Owning and operating a decorative pre-cast concrete company is the dream that many of us have, but being profitable in this business is elusive to the vast majority of folks that try their hand at it. The failure rate each year for decorative concrete start-ups is over 50%, and that number increases in the second and third year of business. But why is that?
The short answer is that Concrete is Hard. Knowing how to mix concrete isn’t enough, you need to know how to market yourself, price your product, and avoid pitfalls that can make or break a concrete company.
You can’t learn these hard-fought lessons from training programs in which the trainers themselves do not own or operate successful businesses. You also won’t learn these skills from “guest trainers” that have only been in the game for a year or two. Concrete Design School is the only training program in which all the curriculum is taught by long-standing proven concrete business owners. Our 3 trainers have more than 50 years of combined industry experience, practical knowledge that will give you a competitive advantage in your local market.
If you want to stand a fighting chance at not being a statistic join us this February 24-29 in Eureka Springs, AR, USA for the Pinnacle Concrete Camp, the first of only 2 training events we’ll conduct in 2020. We are capping the class at 30 attendees and it is already more than half full. This training event is 6 days of the absolute finest and most relevant training available anywhere in the world - in fact, it is the only place you will learn these skills. We hope to see you this Spring!
The Pinnacle Concrete Camps, the ONLY TWO Training Events CDS will conduct in 2020!
We’ve taught a lot of workshops and artisans at Concrete Design School over the last 16 years. We’ve averaged 4-5 classes a year, but as our businesses have grown the client work demand has increased as well. This had made coordinating trainers schedules very difficult. We have decided that in 2020 we will only hold two training events, which we are calling the Pinnacle Concrete Camps! These 6-day workshops will feature our premiere topics from trainers Brandon Gore, Dusty Baker, and Jon Schuler, but we will also place an emphasis on camaraderie with our concrete compeers. Time will be set aside for socializing around fire pits in the evening, as the lifelong friendships formed in our classes are as valuable as the training itself. The two Pinnacle Concrete Camps are scheduled for Spring and Fall:
Pinnacle Concrete Camp / Spring: February 24-29, 2020
Pinnacle Concrete Camp / Fall: November 16-21, 2020
Additionally, we have increased the training discount for Alumni to 50% OFF! We value our past attendees and love seeing them again, so this is our way of saying ‘thank you’ and offering increased value to the CDS family.
Over the 6 days workshop topics will include:
GFRC
ECC
UHPC
Post-Tensioned Concrete
Rubber Mold-Making
Best Business Practices for a High-End Concrete Business
Dusty-Crete
Advanced Finishes and Upright Casting
How to Properly Seal Concrete
How to Transport and Ship Concrete
How to Stain and Color Concrete
Concrete Mix Design
How to Properly Mix Concrete
How to Cure Concrete
Review of the February 2019 Concrete Design School GFRC, ECC, Fabric-Forming, Post-Tensioning, DustyCrete, and Concrete Sink Workshops
Another series of Concrete Design School workshops has come and gone. It was a great week of training where we covered ECC, GFRC, SCC, UHPC, DustyCrete, Fabric-Forming, Concrete Sinks, and Concrete Countertops. We made a lot of awesome pieces, awesome friends, and even tested the strength of a sink with 8 rounds of 45-70 (spoiler, it held up great)! It’s time to rest for a minute and take a look at the production schedule for the next few months to see where we can work in another class. Keep an eye on the website, we’ll announce the dates shortly.
The September 2018 All-In Workshop & Fabric-Forming Workshop are SOLD OUT! You can still get into the Dusty-Crete and Post-Tensioning Workshop!
As anticipated the September 2018 'All-In Workshop' and 'Fabric-Forming Workshop' are officially SOLD-OUT! As of 8:00am this morning there is 1 seat available in the 'Dusty-Crete Workshop' and 'Post-Tensioning Workshop'. They won't last long so NOW is the time to register and book your travel arrangements, the class is in 1 week! See you in Eureka Springs.
Dusty-Crete Workshop is now scheduled for September 2018, and we have a special Reduced Rate Workshop Package for all three classes!
Well, we went and did it - we scheduled our THREE MOST POPULAR CLASSES IN A ONE WEEK PERIOD! Do you know what this means?! You can fly out to the beautiful Ozark Mountains and in one trip learn our best practices, techniques, and hard lessons gleaned from over 70,000 hours of success and failure. This is unprecedented, we've never offered these three workshops back-to-back, so if you want to get in, get to getting, it's time to register! You can register for the Dusty-Crete Workshop here, or you can register for the All-In Workshop here. We look forward to seeing you in September.
June 2017 just got hotter! Dusty-Crete & Fabric-Forming Concrete Sinks + GFRC Workshops are now scheduled!
Is it hot in here or is it the Dusty-Crete pieces coming out of the shops of previous attendees of the World Famous Dusty-Crete Workshops? It's only going to get hotter now that the next Dusty-Crete Workshop taught by Dusty Baker has been scheduled for June 8-10, 2017. Brandon Gore will be teaching the industry-leading 2.5 Day Fabric-Forming Sink + GFRC Workshop, June 5-7, 2017. For those industrious creative souls that wish to attend both, we're offering a special reduced rate! Join us in Burns, TN - bring your shades, sunscreen, and clothes you don't mind getting dirty!