Building A Flooring Business By Doing What You Say with Nathan Roach

0:00Welcome to Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners. Every week, we sit down with business owners, founders, and leaders to uncover the real stories behind building a successful business. The wins, the setbacks, the lessons learned, and the strategies that help them grow. No scripts, no fluff, just honest conversations with entrepreneurs who are in the trenches every single day. Whether you are a business owner yourself, thinking about starting a business, or simply enjoy hearing how successful people think and operate, you are in the right place. Let's jump into today's episode, shall we?

0:43All right. Hi, everyone. Welcome to this week's episode of Epic Entrepreneurs. I am Cliff McRae with Action Coach Business Growth Partners, where we work with local business owners to turn big ideas into real scalable growth. Today, I'm excited to be joined by Nathan Roach with Floor Coverings International. Nathan, how are you doing today? I'm doing great, Bill. How are you doing? Yeah, doing wonderful. I'm very excited to have you here. So let's jump right into things. So, yeah, first off, for those of you who may not know it yet, who are you, Nathan? Who is Nathan Roach and what is Floor Coverings International?

1:17Yeah, so I am one of the two owners of Floor Coverings International here in Chattanooga. And, you know, we are a local flooring store that, you know, where we are unique and where we really provide something different for the community is we have a mobile showroom that we bring all the samples out to the customers' homes. We show them the samples, the products in their own light, in their own environment, and we really try to create, make it a seamless experience from start to finish. Very nice. Very nice. And a little bit about you personally. What do you have going on? Yeah. So, you know, I'm originally from Kentucky.

1:49I moved to the Chattanooga area probably about, I guess, about 15 years ago. I've got a beautiful wife. I've got a five-year-old little boy named Kason and a two-year-old little girl named Kinsley. And, you know, we fell in love with the Chattanooga area. Kind of a little bit about my background. I was in a corporate role for a long time in big box retail, covered a lot of locations. Great job, great experience. But I really, you know, yearn to be able to do something different and really truly be able to make an impact on the community and the people that I serve. That's kind of where the idea with my business partner and I to find something that really fit our wheelhouse and how we can get out and make a difference.

2:26We found Floor Coverings International and kind of the rest is history. Nice, nice. That sounds beautiful. So take us back to the very beginning. You know, what made you say, yep, I'm doing this. I'm starting that business. Well, I mean, you know, I think for both of us, like I said, we were we were both in a corporate role, you know, big box retail. You know, and the thing is, in a corporate role, I think there's a huge opportunity to be able to impact, especially the employees, you know, that work for us, you know, the customers, you know, but you're still somewhat limited on truly your ability to create your own ideas, you know, really kind of carve your own path.

3:02And I think, you know, really do what you feel is best for the customer and the experience and things like that. So, you know, Josh and I really started thinking about, you know, how like how could we do this? And, you know, for me, I have a strong sales background. That's really where I'd spend a lot of my time. And Josh, my business partner, had spent, you know, the majority of his time around logistics, the service side of things. And when you really think about the floor coverings international, it tied right into that. So we felt like it was a great opportunity. And, you know, one other thing that was a big driver for us to start is personal experiences that we've had in the services world here around Chattanooga.

3:39whether it be clients not calling back or customers, excuse me, businesses not calling back, you know, just slow to respond or really act like they don't care. And we wanted to truly provide something that was different. And that's kind of how we started. Yeah. So it sounds like that's kind of what makes you different. That was actually my next question. What makes you different than other retailers out there? So that's really what it is? Yeah. You know, it's, we do what we say. And here's the thing. Everybody says, we do what we say, we're going to follow up, we're going to do this. But we make it a point to hold each other accountable, hold our employees accountable, and really make sure that we do exactly what we say.

4:17But I think also, too, part of being a business owner is understanding that things don't always go right. And I think what really defines a lot of businesses is when maybe an installation or something does not go right in a cell and it's how you handle it. And we truly put the customer at the center of our world and whatever that decision is to make sure that they're taking the best care of as the route we'll choose. Nice, nice. No, I love it. I love it. So if you had to start again from absolute scratch, you know, let's, you know, obviously all hypothetical, let's say you had no brand, no clients and no safety net.

