As home improvement companies grow, one problem can show up fast. More revenue often brings more departments, more managers, and more steps before a decision gets made. A company can become bigger while also becoming slower. Direct Remodels has taken a different path. As the company grew from about $17 million toward a $50 million business, leadership worked to keep the team lean while putting strong people in important roles.
For a growing impact window replacement company in Florida, that approach has helped Direct Remodels add strength without building layers that can slow down the people closest to the work.
That leadership approach became a key part of a PowerChat conversation between Todd Sigler, VP of Sales & Marketing at Direct Remodels, and Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100. Their discussion looked at what happens when a company hires people it truly believes in and then gives them real power to lead.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through PowerChat, these leadership lessons give contractors a closer look at how strong companies make decisions as they grow.
Growth can create a strange problem for a contractor. A company hires talented people to solve problems, lead teams, and make good decisions. Then, as the company grows, those same people may end up waiting for approval from more managers before they can act.
Todd Sigler, VP of Sales & Marketing at Direct Remodels
Todd Sigler said Direct Remodels works hard to avoid that.
The company does not look at growth as a reason to simply keep adding people. Todd said leadership first looks for people who can perform at a high level and take real ownership of their role.
“We really try and keep things lean, but we try and hire the highest level,” Todd said.
He explained the idea with a simple comparison.
“You can hire one of the best, or you can hire four of the average,” Todd said.
For Todd, the point is not that one employee should carry the work of four people. The point is that one strong person with the right skill, trust, and support can bring a level of judgment that a larger group does not always create.
That belief also changes what happens after Direct Remodels makes the hire.
Todd said the company works to keep strong people by giving them power, decision-making ability, and influence over the direction of the business. A department head may not have an executive title, but that person can still bear significant responsibility within the company.
“They’re sitting on a position where we believe in them,” Todd said.
That trust sends a clear message.
Direct Remodels is not hiring people only to follow instructions. Leadership wants strong employees to think, decide, solve problems, and help shape what comes next.
Todd later summed up that belief in even simpler words.
“We hired you because we believe in you.”
For a company expanding into more markets and serving more homeowners, that kind of trust can become part of how the business stays fast as it grows.
Hiring great people is only the first step.
The larger value comes when leadership gives those people enough room to show why they were hired in the first place.
As the PowerChat moved deeper into Direct Remodels’ growth story, Todd Sigler made it clear that keeping a company lean is not about asking fewer people to carry more than they can handle. It is about being careful in every hire, giving strong people clear ownership, and ensuring leadership does not stand in the way of good decisions.
For a company serving homeowners in Florida with energy-efficient replacement windows, the people behind the work are just as important as the product itself. Todd’s view is simple: great people can help a company move faster, but only when leadership gives them trust, support, and a clear place in the bigger plan.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100
Fast growth can make hiring feel like a race. More customers create more work, and the easy answer can be to keep adding people as fast as possible.
Todd does not see headcount as the goal.
He explained that Direct Remodels first looks at the level of talent a person can bring into the company. The goal is not to fill four seats when one or two strong people can take clear ownership and perform at a higher level.
“Sometimes we have two of the best instead of eight,” Todd said.
That idea also makes responsibility easier to see. When too many people share the same task, it can become harder to know who truly owns the result. Todd’s approach gives capable employees defined areas in which they can solve problems and be held accountable for what happens next.
For a business, clear ownership matters. A growing customer base brings more schedules, installations, questions, and decisions. Adding people without giving each person a clear purpose can create more movement without creating better results.
Todd’s point is not that every company needs a tiny team. It is essential that every hire should make the business stronger.
Learn more about Direct Remodels and the team serving homeowners across Florida.
Finding the right person is only the start.
Todd said Direct Remodels also thinks about what strong employees need after they join the company. Instead of placing them in important roles and then asking them to wait for approval on every choice, leadership tries to give them real power over their work.
“We hired you because we believe in you,” Todd said.
That sentence says a lot about how he views retention.
Strong employees want to know that their judgment matters. Todd explained that department leaders can influence the direction of the company even if they do not carry an executive title. They are expected to think beyond a task list and help shape how their part of the business moves forward.
That kind of ownership can matter as much as a title.
A leader who knows the company trusts them can act with more confidence. They can solve a problem when they see it. They can bring an idea forward. They can take responsibility for an outcome because leadership has also given them the authority needed to reach it.
For homeowners, those decisions eventually reach the customer experience. A strong team member who can act quickly helps keep communication clear and the work moving when a project needs attention.
Todd’s message is that trust should not come years after a great hire. It should be part of why the person was hired in the first place.
Todd’s hiring philosophy connects directly to the way Direct Remodels is structured.
The company has grown, but Todd said it still operates with a lean group of senior leaders. There are not many layers standing between a department leader and the people who can help make a major decision.
That helps the company respond quickly.
“We move quick,” Todd said.
Speed matters because growth creates new problems almost every day. A process that worked last month may need to change. A new market may need a different approach. A team may discover a better way to handle something.
If every adjustment has to move through several levels of management, a simple problem can stay open much longer than it should.
