The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
From self-cleaning and self-repairing to bendable and glowing, concrete is constantly evolving, regularly bringing technologically improved products to market.
There’s one key point on which architects and decorative concrete contractors agree: “The architect needs to have a contractor who knows what he’s doing,” says Marley Porter, AIA, who operates Living Architecture & Construction Management, located in Texas Hill Country at Cottonwood Shores.
Concrete contractors are inundated with small tips and tricks that hopefully one day will help them out in specific situations. Very rarely does anyone talk about business or industry growth as it relates to your specific company.
Here are four things that will help you and your polishing business today.
Pitching to the GC is relatively direct — enjoy a free lunch and explain what decorative concrete is all about. A sampling of opinion from a handful of other contractors turns up some interesting — you might even say unorthodox — approaches to this matter of communication with the general contractor.
The importance of concrete in modern society cannot be overestimated. Look around you and you will find concrete structures everywhere such as buildings, roads, bridges, and dams. There is no escaping the impact concrete makes on your everyday life. So what is it?
The success of your decorative concrete future hinges on one word: anticipation. The ability to anticipate where to find the potential buyers of services over the next year or two is one few professionals even consider.
The reason concrete is so strong is elemental. According to researchers at Rice University, studying friction on materials such as concrete has provided the answer.
Once you complete a job and you know the client is happy, follow up over the phone or through email to ask for a testimonial or quote for your website or a brochure. To make things even more convenient, send a stamped postcard they can easily mail back to you.
The fear that we may lose touch with the concrete artistry in our industry is a legitimate feeling. It seems like more and more projects require firm decisions and designs before they ever reach our eyes. Are we losing the chance to add our expertise, advice and artistic touch to decorative projects?
Websites have changed the relationships between businesses and customers. Having an attractive, purposeful and convenient website can make or break a company. A website is particularly useful for a decorative concrete artisan, because it allows you to visually showcase your work, publish testimonials and be easily found by potential customers.
Choosing the right manufacturer is a dilemma every contractor in our industry faces every day. I’ve heard many analogies used to describe the decorative concrete industry over the years, but two comparisons have always resonated the most: “Polished Concrete is part Art and part Construction,” and “The polishing industry is still the Wild West.”