4:50What would you do differently the second time around? Or would you do anything differently, honestly? Oh man, that's a great question. I think there's a lot we would do differently. There's a lot we probably wouldn't do differently. You know, there was a lot of learning and a lot of mistakes, you know, a lot of things, you know, that we really did not understand, you know, whether it be the advertising piece, how to really, you know, secure customers, how to use lead sources that are actually driving good quality leads. And, you know, when you first open up for business, it's kind of a shotgun approach where you really just see what sticks to the wall.

5:23And so looking back, you know, we, I think we would be more strategic around, you know, really how we acquire customers. through our lead aggregators, through our Google spend, things like that, and really trying to dial that in. Because, you know, simply put, we wasted a lot of money in the beginning trying to find ways to really source those customers. And now that we've really kind of figured it in, we've learned how to utilize zip code work throughout the Chattanooga, Hamilton County area, Bradley County area. And it's really put us in a position to where we're able to drive better profit.

5:53We're able to focus more on the end experience. It's been a lot of learning. I mean, it's and I think the other thing that I'll tell you, too, is I'm an instant gratification person. And I think that I expected opening up that we would be successful right out of the gates. And just like anything else in the world, you know, being a small business owner takes time and it took us some time to get things going. But I feel like we're finally making the progress and where we need to be. So how long did it take you all to become profitable? So, I mean, really, really. So we opened up in 2021 and I would say really by the end of 2023, we started, you know, we had good months of profit in between there.

6:30But where we really started consistently driving profit was probably towards the end of 2023. And as we continue, you know, we started getting more referral business, more repeat business and kind of that that spider web of growth throughout the community, you know, slowly started happening. And it's just been ramping up and ramping up ever since. Nice, nice. Now, did you all get affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024 at all? Not, you know, not not really. We had, you know, in Chattanooga, there was not a ton of, you know, major, major impact. If you look at some of the areas from the flooding and things like that, there were some logistical issues, some other problems that caused, but nothing that was too major here in Chattanooga, at least.

7:10OK, OK. Yeah, that's a good blessing. So what would you say is a lesson you learned the hard way as a business owner that no one really prepares you for? Oh, gosh, that's a fantastic question. And I think for me, and I'll say this, you know, very humbled when I say it, you know, I came in, you know, as a business owner, you know, I had a very successful career. I felt like I made a ton of impacts and I really, truly believe that like from day one, I'm going to be able to just dominate this, you know, with Josh, my business partner. And I think for me, the biggest lesson was learning that, you know, just as a roller coaster ride of emotions, a small business is virtually the same thing.

7:52And you really have to put your ego at check and really check that at the door to where when you come into this, you're going to fail and you're going to screw up and you're going to cost yourself money. But if you use every opportunity as a learning opportunity and grow from it before you know it, those situations are limited and limited and limited. until really you don't have the major issues that you had. So I think for me, it's being more humble. I wish I would have come into it really with a more open mind understanding that I was going to screw a lot of things up before I made a lot of things better.

8:25Nice, nice. So, you know, then this kind of heads into the next question. So what would you say is one common myth that people believe about running a business that makes you laugh now when you hear it? So I think there is a very big I think about as I grew up, as I looked at business owners, as I knew people that owned businesses, and there's always this, it's like, man, they've got to be rolling in the dough. They're just killing it, this and that. And what I realized very quickly is there is opportunity for people to kill it and be rolling in the dough. But what you have to understand is even the revenue goals that you aspire for, sometimes those are not enough to truly drive the profit that you need.

9:09And it really just takes, you know, it takes time sometimes to really be able to get to that point. Yeah, yeah, no, you're right. You're right. I mean, you can get there, but it's like, you know, it takes some time. You're not going to get it in one year, maybe not even five years, right, sometimes. Well, yeah. I mean, you think about it, it's, you know, it's for a small business to stay open five years is kind of that spot where it's kind of, you know, kind of that safety net, like almost like you've reached maturity more than likely you're going to move forward, you know, but those first few years, you have to have tough skin and be able to learn and grow.

