Wednesday April 27, 2011

3:45 – 5:45       Vickie Ayres   QuickBooks Deep Dive

3:45 – 5:15       Vita  Vygovska   Love Your Business Twice as Much—And Get More Done in Half the Time!

 3:45 – 5:45       Melissa Galt    From a Whisper to a Shout: Social Marketing Secrets for Designers

 3:45 – 5:15       DBRX Workshop Consults

QuickBooks Deep Dive – Advanced Tips & Techniques for QuickBooks

Vickie Ayres

Investigate dozens of ideas that will immediately improve your profitability and your financial peace of mind with QuickBooks guru Vickie Ayres. Using a sample company file, follow along as Vickie performs a deep dive into the information stored in QuickBooks that can help you make better decisions for your business, improve revenues and make the “un-fun” aspect of running a business simpler and less stressful. 

This hands- on session will cover:

• Troubleshooting the three most common errors Vickie encounters in her consults
• The top 10 best practices for working in QuickBooks.
• Vickie’s five favorite new features from QuickBooks 2011 that will save you time and make managing your business and finances a breeze.

This session is incredibly useful and profitable for anyone using QuickBooks Pro or Premier, 2008-2011.You’ll leave confident in your QuickBooks acumen—it will be like you’ve just hired on your own CFO!( Those of you who have taken Vickie’s QuickBooks Coaching already know what a difference she can make!) Start compiling your list of questions for this custom session as Vickie will incorporate as many as possible into the class. 

 The Fine Print: Price: $125. This session is 2 hours long .  Maximum 10 per session. Session offered Wednesday April 27, 2011 3:45pm – 5:45 pm. If you are considering an upgrade this is a great opportunity to see the 2011 edition in action.

You’re welcome to bring your laptop with QuickBooks installed and follow along as Vickie demonstrates advanced and complex QuickBooks features, or, if you don’t have a laptop, all the ideas and techniques will be included on a detailed handout complete with screenshots.

Love Your Business Twice as Much—And Get More Done in Half the Time!

Vita Vygovska

 Do you:

•           Wish there were more hours in the day?

•           Need to know how to do MORE with LESS?

•           Wind up frustrated there isn’t enough time to do what you really love?

 In this highly interactive workshop Vita discusses concepts and ideas to help you build a business that will support your creative expression, feed your energy, and grow your bottom line. If you have ever wished you could squeeze more out of every hour, while doing most of what you love and none of what you don’t, then you’ll want to be part of this session! At this workshop, you will discover:

• Easy and effective techniques to see exactly where your time is spent (and wasted).  You’ll walk away with a visual tool Vita uses in her own business to identify and eliminate time-sucks forever.
• The one single, simple improvement you can implement immediately that will double your productivity.
• Powerful time-saving tips you can put into practice right away and use daily, so that you can concentrate on your “genius work”.
• Clever short-cuts and compelling strategies to fend off “bright shiny objects”, master emerging marketing opportunities, and focus on the joys of your craft, creativity, and client interaction.

At the end of the session, you’ll be armed with your own productivity tool-kit (including lists, forms, check-lists, and charts)

Preparation: To ensure your best results and personalized approach, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire before the session. This will be a true workshop where you will have an opportunity to craft your own action plan, participate in hot-seats, and ask questions. 

Added Bonus: After the session, when you’ve had some time to ‘test-drive’ your new productivity tool kit, take advantage of a 20-minute personal coaching session with Vita (within 30 days of the workshop) where you can ask additional questions and trouble-shoot challenges.

The Fine Print: Price: $125. This session is 1-1/2 hour long .  Maximum 10 per session. Session offered Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 3:45pm – 5:15pm

From a Whisper to a Shout: Social Marketing Secrets for Designers

©Melissa Galt

Do you:

Struggle to find time for social media?

Think it is just about wasting time and discussing what you had for lunch?

Love connecting with friends and family online, but can’t imagine how it can help your business.

 Social media is powerful and cost effective for building lasting profitable relationships.  Discover the ins and outs of finding your target market and bringing them from a shout online to a paying client. Stop the overwhelm and get a clear understanding of the profit potential you command when you pick and choose which tools to use to creatively trounce your competition.

v  Boost YOUR Online (and Offline) Visibility

v  Get Timesaver Shortcuts to Maximize YOUR Social Media Efforts

v  Establish YOUR Unique Voice and Enhance YOUR Credibility

v  Learn Five Social Media Strategies to Build YOUR Presence

v  Capture Leads Straight from YOUR Competition

You’ll walk away with:

The Fine Print: Price: $150. This session is 2 hours long .  Maximum 12 per session. Session offered Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 3:45 pm – 5:45 pm.

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Tuesday April 26, 2011                                   

            1:00 – 3:00       Melissa Galt    How to Ignite Demand in YOUR Client Base

            1:00- 2:30        Susan Schultz Fame 101

            3:45 – 5:15       Deb Barrett     Power of Packaging: Bundle Your Services and Build Sales

            3:15 – 5:15       Melissa Galt    Five Marketing Mindsets to Make YOUR Design Business Profitable

            3:45 – 5:15       Vita  Vygovska She Told Two Friends: Developing a Powerful Client Referral Systems

Workshop Descriptions and Details

How to Ignite Demand in YOUR Client Base

©Melissa Galt

Learn the essentials of a strong client relationship that will put you squarely in the driver seat of every project, allowing your talent to shine and your bank account to grow. Explore the keys to taking a budget project and turning it into an investment your clients are thrilled with— and brag to their friends about. (Can you say referral?) Discover how you, your projects and your income can grow by keeping your clients interested, engaged and buying.

v  Dive deep into their lifestyles to uncover not just their needs but their wants.

v  Take every project from a budget to an investment with a return on it.

v  Master the art of reading between the lines and know who the real decision maker is.

v  Get your clients to do homework before you even meet.                                                       

 The Fine Print: Price: $150. This session is 2 hours long .  Maximum 12 per session. Session offered Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:00pm– 3:00pm

FAME 101

Susan Schultz

Every industry, in fact, every market, has its own superstars—the broker everyone wants to work with, the chef with the TV show and the book deal, the designer who always has high-value clients waiting. Their professional fame automatically sets them apart from their competition; their name a meaningful brand and their value, implicit. It’s a great position to be—and it can be yours!

