Contractors Education

I received a call today from Tamryn Doolan owner of Surface Gel Tek (specializing in concrete graphics called Flattoos) regarding how the Contractors Education Guide applied to her manufacturing business increased revenue 45% during the past 12 months.

How about that. A success story in a disastrous market.

The Contractors Education Guide to Profits in Niche Markets applies to manufacturers, contractors and basically every business. The basic idea is to be highly specialized and don’t deviate from your target market.

Specialization accomplishes many things.

1. Specialization enables you to become excellent at what you do.
2. When you get good at one thing you are the professional. You have branded your business or at least started to.
3. Specialization enables you to know the economics of your business. You learn where the profits are. You learn to be efficient and continue to improve.
4. Specialization keeps you focused on your target market. Lack of a target market means you are not in control, you deviate easily and dilute your efforts. Your skills are dimininshed without a target.
5. Word Of Mouth marketing is the best marketing for any business. All the great websites, blogs, newsletters are meaningless unless you have a business worthy of Word Of Mouth marketing.
6. Specialization teaches that large markets are less profitable than small targeted markets. Relationships with people are critical to developing a pipeline of business. If you try and tackle a market that is too big people forget who you are no matter how good you are.
7. The internet has taught us the value of specialized niche businesses. Consumers do not look for generalists. When searching online consumers are searching with very detailed relevant keywords. If you specialize and use those keywords properly you will be found. The more detailed and relevant the keyword phrase the more valuable the consumer.  Specialists get targeted educated clients. That means sales go better and customers are happy.
8. The Contractors Guide teaches that when you specialize you know how to manage your inventory, your employees and your money. It’s a heck of a lot easier to deal with your accountant when you know your expenses.

Tamryn and I have been working on this for the past year. It’s also of critical importance to have passion for what you do. Tamryn would not have been able to stay focused without absolute commitment and belief in her business.

I think it’s very important to be aware that no matter what your business if you deviate and bounce around it’s because you don’t believe and have passion for what you do.  If you find yourself losing focus, if you don’t have a target market, it’s time to step back and anayze what you are doing. No matter who you are you will succeed like Tamryn if you are doing what you love and have passion for.

That is what I say right in the beginning of The Contractors Guide. If you don’t study it thoroughly and have difficulty reading through The Guide you will know you are not doing what you want. That’s a huge step in the right direction.

The Contractors Guide is is very different from any book you will read. It’s the ultimate contractors education, more of a roll up your sleeeves and let’s get serious workbook.

Flattoo

Great photos, great results. But the real story is Flattoos provided a solution to a problem. Actually Tamryn Doolan owner of Surface Gel Tek provided a solution with her Flattoos.

Flattoos are graphics specifically made for creating designs on concrete with stains or dyes. Surface Gel Tek has taken it a giant step further with their patented gelled acids used with Flattoos. This is a system that does it right. No delamination, no failure.

I try to educate consumers about the right products for the right situation. This is one of the right ones. How many times have I seen low bids win a job with the wrong products? 3 months later the graphics are wearing off the floor cheapening an image. Makes a poor job a lot more expensive than a qulaity job. Do it right. It’s always less expensive.

In this situation a skim coat was improperly applied by an uneducated applicator. So a new contractor was brought in to grind down the first coat and apply a new one. This contractor brought in Tamryn to create and apply the new graphics. The results are right on. Completed by professionals who specialize.

Want to bring Flattoos into your life just click the links.

Central Floridas' Decorative Concrete Success Story

Central Florida Decorative Concrete Success Story is an  Engrave A Crete artisan based in Orlando. The business was started by Wolfgang Herzog owner of Etched In Stone Designs, LLC.

Wolfgang has many business and technical skills that resulted in being Central Florida decorative concrete success story. What impresses me is how Wolfgang has untilized the resources of Engrave A Crete, Concrete Network and other marketing tools to help him build his business. Clearly in this economic recession strategic alliances and specialization in a product and geographic territory is a prudent business practice. In reality it’s the only way to prosper long term in any market.

Wolfgany has done an outstanding job defining a lucrative niche business and running it like a professional. That’s why Wolfgang Herzogs’ Etched In Stone Designs is Central Florida Decorative Concrete Success story.

