Happy New Year to all of you and best wishes for good health, happiness and prosperity. Relative to prosperity the key is to pay attention to detail, get better at business than you are, be as unique as you can and remember what you got into this business for in the first place. Speaking to flooring dealers across the country on a weekly basis I always ask them how business is. As of last week I was still getting it’s down but not too bad and from others we are still doing OK. It seems the more remote the business is from the more volatile markets such as big cities on the East or West Coast the more likely it is to have not taken a nose dive. The more conservative markets seem to be the most stable. Another factor is the members of buying groups, particularly Carpet One and Flooring America seem to be doing the best. This might be a time, if you don’t already belong to a group, when you consider joining as their formula for doing business makes a positive impact on yours.
My personal opinion is that this downturn isn’t going to turn around on a dime. It didn’t get out of control quickly, although it escalated fast the greedier people got and the more reality got foggy, and it isn’t going to end quickly. Like any event that purges life in any form, it takes time for life to come back. The strong will survive; it’s the law of nature and business. A positive thought to keep in mind is that pent up demand continues to build while the economy gets its legs back. People who can, will continue however with caution, to spend on what they need and what they want. Needs supersede wants but people will keep wanting. As they pull in their spending they’ll spend more time at home and as they do they’ll start looking at things they want to do around the house which bodes well for the floor covering business. It’s also a great time for bargains and negotiating pricing where you can.
You should be taking this time to do things you should have been doing when business was booming. Clean the place up, in and out and make it inviting for those customers you do get. Make them want to buy from you. Get more education; learn more about the products you sell, find ways to drive business into your store. Another positive aspect about this weak economy is technology. We have so much of it relative to information, communication, marketing, selling and everything else that things happen in the blink of an eye. I think it will help bring us back faster from the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into simply because we’re all connected.
Look for opportunities with caution. If you think you can get into the commercial market for additional business you better think long and hard. If you don’t know this business you can destroy yours in the blink of an eye. The commercial flooring business has gotten so technical that if you don’t have the experience and knowledge you must have you can be in big trouble fast. However, look to see if there is a unique market niche you can service and then become the expert at it in your area.
As for education, get all you can now. We have two seminars in March, our Carpet Seminar which is scheduled for March 4, 5 & 6 inDaltonand our Concrete, Moisture and Installation Failure Seminar scheduled for March 18 & 19 also inDalton. If you belong to any number of groups you’re eligible for a 10% discount. If you belong to WFCA, which you should, they’ll pay up to $500.00 of the tuition. Airfare and lodging is cheaper than it’s been in years right now which makes the deal even better. Also come and see me at Surfaces which you should be attending. I have a program on Monday, February first from 9 to 12 on carpet the product and installation failure of flooring, a panel program with INSTALL on Thursday morning regarding installation problems. Also, The Floor Covering Institute of which I am a member is hosting the General Session of industry leaders on Tuesday morning.
Good luck in 2009 and if we can be of service, in any way, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re all in this together.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts