How I Fell In Love With The Overlooked Corner Of The Industry

I'm Andrew Holmes, Founder of Ghost CEUs

CEUs get a bad rap, but they shouldn’t. They’re 60 minutes of uninterrupted time with a room full of architects and designers.

60 minutes to teach, 60 minutes to build relationships, 60 minutes to grow your brand.

Apart from the (usually awkward) manufacturer-sponsored happy hour, it's rare for furniture manufacturers to have something the A & D community wants. But a good CEU, a good CEU will fill your sales calendar.

I first fell in love with this overlooked corner of the commercial furniture industry in 2018.

I was an engineer working at Clarus Glassboards who found sales and marketing more exciting than technical drawings. When I learned about CEUs, I went all in. I spent my nights watching courses online and my days reading up on the approval bodies.

Later that summer, when I left Clarus (to move back to Michigan and propose - sappy, I know), I turned my passion into a side hustle. Through late nights at the only coffee shop in Grand Rapids opened 24/7, I started writing. A lot.

Over the next 6 years, I'd ghostwrite courses for brands on every floor of the Merchandise Mart (3, 7, 10 and 11). I learned the art of storytelling (the McKinsey method is my favorite), I learned how the right font, imagery and color palette can evoke different emotions (nerdy, but cool), and I developed a network of freelancers I could call upon for various projects (I even hired one on the train leaving the Mart).

After one CEU, my partner and I were offered jobs at the company. Through writing a course on the importance of privacy in the workplace, we had accidentally written a manifesto for Loftwall that would lead to a head-to-toe rebrand and multiple years of double-digit sales growth.

But while I was leading the marketing department at Loftwall, I could never find the time to write another CEU. I knew we needed it, but I was too busy with the day-to-day to tackle such a big project (I've since talked to dozens of marketing and sales leaders who have felt the same way).

At the start of 2024, I left Loftwall and launched Ghost CEUs (I'd previously been operating under a different name). I specifically designed Ghost CEUs to be the solution I wanted when I was at Loftwall. Something fully turnkey. I wanted to be able to pick a topic or pick from a list of pre-vetted topics. And I didn't just want a course, I wanted to be able to wave a magic wand and every detail of the CEU process to be done for me - marketing support, rep training, everything.

So at Ghost, we do just that.

In just 8 weeks, my team of freelancers and I research, write, and develop training material about the topic of your choosing. We even submit the course to governing bodies for you.

So good news, furniture manufacturers, you can now launch a new CEU with minimal work. No magic wand required.