Hardwood Floors - Contractor Blog: Wayne Lee

Saturday, January 28, 2012

How Can I Help? Send Your Ideas

By Scott Avery

I have to admit that I was really close to sending out a post on Thursday, but I wasn’t 100% sure that it was that different from other posts. It may or may not have impacted the people I care about (honest and legitimate flooring contractors who are in tough times). I was coming back today from a marathon day of floor coating and it struck me that I would rather ask all of the people who are reading this exactly what could I talk about.

According to the editors at Hardwood Floors magazine, approximately 14,000 people read the HF E-News, which includes the Contractor Blog. I suspect that there must be a few thousand flooring contractors within that number who read the newsletter. My question is: How can I help you all? What is it that I might be able to share to send you on a path from doing okay to “Wow, we’re killing it”?

Before you answer, I want to fill you in on what I’m like, the company that we are and what I know well. We’re not a huge company with 20 employees. I have three employees, and we do two to three projects per week. Primarily we refinish floors and repair floors in older homes, but occasionally we install a brand-new floor. We’re not big on trying to win Floor of the Year like some of the big names in the NWFA, but we did win an NWFA Xtreme Makeover award in 2008 for a floor. I thought that win might change the rotation of the earth somehow. I was convinced that having my name in lights was going to fill my bank account. I learned six months later that was a case of delusion rather than what really happens when you win awards.

When my phone literally went dead in late 2008 six months after we won the award, I ran into a few of the right people (marketing experts) in early 2009, while in a really tough time with the family due to money problems. Given that my family matters more to me than anything, I adopted a “nothing to lose attitude” and decided to implement that advice to restore my home life and help my phone. All that I’ve learned since then through advice, reading, and implementing has turned me from just a guy with a bunch of tools into what I jokingly call “a floor guy turned into a marketer.”

I’m fascinated not by buzzwords associated with acronyms like SEO, PPC, and SEM, but rather with how elucidating what your company is like via the Internet drives the growth of a business with real results, which is why we are thriving instead of struggling.

I am 100% sure that the Internet has leveled the playing field regardless of the size of a business or the number of years in business for a flooring contractor.

Over the last three years we’ve learned that:

Content is king. The Internet is simply a portal that allows you to view what a business is like, and the post-recession consumer simply wants to evaluate the value of service providers discreetly, which the Internet allows. No content, boring content, or bad content = no phone calls.
Marketing “experts” aren’t contractors. Despite how much you rank at the top of the Internet, if you’re bad at making a good presentation during an estimate it doesn’t matter. You have to go from A to B to C, and no skipping. If you have a lot of phone calls, stumble on your communication, or have quality issues with your floors, it doesn’t matter what your Google ranking is, you will ultimately have problems that destroy profitability.
Increase your quality. There is simply no way to differentiate from a suffering market besides always striving to be better. On every single job you should be learning how to improve, end of story. “Good enough for government work” just doesn’t work anymore.

All that said, I want to hear from you all. I’m presenting on content marketing at the NWFA Expo in April in Orlando. (Take a look at the seminar schedule here.) What would you like to know about before then? What specific questions do you have that I could answer without you having to wait two more months? I write for you all, run a flooring business and love this industry. Write a comment with your thoughts on topics for the blog, your detailed questions about business procedure, or web marketing PLEASE. Who knows, maybe there’s a topic for a webinar in there, too (hint, hint, NWFA).

Posted By Scott Avery At 9:18 PM • Comments (6)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Does Size Really Matter?

By Wayne Lee

I’m missing out on the Surfaces show this year… but wait, is that the big show?

I have not been to Surfaces in three years and I have got to say it has not been a great concern for me. The show is big but doesn't have enough of the real things I need. There is so much to see that it gets all rolled up in one ball of what to look at next. That is why I enjoy the NWFA Expo more. Yes, it is smaller, but it is driven to the needs we have as wood flooring contractors, and all the exhibitors are specifically for just us.

Okay, you are right to think that my heart is with the NWFA—yes, I have done a few training classes with them and, yes, I blog for the magazine, but I have to say the Expo is the best for the total package we need at Cardinal Hardwood. Wood, finish, fillers, nailers, sanders and just about anything from A to Z for our market. Do not get me wrong, going to Surfaces is nice—it seems to set the tone for the year in the market—but it just lacks the feeling of friends and family you get with the NWFA Expo.

I look forward to the training the most at the NWFA Expo. The way that the manufacturers jump in with demo products is great, and before I forget, let me say that they give all year-round to the NWFA training classes. I do not think any of them have refused to support the training! So when you read that a company is an NWFA Partner in Education, take the time to say “thank you,” because we all get rewards from their gifts. Thank you, Partners, we would be lost without you. The folks who give their time to do the classes are just wonderful; they share with no desire for rewards in return. From top to bottom, our members are the best and they give the best 24-7. What brightens my eyes the most is the contractors who come to teach at the classes just to share their skills and knowledge and—let me add this very important fact—without pay. They pay for it out of their own pocket, and that speaks load and clear what our contractor members are all about.

Sorry for the rabbit trail… back to the Expo: This year’s seminars are to the point and driven to help us, the flooring folks. From the dealers to the floor contractors, it is at the Expo this year. Take the time to get on the Expo website and see what they are offering this year.

I was asked to do a class about job-site machine repairs and the upkeep of the units. It is an honor to be asked. I will be doing the class, but it is my desire to make this class for you. Here is my request: Please post comments on this blog with ideas about what units or tools you feel we need to address. I could pick a few units, but the ones I pick may not be the best. The best would be the stuff you all want to see and better understand. So please write some comments so we can plan the program format now. Like all of you, my days are full of floor work, and I will need time to get it all together. We also want to contact the folks who make the tools to get the latest information, tips and insight. Here's my promo video about the seminar:

It is an honor and so very important to me; my heart is 100% floor man. The past five years living the contracting life and doing the work have blessed me and my family. If you read my blog, I think you have a feeling of the change inside my heart and life. My head wants to say that my years with the machine company were not a waste, but my heart knows that the past five years have been the greatest path for me and my family. In life we do not know what is around the corner, but when we get to the turn ... we can look back or ahead. For me, the turn was worth it, and for my family, it has given us the blessing of coming together. When the work is slow, you pray together; when times are tough, you work together; and most of all, when the rewards come, you can share them together.

Please take the time to think my request through, give us your insight via e-mail, but most of all I want to see you at the NWFA Expo in Orlando in April.

Thank you all, and be safe.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 9:22 PM • Comments (5)

Friday, January 20, 2012

It Went Over Like A...

By Wayne Lee

I want to start with: Please keep your prayers going up for the folks in the Pacific Northwest, I am sad to hear about the mother and one-year-old child that were taken by the waters. Also, the folks in the Reno fires they need your prayers, that is a battle with winds and flames. Thank you for keeping them in your heart.

Back to work: I am ready to coat the stairs in the multi-million-dollar home with the Dura Seal conversion varnish, truth be told, I have NEVER used any finish like this on stairs. I have used it on the floor a few times, but getting it down is easy because it will lay down all by itself. The stairs pose a concern about the finish running or not laying down. We will do the rise going up, then the stairs on the way down; this way if we get a run we can get it on the way down.

The folks that did the stairs years ago finished all the parts in the barn in the backyard. They sprayed the stain, seal coat and topcoats. I cannot spray in the house and cannot give it that look without a ton of hand-work with the stain. We already did a ton of hand-work as far as scraping the stairs:

Stairs Hand Scraping.jpg

The stain came from Sherwin Williams; it is a cabinet stain, not a flooring stain. This was a wipe stain: wipe on but not off till it sets up. Here is the point where my knowledge ends, so if a stain/finish company could help and express what makes the cabinet wipe stain different from the stains we use on floors, that would help.

Time to preach at myself one more time: the smell of the stain we are using and the spirits gave me a huge head pain. It was wrong! So even if it does not smell when you open the can, it will in time.

Look at the handprint made in the stain (the photo is not the best, so for that please forgive me):

Stained Stairs Handprint.jpg

... then look at the stain after it set and was wiped clean with the spirits:

Stained stairs.jpg

We had to get the dark red with the hint of black and brown. The rich tone and deep color had to be in right from the start! Recall that I did not work on the skirt or detail work (and for that I am happy), but we had to nail the color.

