Page 22 - Demo

22 | September 2022
Slippery Rock Gazette
position, gently tuck your chin as if you are making a double chin. Make sure your nose and chin are facing for- ward, not downward. Hold this position for 5 seconds. Repeat for 30 repetitions.
2. Scapular Retraction:
Start in a upright sitting position. Tighten the mus- cles between your shoulder blades and gently squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold this position for 5 seconds and repeat 30 times.
3. Pectoralis Stretch:
Place one hand onto a door frame, up to your shoulder level. Slowly lean forward until you feel a stretch along your chest. Hold this stretch for 30 sec- onds and repeat 3 times on each side.
4. Foam Rolling Series:
For upper back mobil- ity and anterior shoulder mobility.
schedules based on prior demand, the building companies that will still be operating in 2023 will stay close to their financials, recalcu- lating their costs every 30 days.
To find out more about the state of the residential construction industry, a free PDF of the report can be downloaded at https:// go.associationofprofessional- builders.com/sorci-download.
Texting: What a Pain
Survey Indicates Positive Outlook for Homebuilder Market Despite Recession
The Association of Professional Builders (APB), a leading business coaching service for custom home builders, with members in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, today provided addi- tional insights on the homebuilder market in light of a possible recession that U.S. economists are predicting. While construction material costs, labor shortages, and other pandemic implica- tions have arisen, the association remains optimistic about residen- tial homebuilders’ businesses – provided that they know how to prepare for a possible recession.
Recently, APB released find- ings from its annual 2022 State of Residential Construction Industry (SORCI) Report. The report, compiled annually, sur- veyed more than 700 builders from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and
was sponsored by Buildertrend, CBUSA, Buildxact, Xact Accounting and Builda Price. Key findings concluded that 68.9% of U.S. homebuilders focus on new construction and take on approx- imately 13 projects per calendar year.
“Smart builders must factor in extended lead times, mate- rial price increases, and labor shortages. These factors are all combining to erode what lit- tle margins builders have left in their projects,” said Russ Stephens, Co-Founder of APB.
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Treating this malady is almost the same as text neck syndrome. Phone breaks, OTC anti-inflam- matory, ice then heat, and thumb strengthening exercises. You can also purchase a thumb brace to immobilize your thumb and its joints.
The best way to prevent text thumb is to let your cell phone do the work. Smart phones have a texting feature that lets you speak your texts instead of typ- ing. Dr. Melody Mathews, DC and medical instructor, says there is a direct link between text neck syndrome and texting thumb. If you have one, you are probably on your way to getting the other, if you don’t have both already. Prevention is the first course of action but if symptoms do arise, try to address them at the first sign of trouble so your condi- tion doesn’t become serious or chronic.
“The residential home builders who will continue to succeed are the ones that have a good under- standing of their financials; this includes protecting their profit margins with at least a 25% gross margin.”
The 2022 SORCI Report indi- cated that the benchmark for fixed expenses is approximately 15% of the company’s annual sales for those building com- panies with over $3 million in annual revenue. 55% of the home builders surveyed also projected marking up their jobs by 25% or more based on their profitabil- ity in 2022. More than 50% (56.6 percent) of U.S. builders noted that they monitor their gross mar- gins on jobs every month.
Optimistically, 46.7% of the residential home builders sur- veyed indicated that they are on track to earn more money this year, surpassing $120,000 in annual salary, also with 52.7% of their jobs completed on budget.
Everybody sends and receives multiple texts a day, even kids. It’s a great tool that helps us in our everyday lives both profession- ally and personally. The key is to do it in a proper, safe and healthy manor. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is to put the phone down and talk face to face?
Please send your thoughts on this article to Sharon Koehler at Sharonk.SRG@gmail.com .
Exercises for Text Neck Syndrome
Listed below are some exercises that could pre- vent text neck syndrome. These exercises should not increase pain. If your pain increases, then stop and contact your health- care provider or physical therapist.
1. Chin tuck:
Start in a upright sitting
APB predicts that with demand now starting to reduce for home builders in the U.S., it’s imper- ative that builders address how they are marketing their business before it’s too late.
“Sales have been relatively easy for builders to achieve over the past two years due to unprece- dented demand which has led to a reduction in marketing activ- ity for most building compa- nies,” said Stephens. “However, as demand softens, it’s important that companies factor in the long sales cycle in the industry. This means they need to be generating opportunities right now in order to still be signing contracts in 6 to 12 months time.”
The right understanding of the company’s operating costs, both fixed and variable, accounting for lead times, taking on specific jobs that don’t stretch the com- pany too thin, and marking up jobs correctly to account for the materials and labor market, are all critical with a possible recession looming. As some of the jobs the homebuildersarecompletingare already booked out with a more than 18-month lead time in their
46.7% of the residential home builders surveyed
indicated that they are on track to earn more money this year
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— John Glenn