Darren Nelson opened his flooring store, Veteran Flooring, in Brighton, Michigan, on March 11, 2020—four days before Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer shut down independent flooring retailers as "non-essential" businesses in response to COVID-19.

We had an opportunity to sit down with Scott Levy, president of Arley Wholesale, a leading importer and East Coast distributor of ceramic tile, stone and sundries. Realizing that distributors perform unique tasks, many of which are on the international stage, our goal was to gain some insight into these tasks and how the company dealt with them in the midst of this never-before-experienced lockdown.

When it comes to the installation process, it often feels like retailers and installers live on different planets.

Whether we realize it or not, our customers are judging us by the house we keep.

Running a small business is tough enough in good times, but when the economy slows down, it becomes even more challenging.

The Carpet Guys, headquartered in Troy, Michigan, never anticipated achieving $2 million in monthly sales in the middle of a pandemic—for the first time in the company's history.

Many salespeople fail to make a favorable impression because they don’t listen attentively.

As homeschooling takes on a new meaning (and new challenges), there might be an opportunity to focus on creating dedicated spaces for kids right at home.