Ep. 6 - Eric and Nancy Flom - Building a Team with Grit

The creative and committed Eric & Nancy Flom are parents, designers and married entrepreneurs who co-own Intersource, Inc.—a flooring company in Minneapolis. These two fell in love young and their 39-year-long relationship has flourished right alongside their design dreams, their family and their business.
For Eric & Nancy, love definitely came before work. These high school sweethearts were just 14 years old when they met before freshman year. 

And while Eric never imagined himself a business owner, Nancy was born into the entrepreneurial lifestyle. Her family runs their own flooring business that Eric actually worked for after graduating high school. He continued there off and on over college breaks before he entered the design world himself.

Meanwhile, Nancy—who had fallen deeply in love both with Eric and with interior design at a young age—went to school and pursued roles with other companies in interior and commercial design before she “came home” to the family business. There she got a glimpse into what it takes to run a company and into the technical side of the flooring biz.

Now, the two run their own full-service residential and commercial flooring company that focuses on serving interior designers and contractors—the best of both worlds in their opinion! (And don’t worry, their business does NOT compete with Nancy’s family business. We checked. 😉)

These two lovers and business owners have been together for 39 years total and married for 32 of those. They graciously divulged a few secrets to their relationship success with us...
  • Commit to keeping things fresh and exciting. Never stop “dating.”
  • Find traditions (like weekend getaways) that focus on your relationship and quality time together.
  • Carve out time together without distractions—even something as simple as sitting outside at the end of the day to enjoy a glass of wine & kid-free conversation.

In addition to building each other up, they have become experts in cultivating and nurturing a team as well. 

After 20 years in their industry, Eric & Nancy felt the need for a cultural change in their own business and dug deep into becoming even better at what they do—for themselves, their team and their clients. Here’s some of the advice they gleaned from that experience...
  • Never assume because you’ve been in your business for a long time that you know everything or that there isn’t a better way. Keep learning.
  • Consult experts and get outside of yourself when it comes to business advice.
  • Come back to your mission statement & vision and update it as you grow.
  • Get crystal clear on your own job descriptions along with your team’s job descriptions and how you’re holding them accountable. This way you don’t micromanage.
  • Have an open door policy and let your team bring ideas to you. You get better results and it cuts down on drama (which no one has time for!).

This pair also highlighted the importance of making an impact outside of their team through their involvement in “Design for a Difference”—where they help to guide the efforts of interior designers and others in their community as they makeover local non-profit spaces. The work they’re doing for these groups is truly incredible!

Honestly, we could go on and on with the advice, wisdom & kindness we gained from this lovely and loving couple, but we’ll leave it here so you can tune into this week’s episode for yourself. You don’t want to miss it!


More From Our Couple

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Eric & Nancy Flom
 
Mixing Business with Pleasure


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