WESTSIDE HBA MISSION STATEMENT "WE ARE A PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATION COMPRISED OF BUILDING INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WORKING TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF SENSIBLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND QUALITY CONSTRUCTION/DEVELOPMENT."
NATIONAL GREEN BUILD CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Westside Home Builder Associations has adopted NAHB's National Green Program.  Click on the link below for information. NAHB GREEN LINK
WHY BE A MEMBER OF WHBA? Click on the link below for the answer. WHY BE A MEMBER LINK
IMPORTANT!!! CEU CREDITS UPDATE "A BUILDER LICENSE REQUIREMENT" Many Georgia Licensed Builders may not be aware that there is a 3 hour per year CEU requirement for Residential Contractors and a 6 hour per year CEU requirement for Residential Light Commercial and Commercial Contractors.  To qualify to renew your license on July 1, 2012, you will have to have completed the appropriate requirement applicable for only one year since the details were not finalized until November of 2010.    Even if your license is in INACTIVE STATUS, you must keep up your CEU.  NOTE: If you wait until you ACTIVATE your license and you do not have the CEU hours required, you may not be able to do so. . Either as a part of or immediately following the General Membership Meetings, Westside HBA offers programs that will assist you in obtaining the Continuing Education Units required to maintain your Builder License.  Sessions will qualify for a minimum of .5 CEU Hours.  CEU qualified programs will be offered AT NO CHARGE to members of WHBA.  Non-members will be charged $25 per 0.5 hour issued. CEU - RESERVATIONS PLEASE
CEU Credit Traning Program Schedule Up To 4 CEU Credit Workshop - May 30, 2012 (9:00-Noon) WHBA will be holding a series of workshops that will allow contractors to earn up to 4.0 CEU prior to the renewal of their Contractor Licenses July 1st.  The workshops will be held beginning at 8:00 AM and ending at Noon.  Participants will be able to select the workshops they want to attend in order to meet their CEU requirement.  These sessions will be offered at no charge to WHBA members.  Non WHBA members will be charged $25 per 1/2 hour earned. Specific location and topics will be posted when finalized.  Advance Registration will be required so we can plan accordingly.  To reserve a space, click on the link below and we will insure that you are updated as plans are finalized. CEU Workshop Reservation Link
A B C's of Being Your Own General Contractor Thinking about it…. It is the American Dream to own your own home… and many people think they will save an enormous amount of money by building their own. This could be a costly mistake financially, emotionally, and physically. Many aspects need to be considered and the purpose of this article is to help you think about avoiding some of the pitfalls and what you can do to make this a successful undertaking. There are several questions you will need to answer.  Ask yourself… Do I really have time to undertake a project so time consuming? Is it worth the time? How stressful will it be on my family? Do I really have the skills to build a home properly? Do I have the correct tolls for those jobs I plan to do? If not, how much money will I spend on those tools?  Will I use them again once the home is completed? Your home is the single largest investment you will make in your lifetime. Do you have the expertise to make sure this home will last you a lifetime? If you are overwhelmed after reading this information, call the Westside HBA office at (678) 715-0904. For The Full Article Click Here
SPRING SKEET SHOOT Saturday, May 19, 2012 Please click on the link below for additional information and a registration form.  You may also pay online by credit card at this site or click on the "Pay Online" link at the top right of this website. CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION FORM
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP BENIFIT How can I derive valuable benefits, that will help me with a return on my HBA investment, from joining and participating on a committee?" Keep in mind that we will answer this question by focusing on associates working with other associates. The value of working with builders on committees is in the article I asked you to read. Here are some guiding points that I believe will help you understand. :    1. You will meet, and work with, other associates who are from different building industry disciplines but share a common interest with you; current book of business and gaining opportunities to do additional business with builders, or other associate members. This is the start of building your social capital.    2. By growing your social capital you will be actually increasing your sales efforts. "How?" Imagine how much time and effort it takes to perform the dreaded cold call. Once you figure out the gate keeper, which could be a person or the hated voice-mail, and you have direct contact with the potential customer, you then need to convince the them to meet with you. They may very well have an existing and established relationship with your competitor(s). 67% of all cold calls take 10 months or longer to deliver business. 10 months OR LONGER. How much is that worth to you in dollars spent with regards to time and lost commissions? Developing friendships through committee involvement could help you shave off months of time because those other associates may have relationships already with your targeted potential accounts. Instead of a cold call you are personally introduced to, in most cases, the decision maker by the associates you work with at the HBA. The laws of reciprocity always apply, make sure this is a two-way street. Other advantages of utilizing other associates would also include gaining knowledge of builder job starts/projections, volume of associate company's sales and if the builder/associate is a solid account.    3. This also applies to building relationships with the HBA executive officers. These professionals are at the forefront of our industry, know the business-active builders, as well as associates, and most likely can help with introductions. Again, reciprocity; the EO will be more inclined to help those who help the HBA. It's only human nature but mutually beneficial.