Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Good day, everyone, and welcome to the Cutting Edge Install Podcast brought to you by Omni Cubed, where innovation meets installation. And as I always say, quite literally everything in between.
We've had singing, we've had dancing, we've had many things come up on these podcasts that I didn't even know was going to happen. But anyways, we go with it. My name is Merv Campbell. I'm going to be your host today and it's absolute pleasure to have you either listening or watching. I hope either, or if you're watching you, to see two very handsome looking fellas as we record this. But what is this podcast all about? Well, it's about celebrating. We live in days of drudgery and just depression and not on my watch. This is about celebrating people, about bringing you, the listener, the pros, the game changers, the, as it were, celebrities in various fields. And man, we've got a celebrity today. But before we get there, we're going to dive into stories, we're going to have some insight, we're going to hopefully learn today.
So let's have some fun. The Irish know how to have fun. If anybody does, it's us. So as my dulcet tones raise up and down, I hope you come with us. So whether you're on the job, whether you're on the road, or whether you're just looking to stay sharp, you have come to the right place. So let's get cracking. I have a wonderful person on today who I've literally only met not that long ago, but it seems like we're kindred spirits, we've struck up a friendship.
It seems like we're all moving in the one direction when it comes to tile, shall we say? So that gives you a little indication of who it is. But my friend, I am going to leave the introducing to yourself for people who don't know. You give up sort of who you are, what your role is at the ntca, and sort of what does a normal week look like for you?
[00:01:57] Speaker B: Well, thanks, Murph, for having me.
I guarantee you I will not be singing or dancing. And there's only one good looking guy on this podcast and that's you, Murph.
[00:02:07] Speaker A: Oh, no, come on, don't be shy.
[00:02:09] Speaker B: Yeah, let's just say that for the record.
But yeah, I'm very fortunate to call you a new friend. We met recently and thank you for having me on here. So my name is Jeremy Sacks and I am the Deputy Executive Director for the National Tile Contractors Association. I've been in the Tile industry pretty much my whole entire professional career. About 26 years with a very short stop away from the tile industry for all of six months and pulled me right back into it because it's just an industry that I love hold dear to my heart. So I've been with the National Tile Contractors association for about a year and a half and I tell people I've got another 20 years to go. So I'm very, very fortunate and grateful to be part of the ntca and there's some really exciting things ahead for the organization. So my background in the tile industry is I was on the distributor side down in Miami, Florida.
I joined Dowel Tile as a manager trainee. Started in the warehouse. I worked my way up to the executive team over 18 years and. And after Dal Tile, I went over to Interceramic for a few years and then I joined a technology startup, construction technology startup, which is a global organization. And I led the sales for that organization for a few years and that's when I stepped out of the industry.
I joined Incline Equity with an organization called Accredited Labs. I was the vice president of sales and marketing and that really was an amazing role, an amazing position for me. I learned a lot in a short time, but realized that my heart really was back in the tile industry. So grateful for the last year and a half to be on board with the NTCA and bringing the industry and our members along with our valued sponsors, a lot of bright spots for the future.
[00:04:04] Speaker A: Awesome. Wonderful.
So let's, let's rewind the clock a little bit. We're going back in time.
We're a young Jeremy.
What sort of pulled you into the tile space?
Because a lot of industries, it's either family related or it was some sort of friend that just said, hey, can you come help me for a day? And that day turned into 50 years and they retired. But what sort of drove you into the tile space and then kind of moving then forward a little bit?
What pulled you into this space of kind of innovation and education?
And was there ever a moment where the kind of it just clicked and went, I have come to the best place.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Family brought me into it. Right. So I had a choice. I could either go into the tile industry or I could make roast beef sandwiches at Arby's with my uncle who owned an Arby's franchise. And so I decided to go to tile instead of roast beef.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: And so got involved in the tile industry and just haven't looked back since. And you know, certainly there's not A, there's not a normal day.
Every day is different. It's challenging.
And you know what I really love about the innovation space in the education industry is I think really at heart I'm a servant leader. And I've had experience in distribution in Fortune 200 with private equity. And a lot of people say, well, Jeremy, why would you go from, you know, big Fortune 200 to private equity, non profit, Right? That doesn't make sense. And ultimately, growing up, my, my family was very involved in non profit organizations and donating their time and being leaders in the community.
And I've always had that servant leader mentality. So, you know, it's all about the customer, which for the ntca, it translates to our members.
