Author: Karen Keyes

A line up of awards and trophies

Why bother with competitions?
Award winners reap much more than praise

The decorative concrete industry continues to evolve. Subsequently, it’s exciting to see where it started and imagine where it’s headed. However, contractors often overlook one of our industry’s under-utilized evolutions — an array of gainful awards available when entering decorative concrete competitions. Many decorative concrete manufacturers have specific industry awards […]

Pros and Cons of Commercial versus Residential Concrete Construction

About a week after having my fourth child, I received several kind comments and gestures from people across our industry. But two in particular stuck out. The first involved a residential client and the second was from a commercial general contractor. The interactions made me ponder the pros and cons of residential construction versus commercial.

Does Being a Certified Small Business Really Help You Grow?

Having operated my own business for one year already, I’ve learned that being a start-up has many, many challenges. However, one thing we have in our favor right now is that we qualified to be certified as a DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise), EBE (Emerging Business Enterprise), SBE (Small Business Enterprise) and M/WBE (Minority/Women Business Enterprise).

5 Tips for Photographing Concrete Hardscapes

The beauty of decorative concrete comes from its versatility and stunning final results. Each project’s unique traits help sell the next project. However, your future potential clients don’t necessarily have access to your past projects, which is why photography is a crucial component of your marketing plan — regardless of your company’s size.