High-Quality Vancouver Balcony Flooring

It's been four months since we travelled from Vancouver to Toronto to tape a pitch for Dragons' Den. We went into the experience hoping and expecting one kind of upside, but we're realizing a different payoff that is far more valuable. Because we don't know if our segment will actually make it onto a show, and if it does, we won't know for 1-2 weeks in advance, this other payoff has nothing to do with dollars or TV exposure.

The big payoff is a solidified unique value proposition (UVP) that became clear after hours of practicing and refining our “pitch”. We had so much we wanted to say, but we had to make it all fit into 40 seconds.

Now, we thought we had our 'elevator pitch' pretty well landed, after all we've been in business three years, spoken to thousands of people, presented oodles of times to property managers and strata councils (condo boards in Ontario).

"KANDY Outdoor Flooring expands home experiences with new outdoor flooring for condo balconies and ground floor patios." This is our boilerplate top-line message which we're keeping, but then we'd into our process of consultation, delivery, design & customization, cleanup and maintenance. Yes, we thought this part was all good and we were ready for our hot seat in front of the Dragons.

We were wrong! I'm sure you know the format if you've watched the show. We were told we had 60 seconds to introduce ourselves, our company, and describe what we do. Sounds easy, right?

Once we started practising we couldn't believe how much of that 60 seconds was eaten up by the mandatory: “Hi, my name is Kelly Niessen, and this is my business partner Doug Niessen. We are from Vancouver, BC and our company is KANDY Outdoor Flooring. We are here today to offer X per cent of our business for a $Y investment.”  Believe me, we tried to get our producer, Hannah, to agree to let our clock start after that mandatory opening, but it was a no-go. So we had only 30 - 40 seconds left to get in all the important stuff. It was hard!

It doesn't take long to eat up forty seconds talking about my business. I'm passionate about it, so that part is easy. But both Doug and I had to leave all that verbosity at the door of the studio, and make brevity our new best friend.

I wrote, we practised, I rewrote, and we practised some more. I could fill volumes with all the different variations we tried on and discarded as we got closer and closer to our scheduled taping date of April 8, 2014. We likely tried the patience of family and friends as we pitched for them again and again. We even organized a “mock Dragons’ Den” with a live audience and 5 volunteers gracious enough to play the role of the Dragons.

It wasn't until two days before the taping after we had arrived in Toronto that our UVP showed up. That was the first time we were able to say it in three simple words.

SERVICE. QUALITY. CHOICE. What we want to focus on providing our customers is exactly what we were unable to find in the market. (Read our personal story here.) It always boils down to SERVICE, QUALITY, and CHOICE for who we want to be, and for what we want our customers to enjoy.

We realized how powerful this was when we started to rehearse our responses to the anticipated questions, comments and objections from the dragons (which are the same that we receive day to day). No matter what type of ‘why don’t you’ or ‘you should’ comment that comes our way, our UVP helps to immediately illuminate why our model makes sense.

For each question posed to us, we ask ourselves two questions:

1. Does the consumer receive the UVP benefits?
2. Does the distribution channel value these same benefits?

Here are some of those common questions, and how the answer is supported by our simple UVP litmus test.

Why don’t you license your product to distributors?

Does the customer realize the UVP benefits, and does the distribution channel value Service? NO. Quality? YES. Choice? Maybe.

Why don’t you sell your product through big box stores?

Does the customer realize the UVP benefits, and do the big box store channels value Service? NO. Quality? NO*. Choice? NO.

Why don’t you sell your product to developers/new construction projects?

Does the customer realize the UVP benefits, and does the developer channel value KANDY’s Service? NO. Quality? MAYBE*. Choice? NO.

Why have you decided on a franchise system for your brand?

Does the customer realize the UVP benefits, and does the franchise channel value Service? YES. Quality? YES. Choice? YES.

If you don’t target developers, why would you target restaurant patios?

Does the customer realize the UVP benefits, and does the restaurant channel value Service? YES. Quality? YES. Choice? YES.

* We would need to reduce product cost and therefore quality would suffer.

This clarification is incredibly valuable for us as an organization. Since the taping of the Dragons' Den we have incorporated this UVP into our marketing materials and our daily language. The UVP aligns to our core values which I guess is not surprising. Our emphasis has always been on service, quality, and choice; we simply were not articulating it in this clear and concise way.