It's all about supporting our manufacturers, our distributors, our sponsors and just being that servant leader. So that's why I'm with the ntca. That's why I love the industry educational space of the ntca. And I'm excited for the future.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: That's awesome. That is hilarious. And you mentioned Arby's. I won't mention the family member's name, but I have a family member who drove up to an Arby's one day and started ordering a ton of things that were off a Wendy's list.
And she had reamed it all off, she had finished everything. And the little girl came off the radio and said, ma', am, this is Arby's, not Wendy's. And apparently I wasn't there, but apparently that car was almost on two wheels screeching out of the parking lot in sheer embarrassment. So anytime I hear Arby's just cracks me up because I think of that story. That's a great man. It's unreal. And then my accent, anytime I go through a drive through and I try to order two of anything, I always end up with three.
So hey, it's, you know, everyone, everyone has their first world problems. Mine says I end up with an extra Happy Meal, but that's okay. It keeps us jolly. It's all good.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: I love it. That's funny. But kind of going into the like NTCA for anyone who doesn't know what it is is going, okay, I get the acronym, I get the verbiage.
It covers a lot of ground, Jeremy. But if you could explain it very simply in plain language, what would it be?
[00:07:44] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a great question. And there's a lot of acronyms in this industry. Right?
So I'm glad that you are asking the question so we can clarify it here. So you know the National Tile Contractors association was founded in 1947. A lot of people don't realize we're a 79 year old organization.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: We started our training division where we have an outside training team that really is the heart of our organization.
We have the industries, in my opinion, the world's top training team. And that was started 40 years ago. We're celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. So I can, I can say we, we are founded and we'll always remain at the core an education nonprofit trade association. So the National Tile Contractors association is the largest nonprofit tile trade association in the world.
We are dedicated to advocating for the tile contractor.
We educate on methods and standards, ANSI standards and TCNA methods.
And we have, like I said, a training team of seven that are on the road 35 weeks of the year. We've got five vans and two trucks and we will execute over 30, 300 live complimentary training events made possible by our sponsors and our hosts.
And we absolutely are here to serve the industry and to serve our members. So that's high level about who we are and where we're going is really, really exciting. I think you're going to see a lot more technology from us. You're going to see a lot more of the younger generation in membership and we're really excited.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: Awesome. Yeah.
I can personally say I've been to one of those training events and they are phenomenal. I learned a ton in a very short space of time. But I have to say that the instructors are very patient.
Very patient. And it's just a breath of fresh air to be able to talk to people who actually know what they're talking about.
It's not a robot, it's not AI.
It's someone whose hands are very dirty and cut up and who know what they're doing. It's so good. But moving on, kind of taking it then into like innovation and sort of practical ways.
You know, when people hear innovation these days, they often think sort of high tech, futuristic, you know, way out there, nothing we can attain to. But what does innovation actually look like on the ground for the NTCA members?
[00:10:40] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a great question. So I mean, innovation can be so many things, right?
Innovating for your business. Right. The NTCA can help you be a better business operator. Right. What's the difference between personal funds versus business funds? How do you quote and estimate a project? How do you follow up on a lead?
So you're gonna see a lot more of that within the ntca and bottom line, if you're, if there's listeners out there that want to better their business, feel free to reach out to me. We've got members across the country. We have 12 regions, 78ambassadors. We can link you up with somebody in your local area, provide you with a mentor to help grow your business.
I've got stories and stories of people that have utilized the NTCA that have built up million dollar businesses that are now turning it over to second and third generations. So high tech could be business skills, it could be technology platforms.
Platforms that you can use software to estimate. Right.
To submit your bid packages. Technology could be tools. Right. Merv, you know a little bit about that. Right. So the future of tools.
You know, there's so many different tools out there and we certainly.
I'm not the expert in it, you're more that expert. But ways that we can keep our installers safe, we can save their body. Right. We can keep them in the field longer.
So that's part of technology in the future of innovation. From my opinion and work, there's a lot of talk about AI right now and robotics. Well, we're here as the NTCA to help again advocate for the tile contractors and to help them install more tile more efficiently along with the industry's methods and standards and really to promote quality labor and qualified labor.
[00:12:37] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's awesome. That's really helpful.
Kind of covering then innovation. And we've kind of covered in a very sort of umbrella like structure. But if there's one sort of innovative thing or whatever that you've seen recently that surprised you, what, what is that? It doesn't have to be some shiny thing, but something that's actually truly useful.
