Photo by Erin Nelson.
Robert Fry, left, general contractor with Fry Construction, talks with Virginia Kranzusch, Sarah Stewart and Jenny Lou Gaylard, construction consultants with Sarah Stewart Consulting, at a home site on Country Club Boulevard in Mountain Brook on Jan. 9.
An unforeseen opportunity during an extensive home renovation led former event planner Sarah Stewart to find a natural role in consulting.
As a person who values details, Stewart realized throughout the renovation process that she could provide a more elevated client experience to others.
“Details make things stand out, and details make the biggest impact,” she said.
From years of event planning, Stewart’s experience lended itself well to the role of construction and consulting — using her skills to help her clients save time and money as they customize their dream home.
In 2018, Sarah Stewart Consulting (SSC) was born. SSC understands that building a dream home is an overwhelming experience with many phases and designs to consider, but with a “personal concierge in the home-building process” that burden can be lifted off of them.
“SSC is here to hold the hand of homeowners when they are nervous about a home project,” Stewart said. “We are their advocates and are trying to give them the best experiences of building a home.”
Stewart’s business acumen relies on client transparency, clear communication and scheduled management. With her team, she can work effectively with the architect, contractor and homeowner to make sure the needs for the project, schedule and budgets are met.
Stewart wears many hats in her position. In any given situation, she could be a mix of concierge, translator, educator and advocate. It is simply part of the client services that she provides.
“With an elevated client experience, the client at SSC will come first,” she said. “Our team reads the situation, asks questions on clients’ behalf, finds out if the architect or contractor are responsible, and if money is involved. You don’t know what you don’t know. We might not know everything, but we know enough based on our experience.”
Building a meaningful relationship with SSC begins with an online inquiry, where the team learns what is important to the homeowner, the scope of the project and their style, budget and timelines. In addition, there are other options to consider, like what teams would work best with each homeowner through interviews. SSC can guide homeowners to the best course of action to narrow down options for their specific needs and priorities.
The most common projects SSC manages are home renovations and new builds. However, in the beginning, Stewart acknowledged that assembling teams of architects, builders, contractors and designers were extremely popular assignments.
One of the biggest challenges for Stewart is the climate of construction and the expenses and schedules.
“There are so many things that are out of our control,” she said. “Trying to manage expectations coupled with managing different personalities is somewhat tricky. For example, when relaying negative information, like a price increase, it is often deflating to homeowners. No matter how hard we try to alleviate it with pre-planning — it still happens. We address front-end issues and other problems before they arise.”
Stewart’s best advice for prospective homeowners is to have a guide in building their dream home.
“Make a master scope of all the things you want — architect, designer,or builder,” Stewart said. “If something is not drawn, planned or detailed, then the builder will not price it. Any item that is not initially priced but is later included will also add to the timeline. Having the master scope is really important.”
The company’s success is based on its strong relationships with homeowners and the ability to offer special personalization and customization for clients’ dream homes. Stewart knows personal choice is a key value at SSC.
“In every single step, [people] have choices that will affect the aesthetic and functionality of their home over time,” she said.
For more information about Sarah Stewart Consulting and services offered, visit sarahstewartconsultingllc.com.