Todd does not argue against structure. Direct Remodels still needs clear roles, systems, and accountability as it grows. But he draws a line between useful structure and unnecessary delay.
That distinction can become especially important for a window company serving customers across more markets. The farther a business grows from its home office, the more important it becomes for trusted people to make sound decisions where the work is happening.
A lean structure works only when the people inside it are strong enough to carry that responsibility.
That brings Todd’s ideas together. Direct Remodels does not keep layers low simply because it wants a smaller organization. It keeps decision makers closer to the work because the company believes the right people can move the business forward.
Visit Direct Remodels to learn more about its window and door services for Florida homeowners.
Todd also made an important point about what company growth feels like to people who are not sitting in the leadership room.
Moving from about $17 million toward $50 million can sound exciting from the top of the company. But Todd said a bigger revenue number means little to an employee if that person cannot understand what the growth means for them.
He described Direct Remodels’ rise as a shared achievement, not a win for three people at the top.
Todd even pointed to the employee unloading windows from a truck.
That person may not spend the day looking at a revenue report, but they can see growth in a very real way. The truck is fuller. More products arrive. More homes need to be served. The work in front of them tells the story.
Todd said that connection matters.
If leadership celebrates a milestone while employees are left asking, “What does that mean to me?” then the company has missed part of the job.
For a business helping homeowners with replacement windows, every job depends on many people doing their part well. The sale matters, but so does the employee who prepares the order, manages the schedule, unloads the product, installs it, or answers the homeowner’s question.
When employees can see that connection, growth becomes something they helped build.
That creates stronger buy-in. People are no longer watching the company grow around them. They can see themselves inside the story.
Todd’s view of lean teams also comes with an important warning.
Giving strong people more responsibility does not mean leadership can stop checking on them.
Todd saw that lesson during one of the hardest periods Direct Remodels faced. Soon after joining the company, the team faced back-to-back hurricanes, pushing them into a demanding stretch of work. Employees dealt with long hours, exhaustion, and falling morale.
Todd said the company lost some of the simple habits that help people feel supported.
“Are you okay?”
“Do we have what we need?”
Those questions became easier to miss when everyone was focused on getting through the emergency.
The experience gave Todd another view of what investment in people really means.
A high performer still needs support.
A trusted leader still needs someone to check in.
An employee with more responsibility still needs the tools and help required to do the job well.
That lesson matters as Direct Remodels grows its work around impact window installation in Florida. More markets and more customers can bring more pressure, which makes the health of the people carrying that growth even more important.
Todd gave the clearest summary of his leadership belief during the rapid-fire portion of the PowerChat. Greg Cummings asked him to finish one sentence:
“A company worth building is one that what?”
Todd answered:
“Invest in its people.”
That answer puts the entire perspective in context.
Todd is not calling for fewer people at any cost. He is calling for great people who receive trust, clear responsibility, real support, and a chance to help shape where the company goes next.
Todd Sigler’s view on strong people and clear ownership becomes more meaningful when it shows up in the way the business actually operates. Direct Remodels has built a model around keeping the customer journey close to one team, working directly with trusted manufacturers, and giving homeowners a clear path from the first conversation through installation and inspection. At the same time, Todd’s own voice is reaching beyond the company as he shares practical lessons on marketing, technology, and accountability with other home improvement leaders.
Grateful Direct Remodels customer!
Direct Remodels operates from locations in St. Petersburg and the Orlando area while serving Florida homeowners with impact rated windows and doors built for the demands of the state. The company works factory direct with manufacturers including Viwinco, ES Windows, Eastern Architectural Systems, BHI, and Plastpro. Direct Remodels says that model helps it reduce extra steps, control quality more closely, and keep the process connected from the manufacturer to the home.
That operating model supports the same idea Todd shared during the PowerChat. When capable people have clear ownership, the customer should feel the difference.
Direct Remodels also promotes a single team approach from the first call through the final inspection, keeping major customer touchpoints close to the company instead of sending each part of the experience through a different group.
See the Tampa Bay 28 feature on Direct Remodels and its “Windows Built for Florida” approach
External recognition gives that work another level of proof. Viwinco recognizes Direct Remodels as a Blue Label Signature Master Installer, a designation reserved for contractors that meet high standards for installation and homeowner service. Viwinco also identifies that Signature Master level as the highest tier of its Blue Label Preferred Installer Program.
Direct Remodels also currently holds BBB accreditation with an A+ rating. That does not mean every customer experience will be perfect, but it does give homeowners another public place to review the company’s business profile and history.
Together, these details help show what Todd’s lean leadership model is meant to produce. The goal is not simply to keep the organization small. The goal is to put strong people close to the work, reduce unnecessary handoffs, and give homeowners a team that can take real ownership of the result.
Learn more about Direct Remodels and its Florida focused window and door services
Todd’s influence is also moving beyond Direct Remodels.
In May 2026, Qualified Remodeler featured him in the speaker lineup for FAST Remodeler Live in Nashville, an event focused on technology, systems, data, and practical ways contractors can run stronger businesses. Todd led two sessions built around issues that connect closely with the leadership ideas he shared during PowerChat.
