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On BuildDirect Partnering with Debbie Travis

June 1, 2010 By Jeff Booth 3 Comments
Debbie Travis

For the past few months, we've been talking with respected designer and entrepreneur Debbie Travis about how we can add value to each other's efforts.  And today, we're very proud to announce that Debbie and BuildDirect have banded together to make buying building materials easy, fun, and convenient for our customers. Debbie  is recognized internationally as an interior design industry leader, featured on Oprah Winfrey, Regis & Kelly, and is the author of eight best selling books about interior … [Read more...]

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Growth Conference

October 19, 2009 By Jeff Booth Leave a Comment

I'm leaving today for Verne Harnish's Annual growth conference.  It's always a great event but this year looks fantastic. The theme this year is how smart companies are taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime economic opportunity.  It's expected that more market share will change hands in the next twelve to eighteen months than did in the last several decades. I'm also  looking forward to meeting Jim Collins, who wrote Built to Last, and Good to Great. … [Read more...]

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Inside the Mind of a Shopper

September 16, 2009 By Jeff Booth 1 Comment

I recently finished reading a fascinating book called "Inside the mind of a shopper" by Herb Sorensen. Sorensen is a leader in the field of following what a shopper actually does in a store, instead of relying on shopper comments. From that perspective, he makes a compelling case to change retail marketing strategies from a traditional “product-centric” perspective to a new “shopper-centric” focus. One great example of his research is a supermarket that puts milk at the back of the store, … [Read more...]

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Innovative way to ¨Advertise¨

July 7, 2009 By Jeff Booth Leave a Comment

I wanted to share the video below because I thought it shows what is possible by allowing users to contribute content and engage with a brand.  Century 21 created a "contest" where others could unleash their creativity and talents. My feelings are that they achieved two main objectives by using this strategy. 1) They reduced the cost of content. (Imagine what they would normally pay for "professional" videos) 2) Instead of advertising to their audience, they invited their audience to participate. (Think … [Read more...]

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What is the secret?

June 15, 2009 By Jeff Booth Leave a Comment

I thought I would share a recent email I sent to my team here at BuildDirect. I wanted to tell you a story of an experience I had last night with one of the local developers in town because it really highlights the type of organization and people we have at BuildDirect. At the Ideas on Tap event, Peter Kefalas of Ethos Developments and Bellaliving.ca came up to me and asked me what my secret was to hiring such a great team. He shared some of his experiences with Jamie B, Marc, Rona, Kailey, and … [Read more...]

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Choosing the right partners

June 2, 2009 By Jeff Booth Leave a Comment

BuildDirect just finished an executive search where we were looking for a senior leader to help build out our supply chain. After determining exactly the type of person we were looking for, it was time to hire a recruiting firm that we felt could best 1) attract the best candidates, 2) communicate our message effectively. I interviewed 4 different firms to determine who I thought would be the best fit for our needs. I was satisfied with all of them with respect to their databases or types … [Read more...]

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Our Social Media Strategy

April 30, 2009 By Jeff Booth 4 Comments

Why I believe we are having success using social media? We do not use social media as a sales channel and we do not use social media as an advertising channel. I believe that our success from social media is a result of amplifying who we are, what we are about and engaging with others. I am sure that social media helps develop our brand and helps our sales but these things are a by-product of being authentic in our messages and attracting the type of people who care about the same things that … [Read more...]

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Your Employees, Your Customers and Your Products

March 18, 2009 By Jeff Booth 12 Comments

I love this Jack Welch quote from a recent Financial times article on the future of Capitalism. "On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.  Shareholder value is a result, not a strategy...your main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products." This is a key point.  Shareholder value happens when the other things are done right. A business wins as a result of creating truly engaged customers.  Customers who are raving fans of the business … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Point of View, Transparency Tagged With: , , ,

Welcome Robbie Banks!

January 22, 2009 By Jeff Booth Leave a Comment

Robert Banks, my friend of over 20 years and co-founder of BuildDirect has recently joined the blogosphere. His role at BuildDirect has him travelling all over the world to develop really strong manufacturing relationships. He is a great story teller and  has some very interesting experiences. Also a really funny guy!!!!  Definitely worth following! Bookmark his blog at http://blog.builddirect.com/buildingmaterialsprocurement/ … [Read more...]

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Our Big Hairy Audacious Goal

January 19, 2009 By Jeff Booth 2 Comments

I recently spoke at a technology event hosted by www.BCTIA.com where I talked about www.BuildDirect.com, the challenges we have overcome while building the company, and where I thought we were heading.  I am extremely proud of our people, our journey and the company we have built, but I told the audience that I believed it was only the beginning.   I went on to tell them that as far as I was concerned, we were going to build a world class company that will transform the building industry, … [Read more...]

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