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To A Million And Beyond
Discovering how respected brands made their first million.
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To A Million And Beyond
#006: Dillabaugh's Flooring - Roaring Past $65m by Stewarding Gifts and Blessing Others
In this episode of 'Two Million and Beyond,' host Matt Willis from Wizard of Ads sits down with Casey Dillabaugh, owner of Dillabaugh's Flooring. Since taking over the family business in 2015, Casey has grown the company from $16 million to $65 million in annual revenue. Casey shares the secrets behind their success, emphasizing their deep commitment to loving their staff, customers, and community. Learn how their faith-led approach and leadership decisions have enabled them to rapidly grow in a competitive market, and hear a touching story about the significant impact they have on their employees' lives. Tune in for an inspiring conversation about growth, faith, and intentionality.
00:00 Introduction and Gratitude
00:39 Meet Casey Dillabaugh
01:19 The Role of EOS in Business Growth
02:24 Hiring the Right Integrator
07:01 Family Business Origins
10:26 Casey's Early Years in the Business
17:17 Transitioning Leadership
28:33 Customer-Centric Approach
33:31 Empowering Staff with Autonomy
34:48 Challenges in the Flooring Industry
35:23 Learning from Mistakes
37:18 Focusing on Leading Indicators
39:28 Using AI for Hiring
44:45 Balancing Introversion and Leadership
48:18 Caring for Staff and Community
58:10 Impact of Cooperatives and Future Plans
01:03:31 Community Impact and Philanthropy
01:06:49 Final Thoughts and Reflections
Who should we interview next?
Send nominations to WestCoast@WizardOfAds.com
I can almost guarantee you that if you look at our competitive base, they're not doing what we're doing from an intentionality perspective. because of that, we've been incredibly blessed with growth. we just closed the book on another month, and it was the biggest month in Dillabaugh's history. And it's like, wow, thank you Jesus, all glory to God for what he's provided to us we're taking our gifts and multiplying them, And so we walk in that daily to say, Lord how can we steward what you've given us so that you can be glorified and your spirit can be multiplied in the markets in which we do business.
Matt Willis:Welcome to two a million and beyond. This is Matt Willis, partner with Wizard of Ads. Today we're talking to Casey Dillabaugh, owner of Dillabaugh's Flooring. After taking over the family business in 2015, Casey helped it grow from 16 to$65 million in annual revenue. In this episode, you'll hear how their relentless pursuit of loving staff, customers, and their community is helping them grow rapidly, despite there being several Goliaths in their market. I hope you enjoy.
Casey Dillabaugh:You never know. It's one of those things where seven years ago before we implemented EOS, I brought on an integrator who, really blessed, my personal life and Andrea's life in so much as taking such a heavy load off of us. at that time I was like, there's no way I want this for my children. Seven
Matt Willis:years later
Casey Dillabaugh:when we actually have some sort of organizational structure and, key functions from an ownership standpoint that aren't our weaknesses, that don't wear us out. I could say, you know what, maybe there is a future here. again, we just wanna be obedient, to the spirit in whatever he leads us with, you know, our professional, skills and talents. So I say And I share this with a lot of folks close to me. I'm like, I don't know if I'll own this business for 20 more minutes or 20 more years. I don't know what tomorrow brings. I just know who brings it. And so I just wanna walk in faith that when the opportunity arises to do something different, I just know that I have to have something to look forward to. I can't just retire and do nothing.
Matt Willis:Yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:it's, it's a what's next and until there's a what's next? we'll be running this flooring company to the best of our ability.
Matt Willis:So you mentioned that you brought on someone to help with a part of the business that you perceived as part of your weakness as the owner of the company. How did that come about? I feel like a lot of business owners I talk to are almost their own worst enemy, where they're holding back the growth because they can't let go. Was that a challenge for you to let go?
Casey Dillabaugh:Craig Rochelle has a famous quote that says, you can have control, or you can have growth, but you can't have both. I had never heard that quote. It was after the fact that it, just confirmed. The decision that I had made. it was all part of EOS. It was all part of going to an EOS event here locally as part of the YPO Idaho chapter in which they laid out the groundwork of what a visionary and integrator under EOS looked like. And so I read rocket Fuel, which is the EOS book about that relationship. I read everything I could about EOS and when I read Rocket Fuel, I was like that's speaking exactly about me. And that's speaking exactly the opposite of me.
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:Our business we had experienced so much growth, we had gone through some growing pains. there was some cultural almost tension with the amount of growth that we had. So I knew that it, for me to serve our staff well, I had to find that person whose skillset was not my own.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:was actually a pretty easy, hire. Now it was the transition to that,'cause at this point, this guy, you know, our integrator runs the day-to-day of our business.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:had an all manager meeting yesterday. He ran that meeting, people look to him now when it comes to the day-to-day resolution of their issues. and again, back in the day I did that and I did my current role. And so it, and I did it at a average, if not below average level. So I'm like, I'm not loving our staff well until I find
Matt Willis:Sure.
Casey Dillabaugh:individual.
Matt Willis:I am curious if that took a while for your ego to accept. Because I would imagine, if you're delegating just to use that meeting as an example, if you're delegating that much responsibility onto someone else, is there a sense of am I going to be seen as irrelevant?
Casey Dillabaugh:No. I think the pain of the situation was more than the pain for change. Right, So it's like there's so much here that has to be changed, that I'm willing to do whatever. in meeting his name is Joe, in meeting Joe, and we had 17 hours of conversations before we even talked about a job position. Right. in meeting Joe, I'm like, this is the first person that I've met in our business from a leadership perspective runs circles around me. He Is better at holding people accountable. He is better at communicating systems. He is better at so many of these things than I am. So is there a certain aspect of saying yeah, is there a potential threat there? Yes. But, but he also had the humility say, and look to me as the visionary and the owner of the business to say, Casey has a head on his shoulders. He's not crazy'cause he,
Matt Willis:Yeah,
Casey Dillabaugh:Joe had worked for a lot of visionaries that are like crazy and you'll go to lunch with a crazy visionary and you'll know right away that it's like, I could never work for this guy.
Matt Willis:yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:but for Joe, when he sat down with me, he's like, Casey had his head on his shoulders. We are going through this EOS thing together. it was a true almost working partnership that made it work out Well. and to this day, because we know a lot of other companies in our area that run on EOS we both look at our relationship and say, Casey and Joe are one of the healthiest, visionary integrator relationships that we have come across. And so does it take humility? Yeah. I mean that's, a key aspect to any level of leadership, both his
Matt Willis:mine
Casey Dillabaugh:But I've never once felt threatened by him. it's to the point now where it's like, if I got hit by a bus tomorrow I would feel very comfortable with Dillabaugh's in the hands of Joe, and would have no qualms about it.
