Starting a business is rough. Just because you know how to do something does not mean you know how to sell it. From there is only gets more complicated as you have to learn how to market yourself, what to charge, how to manage a schedule, and so much more. Everyone is told there is no money in construction unless you go out on your own and yet no one is telling you how to do it.  Natalie Hall, owns and operates Artistry in Tile in Hudson, WI. From the age of 12 she studied under her father to learn the trade. At 16 she spent five yeas in a restaurant learning all different positions bef ..read more

What’s the difference between being a painter, welder, plumber, framer, flooring installer, tile setter, or stone mason? What’s the difference between the country you live in compared to others around the world? Do you really think that your individual location, clientele opportunities, education opportunities and other conditions have that big of an effect on what you can accomplish? Tom Cockerill is the co-owner of Cockerill & Co with his wife Sarah. They own and operate and hardwood sand and finish business in Darlington, England. Realizing the industry was suffering from more than a l ..read more

How much is too much? The pricing debate is proposed again. What should you be charging to complete your projects? Ken Ballin made a post about a bid for a $2500 backsplash and part of Facebook lost their minds. Listen in as we discuss why it is priced the way it is and how you need to price your work. Support the show ..read more

How do you deal with pushy clients? How do you handle them controlling the project, materials, schedule, etc? Are you not the professional? What happens when trust is lost or not established? Sometimes you just have to fire your client and there is nothing wrong with that. Contracts have natural breaking points in them for a reason and it is ok to use them. Sarah Thelen came up as a finish carpenter before moving into doing remodels under her company S. Thelen Construction in 2017. She is also CTI #1848 as of December 2022. Her experience in a male dominated industry led her to make sure her ..read more

I can’t trust anyone to do it as well as me. No one does it how I train them to do it. If I’m not there, they take shortcuts. No one will ever take as much pride in the company as I do. These are all complaints I see consistently from contractors who are struggling to grow their business and find a way to not only add additional crews but not be stuck in the field consistently. Matt Garcia is the owner of Craftsman Hardwood Flooring in San Angelo, TX. Over the last 24 months he has looked at what he wanted his business to become and he has had to swallow a lot of tough pills. From realizing t ..read more

As a leader it can be hard to relate to your team at times. Whether it be because of interests, age gaps, maturity levels, or personality, it is something we need to learn to overcome. A team is only as good as their leader and if the leader is unable to find a way to connect, motivate, encourage, and build up their team, there isn’t going to much of a team for very long. Alison Mullins is the author of “The Art of Selling: We Make Order Makers, Not Order Takers” & the founder of Rep Methods Sales Training. With over 20 years of experience in sales, merchandising, marketing, and content c ..read more

Do you have competition locally or do you have trusted partners? What about nationally? Internationally? Are you utilizing your relationship building skills to get to know your product reps? Distributor employees? How are you growing your network to better empower your business? Join Daniel and Jose Gonzalez of Preferred Flooring and Paul Stuart of Go Careera and myself as The Huddle and Floor Academy collide in this team up episode. We discuss the power of networking, how it has built our businesses and helped our lives, as well as, where we see the industry headed because of it. You won't ..read more

With over 3 billion dollars of failures annually in the flooring industry alone, the flooring tile and stone industry could stand a face lift. From the image of contractors and the level of respect they get, to the technical skills they display, and how their companies are run. The bar is easily stepped over these days by just showing up on time and doing what you say you will do, when you say you will do it. This doesn’t even yet include doing it right, sadly. Not a good look or great summary. We have to do better. Paul Stuart is a cofounder of Go Carrera and owner of Stuart and Associates C ..read more

I can’t find reliable help. How do I write a job description to attract people? How are you all finding employees? Everyone keeps quitting on me. What kind of SOPs do you all have in place? These questions and statements are some that I consistently see week after week in online flooring groups. One of the biggest issues small companies face are exactly these. Attracting and retaining good team members is a constant struggle even for the largest businesses, but there are ways to make it easier. Sam Bruce is the current President of Visalia Ceramic tile and a 3rd generation partner. Started by ..read more

It's one of the largest hurdles in small business. How do you build past yourself? How do you get that second crew up and running and trust them when you can't be there? Where do you find them? What needs to be in place to hold them accountable? Kara Allen is part owner of Spiegel's Flooring in Sandy Lake, PA since 2020, alongside her husband, Jason, who is the lead installer.  While Kara runs the showroom, is the designer and project manager, Jason is out doing the consults and measurements and doing the installations. They have reached capacity of what the two of them can handle and nee ..read more