I started my wood flooring business in 1979 while attending Morehouse College, and I grew it using lessons learned from my family.
Working in the wood flooring industry for 44 years now, my business has become a household name in the Atlanta market. I got to this point by paying very close attention to details, communicating effectively and also by not being afraid to go out and achieve our goals. All of these reasons for my success were lessons I learned early in life from my family. I came from an entire family of Black entrepreneurs and business owners who taught us to fear nobody and no situation. Here are some of the other lessons I took away from them.
My dad, my grandfather and my uncles were all very proud men, and they were very good at what they did for a living. One of their businesses was a landscaping company, which has been in my family for 117 years and is still in operation. I grew up running behind my grandfather, and I would look at how he dealt with clients. He was so smooth that he had clients eating out of his hands. They loved to see him coming. He taught me that you have to know what type of client you’re talking to and what expectations they have. His motto was: Whenever you can make people feel comfortable with you, they forget your color—they’re looking at your talent. You have to know your craft and be able to answer questions when asked. It’s all about how you present yourself and how well you can interact with all sorts of people.
I started my first company when I was 12; we were raised on a farm in South Carolina, and I would take the meat after we killed the hogs in the wintertime and sell sausage to the janitors at school. When I became 16, I started a second company selling landscaping products and materials I harvested from our farm. Naturally, with my parents being skilled business owners, it took a bit of negotiation and presentation to get my business off the ground. I bargained with my dad to rent his truck to me, and he said, “You’re allowed to put $100 worth of materials on the truck, but here’s the catch: You have to pay me $25 for the use of the truck, you have to pay your mom $25 for the administrative services.” Whether I sold anything or not, I still had to pay. So, no matter what, I made sure I put on that truck what I could sell, worked hard and learned a lot about what it took to run a business.
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Working in the wood flooring industry for 44 years now, my business has become a household name in the Atlanta market. I got to this point by paying very close attention to details, communicating effectively and also by not being afraid to go out and achieve our goals. All of these reasons for my success were lessons I learned early in life from my family. I came from an entire family of Black entrepreneurs and business owners who taught us to fear nobody and no situation. Here are some of the other lessons I took away from them.
Make people feel comfortable
My dad, my grandfather and my uncles were all very proud men, and they were very good at what they did for a living. One of their businesses was a landscaping company, which has been in my family for 117 years and is still in operation. I grew up running behind my grandfather, and I would look at how he dealt with clients. He was so smooth that he had clients eating out of his hands. They loved to see him coming. He taught me that you have to know what type of client you’re talking to and what expectations they have. His motto was: Whenever you can make people feel comfortable with you, they forget your color—they’re looking at your talent. You have to know your craft and be able to answer questions when asked. It’s all about how you present yourself and how well you can interact with all sorts of people.
Be ready to pay what you owe
I started my first company when I was 12; we were raised on a farm in South Carolina, and I would take the meat after we killed the hogs in the wintertime and sell sausage to the janitors at school. When I became 16, I started a second company selling landscaping products and materials I harvested from our farm. Naturally, with my parents being skilled business owners, it took a bit of negotiation and presentation to get my business off the ground. I bargained with my dad to rent his truck to me, and he said, “You’re allowed to put $100 worth of materials on the truck, but here’s the catch: You have to pay me $25 for the use of the truck, you have to pay your mom $25 for the administrative services.” Whether I sold anything or not, I still had to pay. So, no matter what, I made sure I put on that truck what I could sell, worked hard and learned a lot about what it took to run a business.
One of the greatest things about having knowledge in this business is being able to teach and share it. These are two very talented young and gifted men who worked for me, Garland and Lebaron.
Look for ways to pay it forward
When I was ready to go off to college, my parents taught me one of my biggest lessons when they gave back all that money I’d paid them over the years. They told me, “This is the money we saved for when you go to college.” Today, my proudest moments are when I’m able to use my wood flooring business to give back to my community. Every year for the past 38 years we have found at least one organization or one family to give back to, sometimes performing $25,000 worth of custom work for the cost of a regular job.
I also aim to offer young people the same kinds of opportunities and lessons my parents gave me. My son is going to college now, and I told him, “You create your own crew, then I’ll hire you and you hire them.” He brings his crew to work every weekend and I’ll find work for them to do. College gets expensive, so when these guys go out and make a couple hundred dollars over the weekend, they have taken care of their money for the week and have taken some of the burden off of their parents.
Be disciplined and know your worth
We’re very disciplined about what we do. I’m big on integrity, and I’m not the easiest guy to work for. I’m strict with how I do business because I want to be able to show the people I hire a better life. With discipline, you know what you’re worth. I want to teach people to not be afraid to go out and get it. Because the worst thing that someone can say is “No,” and that doesn’t kill you. I was told “no” plenty of times when I was starting out, and today my business is 100% referral, and we’ve been like that for the past 35 years. You don’t do business with us unless you’re referred to us, and we have crews in D.C., Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia.
Never let anyone tell you what you cannot do or achieve. That’s one of my pet peeves; never come to me and tell me what you can’t do. Having this philosophy has paid off, because my kids and employees feel like they can achieve anything they want. And to any young Black man or woman who comes into this industry: Have confidence in yourself.
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