Matt Willis:What a blessing. And so you've proved your competence to yourself as well as to others. But yeah, I love hearing the humility that you guys have in that relationship because obviously that is utterly vital. And has a lot of downstream impacts. business growth oftentimes is a result of having a phenomenal culture internally. And if you guys are leading by example in healthy delegation, healthy relationship, healthy conflict management, et cetera,
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah.
Matt Willis:going to have a impact on the rest of your staff. Let's take it back to where Dillabaugh started because it's a family business, always has been.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yep.
Matt Willis:How did you guys get started?
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah. it's an interesting story, in so much as that our, our family knew flooring, and in fact our, our family worked for a different flooring company. my grandpa worked for that flooring company. My dad worked for that flooring company. My aunt worked for that flooring company One day, my grandpa got into some financial difficulty. The owner said, I'll get you outta that financial difficulty. and my grandpa said, okay. And then the next day, our entire family was let go. And so it, it's, but at the you, you think about that and you're like, oh, that's questionable. I look at that and I'm like, oh, what a blessing. What a blessing. What started Dillabaugh's had our family not been let go by, by that particular flooring, store Dillabaugh's never would've started. Now
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:my parents were young parents. My sister was two. I was a crawling baby. flooring was all that my dad knew. And so he called up all the vendors, all the reps, and said, Hey, this has gone down. And all I know is flooring. So can you help us out? Can you get us displays? Can you get us samples? Can you get us everything that we need to start up a flooring store based on the number one purpose and cause of this flooring store was to feed two young kids, right?
Matt Willis:Yeah,
Casey Dillabaugh:I can only imagine. I would guess at the time my dad was about 24. My mom would've been about 20, 21, right? With a 2-year-old and a baby. And you look back at that and you're like I'm not sure that, that have the tenacity
Matt Willis:the safe option.
Casey Dillabaugh:the gumption to to say, okay, we're gonna just start this thing, right?
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:parents. And so that's how Dillabaugh started on a small street corner in Nampa, Idaho. And then we've just been blessed to grow to the size and scale that, that we are today.
Matt Willis:That's remarkable. And then your father grew the business for over the course of how many years
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah, so he sold Andrea, my wife. He sold Andrea and I the business on January 1st, 2015. So we're in our 11th year of ownership. he owned it between 1982 and 2015. So that's approximately 32, 33 years of And during that phase, he went from startup, to, in the Treasure Valley here in Idaho the heyday of 2006 and 2007, they did about 17 to$18 million in business. The one Nampa location to two Boise locations by 2015. When he retired, we had revenues of$16.9 million, as an organization. So that, those were our revenues at the end of 2014. I teased my dad because he's the serial entrepreneur. he's the one who would get bored and then just start something new. over the course of that 33 years, it was not just the additional locations, but we got into the Granite Fabrication business. we got Cabinetry business. We got into the commercial flooring business. So it was not just what started out as a retail flooring center, but by the time he retired, we had 11 different revenue producing divisions, within Dillabaugh's.
Matt Willis:remarkable.
Casey Dillabaugh:And grew it, quite well and to a quite profitable company until he retired at the end of 2014.
Matt Willis:And so what were, to the best of your recollection, what was his path like to get that first million? I mean, he knew some of the players in the industry, how did he make that first million and prove the concept?
Casey Dillabaugh:I graduated from Skyview High School in Nampa, Idaho, and when I graduated from Skyview, the population of the city of Nampa was 43,000 people. that was the year 2000. So you can start to think between 1990 to 2000, the population of Nampa was 30 to 35,000 people. And it was significantly more than it is today.'cause Nampa's probably 125,000 people today. It was a very relational economy. was a, who do you know and how can, how can you guys scratch each other's back? And that's really what, what got him to make that first million, if you will. Then expanding into different markets. they came to Boise in the mid nineties, and opened, our location in West Boise in the mid nineties. And that hit a totally different target market that we didn't. Have the access to get to from Nampa, which was 20 miles away. And so just to begin to make the name and build a brand in a new market is really what took that from being a four to a$5 million operation to a 12, 13, 14,$15 million operation, was really coming into a larger city into another market that didn't quite have, as reputable of flooring dealers as what was in Nampa, which is a little bit surprising. but both, you know, two of the most local, reputable flooring companies started in Nampa.
Matt Willis:That's incredible.
Casey Dillabaugh:Since I was born, Matt, there's stories of me crawling out the door of our first location in downtown Nampa. and my mom having to run out to make sure I didn't get run over by, you know, whatever, 1980, you know, two model,
Matt Willis:i.
Casey Dillabaugh:Pinto was driving down the road. But, it's kind of in our, in our blood. I hate to say that they say that flooring is a black hole. Once you get in, you can never get out. but it really became real for me. My parents divorced when I was six my mom got custody of my sister and I, and so we actually moved from Nampa to Boise. at the age of 12, after living with my mom for six years something was pressed on my heart that said, look, I wanna live with a positive male influence in my life. I want to go live my dad and my stepmom Tracy. And so at the age of 12, I moved back to Nampa, and that was the first summer that my dad put me to work. and I, at the time again. I think my dad and I did this probably earlier than most because he made me go to work and scrape floors on commercial projects and prep floors and get, glue in my leg hair and come home with dust boogers and, and I'm like, why are my boogers gray? I'm like, what am I, am I dying? I'll never forget. He said, Hey, Casey be ready to go by 7:30 because Steve is picking you up at the house. at 7:30 one of our installers at the time, pulled up in front of our house, honked, and I came out and went to work with Steve. This was like 1993. And to this day, like I have a 14-year-old daughter and 11-year-old daughter. There's no way in the world, I have a 9-year-old son too. There's no way in the world that I would say, Hey, installer, come pick up my son and take him to work, without, you know, having some sort of, trust in, in that process. but it taught me the business from the level of the installer. which is crucial to our business. in the flooring business, you've got leadership, you've got management, you've got sales, you've got operations, you've got installer. And if you don't have a quality installer, none of the above matters. And so, it taught me the value of hard work. It taught me the value of leaving a job site better than when you showed up. It taught me the value of working in partnership with the other aspects of the organization. at the time, Matt, I hated it. I absolutely hated it. Today. I look back at it, I'm like, what a blessing it was, what a blessing it To get in and get, my knees, dirty and swollen. the benefit to me is as I got older, I got to experience other parts of the business. So I went from scraping floors to actually doing, and helping with stretching carpet, residential carpet. That's generally what you find in your house. Once I got my driver's license at 15, I finally got to work in the warehouse. And that's when 120 pound soaking wet. Casey, had to start lifting heavier and heavier things, and I kind of felt worthless in the warehouse. but I got to do that for a couple of summers. And then before going to college, I got to work in our accounting division. Quite honestly, I got such a, a well-rounded view of this business from my teenage years working in the summers that, it. When I did feel the call to come back home that it was like, you know what, I know a lot about this business already. It's not like I'm starting from square one. I do still need to learn the sales side. I still do need to the respect, of the staff of Dillabaugh'ss. I still, you know, and so it, that's a long-winded answer to say it's, it's been in me forever
Matt Willis:Sure.
