Ashlina Kaposta is the design blogger behind The Decorista, a household name in the world of interior design blogging. Ashlina works around-the-clock hours as an interior designer, site technician and writer, and she   attends design conferences as either a speaker or a member of the audience.  She has recently launched  a new self-adhesive wallpaper line with graphic stripes, animal prints, and other fun designs!  Here she is on our podcast discussing her inspired designs,  motivated moves, energized creations, and  life-changing choices and decisions.  

Show Notes

• How Ashlina started her career
• Why she created the blog Decorista
• Her tips for building a successful business
• Importance of taking courses to enhance business skills
• Why enhancing speaking and writing skills is necessary
• The role of her blog in her success
• Attending industry events is very helpful
• Attending shows and visiting showrooms had a role in her success
• Continue learning everything you can about the industry and the people in it.
• The importance of publicity and exposure
• Building a successful brand
• Invest in your own stylized photography of your own work   
• Be intentional – what it means
• Tips on creating a vision board of your ideal project, the type of project you want to attract and be paid to execute. 
• Tips for dreams, goals, and planning

You can find the rest of the show notes here: Window Works 

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