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Welcome back to The ProSource Podcast.

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I am sitting here with Jeff Roesner.

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He is a trade pro member
at ProSource of Huntsville, Alabama.

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He's also the owner and founder
of Artisan Wood, Tile and Stone.

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Artisan Wood Tile & Stone
is a wood and tile contracting company

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that works with both homeowners
and contractors to design and build

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amazing spaces, from full kitchen
for bathroom remodels to small repairs.

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They do it all.

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Jeff,
thank you so much for joining me today.

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Thanks for having me today.

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I just want to spend some time,
like talking with you,

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getting to know your business
and what you do.

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So first I want to just, like, know

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a little bit about your story of Artisan
Wood Tile and Stone.

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I know you've been in the construction
industry for over 25 years.

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And you have many certifications
and classes within that experience.

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If you don't mind just sharing,
like how you got started

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and how the business has grown
or changed over time. Sure.

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It really started at,
shop class in school.

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So once I found out that something like
that you could get paid for.

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So it was fun and everything.

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And other guys in my classes
were branching off

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from building trades and actually
going to work doing that kind of a thing.

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That was very exciting for me.

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So my very first job was working
as a house painter on a summer in 1990.

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And so after graduating,
I end up working for another crew

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that did a little bit of everything.

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It wasn't just house painting, it was
probably work in the flooring side of it

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and seeing the specialization
that was needed

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for some of the trades, instead of
just being a jack of all trades.

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I end up starting my own business in the
late 90s, and then here we are in sort of

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just a culmination of trying to specialize
and be the correct person for that job.

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I'm not the right person for every job,

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but I am that one
that has the years behind the talent

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and see the problems before they happen,
and also be able to solve them

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after they have.

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I know you talked about
when you first started being at a position

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where you wanted to branch out and get
certified and a lot of different areas.

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When would you say it was like
that turning point

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for your business where you ended up,
like growing exponentially?

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It is really during specialization
because much like my all the career

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I was working for,
I learned a lot of this.

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Originally,
I tried to market myself as that guy

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who does everything, but when it comes
down, you're not going to hire a roofer.

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That also plasters
you want a plaster or you want a roofer.

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And so the year I started
just saying I did one thing

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and at the time was flooring
I my business tripled.

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So. Oh, cool.

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And it's one of those things too
that I also started.

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That's about the time
I started going to class

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and just taking those accreditations
so that I was learning

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the right way of doing things,
not someone else's bad habits.

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Yes, absolutely.

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And throughout having the business,
just curious,

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when did you get in contact with ProSource
or where did that?

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When did that partnership start?

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I was actually contacted the ProSource,

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a local company,
had bought the flooring store

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we were working out of years ago,
and I didn't have a great

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I didn't work with them very well.

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And I moved to Huntsville years ago,
and I had a bunch of different contractors

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say I need to come over
and say hi to Prosource.

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And finally, one contractor just told
me, like, what do you got to lose?

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So I went and then it turns out someone
I knew worked there from another store.

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And so I'd been with Prosource for 3
or 4 years now and it's been fantastic.

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Oh that's awesome. That's good to hear.

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Have you used any strategies

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that has helped bring in new clients
or keep the business growing?

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Has there been anything with your business
that you've seen work for it?

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Yeah, so I've been doing this
work on my own for just almost 20 years.

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Well, yes, almost five years.

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And I've seen things come and go.

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You don't know if advertising works.
You never really know.

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How can you really prove that?

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I end up having a contractor that I went
to high school with recommended

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the man named Tom River with contractor
flight that does contractor counseling,

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spoke with him.

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And there's another, guy down in Florida,
Luke Miller, with tile money

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that tries to help you
manage the business side of everything.

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And with their help,
like getting a getting a website,

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getting it, you know, be on social media,
have a website presence

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that can actually drive people
to your even your social media.

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You can have all your photos,
you can upload your photos all the time.

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But it's good to have
in this day of mobile, phones, being able

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to find someone at the drop of a hat,
especially during a Google search

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and then dumb things like lettering
your truck.

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I never wanted to have my truck cluttered,
and then Tom told me he's like,

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what are you doing?

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You're wasting your time.

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What if the neighbor wants something done
and they see that

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they're getting it done there?

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I've gotten a lot of projects
just from hanging from clients.

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So yeah, absolutely.

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It's, like a mobile advertising,
you know, wherever you go,

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you're advertising yourself.
That's a good point.

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I can see why.

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Maybe you didn't want to do that at first,
though.

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Was there, like, a specific reason

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why you didn't
want to have your truck with you?

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What if you cut somebody off
and also, like, I don't look,

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I mean, my clients know where I live,
even though I know where they live.