Casey Dillabaugh:And it's a blessing. While at the same time it was a curse at the time. I look back at it now and say, man, what a benefit it was to be in it as a teenager.
Matt Willis:I am curious how and when did you begin seeing your father putting you to work so young is a good thing.
Casey Dillabaugh:it probably wasn't until my first internship in college. Because even in that first internship, I could see a difference in who I was as an employee compared to my coworkers. And it was one of those, oh my gosh, Casey, you have these skills and it's not just hard work, but it's being able to have a conversation. It's, emotional intelligence. it's some of these soft skills that I'm not sure I would've had if it wasn't for, and so you started to notice there are some differences. There are some changes, between myself and fellow coworkers in that internship position. Now, once I moved home in 2000 and eight it was, went to college in 2000, was in San Diego for four years of college at Point Loma Nazarene University. Met my wife there. We got married and then lived for four years in San Diego before the Lord called us back to Idaho. When we got back in Idaho, that's when it really started to click that says, Casey, like this is a God's thumbprint was all over your life up until this point to now, start this transition of taking over the family business.'cause that was a seven year transition. My dad knew,
Matt Willis:Wow.
Casey Dillabaugh:almost my dad, for my dad, the exit him out of this business was paying off one of the buildings that we have a location in. So he says, when I pay off that, that building, I'm ready to retire. So essentially, you know, he, he did a great job in saying, this is what my retirement nest egg is, is collecting rent on, on some of these buildings. and so he knew when he would be done. And so we worked together for seven years once I moved back and went through the great recession and all of that fun stuff. Together,
Matt Willis:No kidding.
Casey Dillabaugh:When we did this as teenagers, we really did do this as adults. He said pretty early on after we had moved back, he's like, Casey, we've both done a lot of maturing over the past 10 years. We really did work well as a father and son duo in this business.
Matt Willis:Did that come naturally or were there times of tension that you guys had to learn how to work through?
Casey Dillabaugh:After, when we came back in 2008, there was very little tension. Once the interesting part about 2008, Andrea and I pulled into Boise in a Penske with our meager belongings as a newbie weed couple, right? September 8th, 2008. On September 15th, 2008, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. And we were into the great recession. And so while my dad had always wanted his son to come back and take over this family business, I think he, had he been able to choose the timing, this would not have been the timing. Because we had, it was a tough time. we lost about
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:of revenues.
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:let some really important, and important, both professionally and personally, people we had to let'em go, just to make, make ends work. And, at the same time, it was a great challenge and a great opportunity for him and I to work together to say, what do we have to do just to break even, and what do we have to do to grow market share? and these were great conversations and, and he and I quite honestly, because he, he knew his end game, his end end game was at some point, Casey is going to take over this business. So, quite honestly, the interesting thing, Matt, is he gave me a lot of ownership and responsibility in
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:Casey has to sink or swim, if you will.
Matt Willis:Wow.
Casey Dillabaugh:at the same time, he never abandoned, it was one of those things that it's like, Casey, what do you need? How can I help? and we went through, various, business coaches and had conversations with business coaches and tied it to, our particular situation. And, I hate to say that it was just easy but it was, again, it boiled down to the humility of both he and I that says, okay, if we're going to make this work, we both have to understand that this is the past, this is the foundation, and Casey has a vision for the future, and how can he support me and at the same time, how can I honor him?
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:That included the warehouse staff. and I would've been, what, 26 at the time. and so that was an interesting change as he slowly moved out and I started to hire my people. Right now I'm probably one of the old farts. But, it was just an interesting, just two different cultures, two different That happen not just because of a dad versus Casey thing, but two different cultures because of the growth of our business, right.
Matt Willis:yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:a$16.9 million business is not the same as a$28 million business is not the same as a$65 million dollar business. They're completely different.
Matt Willis:it is incredible how you're describing your relationship with your father at the transition of the business. Like most business owners that I have the opportunity to talk to, if they founded the business, it's kind of like a baby, right? You wanna protect it. You want to have your influence over it. You wanna make sure the baby doesn't forget about you. And you making that comment about, he's like, yeah, it's Casey's time. He'll sink or swim. It's like, that's mind blowing. And it's not, like you said, it's not like he passed away. It's not like he moved on. It's that he trusted you or trusted the Lord or he was okay with the outcome, despite having grown it to a multimillion dollar company.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah.
Matt Willis:That's pretty remarkable.
Casey Dillabaugh:absolutely right, Matt. It, I think it really is a trust in the Lord and trust in his plan for each of our lives. because he was still there if I needed him. And when we set up the buy sell agreement he says, Hey, Casey, if you need to I will give you grace twice over the course of 10 years, to not make a payment. You know, if you need to do that. Now, the good news is I never once missed a payment. And the good news is I knew that if I had to, that my dad would be there to say it's okay. And so just having that semblance of peace and that was helpful. But at the same time, He sees a purpose beyond this business as well. It's not just about selling flooring. And so for him, I give him a lot of credit and so much as having the gumption and the grit to get this thing started and to get it to where it was. I tell him that, I'm like, dad, Dillabaugh wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for your first 33 years.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:I don't think I have the gumption or the grit that, that he was instilled with. at the same time, I have talents, and gifts that he wasn't instilled with, and he recognizes that. it's one of those, you know, there are different, different roles in the kingdom that have to be played, and there is a different life cycle to absolutely everything. And so it's that recognition to say, this is this, it is time for this season, and together we can be obedient to steward it well.
Matt Willis:Yeah. And you mentioned the first 33 years, the business wouldn't be what it is without him. In a very real sense too though, if he was still trying to get his tentacles all in the business and was having trouble letting go, it would still be a very different business even after he transitioned the business.'cause he had a lot of relational equity within the business.
Casey Dillabaugh:It would be,
Matt Willis:how has the business changed since you took it over?
