Business

Solving Space Problems and Making a Home Easier and More Enjoyable to Live In

Published

1 year ago

February 24, 2023

Arlinda Smith Broady

EV Remodeling focuses on a 25-mile radius around Peachtree Corners to give top-notch, personalized service.

Although Eliad Vaknin started EV Remodeling at the end of 2019 in Peachtree Corners, his years of experience and dedication to the craft go well beyond that.

“I started my business years ago, but it was a different name because I had a business partner,” he said.

When Vaknin decided to strike out on his own, he made a vow to give clients personalized and individual attention. “I consult with clients throughout the project, connect them to the right architects, get the proper permits, and help them choose the designs and items that are right for them,” he said. “I’m here for them every step of the way.”

Although home remodeling has seen a measured increase in the last decade — especially since the pandemic hit — the process can be daunting. Vaknin said he often hears horror stories from clients about contractors who left them frustrated and wary of ever taking on another home improvement project.

“For us it’s more than just another project,” he explained. “Our clients deserve our time, care, and attention to detail. It’s my personal goal to make sure that everyone is not just happy, but ecstatic, at the end of the remodel.”

Photos of a bathroom renovation by EV Remodeling

Above and beyond customer service

Vaknin recalled a customer who wasn’t completely satisfied with a tile job almost two years after a bathroom remodel was finished. Of course, any kind of warranty would have expired by then.

“I contacted the subcontractor and had him fix the problem — at my cost,” he said. “In my business, customer satisfaction is the most important thing. I learned early on that being able to see someone’s face as they watch their house transform into their dream home is among one of the best joys in life.”

It cost Vaknin about $150 out of his pocket, but the client was so pleased with the results and the seamless, hassle-free interaction, that he contracted with EV to completely redo the main level of his house.

“Since those early days I have made it our mission to make sure that everyone we work with has an enjoyable experience from beginning to end. After all, upgrading your home is something that should be exciting for you throughout the entire project,” he said.

Filling a need

Nowadays, homeowners have more time to think about improving their dwellings, but a trade labor shortage has been impacting the industry for several years. It’s made home renovations take longer to complete — or impossible to complete altogether — and cost more money than usual.

Since around 2018, the U.S. has seen a shortage of tradespeople for projects like kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, flooring and electrical work. In addition, necessary supplies — including wood and metal — aren’t always available due to a materials shortage.

Although he doesn’t have any magic powers to keep those problems from plaguing his business, Vaknin said he treats suppliers, contractors and customers with respect.

EV Remodeling isn’t the cheapest contractor in the area, but it’s certainly among the most reliable. That’s a value that Vaknin brought with him when he immigrated from Israel in 2009.

“My father was a contractor, and I learned the trade from him. It’s always been in my veins,” he said.

Vaknin started out in new home construction, building about 60 houses ranging in price from $500,000 to $1.5 million. However, he said he prefers the personal connections he has made working with existing homeowners.

“You might not ever meet the person that you built a home for,” he said. “This way, I know the customer is getting exactly what they want.”

Vaknin said he thinks of himself as a problem solver. “A lot of times, when you come into people’s homes, they have problems that they need you to solve,” he said. “It’s either the kitchen is too small, the family has grown and they need additional room or stuff like that. …I help people solve problems and make their lives easier.”

Focus on family and community

Although 2020 saw $420 billion spent by Americans on home improvement projects, subsequent years are projected to surpass that, according to a study last year from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. That same research shows that homeowners are also willing to spend more on home improvement projects.

The pandemic forced many to stay inside for months and a lot of Americans have been reluctant to return to offices. For them, having a functional, comfortable and livable home is a top priority — even in the face of higher material costs.

Vaknin continues to see a rise in remodeling projects for office space and home entertainment, but his bread and butter is still kitchens and bathrooms. That’s why he said he likes to keep his business in a tight radius, about 25 miles with Peachtree Corners as the epicenter.

It has helped him give his clients the time they need since he’s not spending so much time traveling around metro Atlanta. “Maybe that’s what makes me different than other contractors because …I’m controlling my schedule and my time. I really can give each client the attention that they need,” Vaknin said.

He recalled a family who wanted to add a bathroom for their four teenage daughters who had been sharing one bathroom. Most contractors said the only solution was to add a bathroom to the basement, although the girls’ bedrooms were on the second floor.

