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301 articles found.
Page 1 of 7.
Tales from the Front: Repeat That?
(April/May 2013 - HF Editors)
Brandon Spearman, now president/CEO of Spearhead Marketing Inc. in Langly, B.C., recalls an amazing call he got back during his days working for a hardwood flooring...
Improving Outlook: State of the Industry 2013
(April/May 2013 - Kim M. Wahlgren)
As this issue went to press, the increasingly positive news about the economy was tempered by the implementation of the government's sequestration measures. The good news for the wood flooring industr...
Social Studies: Getting Visual on Facebook
(April/May 2013 - Michael Gaio)
Recently I joined our Hardwood Floors team in Las Vegas for Surfaces. It was great getting a chance to meet a lot of you, and I was impressed with the enthusiasm many of you...
Business Brief: Five Top Decision Pitfalls
(April/May 2013 - Michael Menard)
Don’t make these five top decision-making statements that get in the way of success. 1) “We need to change, only not today.” We often avoid ...
A Crisis of Betrayal Transforms This Company Forever
(April/May 2013 - Jimmy Nguyen)
When it comes to hardwood flooring, there is a saying that personally resonates with me: “You’re only as good as your last job.” While a simple phrase at heart, it serves as a personal mantra ...
How to Make Today's Facebook Work for Your Business
(April/May 2013 - Michael Gaio)
The beauty of Facebook was its simplicity. Yes, I said was. Once upon a time the social networking site was free from ads, spam and countless brand pages asking users to...
Protect Your Bank Accounts From Online Fraud
(April/May 2013 - Phillip M. Perry)
Quick. Easy. Efficient. What business doesn’t love online banking? Be aware, though, of the danger: Hackers can access your account, drain your funds and threaten...
Answers to License Requirement Questions for Contractors
(April/May 2013 - D. Jeffrey Craven)
License requirements vary from state to state, so the question “Do I need to be licensed?” isn’t easy to answer. In some states, like Wyoming, New York and...
Use These Tips to Invest in the Right Architectural Photographer
(February/March 2013 - Dale Hall)
Not all commercial photographers are created equal. There are studio tabletop shooters...
Sharing Wisdom After a Lifetime in the Wood Flooring Industry
(February/March 2013 - Don Conner)
I grew up in the family floor covering business and was fortunate enough to end up in...
Is Obamacare Good or Bad For Your Small Business?
(February/March 2013 - Phillip M. Perry)
Will “Obamacare” batter or bolster your bottom line? The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) comes at a time of...
Business Brief: Examining Impact
(February/March 2013 - Kim M. Wahlgren)
During the Great Recession, most companies went through intense belt-tightening...
Sealed With a Kiss: Old-Fashioned Reforestation Efforts
(February/March 2013 - Doug Dalsing)
There was a time when setting up a kissing booth was deemed good marketing for a cause. In this undated...
Unenforceable? Not All Clauses in Your Contract Are a Lock
(February/March 2013 - Josh M. Leavitt and Daniel G. Rosenberg)
It is not unusual to see contracts in the construction industry that shift risks downstream. Especially in...
Techno Tip: Private Eyes
(February/March 2013 - HF Editors)
Good retailers tend to know what their competition is up to, and now there’s an app...
Ideas to Consider Before Launching an Internet Flooring Store
(December 2012/January 2013 - John Weller)
I interact with independent flooring retailers daily, and the buzz on the street is e-commerce—the antithesis of the traditional way of selling flooring. At April’s NWFA Wood Flooring Expo, I spoke wi...
Business Brief: Using Fear
(December 2012/January 2013 - Larry Jacobson)
What are you afraid of in your business life? Making a sales call to a tough prospect? Having an important conversation with an employee...
Follow These Recommendations for Handling Hazardous Materials
(December 2012/January 2013 - D. Jeffrey Craven)
Hazardous materials are aplenty on the wood flooring job site. Some of them, like asbestos, lead, mold and PCBs, may already be present on a job site when doing remodeling work. Others, like VOCs ...
TechnoTip: Keeping That Smartphone Battery Juiced
(December 2012/January 2013 - Doug Dalsing)
We’ve all been there—at the most inopportune moment, your smartphone battery dies and you’re unable to call your supplier, customer or fantasy football commissioner. Rather than ...
Economic Forecast: What Will 2013 Hold?
(December 2012/January 2013 - Phillip M. Perry)
Overcast with clearing skies. That’s the economic forecast as the nation approaches 2013. Drizzly conditions will remain at least for the first half of next year as consumers ...
TechnoTip: How Should I Back Up My Business Files?
(October/November 2012 - HF Editors)
Follow these steps to ensure your business can keep humming along in the event your computer system crashes and you ...
Flooring Florida: A Day in the Life of Contractor Paul Williford
(October/November 2012 - Doug Dalsing)
For the past few decades, Paul Williford has led a wood flooring company founded on old-fashioned values like respect, service and integrity, and it doesn't appear he'll be changing ...
Business Brief: Striking Balance with Your Leadership
(October/November 2012 - Lee Ellis)
Is your leadership out of balance? Most likely it is, because more than 85 percent of people are strong at either results or...
Watching Wood Flooring Emerge as Globalization Takes Over
(October/November 2012 - Jim Gould)
Just a few decades ago, hardwood floors were not part of mainstream flooring. There were limited opportunities for hardwood manufacturers...
With Gibson Settlement, 'Due Care' is Slightly More Clear
(October/November 2012 - Marcus Asner, Samuel Witten & Katherine Ghilain)
The Criminal Enforcement Agreement that Gibson Guitar signed with the Department of Justice (DOJ) brings some clarity to the Lacey Act’s mandate that companies ...
