This episode of The UK Flooring Podcast welcomes back Ben from Black Duck Flooring for a proper conversation about training, growth, and what it really takes to build a flooring business that does not rely on you being everywhere at once.

Ben shares how Black Duck has grown from humble beginnings, just him, a van, and one young lad, into a much bigger operation with multiple teams out on site at once. But this episode is not just about growth for the sake of it. It is about what helped make that growth possible: investing in training, building better systems, trusting good people, and being willing to learn from others instead of trying to do everything the hard way.

A big part of the conversation centres around the first wood floor fitting course run with Cockerill & Co, where installers from different backgrounds got hands-on experience with plank, herringbone, borders, and proper setting out. Ben explains why practical training matters so much, why better skills lead to better jobs and better margins, and why too many people still see asking for help as a weakness when it is often the fastest way to improve.

If you fit floors, manage fitters, or want to move into higher value wood floor work, this episode is packed with insight.

BOOK THE WOOD FLOOR FITTING TRAINING HERE:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/cockerillco/2150757

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why training gives flooring businesses a faster route to growth, fewer mistakes, and a much better return over time.

How Ben has grown Black Duck Flooring from a small operation into a business with multiple teams on site, without the wheels falling off.

Why practical, hands-on training matters more than endless theory, especially when it comes to wood floor fitting.

What happened on the first wood floor fitting course, including plank installation, herringbone, border work, and setting out.

Why learning specialist skills like borders and herringbone can help fitters win better jobs and charge properly for high-end work.

How systems, paperwork, trust, and delegation allow a business owner to step away from the tools and still keep standards high.

Why so many people hold themselves back by refusing help, and why getting the right support often shortens the journey massively.

What Make or Break, Flooring Freedom, and the wider Cockerill & Co training environment can do for confidence, mindset, and long-term progress.

Memorable Quote:

“Why make loads of mistakes and get things wrong and take five years when you could do it in a year?”

Speaker Information

Ben

Black Duck Flooring

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackduckflooring/

Book the Wood Floor Fitting Training:

https://www.tickettailor.com/events/cockerillco/2150757

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/59DLhGPVKNtVoS656EYtxq

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-uk-flooring-podcast/id1606720642

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of The UK Flooring Podcast is a special National Flooring Awards 2026 edition, with Tom and Sarah pulling back the curtain on what is coming this year, why last year hit so hard, and why this one looks set to raise the bar again.

From the atmosphere and emotion of the 2025 event to the plans already in place for 2026, this episode is all about momentum. Bigger entertainment, a stronger VIP experience, a packed room full of the best in the industry, and an awards night built to celebrate flooring properly. If you were there last year, this will get you buzzing for what is next. If you were not, this is the episode that will make you want to be in the room.

Tom and Sarah also break down how nominations work, why entering properly matters, what the judges are really looking at, and why writing yourself off before you have even entered is a mistake. One of the strongest themes in the episode is simple: this is not just another industry event. It is a genuine celebration of the people, companies and work that make flooring what it is.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why the National Flooring Awards 2025 created such a strong reaction, and what made the atmosphere so memorable.

What is changing for 2026, including more entertainment, a larger dance floor, a stronger VIP offering, and more time to make the event even better.

How nominations and ticketing work, including why shortlisted businesses will need to be in the room.

Why your entry needs proper effort, and how judges use your submission to make decisions.

How the judging process works, including the role of public voting and why the panel takes the process so seriously.

Why businesses across the industry should not talk themselves out of entering before they have even had a go.

A full run through of the award categories for 2026, and why there is real opportunity for businesses of all sizes to get involved.

Memorable Quote:

“You can’t package that up and sell that to somebody. You’ve literally got to experience it.”

Speaker Information

Tom Cockerill and Sarah Cockerill

Hosts, The UK Flooring Podcast / Founders of the National Flooring Awards

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast

Watch on YouTube

Listen on Spotify

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of The UK Flooring Podcast sits down with Gary Hosey, leadership coach and EQ-i Master Trainer, for a straight, practical chat about emotional intelligence, and why it matters more in flooring than most people realise.

Because whether you’re a one-person band or running a team of 20, the job is still people. Customers with expectations. Staff with personalities. Pressure, stress, and those awkward conversations you keep putting off until they blow up. Gary breaks emotional intelligence down into the real-world stuff that actually helps: how you communicate, how you handle stress, how you make decisions, and how you build trust without turning into a pushover.

One of the biggest takeaways is simple but brutal: if you want better outcomes, you need better conversations. Gary explains why “being interested, not interesting” changes sales chats, customer trust, and how your team responds to you.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

What emotional intelligence actually means, and the five key areas that sit underneath it (self-awareness, self-expression, interpersonal skills, decision-making, and stress management).

Why trust is the real foundation of repeat work, and how to build it without giving everything away for free.

