The Huddle - Episode 145 - Would You Rather: Flooring Edition
This week on The Huddle, we're flipping the script! Join Daniel and Jose for a special episode of Would You Rather: Flooring Edition — a hilarious, eye-opening, and totally raw take on the quirks, challenges, and head-scratchers of the commercial flooring world.
From job site dilemmas to business growth choices, we’re asking the hard-hitting (and hilarious) questions installers face every day — and we want YOU to weigh in.
💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: A series of “Would You Rather” questions that spark real discussion about challenges in the flooring industry—from dealing with moisture and uneven concrete to choosing between weekly pay or delayed higher rates. The team shares honest takes on field versus office work, tool mishaps, training the next generation, and what it really takes to grow a business without becoming a sub.
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Heat Heat
[Music]
Hey everyone how's How's it going Welcome to the Huddle your weekly playbook where every time Paul is gone I
say the same thing But we're here to support you guys in the flooring industry And uh we're really looking for
your guys' input today because we want to we want to see what you guys would rather do right Um I'm going bring this
up right now before we uh get too far into it If you like our content make
sure you like subscribe let us know uh what you did like what you didn't so that way we
can adjust from there We just need we we always need your guys' input to to know
what we're going to talk about But today it's going to be a would you rather right I think everyone has played
that this game at least once when they were when they were kids
but I think you need to turn your game down a little bit
Again as you as you guys know we always have issues with
with technology only when I'm here cuz so apparently it's always my fault
Always So we hope you guys are are doing well and keeping busy I know with us
right now um in the field it's kind of uh iffy There's projects out there but
then in the office it's like super busy Like yesterday I was
getting emails that I couldn't even answer because trying to get some of these uh these bids out to some of these
companies and it's just it's so hard to keep up for us right now
So let us know how how you guys are doing in the field in the
office So this first question here let's just get right into
it Uh would you rather install over concrete that's not
level or moisture that moisture that won't quit
This is so a Ashlin was uh nice enough to put this stuff in the chat Thank you
Ashlin I think we're going to have to to revise some of it though So I think on a
concret on concrete that's not level or something that's high in moisture and
100% I think that that's an easy one She said that it
was it was chat GPT not Ashlin She she I think she always says
when she's uh she's doing stuff for us she's like "I have no idea what you guys are even
talking about but if I if you did you know what we're talking about."
She just lies But anyways I I think I'd definitely rather install over some
concrete that is not level because anytime we're talking we don't
talk about level It's always level versus flat right and moisture is that one of those things
that it uh if there's an issue it never quits unless you do something about it
Yeah you you could probably get away with something that uh concrete that's not level or not flat
before you get away with concrete that's got
moisture Unless you want to go on an adventure go right ahead but I wouldn't advise it
So there was um Jason has been a guest on the show a few times and he had a question
uh on one of his page Facebook pages the other day that was like it was brand new concrete It's only
been poured for like 27 days The GC says "Hey I need you to start installing it
right now What do you do?"
Depends There's a couple different things I know we what we've done in the past what
um deep seal they adhering deep seal but then but then again we've
also trying to coordinate getting in there and using it right away or having the concrete guys
put it on or the GC right because that's something that can
go on when the right after the concrete is poured Yep But then you also have in
the spec that if there's any topical on there you have to get rid of it So it's
like what do you do But a lot of the guys were going in there and you know they were giving their two cents and I
think um one of the right answers is probably start moisture testing because you don't
know what you don't know My answer was let's just use some Taylor Resolute and
walk away Dude we've used it and that stuff works I mean
it's got to be patient Can't go that far Can't go that fast depending on how cut
up it is There's there's not there's a method to that madness But
I will say that it did save the individual project that we did
It did save them a lot of money on mitigation You're cutting in and out right now I think So you might have to turn your
game back up And I'm just gonna have to try and talk a little a little lower A
little lower Hold on I'm probably cutting out because I still got 27 tabs open I don't know When you when you put
your face right in the microphone we can hear you good I'm scratching it with my chin
All right This next one Would you rather work 10hour days for 4 days or eight
hour days for six days I think this is
81 Well not not in the in the flooring world because we're used to working
10-hour days six days a week So I mean you you get uh floor guy on
there all the time Where's my weekend warriors at Right
I see him post more on the weekends than I do during the weekdays like he's got he's got to be like the
first flooring vampire that just he don't
sleep So you're right that that one is an easy one right Because we already work 10hour days so why not just make it
a four four day week and call it a call it good And typically we do that when
it's a night project because we're we're trying to put as many hours in as we can
get it done and get out of there So that way you can we typically tell the guys
you know we're working or we tell who we're working for We're working four days Monday through Thursday The guys
are getting the weekend off because uh a majority of us have kids So you you
still need that fluff room in there in order to get acclimated back
to weekends with the kids waking up in the morning sports Oh well not only that
it's um your your body when you when you're on first and then you go to third and
then you go to second and back to first and try to do that Your your body does not like that I didn't is uh I got sick
of getting sick when it around those times when we were doing that Um it was
very hard and sometimes it was right off of third right in the first the next day
rough rough days Yeah it's it's horrible And plus we you
know our nephew comes in here sometimes that works third shift and it's like dude when do you even ever sleep
They're a different breed They just they love it They actually I don't even know if they
love it versus they're just used to it I don't know I don't think I I would
ever get used to working third shift regardless of how long I did it
Are you going down the list here Yeah I'm just going right down the list that uh good old AI provided for us
I just don't know if he switched my list up So uh I I'm I'm just going off the original
list So what do you got next Would you rather get paid weekly but lower
rates or No apparently we're going off of different lists now
So go ahead You asked that question Yeah Says "Would you would you rather get paid weekly but lower rates or higher
rates with 60-day pay terms?"
