Concrete Curbing Blog


Write it and they will come!
May 19, 2006, 2:08 pm
Filed under: decorative borders, home improvement

Well, this blog is finally getting some attention via my good friend and colleague, Google. For those of you who searched for concrete edging in Toledo, Ohio and found this blog, I'd like to share a few things about our business, it's history and direction.

Decorative Curb along brick path installed by the customer
Our Decorative Concrete Curb nicely accents this customer's brick pathway.

We started this gig in 2002 after trying to find an installer in the area and coming up empty. So after countless hours of research, a trip to Florida and some creative financing, Concrete Creations was born. Our first year was a whirlwind sweat, scrapes, bruises and many tears, but we broke even and more importantly, built a solid foundation of knowledge and experience. At the end of our first season, one of our two competitors closed up shop and made us a great offer to buy his business, so we became Concrete Creations Alternative Edge. . .yeah, it's a mouthful, but he built some decent brand recognition and we didn't want to give that up.

Upon the dawn of our second season, our crew leader and now part owner was shipped to Kosovo courtesy of the National Guard for a 12 month paid vacation. . . not exactly a Carnival Cruise, but at least it wasn't Iraq. We found a suitable substitue crew leader and continued laying continuous concrete curb in the Toledo area. We installed enough to keep the lights on and built a nice customer base while doubling sales.

Year Three: Our esteemed crew leader is back from his relaxing stay at the Camp Monteith Resort and Day Spa and our phone is ringing off the hook. Our sales leader and owner/partner worked 65 hour weeks providing estimates and scheduling jobs keeping the calendar booked and our crew leader assembled a solid team of 3 skilled laborers who can pump out 2 to 3 jobs per day Again, sales is doubled.

This season, we have two new competitors in the area and welcome the competition with open arms. In the past 4 years we have laid close to 10 miles of continuous decorative concrete edging while educating an entire metropolitan area on this new product. Our competitors are helping us educate the masses and are turning more and more people on to this great, value adding, home improvement and beautification technique. They sell similar products but are nearly half a decade behind us in experience and expertise. When choosing a contractor to install your next run of decorative landscape edging, remember that there's no substitute for the knowledge and professionalism gained through years of practice.

For more information on Decorative Concrete Edging visit http://www.698edge.com .


4 Comments so far
Leave a comment

i’m starting in the philadelphia area,do you have any good advice. thank you.

Comment by dave

I just bought the used equipment to get going in The North Carolina area, (Winston-Salem) Any advice? I realize I will need to educate my customers, I think it is such a great product I tend to go on and on about it. I know my co-workers are tired of hearing about it. I truly do like evewrything about the work and product. Can’t wait till I am ready to do my first job.

Comment by Sam

We have had a lot of luck with internet advertising. Most people who hear of concrete landscape edging are going to the web for answers to their questions. I’d say nearly 30% of our jobs are generated from out site thanks to some Search Engine Optimization. I’m working on a product that will give all curbers excellent visibility on the web for much less than the cost and burden of maintaining a full site. Would you have any interest in this?

Another great method for getting the word out about your product and educating your market is doing free jobs in high traffic areas. We put about 30 feet around a flowerbed at our bank along with a small sign. People see that week after week and it really sinks in that they too can have such a nice looking landscape. You can also check with your church, local highschool, dentist, etc for opportunities to do a pro-bono job in exchange for some free publicity. Good Luck!

Comment by decorativeconcrete

Any tips for getting rid of the roller coaster effect when putting the curbing down?

Comment by Sam




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