9:40And I think really utilize the people around you to make yourself better and continue to, you know, to push ahead. Yeah, no, I agree with you. So, you know, be honest. So are you naturally more of an entrepreneur or an employee at heart? Why? I think, you know, I think at heart I've always been an entrepreneur. I've always had, you know, the mindset of I wanted to go out on my own. I wanted to do something. You know, there's a big difference, though, I think, with having the dream of wanting to go out and do something and really like stopping and executing that plan. And that's really what held me back, because if you look at, you know, I'll go back to my corporate role with big box retail.

10:21It was comfortable. I made very good money. I'm not telling you that it was easy. I'm not telling you that I always enjoyed it. But, you know, you had that safety net. You had that that you didn't worry all the time, you know. And so when you go out, you know, on your own, it's it's that's different. You know, you got to be able to go out and and, you know, find a way to make it. And so, you know, that was a that was a big part for me. Yeah. And I'm sure, too, you didn't have to worry about, you know, you know, you're the you're the guy. You're the person. Right. You're the one that everybody is depending on to pay their bills, to feed their kids, to feed their families.

10:54Right. Yeah. With the job, you know, you're kind of just a piece of the puzzle rather than the whole thing. And you can just sit back and. Yeah. You're right. And I'll tell you, too. One other thought on that is, you know, with my with with my other career, you know, if I had to take care of a customer and it cost a few thousand dollars to do the right thing. I'm not telling you that that that like I didn't consider that because I was always responsible for a profit and loss statement. But at the end of the day, it's so much different as a small business owner. If you have to take three thousand dollars to fix something that comes out of your own pocket compared to coming out of a corporation that you work for, which is drastically different for me.

11:33Yeah, no, definitely agree. So how do you personally handle stepping away from the business, you know, like taking a vacation or is that even? Well, yeah, so I've gotten, you know, we have been fortunate enough to say we're a dual ownership, but we also have, you know, we've got a project manager as well. That's our other full time associate that, you know, we've got a very good trust amongst us and amongst the team. And, you know, we one of the things that we really try to do is be able to effectively transition into other roles, you know, without really having to think about it. So if I'll give you an example, our production manager, you know, who stays busy, you know, eight to 10 hours a day actually got a had surgery for a hernia.

12:16So he was out for almost two weeks. So we had to find a way immediately to, you know, to make sure that everything ran smooth. And we never missed a beat because it's it's you know, we've got each other's back. And just as we have the customers back and we want to create a different experience. Yeah, no, definitely understand. Everyone understand. So how are you about unplugging at night? You know, are you working till 8 p.m.? Or do you have like a certain time that you cut off and take no more calls? Or how are you handling that? I'm actually very proud to tell you this. So throughout my entire career, I've never unplugged ever.

12:50And when I had kids, I had had both my children late. And, you know, I think something shifts, you know, when you have kids and you realize the priorities and you realize really what's truly important. And I've made a point that, you know, we're technically open till 7 p.m. Most of the time the phones don't ring that late. But I have made it a point moving forward in my life to make sure that I give the respect to my family and my kids that at that seven o 'clock, unless there's an emergency, I don't take phone calls. I close my laptop and it has allowed me to actually slow down and remove some stress at night rather than being just a ball of energy that goes to bed that way.

13:31Wake up, wake up stress. It allows me to kind of pull away. And it's it's it's been fantastic. And I'm very proud that I've been able to do it because I've never been able to do that in my career. Nice, nice. So looking back at it, you know, what would you attribute most of the growth of your business to so far? You know, other than just doing what you say you're going to do, is there anything else you can think of? Well, we have one of our big priorities is really local, you know, really networking and building a network of people that, you know, are strong for referrals, whether that be, you know, real estate agents, whatever it is.

14:03We, you know, we spend we've got multiple members in, you know, throughout BNI and we've really tried to take advantage of maybe, you know, meet and greets or opportunities for networking. And, you know, I really, truly believe that, you know, all the advertising, we've done a lot of stuff that continues to grow. But, you know, for us, our referral business, our repeat business and our business just coming from names that we recognize, whether it be realtors or other business owners, has exploded. And I think that really speaks to the work we've done around local branding, networking and really making sure people know who Nathan Roach is and Floor Coverings International is and, you know, what we do.

