Dennis Oz: Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Remodeler Success Podcast, where we feature the leaders who are solving real problems in the remodeling world and building businesses that stand out.
So, why I’m so excited today is—today’s guest brings over decades of experience across sales, design, and also project management.
She has worked with nationally recognized brands, also high-performing teams, and now runs a Pittsburgh-based remodeling company that’s earned a reputation for taking the jobs that other contractors say can’t be done.

So we’re going to talk about these projects too—it’s a really interesting part of today’s session.
And with all this practical, creative, and fully hands-on experience, we’ll be talking about client relationships and project execution today.

Please welcome to the show, Elizabeth—Elizabeth Sable.

Elizabeth Sable: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Dennis Oz: Oh, great. Elizabeth, before we dive into the questions, could you please introduce yourself a little bit to our listeners?

Elizabeth Sable: Sure. My name’s Elizabeth Sable. I own Action Builders, which is a design-build firm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We do only residential projects.
My background is in interior design—that’s what I went to school for—but through the years I’ve definitely honed my sales and project management skills.
I love residential design. I love working directly with the people who are impacted by my designs.
And I think that people who enjoy what they do are the most successful, and so I’m just happy to say that I enjoy what I do.

Dennis Oz: Great, this is perfect.
Elizabeth, when we start asking questions to our guest speakers here, we always try to focus a little more on the early career stages in the beginning.
So I know that you’ve worn so many hats in your career—it could be sales, project management, and now owning Action Builders in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I’m sure that you have some core lessons from your early roles that still guide how you run your business today.
Could you please talk about those experiences?

Elizabeth Sable: Sure. That’s actually one of the phrases I say to people:
When I was in college, I worked at a pizza shop, and I joke that everything I’ve learned in life I learned at the pizza shop—
Which isn’t totally true. I’ve learned a lot of other things in life.

But the pizza shop taught me the basics of customer management, customer happiness, working with the general public.
I also had a really great mentor in the owner, and he taught me some great management skills.
He also taught me basic things like—when you’re on the phone with someone, make sure they can hear your smile.

That was during my college days.
After that, I dabbled in some real estate, which I do think is useful in my career with Action Builders now—just understanding the residential real estate market.
I sold real estate for a while.

Then I did hotel design and project management for large chain hotels.
I worked for a company in Pittsburgh that handled the design and supply of basically everything you see in a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn—those types of properties.
That job taught me how to manage 10,000 things going in different directions.

And I also worked with some really intense customers—hotel owners who had millions of dollars on the line and were very emotionally charged, for obvious reasons.
I was really young in that position, but I was dealing directly with the owners in a project management role.
I loved it, but it was definitely stressful.
I truly think it prepared me for the emotions that come with working with homeowners during remodeling—especially with the more intense projects that Action Builders takes on.

I also spent a couple of years in sales for wall coverings and fabrics.
Then I joined Action Builders in 2012.

Dennis Oz: This is amazing.
For Action Builders, I’d like to talk a little more—just like I mentioned in the introduction—there are some challenging projects that other companies turn down.
Maybe they say, “Oh, we can’t do this.”
I wanted to talk about these complex projects that you’ve completed—maybe some of the most recent ones.
How do you and your team navigate those hurdles?
Could you give us some examples of recent projects?

Elizabeth Sable: Sure. I’ll give some general examples of challenges we’ve faced.

Structurally, I think that’s the biggest area where Action Builders excels.
A lot of our projects are addition projects or large interior renovations.
And in those projects, people want to move walls around, add space, etc.
You can do that very well—or you can do it very poorly.

Action Builders excels in the design aspect of those addition spaces, especially as it relates to structure.

For example, we’re not just taking a window and turning it into a doorway and suddenly calling it an addition.
We’re really being thoughtful about how that addition interacts with the existing floor plan—how it flows with the house.

I think our design of structure is where we really shine on complicated projects.
We don’t hesitate to use steel in our projects for structural support.

I remember a kitchen project years ago—first consultation, I walked into the space.
It was a great two-story colonial house with a previous addition off the back.
I walked into their kitchen and there was a post right in the middle of their island.
I looked at it immediately and said, “We’re getting rid of that.”
We put a big steel beam in the middle and really opened up the space to what it truly should’ve been to begin with.

So structure is where we shine.

As for current challenging projects, I think there are two types:
The challenge of the design, and the challenge of construction.

