John Hughes began his adult life working in Omaha for a manufacturer in another industry. During a strike seven years later, he got a side job working with his brothers at a flooring store in Iowa to cover the bills. When the strike ended after a month, he had discovered a new love.
He spent a year working at that retailer before opening his own store nearby and operating as an independent for 11 years. When that area’s farming economy went south in the mid-‘80s, he saw the writing on the wall and sought out an opportunity in Colorado Springs with a furniture retailer who mentioned he might want to open a carpet store next door.