Track Your Bit-Hit Ratio to Maximize Your Efforts and Profits
(October/November 2012 - George Hedley)
As with fishing, you must change your estimating and bidding strategies to get the big ones to bite more often. In the end, your goal should be to improve ...
Managing Your Company's Online Reputation
(October/November 2012 - Phillip M. Perry)
Smartphones are constantly getting faster at processing data. That helps people quickly post reports on their business experiences while searching for the most highly ranked ...
How to Control Your Monthly Mobile Phone Costs
(August/September 2012 - Phillip M. Perry)
Talk is cheap. True cliché? Maybe not if phone bills are any indication. Most businesses are discovering how quickly costs can mount not only for “talk” but also ...
Trick of the Trade: Tip for Job-Costing
(August/September 2012 - HF Editors)
Knowing how much to charge for a job is a perpetual problem for many wood flooring...
TechnoTip: Taking Credit Card Payment With a Smartphone
(August/September 2012 - HF Editors)
Did you know your smartphone can serve as a mobile credit card portal? The mobile payment industry is growing at a rapid clip with two service providers ...
Motivate Top Talent in Tough Times
(June/July 2012 - Brad Remillard)
In difficult times, motivating top talent is critical to success. Focus on these six...
Avoiding Harassment Claims In the Workplace
(June/July 2012 - Phillip M. Perry)
Is your business safe from lawsuits for sex harassment or discrimination? That question has become top of mind for many employers, and for good reason: Last year ...
Collecting Accounts Receivable—On Time
(June/July 2012 - Gene Siciliano)
A few years ago, your business was probably running pretty smoothly, with sales and profits growing. And then the recession ...
TechnoTip: Taking Your Music to the Job Site
(June/July 2012 - HF Editors)
They’re touted as tiny, but when you’ve got thousands and thousands of them on your smartphone, the luster of mp3s starts to fade. Nowadays, the most convenient way to access music ...
How to Leverage Your Customer's Testimonials
(June/July 2012 - Pam Lontos)
Which are you more likely to believe? A company representative telling you how great his product or service is, or a recommendation from another person about ...
Tales from the Front: That Sinking Feeling
(June/July 2012 - HF Editors)
Contractor John Blesing in Clifton, N.J., had an estimate recently that provided more excitement than he would...
Bid the Customer: Tailoring Estimates for Each Customer
(June/July 2012 - Scott Tarpinian)
Every wood flooring contractor can tell you that when you walk up to someone’s house for the first time...
Answer These 5 Questions for Better Financial Control
(April/May 2012 - Gene Siciliano)
In today’s challenging economic environment, it’s more important than ever for contractors to have a firm grasp on financial management. When all is said and done, there are a handful of ...
State of the Wood Flooring Industry 2012: Rocky Ground
(April/May 2012 - HF Editors)
For the past few years, the wood flooring industry has been traveling over shaky economic terrain, but...
Act Right Now to Prosper in Tough Times
(February/March 2012 - George Hedley)
Customers have eased buying, competitors are closing, layoffs are common, banks have cut back on lending, consumer confidence is down, and the list goes on. Unfortunately, many ...
Tips on Navigating the New Lending Frontier
(February/March 2012 - Phillip M. Perry)
If you’re like most small business owners, you’re finding it tougher than ever to negotiate with your bank. Loans are harder to come by. Fees are thicker on the ground. While the reluctance of banks ....
Vintage Moments: Tree Handbook Proves Useful for Education & Marketing
(February/March 2012 - Doug Dalsing)
When marketing your business, it’s always wise to give your customers something useful to complement your products. Think branded beer can koozie or pen, but ...
Vintage Moments: The Inaugural NWFA Expo
(April/May 2012 - Doug Dalsing)
In April 1986, the NWFA held its very first convention—just five months after the association formally organized in December 1985. That first convention attracted ...
ABCs of Forming a Wood Flooring Business
(April/May 2012 - D. Jeffrey Craven)
Many wood flooring contractors work out of their house. Just because your house is your “home office” doesn’t mean that you aren’t operating a “real” business, or that you ...
Smart Smartphone Security Tips
(April/May 2012 - HF Editors)
Pull out your smartphone. Turn it on and open your email. Easy enough, right? Well, the same can be said for any snoop that picks up your smartphone ...
Going From Negative Worker to Positive Reformer
(April/May 2012 - Phillip M. Perry)
Sam makes snide remarks about customers while working in their homes, Sally scowls behind the boss’s back and Bill laughs at his co-workers’ ideas. Do those people sound ...
Profit Killers on Wood Floor Jobs
(April/May 2012 - Jack Stuart)
Complaints, callbacks or absorbed repairs—whatever you call them—are one of the biggest profit killers in the floor business, yet ...
What to Do About Contractor Classification Laws
(February/March 2012 - D. Jeffrey Craven)
Since 2009, Democrats in Congress along with the Obama Administration—looking for a way to capture more tax revenue—have been attempting to repeal or modify ...
Vintage Moments: Enduring Oak Flooring
(December 2010/January 2011 - Doug Dalsing)
‘The richness of an Oak floor in the dining room contributes to a sense of wellbeing and enjoyment.” So says to the ninth edition of “The Story of Oak Floors,” which was ...
TechnoTip: To the Cloud!
(December 2011/January 2012 - HF Editors)
Cloud computing gives you access to almost any type of electronic file from anywhere you can access the Internet. When you wield a smartphone, you can have access to these files while ...
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