out basement suites, and, as he puts it, “learning the industry from the ground up.” After studying Construction Engineering Technology and a stint as a carpenter in minus-30 winters, he moved to Australia, earned local qualifications, and began running crews. A pivotal lesson arrived on a residential job for an architect: “You do good work, but you need to get more work done.” Translation—build teams, build systems, and manage. Stroud later bought a G.J. Gardner Homes franchise, poured every dollar into it, and leaned into what set him apart: customer service. “I found that the way to move forward was to out-communicate—to make the experience feel controlled and considered.” In his fifth year, he held 25% market share in his territory and won Franchisee of the Year. But the relationship frayed over “too many ideas,” and in 2011 he founded Stroud Homes. The early days were brutal. Agents said they’d only work with established names.A banker feared for his mortgage. Fast-forward: in the latest Queensland Top 50 list, Stroud Homes ranks in 9th place up from 15, and by James’s estimate, is “doubling the volume of our old franchise competitor” in the state. Nationally, Stroud placed number forty-four in the HIA Top 100 last year and has grown since. A BRAND BUILT ON COMMUNICATION (NOT SLOGANS) Most builders say communication matters; Stroud turned it into process that include: • Friday call rule: After 2:30 p.m. every Friday, site managers and contract admins stop operations and call every client. Three prompts: what happened last week; what’s happening next week; what’s not going to plan. • A weekly pulse survey: By 5–6 p.m., each of 800 active clients receives a 1–5 “how are you feeling?” check-in by text/email—plus open feedback. “You can’t build 800 homes without the occasional issue,” James says. “We want to hear it weekly, not read it online later.” It sounds simple. It isn’t.The cadence requires teams to be ahead on scheduling and documentation— 27 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 10 STROUD HOMES
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