Choosing a Floor Plan for Your Home

A floor plan is one of the most important features of a home. Choosing one is a significant decision that shouldn't be made without careful consideration. Although the layout of the rooms and their flow will most likely depend on your personal sense of style, there are other factors to keep in mind. Here are some things to take into account when selecting a plan. 

Family size and age of children
The size of your family is important since you want to make sure there are enough bedrooms and bathrooms, but don't forget about shared areas like the kitchen, family room, and hallways. If you have young children, you may prefer having bedrooms closer to each other and/or on the same level. Families with teenagers and young adults may prefer rooms that are more spaced out and possibly on different levels. 

Accessibility needs
You want everything in your home to flow naturally and fit perfectly. With that in mind, you'll need to consider the spacing and distance between certain areas for convenience reasons. For example, how close will the bathroom be to your bedroom? Where will the kitchen be located in relation to the front door for when you come in with groceries? You don't want to do more walking than you have to. Also, take where the stairs are located into account, as well as how much walking you'll have to do to get to different parts of the home. 

Your lifestyle
Are you more traditional or modern? Every homeowner has their own lifestyle and wants to give their home its own personal feel. Choose a floor plan that suits your needs and aesthetic tastes. Also, remember to create space for your furnishings and decorations, as you will want to place these throughout your home.

Use your old home as a guide
Using your previous floor plan as a guide is a great way to find a new one that will work for you. What did you like and not like about your last arrangement? Did your last bathroom not come with a closet? Was your last hallway so narrow that if it got any thinner, you'd have to turn sideways to fit? Make a list of what you did and didn't like and use it to design your new floor.

While you may be ready and eager to come up with your floor plan, you should always have a budget so that you don't go overboard with spending. See what options are available that fit your income and allow you to choose a floor plan that you like. Also, speak to a design professional and get their advice. As a family owned and operated business established by Lizzio Development Group, CustomSmart Homes offers a team of highly skilled and experienced experts to help you choose a floor plan that you will enjoy for years to come.

Tips On Enticing Customers To Write Reviews

Positive reviews can make or break your business, and in today's world reviews play an even bigger role for your potential customer base.  Lizzio Development Group reviews are positive and abundant, but some other businesses aren't as lucky.  A lack of reviews for your business can make it almost invisible in the eyes of the public, so you need to try to get the customers that you already have to share their opinions.  If you want to get more reviews for your business, try following these tips.

Ask a happy customer

Do you have a repeat customer that always sings your business' praises?  Did you recently help a customer with a problem that had been troubling them?  Happy customers are the exact kind of people you want writing your reviews, and when you have someone who is happy with your products and services you should encourage them to write the review. You don't have to make them any lofty promises or go with a gimmick, simply tell them that you're happy that you could help them and that a positive review would be appreciated. 

Use social media

If your company has an account with Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or another social media site you could be using your account to help get good reviews.  Plan to do a free giveaway in exchange for positive reviews.  A simple status that says something along the lines of "Leave us a review, once we get 10 reviews we'll be giving away something for free" can be enough to entice people to write a review.  It doesn't have to be something expensive, a free t-shirt or a gift card can be enough to attract people.

Incorporate review requests into communications

Sometimes all people need to get motivated to write a review is a friendly reminder.  If your customers are part of an e-mail newsletter, put a few sentences at the bottom of each email you send that kindly asks customers for reviews.  Put a few links on your website that direct them to a contact us form so your customers can easily submit a review.  A gentle reminder that you need and appreciate reviews can be all you need to get them.

Three Tips For Running A Successful Family Business

What do Comcast, News Corp, and Cargill all have in common?  They’re all successful corporations, and they’re all family owned businesses.  Lizzio Development Group was built on the backs of three generations of Lizzios, so we know what it takes to make a successful family business.  Running a family business is appealing to a lot of people, but they shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that running a family business is easy.  If you’re interested in running a family business, or if you run one that could use some improvement, remember to keep these tips in mind

Don’t be afraid of conflict

Some family businesses end up failing because family members never felt comfortable bringing up business problems to other employees.  Conflict is going to happen in any business, and you can’t be afraid to confront problems head on.  If the thought of telling your cousin that their work has been sub-par, you shouldn’t be running a family business.

Keep work and home separate

Telling someone with a family owned business to keep their home and work lives separate may seem strange, but if you want to run a successful family business you’ll need to learn to separate the two.   Don’t bring work problems to family dinners, and don’t bring up family conflicts at work.  If you can’t learn how to keep the two separate, you’ll start to feel stressed about the wrong things at the wrong time.  As long as you can leave your personal family problems at home, you’ll be able to run a good business.

Only hire skilled family members

This may be the most difficult rule for people to follow since it can be hard to leave certain family members out of the business.  Having a family owned business doesn’t mean that you have to hire every single family member; you should only hire family members you know can do the job.  There’s nothing wrong with hiring your accountant cousin to handle finances, and it’s a wise business decision to not let your uncle with a terrible work ethic join your company.

Three Essential Questions To Ask Before Starting A Family Business

Lizzio Development Group was built by three generations of the Lizzio family.  It took decades of hard work and determination to get to where we are today, so we know a few things about what it takes to run a successful family business.  A lot of people assume that running a family business will be easy, but managing a business with a family member can be trickier than it looks.  If you're thinking about starting a business with your family, make sure to ask yourself these questions.

Am I only doing this to follow a dream?

Too many people make the mistake of viewing a family business as something fun since it's always been their dream to have one.  You can have "fun" when you run your business, but succeeding should be your top priority.  It may have always been your dream to open a pizza shop in your hometown with your family, but if your hometown already has five different pizzerias your business won't do well. There's nothing wrong with following your dreams, but if your dreams could put you and your family in financial jeopardy it isn't worth it.

Do my family members want to be a part of this business?

It isn't uncommon for people to plan to have their family members help them out on business ventures before they actually see if their family members want to be a part of it.  Don't plan on having your family members work in your business before you see how they feel about it.  They may not be interested in helping you out, or they may simply not have the time to devote to a starting a business.

Can I manage my family members?

Managing your family members won't be like managing employees you aren't related to.  Some family members may resent having to take orders from you, and you may feel awkward brining work matters up because you don't want to upset them.