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�ֻ�ֱ�� Spotlight - Cole McNabb

Story by Alanna Bailey, a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a SOM student marketing assistant.



Cole McNabb is a UAF alumnus (BBA ‘12, MBA ‘14) who took the knowledge and skills he gained at SOM and used them to open his own business. He is the founder and CEO of Show Flooring, a discount flooring store located in Northlake, Illinois with 20 employees.

Dr. Ping Lan and other SOM instructors not only inspired Cole to open his own business, they gave him the knowledge and skills he needed to succeed. After completing his undergraduate degree at SOM, Cole applied for the master’s program. Although he didn’t have the best grades, he met the requirements, Dr. Lan wrote a letter of recommendation, and Cole was accepted into the program.


One piece of advice from an instructor that stuck with Cole was: “Don’t just wait for life to happen; go out into the world and do something.” He took this advice to heart and started his own business. In the beginning, one of the biggest challenges Cole faced was realizing he didn’t have to do it all. Initially, he felt that he should make the most of his business degrees by running every aspect of his new business. However, he quickly realized it would be better to focus on what he did best, and hire others to support his weaker areas. “I took a bunch of accounting classes, but since I barely made it through them, maybe I shouldn’t be doing the books for my business,” Cole said. He knew that if he made an accounting mistake, it could seriously hurt his business in the long run. As the business grew, he had to learn to trust an increasing number of employees, which taught him to have faith in his hiring and managing abilities.

One advantage Cole found he had over his competitors, is that most flooring companies are well established businesses that are set in their ways. He has been able to use what he learned at SOM to adapt to a changing environment. By paying close attention to reviews on sites such as Google and Yelp and utilizing social media marketing, he has been able to reach a different group of people than businesses that only use traditional methods. Cole has learned firsthand that being able to adapt to changing circumstances is crucial to running a successful business.

When asked what advice he has for current students, Cole advised students not to be afraid of failure. Accepting the potential for failure is an important part of learning, since it is necessary to take some risks in order to achieve your goals. It’s not always what you learn in the classroom that is most important; it was the connections and advice received from Dr. Lan and others that propelled Cole to success.