14:43Nice. So let's say you're building a team. You said you have a project manager and everything. Let's say you're looking for a project manager and you're going through resumes and everything like that. What traits matter more to you than what's on someone's resume? Is there anything in particular? Yeah. I mean, for me, we're looking like our project manager, we pay very well for a small business. But one of the things that we're looking for is, A, is it somebody that we can trust. And sometimes that's hard to see on a resume. And I think relative experience, you know, is important, but, you know, I think, I think bigger than, than the experience, I would rather have somebody that, you know, is dependable, that's trustworthy and really is a go-getter.

15:24And those are traits that you can't, like I said, you can't always see in, you know, in, in an application or whatever it may be. So it's, it's finding somebody that when I'm at, or when I have to be out, or somebody I think too, a big, you know, something I look for is somebody that takes criticism and handles accountability well, but also is very self-sufficient to where I'm not having to micromanage them on a daily basis. You know, and if they put the team first and the customer first, man, I think they can be an absolute rock star. Yeah, yeah, no, I agree. I'm the same way, you know, I've had some leadership roles in the past and it's, I don't, I don't need, I don't want to stand over your shoulder.

16:00So like if I need to stand over your shoulder every second, I don't need you. I'll probably go get somebody else. You know, it just doesn't make sense. You know, I'll teach you what to do, teach you how to get set up and what I what I'm looking forward to. Like as far as here are the numbers I want you to get, so on and so forth. And I need you to go get it. If you can't do that, then you're probably not a good fit for the role. That's right. Yep. You're spot on. You're spot on. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So, yeah. I mean, is there anything you do, you know, like for your project managers or just for your employees in general to intentionally keep your workplace positive, motivated and productive, you know, especially during like a stressful season, like we're getting ready to head into full on spring and summer here coming up.

16:37So anything you do intentionally to keep your workplace? Yeah, we try to do cool stuff all the time. I mean, I'll give you a great example. And this may seem simple, but, you know, we have been absolutely just crazy busy over the last month and a half. And, you know, as we went into Easter weekend, Good Friday is not a day that we shut down. You know, we typically like we've always ran on Good Friday. Obviously, we're not open on Sunday. But, you know, what we did is, you know, at the beginning of the week, myself and Josh, the other owner, really started talking. It's like, hey, what can we do to kind of like reward everybody just for how much hard work they put in?

17:14So what we did is basically Thursday afternoon, once everybody got things done, we shut the office down. And I essentially sent out an ultimatum to the team that said, you know, close your laptops. I don't want to sit at the office and I want to enjoy basically the weekend and I'll see on Monday. And it was unexpected, but they got to enjoy a little bit longer weekend. And it's little things like that that make a big difference. Yeah, no, it is. It is. You know, you get going and get things going before everybody gets packed out there. Right. Because, I mean, everybody's going to be hitting up the stores and selling out of eggs and everything.

17:45I went to the quick store. I went to Walmart. I think it was Friday night when I had gotten off work and there were no eggs anywhere. I couldn't find eggs for any Easter egg hunt. So we didn't do any Easter egg hunting this year. It was a little too late waiting on those eggs. It's got to be a little earlier next year. Yeah, so I appreciate that. So we're going to head into what's called the quickfire round. So how this works is I'm going to give you one word, and I just want you to tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear each word in regards to running your business, and then I want you to expand upon what you chose and why you chose that word, you know, whatever word of issue that comes to mind, if that makes sense.

18:18Yeah, right. All right. All right. First word is education. Important. And and and I'll kind of expand on that. Not so much. I think, you know, when you think about university, you know, that type of education, I think in a specialized role, it's great. As a small business owner, we have to be educated and extremely knowledgeable on the products and services that we sell. And I think making sure that you truly become the expert. It's extremely important. Planning. Absolutely critical. You know, we do meetings every week for sales and production. You know, it's sometimes it's easy to say, hey, we've got everything under control.

