Shepherding Success Through Software—The Unusual Evolution of QFloors

GROWTH, SUCCESS, AND SOFTWARE

Shepherding Success Through Software — The Unusual Evolution of QFloors

Co-founders Chad and Trent Ogden.

“I could see a need, not only in my dad’s business, but in a lot of small businesses, for being able to have good controls, and good policies and procedures. I could see how vital it was for a floor-covering business to be able to produce meaningful, timely, and accurate financial statements.”

Ironically, it all started with sheep. But not in a sheep-makes-wool-makes-carpet way. Dale Ogden, the paternal grandfather of QFloors founders Trent and Chad Ogden, owned a sheep ranch in the mountains of rural Utah. After an unfortunate string of particularly bad winters killed off a large number of his sheep, he was ready for a new career path. And so, in 1954, he loaded up the family, moved to Southern California, and opened the Broadloom City carpet store.

Years later, his son Steve followed in his footsteps. Steve founded Ogden’s Carpet Outlet (later Ogden’s Flooring & Design) in 1974 and the business quickly grew and expanded. Today, there are 13 Ogden’s Flooring & Design franchises in the Intermountain West.

Both Chad and Trent grew up helping in their father’s stores. When they weren’t playing hide and seek among the rolls of carpet or attempting to spin “donuts” with the tow motor, they were working. From about age 12, they worked in the warehouse, rolling remnants. At 16, they were delivering furniture to customers or measuring homes for flooring. Chad’s wife, Chris, who knew him in high school, remembers what a hard worker he was even as a teenager. “Chad and I dated some in high school, and I probably should have clued in that he was a bit of a workaholic when he decided we needed to stop and do a carpet measure on our way to prom! He was in his tux, and I was in this fluffy 80’s prom dress, standing on the doorstep telling the homeowners we were there to measure for carpet.”

Chad developed a passion for computers, obtaining a degree in Computer Engineering and temporarily leaving the flooring industry. He spent a decade working as a programmer and engineer in the tech industry, eventually becoming the Director of Engineering at a firm specializing in cutting-edge mass spectrometers.

In the meantime, Trent continued working with his father, finding his niche as an accountant and controller. He earned a bachelor’s in Accounting and eventually an MBA. As he learned more about business, he realized that his father’s flooring company did not always realize profits despite high sales. As they incorporated better tracking, job costing, and reporting, Trent could see how important those things were to overall success and profitability. “I could see a need, not only in my dad’s business but in a lot of small businesses, for being able to have good controls and good policies and procedures. I could see how vital it was for a floor-covering business to be able to produce meaningful, timely, and accurate financial statements.” The need for good software to facilitate those objectives became apparent.

Trent and Steve asked Chad to help them find the right software for Steve’s flooring stores, which were now franchised. They went to Surfaces multiple

years in a row, looking for a system that could produce accurate numbers and reports. They also wanted software that was user-friendly enough for even non-computer-savvy employees to be able to learn. Chad became frustrated at what was available and what he saw as a lack of vision and progression in flooring software at the time. So one night in Las Vegas, after another fruitless day of searching, he took a pen to paper. He stayed up all night, sketching out the main screens of QFloors and how they would all work together. And that sketch, framed today at the QFloors corporate office, eventually became flooring software that would be embraced by well over a thousand businesses.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Like many owners, Chad and Trent experienced peaks and valleys in their journey to build a thriving business. There were sleepless nights, significant sacrifices, and missed paychecks along the way. But through it all, Chad remembers telling Trent, “I think we’re helping people. We’re making a difference for these businesses.” And that understanding gave them the hope and stamina to stay the course.

Trent recalls, “Throughout the years, even when we were struggling, Chad was always just a real stickler for, ‘Is that going to help our customer?’ That was always his question to the employees and me: ‘Is that going to be beneficial to our customers?’”

That customer-centric focus allowed the brothers to press on and helped QFloors grow a large and remarkably loyal client base and staff. As a result, the company has averaged 30% growth each year over the past decade.

“The best part of our company is our people,” says Chad. “We’ve always had great, loyal employees who care about our customers.” QFloors clients seem to agree. Their google reviews are filled with effusive shoutouts to the support staff.

Ron Cluff, who joined the brothers shortly after QFloors was formed and played a vital role in the company’s success, explains the shared philosophy. “We have the best customers in the world. We really do. And we’re not there just to sell them software. We’re there to be a partner. To help them grow as they help us grow.”

Trent Ogden agrees: “It’s making other people and other businesses successful, that’s what we’re all about, and I think that defines our success.” =

“The best part of our company is our people,” says Chad. “We’ve always had great, loyal employees who care about our customers.”