The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
If you want to grow your business, increase its profitability and stay on the cutting edge of new industry development, ongoing education and training are a must.
As you can see from these "before" photos, the house is a unique concrete dome home with a lot of potential. It’s normally covered with earth, and for most of its history, it served as a residence for ministers who served the church across the street.
A science teacher at the Denver Venture School, a charter high school in Denver, Colo., recently did just that. The class checked out the workshop of Concrete Revolution LLC, a company that fabricates countertops, furniture and accents of all kinds.
In 2009, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Board adopted a small-business preference policy. Since then, “The airport has had a strong commitment to maximizing opportunities for small and local businesses to compete for contracts,” says Sonia Cruz, small-business development program manager for the airport authority.
Decorative concrete overlays, stampings, fountains and countertops created from scratch. And the best part of all was that the majority of the work the artisans created are to become a permanent working part of Walla Walla County Fairgrounds.
Concrete Decor publisher Bent Mikkelsen recently spent some time taking in two high profile industry events. Here is a look at what he found.
Of the Concrete Decor Show’s top 35 most-attended courses, some topics emerged that were more popular than all the others. First on the list are countertops, followed by polymer overlays and coatings, and polishing concrete.
Apprenticeships, or a system of training new generations of skilled craftsmen, have a long and rich history in many countries of the world, though it never caught on with much fervor in the United States.
A successful presentation requires more than just showing up with lunch and a slide show. A successful presentation requires knowing your audience, offering them value, preparation, passion, focus, visual aids and follow-up.
Almost all manufacturers of decorative concrete systems and equipment offer some sort of training on their products. Whether it is a one-hour watch-and-learn or a three-day hands-on class that people pay to attend, these programs have become mainstream in our industry.
You have, are or will make decisions on your decorative journey, and they will affect you and your family. Our industry, decorative concrete, has so many layers and many types of overlap. This magazine makes it obvious your choices are vast, but make no mistake, each decorative type requires different kinds of training, investment and manpower.
