Articles by Dave Stafford

If you’re familiar with firearms, you know that, while caliber is important, it’s the type and construction of the bullet that is key to success. Just as a hollow-point bullet won’t penetrate an engine block, buckshot is unlikely to be effective when dove hunting.

An astute businessman always looks ahead, and as Labor Day has just come and gone, and the kids are back to school, you may have had the thought that, “Maybe I should be doing some school business.” And the fall is a great time to make plans for this type of business.

I have always found the apartment replacement business to be a difficult one in which to make a consistent profit.

Following a recent seminar, a dealer approached me to ask for my thoughts on why he’d been unsuccessful going after some commercial business. “I’ll bet I’ve priced over 20 projects, and I have yet to get one of them,” he said.

Often, it is not that you had a problem, but more how you responded, assessed and corrected the situation that sticks in the memory.

In the commercial arena, there are plenty of opportunities for making big, embarrassing, glaring, reputation-destroying, expensive mistakes.

More competition, rising costs, emphasis on reducing internal expenses, improving the customer experience: It's a roller coaster ride.

If you're in the flooring business as a dealer or contractor, then "open, empty, clean, no take-up" is what you hope to see. Usually, though, what you find is furniture. Lots of furniture.

Do something exciting this week. Resolve to become an expert in commercial resilient products and their applications.

Everyone has challenges in their business and some use the calendar year as the end of their business year.