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And just having that
set outside all the time.

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But once I got over that, it's huge.

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I mean, I I've gotten jobs specifically,
they said that they have this neighbor,

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that everything's well put together
and impressive, and they saw that

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I was working in there and that's
how they got my number is off my truck.

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Yeah. That's interesting. It works.
Have you ever.

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Just out of curiosity, I know, like,
my parents just had their roofing done

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and the roofing company that they worked
with offered them a discount

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if they put their sign, like, their yard
sign, in front of their house.

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Have you ever tried anything like that?

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We put the yard signs out.

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I haven't got a big response from that.

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Usually it's the doors on a project.

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I'm usually there
for as much as long as a month.

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And so my truck is out there,
people see it,

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so then they end up
it's kind of the same thing.

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They know what's going on. Yeah. Yeah,
absolutely.

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A lot of times
I there's a project right now,

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we had a yard sign on
and we just finished in March,

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and I need to go pick that up,
but who knows?

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It's good for brand awareness.

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No, absolutely.

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I really didn't realize
that businesses did that until

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that happened to my parents.

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And I'm like, wow,
that's actually really smart.

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And my parents were so quick to say, yes,
because you're giving me $500 off

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to keep it out here for, I don't know,
however many months, like, totally.

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I'll do it. Yep, yep.

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And also going off of your website,
your website does look good.

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This is where I found
a lot of information.

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Going into this podcast, I was
I know sometimes with contractors it's

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hit or miss because obviously like it's
not at the forefront of

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maybe what you're thinking about
from your business.

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It's kind of like an afterthought,
but your website looks really good.

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Well, thanks.

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That is because it's built
by a floor installer.

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So someone that actually came from
that industry knows what we need.

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So I had a website in the 2000s
that got no traction.

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And so even when this came up again to
have another one, like I just don't know.

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And so within a month of having it
sold my first job that was able to pay

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for that website website.

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So I get a lot of interaction with that.

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So it's totally worth it. Yeah,
absolutely.

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And like you said, having someone that's
also not just, savvy with the design

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of the website and coding it,
but also someone that knows the industry.

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I think that's a huge help to.

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And he does another one.

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There's another guy in town
that has a similar website

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and he keeps our separate.

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It makes it look separate
so that he's don't have it,

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you know, a cookie, a cookie cutter
situation of we do the same thing.

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Here's what I do.

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We have both have one office for our.

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So it's not like you're going through and
having something that someone else has.

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No. Absolutely.

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So your name says it all.

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Wood, tile and stone.

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I'm curious. Out of those three.

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Do you have a favorite

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that you like to work with, or maybe one
that challenges you in the best way?

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I'd rather work with wood.

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I love woodworking,

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but challenging wise is definitely art
and stone because that's just there are no

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the rules are constantly changing
with that, especially in the building.

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Requirements today, wood
has not really changed much outside

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of to talking about the refinishing
and things that chemicals with that.

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But actually building with wood
has not changed for very long time.

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Whereas tile ed is constantly changing
where they have shower systems

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or stonework outside, the masonry side of
everything is constantly changing.

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The mortars that we're allowed to use
and stay to code or different.

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And a lot of guys that are doing this
all the time don't even realize

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the codes have changed
in the last couple of years.

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We've talked about this already.

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You do a lot of everything.

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Is there anything that you don't do
or anything you've had to say

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no to recently that you can share about?

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We don't do plumbing.

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We don't do anything

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that's not in our, you know, Hvac,
those things we don't do that.

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Mostly because it's not
we can't sign our business license

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and also have that professional
that does that for a living.

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Do that.

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And that way if there is a leak,
you have someone that's

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going to show up at 3:00 in the morning
and fix it.

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It's not really me
because I don't know what the problem is.

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And so knowing your place,

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but being that I started out a house
painter and drywall or I

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do, I do do a little bit of everything,
but I don't advertise, I do everything.

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Gotcha. Yeah.

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I think it could be difficult to
if you are someone that does everything,

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being well-versed
and all of those different areas,

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I feel like
that could be very overwhelming and

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and maybe having to correct credits
for all that. Yes.

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And it could even discredit

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maybe some of the services you provide
because they are so specialized.

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I feel like homeowners are like,

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are you sure
you know everything about everything?

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But having some specialized

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niches can probably help your credibility
in that sense.

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Yep. What are clients
asking for the most these days?

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Are you saying?

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Well, here.

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Shower building and up,

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snowballing into a whole bathroom
and shower repairs.

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We are, plagued with improper shower
building here.

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Even with brand

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new homes, the housing market has boomed
here, and houses are going up so fast.

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And there are guys that shouldn't
be installing showers, basically,

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or trusting your tile installer
to build a plumbing fixture

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that's water tight
and their failings in the beginning.

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And so we are coming in and signal showers
and they're in a brand new house.

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And so yeah, I would say 30% or more of
my business is doing

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repairs on already built showers,
especially with houses coming up so quick.

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I always see

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all these like cookie cutter homes
and they all look the same in the suburbs.

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But it's crazy how fast they pop up.

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Like I think all the time
the quality can't be.

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Obviously it's not the same as it was 30
years ago when you were building a home.

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That's interesting.

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Yeah,
I could definitely see that happening.

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You actually just mentioned it.

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Bathroom remodels are huge.

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What kind of challenges you typically see
in those outside of the showers?

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And how do you help homeowners
work through them?

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Are you seeing anything else
that's kind of a struggle for them?

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Well, something that homeowners don't
even think about.

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Every major system
is all inside that room.

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So you've got your you've got plumbing,
you have electrical,

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and then you're going to all of that
and usually a small space.

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And then you're trying to keep all of that
under control, and then trying

232
00:10:54,070 --> 00:10:57,531
to keep all that warm air out of that room
as fast as you can,

233
00:10:57,531 --> 00:11:00,534
get it out as fast as possible,
and then try to make it pretty.

234
00:11:00,826 --> 00:11:04,455
Depending on the needs of the client,
we can do zero entry

235
00:11:04,455 --> 00:11:08,084
if they're trying to do
a, stay at or, age at home situation,

236
00:11:08,334 --> 00:11:11,712
or they just don't want a more luxurious
walk in for their, their shower.

237
00:11:12,755 --> 00:11:15,508
We can redo
layouts, we can move walls and things.

238
00:11:15,508 --> 00:11:20,596
It just kind of depends on
every project has its own challenges.

239
00:11:20,596 --> 00:11:23,766
It kind of depends on
how bad the house is.

240
00:11:23,766 --> 00:11:25,267
We did one a couple years ago.

241
00:11:25,267 --> 00:11:27,144
I was talking to my plumber
and I was talking to him.

242
00:11:27,144 --> 00:11:29,230
I just fell straight through the floor.

243
00:11:29,230 --> 00:11:32,233
And so that was a challenge.

244
00:11:32,316 --> 00:11:36,070
And so every now and there are,
there are issues with every house,

245
00:11:36,070 --> 00:11:37,154
but usually we can.

246
00:11:37,154 --> 00:11:39,740
And a newer house, it's more of a
we're doing a facelift.

247
00:11:39,740 --> 00:11:42,284
We're not doing a gut and rebuild
situation.

248
00:11:42,284 --> 00:11:43,869
Yeah. Wow.

249
00:11:43,869 --> 00:11:44,078
Yeah.

250
00:11:44,078 --> 00:11:47,081
That's immediately a challenge
when you fall to the floor.

251
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:49,166
We were talking about your website.

252
00:11:49,166 --> 00:11:52,211
I also saw on your website
that you offer radiant,

253
00:11:52,211 --> 00:11:55,214
heat systems, which I was intrigued with.

254
00:11:55,214 --> 00:11:56,841
I don't really know anything about that.

255
00:11:56,841 --> 00:11:59,009
But I know I've seen them online.

256
00:11:59,009 --> 00:12:00,886
They're increasingly popular.

257
00:12:00,886 --> 00:12:03,514
Can you break down, like,
how those systems work?

258
00:12:03,514 --> 00:12:08,477
Just maybe surface level and then whether
homeowners usually ask for that upfront?

259
00:12:08,477 --> 00:12:09,478
Or is that something that

260
00:12:10,521 --> 00:12:12,690
after working
with you, they learn more about them

261
00:12:12,690 --> 00:12:15,526
and they're eventually asking them
throughout the project?

262
00:12:15,526 --> 00:12:16,986
Well, there's two there's two types.

263
00:12:16,986 --> 00:12:19,029
There's
the one that has a water and a boiler,

264
00:12:19,029 --> 00:12:21,949
and then there's the other
that it's it's wired so it's electrical.

265
00:12:21,949 --> 00:12:24,285
We don't offer the work with the water.

266
00:12:24,285 --> 00:12:25,911
We do the electrical.

267
00:12:25,911 --> 00:12:27,913
So you got two different types.

268
00:12:27,913 --> 00:12:29,665
You've got 240 and 120.

269
00:12:29,665 --> 00:12:34,086
So depending on how the amperage is with
that, you can tie into the electrical box.

270
00:12:34,086 --> 00:12:36,338
And then you essentially have
a glorified toaster

271
00:12:36,338 --> 00:12:39,341
under your wood or underneath
your tile floor.

272
00:12:39,592 --> 00:12:42,678
Some customers are love them
and they're looking for them.

273
00:12:42,678 --> 00:12:43,596
And so I get that call.

274
00:12:43,596 --> 00:12:47,016
But also we'll bring them up
in the middle of, of a remodel,

275
00:12:47,141 --> 00:12:50,144
because while everything's tore up
this is the time to add it.

276
00:12:50,352 --> 00:12:53,856
And we had a client that was a
great client and we just added to it.

277
00:12:53,856 --> 00:12:56,108
We were already doing everything,
and they have come back

278
00:12:56,108 --> 00:12:58,652
several times saying
we didn't think we wanted this,

279
00:12:58,652 --> 00:13:01,655
and now is our favorite part of the house
is having that warm tile floor.

280
00:13:02,239 --> 00:13:03,949
So that is really cool.

281
00:13:03,949 --> 00:13:05,493
They're fantastic
and it's one of those things

282
00:13:05,493 --> 00:13:07,328
even if you don't use it,
it's a selling point

283
00:13:07,328 --> 00:13:09,246
when you sell the house
that you got heated floors.

284
00:13:10,331 --> 00:13:11,457
Yes, absolutely.

285
00:13:11,457 --> 00:13:14,710
It's definitely
it seems like a luxury item,

286
00:13:14,710 --> 00:13:19,381
but I feel like as technology improves
and how popular they're getting, it's

287
00:13:19,381 --> 00:13:22,384
becoming a little bit would you say it's
becoming more normal or.

288
00:13:22,551 --> 00:13:24,762
Yeah. Yeah.
You're seeing a lot. Yeah, yeah.

289
00:13:24,762 --> 00:13:27,389
And we've we've been installing them
for over 20 years

290
00:13:27,389 --> 00:13:30,518
and we're doing a lot more of them
now than we did 20 years ago.

291
00:13:30,768 --> 00:13:33,771
It seemed like it seemed like
an extravagance 20 years ago.

292
00:13:33,771 --> 00:13:34,480
And now.

293
00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:37,191
Yeah,
you know, like everything with larger TVs,

294
00:13:37,191 --> 00:13:40,653
everything just gets a little cheaper
and a little easier to access.

295
00:13:40,653 --> 00:13:42,196
And so, yeah, everybody can have it.

296
00:13:42,196 --> 00:13:44,114
That's cool.

297
00:13:44,114 --> 00:13:48,244
So when I'm thinking about trends in home
design, how do you keep up

298
00:13:48,244 --> 00:13:51,914
with the changes in the industry
and how quickly those pivot?

299
00:13:52,206 --> 00:13:55,751
Have you seen any trends or innovations
that have changed

300
00:13:55,751 --> 00:13:57,211
how you work with your business?

301
00:13:57,211 --> 00:13:58,379
Continue education.

302
00:13:58,379 --> 00:14:00,172
Taking classes is huge.

303
00:14:00,172 --> 00:14:01,507
Going to expose that.

304
00:14:01,507 --> 00:14:05,886
When I was early in my career, I wasn't
going to go to the national hardware show

305
00:14:06,095 --> 00:14:09,098
and just seem like a fish out of water,
like there's just so many vendors

306
00:14:09,098 --> 00:14:10,349
and so like, the vendors

307
00:14:10,349 --> 00:14:13,936
didn't want to talk to me, but now, like,
I just attended coverings

308
00:14:14,353 --> 00:14:17,815
a couple weeks ago, which is the biggest
tile expo in America.

309
00:14:18,941 --> 00:14:20,693
Get to network with all those guys.

310
00:14:20,693 --> 00:14:23,696
It's nice to see people and know
you're not an island,

311
00:14:23,946 --> 00:14:26,866
what you're doing,
and then had all that contact.

312
00:14:26,866 --> 00:14:30,536
But seeing the trends homemade or the
handmade tiles are getting huge right now.

313
00:14:30,536 --> 00:14:33,539
So you've got that variance
of like a craftsman old,

314
00:14:33,581 --> 00:14:37,293
old world look, but things and also like

315
00:14:37,334 --> 00:14:41,255
I work with Scotty at Prosource
and we work hand in hand.

316
00:14:41,255 --> 00:14:44,049
So she is on top of that way
more than I am.

317
00:14:44,049 --> 00:14:46,719
I'm aware of it.
But that's her job all day.

318
00:14:46,719 --> 00:14:49,179
So she's
she keeps me in line with some of that.

319
00:14:49,179 --> 00:14:50,472
And so

320
00:14:50,472 --> 00:14:53,684
it's difficult some of the new trends
trying to keep tile look looking correct.

321
00:14:53,976 --> 00:14:54,894
Yeah.