[00:13:01] Speaker B: Yeah. I tell you what, one thing that I just, I'm lucky that I get exposed to a lot and there's something that that's come onto the market that I think is a game changer because we know tiles are only getting what right, they're getting bigger and they're getting more three dimensional. But as we get into bigger formats, you know, I can't. I was having a hard time imagining a tile installer installing, you know, a 48 by 48 tile, let alone, you know, even bigger.
[00:13:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:13:34] Speaker B: Sometimes tiles are what, 5ft by 7ft, 7ft by 10ft. So there's a product out there called the exoskeleton and it's this robotic contraption you can set your body in.
And the exoskeleton is moving, not your joints. And so you can really. And you can go out there And Google it. And there's exoskeletons ranging from $800 to $5,000. Right. But what is the price of our body if we are mechanic? Right. Yep. And so I think that's just a really cool, unique, futuristic innovation that we've had in the industry. And I think you're going to see more innovation coming out like that, 100%.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: And pair that up with tools like ours and you get it done more efficiently. You actually get to go home and kick a ball at night with your kids or go for a walk.
[00:14:29] Speaker B: Right.
[00:14:31] Speaker A: Have a pint with the lads. You're not coming home saying, hey, sweetheart, can you rub biofreeze all over my body because I'm broken?
But there's a mentality that we have to get over with some people where coming home completely exhausted. There's a method and a way not to feel that way, but you've gotta embrace it. Which kind of then takes me into my next question. Because sort of smaller operations and sort of smaller organizations can kind of be like, listen, that's only for the big boys.
I can't really afford that. I'm kind of overwhelmed.
How do you and the NTCA help those sort of people not feel overwhelmed in that regard?
[00:15:19] Speaker B: One principle in life and in business has taught me is there's a reason why you have two ears and one mouth. Right. And I think it's important to listen. So from the NTCA perspective, the way we can be servant leaders to our members is the fact that we can listen, we can ask questions, we can pair them up to other installers around the country and say, okay, well, have you talked to this person and that person and get fresh perspectives, but ultimately, listen to them and help them find a solution for their business. Because as you know, Merck, not every tile contractor is the same. They don't operate the same. We have different geographies. Right. What's done in the east is different than the West. Right. What's. What's done in the north in a colder climate is different than the south in a hot climate. So I think it's really important to help business operators innovate without feeling overwhelmed by listening to them. Right. And helping them achieve what's their goal? So that's oftentimes what I ask our members is, what's your goal? And how can the NTC help you achieve your goal?
[00:16:22] Speaker A: And I think that's. That's a. It's funny you say two years, one mouth, because that's coming up more and more. Even doing these podcasts from people.
One, one guy in a different industry said, be the dumbest guy in the room and ask why. Even though you may actually be the smartest, be the dumbest and why, why, why? And ask questions and learn and grow. Which, you know, a lot of times we can think, you know, innovation comes from bringing stuff into the company, you know, new technology, yada, yada, yada. But a lot of times it can simply be, listen to your installers and maybe there's one small tweak that you need to do and it just makes life so much easier.
And so listening is key, but also communication.
If you are a tiler and you're having difficulties, talk to someone. Don't just keep doing the mundane because that burns people out. If they're constantly coming into roadblocks and frustrations, put your hand up and say, look, is there a better way to do this? And look it up yourself.
We all love to look at TikTok and scroll through, but maybe actually looking at stuff that helps you do your job better might be a better chance of using your time at break or lunch. But hey, what do I know? I'm just here.
[00:17:45] Speaker B: I love the point that you said about, you know, try to be the, you know, by the most unintelligent person in the room. And one of the, one of the best books that I've read is by Patrick Lencioni. If you Google the five dysfunctions of a team or three virtues of being a team player. That's what I strive, we strive to do at the NTCA with our leadership is, is the three virtues of being a team player is humble, hungry and smart. Smart. So smart meeting right. Always try to be learning. Continuous improvement. I love that point that you brought up.
[00:18:14] Speaker A: That's awesome. Yeah. But the first part's important is the humble cause as men, sadly, we have that old pride thing that raises up and goes, I know what I'm talking about.
Then you make a mistake and you're like, okay, egg on the face. But anyways, moving on. We're learning, we're educating.
Obviously the NTCA education is a huge pillar that it's built upon. But why is learning such a critical piece for sort of long term success in your eyes?
[00:18:46] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I think, you know, it's part of being humble. Right. And we've all heard in this industry. I've been doing it this way for 30 years. Well, in 30 years there's been a lot of changes, right. A lot of changes in tools, in setting, materials, in tile sizes, things, thicknesses. Right.
