When Lou Morano opened his first store in Palm Beach County in the 1980s, he only sold carpet and the market wasn’t saturated with flooring retailers.

As consumers became more sophisticated and wanted more product options, Morano expanded his inventory to include tile, wood, laminate and natural stone, as well as window treatments.

Capitol Carpet & Tile and Window Fashions has since grown into a regional retailer with five Palm Beach locations.

Connecting with the community is very important to Morano, he says. After all, he’s selling his products to his neighbors, friends and friends of friends.

Morano also gives back to local charities and causes such as Adopt a Family. Morano goes on mission trips to Mexico and Haiti. He is currently working with an organization to help get children in Haiti sponsored with medical care, education and food.

Details: Capitol Carpet & Tile and Window Fashions, five locations in Palm Beach County. 561-353-9800, capitolcarpetandtile.com and

The drill-down:

How is a recent recognition by the flooring manufacturer and distributor, Mohawk, important to your business? It tells us we’re doing things right. There’s a lot of criteria to be met to get this award, and it’s a value to us that out of all the flooring retailers in Florida we had the highest ranking. We also won the award in 2004 and 2005. It shows consumers they’re dealing with a company that does business the way it’s supposed to be done.

How have you kept your business vibrant? We have an incredible amount of repeat business and referrals. A big reason for that is follow-up. My mother personally calls each customer after every purchase to ensure they are happy. And if not, she comes to me to make sure we do what we need to do to make them happy.

Have you diversified your inventory or changed your core business plan in the past few years to keep up with the economy? Absolutely, when we started this family business 27 years ago we only sold carpet. Over time, consumers wanted flooring options and window treatments. Our core business plan has remained similar over the years and it is encapsulated in our Mission Statement: “We Care by making Raving Fans through Superior Customer Experiences and Exceptional Value Today, Tomorrow and in the Future.”

What operational changes or strategies have you implemented to keep your business healthy? We are consistently working with our vendors to bring our customers the best values in our industry. We get continued education on business in general and specific to our industry and implement what we learn so that we’re always improving. In addition, we empower employees to make decisions on their own to ensure expediency of a great experience for the customer.

Does social media play a part in your marketing strategies or point of sales? Yes, we post videos, pictures, job photos, vendor links and how-to information on these sites.

What’ your competitive edge? As the president and the owner, I am accessible to all of our customers seven days a week. My email and my personal cell phone number 561-346-9137 is on the back of all our business cards. This helps ensure that our mission statement is carried out.

What do you know now about business that you wish you had known when you were just starting? I know how important getting general business education makes you a better company no matter what the industry.

What keeps you up at night? Family and business. How I can help make both be as healthy as possible so that they are as strong as ever when I am gone.

or 954-356-4662 Twitter.com @mindingyourbiz

Before purchasing flooring products

1. Budget. Know how much you want to spend.

2. Know approximate dimensions of areas you want to have covered

3. Timeline. Understand how long the project will take. Be clear about start and finish dates.

4. Visualize. Try to see how others have implemented your dream. Find photos featuring flooring styles as examples

5. Work with colors. Do you want to match or contrast? Bring in fabric swatches, colors, motifs and other items to help create the impression you want.

6. Share your expectations. Tell the sales representative about what the space is used for and how much, traffic the area gets. What about pets?