Look up the word "competition" in the dictionary and you'll find Larry
Vawter's picture. Vawter doesn't just give 100 percent: this carpet installer
works twice as hard as anyone else.
"Men and women in this profession are very competitive," Vawter says. "We
don't like it when one of our seams shows or we have to go back and take care
of our own repairs. Every job we do is like being an artist and signing your
name to it. By nature, I'm a very competitive person and I wanted to be the
best. I even wanted to be better at it than my friend, confidant, big brother
and mentor, Dave."
Vawter's friend, Dave Reisinger, never paid for advertising because his
word-of-mouth reputation was so good. "So far, I've never paid one dime for
advertising either," says Vawter.
Vawter's career began at 14 after he answered a help wanted ad in the local
paper. Reisinger, who was only six years older than Vawter but had just paid
cash for a house, had placed it. Reisinger was married with a baby on the
way.
"While we were working together, I asked Dave where he got all his money.
He said it was just hard work -- being the best carpet installer got him everything
he had.
"I was young and very impressionable. It sure beat working at the local
sub shop for $2.10 per hour. I worked for Dave all through high school. He
not only taught me carpet installations, but he and I would talk about being
a man and growing up and having responsibilities."
Age 14 was a magic age for Steve Hula, too: that's when the Nebraska native
learned to install carpet. His father learned to install from his father-in-law,
who had been an installer for 50 years. Hula installed carpet part time while
he attended college; then he dropped out to pursue full-time installation
contract work.
Twenty years later, Hula is a certified installation instructor with a
carpet inspection service. He also started an installation training school.
He has instructors for carpet, tile, wood and vinyl installation, plus consumer
relations.
Hula's most memorable job was the main ballroom, corridors and meeting
rooms of the Scottsdale Princess Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was his
first large commercial venture and involved 7,000 square yards of patterned
carpet and extensive border work.
"I worked side by side with my 10-man crew on the job that had to be completed
within 30 days," he says. "We started by removing the existing carpet and
pad and installed a new, synthetic hair pad and stretch-in carpet. The main
ballroom was about 300 feet by 265 feet, so our stretchers couldn't reach
from wall to wall. We had to come up with a method of stretching [it]....To
make a very long story short, the job was finished on schedule and it looked
beautiful."
Hula's wife, Mary, works with him frequently. She has some advice for young
women who want to enter the profession. "You must be very physical with a
good back and arm muscles. This is very demanding work.
"Many jobs require moving furniture like couches, sofa beds, hutches, pianos,
and carrying carpet and carpet pads in and out of rooms. Some of these weigh
as much as 200 to 300 pounds."
Installing carpets was a quick way for Wally Hassan to earn a living after
he fled his native Lebanon. He had been a student in his homeland and had
no experience in any field.
Now Hassan has his own carpet business and enjoys being an independent
contractor. "You can control your own private life -- like vacations, for
example -- you can stop all expenses while you're away. You don't need more
than $3,000 to $6,000 to start your own business, after you have the experience.
That is, unless you want to get a new model van. Plus, you get to meet new
people every day and every house is different."
Vawter continued his career in carpet installation. By the time he was
18, he had left Reisinger's business and was making more money than his father.
"I just continued doing the best I could do, giving my 200 percent and always
listening to what I think Dave would do in this situation."