Back to the Dragons' Den. We are trying to keep our enthusiastic anticipation down to a dull roar. We won’t know, one way or another, whether our pitch will air on television until 1-2 weeks before it actually does. And this could be anytime during season 9 of the Dragons' Den, which I presume starts in October 2014 and runs through to the spring of 2015. It could be a long wait; especially because we had to sign non-disclosure agreeing that we will tell no one what the outcome was in the Den. We can talk about our experience in general, but we cannot disclose whether or not we ‘struck a deal’.

People are often surprised that, even though we covered all of our own transportation and accommodation costs to fly from Vancouver to Toronto, there is no guarantee that our segment will air. As exciting as it will be if it airs, I am not concerned one way or another. Even if our pitch ends up in the edit system’s trash bin, I am grateful for the opportunity. The process that we went through to rehearse, prepare, and finally pitch to the real Dragons was an incredibly powerful experience for us, and for our brand.

We have enjoyed so many perks from our Dragons Den experience; the fun and exhilaration of the day, the interest expressed by others (it’s always a conversation-starter), and hey! We got a T-shirt! However, if the only benefit that had come of it was our unique value proposition of SERVICE, QUALITY, AND CHOICE, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

It’s fun for us to have been profiled in the Globe and Mail’s Small Business section.

We're a young and growing brand working hard at expanding home experiences with new outdoor flooring deck tiles for condo balconies and ground level patios.

When the online article appeared Friday July 4^th, our twitter feeds starting buzzing.

It’s interesting being on the other side of the interview table…  answering questions instead of being the one asking, the one responsible for writing the final article… the one in control, in other words, of whether we come off looking foolish or wise.

Thankfully Augusta Dwyer did a great job translating what I was trying to tell her during our interview, and the “expert advice” commentary added in has given us great ideas.

We appreciate the time and expertise from Kelly Askew, managing director of retail for Accenture Strategy and Moren Levesque, professor of operations management and information systems at the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Please have a read yourself and let us know what you think! Of course, if you are interested in hearing more about our franchise program, do reach out to us.

It all started with a feeling that her home, even though it is right in the heart of downtown Toronto, should give her a little respite from the city.

And because Cheryl Torrenueva spends her waking hours immersed in interior design for other people, she couldn’t help but visualize ideas for her own balcony

“The biggest thing was that all the materials surrounding me still felt like the city. I was still staring at brick and concrete. Even with plants I just didn’t feel like I had a good space to myself.”

Cheryl travels a lot, both for work and pleasure. Her three favourite places are Columbia, Peru and Bali… all places where she feels calm and surrounded by exotic woods. She started dreaming about ways to create the same feelings at home on her condo balcony, and looking for things that would work in her urban Toronto setting and with the four-season climate here.

That search started two years ago.

“The first thing we started off with was plants.  Its quite a big space, so starting small made sense for budget purposes. I shopped for weeks to get planters that fit the space, but nothing worked. I ended up getting them custom-made out of cedar.”

So with new planters built specifically for her balcony, and plants added, Cheryl still wasn’t “wowed” with her results.

“I got the planters…fine. Got the plants…. fine. I ended up getting an outdoor carpet...fine. I thought it would be soft on my feet but after two years my expensive outdoor carpet wasn’t as durable as they said, I couldn’t get the spills out and it trapped dirt underneath. I realized something was missing, and it was the Ipe outdoor flooring.”

It’s the kind of thinking Cheryl does for her clients – whether they are restaurant owners, residential homeowners, or the myriad TV shows (like CTV’s Marilyn Denis Show) she appears on demonstrating her latest designs.

Her favourite design work at the moment are the restaurant projects and television shows, because in both cases her creations are viewed by many, not just a few. Hundreds of restaurant patrons, and millions of television viewers across Canada.

So this summer it was time to go back to the drawing board and re-imagine her own balcony.

She found KANDY Outdoor Flooring’s website, and she liked what she saw. And because she was planning to incorporate her own balcony project into a segment on a nationally-broadcast TV show, KANDY worked well because of its presence in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa and its nation-wide franchise expansion.

“The floor is really the base of any design project. This time I started there.”

“The exotic richness of the wood from South America just instantly transformed the space. I knew it would.  Even the floor pattern creates this energy.”

Cheryl chose the South American Ipe (pronounced EE'-pay) in the 12"x12" four-slat parallel deck tile format.

She engaged a gardener who added new plants. She created a unique wall hanging that adds to the exotic feel, and she refreshed her furniture.