One project I always talk about—beautiful ranch house.
They had a previous addition off the back, but you had to walk through rooms to get to other rooms.
Their backyard was awesome—they had a pool, a basketball court—so they didn’t want to move.

Figuring out the layout was really hard.
And, as a designer, it just kept working itself into my brain—thinking about it while driving, in the shower—
And one day I’m in the shower, and I think: “I’ve got it.”
I actually took shaving cream, put it on the wall, and sketched out the plan.
And I’m like, “That will work.”
It’s one of my favorite projects to date.

We also have a very challenging project going on right now in Lawrenceville, which is in the city of Pittsburgh.
Very tight quarters, complicated excavation, houses on top of houses, cars packed in—
We’re hopefully scheduling the footer inspection next week.
So we’re getting there, but yeah, definitely some construction challenges in that one.

Dennis Oz: Wow. You’re talking about design and construction—actually, this is going to be my next question.
I’m sure there are different challenges in design and different challenges in construction.
But interestingly, your resume really spans both of these: design and construction.
You bring both skill sets together in the same melting pot.
I’m sure that dual expertise has really influenced your approach to project planning and execution.
How did that happen?

Elizabeth Sable: Honestly, just boots-on-the-ground experience. I took ownership of Action Builders in 2023, but before that, I worked hand in hand with the previous owner, and he taught me a ton.
Just sitting in a truck with him all the time, following him around job sites—he taught me how to be a pain in the butt, to make sure that everything was perfect and to keep a project moving.

Where I think the construction knowledge really helps my design is that I can design with construction in mind.
Sometimes the complaint is that designers create things that can’t actually be built.
I see this a lot—people come to me with architectural plans they’ve spent a lot of money on, but no one has ever priced that project.

So when I’m designing and pricing at the same time, it’s a much more efficient process.
I can say to them very quickly, “Hey, we can do that, but it’s going to be pretty complicated and take a big chunk of your budget. Do you really want to allocate your funds there?”
So I think being able to balance budget and make the design-build process more seamless—that construction knowledge has definitely helped elevate my design abilities.

Dennis Oz: Wow. That’s great.
And yeah, just like you mentioned, Elizabeth, design-build projects are sometimes long, sometimes complex.
There are different challenges on the design side and construction side.

When it comes to client communication and construction delivery, I believe there are some strategies that really help you maintain strong homeowner trust throughout the process.
What are those strategies?

Elizabeth Sable: I think it comes down to creating an emotional bond and an emotional relationship with the homeowner—so that both of you trust each other.
Because the projects where you don’t have that trust, it’s a lot harder.
You’re just butting heads.

So if you can build a good relationship, where you’re working together and trusting each other, that carries all the way through.

Two words I use all the time with my team are: education and communication.
Because if you can educate a customer and communicate with a customer, that’s what they need to be comfortable through a renovation and understand what’s going on.

You’re not always coming to them with good news.
Sometimes you’re just the messenger.
Remodeling isn’t new construction—it is what it is.

But if you have that good relationship, and you’ve communicated with them well all the way through, then when you do have to have hard conversations, it’s a conversation—not an argument.

So I’ve really tried to hone that in my approach, and train my team accordingly.

Dennis Oz: Wow.
I also want to talk a little more about team management, but I want to dive a bit deeper into this idea of education.

When I read that National Kitchen & Bath Association research—almost 10% of homeowners cancel their projects as soon as they hear the price—it really stuck with me.
Especially nowadays.

So when you look at this problem, of course there will be people expecting to spend less, but there are also people who are open to learning what’s actually needed to complete the project.

How do you do that?
If it’s a qualified project and the homeowner is qualified, but their mindset is not, how do you help adjust that mindset and bring them back to reality to talk about the real numbers?
Is that a big challenge?

Elizabeth Sable: It’s a daily challenge—especially because things are just so expensive now.

We’re actually building an addition coming up in August that is almost identical to an addition we did back in 2015.
And I compared the numbers—and it’s crazy how much the pricing has changed.

But again, it goes back to education.
You have to educate the homeowner on what they’re actually asking for.
A lot of times, homeowners don’t realize when they say, “I want this, I want that, and this and that”—they have no concept of what that really entails.

So it’s about teaching them.
It’s a process.
I always say it’s a series of questions—it’s a conversation the whole way through.

