For those that have been listening to our episodes you may have heard a reoccurring comment: find a good partner from the distribution world. In today's episode, we get to hear about what happens when the distributor of porcelain slabs cannot find a partner to work with. For Atlanta's Leo Chuahy of Prime Surfaces, having a million dollars of inventory had to make the tough decision: sit and wait for someone to start installing his inventory, or get out there and do it himself. Hear his rationale, the lessons learned, and how having the right tools matters to him.

We needed to apologize to our friend from Cincinnati. In one of our earliest episodes, we chose to interview Fred Wiedenmann from Telos Tile on the floor of Coverings. That episode holds the record for shortest discussion recorded. So we thought we needed to give him another chance to explain how his savvy business acumen has allowed him to be critical of his business model. Hear the difference between panels and slabs, if having a showroom is really worth it, and if having old guys hanging out at your business is a good thing.

You are not in a metropolis like LA or NYC. You have a couple competitors that already have quartz and granite figured out. Why not try something new and see if you can make it your speciality? For Eau Claire, Wisconsin's Luke Dillamon of Eau Claire Custom Stone, that was the situation he found himself. Small startup, in a smaller market, with an established competitor. Hear how his background made him unafraid to try porcelain slabs for countertops, fireplaces, and more in this, our 20th episode!

North Carolina is my home. I have moved here 3 times as an adult. It is a special place for me full of memories as I grew into a young adult, then into a husband, and into a spiritually minded man. So as North Carolina reels and begins the painful recovery process this week after Hurricane Helene, I thought I would talk a little about the damage done and the effects on the communities I know.

We will also discuss training and educational classes for porcelain slabs, plus the impact of taking on inventory, becoming a monogamous or polygamous installer, and if you should write that check for a $400k machine.

Tale as old as time, True as it can be, Barely even a trend, Then something breaks, Unexpectedly. No this is not the theme song to a Beauty and The Beast Tile Themed Reboot. Rather, that is the worry most general managers get as they take on their first porcelain slab job. For Florida's Shayne Hogenmiller of Southeast Stone, getting the call that Disney needed him to save the day as their Prince Charming was the moment he realized it was time to adopt porcelain into their large scale operation. From there, everything changed. Hear about the process of adopting it, understanding the impact of pricing, and how granite shop owners need to scale their businesses properly in this weeks longest episode to date!

Would you shut down your fabrication shop to travel coast to coast installing ventilated facades? For Florida's Bart Orzechowski of AGD LLC., his team of 60 employees travel coast to coast installing over 300-thousand square feet of ventilated facades. Hear how his crew started in New Jersey but now get called to handle high end work in California to the exclusive neighborhoods near Miami, and everywhere in between. Not to mention, he is on a 6 year project in Florida. This is a conversation you don't want to miss.

We all know that working with porcelain slabs can be a struggle. So why not make it harder by regularly working on the 30th floor of a condo tower, with restricted work hours, an elevator requiring reservations, and no space to actually fabricate on site. For Miami's Christian Maya of Limitless Surfaces, this is his daily logistical headache. Listen as we discuss the planning involved for his team to succesfully install throughout the condo towers of South Florida, how he makes sure he has a good relationship with granite shops, and how to be successful with his tool budget.

As a professional, you might feel from time-to-time that you are alone fighting the good fight in your business, in your role, in your mind. Often times though, we forget that those battles are shared with folks that are too close to us to not be affected. Our loved ones, our families, our spouses, do see what we are going through and may very well live through it themselves. So for this, our 15th episode (Can't believe its 15 already), we decided that it would be best to have a honest conversation about the experiences encountered over the last 10 years by my very own wife, Patricia Parsons. Be prepared for straight forward opinions, immense flirting, and some very experienced suggestions for those getting into porcelain.