322
00:14:54,894 --> 00:14:58,939
Trying to make it look less manufactured
but still not having issues

323
00:14:58,939 --> 00:15:00,649
where the tiles are sticking out
with slippage

324
00:15:00,649 --> 00:15:02,526
and everything,
and or two bigger grout lines.

325
00:15:02,526 --> 00:15:06,363
And so it can be a challenge sometimes
even with new trends, come and go.

326
00:15:07,239 --> 00:15:08,866
Yeah, I could definitely see that

327
00:15:09,909 --> 00:15:11,535
when you're working with a client

328
00:15:11,535 --> 00:15:14,872
on the design side of things,
what's that collaboration look like?

329
00:15:14,872 --> 00:15:18,459
Do you help them with picking out
materials and laying out the space?

330
00:15:18,459 --> 00:15:20,920
Do you, bring them into prosource?

331
00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,923
Do you send them into Prosource
without you, or how does that look?

332
00:15:24,548 --> 00:15:25,716
It depends on the customer.

333
00:15:25,716 --> 00:15:29,428
Some customer wants me to do everything
and then they'll go like,

334
00:15:29,428 --> 00:15:32,097
I saw you do this one bathroom,
I love that. Let's do that.

335
00:15:32,097 --> 00:15:33,641
And so we can mimic that.

336
00:15:33,641 --> 00:15:36,727
Otherwise
I'll send a customer to Prosource

337
00:15:36,727 --> 00:15:40,439
and tell them to talk to my client
or my to my contact, Scotty.

338
00:15:40,648 --> 00:15:42,900
And she sets up everything
and walks them through everything.

339
00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:44,944
And it's very seamless that way.

340
00:15:44,944 --> 00:15:47,404
Sometimes they want me there
to hold their hand.

341
00:15:47,404 --> 00:15:48,155
I can do that as well.

342
00:15:48,155 --> 00:15:48,822
It's not a big deal

343
00:15:48,822 --> 00:15:50,032
because I always want to know,

344
00:15:50,032 --> 00:15:53,035
especially even when Scotty goes through
and picks things out with them.

345
00:15:53,202 --> 00:15:56,789
I want to be able to give final approval
because I can foresee issues

346
00:15:57,331 --> 00:16:00,209
like for, say,
if someone really likes Penny around tile,

347
00:16:00,209 --> 00:16:03,796
they may not know how big of a pain
it is to keep that tile clean,

348
00:16:03,796 --> 00:16:05,047
because that's a lot of grout.

349
00:16:05,047 --> 00:16:08,842
So it's just things that, as awesome
as it sounds,

350
00:16:09,051 --> 00:16:12,346
think about five years after that decision
with the maintenance and everything.

351
00:16:13,055 --> 00:16:13,597
Yeah.

352
00:16:13,597 --> 00:16:17,559
So kind of just gauging how the client is
and if they can be

353
00:16:17,559 --> 00:16:19,687
we can be as hands on as they want.

354
00:16:19,687 --> 00:16:20,771
Yeah. That's cool.

355
00:16:20,771 --> 00:16:23,232
You're a trade pro member
at Prosource of Huntsville.

356
00:16:23,232 --> 00:16:27,403
Can you share a bit about, like,
what that relationship has been like?

357
00:16:27,403 --> 00:16:30,364
I know you have a good contact. Now.

358
00:16:30,364 --> 00:16:34,326
When you first started with Prosource,
was it with,

359
00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:37,329
Scotty right away or did that relationship
kind of evolve?

360
00:16:37,329 --> 00:16:39,665
Have you, as
you got more comfortable with Pro Source?

361
00:16:39,665 --> 00:16:42,668
So actually my contact there,
the first person I met

362
00:16:42,668 --> 00:16:45,671
at our store was Chris,
that was the former manager.

363
00:16:45,671 --> 00:16:47,589
And so he was my go to guy.

364
00:16:47,589 --> 00:16:50,300
And then he had to move away
due to family issues.

365
00:16:50,300 --> 00:16:51,802
And so he hand me off to Scotty.

366
00:16:51,802 --> 00:16:56,348
And then we got talking and realized
we've known each other from a decade ago.

367
00:16:56,348 --> 00:16:58,183
And so everything went very well
with that.

368
00:16:58,183 --> 00:17:01,395
So, it helps when you're so comfortable
with someone that your work.

369
00:17:01,395 --> 00:17:03,313
Yes, makes it even much easier.

370
00:17:03,313 --> 00:17:04,898
The shorthand of everything is great.

371
00:17:04,898 --> 00:17:07,443
And she knows what I need to know.
Like she's fantastic.