I took a stain brush and put on the stain, then let that set up overnight. I came in the next day and took spirits with a soft rag and pulled the color into the wood and the extra off. I hope you can see the before and after; it was hard to keep the uniform color with the rags but, like I said, we could not spray in the house. I think we have a full day just working the stain into the step, clean off the rise and getting the look it needs. (Sorry if the photos are poor—I was under the influence of the smell!)

I should have the job done Saturday mid-day and will get you a photo of the finished look. I will take the time to put on the safety this time; I DO NOT want a head pain like that again! It was BC powder and a boatload of fresh air for me; do not do as I do...do as you are told to! I sound like my Daddy, but Daddy is a smart guy when it comes to doing what is right.

I start the heat-treated maple Monday. And oh yes, good news: Clifford is coming back to work with us! He went to work for a remodel guy but that guy started holding funds and telling them that he did not make the money on the job so they had to help make up the lost funds. Let’s see, a pay cut because the boss dropped the price to get the job and now he wants to make the crews eat his mistake… yes, that went over like a fart in church. So, Clifford called and asked if I could use him again—oh yeah! He is a good worker and he has the install skills. He does not sand and finish but wants to learn the craft now. I hope to bring him to an NWFA class this year. I enjoyed working with him and hated that he left, but that is okay because at the time we were slow.

On our last five estimates so far we got four of them, and I am going to call the last one and help them pick us. We ARE the highest price on the bid and we ARE the longest out for the timeline. But we ARE the right folks to do the job. It is not my pride or that I think more of our skills; it is knowing that we will work our best for them and their home.

I have got to hit the road and coat the stairs. You all be safe, and see you at the NWFA Expo in Orlando in April! I am looking forward to it.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 11:25 AM • Comments (0)

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Sparks Went Flying

By Wayne Lee

I have to say “I told you so” to who else but ... me. For years I have told folks to always look over the units for wear and to just keep the preventive maintenance up to date. My vac just died, and I mean sparks flying! I forgot to look at the brushes on the motors and, sure enough, they were done. So, note to self: take time to check the units over, down time kills your ability to make money and “git r done” on time. I do have an extra unit and was able to use that one, but it was a drag to change them out in the middle of the job. I ordered the parts and cleaned up the unit, so it will be back up and running in no time.

I have four estimates to get done today; I am so glad to have jobs in the works. If all goes well, we will get all four of them!

I am not sure if this is good or bad, but two of the companies that we have been competing with went under. They did good work but never charged enough funds for the work, sounds like the same old thing: work for less and get less in the bank. The price of supplies have not gone down, so why should our price? Both were small companies like me, but they were doing things for $.75 to $1.00 less than we were. And, most of all, they did not have the workers comp, insurance or state paperwork on file. Tennessee put the hammer down on contractors, and they were not able to keep the under-the-radar attitude any more. Once more, I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. I never liked the government putting their hand in the pie, but this time, it helped. I hope to pick up some work, but truth be told, no one can do all the work, and some of the work I do not want to do. We all have jobs that we know will never make folks happy and jobs that won’t go right no matter what you do. Those are the ones I bid high just in case we get it—so we either have extra funds for it or they tell me “no.”

There is one guy is trying to start up in the area; if you recall I let him use my gun to do a job. He is still up in the air—I spoke with him after his install, and he asked, "How do you work that hard every day?" So time will tell if he is ready to work like a floor person. (I almost said “floorman,” but we have some wonderful women working side by side with the men in this trade.) This is not a trade for the lazy. Dog if your body does not take a beating doing this for a living. My gut tells me that he will not make it. He was told that it was easy money—just bang in a few nails and you get a big payday...NOT!

Posted By Wayne Lee At 3:15 PM • Comments (1)

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Three Things to Think About for 2012

By Scott Avery

Sorry I’ve been out of touch for a little while, folks. It was a really laid-back holiday season and I spent that time enjoying the family as well as wrapping up a couple of flooring projects. I enjoy the holidays and I really enjoy the beginning of a new year. Culturally we tend to embrace and encourage new starts and planning for the year ahead. I thought I would offer some thoughts for anyone in the middle of their planning that might help.

