Since then, I've developed a client base of loyal and enthusiastic customers who love to tell others about the custom floors I put in their homes. As a result, I now receive calls that go along the lines of, "Hi, you don't know me, but I was over at so-and-so's house, and they said that you're the man who did their hardwood flooring. I've never seen anything like that before! You're definitely my guy. So, what's your schedule like?"There are a few specific things I did to change my stars from the contractor I was a couple years ago to the one I am today. Here's how I lived and learned:
I Grew Where I Was Planted: I continued to work new construction until I had created a firm base of clients who could keep me busy. Truth be told, about half of my business is bread-and-butter jobs: straight installs or resurfaces. The other half are jobs with varying degrees of custom elements to them, some of which take lots of thought, planning and time to complete. I kept on with what I was doing and experimented with whether or not doing custom floors suited me. It does!
I Set Reasonable Expectations: I recognized there was a lot to learn, and figured it wouldn't happen overnight. I got up an hour earlier in the morning and dedicated at least an hour before each work day to building a skill set around custom wood floors. I did this for a couple reasons. One, nobody's distracting me with phone calls at 5 a.m. Two, at the end of the day, I was usually physically tired and less motivated to put in the effort required. It was important to me, so I took the initiative and gave it my best effort first thing in the morning.
I Primed the Pump: I once saw a cartoon of a man with his arms crossed, looking perturbed while scowling at a cold, empty fireplace. The speech bubble coming from his mouth said, "Once you start putting off some heat, then I'll feed you some wood!" I'm ashamed to admit I've acted in pretty much the same way during certain points in my life. Getting going in custom flooring was a high priority, so I treated it as such by setting aside 10 percent of my gross receipts from flooring jobs to buy the necessary tools, supplies and education to become proficient at it. Putting my money where my mouth was created both the most anxiety and benefit of anything I have done in flooring so far. The tools I've upgraded to and coursework I've attended have paid for themselves and then some.
I Built a Foundation of Knowledge: Other than seeing tricky-looking floors in Hardwood Floors or on the internet, I had no point of reference as to where to start. I cut a 4-by-8-foot sheet of drywall in half to make two 4-by-4-foot canvases, and I duct-taped the edges off to keep them from powdering out. I grabbed a drywall square, a framing square, a steel ruler and a carpenter's pencil, and started my first project of replicating a 3-foot-diameter eight-point Celtic knot pattern I had seen. Once complete, my seven-year-old daughter, Savana, showed up with colored pencils, and we shaded in dark brown for ipé, red for jatoba, etc.
Since then, I've taken nearly every course the NWFA offers, including Intermediate Installation, Sand and Finish, the Jigs and Medallions course, and the Expert Installation and Expert Sand and Finish. I recommend taking NWFA courses for a couple reasons. For one, my skill set shot ahead at warp speed by learning from industry experts who had already done what I was setting out to do. Second, and perhaps just as important, I was able to meet people of a like mind who were also interested in bettering themselves at their trade. Speaking of which, let me give a shout out to John Forbes of Foremost Floors in Stamford, Vt., and Dave Watson, a woodfitter from Liverpool, England! It's relationships with other qualified craftsmen made at the schools that enable us to call on each other when we have big, intricate jobs that need to be completed on short timetables.
I Built a Foundation of Materials: I began to amass exotic woods and Baltic birch plywood as my budget allowed. It didn't take long for me to figure out that specialty woods and supplies are spendy, but I had my formula of setting money aside. So, I would take a couple deep breaths and write the checks as my budget allowed. Once I got some medallions produced and converted into income from being installed on jobsites, I had my investment back plus profit to buy more wood and supplies, and the process is now in motion where more production and sales lead to more income. One thing I did and still do is search Craigslist under "Hardwood for Sale." Recently I bought 3-inch santos mahogany flooring from a homeowner who ordered the wood himself and ended up with 100 square feet left over. He offered it for less than the price of red oak just to get it out of his garage. As I've kept my eyes peeled and ears open, there have been plenty of deals out there.
I Listen: There are scores of men and women out there who know more about this trade than I do. Through the NWFA Expo and coursework offered, these folks show up and share from their vast pools of knowledge. I show up to listen, ask questions and listen some more. To think of all the years these people can shave off the learning process is mind-boggling. Frank Kroupa, senior director of technical education for the NWFA, is a wealth of knowledge, with a career full of in-the-field experience. Bob Humphreys of Majestic Wood Floors in Maryland came to teach the NWFA multiple time Wood Floor of the Year winner and is as creative as they come. These boys have already walked down the path I'm on now and are willing to share their experiences. I'm listening every chance I get.
I Make Medallions and Inlays in Advance: I've found that if prospective clients can see and touch custom flooring medallions and inlays, and can set them down where they could potentially go in their homes, a lot more sales get made. In fact, I sell as many as I take the time to produce. Medallions made in advance have helped me land large jobs by being used as a bargaining tool. If the homeowner or interior designer is sitting on the fence, many times offering a medallion at cost can help land the job. Financially, nothing is lost, while the contract is won.
I left the New Construction Blues in a ditch on Highway 85 on the high plains of Northern Colorado. Designing, producing, and getting paid to be a custom flooring craftsman is one of the more rewarding things I have done so far in life. Here's hoping this article aids you if you're looking to walk down this path-I know you can do it!
Keith Long's poem "New Construction Blues" was featured in the October/November 2012 issue of HF. His company can be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ThunderheartFlooring.