372
00:17:07,443 --> 00:17:09,194
It helps to have
someone who's been doing it

373
00:17:09,194 --> 00:17:12,322
this long
because having done this for 30 years,

374
00:17:13,032 --> 00:17:15,367
dealing with a salesperson
that could have been selling

375
00:17:15,367 --> 00:17:18,370
cars or copiers last week
and then will not be doing

376
00:17:18,620 --> 00:17:22,416
will not be in the flooring industry
a year from now, is really annoying.

377
00:17:22,750 --> 00:17:24,209
And then knowing that the

378
00:17:24,209 --> 00:17:28,172
who I'm talking to old is in this industry
is not going anywhere is fantastic.

379
00:17:28,380 --> 00:17:31,842
What is one project that you've done
recently that stands out to you?

380
00:17:31,842 --> 00:17:34,845
One that maybe was like rewarding for you
or just fun to do?

381
00:17:35,554 --> 00:17:37,306
The craziest one we've done lately?

382
00:17:37,306 --> 00:17:41,351
We did a 1930s private detective office
for a local author,

383
00:17:41,351 --> 00:17:45,397
and so we turned his his writing room
into a detective's office.

384
00:17:45,397 --> 00:17:47,107
And so we had to make everything

385
00:17:47,107 --> 00:17:50,736
because you just can't buy all of the trim
we needed off the shelf.

386
00:17:50,986 --> 00:17:52,988
We had to make the parquet floor.

387
00:17:52,988 --> 00:17:54,531
We had to make the inserts for everything.

388
00:17:54,531 --> 00:17:55,866
We actually had to trim.

389
00:17:55,866 --> 00:17:58,577
I had to mill in our shop, and then,

390
00:17:58,577 --> 00:18:01,330
he sourced all of the hardware,

391
00:18:01,330 --> 00:18:05,209
like the uranium glass and everything
and the light fixtures and things.

392
00:18:05,209 --> 00:18:05,751
But that was

393
00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:07,586
a labor of love.

394
00:18:07,586 --> 00:18:08,670
It is insane.

395
00:18:08,670 --> 00:18:11,340
And then he found this antique door
from a college.

396
00:18:11,340 --> 00:18:12,132
We went and got it.

397
00:18:12,132 --> 00:18:14,927
We had to modify it to fit the space
and everything.

398
00:18:14,927 --> 00:18:18,722
And then we had it lettered just like
a private detectives office for him.

399
00:18:19,306 --> 00:18:21,266
So that was really fun.

400
00:18:21,266 --> 00:18:22,518
That is very unique.

401
00:18:22,518 --> 00:18:25,979
I'm sure that really was fun to do,
especially as you're

402
00:18:25,979 --> 00:18:29,108
just working with,
some of the more cookie cutter designs.

403
00:18:29,108 --> 00:18:33,445
And, and that's a totally different
ballgame, looking at your website

404
00:18:33,445 --> 00:18:37,157
and just searching you on Google,
I noticed you have amazing online reviews.

405
00:18:37,491 --> 00:18:40,744
How do you continue
with being in this business for so long?

406
00:18:40,744 --> 00:18:43,747
How do you continue
to keep that level of satisfaction across

407
00:18:43,956 --> 00:18:47,042
all the different types
of projects and clients that you have?

408
00:18:47,042 --> 00:18:49,419
I know that can be a struggle to,

409
00:18:49,419 --> 00:18:51,713
but the biggest thing,
someone told me this a few years ago

410
00:18:51,713 --> 00:18:55,008
and it didn't really resonate until
I never really thought about it this way.

411
00:18:55,425 --> 00:18:58,929
Managing expectation,
letting people know what's going

412
00:18:58,929 --> 00:19:00,931
on, knowing what
they're what they're expecting,

413
00:19:00,931 --> 00:19:02,558
and just trying to sign that space

414
00:19:02,558 --> 00:19:04,977
so we're trying to meet
or exceed their expectations.

415
00:19:04,977 --> 00:19:06,103
And so the idea is that

416
00:19:06,103 --> 00:19:09,106
if you're going to tell them
you're going to be there at 9:00 today

417
00:19:09,106 --> 00:19:14,069
and I'll text you a half hour before do
that, like just your worries, you're bond.

418
00:19:14,069 --> 00:19:16,446
And so you hire me.

419
00:19:16,446 --> 00:19:17,739
I was at your house.

420
00:19:17,739 --> 00:19:19,700
I'm the one doing the work at the house.

421
00:19:19,700 --> 00:19:22,870
There's not a lot not a lot of
miscommunications outside of other trades.

422
00:19:22,870 --> 00:19:23,620
We have to hire.