1) Make your company exactly what you want. There seems to be a convention that bigger is better, or that if you don’t do all the work yourself that you’re selling out the quality of your work. If you feel like you have too many employees or if you’re burned out doing all the work yourself, then adjust accordingly this year. If you currently have four employees and feel like all you spend your day doing is bidding or cutting prices to keep them employed, then why not drop down to two employees and start relaxing? This is your business and you make the rules. If you’re tired of working for remodelers or installing bamboo, then stop doing it. I’m certain that most companies that will thrive going forward are going to focus on being better within a niche market rather than expanding service offerings into markets that are not their specialty. The Internet has made quality of service more and more transparent, and being a specialist in a profitable segment of the market will make good service a turnkey process.

2) Make your health a priority. Whether it’s mental or physical health, I would make it priority No. 1 this year. The demands of business have never been more difficult regarding taxes, homeowner expectations, and costs to run a business. Couple this with all of the electronic noise coming our way through e-mail, social media, etc., and I almost admire the people who live completely off the grid. To stay ahead of all these things and keep a strong confident business, nothing is more important than keeping yourself mental and physically healthy. It doesn’t mean a big overhaul, just start small by making one meal of the day more healthy (if don’t eat that great currently). Another hidden change for the good is to quit watching the news too much. Politics, death, and fear generate ratings for media companies but are a distraction if you have a company to run.

3) Video is going to be huge this year. With Roku, AppleTV, etc., video searching on a TV is here, and I encourage you to get a presence. You can’t reach through and touch stuff through a computer screen, but you can get a good idea of a person and their personality watching a video a lot better than reading stuff. I would have probably made this a video post, but I have a Rudolph-sized zit on my nose right now that wouldn’t help my on-screen presence. Maybe next week… Don’t overcomplicate things if you do make a video, because people are interested in real, not polished. I’ve seen all sorts of manicured videos for other companies done by Yellow Pages that just show sanders going back and forth. This still doesn’t offer a window into what kind of a good person you are. Just pretend that you are explaining a project like the guys on This Old House. Even if you don’t have a website, you can set up a YouTube channel in about three minutes with a Google e-mail account.

Just two weeks into 2012, I can tell you that business is going to improve around my area based on the phone calls and how early people are planning projects. I really hope that is the case nationwide, because I really do care about all the people who take the time to read the blogs at Hardwood Floors. I also want everyone who reads this post to have an advantage over the competition if they are interested in improving their business. Even though calls are up, the number of lowballers seems to also be up, so give yourself an edge this year with whatever it takes.

Posted By Scott Avery At 1:53 PM • Comments (0)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Stairs on the $3 Million House

By Wayne Lee

So here we go… I have been offline for a time—we have been dealing with a few family matters and year-end jobs that had to be done. My mother-in-law passed away just before Christmas. That was not fun around the time of year when being with family should be enjoyable.

I got behind on a few small jobs during the time away; once we got home it was work, work and work to get ready for New Year’s plans we had with family. My sister, brother, nephew and his lady friend all came for the new year hunt and to welcome in 2012. They were with us for the week, so I had to take time to be with them, but that got me behind on the stair job (the one at the $3 million house where the horse dented the wood floor).

I am working on them now and wow, to say they are a ton of work is putting it mildly. They were the worst set I have done in a long time. The large dogs had them eat up like a soup sandwich—there are deep cuts, the nosing is no longer round and the steps were walnut per everyone, but they are not! They are oak with a dark red/brown stain to make them look "rich." Getting the color matched was a job—I went to Sherwin Williams four times to add a little red, a little black, a little brown and a ton of luck. Mrs. Diane there was a huge help with getting this right. We did it all from a photo off my cellular phone and my eye, and I am colorblind as anyone can be. Thank you, Mrs. Diane, for taking so much time with me. The reason for the color match? Because I am not sanding the skirt, just the stairs and very glad of it. Here are some pics from the job:

Stairs job.jpg

I did pick up a 1,600-foot install, sand & finish job with thermo-treated maple that looks awesome. I have never sanded thermo flooring before, so it was time to call in the big gun. My friend Daniel Boone is going to come work with me on this job if we can work out the timeline. Most of you know that we are the best of friends and when we get together, stuff gets done. The trouble is that between stuff getting done we have more fun pulling jokes on each other. Now, it has been some time since my boots were nailed to the subfloor, so who knows what will happen next.

Posted By Wayne Lee At 9:07 PM • Comments (4)

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