So I think it's important that we just focus on moving the industry forward, helping our contractors install more, tile more profitably and again, just helping them. That's the whole purpose of the ntca.
[00:19:21] Speaker A: Awesome. Then kind of kicking on from that a little bit then how does the NTCA keep people sharp? Because that's basically what we're trying to do. We're trying to educate, we're trying to keep them sharp.
But how does the NTCA do that? Because that takes time, it takes resources. How do you do that without sort of pulling people away from their business?
[00:19:44] Speaker B: Yeah, so I love that question because we've taken the Amazon approach. Right. We come to you. So as I mentioned earlier, we will execute 300 events. And the 300 events aren't in one city. Right. Or two cities. No, they're literally over the entire country. So odds are there's going to be an NTCA complimentary event that also provides free food and beverages within at least, I would have to say 50 miles of a majority of the contractors around the United States. And that's pretty amazing to say that. So number one, we have to be nimble and agile. We have to come to the contractor and number two, we have to be on the forefront of delivering education. I'm so proud of Matt Wellner. He's our training department manager at the ntca. So all of the trainers roll up under Matt.
Matt's just recently taken that baton within the last year and he's already come out with a brand new program for the curriculum. So this year we've launched one Wet areas focusing on showers.
And we're already working on another program that we'll be launching at the end of this year. So it's pretty amazing. I mean a 40 year old, you know, training team is launching two new prog, two new programs in, in, in his first two years. Right. Of leading team. So it's important to cut, get to get to the tile contractor and it's important to have fresh content which, which we are really focused on.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: Totally.
That's really helpful and I would highly recommend. If you're listening to these and you've never been to an event, sign up go on the NTCA website. I did it. Found an event down in San Leandro signed up, was very warmly welcomed in. It's just a wonderful, it's a really cool experience for someone who'd never kind of done anything like that before.
Just the friendliness, the helpfulness, the.
There was never a sort of putting you down if you did something wrong. There was a hey, let's try to do it this way.
It's all education.
And for me then that's kind of asking like you and the ntca, obviously there's like gaps.
There's things that people really don't know when they enter the industry.
What are some of those sort of big ticket items that you guys sort of face with new people that come into the industry?
[00:22:12] Speaker B: I mean, sometimes it's just the language barriers, right? And so what you're finding with the NTCA is we now present with different languages at the bottom, right, Closed captions. So we'll have closed caption in Spanish.
We are also going to hopefully be launching and piloting, I should say piloting is better answer some language technology.
So that way, you know, other people that, that aren't English speaking will still be able to participate just as well. We had a, we had a, an event last month where we had a translator and took some of the contractors that, that did not speak English and we had like a private translation off to the side, which was amazing to see. So, you know, you've got, that, you've got the language barrier, right? And then you have the skill barrier. So one thing I think that you mentioned earlier is when you go to an NTCA educational event, whether or not you're a seasoned contractor or you're just starting out, you are, you are, you are brought in with open arms and you are, you will not feel as though you shouldn't be there or you're unqualified. Right? You are brought in, you're welcome with open arms. And that's what I love about this industry and that's why I will remain in this industry for the rest of my professional career. So we at the NTCA want to embrace the learning gaps. You know, one thing we've done based on the learning gaps is our gptp, our gauge porcelain tile panel training. We have a full one day and two day course and that's going to teach you from soup to nuts is how to install these big tile panels. And that came from the learning gap, right in the field, you know, manufacturing panels, how are you going to install them? So we've done that and we're going to take that to the next level with another course coming out, like I mentioned, at the end of this year.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: So. Awesome. Yeah, I fully, I second everything that was said. When the event I went to, I was actually paired up with Tyler, an older gentleman who'd been in the game for, I think it was 30 plus years and he had only ever installed like 12 by 12 or 24 by 24 tiles. And he'd been asked to do the large panels. And he literally went, I have no idea.
And it was really cool to see a guy who had done something his whole life one way, but willing to be taught a different way and embrace it.
And I put it down to the teaching style that day. I'm not gonna mention who the instructor is in case he gets a big head, but it was just such a breath of fresh air that the old guy would kind of be not a little chippy, but well, that's not how I do it. And you know, we're all looking, going, what you're here to learn, just learn, bozo, just give it a rest. But it was so cool. Yeah, I, I really enjoyed that day.
