. It was those traits that got me access to successful people who would take pity on a young punk. To this day I am constantly learning more about business from others in the industry.” Scott joined a peer advisory board that included some of his cohorts from the Big 50. He began to see the importance of running his business by the numbers and became focused on creating a system that would increase the company’s integrity – if people knew what performance numbers they needed to hit, they would remain focused on what was important.
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The process of finding the right system has been a long one and is still taking place. After trying several out-of-the-box solutions for years, the company rolled out Right Touch, a web-based customer relationship management and reporting software, in February 2012. This system allows everyone to see critical numbers in real time. With one glance at a dashboard, employees see where they are in comparison to their goals for the day, week and quarter. The system also keeps track of appointments and has project management capabilities. While most of this focus on systems and business process would be enough to
drive many entrepreneurs crazy, Scott understands from both his years in the business and the collective wisdom of his peers that focus on critical numbers is crucial to success. “I am the entrepreneur,” says Scott. “I have been the guy that can take us to $10 million, but I’m not the guy who can take us to $20 million. That is going to be the next generation of people that have the juice and the drive and now they have a system.” Herewith are the people, rituals and objects that make up a day in the life of Scott Mosby:
8 AM
Scott rolls the trash to the curb.
Number of times Scott interrupts the BPI meeting with questions He raises his hand first, and often he stands up to point at something on the wall. Scott has a heavy attention to detail and a desire to get things right.
600 hours
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Change order essentials
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BETTER SELLING
Sales Alchemy
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A SALES MEETING | BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO A HISTORICAL ROWHOUSE remodelingm ag.com
Breakfast
One cup of cold-brewed coffee and a handful of multivitamins.
1.5 hours
Dose of economic outlook Scott watches CNBC, CNN and Fox News to get views on the economy. “As a business owner you have to be an economist. My team is counting on me to know what the waters look like. I worry about the economy so they can worry about their jobs and taking care of customers.” WWW.SBMON.COM
Your clients
h A proactive approac to client referrals
Brand Loyalty 2006 Volvo XC90 Scott and his wife both drive Volvos. The vehicles fit like hands in gloves in their hyperorganized pegboard-lined garage. Everything has a particular place.
8:30 AM Weekly business process improvement (BPI) meeting This is a way to understand what others do and to archive processes, managers and employees is a series of flowcharts and presentations using Right Touch. “This is a way to share that knowledge that a lot of people have in their heads,” says Scott. “If they were to leave, they would take all of that knowledge with them unless we get it on paper.”
Vision Statements Copious statements and values take up the walls. “Make a positive difference in people’s lives everyday” is Mosby’s vision.
9:10 AM Weekly sales and marketing meeting “We just went out and got it,” says Rich Layton, sales manager. He is referring to the company’s sales performance last month. He hands out a sheet with the numbers from the last month that has “No Turning Back” printed at the bottom. “That is our motto for the next month. We can’t let up. We should be a $1 million-per-month-in-sales type of company.”
Your team
Tips for working with interns
s Your project
Remodeling using s prefab module
cess for suc
2012
The estimated time it took the in-house IT guy to create Right Touch. “This is the first time that I have built something like this from scratch,” says Keith Slater, the in-house IT guy at Mosby Building Arts. “It was a big challenge, but I was excited to do it. We are still making updates and changes to it as we find new things that people want it to do.”
10:05 AM Interview with “Remodeling Magazine” on Pinterest Scott and Darrell McClanahan, COO of Mosby, are interviewed by Nina Patel, senior editor, on their use of Pinterest (an online photo bookmarking site) as a marketing tool. Mosby Building Arts has been active on the site since it became available and has trailblazed other social media efforts. “It is not a lead generator for us,” Darrell says to Nina. “We are not on social media to toot our own horn. Otherwise the efforts would backfire. What we use it for is a way to build the brand and create relationships.”
F E B R UA RY
6 AM Wake up Scott answers the door of his Glendale home in pajamas. Reading glasses his nose and iPad in hand, he immediately offers coffee. “Most of the time I am up by 4:30 a.m. I can get a jump on my day before everything starts. I check Right Touch to see my schedule and my goals.”
8
FEBRUARY
elingmag.c 2012 | www.remod
Scott graces the cover of the February issue of “Remodeling Magazine.” (kind of a big deal)
om
At least 60
The number of times Nina has interviewed Scott over 10 years. “Mosby is always ahead of the game,” says Nina. “He never stays still or stagnant. They are always on the cutting edge, ans there is always something that they are working on that is elevating the remodeling industry.”
Leading the industry
202,000
total visitors to the Mosby Building Arts website in 2011
79,000
visits in 2012 (Year to Date) “We are leaders in the remodeling industry when it comes to our online efforts,” says Darrell.
ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2012 21
COVER STORY
“I think CEOs should be hunting. It keeps you in touch with what the customers’ needs are, and you to relate to your employees on a peer level.”
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People in the company who use iPads. They have been given to managers and salespeople so they can access Right Touch in real time and make notes. 10:40 AM Managers meeting Darrell orchestrates the meeting. Within the last year, Darrell’s presence in the company has meant a great deal to Scott. Scott has been able to pass on many of the management and HR duties to him. Darrell and the managers rewrite the mission and vision statements for the company. The results will be revealed at the next quarterly companywide meeting.
0
Styrofoam cups at the Mosby offices “We are sustainable freaks around here,” says Scott, who was one of the founding members of the St. Louis chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. “It has less to do with the environment and more to do with sustainability. Why be wasteful? You shouldn’t overrun resources. It is just not good practice.”