Casey Dillabaugh:It's interesting. In 2008, January of 2008, the Lord laid it on my heart to leave San Diego and move to Idaho to, start this transition of taking over the family business. And I talked to my wife about it, and she's like, that's not, God didn't gimme that vision. Just gave it to you. and sooner than later the Lord did lay it on her heart and
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:she shares this story that says, Casey wouldn't, don't remember this, Matt, because my memory's terrible. And, but my wife's is not, she forgets nothing. And, sh she shared Casey, I remember when you approached me about this, you said we aren't moving to Idaho to sell flooring. We're moving to Idaho to positively impact lives, to steward the business as a kingdom business for God's glory. And so the purpose of us moving back was completely different than what the purpose of the business being started was.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:when the business started, it was to feed two kids. To start a family, right? it was a lot of pancakes, hot dogs, and mac and cheese, right? but when we moved back in 2008, it was how do we steward this for his glory so that we can make lasting impact a flooring story, right? the vision that I brought in and purpose was very similar to that. it's not that it, that wasn't the purpose for my dad and Tracy at a certain point, but that was the founding purpose for Andrea and I to move to Idaho. our just cause is to love more. We have a chalk wall in every single one of our locations of essentially we call it our why statement. The, you know, start Simon Sinek, start with Why was really influential in, in. Being able to communicate our purpose right? on every chalk wall at Dillabaugh is the phrase that says this is our mission field and we're being constantly refined as we seek to fulfill the reason our business exists, which is to love, The abundance of good that resides in the Treasure Valley leaves us humbled and blessed, yet obedient the tremendous responsibility we have as stewards, not just to our customers, but to those less fortunate than us. So we step out of bed in the morning with a purpose greater than our own one that is life changing and one that is eternally focused. And so that is our why statement to say, look, how can we positively impact the lives that we get to touch on a daily basis through a flooring store? And we talk about doing it on three different levels, right? We talk about doing it, number one, we wanna love our staff right? And that's the primary responsibility of leadership, right? Does loving our staff well mean and look like It means providing them with. A healthy place to work in which they enjoy the relationships that they work with on a daily basis in which they can earn a healthy living in which they have benefits in which there's promotional opportunities in which they see a career and not just a job. So if we can love our staff, that's the number one job of leadership. So that's the first platform that we exist to love on, And to this day, we have about 125 employees and an additional 250 to 300 subcontractors that we employ on the installation side. The second platform that we exist to love on is to love on our customers, and that is the primary responsibility of our staff. So what does our staff do on a daily basis so that when Mrs. Jones walks in the door, or when, builder Bob calls for a home that he's building, or when, a commercial contractor is building a tall building downtown. What does our staff do to love them? Is it making sure that they return a phone call quickly? Is it getting a bid out within 24 hours? Is it actually providing digital measurements of the house so that people can see where the carpet seams are going to go? Is it, using people's names? Is it sending the thank you cards? Is it opening the door
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:It looks like a variety of things that we want to do better than absolutely anybody else because we're stewarding this business, right? We want them to feel a difference. Quite honestly, if they feel a difference, see the chalk wall, Casey's walking through the showroom and they see, they hear our Dillabaugh's name on local Christian radio. They know something's different. And man, if that sparks a conversation, I want it to spark a conversation. So that's the second platform that we exist to love on is on our customers. And then the third platform that we exist to love on is to love on our community. And that is the responsibility of every man and woman within the walls of Dillabaugh's, right? And so we are fervent believers to say, look, we are stewarding resources. And we want to make sure that we steward those resources to the glory of God for the benefit of others, right? And so we have various programs within Dillabaugh's that help us make sure that we're loving well on the community. that really is our heart. That really is why we exist, as Dillabaugh's today.
Matt Willis:That's remarkable. Such a different way of positioning the organization than most other businesses out there, and very much sets you apart from, for example, the Lowe's and Home Depot or the Shaws and LL Flooring, et cetera. It's just you guys are very missional, very empathetic, and that's really neat. So everyone, every business out there pretty much says we are customer centric, but when push comes to shove is when it really kind of proves out who's customer centric. What are some examples of, sacrifices that as an organization or as your team have made in order to love on the customer?
Casey Dillabaugh:One of our core values is integrity. And a lot of people say, integrity is just a pay for play, core value. But for us, it really a part of our DNA, right? And so, when we do something wrong we own it. whether that's we installed subfloor incorrectly, whether it's, I can't tell you how many floors we've replaced Matt, because of installation error not manufacturer claim, right? The beauty of Dillabaugh's is, we are one of the largest flooring, in the United States of America. You're thinking invo, Idaho, you're one of Yeah, we are. and part of that is, is we're blessed to be in a market that is just continuing to grow. But part of that is also because of the reputation we have that says Dillabaugh's will stand behind your entire experience. and so we want, you know, part of the flooring buying process is a, it's an emotional roller coaster. When people at the carpet in their living room or their bedrooms and they're like this desperately needs replaced, generally have no idea what it takes, right? They don't realize that they're gonna essentially have to move out of their house, That they're gonna have to pack up all of those belongings that are currently on a bookshelf that might include like precious moments, figurines, as well as books, as well as their kids' schoolwork, as well as, the lamp as well. That has to all be picked up, packed up out of the room. And so where, where they start in the journey, they start at this emotional high that says, I am so excited to get new floors. And then, then they come into and we lead them through this experience that says, look, this is easy. What color floor do you like? What are your expectations for this board? And we're gonna walk you through this. And so they leave Dillabaugh's and they're like, this is gonna be awesome. And then, then we start the process and then we start talking to them about expectations. And we say, Hey Mrs. Jones, all this stuff needs to get packed up and moved. And, and she's like, well, how, how am I gonna do that? then we walk her through that, right? we have these connections with moving companies. They can move this out for you and move it back in the same day once we're done, right? We walk them through this process, but then the day comes, and guess what comes with installation? Noise and dust. And so this high that they were riding is now doing this. And their emotions around this are now like fear and panic and concern. That's like, is that dust gonna get airborne? And is there any, anything in that dust that's cancerous? And, and it's walking through this process with them to say. We talked about this, this is what to expect during this process. We will sweep, we will do all these things when vacuum, when we're done, and the movers will get everything back. It's just walking through this process with the customers to truly say we understand that this is an emotional process, right? You will have highs, you will have lows. At the end of the day, we want you to think about your new floors and think about having a positive experience with whoever your sales professional, whoever your project manager whoever your installer was on your particular job. And then we sit we create the systems, we create the standards that help deliver that result. Nobody knows about these conversations that went on about systems and standards, right?
Matt Willis:Yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:just see the end result for Mrs.
Matt Willis:Yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:we want her to be happy.