“It was doable, but it wouldn’t be convenient to have them go down three flights to get ready,” said Vaknin. “I’m sure there would still be fights and arguing every morning.”

He consulted with his best subcontractor and they came up with a solution to add a bathroom upstairs without increasing square footage. “It required kind of a complex work with plumbing,” said Vaknin.

Everyone was happy with the solution.

Vaknin knows how important a happy home is. He has two children — a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son. He said that he and his wife, a real estate agent, hope to pass on their values to their kids.

“I will let them decide if they want to someday take over my business,” he said. “But I want them to know why I do it and what it means to be a good businessman and a good member of the community.”

Bathroom Renovation Photos by IMOTO, Family Photos by Oshrit Hakmon

Business

North American Properties Revitalizes Avenue East Cobb

Published

2 days ago

April 16, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

North American Properties (NAP) has revamped the Avenue East Cobb shopping center in Marietta, boosting its appeal to suburban residents.

The Andrews Brothers performing at Avenue East Cobb via Instagram @avenueeastcobb

North American Properties (NAP) has revamped the Avenue East Cobb shopping center in Marietta, boosting its appeal to suburban residents seeking a more urban lifestyle. Now, it’s being honored as part of the Atlanta Business Chronicle‘s “Best in Atlanta Real Estate” coverage.

NAP is known for transforming properties like Atlantic Station, Avalon and The Forum.

According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the redevelopment involved demolishing part of the main building to build a public plaza with a stage surrounded by restaurant patios.

A new concierge facility was also added, including a canopy for drop-offs. Additionally, smaller retail buildings were created for standalone tenants. The business mix was updated to include names like Warby Parker, Lululemon and Peach State Pizza.

NAP also increased community engagement by partnering with at least 10 local organizations for social events. These efforts have proven successful. Over the last two years, Avenue East Cobb has seen a 36% increase in sales per square foot thanks to a major rise in foot traffic.

More news from North American Properties can be found here.

Business

North American Properties Secures 3 New Brands for The Forum

Published

1 week ago

April 11, 2024

Peachtree Corners Magazine staff

North American Properties (NAP) and Nuveen Real Estate announced three new businesses are planting flags at The Forum Peachtree Corners.

Sucré – A Sweet Boutique

North American Properties (NAP) and Nuveen Real Estate announced three new businesses coming to The Forum Peachtree Corners (The Forum). The new brands include Kendra Scott, Sucré, and The NOW Massage.

“We’re excited to keep expanding our merchandising mix with more experiential concepts that motivate guests to extend their time on property. In addition to these new leases, several tenants are on track to open over the next few months, and we can’t wait to see the impact,” said Brooke Massey, director of leasing at NAP.

Here are the latest deals to be signed at The Forum:

Kendra Scott – Known for its plethora of accessories and customizable Color Bar experience, jewelry brand Kendra Scott blends classic designs with modern sophistication. Kendra Scott jewelry celebrates individuality and self-expression.

The growing brand has also donated over $50 million to local, national and international causes since its launch in 2010. The 2,284-square-foot space, situated next to Lovesac, opens later this spring, marking the retailer’s fourth location in the NAP portfolio.

Sucré – Founded in New Orleans, Sucré is a gourmet patisserie known for its macarons, gelato and other handmade, French-inspired desserts.

The sweet boutique will occupy a 1,718-square-foot space on the north end of the property and is slated to open later this year. Georgia is the brand’s first out-of-state venture, with The Forum being its third metro Atlanta location and eighth overall.

The NOW Massage – This brand is helping people discover the healing benefits of massage therapy.

The customizable menu offers guests three signature massage styles and a variety of exclusive enhancements like Deep Tissue, Herbal Heat Therapy, Hemp Calm Balm, Gua Sha, Gliding Cupping and more. Located near Mojito’s, the 2,414-square-foot massage boutique debuts late summer.

These businesses join:

Alloy Personal Training (opening this month),
Cookie Fix (open),
Gallery Anderson Smith (opening this month),
Giulia (opening this spring),
Lovesac (open),
Nando’s Peri-Peri (coming winter 2024), and
Stretchlab (open).

Since acquiring the property in March 2022, NAP has executed 39 deals with new, existing and temporary tenants alike.

To stay up to date on the latest happenings at The Forum, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and X or visit theforumpeachtree.com.

