You may find that the people that call this ad will be prescreened for you. They are intrigued by the thought of having the most beautiful floor, who wouldn’t? And that automatically eliminates the people who are just calling to get the lowest quote on just any quality of work. But now the real question is can you deliver on this quality, and still make money?
The first answer is yes you can if you change all your bad floor installation and sanding and finishing habits. If you are new to the business, never do your work to only the industry standard, you’ve got to stand above the rest. The answer to the second part of the question, can you still make money? Well to be honest, NO. Not at first.
I’m not here to tell you lies, and suggest you can succeed in becoming a stellar performer and big money earner in this business overnight. But if you are willing to put in some time and effort you will succeed. If you want to install new floors, consider staying away from the prefinished floors. You will never be remembered for your good installations, the customer will only remember the brand of floor he chose. Try doing sand-on -site floors only. You will have improve your floor sanding skills, but you will be setting yourself apart from the other companies. Sand-on-site floors still make up more than half of the new wood floor business. There is a lot less competition in this sector, and the prices are getting better every year. Specializing in this will give you access to the resand market, which will grow exponentially when all those prefinished floor surfaces wear out (notwithstanding long warranty periods).
Don’t worry about what you have to charge, you will not be able to raise your rates yet. Keep your prices about the same as you always have and for instance sand the floor 3-4 times and apply at least 3 coats of OMP, or 4-5 coats of water based finish taking enough time for a really bubble and pit free durable finish. Learn how to use other methods to strip a floor like chemical stripping. You might even use a paste wax to restore a good old hardwood floor, instead of simply sanding every floor you encounter. And there are other finishes like shellac, lacquer and even oil finishes that will give wood floor a distinctive look. There is also a growing demand for distressed, and hand scraped floors. There are many specialties in this trade, that others can’t or won’t do. Get the knowledge on these specialties and stay way ahead of the competition.
Don’t try to be the super sales person with your first meeting with the customer. Instead be the wood floor Educator. But KNOW what you are talking about, back up your knowledge with references. This is no place to be faking it, the next bidder will shoot your unsound ideas down fast. If you do not know the answer to all their questions offer to do some research and get back to them. Do this for everybody you talk to, until word gets around that you KNOW of what you speak. And your floor jobs are really looking most beautiful, just like the ad says.