Matt Willis:That's amazing that you guys go to that level of depth to map out the customer journey and figure out how to optimize each step. That's something that I think most businesses will say that they do something similar to that, but when push comes to shove, it's really as soon as the contract is signed, it's,
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah.
Matt Willis:I lose interest
Casey Dillabaugh:We've,
Matt Willis:what we understand from sales psychology is the sales process is what ultimately sets the stage for their perception
Casey Dillabaugh:absolutely right.
Matt Willis:If that's a bad experience, then that's going to have bad implications going forward,
Casey Dillabaugh:Yep.
Matt Willis:but you guys are doing a lot to remove and alleviate friction moving throughout the process.
Casey Dillabaugh:It don't get me wrong, Matt, we've struggled with it. we've stubbed our toe. We still will occasionally do it, right? I just have this mantra that says, look, we expect mistakes. Just please provide originality in those mistakes.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:know, let's learn from these things and move forward.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:We truly do say what is the client journey? And we walk through that customer journey with them, every time.
Matt Willis:That's wonderful. And what about empowering staff in making decisions on the fly? Is that something that you guys are focused pretty heavily on, or is that like they make the right decision and then you implement systems to reiterate that moving forward?
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah. we always want our staff to feel empowered to make those decisions, but we also don't want our staff to feel like they're on an island making those decisions. So it's, it's one of those, can we provide them the leadership or the management to help come alongside and make those decisions. And then once they get to a certain point it's like you don't need leadership or management. you can just fly, because you are so good at at, at what you do. And quite honestly, Or management gets involved, we're just gonna muddy the waters. we're gonna slow you down. And so one of the. Key reasons for our growth, I think is because of the autonomy that we have given to some of our top performers who are core value fits. Like you can't give autonomy to somebody who's not a core value fit. They will,
Matt Willis:yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:they will run a rough shot over your entire organization. but if you've got people who are core value fits and you give them the autonomy to do what they need to do the sky is the limit. it's, rocket fuel for your business. And we have key employees who we say, Hey Dave, hey Aaron. Hey Angel. You guys are so good at what you do. You tell us what you need. We can set guardrails, right? Like, we're not gonna just say, Hey, go, buy this private jet so that you can do whatever you need, but we're gonna put guardrails in place so that you feel empowered to do what you need once they've shown and proven a precedent of being able to, to do that. The flooring industry is not an easy industry, unfortunately. It's heavy. and it's difficult to install. And every single house, every single office, it's all different. the subfloor prep in one looks completely different than another. This might be concrete, this might be wood. Like, there's, there's so many different things that go into flooring and understanding that, that it does take time to learn. And so that's where, from an organizational development standpoint, it's like, what do we need to do to teach our, our staff and our sales pros and our project managers, to make origin originality in those mistakes and in, in the flooring industry. And this is a, sometimes a tough pill to swallow but research has been done and the data has been found that in the flooring industry, you generally lose 3% of your revenues on mistakes. Okay. Of your revenues on mistakes. So that, that could be like we ordered the wrong color of tile. It could be, we used the wrong, pressure on the gauge of the hardwood gun. It could be our warehouse guy backed the truck into the building. It could be a, it could be we quoted the wrong price. It could be a variety of things. But 3% last year, Dillabaugh's revenues were$65 million. Okay? 3% of$65 million is nearly$2 million. And so you think about, is that number real? And then you start to go through your head and like, yep, that's real, and that's real, and that's real, and that's real. And, and that's settlement with the customer. That so that we didn't have to go to court, you know, like it, it adds
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:And, that's why we put the systems into place. That's why we put the leadership into place. That's why we try to, make sure that these mistakes are original. But it's a real number. And from it breaks my heart on the mistakes because. It's one of those things that says, man, what could we have done? How could we have steward That those funds to glorify God's kingdom? But at the same time if we don't, if we don't learn those, we'll never have the opportunity to go from 65 to 80 to 90 to a hundred. Mistakes are essentially the fuel for growth. Yes, do we give autonomy once they've earned it? Yeah.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:been a huge blessing, blessing to Dillabaugh's. And at the same time, we always have those guardrails in place to keep them on track and to keep them pointed in the same direction.
Matt Willis:Yeah. Love that. So you mentioned earlier you took over the business when it was around 17 million.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah.
Matt Willis:also mentioned that it's around 65 right now. I'm curious talking about lead and lag measures, lag measure, for example, revenue. You can't just say grow revenue, right? Because you have to focus on something and then the lag measure is the revenue.
Casey Dillabaugh:Exactly.
Matt Willis:curious for your organization,
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah,
Matt Willis:what are some of those lead measures that you have been focusing on in your tenure? Leading Dillabaugh's that you would attribute to that revenue growth.
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah. No leading indicators is a, is a major aspect of our business, especially as an EOS organization. Like our, our weekly scorecards are supposed to measure, you know, some of those leading indicators. Now, from a sales perspective it's easier said than done, but to give you an idea of some of ours is from a retail sales perspective, how many thank you cards did we send the minute the customer left the door. That is a leading
Matt Willis:Wow.
Casey Dillabaugh:because we believe that thank you cards increase, our close rate, right? So that, that's one such example. Another leading indicator on, on, on the builder, on the builder side of the equation. many accounts did we visit this month with simple coffee, donuts, Starbucks, how many builder accounts that we're trying to land, or how many lunches did our director of sales have this month? So these are the leading indicators that you hope will lead to revenue, right?
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:And so that, so do we Absolutely. You have to measure, you have to measure those trailing indicators. But we are very focused on the behavior that we hope leads to the result. Okay? We also belong to an organization called C 12, which C 12 is a Christian based business coaching group for lack of a better term. And so we measure the health of our business in, in different areas, right? we measure it in revenue generation, we measure it in ops management. We measure it in organizational development. We measure it ministry impact we measure it in financial health. And each one of those, we have a different behavior or leading indicator that we're, we're, we have enforced in measure. For instance, we just had a, an all manager meeting yesterday in which we talked about how do we hire better people? And so Joe, our, our COO and and integrator in the company walked them through how to use AI the, in the process of developing a job description, talking about the key characteristics for that job description, asking interview questions tied to that right. And chat. GPT could do all of this for you as far as developing that. and then the last thing of that equation is what should you be looking for in an answer? Dillabaugh's, the flooring industry is a very blue collar organization. I'm not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, right? But at our disposal, we have these certain tools that if we can utilize them and get on board with them quickly, it'll put us ahead of the curve in a blue collar, in particular industry. And one of our leading indicators for, hiring better based on utilizing the tools that AI provides, And so if we hire better, we're not going to have to necessarily train to certain aspects of the job, right?
