Brett Lawton is CEO of Lawton Construction & Restoration, located in Newcastle, Calif. The family-owned, second generation business has grown substantially since Lawton became CEO in 2006. In this interview, Lawton talks about scaling, growing as a leader and finding the company’s niche as a mid-sized service provider in a competitive, increasingly consolidated market. He also discusses offering general construction and restoration services, and the value of an executive team.

Mili Washington, standards director with the IICRC, joins us to provide a 101 on industry standards. She discusses their importance, the value of ANSI accreditation, the rigorous and lengthy process of developing a new standard, the business case for embracing IICRC standards, and advice on implementing standards within your restoration or cleaning business. She shares a highlight reel of IICRC standards in the works.

Brandon Donatelli, chief revenue officer with HOMEE, has amassed a great deal of useful knowledge as a fellow restoration contractor, a technology vendor, an insurance side vendor and a firefighter. Before joining HOMEE this January, he worked with CoreLogic, Next Gear Solutions and Matterport. Adopting new technology happens to be a top challenge among restorers, so we invited Donatelli to provide insights on the state of technology in the restoration industry. He covers common tech pain points, how to address them, and key themes within the digital solutions realm, now and on the horizon. 

What exactly is bioterrorism, and what does it have to do with cleaning and restoration? Bioterrorism expert Dr. George Buck, Jeff Jones of the Microbial Warrior Experience, Jim Thompson of Jim Thompson & Co., and Larry Cooper of Experience events join us for a panel discussion on the role of cleaning and restoration pros in bioterrorism response. They highlight the threats we face, potential approaches for responding and effective products for treatment. More than anything, they highlight the importance of training more forensic operators. This will be the focus of two keynote presentations at the 2022 Experience Conference & Exhibition, taking place April 6-8 in Cincinnati.

With CAT season coming soon, we invited Avelina Lamb, owner of PuroClean of Chandler, to discuss her franchise’s approach to growing CAT restoration services since its opening in 2018. She shares advice based on work in Louisiana following Hurricane Ida, as well as fire and smoke damage projects in Colorado following recent wildfires. Lamb covers proper preparation, adapting to the cultures of local customers, working with insurance adjusters, collaborating with fellow franchises and more. She also offers advice to women looking to advance in the restoration industry and talks about how running a restoration business compares to her experience running a surgery practice and real estate business.

The beginning of April 2022 is upon us, which means it is Women in Restoration Award winner reveal season. In conjunction with our seventh annual campaign celebrating leading women in this male-dominated industry, we asked all six of the past winners, from 2016 through 2021, to answer one question: To what do you attribute your success? (Check back in next week for an interview with the winner of the 2022 Women in Restoration Award!)

Kustom US, a privately held restoration and remediation company headquartered in Florida, has grown exponentially since 2000 by streamlining operations, acquiring new businesses and embracing a people-centered strategy. In this episode of Ask the Expert, Andrew Zavodney, chairman of the board and CEO, talks about Kustom’s investment in company culture, employee value proposition, corporate governance, M&A due diligence, transparency, accountability and scaling without private equity. He also discusses his role as vice president of the Restoration Industry Association and consolidation as a key industry trend.