REBUILT AND REINVENTED HIS

CAREER IN FLOORING

Ben Cherby, Floor Covering International Owner of Northeast Chicago, Il

For most Americans, the dream of becoming one’s own boss is just that—a nice fantasy. For Ben Cherby, owner of Floor Coverings International of Northeast Chicago, Illinois, a mobile floor covering retailer which brings thousands of flooring options directly to customers’ doorstep, hard work and sacri-fice have made that very dream a reality.

When the 2008 recession hit, Cherby, like most Americans, hit a rough patch. A 2000 graduate from Purdue University, Cherby easily found employment upon completion of his Construction Management degree. “When I was graduating college I had job offers all over the country,” says Cherby. Yet for four years the devastating effects of the economic down-turn wreaked havoc on Cherby’s prospects, forc-ing him to endure two layoffs and pay-cuts which resulted in a 2012 salary that was only 60% of that in 2008.

Bruised but not broken, Cherby kept his head up and, in 2013, he moved to Chicago, where he gave up nearly everything to leverage his 13 years of construction experience and become owner of a Floor Coverings International branch. “I quit my job and sold my home, my car, and put everything in a U-Haul and spent four days driving straight without

sleeping. I had to liquefy all my assets and had to liquefy my retirement account in order to come up with the money to buy the business,” Cherby says. “I had saved my nickels for over a decade and invested all the money I could, and now I have my own business and am excited to serve the beautiful city of Chicago.”

Cherby opened his Floor Coverings International in January, 2014. The company provides thousands of flooring products such as those made from dense popular hardwood species like hickory, cherry, and stranded bamboo which provide strong color contrast from plank to plank, along with professional installation services. Much of the work Cherby does now is similar to that which he did as an employee, but now, he says, he has more control. “It feels like the work I did before, but I used to get the responsibilities without the authority, and now I have both,” says Cherby. “And it’s a lot more motivating to work hard, even for longer hours, when it’s for yourself.”

Here are 5 tips about Chicago’s top flooring options

• Going green? Wood-based flooring today is more eco-friendly than it’s ever been, including laminate made from recycled wood fiber, bamboo, and cork.

• If carpet is for you, choose dark-col-ored carpeting to create a cozier feel for your home and lighter colors if you want to make your home look larger.

• When considering carpet, plan ahead—strong, bold colors may limit future options when repainting walls or buying furniture.

• Have pets or kids? Today’s engineered wood flooring is better made than that from the 1990s—it is now more durable against pets’ claws and children’s toys as well as stain and humidity resistant.

• As engineered wood floors are built to resist humidity, they can be installed on any level of a home, including a base-ment.

ABOUT FLOOR COVERINGS INTERNATIONAL

Floor Coverings International is the premier mobile flooring franchise and a leader in the home services category with over 100 locations

throughout the U.S. and Canada and expects to add several additional units by the end of 2015, targeting markets such as Seattle, Atlanta, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Central and South Florida as well as

many other strategic markets across North America.

For more information about flooring: http://floorcoveringsinternational.com/

or call 800-342-5324

For more information about a franchise:http://www.flooring-franchise.com/ or call 800-955-4324