A Conversation with Haley's Flooring & Interiors

Sit Down With Success is a feature of the Huntsville Business Journal on entrepreneurs and their keys to success. To read the full story, please visit the Huntsville Business Journal Website.

In 1975, Carter and Nancy Haley moved to Huntsville, Alabama with a dream of establishing a well respected flooring and carpet business.

By October of 1988, Carter and Nancy opened Carpet Systems of Huntsville alongside their eldest son Chris Haley, who is the decades to come would eventually take over the business with his brothers, Michael Haley. After many years of success, Carpet Systems of Huntsville became Haley's Flooring & Interiors. Fast forward to today and Haley's touts 1 00+ employees.

In 2020, Carter and Nancy announced their retirement after more than three decades of excellent service and exceptional growth. Now, Chris Haley runs this business alongside his brother Michael, CFO and VicePresident. The family also welcomed

Adam Rogers, a long-time employee of the business.

This is one of the first businesses in town that the Journal has featured that has a non-family member having a major role in the leadership of the business. Why did Carter and Nancy ask Adam to join, and what value does he bring to the experience?

Chris Haley (CH): Adam has always been hardworking, and really became someone who knew every aspect of the business. He gained our parent’s trust. That is something that is very special, and something that we are proud of.

Michael Haley (MH): That’s right. And family is an extremely important idea there. We run this business like it is a family. We treat everyone that works here with that same dynamic. Adam also brings a balance to the business. Chris and I could not be more different, and Adam is here to keep us level headed.

How do you balance your personal and professional life?

MH: That’s a tough question. My best answer is this: when it is 5:00, you have to honor that time, go home, see your family, and try to relax. It’s not a simple answer, because as a business owner, some weeks are going to be more stressful than others.

Adam Rogers (AR): That’s a tough one. Sometimes, even when it is 5:00, I will still answer my phone. That’s just how I work, because really I like to work and work hard. But you can ask Chris and Michael, when I am close to home every evening, I am not coming back. I agree with Michael, I am sometimes just as tough setting boundaries with my personal life as I am with my professional life. What advice would you give to

By: Gus Wintzell /

someone who is considering running their own business?

MH: The biggest thing you will need to learn about running a business is that you not only affect the lives of your employees, but their families as well. They have wives, husbands, and kids that rely on their work. We might have 100 employees, but we impact fives times as many people.

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