One Year and 60,000+ TikTok Followers Later

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When WFB last spoke to Goshen, Ohio-based wood floor pro Josh Hansman about his popular TikTok account, @50grit, he had 40,000 followers. One year later, Hansman’s following has more than doubled to 100,000—and counting. “I stayed on the same track,” says Hansman. His videos still consist mainly of his processes and tricks of the trade—“the middle” of wood flooring jobs. He avoids voice-over videos, preferring to pair visuals of him performing a task with music. He posts consistently, but somewhat less frequently than when he started out. “TikTok is a release; it’s kind of just for having fun,” he says. While some pros have success utilizing the platform for leads, Hansman says his growing viewership today consists mainly of fellow craftsmen. “For me, it’s really just networking with other hardwood guys,” he says. “I’m getting people that message me and ask for advice.” Although he still gets the occasional “internet expert” or critic, many of his comments today come from fellow pros with advice that he learns from, as well. Two years in, Hansman continues to be boggled by the algorithm and which videos get huge views and which don’t. It’s best to post with no expectations, he says. “I’d like to think it’s because people can see I have a passion for this trade,” he says of his TikTok popularity. Along with 60,000 more TikTok followers, there’s been another big change for Hansman over the past year: In August 2022 he started running his own business. As for what to name it, he went with something already recognizable—his TikTok handle, 50 Grit Flooring. “It’s just funny that it all ties back to TikTok,” he says.

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