The QFloors Story
Transforming the flooring industry one customer at a time.
It's making other people and other businesses successful,
that's what
- Trent Ogden, CFO
we're all about, and I think that defines our success.
It All Begins on a Sheep Farm...
Ironically, it all started with sheep. But not in the sheep-makes-wool-makes-carpet way. Dale Ogden, the paternal grandfather of QFloors founders Trent and Chad Ogden, owned a sheep ranch in the mountains of rural Utah. After an unfortunate string of particularly bad winters killed off a large number of his sheep, he was ready for a new career path. And so in 1954, he loaded up the family, moved to Southern California, and opened the Broadloom City carpet store.
Years later, his son Steve followed in his footsteps. Steve founded Ogden's Carpet Outlet (later Ogden's Flooring & Design) in 1974 and the business quickly grew and expanded. Today, there are 13 Ogden's Flooring & Design franchises in the Intermountain West.
Both Chad and Trent grew up helping in their father's stores. From about age 12, they worked in the warehouse, rolling remnants. At 16, they were delivering furniture to customers or measuring homes for flooring. Chad's wife Chris, who knew him in high school, remembers what a hard worker he was even as a teenager. “Chad and I dated some in high school, and I probably should have clued in that he was a bit of a workaholic when he decided we needed to stop and do a carpet measure on our way to prom! He was in his tux, and I was in this fluffy 80's prom dress, standing on the doorstep telling the homeowners we were there to measure for carpet.”
The Birth of a Flooring Software
Chad developed a passion for computers, obtaining a degree in Computer Engineering, and temporarily leaving the flooring industry. He spent a decade in the tech industry, eventually becoming the Director of Engineering at a firm specializing in cutting-edge mass spectrometers.
In the meantime, Trent continued working with his father, finding his niche as an accountant and controller. He earned a bachelor's in Accounting and eventually an MBA. As he learned more about business, he realized that despite high sales, his father's flooring company was not always realizing profits. As they incorporated better tracking, job costing, and reporting, Trent recognized how essential those things were to profitability. “I could see a need, not only in my dad's business, but in a lot of small businesses, for good controls, and good policies and procedures. I could see how vital it was for a floor-covering business to be able to produce meaningful, timely, and accurate financial statements.” The need for good software to facilitate those objectives became apparent.
Trent and Steve asked Chad to help them find the right software for Steve's flooring stores, which were now franchised. They went to Surfaces multiple years in a row, looking for a system that could produce accurate numbers and reports. They also wanted software that was user-friendly enough for even non-computer-savvy employees to be able to learn. So one night in Las Vegas, after another fruitless day of searching, Chad took a pen to paper. He stayed up all night, sketching out the main screens of QFloors and how they would all work together. And that sketch, framed today at the QFloors corporate office, eventually became flooring software that would be embraced by well over a thousand businesses.
View the QFloors Product
Through Thick and Thin
Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Like many owners, Chad and Trent experienced peaks and valleys in their journey to build a thriving business. There were sleepless nights, significant sacrifices, and missed paychecks along the way. But through it all, Chad remembers telling Trent, “I think we're helping people. We're making a difference for these businesses.” And that understanding gave them the hope and stamina to stay the course.
Trent recalls, “Throughout the years, even when we were struggling, Chad was always just a real stickler for, 'Is that going to help our customer?' That was always his question to all of us: 'Is that going to be beneficial to our customers?'”
That customer-centric focus allowed the brothers to press on, and helped QFloors grow a large and remarkably loyal client base and staff. The company has averaged 30% growth each year over the past decade.
QFloors Today - Who We Are
The best part of our company is our people,
says Chad.
We've always had
great, loyal employees
who care about our customers.
QFloors clients seem to agree. Their
google reviews
are filled with effusive shoutouts to the staff.
Ron Cluff, who joined the brothers shortly after QFloors was
formed, and who has played a vital role in the company's success,
explains the shared philosophy.
We have the best customers in the world. We really do. And
we're not there just to sell them software. We're there to be a
partner. To help them grow as they help us grow.
Trent Ogden agrees:
It's making other people and other businesses successful,
that's what we're all about, and I think that defines our
success.
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