Matt Willis:Yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:we are, we are very behavioral based. when it comes to that it that, I say that Matt and I say, it's so much easier to do when times are good. Because the last couple of years here, we've kind of been in a mini recession, right? We haven't had the growth. We've been blessed just to be covered by God's grace, for lack of a better term, that we haven't experienced any, downturn, but we haven't experienced the growth. and when you are in that stage, you generally start to go back to the numbers and the measurables that are not leading behaviors, right?
Matt Willis:Yep.
Casey Dillabaugh:so, at the beginning of this year, you know, I went to Joe again, this is Casey as visionary. I went to Joe and I said, Joe, we've gotta stop focusing on these numbers again. He's in charge of the day to day. He's the integrator. Drawn to, to what are the lagging indicators, right? Whereas from a visionary perspective, I'm like, Joe, we've said for the last two years, survive till 25, survive till 25, survive till 25. We're at 25 now. Right? We need to start focusing more on behavior, than we do on, on, on lagging results.
Matt Willis:yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:the results will follow. And every single month that we go by at Dillabaugh's, I feel like, gosh, we're a healthier organization today than we were 30 days ago. Which is just a big kudos to Joe and, the rest of our managers just to help bring us along and make us healthier.
Matt Willis:Yeah. So one of the brilliant things that you just said, kind of summarizing, so a business itself, in essence, is its systems, right? Otherwise you just have a group of people. And so that's kind of where Joe's focusing on, that's where the numbers is, are important as far as creating those systems for repeatability, reducing variability, et cetera. But one of the things that I loved hearing when you first started talking about what are some of the leading indicators, you, Dr. Specifically went to sales and helping the customer, and you went to writing thank you cards, you went to building relationships, and that, I feel like is something that so often business owners forget. Like ever since Google started, we'll say right before the turn of the millennia or just after, right? They promised us, you know, digital marketing, it can track everything. This is all you'll ever need as far as you know, your business growth. Put in a couple of pennies here and you'll get a couple of dollars on the other end.
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah,
Matt Willis:Building relationship with customers. It was, guess what, most customers. Are human most employees are human and humans don't operate the same way that machines do. And so often businesses try to forget the fact that humans operate like humans. And so the fact that you guys are focused on building relationship, doing things like writing thank you cards like that is yeah, nothing short of remarkable and something that very few other businesses are doing. And so when you, because you can't track it, it's easy to put that on the chopping block when times get tough, when time constraints happen, all of that. So
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah.
Matt Willis:Love, love
Casey Dillabaugh:Yep.
Matt Willis:I'm curious for yourself as an introvert, how do you manage energy? Being an introvert in a very prominent role.
Casey Dillabaugh:It's a great question. I say that I'm a professional extrovert, but I am a natural introvert. If you put me in front of a crowd that there's no structure or agenda my battery will go from a hundred to zero very quickly. But there's a couple of things that I've done to help with this. First is to take at least once a month retreat. And I wanna say it's in the book of Mark, first chapter of Mark, in which Jesus' is at Simon Peter's mother's house and. is performing all kinds of healing and miracle. And he gets tired and he goes off in retreat to pray to his father. And he's gone for a few hours and the disciples come to him in the night and they say, we need to go back to Simon Peter's, mom's house because there's more people that need healed. And Jesus said to them, no, we're gonna go here instead, because that's where the father is calling me right now. Nobody would've faulted Jesus for going back to the house to perform healings and miracles. But he was called somewhere else. And the only way that he was called somewhere else was when he took the time to retreat with his father. And to do everything he could in his power to follow the will of his father, not his will, but the father's will. and so that was one of the greatest lessons I've been taught over the last couple of years is to say, Casey, once a month, you need to find retreat in which you turn off your cell phone. Okay? You don't do anything except for four hours Commune with God journal, right? Yourself the same questions every single month. But at the end of that retreat, I feel like, okay, I have some refreshment, I have some level of clarity. I am not going to allow it to bog me down. And so that retreat has been very, very good for me as an introvert. That is also building in time for smaller clarity breaks. And usually a smaller clarity break looks like 30 minutes once or twice a week. there's this mantra that says, if you think with your brain as your primary job, you should do something with your hands during your break. Now, I personally, Matt, am not a, i, I don't tinker. but if, if I can, if I can put on, you know, walking shoes and go for a 30 to 45 minute walk once or twice a week, I am a better leader. I'm a better human being. I'm a better husband, I'm a better father. And so it's, it's really time blocking and taking those intentional times that also refreshes my soul. The Lord knows what I need, right?
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:that he, I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. don't view an introvert as being a negative. I don't view Positive. I view it as being who God made me to be. And so if he's also given me these incredible tools, then I want to use those tools, whether it's retreat or whether it's it's clarity break, so that I can be the best version of myself for those that, that are in my charge.
Matt Willis:Yeah, that's great. I love that you have intentionally found means by which to take some soul care time, and I think that's something that, especially a lot of extroverts really struggle to do like myself, like I'm good, and it's like, that doesn't mean you don't need those, like you put'em clarity breaks, so absolutely love that. Let's circle back to the three things that you exist to love on. You mentioned your people,
Casey Dillabaugh:Yep.
Matt Willis:your customers, as well as the community. Which of those do you personally feel to the deepest level of your core? And why?
Casey Dillabaugh:Boy, all of them. I, I, I hate to say all of the above but really I would say it's for our staff. You asked me on a, on a given day, Matt, and that might change. but today, while we're, while we're talking today it really is our staff because it's one of those unique situations in which they will spend more time at Dillabaugh's than they will with their family in a given week. They will spend more time in Dillabaugh's in one week than they will spend at a church family in a given year. Billy Graham once said, the next great evangelistic opportunity will come in the, in the workplace. not in the church. and so because of that, it's like, man, we have this great charge. We have this great charge to run a business and to live our lives in a way that it sparks to, non-believers this idea that says there's something different about Casey. There's something different about Andrea. There's About Joe. There's something different about osa. There's something different about, these that do, work at Dillabaugh's that at some day, I hope that it allows for a conversation. We recently had, a gentleman he was our cabinet division manager and last summer he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. And the good news is that they were able to remove that prostate cancer. And, the problem is, a few weeks after getting that taken out, he was at home and he fell in the middle of the night and his wife was like, what is going on? And so they rushed him to the emergency room where they found a brain tumor. it took all of his ability to move and come to find out, it was stage four. he was terminal. And as a business owner the greatest charge that I have is for, sorry, I'm tearing up Matt.