423
00:19:23,620 --> 00:19:27,583
And usually we all show up on the job
to make sure that, they're

424
00:19:27,583 --> 00:19:32,462
not there alone so that there's that
that level of, I don't know, these people.

425
00:19:32,838 --> 00:19:35,174
And so a lot of it
is and also being available

426
00:19:36,133 --> 00:19:38,302
when people hire me, a lot of times
I'm six months out.

427
00:19:38,302 --> 00:19:41,597
And so we've had conversations for months
before the job even starts.

428
00:19:41,597 --> 00:19:44,558
And so we all used to have a rapport.
And so that helps a lot.

429
00:19:44,558 --> 00:19:48,395
But the managing expectation thing is that
the littlest thing no one talks at all.

430
00:19:48,395 --> 00:19:51,398
But that is the secret sauce
to keeping a happy customer.

431
00:19:51,815 --> 00:19:55,736
No. And I think that's even across
all industries and services.

432
00:19:55,736 --> 00:19:58,739
I mean, I remember when I was a server
at a restaurant,

433
00:19:58,739 --> 00:20:02,826
nine number one thing I always did
was with the person sitting at my table.

434
00:20:02,826 --> 00:20:06,288
I would walk them through like, hey,
your appetizer is on the way by,

435
00:20:06,455 --> 00:20:09,082
you know,
just keeping that constant communication.

436
00:20:09,082 --> 00:20:11,168
Because if you're at a restaurant
and you don't talk to your server

437
00:20:11,168 --> 00:20:12,252
and you're wondering where you're food

438
00:20:12,252 --> 00:20:15,005
that you're going
to, you're going to get like anxious,

439
00:20:15,005 --> 00:20:17,341
you're going to get mad,
you're going to get impatient.

440
00:20:17,341 --> 00:20:21,094
And I imagine it's kind of the same thing
with, what you do is just keeping

441
00:20:21,094 --> 00:20:23,597
that communication. Communication is key.

442
00:20:23,597 --> 00:20:25,307
Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.

443
00:20:26,308 --> 00:20:28,894
So if
any homeowners that are listening to this,

444
00:20:28,894 --> 00:20:31,897
if they're thinking about starting a tile
or stone project,

445
00:20:32,022 --> 00:20:35,609
what is your best piece of advice
to make sure things go smoothly for them?

446
00:20:36,485 --> 00:20:38,362
Get a lot of pictures.

447
00:20:38,362 --> 00:20:40,030
Especially the nice thing
with being online,

448
00:20:40,030 --> 00:20:42,366
you can find all sorts of examples.

449
00:20:42,366 --> 00:20:46,703
We have a lot of success with people
finding those on our own Instagram

450
00:20:46,703 --> 00:20:47,496
or something like that.

451
00:20:47,496 --> 00:20:52,376
But if they bring photos, bring
bring in contradicting photos like

452
00:20:52,417 --> 00:20:55,963
tell me you like this and also like this,
because once we show up to take a look

453
00:20:55,963 --> 00:21:00,467
at everything, something may not work,
or we can still echo those design cues.

454
00:21:01,051 --> 00:21:02,177
That helps.

455
00:21:02,177 --> 00:21:03,804
Also be patient construction.

456
00:21:03,804 --> 00:21:06,306
The mantra with construction
is hurry up and wait.

457
00:21:07,266 --> 00:21:09,393
Things will get behind schedule.

458
00:21:09,393 --> 00:21:11,144
Getting on someone's schedule takes time.

459
00:21:11,144 --> 00:21:13,897
And then once the job starts,
especially with remodeling,

460
00:21:13,897 --> 00:21:16,483
once everything gets open,
you're going to find something.

461
00:21:16,483 --> 00:21:18,068
And then the best case,
you don't find anything

462
00:21:18,068 --> 00:21:19,778
and everything goes very, very smooth.

463
00:21:19,778 --> 00:21:22,739
But just being,
knowing you'd be patient and,

464
00:21:22,739 --> 00:21:26,326
if you hire the right guy,
they'll be very, committed.

465
00:21:26,493 --> 00:21:29,705
They'll use good communication skills
and keep everything clean.

466
00:21:29,705 --> 00:21:32,708
That's the other thing, keeping things
clean. So,

467
00:21:33,542 --> 00:21:35,711
yeah, I think, like word of mouth

468
00:21:35,711 --> 00:21:39,298
to finding other people
that have worked with certain contractors.

469
00:21:39,339 --> 00:21:39,756
Absolutely.

470
00:21:39,756 --> 00:21:43,468
They recommend because I know,
like we talked about Google reviews, but

471
00:21:43,719 --> 00:21:47,014
I know in recent years
it's it's like maybe it's with AI,

472
00:21:47,014 --> 00:21:49,808
but sometimes it's hard to trust
what you see online now. Like

473
00:21:49,808 --> 00:21:53,270
just because someone has a good review,
you're like, is this a real review?