As far as pricing goes, I use what I call a funnel approach.
I literally hold my hands up when I explain this to them.
At the top of the funnel, we’re having early conversations, we’re working with broad numbers—I’m guessing.

And I really emphasize to them that my goal is to give them a ballpark range for a project that they can either say, “Yes, this makes sense to continue with,” or, “Whoa, no way.”

Then we actually go through a design process before they can commit to a construction contract.
Throughout that process, I’ll say, “Okay, now we’re narrowing down the options.”

So maybe the first range I gave was a $100,000 range.
The next estimate, based on design, might be a $50,000 range.

And homeowners very commonly start adding things:
“While we’re at it, let’s do the hall bathroom.”
“Let’s do the flooring too.”
And before they know it, they’ve added $50,000.

So again—it’s about educating them, explaining what they’re adding.
And even before we do all the legwork to price everything, I’ll try to gauge them first:
“Hey, I think we’re adding a big chunk here. Is that okay?”

But yes—it always comes back to education and communication.
I’m telling you—it’s everything.

Dennis Oz: Very, very important.
And I’m sure that all our listeners—everyone watching—if they’re tuning in today, they’re getting great value out of what you’ve shared.

Folks, you see—when you have questions or if you’re thinking, “Am I making a mistake? Should I do this?”—
You’re hearing from the direct source:
Someone who has walked these roles, who is sharing all the scars and lessons they’ve experienced.

So I’m sure all our listeners are finding this as valuable as I did.
Thank you so much for sharing all this information, Elizabeth.

Let’s continue—
I’d like to talk a little more about team management.

Creating a team is one of the most challenging things when things start to scale.
If you’re a one-person show, maybe you don’t need a large team.
But as you get more and more projects, you have to build your team.

And most of our listeners are in that phase—struggling to find and hire the right people, and keep reliable talent.
Because hiring is one thing, but keeping them is another.

Elizabeth Sable: Oh yeah.

Dennis Oz: Exactly.
How have you built a team that’s really capable of taking on these high-difficulty projects?

Elizabeth Sable: Sure.

I kind of have two separate teams: the design team, and the construction team.

When I took ownership of Action Builders in 2023, the construction team—the core group—was already here.
They’re still with me today. They’re fantastic guys.
They’ve been with Action Builders for a while, and they’ve been huge in helping me build the construction team to where it is today.

They’re working with these guys day to day—they’re the morale, etc.

The inside team—I’ve actually completely overhauled.
I have an 11- and a 13-year-old (a girl and a boy), and I’ve always said parenting was the hardest thing I’ve ever done…
Until I tried to put a team together and get that team to work together.

That is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done—getting a team to work together.

When it comes to hiring, I think patience is key.
Don’t just hire to fill a spot fast.

The people I’ve waited for—the ones I sat on a bit—often turned out to be the right ones.
So yes, patience is really important.

And yes, that phrase—“Hire slow, fire fast”—it’s true.
The people I hesitated to let go? I regretted not acting sooner.

Usually, pretty quickly, you know if they’re a good fit for the team and the position.
So vetting during the hiring process is super important.

Really consider personality and how that person will interact with the rest of your team.

We had one team member who caused chaos—and it affected the whole team.
But once you get a good team that works well together—and I’m happy to say I have that right now—it’s so refreshing.
It makes my day-to-day job much easier.

Dennis Oz: Great. This is perfect.
And again—yeah, keeping the talent and hiring the talent—those are all real-world challenges.
And it’s great to hear your golden nuggets about it.

Elizabeth Sable: Keeping the talent—I didn’t necessarily touch on that, so I hope you don’t mind me continuing it.

Dennis Oz: Of course.

Elizabeth Sable: Keeping the talent is actually just as hard.
This is an emotional business. Residential remodeling is not a walk in the park.
It’s a tough business.
So I really try to respect my employees and value their expertise.
I’ve said this to my entire team—
Not a single one of us could do the entire thing ourselves.
We all need each other.

I also give my team a really good work-life balance.
I set expectations honestly at the first interviews.
I don’t want to babysit you.
I don’t want to call you and remind you to do your job.
Because I think if you’re hiring people who are adults, competent, and love their job too—you’ve got a winning combination.
So I really try to give them the balance and happiness they’re looking for in their careers as well.

