Floor Academy - Helping flooring, tile and stone contractors own an asset Kyle Hedin - Speaker, Mastermind Facilitator, Writer, Content Creator, Business Therapist, and Contractor

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 before moving on to managing a gym cafe, then management at UPS and finally Target. She got her inner creative on by doing cake baking at decorating at a restaurant after her management stints. Finally she arrived back at the trades and wanting to take it seriously. It was no longer a way to drum up some extra cash on the weekends. The work is rewarding but managing the day to day has become overwhelming. Natalie is not unlike many new business owners I speak with.

Listen in to this week’s episode of the Floor Academy podcast as we discuss ways for her to better manage her time, get her company known, and not experience such extreme ups and downs.
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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 lack of technical skill and admittedly not being the best businessman himself, Tom went searching for answers and also started the UK Flooring Podcast. Learning from bankruptcy, he is now teaching other businesses how to be profitable, implement systems and processes, and mentoring the next generation of successful flooring companies.

This week on the Floor Academy podcast, Tom and I will discuss how even though our countries are far apart, we are not so different after all. Developed nation or not, we all seem to have very similar issues that need to be dealt with and we will be discussing where we all need to step up to help solve these issues.

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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.
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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 clients were comfortable with not only the work being done but herself as well. Her passion for bringing crazy ideas to life has helped build her brand while allowing her house the  knowledge of technical specifications to make the end results successful.

Recently, Sarah found herself on a project with a repeat client that was constantly deferring to the designer. This situation strained her relationship with the homeowners. Laying out the situation led to making compromises she was not happy with and ultimately she had to make the decision to fire the client instead of continuing to work in an environment where she was not appreciated for what she was bring to the table.

This week on Floor Academy, Sarah and I discuss why we need to fire clients, what makes it hard, what the rewards of doing so are, and how this can help you actually grow your business.

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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 there were nearly no systems in place for how to acquire and train team members, to how they sold projects, to how they followed up and managed those projects. Every aspect of the business has been revamped in some way and is under the microscope for further inspection. 24 months ago if Matt wasn’t in the field, the projects weren’t completed. Now he has not only increased revenue and profit, but also increased how much his team members make.

Listen in to this episode of the Floor Academy podcast to learn how you can develop a business that will run without micromanaging every aspect of it.

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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 creation, she has built her business on the principles of selling. Alison has extensive knowledge and experience in stone, textiles, fashion, and luxury wholesale manufacturing. Pulling from the book Primal Leadership, Alison has been able to apply limbic resonance to her training methods to allow leaders to have a higher emotional IQ and better connect with their teams.

Listen in to this weeks episode of the Floor Academy podcast as we discuss what limbic resonance is, how to apply it to yourself, and what it can do for you, your company and your team.

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