Man that's um if you put yourself in a good
situation the 60 days with higher rates could be more beneficial for sure But
it's are you working for a beer or you working for a career right Like which one are you doing That's going to
dictate whether or not you're ready for this 60-day time frame Um and even if you are ready sometimes
you're just not it just you're just not used to waiting that
long Yeah that's a that's a tough one right
there I think a lot of people are looking for more stability right And I guess it
depends on if you work for yourself or if you work for someone because if
you're working for yourself sometimes it's it's easier to swallow that pill
than it is if you're working for someone else right Because I mean I think we've
all I know you and I have been there when you're working for someone but you're working on a 1099 so technically
you're working for yourself but they're supposed to be paying you weekly and then they're like oh I didn't get a check and then the next week oh I still
didn't get paid And it's like dude it doesn't matter if you got paid I need to get paid But now we're on that other
side where it's like we're we're chasing that money right where it's like hey I need to get paid I gotta pay my guys And
that's the the thing where um I talk about Simon Synynic a lot and he has a a
book you know leaders eat last And that's really the way it is because it doesn't matter what's going on If it
comes down to it and I got enough money in the account to pay the guys or or me
take a little bit it's always going to be paying the guys Always Always 100% I don't ever I don't
ever want anyone to feel like they can't put food on their table because because we couldn't pay for something they've
already done And I mean granted there's there has been a few times where you know you get
those text messages or the calls and it's like "Hey man my check hasn't showed up yet." And it's like
man I I know I did my part Let me And then I have to dig into what's going on And when you talk to the payroll company
they're like "Oh yeah They'll get it by the end of the day." And that's the thing It's they're they're looking for it right when they wake up It's like
"Hey this is usually in here by the time I open my eyes and it's not in there." So I understand the frustration
Yeah I remember having multiple conversations where "Don't mess with my money You
can't mess with you can't do that man You just like I don't care if you
spitting my sandwich and I eat it out of lunch but don't mess with my money because then I can't have a spit
sandwich tomorrow You know what I mean right This is a good one right
here Would you rather have a good steak or a good taco And that's a trick question because I would rather have a
good steak taco Bam
Solved That's no question on that one Mr You you can't ask a Mexican that because
we would give you this that answer every single day because guess what If I'm out of state I know you guys have seen these
videos on TikTok lately where they go to like habachi and this dude pulls like a pack of tortillas out of his pocket and
they start warming them up right there on the grill And that's that's what we do That's for real I remember being
younger and we'd be in McDonald's and my dad reach into his pocket and pull out a whole baggie full of uh jalapenos
That is for real Hey that's like macaroni right Like I don't eat pasta anymore but when I did I'd have me some
macaroni tacos I didn't care
So that that last one was a
little weird because it's it's kind of two-sided but I
mean depends on where you're coming from So what we got
now I'm I'm just going to going to jump around
Would you always would you rather always run out of adhesive halfway through or
always misplace your triel
Bro I think um I just rather run out of adhesive halfway
through because if I'm if I'm I'd rather just say "Hey dude I ran out of adhesive
Daniel ordered the material bro There was nothing I could do." Just always blame it on someone else
When But when it's your trial that's your fault right Yeah I'll be back I'll be back tomorrow with more of these with
this brand new trout that I cleaned off that spread that glue so good I
remember there was one time I was at a project by myself and uh I had to change
the notches on a tri and I went in my box and there was I didn't have anything
to get the the notch out cuz we use inject a notch and I'm like I'm looking
all over and there's nothing on it It's like biting There's nothing there And
I'm trying to get this thing off of there And then I went like this and a chunk of my tooth came off And that was
the last time I ever did that That's how you know we're from different times because the time I ship my tooth like
that is when I was opening a beer for dad Gotto here hand me a beer in the
back seat Open that for me
And again I don't know man I think I think you're right I think I would all I would
just rather run out of glue because then it's like "All right I'm just going to do this Take off I'll be back tomorrow."