A simple shift that improves customer conversations fast: ask better questions, find out what matters, then deliver that experience.

The difference between leading 5 people and leading 20, and why “doing it all yourself” stops scaling being possible.

Why feedback gets avoided, how it piles up, and how to make it normal before it turns into conflict.

How to develop supervisors and key people around you so leadership is shared, not chaotic.

Memorable Quote:

“Be interested, not interesting.”

Speaker Information

Gary Hosey

Leadership Coach and EQ-i Master Trainer

https://www.garyhosey.com/

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/garyhosey

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/59DLhGPVKNtVoS656EYtxq

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-uk-flooring-podcast/id1606720642

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded in the Cockerill & Co Darlington HQ, this episode of The UK Flooring Podcast sits down with Ben Wain, business consultant, property investor, husband and dad, for a straight conversation about what it takes to run a flooring business when the bar keeps rising.

Ben shares his route from leaving school and working behind bars, into sales, then an 18 year career in retail leadership, before stepping into consultancy. That background gives him a rare mix of frontline reality and big picture thinking, and it shows in how he talks about people, performance, and the gap between “busy” and “well run”.

The thread through the episode is simple: customers now expect a joined up experience, and if your systems, showroom, website and team are not aligned, you will feel it. Ben breaks down what “Amazon level” expectations look like in flooring, why new businesses can leapfrog older ones, and how to approach tech and AI in a way that helps you sell, deliver, and keep standards high, without turning your brand into generic noise.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why customer expectations are higher than ever, and how that changes the way flooring businesses need to operate

What “omnichannel” actually means for flooring, and why your website and showroom have to match

How newer businesses can move faster, and what established businesses must fix to avoid falling behind

Why “race to the bottom” pricing is a trap, and how it quietly kills profitability

How to think about speed, service and communication as part of what customers pay for

What Ben sees as the biggest challenge in the industry, finding, keeping and developing fitting teams

How to build structure and accountability without micromanaging everything

Practical ways to use AI tools like ChatGPT for planning, training, systems, and management support

The biggest mistake people make with AI, and how to stay authentic while still moving quickly

Memorable Quote:

“Customer expectation is so high, you can very quickly get left behind.”

Speaker Information

Ben Wain

Business Consultant and Property Investor

https://www.linkedin.com/company/wain-consultancy-coaching/

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at Momentum 26 in Newcastle, this special episode of The UK Flooring Podcast is Martyn Cohen from Cockerill & Co, delivering a straight-talking keynote on leadership, team performance, and what it actually takes to scale without burning yourself out.

Martyn’s background is rooted in leading teams at scale, from smaller groups to large operations, and he pulls those principles into the reality of running a flooring business. The thread running through the whole talk is simple: results come through people, and if you want consistent performance you need a repeatable way to create clarity, ownership, and accountability.

At the centre of the keynote is a practical framework Martyn calls the FLOOR model: Focus, Leadership, Ownership, Observation, Results. It’s a five-part checklist for driving performance that you can apply immediately, whether you are leading installers, sales, ops, or a growing management team. He also covers goal-setting that actually sticks (including SMART targets), how to adapt your leadership style to different people and situations, and how to coach rather than rescue, so your team improves instead of waiting for you to step in.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

Why performance starts with focus, and how to give your team a clear target to aim at

How to create clarity on “what good looks like”, so people can execute without constant checking

How to set SMART goals that actually drive action, not vague intentions

The leadership styles that matter in the real world (and when to direct, coach, support, or delegate)

How to build ownership and accountability, without slipping into micromanagement

Why observation matters, giving people autonomy while still keeping standards high

How to use simple coaching structures (including the GROW approach) to develop people over time

How to measure performance properly, and then do something with what the numbers are telling you

Why trust and reputation are hard to replace, and how strong execution protects both

A practical prompt to leave with one commitment you can implement immediately

Memorable Quote:

“You can’t outspend trust.”

Speaker Information

Martyn Cohen

Keynote recorded live at Momentum 26 (Newcastle)

Cockerill & Co

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at Momentum 26 in Newcastle, this special episode of The UK Flooring Podcast is Sarah Cockerill’s keynote, delivered to a room full of flooring business owners who probably did not come for “a talk about numbers”. Sarah opens with a confession that will feel familiar: she is not naturally a numbers person, and she actually hates them, but she has learned that the right numbers, looked at consistently, will tell you the real story of your business.

She takes you back to where her relationship with money started (Yorkshire upbringing, Barclays in the family, bags of pub receipts on the living room floor), then brings it right into the messy middle of running a flooring business. A knock on the door from HMRC (a £20k CIS bill) kicked off a chain reaction that lots of owners will recognise: trying to “sell your way out” of a cash problem by pushing turnover, getting bigger, adding people, and hoping the money sorts itself out. Sarah is very clear, that approach nearly cost them everything.

