Hard work comes along for the ride

Dear Readers,
I am of the opinion that almost nothing of significant value comes for free. Each Sunday morning, however, sitting in that wooden pew, half-way back on the right side at church, the pastor’s words remind me that there is one exception.

With each passing week, I find myself humbled but increasingly grateful for the blessings I have.

One of those blessings, you may be interested to know, is the sincere pleasure I have in knowing you. Every opportunity I have for getting together with members of this trade allows me to gain a better sense of who you are and who I’m talking to in these pages. The recent World of Concrete show was one such opportunity. Not only did I get the chance to see many good friends, I also had the good fortune to make several new ones.

Starting my journey home from Las Vegas the Saturday morning after, on my 18-hour drive back to Oregon through the desert and over snow-covered mountains, I had some much-needed time to reflect on my week. A common theme that ran through most of my thoughts was the faces of people I met. In particular, it was the expressions of enthusiasm that I saw on so many of you. Now you know why this trade is so contagious!

Decorative concrete continues to gain interest. I’ve seen this interest grow steadily with every passing season. In you I see an excitement to learn, to create, and most importantly, a desire to connect with others. These attributes not only fuel my enthusiasm for publishing, it’s the stuff that I’m confident will lead your business and this trade to increasing measures of success, and most assuredly, to lands far and wide.

We’re all aware of the fact that hard work comes along for the ride. Not always do things go right. Neither is it easy to fix errors that might ultimately pull hard-earned dollars out of our pockets. At those moments, when the excitement fades and work gets the better of us, that’s when perseverance and yes, a degree of humility are critical.

If others don’t understand our struggles, how can they ever appreciate the full measure of our creations? Today, other industries are going as far as to create new associations to address the impact that decorative concrete has on their respective businesses. If there were ever a time we needed to polish our shoes and straighten our ties, it’s now.

Enjoy.

Bent Mikkelsen, Publisher

Tell Us About Your Projects

Dear Readers,
Have you ever considered calling us about a recent project you completed, thinking it would look sweet in the pages of Concrete Decor? But you didn’t! Maybe you don’t take the time to grab photographs of your jobs before, during or afterward. Or maybe you beam with pride over each project you complete, but you are simply too modest to share, except with those at the dinner table each evening.

At Concrete Decor, we too are a bit on the modest side. We don’t look up from our desk too often to relish our accomplishments. Maybe that’s a good thing!

What we generally are staring at on our desks is a computer monitor and the makings of a new edition of the magazine. Too often, however, we’re looking at photos that don’t necessarily tell the whole story, or they don’t expose important details that visually communicate the challenges or benefits of doing things correctly.

This is where your attention to detail is not only important to the project you’re doing, but to us as well. Allowing Concrete Decor, in essence, to be there with you on the job site and see your challenges and accomplishments as you do is a tremendous help to us in making each issue a success. Believe it or not, you have this ability. Despite your modesty, fear of competition, or feeling that there’s not enough time in the day to stop and take a couple of photos, your perspective is our best tool for communicating quality in each new issue we produce. That’s a topic that can never be stressed enough.

Decorative concrete is an exciting and evolving new facet of the concrete industry. For all intents and purposes, it’s an integral part of the industry’s future. The perspective that you provide us, as well as our readers, is one that influences everyone who works with concrete. Concrete Decor’s emphasis on concrete’s appearance does more than cause a number of “oohs” and “ahs.” It changes people’s expectations about concrete.

As you start to turn the pages of this new issue you’ll note that we’ve added some references to ConcreteDecor.net online archives. The Concrete Decor archives are a valuable place to gain added perspective on numerous decorative concrete subjects. We’d like to add your valuable perspective to an upcoming issue of Concrete Decor as well as to these valuable online archives.

Call us today. We’d like to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Bent Mikkelsen, Publisher

Dear Readers,

Leaving a customer grateful and satisfied with your work – that’s to be expected. However, looking over your shoulder and knowing that you "nailed it" from a creative standpoint – that’s the icing on the cake. I know this from experience. Discerning customers in the residential and commercial construction segments were my primary clientele for over 10 years before I started this magazine. Unfortunately, there are projects that don’t always run smoothly. Any number of obstacles, including weather changes, faulty materials and even tardy employees create distractions that dilute your attention to detail and ultimately compromise quality standards in ways only you are likely to detect. These situations are inevitable, and experienced pros know this all too well. Pros also know that these unfortunate scenarios are less frequent occurrences as they gain experience, knowledge and practice in the field of decorative concrete.

Deciding how to improve the upward slope of your own learning curve in decorative concrete is up to you. More often than not, however, I’ve noticed that those who are serious about refining their skills, increasing profitability and staying on the leading edge will turn up at various industry events each year. Because training is an integral part of the products and equipment you use each day, Concrete Decor is now preparing the industry’s first Decorative Concrete Training Guide, which will be published this September. It’s an issue and resource you don’t want to miss.

In addition to telling you who offers training in the many facets of decorative concrete,Concrete Decor’s online Training Calendar, which makes its debut Sept. 1, will give you up-to-date details on a vast array of training events happening around the country and elsewhere. Here, trainers can update the Training Calendar with their schedules so you always have information that’s current. Furthermore, Concrete Decor’s online Training Calendar will include important industry events, including the Concrete Countertop Institute Conference (Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 25-27), Decorative Concrete Cruise (Miami, Fla., Nov. 12-16) and World of Concrete 2008.

As for the pages of Concrete Decor that lie before you, take time to examine them closely. Just like with the very first issue of Concrete Decor in 2001, my hands itch each time a new issue comes out. I hope you also will find that the information provided here inspires you to explore your potential in this exciting field of decorative concrete.

Bent Mikkelsen, Publisher