In today's rapidly evolving flooring industry, forward-thinking business leaders are implementing strategic initiatives to ensure long-term success. 

Mark Bischoff, president and CEO of the Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Cooperative, frames the challenge clearly: "The lesson I've learned in business is differentiation only works until technology overcomes it." This tension between established business models and emerging technologies sits at the heart of future-proofing.

"Our companies are special, different, and have high customer intimacy until someone gives them an app or a technology solution that makes that differentiation null and void," Bischoff explained, highlighting how quickly competitive advantages can evaporate.

According to Bischoff, the solution isn't choosing sides but maintaining balance by offering commercial flooring contractors technology tools and differentiation. "This dual approach recognizes that while member companies have built legacies on relationships and service, technology 'wipes the screen every few years,'" he said. 

At the recent Starnet Annual Meeting in Carlsbad, California, members shared their approaches to building resilient enterprises in an increasingly competitive market. Read on for highlights of those conversations: 

Juliet Neely, Rick Jones and Leslie Krajewski of Creative Flooring in Markham, Ontario, Canada. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Rick Jones, Creative Flooring
Markham, Ontario, Canada 

Rick Jones, owner and president of Creative Flooring in Markham, Ontario, brings a multi-dimensional perspective to future-proofing. His company, which has been in business for more than 20 years, delivers commercial flooring solutions while also operating a residential business under the Carpet One Floor & Home brand.

"I don't know if there's any way right now with how our industry is changing to truly future-proof it," Jones said. "We're a lagging industry. You can look and compare how other companies have rolled out or how other industries have rolled out. It's happening to us. There's a predictive nature to all this."

Despite this uncertainty, Jones emphasizes that future-proofing remains "top of mind at every one of our board meetings."

His company has taken concrete steps, conducting a facilitated strategic planning session in January, focusing on several key areas: bringing more value to vendors, developing a membership scorecard to identify and replicate successful member characteristics, preparing for changes related to private equity, and potentially expanding their product offerings beyond traditional flooring.

Jones acknowledges the challenge of generational transition in the workforce: "It's a new culture. I don't think the next generation is going to stay and have one career anymore." This shift in workforce expectations requires new approaches to talent retention and development: "How are you going to get them to stay and see this is a long-term thing?"

Jones exemplifies career evolution within the industry, having progressed from "warehouse to helper, ran crews, built an installation company" before assuming his current leadership position. His diverse background mirrors the kind of adaptability companies need to cultivate.

The Creative Flooring team reflects this commitment to future-proofing through succession planning. "Once you're in flooring, it kind of gets underneath your skin," said Leslie Krajewski, account manager, Creative Flooring. This passion for the work highlights the importance of engaging the next generation emotionally, not just professionally.

"This is what my teammates and I are here to figure out—where we're going to take this in the future and how we're going to get it to the next level," Jones said. "We've got different ages and generations here, and how we're going to make more for everybody."

Lonny Peck, owner and president of Floor Systems & Design, and America's Floor Source CEO Michele Vermette. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation 

Lonny Peck, Floor Systems & Design
Columbus, Ohio

Lonny Peck, owner and president of Floor Systems & Design in Columbus, Ohio, is riding a wave of success. After a record-breaking previous year, his company is on track to match or exceed those impressive results. With over half of their business coming from the booming healthcare sector in the Midwest, Peck has positioned his company in a growth market.

"Floor Cloud has been a big one, that's helping us to be more professional, and obviously helps us with risk management," Peck explains, highlighting how technological adoption is central to his future-proofing strategy. His company recently transitioned its base system and continues implementing newer software pipeline technologies as they become available. Peck's approach to talent remains straightforward but effective: "You hire good people and keep doing what we're doing."

Michele Vermette, America's Floor Source
Columbus, Ohio 

Michele Vermette, CEO of America's Floor Source in Columbus, Ohio, places significant emphasis on developing future leadership. His company has strategically invested in cultivating talent among its younger staff members.

"We've invested a lot in that second generation, so we're fortunate to have a lot of folks in their thirties and forties that we've given extra responsibility to," Vermette shared. The leadership team, including Vermette, Founder and Chairman Jason Goldberg, and President Mike Stinnette, have mentorship to prepare the company for continued expansion.

Like his industry colleagues, Vermette recognizes the importance of technological advancement, noting that they've added technologies in multiple areas of the business. 

Universal Metro CEO Dave Triepke. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Dave Triepke, Universal Metro
Santa Fe Springs, California

Dave Triepke, CEO of Universal Metro in Santa Fe Springs, California, is taking a bold approach to talent acquisition as a cornerstone of his future-proofing strategy. "We're moving from hiring necessarily in the industry to recruiting outside the industry," Triepke said, highlighting a shift from traditional industry-focused recruitment.