One session focused on how contractors can judge marketing technology based on better decisions, stronger integration, and measurable return instead of simply adding more tools. The second focused on shared accountability between contractors and their marketing partners, including the role of better data in creating stronger results.
That matters because it shows Todd contributing to a wider industry conversation about how companies can stay lean while still becoming smarter.
His message in the PowerChat was that great people need real power.
His message on the industry stage follows the same path.
Better tools should help people make better decisions.
Better data should help partners take more responsibility.
Better systems should remove confusion instead of creating more layers.
That connection gives Todd’s Perspective more weight. Direct Remodels is applying the model inside the company, while Todd is also helping other contractors think about how to build teams and systems that create clearer ownership.
The impact is not only in how much Direct Remodels has grown. It is in how the company is trying to grow, with trusted people, fewer unnecessary handoffs, strong manufacturer relationships, and a customer experience built around accountability. Todd’s growing industry presence shows that those lessons are becoming useful well beyond the walls of Direct Remodels.
Todd Sigler’s point about hiring “one of the best” instead of several average performers becomes more meaningful when you look at what comes after the hire.
The official Grand Opening of Direct Remodels DeLand office!
Finding a strong person is only the start.
A company still has to create the kind of place where that person can do their best work, make decisions with confidence, and feel that their ideas matter. Without that, even the best hire can become frustrated, disconnected, or limited by the system around them.
That is where Todd’s message about leadership becomes clear.
A strong company not only asks talented people to deliver results. It also gives them trust, room to think, and a clear reason to stay. As Direct Remodels continues to grow, that kind of trust may become one of the most important things the company works to protect.
Growth often brings more structure, but Todd’s perspective shows that structure need not remove freedom. A company can get larger without making every decision harder. It can add strong leaders without adding too many layers. And it can give employees more responsibility while still making sure they feel supported.
That is what makes Todd’s final rapid-fire answer so important.
When Greg Cummings asked him to finish the sentence, “A company worth building is one that what?” Todd answered, “Invest in its people.”
That idea reaches beyond hiring.
It means believing in people after they join.
It means giving them a real voice.
It means helping them grow with the business.
And it means building a company where strong people can see a future for themselves.
For Direct Remodels, that may be one of the biggest advantages as the company continues to move forward. The stronger the people become, the stronger the business can become with them.
No. Power100 uses a five-layer ranking process that goes beyond public business information. The process starts with verifiable company data, then uses proprietary scoring, human review, cross-checks, and feedback from customers, employees, and industry partners before the final rankings are set. Power100 says this mix helps it assess how a leader performs across business results, culture, customer experience, and long-term impact, rather than relying on a single number.
Power100 National Power Rankings do not rely on paid placement or self-submission. The platform evaluates more than 7,600 qualified leaders through its ranking process and publishes the Top 100 CEOs after completing its review. That approach helps Power100 compare leaders using the same system, rather than rewarding those who promote themselves the most.
No. Todd Sigler describes a lean company as one that places strong people in clear roles and removes unnecessary management layers. Direct Remodels still provides customer support before, during, and after installation. Its website lists dedicated project coordinators, in-house service, installation coordination, and post-installation support. The goal behind Todd’s lean leadership model is to help capable people make decisions faster, not reduce the help available to homeowners looking for a window and door replacement company in Florida.
Direct Remodels pairs authority with clear ownership. Todd Sigler said the company hires people because leadership believes they can perform at a high level, then gives department leaders meaningful control over their area of the business. That approach does not remove accountability. It makes responsibility easier to see because employees know which results they own. Todd summed up the trust behind the model when he said, “We hired you because we believe in you.”
Todd Sigler’s leadership model gives trusted people room to act, but Direct Remodels still uses company-wide processes to support the customer journey. The company says dedicated project coordinators manage logistics, and one team handles the process from the first call through final inspection. That structure gives local leaders room to solve problems while homeowners still receive a defined process when they choose Direct Remodels for impact window installation in Florida.
Direct Remodels says its support continues after installation. The company provides a workmanship warranty on its installations, while the products it installs also carry manufacturer warranties. Its customer support page states that the team remains available before, during, and after the project. This gives homeowners a clear place to turn if they need help after installing hurricane-rated windows in Florida.
Yes, qualified homeowners can use financing options offered through Direct Remodels. The company currently offers options that include zero money down and no payments until the project is complete, along with other financing plans for qualified borrowers. Because financing terms can vary by customer and promotion, homeowners should review the full terms before choosing a payment plan for energy-efficient replacement windows in Florida.
Direct Remodels states that its impact windows meet Florida Building Code requirements and carry ratings designed for hurricane-force conditions. The company also offers Miami-Dade-approved products for homeowners who want items tested to stricter impact and pressure standards. Direct Remodels permits its projects and coordinates inspections, providing homeowners with another layer of verification when they choose Miami-Dade-approved impact windows in Florida.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, the platform helps bring forward the leadership ideas, business lessons, and real experiences shaping stronger home improvement companies across the country. Through national rankings, PowerChat conversations, industry content, and leadership recognition, Power100 provides contractors and industry partners with a trusted platform to learn from proven leaders while helping great companies and CEOs earn the visibility they deserve.
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Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