For those interested in the Engrave A Crete system here are the next training workshops.

• February 25-27 – Florida location
• March 25 -27 Missouri location
• April 8-10 Florida location
• April 22-24 Missouri location

Photo courtesy Gay Goodman Faux Real Floors . Hot Air Balloon Museum, Albuquerque New Mexico

Most graffiti letters styles are curvy 3 dimentional Hip Hop influenced. Few individuals have the artistic skills to create some of the cool art forms that you see on the internet and in art galleries or on the side of a building, train or rock.

Stencils have been use as a solution. Stencils help people like me who have the desire but don’t have the skills. In the hands of the gifted artist, stencils can help create images that are not possible by freehand. The images you see here were all created with Flattoos and with the exception of the Harley Davidson image were created by Gay Goodman of Faux Real Floors.

Flattoos created by Surface Gel Tek is a stencil system that has opened up a market for graffiti letters styles on concrete. The Flattoo system utilizes various gels that will carry color, preventing bleed and providing control. One of the biggest challenges with graffiti art is controlling your color from running or bleeding into another image.

Flattoos enable the artist to create graffiti letters styles using stains and dyes like with the control of a brush. Flattoos have led to the formation of Caribou Art a custom art business. Caribou Art can take any image and create Flattoos with the use of a graphics software program. Once the image is scanned the image is set for the appropriate size.

At the new New York Yankee Stadium, Flattoos will be applied to create baseball graffiti 20 feet in diameter on concrete walls.

If you happen to see graffiiti letters styles on the wall of a building take a digital image and e-mail it to Surface Gel Tek, the owner of Caribou Art and developer of the Flattoo.

Specify the dimensions, make any modifications and Surface Gel Tek will send you the Flattoos. When they’re large they come in pieces that are easily marked and assembled like a puzzle. Size does not matter, any size can be achieved.

Phtograph of Vertical Application by Faux Real Floors , Gaye Goodman -project si Hot Air Balloon Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The Flattoo makes graffiti letter styles unlimited. The outcome is a result of artistic creativity.

Graffiti Face by Caribou Art

Graffiti characters drawings above was created by Caribou Art of Mesa Arizona. Caribou Art was started by Tamryn Doolan owner of Surface Gel Tek.

The client took a digital photograph od the image from graffiti on the wall of a building. Caribou Art created the graffiti character drawings with a software program and was able to create a Flattoo (concrete stencil) of the image. The Flattoo was applied to a 3′ x 5′ concrete board covered with a thin concrete coating.

The image could have had unlimited results depending on the artist. In this case the colors used were primarily acid stains. It is possible that the typical graffiti artists tools of spray paint and markers could have been used. However there are various concrete stains and dyes that can work as well.

The Flattoos enable graffiti character drawings in unlimited sizes. There are simple applications or create artistic effect. The process using Flattoos can be as creative as the art of tattooing or hip hop graffiti.

An interesting artistic result would be to assemble 28 pieces of Hardy Backer concrete board on the floor. Thats 21′ x 20′. Skim coat the boards then apply the Flattoo. Any number of artistic tools like airbrushes, paint brushes, sponges, rags, resists can be used. The Flattoo is peeled up. If there is more work to do then apply your skill.

The graffiti character drawings can be hung on a wall with slight breaks between each piece. Interesting results.

The Flatto process can make an amateur an expert and for experts the Flattoo provides a unique tool.

Visit Surface Gel Tek for more information.

Photographs courtesy Dana Boyer, Concretizen

Hip Hop influenced letters are the most celebrated form of graffiti lettering. However the term Graffiti is derived from the term Graffiato which means scratched. So pretty much anything goes, the styles are unlimited. If you want to learn to draw graffiti letters and images consider what interests you. There is no right or wrong.

Graffiti has come a long way in the past 4 decades though it’s been around for thousands of years. In recent years it was considered vandalism. Now it’s a constant debate as to whether it is vandalism or art. The top graffiti artists have their works in art galleries worldwide. When it ends up unwanted on the sides of buildings it’s vandalism. In an art gallery, art. The vandals are artists. The controversy is part of the appeal.

