Manager – Grand Valley Flooring
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Location: Winter Park, Colorado
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Owners: John and Jeana-Rae Kendall
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John’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokend/
Jeana-Rae’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrschaper/

Who We Are
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We acquired Grand Valley Flooring in January 2025 from the previous owners, Ted and Bobbie Carney, who owned and operated the business for over 20 years. We had been looking for a local small business to acquire, and Grand Valley Flooring checked many of our boxes. We wanted a business with a strong foundation, loyal customers, and room to grow in the local community. We found that in Grand Valley Flooring located in Winter Park, Colorado.
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Grand Valley Flooring provides residential and commercial flooring sales and installation services to homeowners, property managers, builders, and restoration companies. We specialize in carpet, luxury vinyl, tile and hardwood and deliver to the re-model and new construction markets.
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We are entrepreneurs and believe that small businesses, not large corporations, are the bedrock of both local communities and our national economy. Small businesses provide vital products and services in every industry you can think of, and when operated thoughtfully, can provide a far better customer experience than larger, less intimate businesses. When run well, small businesses provide unparalleled opportunities to create lasting value for customers, employees, suppliers, and local organizations.
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Our vision is to operate Grand Valley Flooring as a best-in-class small business for decades to come. We always have things we can improve upon so we show up to work and make incremental improvements every day. We are learning how to become better business operators as we go, and down the road, we hope to grow and expand Grand Valley Flooring far beyond its current scale. Success in business always boils down to taking care of people. We are passionate about developing people and want our business to be the best place to work in all of Colorado. We want to provide the best customer experience, not only in the flooring industry, but in any industry. And we want to build lasting, trusting relationships with our key suppliers, and community stakeholders. If you take care of your people, the business will take care of itself.
We are looking for a young, humble, and diligent person to be our first full-time hire at Grand Valley Flooring. We believe very strongly in giving young people outsize responsibility early in their career so they can develop into the next generation of business leaders. We will provide more details on the opportunity below, so if our vision resonates with you in any way, please read on:

The Opportunity
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This is not a traditional corporate job. This an apprenticeship in small business leadership. We are looking for an entrepreneurial, ambitious and detail-oriented person who is willing to roll up their sleeves and do anything the business needs on a day-to-day basis. We are looking for someone who wants to learn every aspect of the business, with long-term aspirations of running their own business one day.
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The spectrum of job responsibilities will be wide. You will spend time managing our accounting software. You will spend time driving the snow plow in our parking lot. You will spend time working with customers to find the right flooring products for them. You will unload heavy items from the delivery truck. You will build marketing programs from scratch and test them with autonomy. You will clean dishes in the company kitchen. You will research software that we could implement to improve efficiency. You will build and send estimates to customers. You will deal with unhappy people. You will receive praise from happy customers. You will research and evaluate acquisition opportunities. You will take a morning off to go ski fresh powder. You will cover the store on Saturdays so your teammates can go ski fresh powder...this is a role that will offer a little bit of everything and daily surprises.
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This job will not be glamourous, but operating any business rarely is. If your goal is to learn how to run a business—and not just analyze one from the outside—this role offers real responsibility and leadership from day one. You will not be behind a screen all day. You will be out in the field, solving problems, and making business happen. You will have full autonomy to make decisions that impact the customer experience and drive the financials of the business.
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We will provide 100% transparency into our financials and cash flows, our long-term strategy, and our thinking. We are looking for a partner to grow beside, not an employee in a hierarchical system. We are looking for someone to help us build out our team, so we can continue to take advantage of new business opportunities.
This role will not be a good fit for everyone. For the right person, this role is a fantastic opportunity. It is an opportunity we would have loved to of had when starting our careers.
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Location & Lifestyle
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We are based in Winter Park, Colorado. We live in the mountains for a reason, and we want all our employees to enjoy everything that the Rocky Mountains have to offer. Our work environment is fast-paced, but flexible, where results matter more than time at a desk. We have set hours where the business is open and operational, but we want to create flexibility for everyone to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Weekday skiing will be an option as long as the business is covered by a team member. Long weekends away to go backpacking will be totally fine, as long as we have the business covered. Life is too short to work all the time, and we feel that Grand Valley Flooring offers a great opportunity to work hard and play hard in the Colorado mountains.

Winter Park is a small mountain town with a world-class ski area. It is an hour and 15 minutes from Denver, but it is a small town that has fewer amenities than big cities provide. It is important that candidates consider what their social and personal lives will feel like in this area.
This job will be in-person, nearly everyday. The nature of the business is one that can’t be done remotely.
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Career Path & Growth
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We view this role as a stepping stone to business leadership. The right candidate will be positioned to quickly pick up more and more responsibility as they climb a steep learning curve. We want to mentor this person and help them build a strong foundation for the rest of their career. We hope that this hire will stay with us for at least four years. At that point, we would fully support the next chapter of your career growth whether that is acquiring your own business, going to business school, taking on a leadership role at another company, or staying with our team as we grow and expand. We feel confident this role will prepare you for whatever that next chapter may be.
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Characteristics we are looking for:
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• Nice – it is not worth it to work with people who aren’t nice
• Humility – every day provides an opportunity to learn
• No- Ego - A sense that no job is beneath you and no entitlement
• Curiosity – an eagerness to figure out new things
• Reliable – you show up when you say you will show up and do what you say you are
going to do
• Good communicator – you respond promptly and follow-up often
• Quantitatively inclined – you are comfortable with numbers and learning financials
• Business Acumen – foundational understanding of accounting, marketing, sales, data
analytics & how parts of a business fit together
• Proactive – find things to make better without being told
• Customer-focused – we go out of our way to satisfy customers
• A doer – you get things done.
• Strong references – people who know you or have worked with you rave about you
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Characteristics we don’t care much about:
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• Industry experience – you will learn the industry quickly
• Tenure of experience – we want someone young and hungry
• What you majored in – we care that you are a good learner

Hiring Process
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We take hiring very seriously. For small businesses, hires that aren’t a good fit are detrimental. We plan to take great care in making sure this is a good fit for everyone. So, here is what you can expect our process to include:
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1. Cover Letter and Resume – in addition to your resume, please write a short letter telling us more about why you are interested in this opportunity. We are looking for honest, genuine thoughts to make sure this could be a good fit.
2. Introductory call – Understanding why you are interested in this role and answering any questions you may have. No questions off limits.
3. Detailed reference check- we want you to introduce us to 5 references who are willing to speak with us and help us understand you even better.
4. Online personality assessment – We want to make sure this role is a good fit for you based on your strengths and what you enjoy.
5. In-person visit – We pay for your travel to come tour the business and experience a day in the life. We will also get out of the store for an outdoor activity together (ski, hike, etc.) dinner and a deeper dive into what makes you tick. This will happen over a weekend.
Our process should not take longer than 4 weeks. We are committed to communicating with you throughout the process and making decisions quickly.

Compensation
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• Base salary: $70,000
• Bonus program that starts during first full calendar year of employment
• Target base salary above $100,000 by the end of year 2 based on performance
• Health Insurance option
• Retirement plan savings with 5% match
• Ikon Pass and Fraser Valley Rec Center Membership
This is a rare chance to step into a high-impact role early in your career. If you’re looking for real-world experience in business ownership and management, we’d love to hear from you.
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Thank you!
John and Jeana-Rae Kendall