Set in Concrete, located in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, offers many concrete options for the Lake Ontario area, including colored concrete, interior floors, driveways,patios,resurfacing, decorative concrete, demolition, finished basements, landscape borders, pool decking, staining, stamped concrete and will also soon be offering concrete countertops.

Owner Bob Engelbert and his wife Nancy have been dedicating a lot to their business. "None of this could have happened without my wife Nancy," he says. "She tracked down training seminars when I was working for the company I started with, and she said, 'You can do this.'"

"She knows as much as I do about the business," Engelbert adds. "And she's just as passionate about it as I am...she's the driving force behind the business."

Engelbert grew up around construction, with an older brother in the trade, and a mother who worked in a construction company office. So it seemed quite natural for Engelbert to follow in the family footsteps.

"I went to University," Engelbert explains. "My construction job helped pay for it, but I still came out in debt, so I stayed in the business to pay off my debts." Engelbert says he worked in road construction for eight years, then got on a concrete crew and felt he was finally doing something, and having a lot more fun to boot.

"Once I got on form setting, I had a lot of fun. Then I tried finishing, and I loved it," he says. Still with the same company he started with, Engelbert then spent about five years form setting, but says he didn't get to do enough finishing for his tastes

"The lack of opportunities to move up in the company frustrated me," he explains. "I studied the trade, taking various courses to better myself, but because I was hired as a labourer and I was part of a productive crew, I was not considered for other opportunities."

Like a lot of things in life, Engelbert needed that push – "breaking my hand while playing hockey provided me with time to rethink what my next step was going to be." To take a leap of faith and try something new, "I needed a push," he says. "I had stumbled across decorative concrete and I was wowed by it, but I didn't put my efforts into it until I started my company just over a year ago."

Set in Concrete serves a niche in Lake Ontario, due to the fact that it's the only company within a 45-minute area that offers decorative concrete services. "The trend that is affecting many companies is the lack of skilled labour," Engelbert explains. "There's a demand and no supply."

To get started, Engelbert enrolled in a government-funded program that helps small businesses launch. "That gave me the freedom to focus on the business instead of worrying about money so much," he says. And after attending just one local home show last spring, the ball got rolling.

"I can't even measure how much my business has grown from a year ago," Engelbert says. "That home show kicked off the summer for me, and I've been working steadily ever since."

Engelbert says decorative concrete is perfect for the Lake Ontario area because it's low-maintenance and fits in with the heritage-style town. He says that there are many popular requests, such as walkways and patios.

"Walkways have to do with aesthetics and curb appeal," Engelbert explains. "Lots of people here have gardens, and they think of the walkway as the crown jewel in their garden layout."

Other trends include cobblestone and flagstone, and colors such as buff and mocha. "Countertops are starting to take off, too, so when I start doing those my business could become specialty," Engelbert adds.

"I'm liking that I offer something unique here," he says. "And I like building things and working in my shop, so countertops are the way to go for that."

Another way Engelbert is staying in the public eye is by working on a unique project for the town, creating concrete blocks in various sizes as part of the revitalization of a downtown market area. "It's mixing the durability of traditional concrete with cutting-edge, artistic stuff," he says of the work he's creating for the project. "Being approached with this project and given the opportunity to be a part of it is a real honour. The word of mouth about my business has been huge."

"I respect my customers, and anything I do is for them," Engelbert adds. "I really care about what I do. I never followed money, I followed a product and an idea and the money then followed. I've been fortunate."

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