[00:25:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:25:19] Speaker A: But there's a balance between the like of what I did. Sort of the hands on the one day, the two day where you come back, you've got, you know, stuff all over you. It's been a wonderful experience. But then there's also sort of the high end leadership. How does the NTCA balance the two with education?
[00:25:39] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a great question. So one thing that I've definitely made a goal, personal goal of mine within the organization that's with my control is bringing more technology solutions to the ntca. So we're working with estimation softwares, we're working with legal software, we are working with website development software. All these tools using technology and maybe a little AI that can help business owners operate more efficiently. Because it's all about, again, it's advocating for the tile contractor, the business owner. How can we help them install more tile, install it with qualified labor and more profitably and utilizing technology.
I felt a little bit of a weakness within our organization and we've helped that to become a strength. And we're humble, we're just scratching the surface. Right. There's so much technology out there, but it's part of the NTCA's job, in my opinion, to kind of scrub that technology and look at what's out there and then offer that information to the members.
I'll give you another great example.
We just launched a consumer financing program for our residential contractors. So if you're a residential contractor and you're working with Mrs. Jones and let's say you quoted them a $30,000 bathroom remodel, but they really want that steam shower. Right. And that's going to be $50,000, but they don't have that money.
Well now, now with our consumer financing program, our contractors can Use their smartphone. On this app, they can take a picture of Mr. And Mrs. Jones driver's license within about a minute. Mr. And Mrs. Jones can be qualified. The tile contractor can get progress payments along the way. They can get paid at the end of the job. And this is a program through a major bank, multi billion dollar bank, very obviously very well funded. And, and then Mrs. Jones can then make payments through this, this consumer financing program. So what does that do? That allows the NTCA member to differentiate themselves to their competition. It allows them to upsell maybe that steam shower, if you will, or upsell that project to Mrs. Jones that maybe either has the money and doesn't want to fork out the cash or allow her to upgrade. So that's a great example of how we're helping ownership further their business. Right. Using technology.
[00:28:18] Speaker A: That's so cool. Kind of keeping on that theme, them of sort of owners and sort of end users and installers and stuff. Then how in your opinion does sort of better education at sort of that ownership level kind of trickle down and then ultimately help the installer, the tiler who's kind of doing the day in, day out stuff?
[00:28:40] Speaker B: Yeah. So if you're a business owner and you have tile installers underneath you, being a member of the NTCA, you have access to NTCA University, which is an online platform with 200 modules focusing on methods and standards, business practices, installation best practices. So with that as a member, you can funnel those courses down to your installers. You can also be able to track their performance.
And that's virtual. Right. They can do that in their truck, on their phone. Right. They can do that in their home at night, on the weekends. Right. So that's a great example of what the NTCA can do for a business owner.
[00:29:28] Speaker A: That's awesome.
Do you have kind of on that, do you have an example where sort of investing in that sort of learning at the sort of top end kind of trickles down to the end user, but also to the customer or even further into the community.
[00:29:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Because if the owner has act with being a member. Right. And has access to learning modules, funnels that down to the tile contractors where they're learning and you know, methods and standards for the industry. Right.
And they're raising their knowledge, which is the whole point of, of the NTCA is quality, you know, better qualified labor, then the outcome for the homeowner is, is, is better. You have less callbacks, which means the business owner, owner with less callbacks is being more profitable. Right. So it's just That I call it a, you know, system 360 approach. Right, so, so how can you not win? Right, Exactly.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: How can you not?
That's what pays for the old pizzas at lunchtime and the Christmas bonus.
The callbacks are the biggest suck of time and patience and reputation. You know, your reputation is your number one marketing tool. Word of mouth is like so key.
And so if the top's being trained, the hands on guys are being trained, it's a win, win situation. So yeah, that's helpful.
[00:30:56] Speaker B: And even beyond that, one thing I like to promote is, okay, let's say the tile contractors are educated, right? Things are going to happen, right? It's what I call mental armor. You have to go into your business thinking, what's going to happen today? What's going to happen this week, what's going to happen this month, right?
Well, something's gonna happen. It's the tile industry. It's a complicated industry.
So what about if you need technical advice? Well, I don't know if you knew this Merv, but as an NTCA member you've got unlimited technical support. So we've got an email address that's dedicated that you can email technical support and they'll answer within 24 to 48 hours citing the TCNA handbook or ANSI, you know, or the NTCA reference manual. And help tile contractors in that nick of time where they need technical support, to me that's worth membership alone, just
[00:31:54] Speaker A: having technical support that also makes you sleep better at night knowing that there's someone there to help you.
