Hello, fellow wood flooring craftsmen, Keith Long here with Thunderheart Flooring. I pulled back up to my home in Colorado last night after a great trip to Kansas City, Mo.
Ben Kimminau, owner of Kimminau Wood Floors, hired me to come out and consult with his company. He is a former IT specialist who decided to make a change from being employed in the corporate world to forming his own corporate entity and developing, from the ground up, a full-service wood floor contracting business in the greater Kansas City area. [Editor's Note: Read more from Ben Kimminau in "The Next Generation" in the February/March issue of WFB.]
Ben and I have known one another for around four years—we share similar views on many aspects of business. After having spent some time talking with him the end of last year, I got a better understanding of what his goals were. He explained to me that at the beginning of 2016, he had four full-time employees. At the end of 2016, he had 10. He shared how the new hires are good men, just a little green in the flooring skills department. Between having run 425 bids in 2016, and having been responsible for overseeing and closing out the jobs that were contracted, Ben felt he didn’t have as much time as he wanted to train his new hires as desired.
Our conversation went like this:
Ben: I want to be the best hardwood flooring company in my market. I’d like to hire you to come out and train my guys. Are you interested?
Me: Yes.
Ben: When can I get you?
Me: End of January, beginning of February.
Ben: Done. You can stay with us while you’re here, and we’ll cover your expenses. Tell me what you want for compensation, and I’ll pay you.
Ben has super guys in his employ. Here’s Jace Waters in the middle of preparing a subfloor in this formal dining room for a 4-inch select white oak herringbone pattern with a 5-inch select white oak border. After working with them the first day, I mentioned to Ben that they are young, able-bodied, willing workers, and they’re open to learning. That’s a great basic foundation to build more complicated and refined skill sets from—I had a great time running with these young men, and I look forward to future opportunities to learn and grow with them.
The way I see it, the beauty of blogs as a medium of communication is that these training sessions can be shared all across the planet. In effect, “the training” is brought to all of you, without having to travel, spend time away from family, pay for coursework, airfare, rental cars, hotels, eating out, lost income from not working, et cetera. Many thanks, Ben, for recognizing that it is a positive thing to put our minds and our hands together to make our businesses and this industry better!
