With the end of 2022 upon us, we all need to look to the future with the start of 2023 and think about what we can do to better our industry. The past three years have amplified many of the challenges we face. Right up there is the awareness that floorcovering is an industry and trade where hundreds of thousands of people have made a great living for themselves and their families. It is one of those careers where the long-standing joke is that once you get in flooring you never leave. I believe that as I just entered my 48th year this past July.
Forty years ago I wanted all my friends to get in this industry. It was growing at a fast rate. Carpet, the new hot floorcovering, was flying out the door and every home wanted some. And not to mention you could make great money selling and installing carpet!
I got a job at New York Carpet World, (BTW they never had a store in New York) in the warehouse in Kalamazoo and went on to work for Marv Belin for 23 years. I believed I would retire one day from NYCW, but the industry started consolidating.
Manufacturers bought up manufacturers, and Shaw decided to get into the retail world by buying up many of the largest family-owned dealers in the country including NYCW. Shaw would eventually sell the retail off to the Maxim Group and the company would in short time, go bankrupt.
Which brought me to the second half of my career. Most of it was spent working at Carpet One and for its dealers and now as an owner myself, thanks to two very gracious partners Terry Wheat and Ellen Olvey. Here I met family after family that were single or multi store operators. Their businesses were as small as $600,000 or larger than $50MM. We were a cooperative. Individual like businesses coming together for the purpose of helping the group do better. Buy better, sell better, operate better, service better and, yes, network better. I love our members and want them to succeed.
What the heck does that have to do with the future of our industry?
Well, as most of you reading this are probably in flooring some way and you are aware of, or should be aware of, the challenges that we face on several fronts. One that’s not being spoken out loud is the “what’s in it for me” crowd. This is the crowd that stands back and watches the 2 to 5 percent that are willing to put out the effort when it comes to helping with what challenges all of us.
At the end of this year, I will be stepping off the Boards of the WFCA and the FCEF, making room for the next generation and after to get involved. We need people that care and want to make things better for all dealers, whether you are in another group or truly independent we are one industry. At one time we were pushing 20,000 dealer locations. Today maybe we have half that.
How can you make a difference and help?
Your Time: You can join and serve associations like the WFCA, FCB2B, FCEF, FCIF. Besides Board seats, they all have committees that need volunteers to raise their hands and get involved.
Your Money: $100 per month per location only covers half of a scholarship for FCEF. You all can do more!
Your Voice: Get back to telling friends, family and school systems about the great opportunities in flooring. None of us alone is as good as all of us together!