Because a lot of times, sadly, people think they're alone. I have to figure this out myself.
And it leads to, let's be honest, restless nights and sleepless nights and heaven forbid, even further heart attacks and all the rest. But having an organization like that behind you, standing with you, even in front of you, to protect as well, because those standards are there for a reason. That's just, it's a sweet pillow to put your head on. Even as an installer, as an end user, as a, as a business owner, just having that resource, it's just so good, really good and phenomenal to say the least. But then kind of going on to sort of growth.
Obviously every company that isn't growing or is just kind of stable is dying. That's one thing my boss always told me was even if it's only a little bit a day, just growth is good, but sustaining growth is really hard.
How does the NTCAA help organizations grow kind of in the right way and maintain that growth?
[00:33:09] Speaker B: Well, I think it's all about the values of membership. Right. You can't offer just one thing. Great. We offer training. Great. Right. We have technical support. We've got partners in profit program where we are helping our members be more profitable. So, for example, should a member want to get involved in estimation software, we've got discounts through other companies that we can save our members if they want, you know, estimation software. If they want credit card processing, I can go on and on. Busy, busy. There's an organization. We have busy, busy software, helps timekeeping and time tracking and so on our members benefits page on our website is a whole myriad of companies where we can provide discounts. So I think it's important from a growth standpoint and sustainability standpoint that you can't just offer one thing. Right. Everybody's business is different. Like we talked about, every contractor is different. So you have to offer this myriad of member benefits. And I'm really thrilled that our organization does that. And you're gonna see a lot more about that from the NTCA moving forward. And how can we coordinate, quantify those member benefits? You know, one member benefit is the vouchers. A lot of people know about vouchers. Well, you know, we're giving away thousands of dollars in vouchers to our members. So, you know, you join as a member, you're making thousands of dollars in profit if you utilize those vouchers made possible by manufacturers and distributors. So vouchers are another example of a member benefit.
[00:34:43] Speaker A: Yeah. That's really cool. That's awesome.
So I think Covid taught us a lot of lessons, many different things that we won't get into. But one thing I think it taught a lot of people was that fast growth is not always a wonderful thing.
We speak from experience here at Omni Cubed, where things just ramp through the roof.
But it wasn't real life, and now we're kind of back to sort of reality. But what mistakes have you seen, even over the years of people who they're chasing that fast growth, they're wanting to grow way too fast.
What mistakes do you see? And like, sort of what advice would you give even people who are kind of pursuing that.
[00:35:31] Speaker B: Yeah, this is something that I learned in the private equity world, that sometimes you need to slow down to speed up.
And so that's what I would say is take a step back. Right. Sometimes you have to look at what is your strategy and are you operating to your strategy. And let's be honest, some people don't have strategy. Right. That's where the NTCA can help. Right. I just was working with a member a couple months ago on their strategy for their business.
It was phenomenal what I could learn from them and what they could learn from me. And so, number one, I'd say develop the plan. Right? You have to develop a plan. And if you need help, we at the NTCA can help you. We can link you up to some wildly successful contractors around the country. Like I said earlier, within the 12 regions, and we have 78ambassadors. So there's going to be somebody near them help you develop the plan. And then you need to execute the plan and keep the plan with you in your truck. Right. Keep it with you at your desk. That way, as you're focusing on your business and you're looking at the plan, you're making sure that you're growing with the plan.
And you're gonna have to adjust the plan. Right, that's part of it too. You gotta adjust the sale.
[00:36:49] Speaker A: Yeah. I think that's one thing that people could possibly learn better is that change isn't always bad.
Change is actually inevitable.
And the people who can change and pivot the fastest kind of win the race.
And so being not where you're just Lucy Goosey and you just kind of, you know, you know, whatever comes, you just go with it. But being able to pivot in certain directions at certain times makes a company really successful. And just learning that and like teaching, that is so important.
Cause years ago, I even think of my grandfather who we would go visit every Sunday afternoon, and if you weren't there by 2 o', clock, there was something wrong. What's happening? Why aren't you here too? And you're like, oh, my word, can we have traffic? You know, could something come up? Heaven forbid something had to change. And he would literally kind of huff the whole afternoon. And you're like, dude, come on, seriously. But that's what happens. You get stuck in a rut. But you guys at the NTCA Omni Cubed here we have a family culture, a culture that we really strive to maintain.
We're very selective in who we hire, as I'm sure you guys are too.