One artistic entrepreneur, Tamryn Doolan has formed a business called Caribou Art in Mesa Arizona. Tamryn created a line of concrete stencils called Flattoos. Tamryn uses Hardy Backer Board with a thin concrete coating as her canvas. . When dry she applies the Flattoos which stick to the concrete. From there she fills in the blanks.

Caribou Art – Dragons on Concrete

If you are looking to learn to draw graffiti letters and images you can start with a Flattoo. Have your Flattoo custom created based on any image. e-mail your choice to Tamryn. She’ll usually have it back to you in a few days.

The Flattoo process is a form of Artistic Graffiti. Concrete artists have been using the process to personalize concrete floors. Caribou Art takes the process vertical just like Graffiti artists. The beauty of working with concrete is that the options are unlimited. Not only can you learn to draw graffiti letters with Flattoos but with concrete you can create the look of brick or stone just like the sides of buildings. Then you apply your image, apply your artistry and seal it preserving it indefinately. You can put a frame on it and hang it on a wall if you want.

The uniqueness of Caribou Art is that once sealed it can be hung outdoors. Since it’s concrete it is conceivable that you could create a year round outdoor art gallery.

Take a look at some of the photographs. If you are interested to learn how to draw graffiti letters and images no matter the size or complexity visit the caribou Art parent company Surface Gel Tek.

Flattoos were used to create graffiti art on Concrete Canoes below.

The New York Yankees new stadium is cranking along. Major league construction project. Great for New York, the Yankees and their fans.

A big deal for the Decorative Concrete Industry. Surface Gel Tek of Arizona (a service disabled women owned business) with their Flattoos is teaming up with Ameri-Can Concrete Solutions of New York to handle all the graphics on the concrete floors and walls. Not just any ole graphics. These are going to be special, very unique. Bringing old world Yankee nostalgia to the new. Surface Gel Teks system is going to bring that old worn leather glove feel to the new Yankee home.

Surafce Gel Tek is fabricating the custom graphics called “Flattoos” and providing consulting services. Ameri-Can Concrete Solutions is handling the artistry. Ameri-Can is also providing other concrete servces .

We will keep you posted with the progress of the project during the next few months.

Way to go Surface Gel Tek! That’s testimony to the hard quality work Tamryn, husband Dan and her team have put in over the years. No doubt architects and designers had many options, but chose Decorative Concrete and Surface Gel Tek for their “Flattoos“.

Caribou Art on Colormaker Pentimento. Thats Tamryn hanging the concrete.

A little background. Surface Gel Tek was formed to solve a problem over 10 years ago. Tamryn and Dan needed a product to clean their pool deck and pool edges. The only thing that would work to remove the algae and mold was liquid acid. Problem was that the acid would get into the pool.

With some experimenting Dan found a way to contain the acid in a gel that would not run and would stay where it was put. Even on vertical surfaces. It worked.

Caribou Art created with Colormaker Floors concrete, acid stains and Flattoos

In the beginning they were selling it to marinas for barmacle removal. Then they found that it worked beautifully cleaning old filthy concrete like new. One of the gels is HD 24 a heavy duty version that will heavily profile a floor like shotblasting so it became a viable surface prep product.

A bit more experimenting and they found that the gelled acid could remove decorative acid stains from a floor. The fact that the acid is contained in a gel meant that they could create designs on a flat surface.

How about that! Applying the Gel over a graphic meant that the acid would not bleed creating perfect crisp lines. Hence Flattoos were born and a new world of artistry on concrete.

From humble beginnings and small projects Flattoos and gelled acid have worked their way all the way to the New, New York Yankee Stadium.

For those of you in horror about using an acid the gelled acids are ASTM certified and considered a “green” product. They dilute easily.

As if Logos on restaurant floors, in retail stores and restaurants were’t enough Tamryn has created Caribou Art. Caribou Art is artistry on concrete skim coats. I’ve seen it on walls of hotel lobbies .

Here is a Prequel to the type of thing we’ll be showing. Those are Flattoos being applied.

Photos Courtesy Architectural Polishing Inc. and Surface Gel Tek

We’re going to monitor the progress of the Yankee project during the coming months so stop back often for an update.