Yep But if you if you misplace your trial you're going to be looking for that trial for
like an hour before you're like "Oh if you misplace your trial I'm just
going to go ahead and judge it and say that you have other issues besides not having trout." Like maybe you made it up
Maybe you thought you had a trout but it was just imaginary the whole time
Oh I wonder if I can just
I'm looking at different ways to see if I can make it look better when we put it on
her Hey there That's That's a little better Would you rather teach a rookie
or work alone with no help That's that's going to be a age
question right There's gonna be certain people that answer that one way and a certain age that answer that another way
And maybe that's just me Unless you're just unless nobody likes you and you have to work alone then you're going to
answer it like it was your idea Well I think we we know people that I
mean I think you were one of those guys where you were an a-hole and no one
wanted to work with you But then you would you were still always the best one
to work with because you would show people the right way to do things So it's like I would explain everything
probably a little too much but but yes you're right I was uh I am I
don't really know anymore what I am Uh but yes I was not the nicest I was not
the nicest of people to work with after I I showed you how to do something more than once
Yeah Would you leave it at that Yeah And I think I would
uh It's tough man because it it depends on what you're doing Because if I'm doing a bunch of carpet tile Yeah let me
get a bunch of people that don't know what they're doing so just so they can haul stuff But if you're working in and
doing some sheet vinyl flash cove heat welding it's like if you don't have someone there that knows what they're
doing Yeah Just you go over there I'll be over here Poor baby sister I know
right I mean manage me But you know what We were all there at one point There was always someone
with us at at almost every step of the way that didn't know what they were doing
So Mr Paul said that he would teach a rookie as long as they show up
Paul nice to see you on here man We're missing you today Your intro was really
lacking Yeah it was You did horrible on that intro today Paul Just so you know Would
you rather be the boss or the worker with no worries And that was actually
going to be one of the last ones I put up but since Rollin brought it up let's
talk about it
Realistically I'd rather be the the worker with no worries Don't you miss it sometimes Oh my
goodness I don't remember it That's what I
So it's like that thing that I I showed you in Adana the other day right It was
an entrepreneur is someone that doesn't want to work a nineto-5 so they work 247
instead Yes Yeah But you know what It's all good when it's your idea on your own
terms right That's and that's the difference It's
Mr Garden When are you going to retire That guy retired He's just redirected
Look Jimmy says he misses it today I mean there's always those times where
it's like man I just wish I could go back and it would be easier but
then I think that's the the entrepreneurial entrepreneurial roller
coaster right It's always good book So good book
I will say um the the worker with no worries either
gets forced to learn to do something that they don't want to learn or they're gungho and like I want to learn this
Either way it goes at some point you're like I wish I didn't learn that
Well it's and I I talked to someone Oh man who was it I don't even
remember You It was during spring break and um we were in Vegas and there was
someone that was right next to us and she had her computer out and she's like
all stressing out She was there with you guys just she
can't do nothing Well she she was like um she said something and I was like you
know all it all being a leader is is just a glorified
babysitter And she just started laughing and she was actually the CFO of the largest cattle producer in Nebraska Dude
don't they have a TV show about that I don't know But she was like "Man
people just can't do it Like they can't figure things out when I'm not there." And I
said "What are you going to do You can't do nothing You're already
here." Figure it out Sometimes people got to figure it out for
themselves [Laughter]
mentally Wrong Wrong Rword
Nate I think I am going to go back to putting the little ticker on because then the comments will
um take the place of what's going up there Gotcha All right So what we got right
here So so I'm going to do this one next Uh I'm just going to read it as I'm putting it in there Would you
rather work a night shift work a night shift in a clean hospital or a day shift
in a dirty warehouse And I think everyone if you're
in commercial you've probably done
both Um I I don't mind either one to be
honest with you Dirty warehouse Like what kind of dirty we talking about Like we talking
like like infestation dirty you talking dusty dirty Um my mind automatically
went to dusty dirty like when we were doing those you know huge warehouses or like the um the the people that work in
with aluminum and you have like shavings everywhere and it's like anytime you you sweep sweep up it never gets clean
Yeah if you say it like that I think I prefer the clean hospital but I think we have the same percentages of getting
sick either way And that's the thing it's what is considered a clean hospital because it could be they clean it all
the time but then it doesn't matter if you're going in the bathroom that bathroom is going to be gross because you're ripping it out and then you're
seeing everything that has leaked down there over the course of what 15 20
years however long that was down Absolutely disgust I will I will uh say
though women are just as gross in the bathrooms as men I will I will put that out there
Jimmy says night shift No one's around And yes and no I' I was been in a a
hospital project a while ago that was they wanted us to do the hallways in an
in a hallway that never closed We have done that actually um not always