We have core values. They're plastered. If you ever come to see us, they're all over the walls. Everyone sees them, everyone adheres to them. But kind of the NTCA and teaching and helping people, how do you help people kind of, you know, foster that culture, bring in those values to kind of have long term success and a company that's, you know, multi generational yeah,
[00:38:42] Speaker B: it's a great question. So one thing I think goes very unnoticed is Bart Bedeka, our current executive director and what he has built.
Bart's been the executive director, I believe, for 23, 24 years.
And he has taken the organization from three employees now up to about 24 employees.
And it's under his leadership and the culture that he's brought.
And so my goal moving forward as a future leader of the organization is to carry that forward. And what we currently have in the NTCA and the culture is the fact that we are all building this together. Right. Everybody's input is needed and wanted. So it's amazing how much input we get from the staff in the office to the trainers in the field. Right.
And that's what we want as a culture. We're all building this together. And so we talk about strategy openly with, with, with our team. And we're just about to, you know, to communicate our entire strat plan right out. And so everybody knows the vision and knows the roadmap. And, you know, it's funny is we don't, we don't hire very often because we have such a longevity.
Bart's been there 23, 24 years, Michelle's 25 years, Jim's 18 years.
I think the average tenure is about 12 years for the staff. And so that's really a beautiful thing to be a part of.
[00:40:17] Speaker A: That's awesome. Yeah.
It's unheard of these days, longevity within a company. So many people think that the grass is greener somewhere else and then sadly quicker realize, oh, where I was was much better than where I am now. But anyways, but looking ahead, obviously 2026 is kind of moving in the right direction. It feels like the industries are starting to bolster themselves. We're kind of coming out of this sort of deluge of kind of what's going to happen, where's it at? But kind of the next five years. Looking forward, what's exciting you about where we're going in this industry,
[00:41:03] Speaker B: the next generation? Right.
You hear a lot. Well, tile installers are a dying breed and we don't have that next generation. And I would challenge that.
Yes, I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist. And we just had back In July, the NTCA Five Star Contractor Summer Meeting, which is 53 of the top tile contractors residentially and commercially in the country. I mean, these are really the experts.
And if anybody wants to know more about the five star contractor program, please let me know. I'm happy because I headed up, and we've already have almost a dozen in the application phases right now. So I'm excited for our growth.
But the point being is at this summer meeting, I looked around the room, and I was just elated with the younger people in this room and the second and the third and the fourth generations that were in the room. So I'm really excited about the. The younger generation because they are here. They. They are on our board of directors. Right. They're active.
And so I'm. I'm really excited about that.
[00:42:15] Speaker A: That's awesome. That's so. That actually is so encouraging to hear, because most of these podcasts, one of the topics that, you know, nine times out of 10 comes up is that sort of dearth or that vacuum that's happening between, you know, this older generation and where are the new people? So to hear that for anybody who listens should. That should encourage us that they're there.
They need education. They need an arm around the shoulder and saying, hey, you know, kind of to your point, come on, in the industry, check it out, see what it's like.
Look, there's all these shiny tools you can use that'll help you. There's exoskeleton things you can put on, and you kind of look cool as you do your job and all that sort of stuff. But that's really encouraging to hear because it is worrisome to the fact of what's happening.
Where is the next generation? Where are they at?
And so.
[00:43:18] Speaker B: Well. And I'll throw out a challenge to any listeners. If you're going to be at Coverings, which Coverings is going to take place March 3rd.
[00:43:26] Speaker A: March.
[00:43:26] Speaker B: Yep. End of March in Las Vegas at Las Vegas convention center through April 2nd.
If you think I'm wrong, come find me at the NTCA booth and I will personally show you the younger generation. That's how confident I am. I mean, I could rattle off 15 to 20 names right now of the younger generation, and believe me, there's a lot more than 20, but those are the top of my head. So come find me and I'll introduce you to the younger generation. If anybody thinks that, there you go.
[00:43:56] Speaker A: So I'll be there. Challenge accepted.
There you go.
What do you think we could do podcast number two over a cold Guinness and say, he was right, Actually listen to him. Oh, that's funny. Good stuff. Well, if someone is listening, which I hope they still are. So if you're sleeping, waking up, listen up. We've only a couple of more questions to go, but if, say, an Owner or a business manager was listening.
How would you encourage them or how would you educate them to kind of foolproof their organization? And what's one sort of habit or mindset that like today they could start developing to give that longevity?
[00:44:38] Speaker B: It's kind of that Kaizen mentality that Toyota practices, right?