18:57But when you don't slow down and really put checks and balances and hold each other to a high expectations, things falter and people, you know, get complacent. Inspiration. that's uh i'll go with my dad and so i think about every day he woke up um you know he never complained he was always at work early he was always at work late taught me work ethic and i think you know to be a small business owner especially in the beginning you have to understand that you're going to have early early mornings late nights and you're going to have some hard days but they do pay off in it commitment incredibly important uh and that's two words I apologize.

19:37But, you know, when you go into a business like this, you will hit a rough patch. And that roller coaster, when you're riding that high, you will eventually go down and hit that low at some point. And you have to understand that you have to have the commitment to be able to ride that out and push through because those are the people that are going to be successful in the end.

19:56Critical. And just like what we talked about just a second ago, you have to be extremely disciplined as a small business owner. It's very easy to think that you got everything figured out in life because you've had a great success in your career. But when you come into a small business, if you do not stay disciplined and stay on top of everything, you can literally get behind on whether it be books, anything within a month. So it's extremely critical. Yes. Understand that, you know, when you open up a small business, we're all assuming a risk. We all have dreams that we want to be able to take, you know, take things to the next level.

20:32But I think, you know, the smart play for anybody that's thinking about a business is is slowing down and assessing the risks and making sure that the rewards outweigh the risks and that you understand the path that you have to be on to mitigate those risks. The last word is execution. Every day, you've got to get out there and execute, do the things you say and actually get out and make a difference. or you'll just become one of the other hundred companies that are similar to you or whatever it may be. Be different. Get out there and make yourself different. Yeah, yeah. I agree with that. There's so many businesses out there.

21:09You got to find some way to stick out a little bit. That's right. All right. Perfect. So I appreciate you getting through that quickfire round there. So yeah, and I want you to be as candid as you can on the next answer to this next question here. You know, let's say a business owner, a smaller business owner is listening to the podcast episode today with you, Nathan, and let's say they feel stuck or overwhelmed. Let's say they're not having a great week or a great month, or let's say they're not even having a great 2026 start to it. We're already in the second quarter. What's a piece of advice you'd want them to hear from you today?

21:39I think I've been there, and I'll tell you, it's not a fun place to be, but I think if you have a vision and you truly understand where you want to take it, you've got to keep plugging away every single day and that 1 % or getting 1 % better every day or doing the small things every day. Because what eventually happens is before you know it, all those small things combine into really taking your business to where you need it to be. But simply put, you're going to have rough times. Keep your head down, stay positive, and understand that even at that low, you will get back up to the top of that coaster where you're riding on that high again.

22:19But you have to have the commitment and the drive to push through that. And that's what will separate a, you know, small business owners, the ones that are successful and the ones that aren't. I love that. I love that. That's good words of advice. Any other wise words of advice for anybody, you know, other small business owners who are looking to grow their business? Yeah. I mean, I think you think about growing, don't be afraid to do things that are different. Don't be afraid to, you know, get out neighborhood canvas. Don't, don't be afraid to do things that other people are not because, you know, what, what ultimately will make you successful is, is, is the things that you do, albeit some may be different, but the things that drive that experience for the customer and, and ultimately that'll drive your success.

23:05Perfect. Perfect. And what's next for floor coverings international, you know, what should people be excited about coming up in the near future? Yeah. So we're continuing to expand, you know, it's, um, you know, we're, uh, one of the things that we're going to be moving into is epoxy, uh, you know, garage floor finishings, concrete finishings, things like that. So that's a new adventure for us that we're really excited about, but really just excited to be able to continue to grow the brand, be able to show the community what makes us different and continue to make an impact on our employees and the customers alike.

23:36Perfect. Perfect. And finally, what's the best way for someone to connect with you to learn more about what you all do? Yeah. So feel free to give us a call at the office at any time. You can reach us at 423-497-8900. Or if you've got questions for me directly, I'd love to hear from you, you can email me at Nathan.Roach, and that's R-O-A-C-H at F-C-I-Floors.com. Perfect. Do you guys have any social media? So we do. Floor Coverings International, Chattanooga, we've got a Facebook and Instagram page. That's one of those things we talk about, you know, being humble and being a small business owner.