the easiest and that's when you have to stick to
your guns and tell people to go around and they get so mad at you I threw options out They went with the low bid
instead So we don't have to worry about it It's fine On to the next
one Nate said he'd rather be working than waiting Dirty hands clean money
There you go Hey some some some people live for uh to go to work and then just wait around
Anyways so you you about to read Rand's comment Nope Where's he at Oh I thought you were
saying you said this one cuz Rin has another question Would you rather be out in the field working or be stuck in the
office doing paperwork That's an easy easy one brother I'd
rather be out in the field That's super like
But it's it's crazy right Because you go out in the field and after not being out there for so long your body hurts Hurts
My body your body always hurts My body hurts every day for other reasons But
yeah go out there and definitely can't do what I used to do but I do love being out there on the
job site and like showing the guys what's going on Like when me and my son
went and did base on the weekend and clean up a lot of things that got missed but I was able to hang
out with my son for for a little bit a few hours on a Sunday I was able to get away from the office away from It was
nice to not have to think about what it takes to be in the office
Yeah And it's just that mentally exhausting thing And cuz when you're here or when you're anyone that that can
take their computer with them and work anywhere it's hard to get away from it Especially when you have these deadlines
like um all these bids coming up and it's like man this this one I I was
working on for you know a week straight and it's like you sometimes it's hard to see the
payoff because you you will work a week on a bid and then be 3% high and lose it
on that 3% and it's like you but when you're in the field
you see your progress as you go like It's and you don't have to think about
it Especially us you know we've been doing it for over 20 years so we just go out there and do it Especially when you can pop some headphones in which is not
necessarily um you don't see headphones and and
radios on job sites like you used to It's just too much of a safety hazard
But for sure it's way personally for us it's way easier in
the field because it's something that you just get out there and do
in here Every project Well I guess out there too right
Every project is different You run into stuff but it's you can get creative in here You can't really get creative on
bidding a project or doing paperwork Yeah You got to you you have to stay on
task get get it done the way the programs allow you to get it
done Um there is no freelancing it If you
miss something you miss it See even Jimmy says he'd rather be in the field working but you have to keep work coming
in And that's true too And that's where we always you know go back to us joining
our local chamber and then them saying "You got to start working on your business instead of in your business."
And it's even when the time comes for one of us to go in the field it's hard
to leave the guys hanging when you know that you're not in
here preparing for when the slow time is going to come when there ain't that work there
Paul's got a good one here He said "Would you
rather epoxy grout replacement in a KFC or clean toilets?" And I would rather
clean toilets Yeah I would say I'd rather clean the toilets because
essentially you're cleaning a bathroom anyway You're cleaning the floors to to receive
epoxy Think about like all the nasty jobs we
can do when you like moving things around All of a sudden you're like "Hey what's it?" And
then it's a a dead mouse and you got the bombs inside Oh my goodness
Oh well I already touched it for lunch Bro go wash your
hands Everyone's done that too Like bro did you wash your hands before you came out here Oops Yeah
The floor is where you earn but the desk is where you where you keep some of it And that's true
too Jimmy just likes that saying working on your business not in your business
And that's what a lot of people need to realize is that doing the work on the computer
isn't like especially when you just start it's it becomes tedious You don't want
to do it because you don't know what you're doing Unlike the in the field where it's
like pop in some headphones and just go to town Don't even think about it Just do it Lost If it's if it's not something
that you do then you're just falling behind
man Install Uh Paul says that installing is more gratifying but winning a bid
that you really want is also hard to beat And that one is true too And I
don't like that That is a really good feeling but also a horrible feeling is when you really wanted it and then
someone else gets it and you're just like and that's where you get into these
you know slumps where it's like just go work for somebody man like
how am I even trying Ah man A lot of conversations been coming up um between other generals
and other installers about that and and it's a it's a game It's definitely a
game Uh back and forth Um and it sucks right Like you got the
working out your business part is just as much of a thing here for the office portion than it is the installer portion
because when you're installing working on your business is getting stuff done right making it look
good getting done on time You're working on your reputation reputation So you're working on your business Come in the office now you're trying to increase
that trying to keep your workflow going Now you got to find other ways to work
on it while you're in here working on it right So we got a question here What's
the best way to find people looking for flooring without becoming a sub for a store And that is kind of it it depends
if you're residential or if you're commercial and also what type of flooring you're doing
So I guess let let us know that unless we just expand on everything Like if if
you're residential I mean I don't really know because a lot