Toyota Automobiles Kaizen is continuous improvement. So focus on continuous improvement. Whether it's from a business perspective that you need the NTCA's help, whether it's the education or training that you need the NTCA's help with your staff, maybe it's personally, right? How can I be a better spouse, friend, son, daughter, right? So just focus on continuous improvement. Because if there's one thing we know, there's always going to be change. Right? You can't stop change, so you have to adapt or die. Right. And the ntca, myself, my team, we can all help you just know we're here to welcome you with open arms. You're never going to feel like, you know, you're the most uneducated person in the room.
We want that. Right? We want to help you. One of the best stories I have as a tile contractor in the Texas area that went to a coverings, which we know is coming up, like we said earlier at the end of March and they didn't know what a profit and loss statement was and they came to coverings. They started learning. They've now grown that business to a multimillion dollar business where they're turning that over to, to now, I believe it's a second generation. So that's what the NTCA is about. It's about changing people's lives.
[00:46:01] Speaker A: Totally.
Yeah. I, I've done the, the, the lean manufacturing courses and stuff and I've got different belts.
Yeah. But one piece of advice I would give a business owner or a manager or whatever is go stand in the corner.
And I don't mean look into the corner, I mean stand in the corner and look out and just take 10 minutes and just watch.
The amount of knowledge and input and things that you will see in that 10 minutes will blow your mind.
A lot of times managers, where are they? They're in their office, they're sitting in front of a computer. They're like, that's what they have to do. But I've even challenged myself to just go and watch how people do things.
Maybe it's good, maybe what they're doing is the most efficient way of doing it. Or why did they lift that material five times when once would have done?
There's different things that you can look at to make you even more efficient, profitable, but also just workflow is a. Just that one thing alone can help people tremendously. And so go stand in the corner, not because you've been naughty, but because you actually want to be nice and help people in the long term. So that's one thing I did. I loved it. I did the fishbone diagrams and we had a problem. The solution is what we wanted. Okay, where's all the pitfalls? How do we get here and. And take the time. It takes time to do these. But my boss, love this man dearly. He always tells me, fast is slow and slow is fast. And when I first heard that, I was like, what is this, some American phrase that the Irish are like, what is this all about? You know what? 10, 10 years later, he's 110% right. Slow down. It actually is faster in the end run. So that's my 10 cents above it all. But I love it kind of last question, my friend. To wrap this all up, if you could leave the listeners, whoever's listening, whether that be an owner, a leader, an installer, whoever, with one bit of advice, what would it be?
[00:48:25] Speaker B: Get involved with the ntca, right? Get involved with the national tile contractors.
[00:48:29] Speaker A: There you go.
[00:48:30] Speaker B: We're gonna welcome you with open arms, right? Maybe we'll learn something from you that we can then scale throughout the. Throughout membership throughout the country. But get involved, that's the best thing I can see. The people that are thriving, the tile contractors that are thriving, the manufacturers, distributors are involved with the ntca. We're going to listen to you, we're going to link you up to resources. We've got the membership benefits, the value of being a member. So get involved.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: There you go. Go check them out online.
Just end the podcast now and go
[00:49:05] Speaker B: check them out and go to your smartphone, whether it's your Android or Apple. We love everybody, right? We love all platforms to type in the search bar on your app. NTCA app. We've launched our app. You can download it, you can enter your member credentials, but you can download it without being a member. So get that.
[00:49:25] Speaker A: Cool. There you go. You heard it here first. Go get the app. Well, Jeremy, thank you so much for being on here. It was an absolute pleasure.
[00:49:34] Speaker B: I appreciate it. Thanks, Merv. And I learned something.
I'm going to stand in the corner and I'm going to look out.
[00:49:40] Speaker A: There you go. Look, I. There you go. Every day is a school day. We always have to learn. There we go. Well, that's a wrap on this episode of the Cutting Edge Install Podcast. If you've enjoyed it, be sure to follow, subscribe, go back and listen to previous ones. You might even learn something on those. Who knows? Leave a quick review. If you want to be a guest, by all means, reach out to me and keep an eye out for the next episode. They launch every other Thursday at 8:00am Pacific State Time. For more about us at Omni Cubed here in Shingle Springs, California, go on our website, omnicubed.com and you'll see tools that are designed to help fabricators installers to work safe and to be safe and to go home safe, but also to be productive and do it fast, efficient, but with quality. So go check it out omnicube. Com and until the next time I see you all, cheerio. Stay safe and be good. Bye Bye.