Dennis Oz: Amazing. Thanks so much.
And I always say—if it’s done 80% by a team member, consider it 100% done, because it’s been done by someone else.
I know if you do it yourself, it’ll be 100%, but if someone else is doing it—80% is enough.
We’ve talked about that a lot on this show.

So let’s not overkill it, right?
Elizabeth, if you overkill it, team management becomes a real struggle—just like for us managers. Is that correct?

Elizabeth Sable: I 100% agree with that.
And it’s funny you say the 80%, because I literally just emailed that to my construction manager about a week ago—he’s trying to do everything at 100%, and I said, “You’ve got to do 80%.”

Dennis Oz: Yeah! Great.
Thanks so much.

Well, let’s take the conversation to marketing now.
Residential remodeling services today—marketing those services is a lot more than just word of mouth or yard signs.
There are many different approaches, online and offline.

Based on your company’s strategy, how have you adapted to these different approaches?
And what’s the most effective marketing channel for you right now at Action Builders?
When you look at your digital marketing today, what’s working?

Elizabeth Sable: Sure.
In digital marketing, honestly, our website is number one.

From a social media standpoint, we do well on Facebook.
I personally love LinkedIn—I think it gives you access to a lot of professionals in your marketplace.
So I’m constantly posting on LinkedIn.

But the website—having strong SEO—is huge.
Our website is pittsburghadditions.com.
I’ve worked with the same marketing company since about 2015, and they’ve done a really good job with SEO.

So I think that’s important.
And I’ll go back to education and communication again.
I use that same approach in marketing—educate people, and then they’ll come to you.

Dennis Oz: Cool.
And here, I also want to talk a little more about AI.
What are some of your most-used cases of AI today?
How do you use AI, even in operations—not just marketing?

One great example we got on this show, a few episodes ago, was from a speaker who said they record everything—with the client’s consent—during home visits.
Then they transcribe that recording and build their quotes based on the client’s specific struggles and needs.
AI helps them understand those pain points and generate a customized quote.

That’s a great real-world use case of AI I heard on this show.
So how about you? Do you use custom GPTs? ChatGPT?
What’s your AI adoption like at Action Builders?

Elizabeth Sable: That’s funny you ask, because my 13-year-old was making fun of me about four months ago for still using Google.
She said, “You’re not supposed to Google—you’re supposed to use ChatGPT!”
So she kind of started me on it.

But since then—I love it, obviously.

I’ve used it for administrative tasks.
Little things—like I needed to rewrite our warranty, so ChatGPT helped me get started and then I tweaked it.
I needed a punch list process for the team—ChatGPT helped with that too.

But the most interesting use of ChatGPT I’ve seen recently:
I’ve had two clients upload images created by ChatGPT showing the addition they want for their house.
And I was so impressed. It made our conversations so much easier.

I actually gave it a try myself—we’re doing a second-story addition on a ranch home.
I uploaded a photo of the existing home and told it to add a second story.
It took a few prompts, but I got it pretty close.

The rendering was crazy—how well and how quickly it worked.

Dennis Oz: I think, Elizabeth, it’s going to evolve, just like you said.
Your little one told you to go there and ask—and she’s right!

What we’re seeing in marketing right now is that search is starting to change.
Instead of just Google, people are using ChatGPT to search.

Search is transforming from a keyword-based search bar into a real question-and-answer engine.

What I found really interesting is—right now, ChatGPT is actually referring companies to homeowners.
So if someone types in “Who is the best remodeling company in Pittsburgh?”—ChatGPT uses Google’s infrastructure to help answer that.

If your SEO is strong, you’ll likely show up in those responses.
That’s where the term GEO comes in—Generative Engine Optimization.

Elizabeth Sable: You’ve taught me something today—I didn’t know that!

Dennis Oz: Yeah, I wanted to mention that.
We’re living and breathing marketing every day, and we’re learning new things all the time.

GEO is basically the “new SEO.”
Like you said—you’re good at SEO, and that’s already putting you in a great position for GEO too.

The future? We never really know.
Maybe massive data managed by Google will become less important for OpenAI, or maybe not.

Elizabeth Sable: Who knows.

Dennis Oz: Who knows.
We’re trying to read and evaluate the future, but we never really know.

That’s why—just like you said—it’s always better to stay connected to what’s new today.
And you’re using it in a great way.

Thank you so much for sharing that too.

Elizabeth Sable: I was really impressed when they first started sending them to me that way.