of the residential that we do just comes to us with everyone being sick of everyone else like having to deal with
everyone else But um having a business phone line
helps a little bit It's not just a cell phone number that that people are giving out You actually
have we're listed as preferred flooring So
it's not just you know and another thing too is is word of mouth right Like um we
we have since day one we've had a great support system through our family and
our friends So anytime someone hears of anything hey you know I'm getting ready
to to do a remodel and paint my walls not even doing any floors and it's that you know what Hey my uh my brother does
floors my cousin does floors my son does floors and and that's all it is And and
I do that for people too It's like uh we're going to be think about doing our floors but first we got to get our
ceiling done or get new windows You know what I know a guy Um Nate Nate has a recommendation too So
in your travels you're inspecting every floor anyway So note on a business card can get you in Also custo custodians can
get you in too So he's talking more So it's dare we say networking
Networking because that that's a big part of even on the commercial side It's networking And then you can um also talk
about advertising right So what are you doing to advertise We have tried multiple things We've tried you know in
the beginning um talking to some of the news sites and and getting on there and
that didn't lead to anything but it's also about how long are you willing to advertise to see a return on investment
So we we get into um sponsoring little league and um a
bunch of you know these little kids sports teams and then people see your logo and then they'll see our vans and
then you know anywhere basically everywhere we go we're wearing some merch of some sort or we're with someone
that has the merch on and they're like they they look at the the banner and then they look at us and they're like
you guys with them and it's like Yeah And it's just getting into a conversation and you know some of these
little league teams that we've sponsored you know it took four or five years in order for us to of sponsoring in order
for us to get a pretty solid project from it but that project was pretty sizable And it's
like it's the long game It is And you know what's funny is we just uh just had a conversation today
about that like are you still doing anything with adult teams As I said unfortunately we're not right And you
know the ROI on that is slim to none if any But when you get involved with the
youth people tend to return the favor a lot more when when you're helping uh the
kids grow and experience life versus helping adults uh with a hobby
And I I've seen it you know that so not not only sponsoring the
teams but just going there and being with the kids So we've been going to career fairs We've been going um I had
the the privilege of going and doing some mock interviews with some of the fourth graders over at one of the
schools And it's just like teachers and stuff take note of that and then they're like
"Hey I have this project over here you know at my house Can you come take a look at it?" So it's it's just being
aware that everywhere you go you're basically a salesman whether you're whether you think you are or not
And I think it took us a long time to realize that too So Jimmy says "Oh I don't know who
those Gonzalez bros are." Yeah we're Gonzalez That goes als
is the BBB a good thing They are bugging me the last year to get in and honestly
you know what they used to be right because that that would be the
place that everyone goes for reviews Now where does do people go for reviews
Social media Yeah Yeah Um Google My Business So so we we bought into the BBB
for a little while but the and this is different for everybody right Like it could be different in your area I don't
know But this is our experience is it was a membership so that we could
use their logo because it was one of the most recognizable logos around
and they can just pretty much say whatever they want about you when you do
something wrong but they don't ever advocate for you when you do something good unless someone is searching through
the BBB for you Does that make sense Yeah you it's easier to leave a positive
review on social media than it would be to contact the BBB and say "These guys are great." Yeah but they really really
wanted to let you know when somebody was bad So every commercial job Nate puts a card
dispenser and offer an employee discount to anyone who works there So yeah
definitely get permission first But that's actually a great idea It's um kind of one of those gorilla marketing
tactics right It's what am I going to do that is relatively inexpensive to to to
do You're just the cost of the cards that you have anyways but you're also hey if anyone needs any flooring you
know I'll give you guys a discount Then you just mark it up like Home Depot does
and then discount it from there Right Right That's what you do Nick change change of sticker price and
slashing slashing prices So he he said he just started two to three years ago
doing painting and flooring He prefers flooring cuz that's what he's done longer Hardwood glue down and staple
LVP glue down vinyl He wants to get giant commercial
jobs but has no idea how to even get in the door with with something like that the painting division was because of his
brother that his brother mainly did that So the end goal would be multiple crews
and a paint division and a floor division But right now it's just him and his brother So
well at least you can see if you're looking at another good Well if if you're looking at commercial projects
like that I would definitely start building up your crew on each side
before you went and did that And there's no shame in working for someone else
instead of trying to bid your own jobs especially when you're just trying to start because you're looking at I mean
so a oneweek project for commercial flooring can be
$100,000 right it and half of that is gone immaterial and you have to come out
