Hi Welcome to another episode of  A Well-Designed Business. On the show today I have Brook Devenport. Brook is the owner of Blinds & More located in Minnesota. We are going to hear Brook’s personal story and how she took a business that practically started by accident and after nearly 6 years she transformed it into a well run, profitable business with 7 team members who together do both custom window treatments and interior design in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.

Show Notes 

• The business didn’t magically grow into a high earning business.

It took a lot of planning and tool-using

• Initial sales targeting was $60,000 in yearly sales.
• On the second year annual sales was $178,000.
• Current sales run to $650,000 annually
• Sales goal was but sales was
• Things they did differently to achieve the sales goal
• Her husband’s role in the success of her business
• Tracking appointments and tracking dealer’s performance
• All the tools they installed to track and monitor the business
• Their “ahah” moment
• Color coding the hard files
• The Tony Robbins effect on their business
• Being intentional. What it means
• When they decided to run a business, to work on her business, not simply in her business.
• The role of advertising on her success
• Quotables:
• If you know how to sell, you can sell almost anything. – Luann
• Take responsibility for setting your goals for monitoring your expenses, for analyzing every project for net cost and net profits.
• Manage your business with your eyes wide open.

You can find the rest of the show notes and resources  at https://www.windowworks-nj.com

Something must be in the air, I keep running into fourth generation business owners! Last week Scott Kravet was here for our 100th episode and he told us about the history of the Kravet family. He is part of the fourth generation of the Kravets to work and run Kravet Inc.

Today we have Jake Baer on the show with me and he is the twenty-eight-year-old CEO of Newel. Newel is the home of the largest decorative art collection and furniture in the US. Newel has been known for many years for its prop rental business since the 1930s. Jake was named the CEO of Newel in 2015 and he has really spearheaded change with a brand-new gallery in Manhattan. He has recently moved their collection to a massive warehouse in Long Island City in Long Island. We are going to talk about how he is moving Newel into a new age.

Show Notes:

• What was it like for Jake growing up in a family business?
• Who did he work with to learn the business?
• What sort of challenges has Jake faced being a young CEO?
• Are his siblings involved in the business: Newel?
• What is he doing for newer/younger interior designers?
• How can you get in on the dinners that Jake holds for interior designers?
• How does his business help people who live the apartment life?
• Can furniture be shipped out all over the US?
• What kind of antique furniture does Newel have to offer?

The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works

Welcome to another power talk Friday! We have Shauna Lynn Simon with us again today! If you listened to a previous power talk Friday, we started talking about how to host a successful home consumer event. In the first episode, we talked about the first three things that you need to do to set up a successful event. This included choosing your title, choosing the venue for the workshop, how to market your event and securing sponsors. Today Shauna Lynn is going to take it further with us and talk about content creation, managing and selecting guest speakers if it’s not yourself, handouts that you should possibly do using your event for a lead generation machine.

Show Notes:

• How can you create a good visual at your event?
• If you don’t access to electronic presentation what are some other ways to present?
• How can you prepare for your speaking part?
• Do you want audience participation?
• How should the area for seating be set up?
• When should you ask for donations at an event?
• How can you use your vendors to explain designs better?
• What should be the focus at your event?
• How do you choose a guest speaker?
• How can you increase your reputation at these events?
• What other material should you include in the goody bags?
• What is a lead generation machine?
• Free is good!
• Why is it important to use a professional event planning program?
• How can you ask for guest’s email addresses?
• How important is a “thank you” after the event?

The rest of the show notes are in our resource center:  Window Works

This is a celebratory episode dear loyal listeners! This is our 100th podcast episode and it’s time to celebrate! It’s certainly a very optimistic number as the podcast prognosis goes:  If you make it to the 7th episode, you can make it to the 45th … and if you make it to the 100th you’ll make it for a while! Our guest for this landmark episode is Scott Kravet, the great grandson of Samuel Kravet, the founder of Kravet Inc. 

Kravet Inc. will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2018. Another 100th reason to celebrate! Kravet Inc. was established in 1918 by Samuel Kravet, and it has grown to be  the industry leader in the home furnishings industry — fabrics, furniture, carpets, drapery, trimmings, wall coverings, and others. The family’s commitment to innovation has helped the company transform from a small fabric house to a global leader, representing brands and designers from all over the world. Kravet Inc. owns Kravet, Lee Jofa, Groundworks and GP & J Baker, all high-end fabric houses that specialize in style, luxury and exceptional design.

Scott Kravet, part of the company’s 4th generation, is the Creative Director and Head of Product Development. Having a near encyclopedic knowledge of fabrics, he oversees all aspects of product development for Kravet and its brands. He is an alumnus of Emory University and the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. Scott manages creative teams in 5 design studios in New York and worldwide. He travels the globe sourcing products from the finest craftsmen and best mills.  

I’m deeply grateful to Kravet Inc. for continuing to sponsor our podcast (since 2015) which by now is followed by professional  groups consisting of over 70,000 and growing! At the minimum, Window Works  get contacted by 5 interior designers daily and they all mention the Well-Designed Business podcast as the source and resource. Thank you, Kravet Inc.!!

Show Notes

• Kravet products are for trade-only.
• All products are available to interior designers only to protect their interests
• Retail sales are for interior designers only
• Kravet designs remain cherished and fashionable for a long time
• Kravet Showrooms are updated with the latest featured designs regularly
• The “for trade only” policy does not seem to be an issue
• All lamps, trays, pillow, textiles, all neatly laid out corporate products on exhibit  
• Honor and respect what your family has accomplished as  a personal, professional, and corporate policy
• It’s not enough to create beautiful anything; you must package and market it smartly.
• Reinventing the business
• Reaching out to the influencers
• Watch out for the Kravet Centennial where they will be honoring all the people who have helped them all these years.
• Check out Episodes 10, 59, 17, 34, and 74 where designers talked about their experience in working with Kravet. Kravet has a culture that supports creativity, collaboration, kindness, and respect to your clients and vendors
• An archive of over 30,000 textile collections is currently on exhibit; check out with ASID for the details.

The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works.

It’s power talk Friday again! I have a treat for all of you today. I found our guest, John Muldoon while I was doing research, and I got jazzed up when I saw what John is doing! We are going to be talking to him about his “business” (a consulting firm) that he has had for twelve years! But we are really going to get into his powerful blog called The Monthly Experiments Project.

Show Notes:

• What is his description of his job and why are there two versions?
• How did he come up with his brand?
• What is his blog The Monthly Experiment about?
• How did he come up with his blog: The Monthly Experiment?
• Why is he doing his blog The Monthly Experiment?
• What happened when John finally found a balance between work and life?
• What did he do to help pick up the business when he started working less?
• How do you get more referrals according to John?
• How can you make your blog or podcast more successful and what is the most important quality a blog can have?
• How can you be more helpful?
• What are the two things that create the value of a blog?
• How do you start a blog and how does John help people with this?
• How do you join his blog challenge and join his free membership group?
• What are some of the “Experiments” he has done on his blog?

The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works