Dennis Oz: To all our listeners—folks, just go to ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. Both will do similar work. Ask it questions like, “Who is the best remodeling company in [your city]?”
Or, if you’re not in remodeling—maybe you’re selling kitchen cabinets or components—ask, “Who has the biggest showroom in the area?”
Just try playing with the system. You’ll see so many interesting things.

Elizabeth Sable: Thank you, Dennis. Seriously—I hadn’t even thought of doing that. I’m definitely going to try that this afternoon and play around with it.

Dennis Oz: Other speakers have mentioned this too, Elizabeth. We always like to highlight those little moments of discovery—just like the one you shared.
In previous sessions, we’ve heard this: once AI like ChatGPT starts recommending you, you’ve got AI on your side.
It’s not just a past customer recommending you—it’s a system built to help people find trustworthy solutions. That’s amazing.

So, just like Elizabeth shared today, folks—it’s always better to keep yourself aligned and engaged with new technology.
And when you tune into the show, we bring on different guests from different backgrounds.
Today, Elizabeth shared so much from both the design and construction sides—and of course, marketing is a huge part of it.

Elizabeth, would you say your website is the most fundamental marketing asset for remodelers today?
Or is there anything else you’d like to share about marketing before we wrap up?

Elizabeth Sable: I love the marketing aspect of it.
I’ve also added videos—any investment you can make in your digital content is 100% worth it.

That’s something I started last year: incorporating videos.
I work with a local videographer who also does drone footage. He stops by my projects mid-way to get some footage and then comes back for final shots to put together a finished video.
He’s done drone shots at the end as well.

I think video is huge.
And again, going back to education—I use video to help educate.

So many people ask the same questions.
In initial consultations, it’s always the same things over and over.
So I’m trying to educate people ahead of time.
And for your listeners—I really believe that showing your expertise online makes your job easier.

When you walk in the front door, they already respect you.
Because people are doing their research ahead of time—they’re not flipping through a phone book anymore.

Especially for the types of larger remodeling projects we do—people are researching for years.
So adding educational content alongside showcasing your work is a game changer.

Dennis Oz: This is amazing.
Wow—Elizabeth, thank you so much for sharing all your expertise and experience today.
I believe this really wraps up a fantastic episode.

But—I do have one last question before you go.

Elizabeth Sable: Go for it!

Dennis Oz: Thinking back to the trial-and-error journey that most remodelers go through at some point in their entrepreneurial careers…
What’s a piece of advice you wish you had when you first began?
What’s your biggest “I wish” moment that could save our listeners years of trial and error?

Elizabeth Sable: I think my biggest I wish or piece of advice is this:

At the pizza shop, I learned that “the customer is always right.”
If a customer called and said they got the wrong pizza—you made them a new one. They were right.

But when I started in residential construction, I quickly learned that the customer is not always right.

So my advice is: don’t just jump for the customer.
Go back to education—explain why they might not be correct, or why their idea might not be the best solution for their house or project.

When we’re starting out—we all want to impress. I was there. You want to make the customer happy.
But I’ve learned you actually gain more respect when you politely say,
“No—I don’t agree with that. Here’s what I suggest instead.”

Don’t always assume the customer is right.

Dennis Oz: Wow.
That was one of the best answers we’ve ever had on this show.
I ask this question all the time—“Is the customer always right?”—and that was one of the best explanations I’ve heard.

After this, I’m sure we’re going to clip this and label it as a short video: “Is the customer always right?”
So thank you so much—I already need that soundbite!

Elizabeth Sable: Definitely.

Dennis Oz: Well, Elizabeth, thank you again for sharing all of this.

Elizabeth Sable: It’s been a pleasure.

Dennis Oz: One last thing—if someone has a follow-up question (it happens), what’s the best way to reach you?
I know thousands of people may hear this—so don’t share your phone number. But is the website the best option?

Elizabeth Sable: Yes—the website is probably the easiest way to get a hold of me.
We have a form on there. It’s intended for project inquiries, but I’m the one who gets all the web forms.

So visit pittsburghadditions.com.
I’m also on LinkedIn, and you can message me there.
I’m happy to talk to anyone in the field and share whatever I can.

Dennis Oz: Perfect.
And folks, I believe you had a truly amazing episode with Elizabeth Sable today.

That wraps up another episode of the Remodeler Success Podcast.
We’ll see you next time.
Goodbye!