What makes us different? (Part 1)
This is one of my favorite questions that we get! I tend to get lost in the details when I try to answer what makes us different. That’s why I’ll break it up into parts. Part one of what makes us different will deal with the obvious answer. Our people!
When I started with Union Church Millworks(UCM) in 2017, I was 2 years out of college with very little flooring experience. I was very fortunate enough to work with our previous manager, Lacy Broughman, for a few years, and boy did he teach me a lot! Surprisingly enough, he didn’t teach me the mechanics or details. He taught me about business relationships and how to treat people.
The more we grow UCM, the more potential clients I get to meet. I can’t lie, the first year of interactions were awkward. I felt like a baby giraffe trying to find its legs. I began to pick up on a pattern though. As long as I gave my honest opinion and did what I said I would do, things were working in my favor. Clients were happy, I was learning a ton, and life was good!
Fast forward 5 years, and we’ve grown from 4 people to 12 people. Production is up over 400%. We’ve had what has felt like 10,000 miles worth of networking (maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but Windy will attest to it has felt like 10,000 miles).
Even though we’ve grown, we still stick to the basic thought of be honest and do what you say you’re going to do. Everyone wins!
Now that all of us have the same thought process, we’ve found that people really enjoy being able to call and be able to talk with the same person they’ve worked with before! Seen me at the show? Call and ask for Stephen. I may be in an area where I can’t hear well, but I will always call back! Seen Windy at the show? She’s there everyday too. As an added bonus for her, she gets to work with me all day! The same people you see at the show are the same ones at the mill and in the office. We cross train and have a pretty good system in place. Want to meet me for a showroom visit? I may be dusty, but I’m more than happy to give anyone a tour.
I’ve found that people make the difference, and our people are great! Just think, the floor you put into your house has been worked by the same crew that you can ride by and see. We think that’s pretty cool!