industry : lessons in leadership
Lessons in Leadership:
Rachel Gregersen, Beyond Shades
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BY SOPHIA BENNETT
achel Gregersen’s love of art led her to the window covering industry, although not in the way one might expect. The summer after she received a BFA in design at Stephens College, she took a job selling window coverings in St. Louis at Habitat Wallpaper & Blinds. She refers to the then-owner of Habitat as “one of the most brilliant business minds I’ve ever worked for.” She did well and continued to be promoted over the next 15 years, first to a management position at Habitat, then to executive positions for two national chains. “Seven years ago, with a 5-month- and a 5-year-old child and a supportive husband, I started Beyond Shades,” Gregersen says. The boutique window fashion store, located in the suburban Chicago community of Oakbrook Terrace, IL, has done extremely well. So has its owner: She was recently named to Forbes’ The Next 1000 list. In a recent interview, Gregersen shared her thoughts on what retailers need to do to stay successful in the coming years, some of her favorite (and unexpected) places to go for business assistance and what keeps her going through tough times.
What are some of the top things window treatment retailers can or should do to be successful in the coming years? Be flexible and ready to pivot and react. If 2020 taught us nothing else, I hope it taught us that. We reinvented some part of ourselves many times during the early days of COVID-19. We decided early that 1) retail would snap back and 2) we would be ready when it did. Fortunately, our industry has not suffered in terms of buyers wanting our products. As many small businesses continue to launch and succeed, it will be important to partner, grow, mentor and learn from each other. The industry is very generous in terms of small businesspeople who like to help each other. I try to give as much as I take. We have a tremendous amount of success working with other small businesses. At the end of the day, everything is about building a presence in the spaces where your clients are. Know who your ideal clients are and get in front of them in as many ways and on as many platforms as possible.
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Try to wear fewer hats. Hire employees or contractors who can help your company be stronger. Having come from corporate America, I was used to working with a team of talent specializing in lifting the entire company to greatness. I did not want to lose that on my own. So, I work with a business consultant. When we realized how high our marketing spend was, we hired an outside marketing company. We’ve used them for over three years now. We are currently working with talent to properly document all our processes and procedures and build a top-tier company SOP manual. Don’t be afraid of the financial commitment. It pays off and we just cannot do it all. Ask yourself: Who and what does my company look like in five, 10 or 15 years? Once you are able to answer that question, that is what you must be working on today.
What does being a good leader mean to you? I have two clients, both equally important: those who purchase from
SEPTEMBER + OCTOBER 2021 | wf-vision.com
Beyond Shades and those who work for Beyond Shades. It is my goal to give one the best buying experience and the other the best working experience. I’m as committed to both.
What motivates you? Setting goals, busting right through them and then setting higher ones. I’m a goal-buster. My children and my future (way in the future) grandchildren motivate me. Being a living, breathing example of the American dream motivates me. Every year brings a new challenge. I’ve had some interesting ones to overcome. In times when I face a new goal, I say to myself, “If it can be done, I can do it.” And then we go for it.
Where do you look for inspiration? We look to our clients’, designers’ and builders’ final experience with us. Everything about Beyond Shades is built around it. We do not look sideways or backward, only ahead at how to create the best buying experience for every
