Home | Store Info | News Article | Flooring | Kitchens | Baths | Lighting | Windows | Doors | Installation | Accessories
originally printed in the Star Beacon, Monday, December 18, 2006
HOME-GROWN BUSINESS:
Facing down the big guys
Family-owned business goes up against big-box home improvement centers
By CARL E. FEATHER
Lifestyle Editor
It's a short trip, about 40 feet, from William Skarlinski's side door to his job. Skarlinski, 67, says the trip is too short, especially in the evenings.
"You feel guilty when you get a lot of work going and I go back out there in the evening," says Skarlinski, who is supposed to be retired.
It's a little longer trip to work for his daughter and son-in-law, Robin and Jeffrey Moga, however the number of hours they put into their business, Ashtabula Home Decorating, are even longer.
"Fourteen hours a day, seven days a week," says Jeff, 47. "She puts in 50 hours."
Jeff Moga says the long hours are necessary in the competitive environment their business operates. The Mogas are determined they won't become victims of the two big-box home improvement stores that built coffins for other stores and lumberyards. Further, while there are days he and Robin would like to punch a time clock, collect a steady paycheck and have their evenings and weekends to themselves, they also find a lot of satisfaction in being self-employed.
"It ties me down quite a bit, but this is my choice and this is what I want to do," says Jeff. "I love to see the look of pleasure on a customer's face when we finish a job and hear them tell us what a beautiful job we did."
The couple has owned Ashtabula Home Decorating 25 years, having purchased the established business from Ben Morano. Jeff has been in the home remodeling business his entire adult life, starting with his years at Post Lumber, where he was a mill man. Weekends and evenings, Jeff worked with his father-in-law in a side remodeling business, M&S Remodeling. "We did a lot of cabinet, countertop work," says Jeff.
Like Jeff, Bill Skarlinski had a full-time day job, that of plant manager at Roller Reinforced Plastics. After a stressful day at the job, building cabinets and countertops in his hobby workshop was relaxing. Bill says he came by his talent naturally - no formal training, not even a manual arts course in school. Likewise, Jeff was naturally handy, and the men learned from each other.
Their business frequently interacted with Ashtabula Home Decorating, and when the opportunity to purchase it came along, Jeff and Robin decided to go into business for themselves.
"God only knows," says Jeff when asked why they did it. "I don't know what tripped our trigger.
"We just decided to make a move," adds Bill.
They kept the store at it's Lake Avenue location for about 10 years, then moved to a location near Post Lumber about 15 years ago. Jeff says the building was too small for their needs and breaking-and-entering incidents were occurring all too frequently.
Last summer, they made a major decision regarding the future of their business and decided to expand to the former Heavenly Ham building in Saybrook Township.
"It was scary," says Jeff. "But it was either get out of the business or expand."
Their new North Ridge West location has 12,000 square feet. Bill says they originally planned to sublet a section of the building, but they're quickly finding a use for every bit of it. They've greatly expanded their flooring showroom to offer the largest selection between Erie and Cleveland. The back of the building is being divided into kitchen and bath showrooms; rooms on each end of the building provide storage for supplies, carpet and installation equipment.
They've affiliated with the Floor to Ceiling group, which gives them access to lighting fixtures and other materials not previously stocked. They are looking into becoming a source for hardwood lumber, as well.
Lynn Ginn, who has 29 years of experience, has teamed up with the Mogas to provide drapery service.
Bill, however, didn't get any extra space in the deal. He continues to work out of what started as a hobby workshop that he built where their in-ground pool once stood. The conversion from hobby to commercial occurred about 10 years ago, when he signed on as the official cabinetmaker for Ashtabula Home Decorating.
"Our other distributor went out of business and we had three orders pending," Bill says. "I said 'I'll build them. That's pretty much how it started."
Ashtabula Home Decorating also has lines of manufactured cabinets, but Bill says being able to offer custom-built, hardwood cabinets and counters sets them apart from the competition - those big-box stores.
"There's nothing we can't do," says Jeff. "KraftMaid is limited to one dimension. We're unlimited to any dimension. If you need something 24 and 3/16 inches wide, we'll make it. If you need something 8-1/2 feet tall, we'll make it. We've done a hutch that was 12 feet long and 9 feet tall."
They've also done a number of commercial jobs that required designing and building counters to meet the specific needs and traffic flow of the businesses. Jeff says one of their most challenging jobs was for the Ashtabula School Employees Credit Union, which called upon them to build custom counters and install them during a short time frame when the credit union was closed.
They also built and installed the bar at the Crow's Nest, again during the wee hours of the morning. One of their biggest carpet jobs, at the Jobs and Family Services offices, required several weeks of night-time work installing new flooring in more than 70 offices with furniture in them.
Their service also provides complete remodeling services, from gutting an existing bath, kitchen or other living space, to laying the carpet and building bookcases. They also subcontract kitchen and bath work for new home builders.
Homeowners thinking about remodeling but who want to do the work themselves can call upon the free consultation services provided by Robin, an interior designer, and Jeff. He'll go to the house and make suggestions about what materials and fixtures would work best, and give them tips on how to get the job done.
Big-box stores simply can't offer that kind of service; indeed, Jeff says many of them charge you to have someone measure your rooms for carpet.
"We can beat them up all day long," Jeff says. "Any carpet, hardware, I can go head to head with them."
For Jeff and Robin, there's a high cost in loss of personal time as they stay in the ring. Jeff says that to stay competitive, they will probably have to expand their hours to include more evenings and be open on Sundays. He also plans to expand the sales force so there are more people available to take measurements and sell in the field. It's a big risk, and commitment, to the area.
"It's very scary," Jeff admits. "We've been doing it for 25 years, and Ashtabula is a tough town with all the welfare, but there is still a lot of money in Ashtabula. We don't want to be the cheapest and we're not the most expensive. We want to keep our quality up. We have some customers who wait six months for us."
He says the move to North Ridge was very good for the business.
"Since we've moved out here, it's been absolutely wonderful," he says. "Business has doubled. It's been a busy year for us, probably the best year ever."
Jeff says their business is making inroads into the Mentor market, although most of their work is in Ashtabula County and eastern Lake County. He attributes their widening circle to their quality and the recommendations of satisfied customers.
"We have great repeat and referral business," he says.
The Mogas have two grown children, David, a golf pro, and Jaime Janik, who is expecting their first grandchild. At this point, neither child has an interest in the business. Jeff and Robin employ 11 full-time installers and remodelers and are looking for more qualified workers. Jeff says they've been careful to hire only experienced persons who can be trusted to go out to a job with only drawings in hand and complete it to specifications without any supervision. The challenge is finding those kind of people.
"You know the ones you want and you just have to be patient until they are ready to come work for you," he says.
Bill has one employee on his side of the business, Mike Corlew.
"I just picked (cabinet making) up," says Corlew, who has a degree in illustration. "I worked for Bill with my father. We used to make wooden models for the fiberglass industry, that's where I started."
Bill says having Mike as an employee has allowed him to cut back on his hours - to 40 to 50 a week, not including those times the family dinner table conversation turns into shop talk, including Christmas Day.
"Oh, I'm sure it will go there," says Jeff. "Probably Bill will be out in the shop working."
Ashtabula Home Decorating is located at 4740 N. Ridge W., Ashtabula.