Parks & Deck Creation with Bobby Parks

DECK CREATION BOBBY PARKS

NADRA MEMBERS

from across North America gather for an educational session prior to the annual awards event. (Photo by NADRA)

Join the outdoor living community

Learning to design, build, and deliver projects has never been quicker and easier than it is today. Thanks to the internet and social media, today’s information pathways for outdoor living builders are limitless. Where it once took several years to evolve and mature, it’s now possible to make similar progress in a fraction of the time.

Twenty years ago, you knew of competitors and other builders, but you didn’t really know them. You were on our own when it came to developing ideas, and you learned from the limited exposure locally and research you pursued to better your builds. The challenge then was to figure out ways to improve beyond what the market accepted as standards, techniques, and styles.

Compared to now, it was easier to be original, because the decking market was largely undeveloped. Today’s contractors enjoy a surplus of developed ideas and established styles, but are more challenged to be original because the industry has progressed so far.

Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and others are good examples. Instead of just learning from those in a local market, it’s now an international one. This modern-day portal leads to the equivalent of an endless library of details, developed styles, and knowledge for builders to incorporate into deck building and outdoor living projects.

Social media allows contractors to interact and share ideas, means, and methods. Builders are able to combine varying products to establish their own style. Good or bad experiences with a product or techniques are shared which shortens the learning curve.

Additionally, trade show conference courses, magazines such as Deck Specialist, and other educational elements are readily available for those that will utilize them.

There’s also a builder community that for many has become a brotherhood. This community provides inspiration, camaraderie, networking opportunities, and a reward that’s difficult to describe unless you’ve experienced it directly. This assembly of contractors allows for the direct sharing of ideas from one builder to another. Many in this group originate from a mix of social media platforms and NADRA (North American Deck and Railing Association), which has provided a platform for this group to gather each year at Deck Expo and the NADRA Awards event. Several decking product manufacturers host annual events that provide a gathering of numerous contractors into the same room where relationships and friendships begin.

What started out small has grown large due to this combination of events tailored to bring outdoor living contractors together. These efforts have evolved into what I consider to be a very special community of talented and skilled artisans—but most of all, great people.

We have learned from each other as most in this group are willing to share knowledge with others that are interested.

In this community, you can be both the student and the teacher. In a way, we are a support group that provides inner community therapy. We support each other and pick each other up when someone is discouraged or down. Most of all, it’s made being a builder more fun.

For me, it’s always been about the people— especially this group. It’s about the benefit and highlights achieved by the personal interaction with builders at trade shows, speaking engagements, Versatex Road Show sessions, and industry meetups. It’s getting to know others that share in the day-to-day challenges that provides a satisfaction that you have to experience to fully understand.

So for those who are not already involved, don’t miss out. Shorten the individual, “trial and error” learning curve by allowing others to share in the glory and the pain.

Don’t miss out on the amazing network opportunities and best “feel good” aspects that are available to you. Engage and befriend the positive, generous, and humble operators who are willing to share. Don’t be cliquish, but instead interact with those who are both like-minded and those who think differently than you.

Attend national trade shows, such as Deck Expo, and consider it an investment in your business. Join NADRA, which in and of itself provides a community of some of the best operators.

Fast track all aspects of your trade and business crafts by participating in the best group of people in the industry.

Learn, share, and do your part to help raise the bar. You’ll find it’s like a pep rally and breathes new life into you just when you think you’re burning out and wearing down. You’ll know there are others who share the same wins and losses as you. And you’ll make lifelong friends with others who actually understand your dayto-day adventures as a builder.

Bobby Parks is a nationally known contractor who has delivered over $40 million of outdoor living projects.

He is founder and former owner of Peachtree Decks & Porches LLC and current president of BP Consulting & Design LLC.