explained: “Kara has been with us from the start. She literally quit her job and threw herself into the role from the start. A confidante, colleague and my best friend’s wife; Kara is an integral part of our organisation, she has helped facilitate all our business activity in the past 18 months and we owe her a great deal of gratitude.
“Noel and Josh run our warehouse and branch. Together they bring a wealth of product knowledge and industry expertise.
“My wife Joanna has been the newest asset to the team. Recently completing a six-year Open University degree in psychology, she is analysing market trends and advising us on the next sector of interiors that DeaconJones will be embarking upon.”
As well as its own employees, the company also has close relationships with big industry brands including Crown Floors, which is part of the Balta Group. Deacon Jones now has eight carpets in its range for Crown Floors, which has taken centre stage at recent trade shows including the Buying Groups’ Flooring Show.
“Crown and Balta have supported us immensely and have been our guidance,” said Vinnie.
Alongside the Crown Floors collection, DeaconJones also sells directly to a network of independent retailers.
Speaking of the importance of their target demographic, Danny said: “Independent retailers make up the core of our target market. With no access to our brand on the internet, we are a great advocate of respecting the difficulties faced by a retailer and offering them something that isn’t being hammered online.”
Though the business partner’s career paths have been very different, both Vinnie and Danny have experienced similar hurdles throughout their lives. Several years ago, Vinnie and his wife Tanya both faced battles with cancer and Danny has learnt to juggle his working life with caring for his wife Joanna who suffers with the long-term condition fibromyalgia.
Explaining how he manages work around caring for his wife, Danny said: “Fibromyalgia makes Joanna’s health difficult to predict, so juggling work commitments with the support needed for her has been challenging. Fortunately, we work in an industry that allows us to be flexible and, as long as you can solve a problem, the solution can sometimes be a greater asset than the problem itself.”
Commenting on the hurdles he has faced, Vinnie added: “Health issues are the worst but there’s nothing wrong with hard work. I think mistakes in business are made because you get lazy.”
Hard work is clearly a key attribute to both gentlemen’s business ethics and both Vinnie and Danny went straight into work after leaving school.
When asked what advice he would give to the younger generation looking for an alternative, non-academic career path, Danny said: “Young people should be encouraged by the facilities and opportunities that exist for them outside the classroom.
“I’ve never been asked for advice on this subject, but I have always told my children to be different, be true to yourself, ask
twitter.com/TContractFloors
“Start off steady and keep everything nailed down.
If you can build that company from the bottom you respect it even more.”
WHY, say YES, and don’t take NO for an answer. And, as Albert Einstein said, ‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’”
Following the great success of the DeaconJones carpet range, the company is now introducing a luxury vinyl tile (LVT) range to its product portfolio.
“We have finalised our hard flooring POS and it promises to be a real hit at a centrepiece of any store. A real gamechanger in design and interactivity with the public, we believe it is an absolute must-have for all stores,” said Danny.
Concluding on their next moves, Vinnie said: “Watch this space – that’s what’s next for DeaconJones!
“We are a brand, we’re not a carpet company. It’s DeaconJones fine flooring. That’s our brand and that’s what people will go into the shops and ask for.
“Start off steady and keep everything nailed down. I think that if you can build that company from the bottom you respect it even more.”
www.deaconjones.co.uk SPOTLIGHT ON | 17
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