Michael Prater discusses trends in the flooring business as he stands in the "green room" where cork and bamboo flooring tiles are on display at Praters Hardwood Flooring in East Chattanooga.
Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free Press• Name: Michael Prater
• Position: Owner
• Business: Prater's Flooring
• First job: Maintenance worker in a nursing home
• Lessons of the trade: Prater said one of the most valuable things he has learned is how to judge people. "Just being able to tell if a customer is going to be a good customer and easy to deal with or a pain. It's just trying to talk to them. It's a first impression. I can pretty much figure people out. Give me about 30 seconds with them and I know whether I want to do business with them or not."
• Green flooring: Prater's Flooring is keeping up with the times, including the green trend. The business even has a green room, where it stocks more environmentally sound products, including cork and bamboo flooring. "Everybody wants to go green," Prater said. "I never used to hear about it; now I hear it a lot." The cost and installation techniques, he said, are fairly similar.
• Biggest challenge: Making collection calls. "Trying to get people to pay me," he said. "I just have to track people down and get my money." Prater said he's come across a number of excuses for why customers haven't paid. "There's all kinds of them out there," he said. "Like, 'I haven't got my invoice ...'"
• Wooden challenge: "The challenge is knowing wood, because wood, at one time, was a living organism. It still moves. It still takes on and gives off moisture. You have to get the products acclimated and make sure the environment is correct before you put it down, when you put it down, when you sand it."
• How to make a career of it: Learn on the job, Prater said. "Go to work for a flooring store. You're not going to go to school and learn about this stuff."
- Contact Holly Leber at hleber@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/hollyleber.