Six years ago when Matt Riley got laid off from his position as a sheet metal worker he had no idea what to do next. The following year he worked in Omaha, commuting from Ogden, an almost 150 mile, one-way commute. He also completed a number of successful real estate ventures, which led to the development of a real estate holding company. It wasn’t until 2007, however, when Matt really found out what he was meant to do next.

Matt was doing some work on a rental house he owned in Massena when one of his employees drove to The Carpet Store in Corning for supplies. The owner of The Carpet Store took Matt’s information off of the truck the employee was driving. Later, the owner called Matt and asked if he would have any interest in purchasing the business, which included the Corning store and a warehouse.

Matt agreed to the purchase, and he and his wife, Denise, quickly plunged into the floor covering business. Denise quit the job she’d held for almost ten years at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines and the couple moved to Corning to focus on the store.

The Rileys struggled at first to keep track of their new venture, and grappled frequently with financial issues. When they acquired the business, the store was established, but there was no viable business plan or even a computer system to keep track of everything.

In 2008 Matt and Denise attended a workshop sponsored by the Corning Chamber of Commerce. The presenter was Dave McLaren, Regional Director of the South Central Iowa Small Business Development Center (SBDC) located at Southwestern Community College in Creston. Following the presentation, Matt talked to Dave and told him the issues they were facing as new business owners. Dave said he would be over to help.

According to Matt and Denise, from that point on “you couldn’t put a price on what Dave did.”

Dave helped the Rileys write a business plan, develop standard operating procedures, and work through benchmarks for competitive pricing. Prior to working with the SBDC, the business operated off of Excel spreadsheets, which had become a logistical nightmare. With Dave’s direction, they purchased flooring-specific software to help with the company’s accounting and payroll procedures.

Dave also introduced the Rileys to Brandi Shay with the Smart Business Resource Program, which is partially funded by USDA Rural Development. The program is a collaborative effort of Southwestern Community College’s business and accounting, adult and continuing education, and distance education departments, and the Small Business Development Center.

The Rileys state that Brandi was another huge asset to their business. She came to The Carpet Store four or five Saturdays to meet with the Rileys and assist them with tasks that provided much needed organization for their business and helped them attain financial accountability.

“We didn’t even realize how much we had [until working with Dave and Brandi],” Matt said, explaining that the company saw exponential growth of approximately 300 percent in 2009.

Today Matt and Denise are entrepreneurs, operating a growing business in a small town in Southwest Iowa. They have eight employees and have expanded their business to include stores in Clarinda and Red Oak, as well as a wholesale store on the Web. Matt says that they strive to keep their stores small in order to control overhead and to operate each as a more local, service-oriented store.

Currently The Carpet Store has just under 50,000 suggestions in their product catalog. They have expanded their products to meet the needs of their customers and their flooring inventory now includes carpet, vinyl, hardwood, laminate, and ceramic tile. They also offer kitchen design and cabinetry, area rugs, home décor, window treatments, bedding, and jewelry.

Matt and Denise say they will continue to expand their business as needs arise. Their business philosophy is to strive to keep business local, to keep the town square alive and keep people from having to drive to a bigger city. They’re involved in the Corning community and believe that community involvement is necessary for the success of small town businesses.

Dave still checks in at The Carpet Store from time to time. Matt says it’s fun for Dave to come visit so they can show him the growth and changes at the store. Matt summarized their experience with the SBDC by saying, “Most people don’t know what [Dave] does for Southwest Iowa...until you experience what we experienced.”

You can learn more about The Carpet Store online at www.carpetstoreiowa.com or www.carpetstoreiowawholesale.com.