Upswing in Economy and Construction Prompts Increases in Countertop Programming...

Although the latest reports show a slight economic downturn and a bit of a slowdown in construction in the second quarter, last year was a banner year for housing starts and completions, renovations and home sales. It is much too soon to begin worrying over the latest data, which states that the economy dropped by about 3 percent in the last quarter, because growth is still above what it was this time last year. In addition, while activity has decreased a little, forecasters had already predicted that this would occur and will be followed by slower, yet steady, growth through 2018.

New construction and a booming residential housing market have provided an unforeseen benefit other than an increase in sales for countertop fabricators, installers and suppliers. It has also prompted new countertop programming, expanded informational outlets and additional training events that are taking place across the country.

This year, IWF is not only featuring a full-day Countertop Symposium on August 19, one day before the regular show begins, but running throughout the course of IWF, August 20 - 23, is the Countertop Pavilion. The Countertop Symposium will include several CEU presentations and an annual industry forecast from ISFA while the Countertop Pavilion will offer networking events and access to industry vendors. Additionally, several educational sessions have been developed specifically for the countertop industry.

Also of note is the fact that StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas is bringing a new East Coast version of the trade show to Miami Beach, Fla., October 19 - 22. Like its West Coast predecessor, this event will also feature demos, new products and the latest information about trends from key manufacturers and suppliers in the industry, and the event will also feature several educational and networking opportunities.

Another great offering that recently began is the StoneTalk podcast, the first of its kind, produced by Moraware and hosted by the countertop software company's newest team member Patrick Foley. StoneTalk is already on its fifth episode, and guests have included Aaron Crowley of Crowley's Granite Concepts, Ted Sherritt of FLOFORM Countertops and Russ Berry, president of ASST and past ISFA president.

You'll be able to listen to each episode of StoneTalk on the show's dedicated website, through the Moraware blog and you can now also find them on the CountertopResource.com website. 

So here's to all that is going on. I hope you take advantage of the opportunities.

New Podcast - StoneTalk - from Moraware Features Some of the Industry's Best

Recently, the founders of Moraware, Harry Hollander and Ted Pitts, along with new employee Patrick Foley, developed StoneTalk, a podcast featuring some of the most successful people in the world of countertops.

For those who are new to Internet media, a podcast is the online version of a radio broadcast. While some podcasts feature music, many of them are talk shows focused on specific interests, hobbies, demographics or industries. StoneTalk was officially launched in May after several months of development. The idea for the podcast came to Pitts earlier this year after he and Hollander met Foley at a software conference. The Moraware co-founders knew of Foley through the podcast he hosted while working for Microsoft: the Startup Success Podcast. After talking with Foley, he agreed to become part of the Moraware team as a software and support “generalist.”

One of his first projects was getting the new podcast off the ground as a “way to provide something of value to our customers and get our name in front of potential customers” without putting pressure on them to purchase anything. This philosophy was ingrained into Foley by the famed author and business consultant, Seth Godin, and Moraware had already been following it through informative blogging and social media posts. Foley believed StoneTalk was the perfect title for the show, and he was charged with planning, producing and hosting the new podcast. StoneTalk is now on its fourth episode, and it was been well received by the industry. According to Foley, they believed it would take about a full year for the podcast to gain a widespread audience, but within the first three months, it has been downloaded or played nearly 1,000 times.

Guests for the show are entrepreneurs and business professionals working in countertop fabrication, but Foley says that future episodes may feature general business consultants and industry vendors. They already include some well know guests as  Aaron Crowley of Crowley’s Granite Concepts; Liz Trambasco, industry expert and sales consultant, Ted Sherritt of FLOFORM Countertops; and Russ Berry of A.S.S.T.

Although StoneTalk and customer support takes up a good deal of Foley’s time at Moraware, he would eventually like to develop educational and instructional material for beginning countertop fabricators.

You watch all of the past episodes and read transcripts of them in the StoneTalk Archives on the Moraware website, but you are also able to find them at CountertopResource.com.

Take a look at them, and let us know what you think!