Industry Overview

Background

The resin flooring industry started a long time ago, long before there was an association, qualifications, licensing, national standards or agreed upon best practices.

Most installers were predominantly self-taught, or they have learnt from someone else who is self-taught.

Self-taught is a great way to learn. The lessons are easily recalled. However, it is learning the hard way because it generally means you know what to do after you have done it the wrong way….. and had to fix it. It also takes a long time to gain experience and your range of experience is also very much limited to the type of jobs that you have done. Oh and don’t forget this expereince was often learnt on a clients job….

As an industry, we are so used to being self-taught that  we are not sure if there even is another way. These days, we tend to scour the internet looking for hints, tricks and tips from videos or photos posted by other installers. We have also picked up some things in passing conversations with other installers. However, this form of learning is not based on best known practices so we inevitably "pay for our education" as we repeat the mistakes of the past. As a side note… I was recently reminded that we choose to pay for our education using the commodity we value least. As an example, when we are starting up, we typically don’t have much money but we feel we have time, so we pay with time rather than the money. When we have built up some money, we start to value our time more so then we would rather pay for our education using money than our time. How are you paying for your education?

Like any other trade, the ideal entry into the resin flooring industry would be as an apprentice under the direct supervision of a qualified tradesperson.  This expereince would be a combination of theory, taught through an independent training institution, and hands on practice that would mean by the end of the qualification, the apprentice has been trained and assessed to know and understand the minimum standard for the skills required in resin flooring.  Out of the apprenticeship, the installer would continue to practice and keep improving their trade skills to become a master that can then train a new apprentice. That ideal trade scenario is worth aspiring to but for now that is not how the resin flooring industry works.

Since 2015, Real World Epoxies became known for pushing for the resin flooring industry to step up so that it could sit alongside other mainstream flooring options like carpet, vinyl, timber or tile.  We may have led the way to get a nationally recognised qualification and sought out exposure in the national Flooring Magazine, but it will take a united approach from all manufacturers, suppliers and installers to complete this mission of becoming a main stream alternative. Until then, we are going to focus on the installers that are ready, willing and able to step up as a cohesive community.

So where can you source information to improve your skills, your knowledge and your business? 

The problem is not a lack of information. There is too much information online now. Who do you trust? Is it detailed enough to understand what can go wrong... or do they gloss over the key bits (because they feel it is their trade secrets).
Or even worse, have you encountered distilled information where someone has taken a complicated or complex topic and tried to abbreviate it down to simplistic in order to "sell" you something? This can sound enticing but distilling information inevitably leads to omission of key points.

What about the 2 day “training” courses that are a great marketing tool to attract novices into the industry. The knowledge that can be transferred in such a short time frame is superficial at best and if you have done this type of course you will know that you walk out with more questions than answers.

Before you accept the detail of what is being told to you, may I suggest you spend some time understanding your personal values and ensure that they align with the values of the person giving you the advice.

We openly encourage installers to understand the values of the manufacturers they buy from and ensure they align with their personal values. I am not saying some values are right and others are wrong. It is more about ensuring that if your values are centered on learning and improving and your manufacturer's values are profit focussed, then there is a fundamental difference that will reflect in your transactions with that manufacturer. If the values don't align, you will inevitably have to undo the relationship and find a new manufacturer.

From my expereince, values are like the over-riding context of the relationship, if they align then the details tend to take care of themselves. 

Although some manufacturers are secretive about their true values, Real World Epoxies is very public about ours.

• Understand before you can be understood.
• Share our knowledge and knowhow.
• Encourage Better practices.
• Be fair and reasonable to all parties

If our values align with yours, then the "Installers Only" program is right for you..

PS> Have you heard the phrase "Iron sharpens Iron"... Knowing now that other RWE installers will have similar values to ours, you might now appreciate how we are able to build a community of installers that will compliment each other and sharpen each other's skills, knowledge and business.

 

Why Installer Only program

After nearly 25 years in the resin flooring industry, I have come to learn that there are basically three categories of resin flooring installers (novices, part timers and the ones that are all in).

The novices are at the uninformed but enthusiastic stage, where they are often overconfident and think it all looks easy. They are a classic example of the Dunning Kruger graph, where their confidence is at its peak after only a short amount of time in the industry.

Novices typically think they have to underquote in order to get a foothold in the market and then try to raise their prices, at some later stage, to make their "fortune". However, as their client base has been built around cheaper prices, they are caught realising that it is not so easy to increase prices. This leads to them either changing careers after a couple of years (chasing the next big money earner) or they remain stuck in the budget pricing "race to the bottom", building a business that is effectively one year's worth of experience repeated for years.  

Part-timers are making most of their money doing other things and dabble from time to time in resin flooring. They typically know enough to get the job done or "what they can get away with" but no more. They do a resin flooring job when their other work dries up or they feel they can make a quick buck. Their earning capacity is generally limited simply because they spread themselves across too broad a market and they are not improving their skills, knowledge or business when it comes to resin flooring.

And then there are the "all in" ones that are resin flooring installers only.

The installers only people have progressed past the novice stage, have typically learned some hard lessons (in the valley of despair) but they are all-in. Although they know what they can get away with, they have now figured out that they can only increase their income by improving their current skills, knowledge and knowhow. Perhaps Wisdom is a better collective term. ( While knowledge refers to the acquisition of information and facts, wisdom involves the application of knowledge along with experience, insight, and good judgement. Another way to say it, Wisdom comes from active learning. You know you have gained wisdom when you have benefited from the knowledge you have implemented ) 

If you identify as an "Installer only" then you are in the right place. 

Real World Epoxies installers want to be the most educated on resin flooring and the most up to date. We provide a community of like-minded installers that are able to tap into all the know-how, knowledge and wisdom offered by Real World Epoxies, whether that is books, articles, blogs, videos or documents. In addition to the bank of knowledge, Real World Epoxies helps installers to find other installers within the greater community with similar values that can collaborate on projects, share experience or just being able to ask someone questions.

Welcome to Real World Epoxies Flooring Installers Only program.