October: Staff Profile

What Everybody Ought to Know About Our Owner

Staff Profile: Brandy Marsh

In this issue we’d like to include a profile on Brandy that was published in the Oregon Remodeler’s Association Update.

The founder of The Carpet Place recognized early on that employee Brandy Marsh would make a great business owner.

After working in fast food and retail jobs while attending Portland’s Marshall High School, Brandy answered

an ad at the school’s career center, and went to work doing clerical work, cleaning, putting away samples, and other odd jobs. After four years, owner John Rollin, who founded the company in 1967, asked if she would be interested in buying it.

Brandy bought the company and its two stores in 2003, and continued to retain John as a consultant and mentor. When John died suddenly of a heart attack in the summer of 2004, Brandy realized that it was now all up to her to make the critical decisions. She quickly developed a passion for being a business owner, hiring and motivating employees. She became active in the Young Entrepreneurs Organization.

Quickly developing a reputation for her engaging style of management, Brandy found that she really enjoyed helping her employees develop professionally and personally, and feeling like they are part of the big picture. She likes them to treat the company as if it was their own by giving them better decision-making skills. Her employees share a strong set of core values that govern daily decisions. Brandy believes that the success of her business all starts with the employees, and as long as customers share those values, they will keep coming back.

Recently renamed AREA FLOORS, Brandy’s company became a member of ORA early last year, where she has developed close relationships with other ORA members. “ORA members are very loyal and supportive of fellow members,” she says. “They have been very welcoming, and truly care about each others’ needs to be successful.” She currently serves on the ORA board of directors and Home Improvement Show Committee.

Brandy enjoys experiencing other cultures, recently exploring France and Italy on a backpack trip, including the Burgundy Wine Region. Last year, she traveled to Salvador, Brazil where she where she volunteered with some underprivileged children for two weeks.

Children at the Make a Wish auction organized by the Oregon Remodeler’s Association