When my older brother, Narcis Rus, decided to go into the wood flooring distribution business in 2014 after working as a flooring contractor and house flipper, I was 28 years old and had been living in the United States for only about a year. I immigrated from Romania in late 2012 and settled in the Atlanta area, where Narcis lived (and still does).
The good news was that I could stop working unrewarding jobs at Dunkin’ Donuts and Subway to help him launch NDM Floors Distributor in Marietta, Ga. The bad news was I knew nothing about floors. But we’re family, and we’re as committed to each other as we are to the business. That’s how my 12-years-and-counting journey in the wood floor industry started.
In the beginning, I was a cashier. Later I handled all the bookkeeping and, along with Narcis, our father, Milu, and another employee, established new relationships (or, in some cases, expanded existing ones) with vendors and contractors, ordered materials, stocked products and helped get our showroom up and running. In Romania, I earned a Master’s degree in management, so I felt confident this was one way I could significantly contribute to our growth.
Slowly but surely, Narcis began giving me more responsibilities. Besides sending me to trade events to learn the business, he encouraged me to leave the back office and spend time on the showroom floor to directly interact with our customers—who are primarily contractors. I relished those opportunities, because I needed to learn as much as I possibly could.
That included big-picture knowledge like the different types of wood, as well as little details about which kind of glue or sealer works best for which type of product. My younger brother, Cristian, is a wood floor installer who operates independently of our company, and I went with him to several jobsites to watch and learn. I also relied a lot on insight from Narcis, as well as from Mike Somodean, an installer in Roswell, Ga., who generously answered many of my questions.
As I began spending more time on the showroom floor, Narcis was always there to assist when I needed him—which ultimately helped me learn more and learn faster. I’m still learning, every day, which is what I like the most about this industry. There is always something new to know.
Our goal at NDM has always been to stock hundreds of flooring options and a wide variety of equipment and supplies at all times. An example of our dedication to customer service happened early in the company’s existence, on New Year’s Day 2015. One of our contractor customers was working on a project for a homeowner who was away for the holidays, but he ran out of polyurethane. He called and explained that he needed to finish the job before the homeowner returned later that day and asked if I could open the store for him to buy more poly. I live about five minutes from the store, so I was like, “Yes, of course, I’ll be there.” It didn’t take a lot of my time, but it saved him some grief and helped us build a loyal customer base via word of mouth. So our goal at NDM is 100 percent customer satisfaction.
Narcis eventually sent me to meet with vendors; the vast majority of them are men (although I do work with two female vendors). I didn’t know them, but I helped break the ice by telling them, “I’m the one who pays the bills!”
These days, I often order product and have not run into many problems associated with being a female in a male-dominated business. If I do experience any type of sexism, Narcis steps in and takes NDM’s business elsewhere.
NDM is now a leading distributor of hardwood and hard surface flooring and installation products. Narcis even opened a second location—in Brentwood, Tenn., outside Nashville. We have about 20 employees across both locations. The Marietta location is a 21,000-square-foot warehouse and office, including a 3,600-square-foot showroom; the Brentwood location has 11,000 square feet, including a 2,500-square-foot showroom.
While our father is now retired, our oldest brother, Ovidiu, manages the Nashville location, and my husband works in Marietta. We would like to open a third location, but we don’t want to spread ourselves too thin. Being available to our customers as much as possible is important—that kind of familiarity with our contractors and vendors is vital to our success. If we open another location, we will need to figure out how to make that type of face-to-face connection still work.
Narcis likes to say I was “clueless” when I started in this business, which is true. But as he also says, “Tough times teach you good life lessons.” That’s true, too. And life is good: On Jan. 1 Narcis made me co-owner of NDM Floors Distributor. It began as his company, but I dedicated myself to the company like it was mine, too. And now it’s ours.
I feel fulfilled professionally and personally. I have a career in the wood floor industry, and at home I have a lovely and supporting husband and two lovely twins, a girl and a boy. What else can I wish for?