474
00:21:53,270 --> 00:21:55,105
Is this a bot that made this review?

475
00:21:55,105 --> 00:21:58,650
Is this the contractor,
whoever that made this review themselves?

476
00:21:58,900 --> 00:22:02,738
So I think going back to word of mouth
or going to a local pro source

477
00:22:02,738 --> 00:22:05,949
and saying who they really meant is
a good is a good starting point too.

478
00:22:06,158 --> 00:22:09,411
Last question I have for you,
Jeff, is looking ahead

479
00:22:09,411 --> 00:22:11,872
at the rest of this year
and at your business.

480
00:22:11,872 --> 00:22:14,750
Do you have any like big goals
or exciting projects that you

481
00:22:14,750 --> 00:22:17,878
maybe not have started on yet that you're
looking forward to starting on?

482
00:22:18,712 --> 00:22:21,131
Well, we've got more continuing education
this year.

483
00:22:21,131 --> 00:22:24,217
I have to do more, classwork

484
00:22:24,217 --> 00:22:27,220
for my inspections side of my business.

485
00:22:27,804 --> 00:22:31,433
But also I've joined
the Artisan Revolution and Tile Movement,

486
00:22:31,433 --> 00:22:34,436
which is a bunch of tile installers

487
00:22:34,436 --> 00:22:37,439
that are trying to bring art back
into tile setting.

488
00:22:37,481 --> 00:22:41,193
And so we recently passed
a class last year on mosaics.

489
00:22:41,193 --> 00:22:44,196
And so I hope to take another
mosaic class this year and start

490
00:22:44,196 --> 00:22:46,156
getting more into that with

491
00:22:46,156 --> 00:22:47,324
we've got a repair job

492
00:22:47,324 --> 00:22:50,077
in the city of Huntsville
that wants to have something fixed,

493
00:22:50,077 --> 00:22:52,079
and we're trying to figure that out
right now,

494
00:22:52,079 --> 00:22:55,082
and they're planning on using me,
so I'm hoping to do that with them.

495
00:22:55,123 --> 00:22:58,043
But just moving forward
with the super specialty

496
00:22:58,043 --> 00:23:01,046
niche of that, I'm looking to do that
this year.

497
00:23:01,922 --> 00:23:02,172
Yeah.

498
00:23:02,172 --> 00:23:06,259
Mosaics are are huge right now
and a lot of people are trying

499
00:23:06,259 --> 00:23:10,138
to be bold and different while
also still being functional, not being.

500
00:23:10,180 --> 00:23:13,058
Some people don't want to be too bold,
but they still want to dip their toes.

501
00:23:13,058 --> 00:23:17,312
And the trend of being bold,
which I think mosaics are perfect for.

502
00:23:17,479 --> 00:23:18,647
That's very exciting.

503
00:23:18,647 --> 00:23:20,982
Thank you so much for joining me today.

504
00:23:20,982 --> 00:23:24,277
It was great having you on
and just learning about your business

505
00:23:24,277 --> 00:23:25,737
and everything you do.

506
00:23:25,737 --> 00:23:29,783
If anyone wants to work with you
and if they're in the Huntsville area,

507
00:23:30,158 --> 00:23:31,243
how can they find you?

508
00:23:31,243 --> 00:23:34,788
Go to our website, artisanwts.com.

509
00:23:34,788 --> 00:23:36,289
There's a contact page

510
00:23:36,289 --> 00:23:36,623
because then

511
00:23:36,623 --> 00:23:38,125
I can get all of your information
in the event

512
00:23:38,125 --> 00:23:40,585
that you call the office
and then just leave a message.

513
00:23:40,585 --> 00:23:44,714
Otherwise our phone numbers
(256) 697-0001.

514
00:23:45,465 --> 00:23:47,050
Thank you so much.
You have a great rest of your day.

515
00:23:47,050 --> 00:23:48,885
Thank you for carving out time for this.

516
00:23:48,885 --> 00:23:50,595
Of course.
Thanks for having me. Thank you.

517
00:23:53,348 --> 00:23:56,101
Thank you for joining us today
on The ProSource Podcast.

518
00:23:56,101 --> 00:23:59,312
Please like and subscribe to us
wherever you get your podcast.

519
00:23:59,771 --> 00:24:01,982
Also, follow us on social media.

520
00:24:01,982 --> 00:24:05,652
Check out our website
at prosourcewholesale.com and visit

521
00:24:05,652 --> 00:24:09,698
your local ProSource Wholesale showroom
for all of your home remodeling needs.