From there, the keynote becomes a practical reset. Sarah breaks down what actually went wrong (overtrading, losing control of cash flow, treating the business account like a personal purse, and letting systems lag behind growth), then gives a simple framework to stop it happening to you. No accounting lectures, just habits: keep all finance data in one place, use separate bank pots (especially for HMRC), pick one tool, pick one report, learn a small set of key numbers, and ask for help the moment you do not understand something.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Why “numbers tell a story”, and how to read the story without being an accountant
• The real danger of chasing turnover to solve a cash problem, and why it feels right in the moment
• The HMRC CIS bill lesson, and what it revealed about cash flow and control
• The three silent killers Sarah points to: overtrading, losing control of cash flow, and treating the business bank account like your own purse
• Why growth is not the problem, but growth without systems is
• How to simplify your finances fast: one inbox (accountant email), one place for data, and a set time to deal with it
• Why separate bank pots matter (including a dedicated HMRC pot), and how it removes panic from the business
• “Choose one tool”, and stop mixing spreadsheets, software, and half-finished systems
• The power of one report (year-to-date, month-by-month) to spot patterns quickly
• How department coding helps you track where profit is really being made (or lost), and why that matters when you run multiple services
• A simple way to hunt “profit leakage”, and identify the small gaps that quietly drain profit over time
• The most important rule if you are confused by any of it: ask someone who understands, and learn through consistency

Memorable Quote:

“Numbers tell a story.”

Speaker Information

Sarah Cockerill

Keynote recorded live at Momentum 26 (Newcastle)

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at Momentum 26 in Newcastle, this special episode of The UK Flooring Podcast is Tom Cockerill’s keynote, delivered to a room full of flooring business owners who came for more than the usual product talk. The theme is simple but uncomfortable: hesitation to decision, and how avoiding the hard calls quietly caps your growth.

Tom shares the personal side first, a Christmas Eve health scare that forced a decision he would have handled very differently years ago, then pulls it back into business. From building a flooring company to nearly hitting the two million mark and still feeling stuck, he unpacks what was really holding him back: confidence, discomfort, and the habit of making “easy hard decisions” (spending money, signing leases) while dodging the ones that hit your gut.

This keynote is a push to stop waiting until you feel ready. Not with hype, but with practical frameworks you can actually use: ask what the worst case scenario is, make big decisions quarterly, and run your daily ops fast and repeatable. If you have been putting something off because it feels awkward, this episode will feel like it is aimed directly at you.

• Why hesitation is rarely “just your personality”, and how it quietly limits business growth
• The difference between decisions that look bold (stock, leases) and the ones that actually move you forward
• A real, high stakes example of decision making under pressure, and what changed for Tom over time
• How pushing into discomfort builds genuine confidence, without the ego or “Billy big bollocks” act
• The “worst case scenario” question, and why it cuts through overthinking fast
• Why customers do not just buy from people, they buy from experts, and how confidence affects sales in the first few seconds
• A simple operating rhythm for business owners: big vision slow, daily ops fast and repeatable, then repeat every quarter
• How raising your personal standard (doing what you said you would do) raises your business standard too

“What is the worst that can happen?”

Tom Cockerill

Keynote recorded live at Momentum 26 (Newcastle)

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded at the start of a new year for The UK Flooring Podcast, this episode sits down with Stuart, Founder and Managing Director of Make an Entrance, a UK manufacturer and retailer specialising in bespoke entrance matting and logo mats for both commercial spaces and homes.

From an unexpected early career in music to building and scaling businesses, Stuart shares how Make an Entrance has grown from traditional coir matting roots into a modern UK-made operation, supplying everything from residential orders to major brand projects.

One of the most meaningful parts of this conversation is the company’s partnership work with HM Prison services, centred on rehabilitation and skills development. Stuart explains how structured, supervised work and training can help people build confidence, learn practical skills, and improve employability after release. It’s a grounded, human look at doing business with purpose, while still maintaining high standards and quality control.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• Stuart’s journey into business, and the surprising route that led him into matting and manufacturing
• How Make an Entrance moved from selling online to investing in UK-based production and why that decision matters
• The heritage side of the trade: traditional coir matting, craftsmanship, and what customers still value today
• Logo mats, commercial projects, and how retailers can make matting an easy add-on sale
• The rehabilitation partnership: why skills, routine, and training can genuinely help people rebuild their lives
• The realities of running a small UK manufacturer in 2026, including cost pressure and growth challenges
• Stuart’s biggest lesson: knowing your numbers, making decisions faster, and staying focused

Memorable Quote:

“I don’t want to be sat at 60 thinking, I wish I’d had a go at that.”

Guest Information

Stuart

Founder & Managing Director, Make an Entrance

Business enquiries: business@makeanentrance.com (FAO Stuart)

Where to Find The UK Flooring Podcast:

Website: https://theukflooringpodcast.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theukflooringpodcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.