Meet Dan Weidmann | Remodeling Contractor and Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dan Weidmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dan, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
As a business owner, I accept that risk management is a key component of my role within the company. Ultimately, someone has to make the decisions that guide the organization to either success or failure. While the outcome of those decisions have a direct impact on the livelihoods of my employees and their families, I believe that the biggest risk to my company is indecision in a time of crisis – large or small. As a result, I tend to act quickly in the face of adversity.

While it might be advantageous to gather as much information as possible before tackling a problem or challenge, I have seen too many companies fail as a result of delay. Indeed, the Great Recesision provided countless examples of this phenomenon. While 2007 was a banner year for my firm, our leading indicators foretold a dramatic change in direction for the company. Acting on this information, we quickly began making adjustments that allowed us to not only survive a two-thirds reduction in revenue over the next three years, but remain profitable evey year, while many remodeling companies simply ceased to exist.

By early 2014 we were back in growth mode, when the opportunity presented itself to expand our Atlanta based operations to the Lake Oconee area. Seeing this as a means to diversify our operations and provide more flexibility in the event of another downturn, we opened an office at the lake by year end. I made this decision despite significant opposition from fellow business owners in an industry peer group, in which we were members..

While our branch office was fruitful from the start, the potential risk associated with this endeavor reallly paid off in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. In Metro Atlanta, the crisiis led homeowners to put their remodeling plans on hold, while a large number of people began quarantining at Lake Oconee. With many lake homes quickly becoming primary residences, the result was a significant increase in workload at the branch. As other remodeling companies in Metro Atlanta dealt with the slow down, we were able to transfer people to the lake and keep our team fully engaged until the panic subsided..

Although the pandemic is behind us, there are new challenges facing our industry and small business in general. As such, we are already making changes to mitigate the risks. take advantage of potential opportunities and, by moving faster than our competitors, becoming an even bigger player in the marketplace. Stay tuned!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The best part of owning a design-build remodeling company is being part of the process that takes our clients from problem definition, through alternative design options, to a finished product that is custom tailored for their particular situation.

While there are a lot of remodeling companies in Atlanta that claim to be design-build firms, most of them rely on the homeowner to define the project, which they simply put on paper, and then bring to fruition. This is akin to a physician relying on the patient to diagnose their malady, so the doctor can simply write a prescription and provide a cure. While this may be appropriate for a simple project or common illness, I believe it is wholly inadequate in most cases. Indeed, by bringing all the knowledge and experiece we have gained over the past three decades to the design process, I believe Weidmann excels at providing unique and creative solutions to our clients.

The process is pretty straight forward. When a prospective client calls about a potential remodeling project, they typically begin with a detailed description of the changes they would like to make to their home, What they are actually doing is describing their proposed solution to a set of problems. If they are going to truly benefit from the expertise my design team offers, I want to know more about the specific problems they are trying to address, so we can provide options that may work better, look better, and/or cost less than anything they may have considered . If open to the discussion, we develop multiple plans, so they have alternatives to consider, as they guide us to the best solution for their home.

With a clear understanding that every project should reflect the personality of the homeowner, not my company, our designs are custom tailored to the personal aesthetic of the particular client, Moreover, we always try to incorporate something wholly unique into every job to differentiate it from anything else we have ever done. Whether this is a hidden room, a new product, a really novel use of space, or a retractable backsplash, it is this individualized approach to the design process that is the foundation of our success.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As a Baby Boomer living on the north side of town, the itinerary would include dinner and drinks on Canton Street in Roswell and Main Street in Alpharetta. The week would also include excursions to Dahlonega, Helen and Rock City. Depending on the time of year, a Falcons, Braves or Hawks game would be on the schedule, with a side trip to either the Georgia Acquarium or World of Coke. Finally, the week would not be complete without a visit to Lake Oconee and some time on the water.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Although he is no longer involved in the day-to-day activities of the company, I owe the bulk my success in the remodeling industry to my older brother, Bill, who founded the company 34 years ago. His mentorship over the past 28 years has been immeasurable. Even after taking over as President in 2005, I have continued to rely heavily on his sage advice as I continue to navigate the inevitable challenges associated with running a business,

Website: www.WeidmannRemodeling.com

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Linkedin: Dan Weidmann

Other: TikTok: @WeidmannRemodeling