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It’s an uncertain time for businesses locally and worldwide, and in the construction and home improvement industry, that uncertainty can be especially challenging.
Though Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s Executive Order 53 deems home improvement and related businesses “essential,” meaning they may continue to operate, that doesn’t mean all clients or contractors feel safe.
“Some of our clients want their projects to be done as soon as possible and others are willing to wait,” said Rabin Al-Aawar, owner of Richmond Area Renovation. “Right now we only have about 25 percent of our clients that want us to keep working, but I don’t know what will happen.”
Al-Aawar isn’t alone in not knowing what to expect. These are confusing times for customers and contractors alike.
“[W]hen you're remodeling a kitchen or bathroom you're in the same room with the other people,” said Andrew Jones, owner and operator of James River Remodeling. “We work with small crews so there's going to be a few people in a small room. We're also touching the same tools, touching the same things.
“We're in clients’ homes so much that a lot of times our clients call us a family member because we are in their homes every day, and we're there all day. We use their restrooms. We are coming and going through the front door to get supplies and tools. We’re living with them basically. So this [stay-at-home] environment is difficult for us. Many of our clients are telling us they would rather us to hold off, which I fully understand.”
Only half of the local construction firms contacted to ask about how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered their business were willing to talk. Calls and email to Apex Construction Solutions, which specializes in residential construction, and KBS, which skews more toward commercial projects like the new Westmont at Short Pump retirement community being erected at the corner of Gayton and Pouncey Tract Roads, went unanswered.
Owners of the smaller firms, however, were more open about the obstacles they’re facing. In order for their businesses to survive this economic blindside, they are devising creative ways to maintain cash flow.
Al-Aawar began offering a 30 percent discount for customers, which has kept his client base from disappearing.
For Jones, it was more personal. He has two employees, one of whom has three children, so he felt obligated to do whatever he could to keep the paychecks coming. In the short term, he gave his workers their summer paid vacation last month to offset having to stay at home. Next, Jones is going to become a customer of his own company, paying his employees to handle work on his property that was due for attention.
The next step for Jones just might be tweaking his business plan.
“It’s a dire situation,” said Jones, who founded James River Remodeling in 2008 during the housing crisis, which gave him experience with finding creative answers to difficult situations. “The company is small enough that we could survive several months but. . . we may have to change what kinds of projects we take on, like more exterior projects.
“There's plenty of need. We're getting plenty of phone calls. They want us to do the work, but I cannot understand someone taking on a month-long project at this time when the stock market could collapse. So we'll see. This is definitely a waiting game.”