of pocket that 50 grand sometimes you know and and wait 30 60 90 days in order
to get paid for that So it's what are you going to do in order to accumulate and build up to that point to
where you can safely go out and say "All right I can do a $100,000 project." And
then it's done like that Like Yep But then you also have to make sure that you have the right people in place because
just starting out a $100,000 project can put you in a very bad spot if if it's not done uh to I I don't want
to say the spec right But if it's not if you don't satisfy the customer at the end of the day and they find a couple
things to grab about put you in a bad spot as well right So I mean right now
start building how you're going to run your cruise document everything so that way you you have it with you but don't
don't just I like the goal It's just start breaking that down into smaller
and smaller pieces And right now I think what you need to start doing is looking at building your crews so that way you
can have one crew doing flooring one crew doing painting and then try and
sell your services together Uh cuz it it almost sounds like if you're doing a
bunch of hardwood glue down and staple and some some vinyl and stuff it's more
residential So I I would go talk to some of the stores and start working with them to get a taste of that commercial
side And and you have to get with some designers Uh make sure that I mean if you're running those two separate crews
like you know I I've never done it right But I'm thinking you got to get with people that are going to offer both on
the same projects because otherwise you can have your painters sitting at home while the flooring guys are working or
vice versa Did you see Paul's uh question up there
Yeah this one right here Would you rather be a flooring inspector for a North Korean LBT manufacturer or an IRS
agent Honestly like job security especially right now my money's on the
LBT manufacturer because there's no shortage of inspections right now
Bam Look at that
Plus I know some IRS agents they
um they don't say that they love their job So I I don't know That's speaking of
inspectors Hey thank you for all the referrals by the way You know who you are We appreciate it
So he also said that if he were to land that he would bring in his old boss
that taught me everything to work with him and split the profit I would also start looking at partnership agreements
and stuff like that before you even bring anyone in exper that's comes from experience
Yeah we we've um it's a little bit different when it when you're two brothers and you're starting out and you have nothing right
You're starting with with a couple of what 1,200 bucks whatever 1,500 bucks in
your pocket and that's it because you're now you're building together But when you're trying to build something that
could with someone else that you know you just like I trust Daniel I trust
Daniel to with my life and and I'd like to think it's the same to an extent Um
but it's having all the right pieces and the
people in place because I have had other experiences trying to start uh flooring
business with other people Paul says both are hated I think he was talking about both of us
Yeah he was He definitely was I feel that Still love you bro Still love you bro
Yeah cuz Nate says nothing wrecks a friendship faster than money 100% That's
why it's it's good to document everything Have everything set in stone
signed Uh get a lawyer involved because we're not lawyers so I can't give you
100% the advice that you need But if you document stuff at least you're you're already halfway there Get get an idea of
what you want to do then present it And Rand says "Why does everyone
think the owner makes all the money?" Oh my goodness brother I I tell people that
all the time They're like "Oh man you own a business you must be making so much money." And it's like even the
employees you know some of our employees make more than we do And that's the way it should be right They're they're the
ones that are that are out there doing it And granted a lot of what we could be making is always goes into constant
reinvestment And that's how we got to where we're at now It's it was never us pocketing any money It was always
us looking at that next step looking at that next step And sometimes that next
step was there before we were ready for it And it's like if you we didn't have
that in our pocket at that time we wouldn't have been able to take that next step Yeah we
did We're very fortunate for me to fail a couple times before we started preferred flooring as well right
Like and we know what we didn't want to do I wanted to say it was really a
failure because I did it was it was failed failed attempts Sorry And it was
a learning curve Yeah Yeah You don't fail you learn right Yeah
I mean it's it's all in perspective the way you look at things So Oh I threw it
away But I've been posting on these um I've been eating some overnight oats
and on the the bottom of every top that you rip off has like
something motivational It's like yeah we need more of that in our life It's it's all in mindset What how are you going to
look at the day You could put motivational um words in your custom baseball gloves too Well I
think it was Nate like after I I posted that he was like they I thought this was the bottom of a glue bucket and it's
like they need to start doing that What's that uh thing that uh old school
used to say The best glue is at the bottom of the bucket You got to scrape it
out All right This this question right here Oh hold on We got one more
Preferred flooring is installing is installers or sells flooring product We are
both So we have our own uh employees here and we also sell the product and
that is commercial and residential Our split is roughly 90% commercial 10% residential
and that'll fluctuate yeartoear Um it the the residential side has been
growing Um it's not something that we plan for it just
Yeah So it's kind of hard to to differentiate that right Like you say 9010
but it's harder to do it now when we're more the percentage of being self-
