The flooring industry is still very much a people industry. People design the products, people distribute them, they sell them—to people—and, lastly, people install the goods.

While there is still one month left in the year, it’s a pretty safe bet to say 2015 didn’t set the business world on fire. Yet, in the end, it will still be a better year than 2014.

The fall season is in full swing and before you know it the year’s major holidays will be upon us.

I find it fascinating to listen to and read what other people have to say about social media, especially when they are trying to tell you why or why not it is something in which a business should invest any of its time and resources. First, let me make it perfectly clear I’m by no means proclaiming myself as some sort of expert on how to use the growing number of social media platforms out there. I am saying that I do recognize when you truly understand what exactly social media is you will understand as a businessperson—be it residential or commercial—why your company must be engaged in it.

There once was a time when being a flooring dealer meant you sold 70% to 90% carpet with some resilient thrown in for good measure.

During the course of my nearly 22 years of writing and reporting for this industry, I’ve been to countless residential and commercial trade shows, conventions, meetings, etc., not to mention on a daily basis being able to communicate with people throughout the country from every level and sector of the industry.