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:The greatest charge that I have is for the life not just on earth, but for the life everlasting of our staff. And I know that Craig
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:for a reason. And I remember getting this diagnosis and the first person I called was, was my dad. because Craig, going back to that old hire versus new hire thing One, was one of my dad's hires. Now. I had a great relationship. We had traveled honestly on an incentive trip to Bangkok, Thailand once. So Andrea and I, you know, had really gotten to know and love him and his wife. And I called my dad and I said, and our first question to each of each other is do you know where Craig stands with the Lord?
Matt Willis:Hmm.
Casey Dillabaugh:He only has a matter of weeks.
Matt Willis:Wow.
Casey Dillabaugh:and so fantastic part was that Craig reached out to my dad, because he knew that his time was short. My dad had some of the tough conversations with him. Then I went to the hospital and visited with both he and his wife and had some of the faith conversations with him. And we prayed over him and it was like the next week where I followed up with my dad. I'm like, do you still know? Do you, how's Craig doing? Do you know where his walk is with God yet? And, he's like, gosh, he's saying the right things, but, but I, I, I just don't, I don't know. And then my dad got a phone call a couple of days later from Craig. And Craig said I had a friend of mine come and visit me and I accepted the Lord last night. I. And and my dad asked him some questions and
Matt Willis:Dude, you're making me tear up too.
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah,
Matt Willis:That's incredible.
Casey Dillabaugh:My dad asked him some questions and Craig said, I've been reading the Bible and it all makes sense. And, the Bible itself says blind, we'll see. And we knew right then and there that Craig's soul was in eternity. And, Craig passed away a couple of weeks later. And our loss is his gain.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:And for the 125 staff of Dillabaugh's and Da Vinci, I want what Craig asked for
Matt Willis:Yeah,
Casey Dillabaugh:And so how we run our business. I hope they see that we steward it differently on purpose for them.
Matt Willis:I feel like that's what every business leader should long for is for those under their care, whether that's kids, whether that's employees. To come to know the Lord, come to love the Lord, and what an incredible story. It sounds like flooring just kind of happens to be, I don't know what you do, but it sounds like the core of what Dillabaugh's is is more about caring for not just the person, but caring about the souls of the people in those spheres that you laid out.
Casey Dillabaugh:It's true. It's true.
Matt Willis:If, let's say flooring became out of style somehow, you start another business doing whatever else, but the mission remains the same.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah. You're absolutely right, Matt. We, we joke around here, it's like, if we had to sell paperclips, we'd sell paperclips. Now, don't get me wrong, you know, we're going to a more digital world. I'm not sure paperclips are the right business to get into.
Matt Willis:Yeah
Casey Dillabaugh:but yeah, no, to the, to your point. That's exactly right. And it's also why I feel that we're incredibly blessed to be in an industry that is heavy and difficult. that I'm not sure Amazon can necessarily figure this one out. But at the same time you're absolutely right.
Matt Willis:but even if they did, and I'm not saying that they wouldn't take any market share. But right now you guys are growing pretty rapidly,
Casey Dillabaugh:yeah.
Matt Willis:despite the fact that you have the big box stores, you got Lowe's and Home Depot, you have the major players in the flooring space, specifically like I mentioned LL Flooring, Shaw's, Mohawk, all of that. How have you managed to grow as rapidly as you have despite all of those big players? To my understanding, being in the same market as you.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah. Home Depot and Lowe's it really does boil down to the customer experience Matt And what they can pro provide the customer experience. our customers are still human, and they still have emotions and they still have doubt and they still have fear and they still have all these things. And if we can address those things and we can address what their needs are.'cause our customers are different. I shared before, we have 11 different profit centers from a divisional perspective. And every single one of those has a unique customer base. So builders are different than commercial. Contractors are different than those that need cabinets are different than the cash and carry customer that we have at our floor trigger outlet. Like they're all different, but at the same time, they're all the same. They're all human. So what can we do to provide that experience that says what need do you have? And how can Dillabaugh's service it in such a way that you felt cared about, honored, respected that you can achieve the results that you have. Coming alongside that, what we've seen a lot of is we've seen, just from in the flooring industry in general, the box stores Lowe's and, and Home Depot are shrinking. In, in, in the flooring sector the biggest player in the flooring sector is a company called Floor, floor and Decor out of, they're out of Georgia. and they actually have a, a location coming to Boise, here in the next 12 months or so. But when they announced that they were coming where they're coming we're not all that concerned, Matt. Because of how we've stationed ourselves and built our brand for the customer base that we have but we also, you know, are proactive and intentional with what we do as a business. I can almost guarantee you, again, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. I can almost guarantee you that if you look at our competitive base, they're not doing what we're doing from an intentionality perspective. And so because of that, we've been incredibly blessed with growth. we just closed the book on another month, and it was the biggest month in Dillabaugh's history. And it's like, wow, thank you Jesus, all glory to God for what he's provided to us in the way of our people and in the way of our customer base. That's the other thing that we have going for us, Matt, is that he can do more than we can ever think or imagine, right? And so if we walk in faith with that we will always pay attention to the Amazons, we will always pay attention to the floor and decors. We will always pay attention to these folks. But I believe that I. The steward of the gifts. If we, if we've been given something and we aren't just bearing it because Dillabaugh isn't just taking it and bearing it, we're taking our gifts and multiplying them, that he will trust us with more. And so we walk in that daily to say, Lord how can we steward what you've given us so that you can be glorified and your spirit can be multiplied in the markets in which we do business.
Matt Willis:Love that. I'm curious. We oftentimes see businesses they'll, grow up to, you know, a hundred, 150 million in revenue. Then private equity adds enough zeros to their offer and they end up selling. And the private equity company swears they're not gonna change the culture, but.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah.
Matt Willis:inevitably I'm yet to see a situation where private equity maintains or increases the level of customer experience, customer satisfaction, et cetera. And so I'm curious, you guys are part of a cooperative. I'm curious, when did you become
Casey Dillabaugh:yep,
Matt Willis:cooperative and how has it impacted your operations and what are the impacts on customer service moving forward?
