Andy Byrnes, Custom Home’s 2012 Custom Builder of the Year, is an architect and a custom builder who primarily works for other architects. His firm, the Construction Zone, was getting the best jobs in Phoenix when the housing bubble burst. Instead of waiting it out, Byrnes got out of town and started building custom houses around the country. This innovative thinking and brave business model is the topic of his Directions Virtual Conference session. Byrnes is joined by project manager Matt Muller, who helped launch and currently manages the out-of-state business enterprise, as the two discuss the how and why behind building outside their home base.Byrnes shares what happened to his business when the economy and housing market crashed and how that led to seeking jobs outside of Arizona. He and Muller also break down how they handle remote job management, the bidding process, hiring subs, maintaining relationships with homeowners, and other logistics. In addition to Byrnes’ course, Directions offers three other sessions. Architect and presidential appointee on accessible design Karen L. Braitmayer discusses why universal design is so important and reviews design and construction fundamentals for creating an accessible place to live. Builder technology expert Joe Stoddard takes you through the necessary steps to streamline office systems by using technology such as Cloud-based computing. Today’s technology also can help with marketing your business, and Andrew van Leeuwen, founder of design/build firm BUILD LLC, explains how his company used social media to grow its client-base and bottom line. There is no charge for any of the sessions.
