INSIGHT business coaching
My Big Fat Business Lesson Once you learn this key idea, get some ideas about steps you can take to apply it in your own life BY LUANN NIGARA 2018 was a big year for me as a business owner. I think had more “a-ha” moments last year than I have had in the last five years combined. And for someone who is always looking for ways to improve how we do things, this was significant and pretty fantastic too. If you follow me and have either read my book, “The Making of a Well-Designed Business,” or listened to my podcast, “A Well-Designed Business,” you know that I have been in business with my husband Vince and our cousin Bill since the early 1980s. That’s a good, long time to have seen and heard almost everything about running a successful business. At least you’d think that. But 2018 was different. It was eye-opening and amazing. And you know what? You can get some of it for yourself. Are you ready for the big fat business lesson? Hang out with people smarter and more successful than you. Sounds fairly obvious, doesn’t it? Except if you too have a mature business like ours, you know that’s not always so easy to do. And what if you too are like me and you love, love, love talking with, teaching and mentoring newer entrepreneurs? I spend many hours enjoying conversations and interactions with business owners in growth mode. Entrepreneurs growing their business acumen as they grow their business, just as I 22 | wf-vision.com | Jan + Feb 2019
once did. Make no mistake, these are very smart people who, in their own way, teach me and inspire something that I can take away with each conversation. But it is different, wouldn’t you agree? So, what happened in 2018?
LEARNING BY TEACHING To begin with, I was invited by Grace McNamara to lead a seminar at the 2018 International Window Coverings Expo (IWCE) in Tampa: “Master the Art of the High-Ticket Sale.” This was a game-changing opportunity for two reasons. FIRST, being asked to lead this three-hour super session forced me to get clear on exactly why and precisely how I have been a successful salesperson for nearly four decades. I took the time to reflect, to look at exactly what I do every day, week after week, year after year. Doing this helped me redirect and refocus our staff on the key principles for attracting, selling and servicing the luxury market. This, combined with other initiatives, created a 33 percent growth in our gross revenues over 2017. And since I am leading this seminar again in Nashville, I will be looking at my process again and perfecting the presentation. SECOND, simply being at IWCE and deepening the connection with Grace, her team and the extended team of co-speakers and presenters proved to be a surefire way to up my business game. In addition to attending several of the sessions, the conversations between sessions with some of my
