Shelly Sekki found herself unexpectedly out of work after the marketing company she worked at for 20 years replaced her as president with the owner’s son. At this point in her career, Sekki couldn’t see herself working for somebody else, so when franchising was brought to her attention as an option, she wanted to learn more. By Cindy Charette
Shelly Sekki found herself unexpectedly out of work after the marketing company she worked at for 20 years replaced her as president with the owner’s son. At this point in her career, Sekki couldn’t see herself working for somebody else, so when franchising was brought to her attention as an option, she wanted to learn more.
When presented with Floor Coverings International, despite having no prior experience in flooring or construction, Shelly and her husband, Joe, were drawn to the renowned franchise concept. “This was something that we felt we could be proud of doing,” she said. The couple went on to open their Cleveland, Ohio, franchise in April 2017.
After the first few months, Joe left his job to focus on the franchise as well. Since then, the Sekkis have built their location together, hiring two full-time sales associates and several crews of installers. The installation crews, despite being contractors, represent the Floor Coverings International brand well when entering customers’ homes and are treated as part of the team.
Having backgrounds in operations, the Sekkis understood they each needed to have clearly defined roles in the business. They determined their business flow made the most sense when Shelly focused primarily on the finance, marketing and office management aspects of running the business. This meant Joe would focus more on sales and production, which include networking to find additional business and working with leads from phone calls and the brand’s website.
The Sekkis have a great relationship with the corporate team at Floor Coverings International. Shelly said: “I would honestly say the thing I appreciate most is the team that we have. I feel like we are such a tight-knit group; it almost feels like a family.”
Joe added: “The corporate office is great with a high level of support, but the big win for us is our region. We have a few high-performing locations in our area, so we are able to bounce things off of each other, and it really does build camaraderie and keep the momentum going.”
Cindy Charette