The furniture works really well, Ipe (exotic hardwood flooring) has the greys and browns and yellow tones too. It's layered, which gives me flexibility for other choices."

She has added textures and patterns in the fabrics, glassware and other accessories - even the accent lighting.

Cheryl introduced the results of her own balcony transformation on the Thursday June 26 Marilyn Denis Show, giving freely the little tips and tricks that produced the results she had dreamed of for so long.

All of her choices combined have given Cheryl just what she was looking for.

A little slice of heaven on her downtown Toronto condo balcony!

“The minute I even look out the patio door, it feels like I am in another place. I have a mini vacation on the terrace.”

And as for the small but important part KANDY Outdoor Flooring played in the transformation, and the televised segment?

“This product increases the value of our home, and has extended our home. KANDY exceeded all of my expectations. You guys are amazing to work with. So easy, so precise, so professional. I rarely have those opportunities where the experience is good! It was pain free.”

Do you have a patio or balcony transformation project using KANDY Outdoor Flooring you'd like to share?

We'd love to hear from you!

Thinking about maintenance treatments for your outdoor flooring can be daunting. Especially if your reference point is past experience with softwood like cedar, or even northern species of hardwoods like pine.

But it doesn’t have to be, especially if you’ve got a durable exotic hardwood like ipe or cumaru, and you read and apply the tips we’ve gathered for you below.

1. Know what kind of wood it is

Softwoods like cedar have characteristics very different from hardwoods like teak, ipe or cumaru. Softwoods are, well, soft, quite porous and will absorb stains, sealants and other products much more quickly and deeply than their hardwood cousins. Knowing this will help you determine what the right approach is for your spring fine-tuning.

2. Choose the right products for the type of wood

Whether you buy at a big box outlet or a specialty provider, be sure to check what type of wood the product is designed for. Something made to work with softwood will likely be too thick to absorb into a dense, high-resin content hardwood.

3. Understand the different types of cleaning and when each should be used

Does your wood floor just have a bit of dust on it? Or have a year’s worth of BBQ parties left dollops of greasy residue? Are you close to a freeway or in cottage country? It all makes a difference. Dust can be swept and damp-mopped.  Grease or urban pollution will need a more careful, thorough cleansing.

4. Use “water-based” products carefully

They’re easy to clean up and generally have lower odours. Water-based products are usually a little finickier with respect to the workable temperature. In our experience there’s nothing as good for wood – whether soft or hard – than a high quality oil-based product.

5. Follow instructions on the product containers!

We all like to “wing it” a little here and there. But to properly protect your investment, and save you time and trouble down the road, we recommend you follow the directions on the product label. For example, if the can says not to apply in temperatures below 10 degrees, there’s a good reason! If it tells you to wait 12 hours between coats, we believe you will be happier in the long run if you do what they tell you!

Sometimes the stars just align.  Our meeting with Vancouver blogger Marc Smith is but one example!  Marc's 30-patios-in-30-days series was one that we thought was calling our name! We didn't think his series would be complete without  KANDY Outdoor Flooring, so helping to transform Marc's own condo balcony was a no-brainer. Enjoy Marc's blog!

FROM DRAB TO FAB IN ONLY A COUPLE OF HOURS ...by Marc Smith

With all this time spent researching the 30 Best Patios in the Lower Mainland I'm inspired to finish the work on my own patio that started last year with the help of Art Knapps. Sure I have great plants and some new patio chairs that helped refresh and liven up the patio space but something is still missing and I think I know the perfect solution.

The patio needs a new floor, something not so grey, cold and concrete looking as the grey, cold and concrete floor that comes with every condo patio in Vancouver.

I know just the people to help me as well, it's time for KANDY Outdoor Flooring to the rescue! let's turn this drab patio floor to fab so I can start the 2014 patio season in style.

Like any good home renovation this project starts with a consultation. KANDY Outdoor Flooring founder Doug Niessen comes to my condo armed with samples galore.

Before he arrived I cleared off the entire patio space so he could see exactly what he had to work with, cold and grey concrete. Whipping out his samples and laying them out for me to see I was able to get a clear picture of the patio I wanted.

What's cool about the actual product from KANDY is that it's a "floating" deck so there are no screws, nails or anything else permanent done to the actual existing concrete floor. What does this mean? It means that you can take the floor with you when you sell and move or if you're smart it helps increase the resale value of your condo. KANDY Outdoor Flooring is the perfect product for any condo patio.

Read the rest of Marc's "Drab to Fab" blog here!