Lunch?
2
Handfuls of raw mixed nuts
1:35 PM Design meeting with a client Scott and his design team roll out a digital version of a new bathroom for Scott’s client. They present the client with three versions of the plan, and the client chooses components of each. When it comes time to show the costs associated, the client’s eyes widen. “We don’t work like typical remodeling firms,” says Scott. “We would rather shock you up front, so that way there are no surprises later.”
Inbox Management
50
Quarterly
Office Bookshelf “A Stake in the Outcome,” Jack Stack “Ready for Anything,” David Allen “Teambuilding That Gets Results,” Linda Eve Diamond & Harriet Diamond “The Fifth Discipline,” Peter Senge
How often Scott visits with his banker Scott and others in the company also regularly attend classes of Enterprise University, an educational resource for business owners offered by Enterprise Bank.
4 PM Visit from the banker Matt Sallaberry from Enterprise Bank is waiting for Scott in Darrell’s office. Darrell and Scott run through their sales and revenue projections using Right Touch. “You guys would be good mentors for our other construction clients,” says Matt. “Most of them are not projecting three months into the future.”
Number of peer advisory groups Scott belongs to These groups are where Scott says he learned about running his business by the numbers and a great deal about life balance. “Every business owner has a second mistress: his business,” he says. “We talk just as much about our personal lives as we do our businesses.”
emails received Leadership-by-the-numbers moment “Not one of these people here wakes up in the morning and says, ‘Gee, I can’t wait to go and work for Scott today,’” says Scott. “They have families to support. My responsibility is to provide a place they can do that and give them vision. The real-time numbers help them to see exactly where they are. The winners get it. I don’t need to motivate them.”
20
emails sent “During the day, I respond to a few urgent e-mails and handle the others early morning or in the evening after dinner at home,” says Scott. “I also monitor all website emails we receive, and I’m copied on emails from our how-to questions from our website.”
22 ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2012
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Dinner (only real meal of the day) Veal spiedini in red sauce and a glass of wine at Amici’s Restaurant in Kirkwood. Jim McInroy, partner at Amici’s, stops by the table to shake Scott’s hand. “I like to shop and dine at the local businesses. It’s the right thing to do,” Scott says.
Cups of post-dinner coffee
CEO’s sales role “I think CEOs should be hunting,” says Scott. “It keeps you in touch with what the customers’ needs are, and you to relate to your employees on a peer level.”
The next generation Scott’s two sons, now 24 and 22, are working toward a career with Mosby Building Arts. For now, they have created the Mosby Family Business Council. They meet regularly to discuss their vision for their family and the business.
I am the entrepreneur. I have been the guy that can take us to $10 million, but I’m not the guy who can take us to $20 million.
4
Scott (in the foreground) with his father, Sam Mosby, founder of Mosby Building Arts.
800
Episodes of the KMOX “Home Improvement Show” Scott’s voice is on the most-listened-to AM radio station from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday. “The show allows me to give first to others and answer questions,” says Scott. “It helped my rapport with the construction guys because I was able to show my experience.” (see the sidebar for more).
One regret “Many years ago, I did not terminate an office manager correctly. I did it the way that I had been advised to do it, but it was cold and corporate. It diminished the gratitude I had felt. It was out of line with our vision and who I am. I have never done it that way again.”
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The number of items Scott and Judy have crossed off their bucket list since the boys moved out. These included swimming with dolphins, taking a sailboat cruise and visiting the Cardinals’ spring training.
$1300
How much it cost Scott to buy Mosby Building Arts Sam Mosby, Scott’s father started the company in 1947. Himself a WWII veteran, Sam built homes for the scores of men returning from war all over the region. Scott purchased the company for the cost of a workman’s compensation credit in 1983.
7:50 PM Judy and Scott relax in the family room Scott explains how the marriage has been able to endure what he calls the second mistress of any business owner: the company. “We are really good friends,” he says. “I like her. I love her, of course, but I also like her.”
Countless
The number of beads and other paraderelated tchotchkes the Mosbys have stored in their son’s room from their trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
9:20 PM Bedtime Scott still keeps contractor hours. Up early and to bed early. “I usually run out of gas about this time,” he says.
BECOMING THE TRUSTED VOICE OF HOME IMPROVEMENT
M
ost people who’ve heard the name Scott Mosby, associate it with the KMOX “Home Improvement Show.” For 16 years, Scott has helped local residents who call in with questions that range from septic tank backups to roof leaks. The opportunity to be that on-air personality was one that Scott was a bit surprised to receive. His name along with six others was given to KMOX as a possible radio host, and, after a brief phone interview, Scott did not hear from the radio station for months. Then, late one evening in 1996, he received a fateful phone call. They asked if he would be willing to go on the air...the next day. “It was probably good that they gave me no notice, so I couldn’t get nervous about it,” says Scott. The show has become the company’s second-largest source of referrals right behind repeat customers. Since the program broadcasts every Saturday morning from 11 AM to 2PM, it has made Scott’s voice the local authority on home improvement and remodelling. Several years after Scott began hosting the program, it shifted the focus of their work to repair (which now accounts for 40% of the company’s revenues) as opposed to design-build work. However, as much as it has been a marketing win for Mosby, it has also forced more accountability for both Scott and the company. “It has forced us to be accountable as an organization,” says Scott. “Our customer has the expectation that every person’s expertise will match mine. So, we have had to step up our training to make sure that we are consistent between what I say and what we do.”
ST. LOUIS SMALL BUSINESS MONTHLY / may 2012 23
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