sustained is a lot higher So here here's a nice one right
here Oh that's not the one We already did that one Would you rather train your
competition or let talent go undeveloped and I think um
that's go ahead because we've been asked this question a lot because we do work
with you know we work with NFCT we work with CFI FCICA and that's a question
that comes up a lot is would we even especially locally train the talent here
and the answer is 100% yes why because that puts you on a level playing field
and then they would finally understand oh that's why you guys charge that much
for this I was skipping 23 out of the 25 steps No
wonder why I was getting stuff done so much faster than I should have been Calling me bad
Um plus plus we're you want everyone to succeed right Like if this is your career and that's what you're going for
you don't want to increase your chances of failure Um you know I got a phone
call today about a company that was hired to do an install who hired someone
else The job's failing and it failed pretty and quickly And I think that's
where you have to kind of take competition and look at just that word like are they really your
competition or is this can this relationship be looked at differently to
where they're not your competition They're actually just one of your allies And I've been on job walks where you
know I I'll be straight up with some of these guys I'm not big like you are I
can't bid what you guys can bid on And he he was like I can respect that And he was like and to be honest with you I
have this project coming up It's in a hospital and I'm sick of the failures So
I want to sit down with you guys and see how we can partner up And it's like yeah that's how it's got to be Like weren't
are we competing against each other for this one job Yes But are we technically
competitors when we can help each other out and work together It it there's there's more to
it than than just being competition And that's why I would train any competition
And um they they were even they just switched over to Measure Square And he was like I might have some questions Can
I call you And it's like 100% call me Like I will sell that product any day
When it works it works And you know going back to that
competition I don't maybe back in the day used to think about that right Like you know I think about that that movie
Anchor Man when the all the different news stations come together they they have that little war right Like that's
probably my mentality back in the day Um but is It's far from that now
because knowing the flooring industry you know that a lot of people uh are are just they know just enough to get by
um but don't know enough to be safe Does that make sense And it's like you put
yourself in a position to to lose And the if you're using like
the larger uh stores that that sell they do have a a separation right They have
people who are sales like lifetime salespeople uh installers that are transitioning
like doing um project management and stuff like that And then the installers sales
people want to sell They don't think about the installer They don't think about the the
middleman They don't think about they just sell sell look good to the company sell sell sell Um and the numbers game
doesn't really work out like that for for people who are coming from the installation background trying to do the
best they can um and do the best product I mean it's hard to not look at it like
an installer when you're an installer Right Nate Hall just says "Cooperation
beats competition every day." So we do not have a location in Florida
and the only thing we sell online is um just a couple tools right
now And Ryan asks a good uh would you rather right here would you
rather be able to support your business working off your cash flow or support
your business through a line of credit from the bank Um
I guess it it depends on how big your projects are and how many you got going at the same time because I without
without a bank we wouldn't be where we're at today I'll be straight up honest with you Yeah cuz you're you're
you're looking at on one of our projects you know it's
coming out of pocket $2 $300,000 before you get that first
check If that if you can do that with cash flow more power to you And I think the
thing is is sometimes you have to look at it from a different perspective too
right cuz it's like how can I utilize a bank in order to make as much cash as I
can to become my own bank And I think that's where it is
is unless you have an investor unless you have somebody that's backing you and financially backing you on a lot of that
which um you know is very few and far between you're going to have to utilize
some kind of financial establishment to get to a point where you do have the cash flow to sustain yourself And then
the people who can do that I imagine that you have to have some kind of outside investment with your funds in
order to keep that going because flooring gets expensive
especially you know over the past four years the amount that everything's gone up right And and then you just have to
look at how the the commercial side is different
from the residential side too Because on the residential side it's easier to to be like "All right if you want me to do
this it's 50% down." And then it's going to be the other 50% as soon as I get
done Or you know if it's a big project I'm you you hit milestones And you do
that in commercial too right But it's that pay app gets accepted once a month So how much can you get done in that
month Or you know sometimes we have contracts that are signed 12 months
ago Well and then the the the schedule keeps on
moving Uh oh Am I froze or are you froze Oh there you go Nope And nope I think
we're good I think we're back now All right And that that schedule just
keeps on moving So it's like you you'll have that all right I was supposed to do
this 6 months ago and now it's 12 months and the only thing I was able to build for was
the material but I still have it on my books that I need to build for more
