b'ONE-TO-ONEthatwasnotaprofi tableattitudeI retired from CTEF I agreed to con-in the contracting world but it didtinue taking second tier installation prove to be the key to longevity.calls on a gratis basis, a relation-I sold the business because I wasship that still exists. worn out. I couldnt fi nd help, andInsummary,wecertainlyhave wereachedaplateau,hoveringthe need for some inspectors and/therethreeyears.Itwasagoodorconsultants.Thereisagrow-saleandleftmewiththeabilitying void. It is not a get-rich-quick to do as I pleased. Because of myscheme; you will make more as a involvement in technical meetingsgood tile guy or sales rep. If you andrepresentingcontractorsforareagoodtileguyorsalesrep NTCA at the then-TCA Handbook youre the one we want. Consider Committee, Bob Daniels at TCNAyourmarketingarea,wherewill reachedouttoseeifIwasinter- the clients come from? What does estedinrunningCTEF. Thefocusyour fee structure look like? It takes ofCTEFatthattimewastobeknowledge,lotsofknowledge.If training, something near and dearyourexperiencerevolvesaround tomyheart.Iagreedtoacceptsales seminars and you have never the position. As an industry orga- attended a technical meeting, you nization, that also included a seatneednotapply.Ifyouarenot onvariousstandardscommittees.activelyinvolvedintheindustry, Atthetime,CTEFwaslocatedit will be an uphill battle you may intheTCNAbuildingwheretheormaynotwin.Icanpositively labisnow.Thatledtoaveryassure you had I not been involved close relationship with TCNA staff.in NTCA, CTIOA, TCNA, attended Curiously,atthetime,IwastheSurfaces, Coverings, and other tile only person who ever installed tileshows (not seminars), I would not at TCNA,evenfi upsomebehere. Youneedtobeabletonished workatthebuilding,whichwasdraft a properly-worded, cohesive new.Overtheyearswheneverreport on tile problems. Most of my installation questions would comereports are six to 10 photos buried in they would go to me. If I didntin1,500to2,000wordsoftext. knowtherequirementforastan- While your client may love it, your dard,theSecretariatofStandardsreport will be scrutinized fully by was right down the hall. The loca- the opposing side. You need thick tion of CTEF also afforded me theskin, especially if you go legal. The opportunitytoworkcloselywithother sides job and/or their attor-theTCNAPerformanceTestingney are to discredit you. There are Lab and observe countless perfor- many nuances to this type of work. mance tests over the years. It wasI continue to do it because I fi nd it enlightening to say the least. Whenstimulating. 46 TileLetter | September 2020'