ABOUT MARK CONACHER
Experience that comes from doing the work.
I have spent more than 40 years in the trades and over 30 years in KBB. I started on the tools and built a career around the people, projects and businesses behind a finished room.
I founded Liberty Fitting Service Ltd and grew it from a one-man operation into a nationally recognised, multi-team kitchen and bathroom installation business. After moving to Vancouver, BC, I continued running the company from Canada until stepping away in 2024. That experience has shaped how I see the industry. Good work is not just about technical ability. It comes down to people, planning, trust and how a business is run.
WRITING, SPEAKING & INDUSTRY CONVERSATIONS
A UK background. A North American perspective.
Today I write, speak and chair conversations about KBB, installation and the skilled trades. I am based in Vancouver, Canada, with strong connections to the UK industry where I built my installation business.
That gives me a view of the challenges shared by installers, retailers and manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic: skills, apprenticeships, standards, customer experience and the business behind the finished job.
I have chaired and contributed to conversations at InstallerSHOW in the UK and New York. My writing has appeared in kbbreview, BIFIS, Kitchens & Bathrooms News, KBBFocus and Kitchen & Bath Business, the NKBA’s magazine.
For editors, event organisers and podcast hosts, I bring the perspective of someone who has worked on the tools, employed teams and run an installation business.
Current Work
Alongside my writing and speaking, I am building practical business support for the people doing the work.
KBB Momentum is where I help KBB installation companies build better businesses through clearer structure, stronger systems and better commercial decision-making.
Every Install is the platform I created to bring business support, tools, resources, opportunities and industry information together for kitchen, bathroom and fitted-interior installers.
Every Trade Pro is the wider platform I created behind Every Install, with the aim of taking the same practical business-support model into other skilled trades over time.
Beyond Work
BIFIS is the British Institute of Fitted Interiors Specialists, where I contribute as a Strategic Advisor, supporting higher standards, skills and professionalism across the installation industry.
Saddle Up is a free, confidential peer-support network where I volunteer alongside others who draw on their own experiences to help people through redundancy, career setbacks and uncertainty.
START READING
Three pieces to give you a feel for my thinking.
Forget cowboys, show consumers what good really looks like →
Why the industry needs to do more than warn people about bad trades businesses. Published in kbbreview.
Another Houzz UK trends report – why should installers care? →
What a bathroom trends report has to do with the installer pricing and fitting the job. Published in KBBFocus.
Why the next generation of installers will win differently →
Why a successful installation business needs to depend less on one person, with better systems and more control over how the work gets done. Published by BIFIS.
RECOGNITION
Credibility earned along the way.
I was lucky enough to be a winner at the 2022 Great British Entrepreneur Awards, described by Steven Bartlett as “the Grammys of Entrepreneurship”.
In 2023, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) magazine in North America also named me a Person of the Year, Praiseworthy Pick.
The business I built was recognised twice as Installation Company of the Year, alongside awards including Scotland’s Best All-Trade Company and Best Home Improvement Company.
They are not the point of the work, but they do reflect a good team, high standards and years spent learning what it takes to build a business properly.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
Aging in Place Conversations.
I am a co-author of the NAIPC book, Aging in Place Conversations: The Caregiver’s Edition, which became a number-one Amazon bestseller.
My contribution draws on years of working in bathrooms, looking at practical ways to make them safer for the people using them and the carers who help them.
WORK WITH ME
Have a story to explore or an audience to bring together?
I am available for commissioned writing, speaking engagements and panel chairing, and welcome podcast and interview enquiries from the UK, North America and beyond.
Tell me about your publication, event or programme, the people you want to reach and what you have in mind.