Business

Cybersecurity Expert Explains How to Protect Your Personal, Business Assets from Threats

Published

2 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Arlinda Smith Broady

Stanton Gatewood

When Stanton Gatewood began working in cybersecurity nearly four decades ago, it wasn’t even called cybersecurity.

“It was just Security and Information, Security InfoSec and things like that,” he said. “I’ve been very blessed to have worked in cybersecurity for 37 years or so. I worked in the United States Military and the United States Air Force.”

There wasn’t even a Department of Homeland Security back then. It wasn’t created until 2002.

Gatewood was the featured speaker at Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday breakfast on March 1 at the Hilton Atlanta Northeast. He shared information with the audience of small business owners, nonprofits and community leaders about the realities of cybersecurity and how to safeguard against threats.

Stanton Gatewood’s background in cybersecurity

Gatewood’s resume is quite extensive. He is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and CISA Region 4 Cyber Security Coordinator, an advisor for the State of Georgia. He was formerly the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the state of Georgia, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and the University of Georgia.

He has over 35 years of cybersecurity and e-privacy experience in cybersecurity program management, strategic planning and executive leadership. He has worked in U.S. federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as higher education and several top-10 global corporations.

Gatewood is also a USAF veteran and has served as the vice president for information technology and the chief information officer (CIO) for Albany State University. He has built two centers of excellence in cryptography and cyber awareness and training.

“You cannot stream news, watch TV or read a newspaper without the topic of cybersecurity [coming up],” he said. A lot of people will stand up and talk to you about cybersecurity, and they’re preaching fear and uncertainty that I don’t have.”

Understanding cybersecurity

Gatewood started his presentation with an overview of cybersecurity and went through some terminology.

First, he addressed awareness.

“Awareness can be broken into two categories, situational awareness and user awareness,” he said.

He encouraged the audience to learn as much as they could about cybersecurity and electronic piracy. Even though many people think they are aware of threats, they still click on suspicious links, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.

“Situational awareness comes from the military. It means they’re letting us know exactly who’s in the area and what the environment is made up of. ‘What are our resources available? Who else is in the field that we communicate with and rely upon?’” he asked.

By staying aware, people should know where they’re going on the internet, who they’re communicating with, and that an attachment is safe to open. User awareness is a component of the security policy that should include educating and testing employees to help protect the business against cybercrimes, including phishing and other social-engineering attacks.

Preparedness is also key

“Do not fall asleep at the wheel of the internet,” said Gatewood. “Do not think that those 5 million people out there are all your friends.”

Social media accounts like Facebook can also be gateways for cybercrime.

“Over 65% of the breaches on the internet come from human error,” he said.

According to the government site ready.gov, cyberattacks can occur in many ways, including:

Accessing your personal computers, mobile phones, gaming systems and other internet- and Bluetooth-connected devices.
Damaging your financial security, including identity theft.
Blocking your access or deleting your personal information and accounts.
Complicating your employment or business services.
Impacting transportation and the power grid.

How to be resilient

Gatewood said almost everyone will be the victim of some sort of cyberattack. How the individual or business survives depends on resiliency—the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from and adapt to adverse conditions, stresses, attacks or compromises on systems.

“You must have resilience; you must be in shape,” said Gatewood. “You must have the mindset of ‘I will not allow this to keep me down. I will go get my incident response plan. I will execute my incident response plan. I will find out if it’s truly an incident. I will then morph myself into a disaster recovery plan. I will morph myself into a business continuity plan. And then I’ll have a resumption of business plan.’”

Gatewood said he’s been called to help many times, and when he asked about a response plan, everyone looked like a deer caught in headlights.

“Moving in resilience, the capacity to withstand or recover quickly from any difficult situation or toughness, [is crucial],” he said.

He shared a term, “left of boom/bang,” that he wanted the audience to remember. It encourages them to take a proactive approach to cybersecurity and avoid possible threats by making decisions based on observation and intuition to prevent the bad from happening.

By the numbers

There are 5.3 billion internet users (66.2% of the world’s population).
There are 17 billion devices on the internet.
There are 1.6 billion records or files lost or stolen in the fiscal year 2023/2024 so far.
$183 is the average cost of a data breach per record.
5.04 billion people used social media in 2023.

(Source cisa.gov)