Decorative Concrete Institute
Bob Harris
Consulting • Education • Installation • Training
Student of the Month We here at the Decorative Concrete Institute have built a business model around educating the industry on all facets of decorative concrete. During the hectic first three years since opening the doors, Lee Ann and I as well as the DCI staff have been extremely fortunate to meet quality individuals through our teachings. Many of these relationships will last a lifetime. It was during a recent class while discussing business and how this individual started in this business it dawned on us, it was time for us to give back and acknowledge our students for their outstanding efforts and dedication to the decorative concrete business. June, 2008 Cody
Dawkins
Cody
became interested in the decorative concrete industry about
six years ago but has been actively involved for five years.
He started his company, Create-A-Crete in 2003, with their
main focus on installing overlays. In 2006 he decided to expand
Cody has given us some
great examples of how the industry has grown just recently.
He says he was the only decorative concrete contractor in
his area when he started. Now, five years later, he is competing
with four other companies just in his county alone, which
is still considered a rural area! Cody believes that consumers
are really embracing decorative concrete due to the infinite
design options and long lasting durability it provides. May, 2008 Domenic
Mattei
June, 2007 Ed
Gruetzner
We were curious how he made the transition from fighting fires to engraving, staining and polishing concrete. Ed could not find anyone to install epoxy on his garage floor, so he thought this would be a good opportunity for him. After attending the World of Concrete 2006, as he puts it; “it opened my eyes as to where this industry is heading and I wanted to be part of it.” The rest is history. Ed
feels that one oft the most important parts, if not the most
important part, of starting any business is education. As
he puts it; “I have spent a ton of time and a fair amount
of money on learning as much as I can about every aspect of
decorative concrete. I have trained at several different places,
but DCI has been the most informative. Some of the schools
were nothing more than a sales pitch for their product. DCI
is about learning. Training has helped tremendously. I can
pretty much walk in to any situation and explain to my customers
why certain things happen and how to prevent them. Through
the different classes I've taken I can usually find the best
way to make the new or existing concrete beautiful, keeping
my customers happy.” Hats off to you Ed, we wish you success with your business! I’m sure we will see you in the near future.
|
Cody
Dawkins is a regular at Decorative Concrete Institute. Not
only is he a past student, but also a good customer that has
developed into a great friendship. It is always a pleasure
to teach a student, but to see them often and for them to
share their work and projects with us is extremely gratifying.
Therefore it wasn’t hard to choose him as our June Student
of the Month. After talking with him about how he started
and where he is now, here is what we learned:
his
horizons and move into stamped concrete installation. He says
that his formal training here at the Decorative Concrete Institute
was the catalyst that really moved his business in the right
direction. Since attending Bob Harris’ Stamped Concrete
class, his company does more stamped concrete than any other
decorative application.
His
main focus when he started his company was stained interior
floors, but he soon progressed into self-leveling, skim coats,
stamped overlay and of course, stamped concrete. Last year,
Cody installed a kitchen and bath showroom that consisted
of grinding 2200 square feet, applying a ¼ self-leveler
that was scored then dyed with Decorative Concrete dyes. He
considers this his most prized job thus far in the decorative
concrete business.
On
the subject of training, Cody highly believes in spending
that extra dollar to perfect his jobs. He says that training
makes the difference between a home improvement product and
a showcase application. It has helped Cody to set his work
apart by learning new and different techniques. “By
investing in expert training by experienced professionals,
you are able to learn tricks of the trade. There is no substitute
for that. Lack of training, he says, can result in a very
long and costly learning curve!” We totally agree, Cody!
Domenic
Mattei has been in the concrete field since he was 13 years
old. Having a family concrete construction business made it
easy for him to become interested in the decorative aspect
of concrete in 1997. With the economy constantly changing
he felt that installing decorative concrete was the natural
progression for his career. He started out installing small
jobs for friends and family and since then he has built his
own decorative concrete business.
Meet
Ed Gruetzner of Concrete Surface Solutions based out of Thornwood,
New York. I asked Ed what he did before he jumped into the
decorative business. He mentioned that he spent a full career
as a New York City Firefighter, working most of his time in
the Bronx and some in Manhattan. What was intriguing to me
during this conversation was the fact that he spent virtually
his whole life giving back to his community and protecting
all of us on a daily basis. Some of these values and qualities
transitioned over to his decorative concrete business. He
mentioned that one of his first training seminars was with
Engrave-A-Crete. After purchasing some of their tools and
equipment he was ready to go. One of the stencils he purchased
was of three fire fighters holding the water hose as to put
out the fire. It is his intention to offer to all of the surrounding
fire houses in his area that if one of their fellow comrades
loses his or her life in the line of duty, Ed plans on donating
his time in remembering them by engraving the three fireman
graphic and their name in to the fire house floor as an eternal
memorial.