Mary Cardinale
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05-13-2021 at 10:49 am in reply to: Post a review for Vita’s “Scale Your Small Business” class #19215
mary.cardinaleParticipantVita’s class has been a game changer for my business already. The tools, templates and information presented have helped me create a more organized, efficient and professional window treatment business. My confidence as a business owner has increased dramatically! The level of organization and detail in her business flow and processes are nothing short of astonishing. As a class we experienced SO many “a-ha” moments. I could never have created all of these amazing processes on my own and I look forward to implementing everything I have learned in class.
mary.cardinaleParticipantJulie, your post made me choke up. My heart goes out to you and your family. I am so sorry for your loss. I can’t even imagine being able to focus on business with what you have gone through personally.
Ben, I have imposter syndrome too. I have been doing this for over 10 years and there is indeed so much to learn. Even in the last few years new things like motorization and ripplefold drapery have gotten popular and I don’t have great working knowledge of those things. I also opened new accounts with a couple of blind companies, so lots of new info to digest. I have been trying to dedicate time each week to set aside a few hours to learn about something new, whether it’s a blind company I carry, or maybe formulas to calculate certain soft treatments. There is a great deal of information in the Curtains and Soft Furnishings Library as well as window treatment groups on Facebook. Hang in there. 🙂
I decided that to avoid overwhelm, I will give myself grace to implement everything we have learned… slowly. I already started renaming and organizing my files and putting them on Google drive, and started using the email templates as well. Also yesterday for the first time, I had an install that I didn’t attend!! I had an important eye specialist appointment that I couldn’t miss and realized that I DO trust the installer to do a great job. I did stop by afterward to pick up a check and take pics, but it was 20 minutes out of my day and not a hour and a half. I now see how I could put processes in place to not go back at all. It was so freeing not to be there!!
mary.cardinaleParticipantJens, thank you for taking the time to explain your process and for being so transparent. I’ve mentioned that this is an area of my process that I would really like to improve, so I appreciate your help!
I also am SO glad I took this class. I was very energized after last week’s class. I think my head is in a different place now, seeing the possibilities of how everything can be efficiently and professionally run. I spent time this weekend renaming and reorganizing my current clients’ files and uploading them to Google drive. My husband/IT department helped me create a template for a quote I”m working on (it would have taken me hours to figure out that level of Excel, and it took him 10 minutes to create – definitely something worth hiring out if I didn’t have him to help me).
Can’t wait for this week’s class!
mary.cardinaleParticipantPeggy, I was overwhelmed last week too… I wanted a nap after the class lol. I am trying to learn patience with myself in terms of what I can do on my own, what I need help with, and how fast I can accomplish it. I tend to beat myself up about things I think I “should know”.
Jens, do you give a ballpark price over the phone? or email it afterward? Would you mind sharing about your retainer? Do you take it before or during the consultation? What amount do you collect? (if you feel comfortable sharing that). Feel free to PM me if you prefer.
Also Jens, for blog posts, I recommend following Kate the Socialite (website and podcast). She gives helpful hints on all things social media for the design field. She also has a monthly service for writing blog posts. I started using her for my monthly newsletter and she has all of the content and photos in a template to tweak or use as is.
File naming protocol is definitely my “low hanging fruit”. I had already started using Google Drive recently and I love having everything in one place. Now I need to make my files even more organized!
I even spent an hour last weekend reorganizing my Pinterest board (while watching a movie with my daughter) and it already helped me when I was on a consultation last week. I had inspiration photos all over my phone, and being able to access one quickly was amazing. I’ve discovered that small things like that can make a big impact. Baby steps are OK!
mary.cardinaleParticipantI don’t have an exact plan yet, I’m still (over)thinking about it! Lol. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around not having paper files, but I hate living in fear of losing an important piece of paper. I do love the idea of accessing the information from anywhere, and it would make hiring a VA in the future much easier. I am absolutely open to embracing technology (and am trying to not let it intimidate me) as that is part of creating better processes. I can’t wait to see how it will all come together!
mary.cardinaleParticipantMy goals:
1. In the next year and 1/2, scale my business to 200K by myself (with the help of subcontracors: my installers, my accountant, and my husband who helps me with bookkeeping).
2. Three year goal: scale to 300K either by myself or hiring a VA or bringing my husband on board. Also, would love to have a dedicated studio space either on my property or a separate location.
3. Work on my mindset and stop thinking small! (Maybe this should be #1, lol)My Whys: To use all of the knowledge that I have acquired over the past 10+ years and pull it all together so that I can ease the financial burden that my husband has carried. To possibly bring him on board full time so that he can retire from working 60-70 hours a week. To have better control over my business in terms of how much money I want to make and what hours/days per week I want to work.
mary.cardinaleParticipantYes! I took the 7 step Selling System class from Window Coverings University. It was a great class, filled with scripts (I love scripts!) and a step by step process to use for selling to the customer, from the first phone call to selling in the customer’s home. I have started using that, and it helped me with that part of the process tremendously. 🙂
mary.cardinaleParticipantMy a-ha moment was the quote “control the amount of time you spend on the estimate before you receive the deposit”. This is one of the biggest parts of my process that I need to tighten up. So many times I would spend so much time and energy trying to get the job without getting the proper information upfront (particularly the budget!) or having a smooth process to earn the customer’s trust.
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