Specializing Services and Building Teams with Kyle Hedin and Illustrious Hardwoods

“Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable the older you get.”

Down in Mesa, Arizona is a craftsman, podcast host, and an outstanding small business owner — Kyle Hedin.

Kyle Hedin owns Illustrious Hardwoods, an incredible flooring installation business, and operates the very popular Floor Academy Podcast.

He gives loads of actionable advice to other business owners and provides expert-level flooring services to homeowners in Phoenix, Arizona.

What Does Illustrious Hardwoods Do?

Illustrious Hardwoods serves the Phoenix, Arizona area with engineered hardwood, LVP, and laminate flooring installation.

What makes Illustrious Hardwoods so successful is their dedication to specialization. Kyle learned how to install distinct types of flooring and committed himself to become a master at those.

Kyle learned the basics from a few contractors he worked under and studied furiously in his evenings in online communities to better his skills. He knew he needed two years of experience to go out on his own.

“You can work 30 years in this industry and still learn something new every day.”

How Kyle Started Illustrious Hardwoods

Kyle opened his own business between 2016 and 2017 and has been refining his skills ever since. But he didn’t start as Illustrious Hardwoods!

The original name of the company was AZ Hardwoods. After receiving a letter threatening to sue over the name usage, it was time to make some decisions.

He and his wife thought about this predicament.

Could they fight off the suit?

Would it be worth it?

What would the new business name be?

Eventually, while looking through synonyms, they found something that stuck out.

Illustrious; adjective

Definition

1: well known, respected, and admired for past achievements.

“Respected for past achievements.” That was it!

Illustrious Hardwoods was born.

His Road to Success — Building a team

Owning a successful business means managing a successful team. Your team can range from mentors to lawyers.

Kyle’s expertise started with having a great mentor from the beginning. He also found an online community of successful installers to help guide his way. It gave him a mastermind group of his own to bounce ideas off of, learn, and grow from.

Over time, Kyle realized that it was critical to add more people to his team to ensure success.

An accountant, a lawyer, an insurance agent, a marketer, web services, and apprentices are all the kinds of team members a business needs to operate efficiently and successfully.

Kyle hired experts to do what they were best at, so he was able to focus on what he was best at — installing beautiful floors.

Another tip to Kyle’s success was a piece of advice he got early on.

A few people in his “mastermind” always talked about knowing your worth and charging for it.

Too many business owners will undercut their prices for fear of not making sales. We see it too often, and it usually leads to failure.

Kyle started tracking his numbers more deliberately and looked for as many ways to be more profitable.

Charge what you are worth, and do not sell yourself short.

The Hard Part

Success without struggle is not as satisfying.

Businesses will inevitably hit barriers, and the successful ones will find ways to break through them.

Finding quality people to hire is the most widespread issue business owners face in the contracting and trades industry.

It is tough to attract younger and more motivated talent to the industry when other business owners pay lower wages, treat employees poorly, and when the work is labor-intensive.

Kyle believes changing the culture around hiring apprentices is vital for the future of the industry.

Many contractors will say, “There are no good ones out there! No one wants to work!”

Kyle may respond, “Maybe they just don’t want to work for you.”

He makes it a point to treat his employees better, focus on their development, and be the best manager for his team.

Regardless, hiring good employees will always be a struggle, even if you pay more, train better, and create processes that reduce the workload.

If finding good help wasn’t enough, time management as a business owner is just as punishing.

Time management comes down to knowing how to delegate tasks to your team and creating processes for everyone to follow.

If you are bogged down with menial tasks, maybe it’s time to consider hiring more team members and improving your processes.

What It’s All About

Running a business is no easy feat.

Becoming specialized, forming a top-notch team, hiring, and constant time-management is stressful!

But past all the work and stress is something nice.

You provide something of use to others. You join a community.

Kyle says it’s the friendships he’s made that keep him motivated through all the obstacles.

“It’s getting together in person with people you truly enjoy and talking about the things I’m passionate about or people that have been through the same thing.”

Whether you are a tradesman or homeowner, Kyle Hedin and Illustrious Hardwoods are here to help you.

You can contact Kyle and Illustrious Hardwoods at 602–888–3361 or email illustrioushardwoods@gmail.com to have the best floors in Phoenix, Arizona installed in your home or to join a community of like-minded tradespeople.

For Illustrious Hardwoods: http://illustrioushardwoods.com/

For The Floor Academy Podcast: https://flooracademypod.com/