How It All Began

John Daniell, owner of JD Floor Store, has been a fan of wood since a young age. While in high school woodworking class, he was quoted in the year book as saying that he would one day work with wood for a living. Though he might not have been completely serious at the time, it was a sign of things to come. John started doing hardwood floor installations while still in high school. By the time he graduated, he went out on his own and started JD Hardwood Flooring. With support from his friends and family he quickly grew his business and reputation.

Growing and Adapting

John first started his business as mostly a wholesale wood supplier, selling hardwood flooring to retailers and builders. During the recession and housing crisis, this business model left him vulnerable as homebuilding slowed and many of his customers went out of business. As he gained experience in the business, he soon realized the need to transition into residential installation, as this was a higher margin business that could better weather economic downturns and allow him to diversify his business. He started working for homeowners in the Raleigh-Durham area, specializing in hardwood flooring installation and refinishing. He quickly gained a reputation for his quality work and customer service. As his business grew, he opened his first retail store and showroom in Morrisville, NC in 2010. It was at this time he changed the name of the company from JD Hardwood Flooring to JD Floor Store. The business was expanded from hardwood flooring to all types of floor coverings including hardwood, carpet, tile, vinyl, and laminate.

As a Small Business Owner, If at First You Don't Succeed...

After a few years of steady growth at the Morrisville store, John decided to geographically expand his business model. He had found a recipe that worked in the Triangle area and figured it would work anywhere. In 2013, he opened his second store in Charlotte, NC. As he started doing business in this new market, he realized it presented a unique set of challenges. He was faced with increased competition and a different customer demographic. As a result, margins were lower and volume was down. After a year or so of hustling and trying to make things work, he decided his time and efforts would be better spent concentrating on the Triangle market, and moved on from the Charlotte store. John learned a valuable business lesson from his experience in Charlotte. He learned that you have to experiment and try new things in order to grow, but you also have to know when to call it quits when something isn’t working out the way you expected, rather than hang on because of pride or emotional attachment and incur further losses.

The Future

With John back in the Raleigh-Durham area and focusing all of his efforts on the Morrisville store, JD Floor Store is doing better than ever. An entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word, John is always coming up with new ideas and ways to grow his business and provide value to his customers. Padgett Raleigh helps John take care of his accounting, taxes, and payroll so he can focus on what he does best – FLOORS! We are excited to see where the future will take JD Floor Store.

Padgett Raleigh asks three wise questions

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to when you first started your business?
I would network more with existing companies and maybe work with partners to avoid having to learn things the hard way and make costly mistakes.
Why did you decide to start your own business?
I really liked the flooring business and kind of fell into starting my own business because everyone is independent in this industry.
If you could have lunch with anyone living or dead, who would it be and why?
Jesus

Contact JD Floor Store for all of your floor covering needs

Website: www.jdfloorstore.com
Phone: 919-345-7224
Address: 1901 NW Cary Parkway, Morrisville, NC 27560