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 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

co-presenters were eye-opening and energizing. Conversations with Madeleine MacRae about setting and tracking sales goals; with Michele Williams about analyzing expenses and strategies to plan for profitability; and the industry leaders who represent their companies on the vendor floor influenced me and made me think about our practices in a new light. To say that I am looking forward to March and being in Nashville for IWCE is a huge understatement!

COACHING AND SUCCESSION PLANNING

The next big change in 2018 was that we hired a business coach who specializes in team building and succession planning. Talk about impressive! Her name is Eileen Hahn. She is the principal of OEC Strategic Solutions and she has taught us the importance of hiring people with intention. With her guidance, we have created a thorough, detailed job description for each role in our firm. We have identified the precise skill set and personality strengths required to perform each job with excellence.

Eileen has taught us how this informed method for hiring is then transferred to our long-range goals for putting a team in place that can and will perform at the same level that the three of us as partners have for these many years. This is not only a gift to us as owner-partners, but it is also a gift to our current employees. Because we are actively taking steps to implement a succession plan, they know that their job is not just a job—it truly is a career. Just like you plan for your children to be provided for in your absence, we are planning for our company to continue successfully even as the partners begin to slow down for semiretirement and full retirement. This is big.

THE VALUE OF PEER SUPPORT

The last big a-ha came when we were invited to join Exciting Windows! Exciting Windows! is an organization dedicated to mentoring, guiding, supporting and inspiring window treatment professionals. They offer a slew of all-year benefits to business owners, from marketing support to sales training to help with business development. They also hold two conferences annually. One is open to the business owner and their staff. The other, called the CEO Conference, is exclusively for the business owner.

Vin and I attended the CEO Conference last September in Philadelphia. Blown away does not begin to describe our reaction to this conference. We spent four days with peers who own window treatment companies with annual gross sales from $450,000 all the way up to $10 million. To spend concentrated time with a group of less than 30 entrepreneurs for discussions, presentations and networking was, quite frankly, exhilarating. We met peers who lead teams of 10, 15 and 30 window treatment professionals. The conversations on hiring, training, leading and, yes, paying these team members were insightful and thought-provoking. It was an incredibly valuable opportunity to have this time to learn, to ask questions and to exchange ideas with business owners who are committed, knowledgeable and already accomplishing things we strive to achieve. The other annual Exciting Windows! conference which is open to your entire team always takes place in the same city in the days preceding IWCE. When we heard this, Vin and I looked at each other like—jackpot! So yes, we are bringing our entire team to both the Exciting Windows! conference as well as IWCE. Without a doubt, we want our team to experience the same opportunity to grow, share and feel the excitement that comes from this environment of learning and networking.

GET WITH PEOPLE WHO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER YOU

Here’s my takeaway and the lesson I want to impart to you. Look up from your desk, look outside your box, look around you at what is available to you. Where are the people who are accomplishing the things you want to accomplish? Being self-employed can be isolating whether you are a window treatment specialist, an interior designer or a candlestick maker. If you’re like me, most of your closest friends are not business owners. And we love our friends and family, but how many times have you heard, “You’re an interior designer? That must be so fun!” Or how about this one: “Oh, you’re so lucky, you are your own boss so you can work whenever you want!” Umm, yes, I can work all day Saturday and Sunday and don’t forget, I can work straight through vacations too. Am I right?

I ask you: What are your financial goals for 2019? Have you written your sales goals down? Whether you want your gross sales to go from $60,000 to $100,000 or from $2 million to $2.5 million this year, to get to the next level you must hang out with people who are smarter and more successful than you.

Hire a business coach. Find a Mastermind group or other online community made up of professional peers. Go to a conference. Get yourself with people who can light that fire in you, who can show you the way and encourage you to take the risks to reach your goals. Take the action required to create the change you want to see in your business. Make it happen. Don’t wait for it. Decide to be excellent. z

LuAnn Nigara is an award-winning window treatment specialist and co-owner of Window Works in Livingston, NJ. Her highly successful podcast “A Well-Designed Business” debuted in February 2016. She has since recorded more than 200 episodes.

Hear LuAnn’s presentation “Art of the High-Ticket Sales” at the International Window Coverings Expo on March 8 to 10. She will also speak at the workshop “What Do You Do When They Say No—Closing the Sale” and the show’s closing session, “Influencer Marketing.”

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