Casey Dillabaugh:No, that's great. The cooperative that we belong to is called CCA Global, which is the largest flooring cooperative in the world. in that model, there is Carpet One, there is Flooring America, there's the Floor Trader Outlet, there's the Pro Source Wholesale. Those are the, those are, those are their four big brands That operate under that. And I would say that within that cooperative, there are between 1500 and 1800, members, throughout the United States and Canada who come together and say, look, we are going to negotiate, together, we are going to market together, we are going to merchandise together. And when we do this in large capacity, look, we have a lot of muscle to flex, But of those 1500 to 1800 members, guess what? Every single one of them is independently owned and operated. We don't pay franchise fees. The profits stay in the communities in which we do business. the key benefits to us are the holistic benefit of the group. they negotiate rebates with the mills on our behalf. And, it's the comradery of the members. if I have an issue or I have somebody that I wanna meet, like I have so many other dealers in my phone that I can call and say, how did you handle this particular situation? How did you negotiate this particular situation? How did and that in itself is a blessing because they're not competitors.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:one in town, there's not another flooring America in town. There's not another floor trader in town. Like they, they protect the markets for their individual members. I can call anybody in America, say, I am a carpet one member. Can I talk to you as a fellow carpet one member about your experience with X, Y, or Z? And there's that, just that common connection. So there's just, again, it just makes us a better business.
Matt Willis:That's wonderful. I'm curious if you have plans to expand beyond Treasure Valley.
Casey Dillabaugh:Yeah. right now we don't now Matt, we've, we've been provided many opportunities to expand beyond the Treasure Valley. But it's just not in the cards. When I pray about it, when I look at it, I'm not saying no forever. The, Thing is, Matt, is, I mean, you just you talked a little bit about, actually let's come back to the private equity conversation.
Matt Willis:Sure.
Casey Dillabaugh:But the, we do have, there is so much more growth that's coming to the valley that we say, look, we can take advantage of this. we may be, a playoff team, right? But are we a Super Bowl team in the Treasure Valley yet? Right. We'd like to think we are, but we are continually improving. You know, we are constantly changing, so that we can fulfill the reason our business exists. and do we have plans for expansion? we're constantly looking at underserved markets in the Treasure Valley. We are looking at, what model in our brand would necessarily fit that particular area. Because quite honestly, I feel like if we can enter these markets, it allows us to bless that community further. So it's, Middleton or Mountain Home or Caldwell or you name all these different areas in the Treasure Valley. and I'm like, what kind of blessing could a presence of Dillabaugh's in this particular community provide, not just to the community, but to potentially providing more staff and more job opportunities? And can we, is is there a, a need for a, a reputable flooring store in the area for these homeowners? So there, so we look at, look at all of that. we've been approached about acquisitions in Twin Falls and we went and looked at'em and we're like, you know what? It is just not for us. There might be a day, when it comes, but we'll see. Coming back to the private equity conversation, that's one of the business owner's greatest. Conundrums, challenges, stretches, tensions, right? To say, yeah, if there's enough zeros on here, I would be, you know, interested in, in looking at the number. But then you have other options. Is it like, do we turn the business into an esop? Do I do look at, selling, sell something to key people already in the business who own the same vision. But I look at this, Matt and again, the good news. Here's the good news. I haven't been forced with this decision, nor Feel like I'm going to be forced with this decision in the next week. But at the end of the day I, to walk in faith and in, obedience to whatever it looks like. because here's the thing, private equity kind of has this, negative connotation to it. I hear you Matt, because we've had some competitors who have recently been acquired by a larger company, and it's like they're not the same organization that they were. But because I believe in a God who has a plan for absolutely everything, if I walk in obedience and private equity is the answer. want to, I don't wanna say no. If that's, if that, does that make sense?
Matt Willis:For sure.
Casey Dillabaugh:this is part of the tension because that private equity might plant three churches in a nation in somewhere in Kenya that is unreached, so it's oh, I, I, I just wanna walk in obedience in that. And it may look different. It may look like the ESOP model. Selling to key people. It may look, know, it may look like the Dillabaugh's own it for the next a hundred years too.
Matt Willis:Yeah.
Casey Dillabaugh:So from that perspective it's like there's just walk in obedience. We don't know what tomorrow brings, but we know who brings it.
Matt Willis:Yeah, I love that. I know you tend to be more Humble than wanting to talk about, what kind of impact you're having on the community. But I'm curious what are some things that you are doing to have a positive impact on the community around you?
Casey Dillabaugh:Thanks for the question. And you're right. We won't necessarily share a number, but I'll talk a little bit about some of the, programs, that, that we have in place, some of the things that are on our heart I'll give you, just a quick rundown of, you know, last year, we, we, helped 77 different nonprofit organizations with at least a donation of at least a thousand dollars. Now, how, how we did that is what I wanna talk about a little bit here is, is we have a program called Dillabaugh's Restores, right? And we created this, about seven years ago. And this program is it's a cause-based. Apparel program in which, we work with five local nonprofits and a t-shirt. And then when customers come into Dillabaugh'ss they get to choose two t-shirts of their choice, and we make a contribution to the nonprofit and they wear the t-shirt That hopefully sparks a conversation on behalf of that nonprofit, right? I want the nonprofits to find their next donor, their next board member, maybe even their next customer or client that needs their services. I want them to be known through the platform that we have at Dillabaugh's. Again, Dillabaugh's is the 17th largest independently owned flooring company in the United States of America. We have a platform we want to be able to use that platform for good. So Dillibaugh's Restores is one of those programs that, that we operate. We also at the end of the year give every single one of our divisions, which we have 11 profit centered. Divisions, but 13 divisions overall. I apportioned them a significant amount of money to support nonprofit organizations that they want to support. each of those divisions meets and says, okay, here's, some money that we can go and bless others with who do we want to bless this particular year? Now get final say in whether or not the check goes to that nonprofit or not based on whether or not there's, you know, disagreeing principles. But in the five or six years that we've done that, I've only vetoed one. And so, you know, we continue to make impact through that. We're big supporters of some key throughout, throughout the Treasure Valley as well. The Boise Rescue Mission, which is a homeless, services that teaches Jesus as the true bread of life. We support them heavily. We support the fellowship of Christian athletes because these kids are at a certain age that they can go one of two ways and we want them to go in the way, of a hope and a future. we support Christian education because that's near and dear to our hearts as well.
Matt Willis:That's incredible. Casey. It is an honor to be able to call you a friend. It's been such a joy to get to connect with you these couple of times and have I. Immense respect for you, your organization, and the impact you guys are having on the Treasure Valley and beyond. If anyone is interested in checking out their selection, their stores, et cetera, you can find out more about them at Dillabaughsflooringamerica.com. Again, that's Dillabaughsflooringamerica.com. Casey, thank you so much my friend.
Casey Dillabaugh:Matt, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to sit down and talk. So often we, as business owners have to sometimes take a look at the past to remember. And see God's fingerprints on absolutely everything. he's the same God yesterday and today and forever. And parting, hope and message is to walk in that faith, walk in that trust.'Cause he's got us, he will do more than we can think or imagine. Thank you, Matt.
Matt Willis:Absolutely my friend.