Breaking Through Business Barriers at NWFA Expo 2025
The game has changed. Running a successful flooring business in 2025 looks different than it did just a few years ago. Business owners are dealing with new realities: finding good help feels impossible, margins keep getting squeezed, competition is fierce, and keeping up with technology and marketing can feel like a full-time job on its own. The traditional ways of growing a flooring business are becoming less effective.
That’s why I’m excited to share “The Blueprint to Scale Your Flooring Business” at the upcoming NWFA Expo. After years of helping surface professionals – including flooring companies – break through growth barriers, I’ve identified three major “stuck points” that keep businesses from reaching their full potential, and I’m here to share strategies that can help.
Three Critical Growth Barriers
During our session, we’ll dig deep into three stages where businesses typically get stuck.
Under $1M: Riding the Revenue Roller Coaster
The “Survival Stage Spiral” hits businesses under $1 million hard. You know the drill – one month you’re swamped with jobs, barely able to keep up, and the next month you’re wondering where all the customers went. You’re constantly juggling between being on the jobsite and finding time to measure new jobs. Your nights are spent catching up on estimates, and that stack of samples in your truck is starting to look like a mobile showroom. Every successful job leads to referrals, but you can’t seem to break out of this feast-or-famine cycle.
$1-3M: Trapped by Your Own Success
Then there’s the “Owner Overload Loop” that typically snares businesses in the $1-3 million range, and can even bump up to $5 million. Every big estimate, every job walkthrough, every customer complaint – it all runs through you. Your team is solid, but customers still insist on talking to the owner. You’ve tried hiring office help, but training them feels like more work than just doing it yourself. That week-long family vacation? Your phone is glued to your hand, and instead of making memories, you’re stuck managing emergencies from afar.
$5-10M: When Growth Hurts
Finally, there’s “Growth Gridlock” – the challenge facing businesses pushing $5-10 million. While there’s no single glaring problem, it feels like death by a thousand paper cuts. Your revenue looks great on paper, but profit margins keep shrinking. Sales teams are competing on price, giving away value just to win jobs. Operations are getting messy, quality control is keeping you up at night, and your best installer just left to start their own business, taking their knowledge with them. Your systems are starting to show signs of cracking under the weight of increased volume. Everything’s just hanging together by a thread, and you can feel it.
Join Us for Your Breakthrough at NWFA Expo
During our time together, we’ll explore practical strategies for breaking through each of these stages. Every attendee will receive resources they can use to continue making progress long after Expo ends. These aren’t just theoretical solutions – they’re based on real experiences and challenges faced by surface professionals across the country.
Whether you’re struggling to break $1 million or pushing toward $10 million, you’ll walk away with specific strategies you can start using right away to scale your business more effectively.
Running a successful flooring business in 2025 requires a new playbook. Join me at Expo and let’s talk about how to get your business running like a well-oiled machine – one that doesn’t need you involved in every decision to succeed.
Justin Shaw is the founder of the 90 Day Growth Engine Program™, helping surface professionals build systematized, highly profitable businesses that don’t depend on the owner’s daily involvement. A regular speaker on business growth strategies at TISE and Coverings, he is honored to join NWFA to share these insights with the community. His mission is to help business owners create the freedom to spend more time with the people they love, doing what they truly enjoy. To learn more visit: drivenforgrowth.co.
