Even if you don’t believe millennials are ready for the business of restoration, realize that they are already opening businesses and that many restorers are retiring. Consider millennials your peers and help the industry transition well into the future by helping them to succeed in business.

To pay homage to an eventful 2021 and help restorers ring in a prosperous 2022, R&R decided to go beyond the standard year-in-review piece. We asked leaders from across the industry to share what they consider strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. With those perspectives, we curated a comprehensive, long-form collection of restoration industry SWOT analyses for your exploration.

Remember, good is the enemy of great. You might pay little attention to accountability standards and still find a way to grow a good company. But especially at a time when customers and employees have more choices than ever, and margins continue to grow thinner, becoming a truly great company in the long term requires 100% accountability throughout your entire organization, Scott Severe writes.

We asked restoration industry professionals to answer one question as we close out the year: What is your biggest takeaway from 2021?

Bart Meador is vice president of operations, residential storm, with PuroClean. His division specializes in mobilizing teams following CAT events. Here, he shares the experience of over 50 PuroClean franchises responding to Hurricane Ida devastation. 

The motivation paradigm is described as the reasons we do the things we do in the manner we do them. Over the years, I have taken the position that money does not motivate, nor is it necessarily an effective tool that creates desired outcomes. Appreciation ranks higher than money, believe it or not, when it comes to motivation, Lisa Lavender writes.

Les Cunningham shares 13 reflections and predictions for restoration business owners to consider as they plan for 2022, from working with TPAs, to increasing labor and material prices, to COVID-19 effects.

I get it, Chris White writes. People don’t like to change. However, the technology that is available today makes it unacceptable to use old-school methods. There’s a threshold beyond which a reluctance to grow and change is no longer a neutral choice or a matter of quirky personal preference. It’s irresponsible and, simply, bad business.

Through Field Notes, we look forward to sharing the stories of the industry’s most driven, engaged and innovative technicians. We are eager to consistently shed light on their ideas, pain points, motivators, paths to restoration and more. In doing so, we hope to help shrink the gap between C-suite and frontline. We hope to help give these unsung heroes a real seat at the proverbial table and a stronger voice in the future of the industry.