So I don't know with commercial is a is a a different animal and I think it
without the the credit from the bank we wouldn't have been able to get the projects that we have done so far
I have a question right here Um and I don't know how to share Oh did you just put one up Oh no That's
um would you rather take on high-end custom work with less stress or cookie
cutter work with boredom
I see it right here I'll put it in there
You know that's um I think there's stress in both of
them to be honest with you because they had cookie cutter work is you're Let's
start with the cookie cutter work because that would be the easiest thing You're setting or you're creating a schedule
cookie cutter work you get better and faster at it as each day
passes And once you do that you are setting a new standard with the schedule with whomever you're working with or
for You can't go in and install 150
yards 150 yards 175 yards and then 200 yards and then come back and install 150
yards again That cookie cutter work is a double-edged sword Indeed
I I think you need that mixture Um if I had to choose I would
probably choose the high-end work because it makes you think more and um
the the outcome it's better pictures and you brag about
it more right Hey look what I did But that's the thing it's the cookie cutter work You see a lot of those pictures too
and it's like it's still good work It's just just because it's not custom or something But I don't know Um we we
come from the the background of Resilient and and Flash Cove so it's
it's hard to beat looking at it when it's all welded up and
everything and being like "Yeah that that's what it's supposed to look like." Technically we technically listen we
come from the nobody else does it Well Paul says Yeah high-end cookie cutter
work So I think he's talking about like the that carpet that's like $400 a yard
8,000 yards Let's go 8,000 yards of carpet tile that cost $400 a
yard Jimmy says high-end all day That's that niche right there That's
uh you're creating um a following You're creating the um what's it called Your
reputation So Rollin Rollins's got to go He said he didn't his wife is calling He didn't
make 50 years of marriage by not listening to the wife But I think he left off a zero 500 years of marriage
Cuz if you guys didn't know Rand actually invented flooring Yeah I think
he installed the flooring inside uh Frankenstein's warehouse
Now he says he loved cookies He eats them while doing high-end work
So I mean you you definitely need a mixture
because after you're on those especially those Flashco projects for a while or you know something super tedious like
um like a half inch carpet pattern that you're you have to work and work and
work It's nice to be like "Oh we get a thousand yards of just carpet tile
It goes down like just throwing cards right That's what it feels like Anyways
dude we're already at after 5:00 We are already at our time but I want to end
with this one because would you rather repair someone else's bad work or demo
your own perfect install
That's um You know what I'd rather demo my own perfect install because that means that
it's a change order That means that they changed their mind on something that they didn't know existed or they wanted
a different color you get to do it all over again Go me
I don't know cuz the crazy thing is is that any of my work that I've also had
demo you you go back on it and at the time you're like man this is good And
then you go back and it's always that constant learning thing right Where it's like oh yeah I could have done this I
could have done this I I should have done this You're absolutely right Because the
reason that we started looking at things differently and we got better a little bit quicker is because we were fixing
somebody else's work We learned what not to do We learned a little bit backwards
I would say we learned what not to do through somebody else's mistakes and
sometimes ours a lot of times ours but that's how you learn So I I think I would also rather
demo my own perfect install bec because of that reason cuz you look at it and be like this is how I did it then this is
how I do it now and then you can only imagine the next time you go to redo that how much you can learn and it's
just the technology and stuff too right it's like man they didn't have this when I was out even
tools going back and and doing a stair some you know commercial stairs without
the treadmill now it's Like it's crazy that Yeah
But I think we are at our time for today guys I it the the conversation kind of
uh went on a tangent but that's what we're here for is those questions So
definitely uh Paris Enterprise we appreciate the questions You know keep them coming and I hope you uh you
learned something here today and you're taking whatever information that that you can from us Um if you have more
questions definitely reach out That's um that's what we strive on man is
the the listener participation right We wouldn't be where we're at today without you guys And we just hope that we're
we're we're giving you guys some valuable information because we definitely uh we
love interaction So if you guys have anything that you want to cover um email us at
forwardprogressthehutuddle.te team And that is right It's the huddle team You know we're a team We're all in this
together So let us know what you want to hear Let us uh know what you don't want to hear If
you like it give us a thumbs up If you don't like it give us a thumbs down And if you really like it why don't you share it with all of your friends and
ask them and tell them like can you tell me I don't like this Um I'm gonna I do
want to say something real quick I leave you guys with this Would you
rather would you rather not try to be a better installer or would you rather put
forth a little bit of effort now to reap a better benefit later
Let us know in the comments Keep the conversation going
always But thanks guys We wouldn't be here without you and we definitely appreciate the support We'll see you
guys next week Thank you everyone