This approach prioritizes character and potential over technical experience. When evaluating candidates, Triepke focuses on three essential qualities: "Humble, hungry, smart." This framework helps identify individuals with the right mindset, regardless of their flooring industry background.

"Are they hungry? Do they want to work?" Triepke asks, emphasizing the importance of motivation—a quality he finds particularly relevant given industry challenges. His approach also values both "street smart and book smart" intelligence, recognizing that academic credentials alone don't guarantee success in the flooring business: "You can be really book smart but you just don't connect the dots."

By recruiting motivated individuals from outside the industry and teaching them the business, Triepke is building what he calls "a sustainable company for years to come."

Paul White, CEO of Paul White Co. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Paul White, Paul White Co.
Portland, Maine

For Paul White, CEO of Paul White Co. in Portland, Maine, future-proofing means returning to fundamentals while planning for tomorrow. After a period when business flowed freely, White's company has recalibrated its approach.

"We appreciate the opportunities we get and going back to our roots, towards better customer service and performance," White noted, emphasizing renewed focus on competitive selling and consistent follow-up.

White's comprehensive future-proofing strategy includes facility improvements learned from construction projects, enhanced security measures following a cybersecurity incident, and—perhaps most importantly—succession planning.

"Continuing to develop the next generation of folks that we have that can take over the business down the road and increase responsibility and more visibility and transparency into financials and how all our systems work," White said, acknowledging his approaching retirement.

Industry engagement remains crucial for White and his team. They regularly attend industry shows to stay current with resources, technologies, and installation products, ensuring the company remains at the forefront of innovation while preparing for its next chapter.

B.T. Mancini & Co. team. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Skip Mancini, B.T. Mancini Co. 
Milpitas, California

Skip Mancini, president of B.T. Mancini Co., Inc. in Milpitas, California, focuses on creating organizational capacity as his path to future-proofing. "Trying to build depth in the company so that we can grow, and that the people that we're building depth with can step in and help in that growth," Mancini explained.

When asked how his company develops this bench strength, Mancini outlines a straightforward approach: "A lot of training, giving people responsibility, looking for people that can be future leaders." This talent-focused strategy ensures the company has the human capital necessary to expand and adapt to changing market conditions.

Delmar Vasquez and Garret Baxley of DSB+. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Delmar Vasquez, DSB+ Maintenance Division
Livermore, California

Delmar Vasquez, VP of sales at DSB+ Maintenance Division in Livermore, California, sees investing in people as the foundation of future-proofing. "I think it's continuing to invest in the right people in your team because from there it can branch out in many different ways," he said. 

This investment extends beyond compensation to encompass a holistic approach to team development. He emphasizes the importance of evaluating the return on investment across the entire organization: "For us, it's like our ROI on our team. And it's not just a salesperson, it's the person that's always behind the office."

This approach recognizes that sustainable success depends on creating the right organizational culture, which sometimes requires difficult personnel decisions. "If they're not the right teammate for the culture of the company, then there are some decisions that need to be made," Vasquez noted, highlighting the business imperative of maintaining the right team dynamics.

Lisa Speet and Tobi Anderson of Custer Flooring. Photo: Floor Trends & Installation. 

Tobi Anderson, Custer Flooring
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Tobi Anderson, VP of flooring and corporate sales at Custer Flooring in Michigan, highlights talent acquisition as a critical component of future-proofing. When asked about her strategy, Anderson points to "training young talent" as a key focus.

Her company is actively working to attract new generations to the industry by engaging with "college students who are interested in business or sales." This approach recognizes the need to appeal to candidates seeking both professional development and advancement opportunities.

While Anderson acknowledges that historically recruiting young talent has been challenging, she notes that they've recently had some interest. The company has adapted its recruitment strategies, implementing more proactive approaches such as job fairs and talking to people on job sites to connect with potential candidates. This grassroots approach to talent development represents an important shift in how flooring companies are addressing workforce challenges, moving from passive hiring practices to active engagement with potential recruits where they already are.

The Future-Proofing Portfolio

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to future-proofing. "Not every solution or method of doing that works for every member because they're different sizes, they have different capabilities, and people," Bischoff said. 

These Starnet members demonstrate that future-proofing requires a multifaceted approach that combines technological adoption, talent development, market focus, and succession planning—all while maintaining the core values and relationships that built their businesses in the first place. And as Jones points out, looking to other industries that have already navigated similar transitions may provide valuable insights into the flooring industry's evolution.