Women of the Flooring Business Offers Educational Courses and Support for Members

FLOOR ED

Women of the Flooring Business Offers Educational Courses and Support for Members

There continues to be an ongoing debate about business groups that cater only to women and whether they harm or help women entrepreneurs. Since the business model was developed through male business owners, the question is, do these groups do women a disservice by cutting them off from the group that has blazed up the trail? We all know that the world is changing, and according to this year’s Small Business Trends survey results, twenty-seven percent of all small business or franchise owners are female, and the number keeps rising. As a result, there is more information available from women about business ownership. https://bit.ly/3lEAUGP

According to Michelle Bayer, President, Floor Studs, Remodel Concierge and Online Flooring Business, Women of the Flooring Business (WoFB) deserve high marks:

“I find the multifaceted female perspective extremely useful that only women business owners, “who have been there done that” can provide. Women are looking for women to help mentor and provide their business experience through the female perspective.”

From left to right: Dana Teague, VP, Design Group at Informa Markets; Emily Morrow Finkell, CEO at EF FLOORS & Design, LLC; Lisbeth Calandrino, President of Lisbeth Calandrino & Associates; and Janelle Edmonds, Wisenbaker’s Design Center.

“When I first started consulting,” says Lisbeth Calandrino, “I was assigned through Mohawk Industries’ Mohawk University to teach numerous business classes to business owners. At that time, I don’t remember working with any female business owners. The men never pulled any punches about how they felt having a woman consultant. At times, it was challenging; I often overheard owners saying, Who sent her or what is she doing here? I doubt if she can help me! Armed with cutting-edge business tools, pertinent information, and a history of owning several flooring stores, I left their stores with a new level of respect and business owners who still call me. These business owners definitely built my confidence and a belief in my abilities.”

Michelle Winters, Managing Partner of Texas based New Braunfels Flooring, who launched the Women of the Flooring Business Group on social media last year, conducts a seminar for realtors about new flooring products.

Two years ago, Michelle Winters and Lisbeth Calandrino talked about developing a Facebook group for women in flooring. Winters went off with Rachel Berlin to lay the groundwork and invited Calandrino to join. By this time, the group had over 400 members and was growing rapidly. Today they have built the group to include over 1200 women. Rachel Berlin manages two retail stores and provides constant information on business from “the trenches” of the flooring business.

At first, the group had both male and female members. However, they later decided to focus on only women members.

This was a huge decision and according to Winters and Calandrino. It created some backlash. “It wasn’t that we didn’t want male input, but we realized certain issues such as dealing with sexual harassment, how to be taken seriously as a female, blazing your path, and childcare were women’s issues,” says Calandrino. “Women still report that customers and suppliers are always looking for the man who is responsible and aren’t sure how to handle these comments.” We all know that the world is changing, and according to this year’s Small Business Trends survey results, twentyseven percent of all small business or franchise owners are female, and the number keeps rising.

Lis Calandrino, Business Coach, trainer and FC News columnist, speaking at the International Surfaces Event about the advantages of attending these trade show venues.

Taking the group to another level has been exciting, challenging, and time-consuming. Calandrino and Winters speak daily to format ideas and review conversations with members.

Adds Michelle Winters, “The more comments we read and conversations with our participants, the more we realized how powerful our platform was becoming. We also realized that the group was looking for more information, and we felt a responsibility for providing these services. Surveying our participants has been very helpful in showing what our members were looking for. There are also many members with great skills that we are going to utilize for seminars. However, the most important information was those who told us they wanted “more, we got together with them and created an executive membership that will provide the additional benefits they were asking for.”

Taking the group to another level has been exciting, challenging, and time-consuming. Calandrino and Winters speak daily to format ideas and review conversations with members.

The group continues to increase its membership and is beginning to be recognized by manufacturers and other service providers in the industry. Watching the group posts and having one-on-one discussions helped the leadership team realize that members have varying levels of interest and support needs. Because of this, they are creating an exceptional Executive Membership level. This fee-based membership will help Executive-Level members move ahead of their competitors and be on top of their game. Unfortunately, the game isn’t getting any easier; there are more competitors out there, and women in the flooring business need to be at the forefront of the industry.

The group also includes an Advisory Team of industry leaders, which has been a tremendous asset to moving the program forward and designing their Executive Level Membership offer. Members who join their Executive Level will have access to courses from everything to product knowledge seminars, professional training videos, books, “hot seat” mastermind groups, peer accountability coaching, and numerous other benefits. In addition, they are developing fun onsite events and are planning a mixer for TISE2022. They have also met with suppliers of business software and web developers and are negotiating exclusive reduced-price offers for their members.

“One of the things that are most valuable to me,” says Melissa Bender... “is the different age groups in our group. I am inspired by the younger members and am learning a great deal from them about their experiences and challenges. It has helped me managing and working with our employees. I feel like I’m learning every day.”

“Having spent my entire lifetime educating and providing coaching to people in our industry, I’m honored to be part of the sisterhood that is emerging from our group,” says Calandrino. “Nothing could be more satisfying.”

As the number of high-powered women continues to grow in the flooring industry, the more Calandrino, Winters, and Berlin realized there were female role models who could help with a wide variety of issues relating to what is needed to run a successful business.

One of the most powerful characteristics of the group is the varying levels and experience of their members, from the under 40 rising stars and owners who are just entering the marketplace to well-seasoned, older industry members. “One of the things that are most valuable to me,” says Melissa Bender, co-owner of Lima Carpet and Design Center and Professional Installer, “is the different age groups in our group. I am inspired by the younger members and am learning a great deal from them about their experiences and challenges. It has helped me managing and working with our employees. I feel like I’m learning every day.”

“Paying it Forward” and giving back is also an important focus for the WoFB group. A portion of all membership fees will be donated directly to the Floor Covering Industry Foundation, which gets families back on their feet when battling catastrophic injuries, severe disabilities, or other life-altering medical crises.

What’s next for this group? They are currently exploring becoming a certified WMBE (Women-owned or Minority-owned Business Enterprise). They want women to know what this differentiation signifies and how female-led businesses can increase their profits by becoming certified. They have a topnotch expert lined up who will be providing a seminar for their Executive Level on the process of becoming certified and obtaining this valuable competitive advantage. The certification takes time; the WoFB group is committed to supporting its members throughout the process.

Winters, Calandrino, and Berlin also pay homage to two other leaders in online groups: Shannon Vogel, who started Fabulous Females, provides a place where women in the industry can go to get motivated and feel empowered as a community, and Emily Morrow-Finkell, the founder of WIFI (Women in the Floorcovering Industry), provides resources and relationships for women in the flooring industry.

“Having spent my entire lifetime educating and providing coaching to people in our industry, I’m honored to be part of the sisterhood that is emerging from our group,” says Calandrino. “Nothing could be more satisfying.” If you would like to apply for membership to the WoFB, click on this link and fill out the brief questionnaire. ■