We’ll cover:

• Five sure-fire strategies for ramping up your visibility
• The keys to building a compelling image for you and your business
• Transforming hard work into success
• Becoming the “go-to” expert
• Publicity: It’s not a dirty word

By the end of the session you’ll have a your own personal “fame roadmap” laid out—a personal brand to build on, a publicity strategy to implement, elements of new press kit, and tips for avoiding self-imposed momentum-killers.

Preparation: To ensure your best results and personalized approach, you will be asked to fill out and return a questionnaire before the session. There may also be additional contact from Susan prior to the session.

The Fine Print: Price: $125. This session is 1-1/2 hour long .  Maximum 10 per session. Session offered Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 1:00pm– 2:30pm

The Power of Packaging:  Bundle Your Services & Build Your Sales

Deb Barrett

Whether you are a newbie or been in the business for years, how you price your services and charge your customers has changed dramatically with design democracy and the new consumer.

Packaging your products and services is a powerful marketing technique that increases sales, adds value and improves client satisfaction. Plus, if you plan on being in business 10 years from now; how you package your design services will be key to capturing the new markets you’ll need. Developing “design service packages” for your clients allows you to:

• upsell automatically without having to “sell” you clients into it
• provides a higher perceived value to your client
• clarifies and simplifies your marketing
• encourages joint venture opportunities, which benefits both you and your clients

Each attendee will leave with a customized packages suitable for your business plans and your clientele, complete with rough descriptions, pricing, titles and more.

Preparation: To make the most of the scheduled time in this workshop, attendees will be asked to provide in advance your current pricing information, general clientele description and/or preferred clientele description, a list of products and services and, if possible, the profit margins associated with your products and services.

The Fine Print:  Price: $125. This session is 1-1/2 hour long .  Maximum 10 per session. Session offered Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 3:45pm – 5:15pm

Five Marketing Mindsets to Make YOUR Design Business Profitable

©Melissa Galt

Often the greatest difference between a wildly successful designer and one who’s struggling isn’t just talent, or education or background. The difference is mindset and marketing skills. Melissa shares five simple habits that can be quickly and easily learned. When practiced regularly, (the definition of a habit!) these will rocket you to the top. If you want to become a magnetic marketer and THE irresistible design talent in your market, you must have the mindset to take you there.

v  Boost YOUR Confidence and YOUR Value so You Can Charge What You are Really Worth

v  Know How to Clearly and Easily Identify YOUR Preferred Target Market (where to find them)

v  Identify YOUR Key Benefits to Put You Head and Shoulders Above the Competition.

v  Leverage the ROI that YOUR Talent Produces for Each Project

v  Create Lifelong Demand with YOUR Clients 

The Fine Print:  Price: $150. This session is 2 hours long .  Maximum 12 per session. Session offered Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 3:15pm – 5:15pm

She Told Two Friends: Developing a Powerful Client Referral System

 Vita Vygovska

Create a winning referral program that brings new clients every time and is faster and cheaper than any other marketing strategy. Although designers list referrals as a favorite marketing effort, few run a truly successful, consistent, and fully integrated referral program that feeds the pipeline and keeps it full on a consistent basis.

Vita uses a proven referral system as one of the cornerstones of her success. From the moment her first project was underway, she established a system for developing, managing and using referrals that kept her business growing 40% year on year—A strategy that is powerful, cost-effective and extremely easy to implement and maintain. Don’t leave one of your business’ most important sources of new clients and new projects to chance!

In this session, you will learn:

* To ask for a referral even before your first client meeting and train your prospects to give you referrals

* How to easily integrate your referral system into your daily schedule, so that it runs on autopilot, and you’re freed for design and strategic work

* Tips that make asking for the referral easy and authentic, so that you never have to cringe or shy away from it

* Solutions to most common referral “hang-ups” that will increase your comfort level and boost your confidence

You will leave the session with a customized referral game plan that gives you a source of continuous, consistent and profitable revenue.

In the spirit of an interactive workshop, we will conduct role-playing sessions and individual hot-seats, where you can get personal coaching from Vita.  Rest assured, you will know exactly how to ask, cultivate, and nurture a culture of referrals, empowering your customers, prospects, and employees to “always be referring.”

The Fine Print: Price: $125. This session is 1-1/2 hour long .  Maximum 10 per session. Session offered Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 3:45pm – 5:15pm

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The Design Business Rx workshops provide an opportunity for you to receive specific advice and information from acknowledged industry experts based on your interest and needs. You’ll work in sessions with 10 people, at the most, in order to give you the time and expertise necessary. Most sessions will require pre-show and post-show homework on your part. These business-changing strategy sessions are intense, detailed and focused on YOU, allowing you to leave Vegas with pragmatic action plans that will grow your business. 

DBRX Consultations

A business-life-shifting strategy session focused on you and your work in the world.Here’s your chance to access more than 30 years of design, marketing and industry experience, all focused specifically on YOUR business. Sign up now for a 1-1/2-hour Design Business Rx session with Deb & Susan, each strictly limited to six people per session

 You’ll be required to do pre-show and post-show “homework” and depending on your needs and issues, there will be post-show follow up from Deb & Susan.

We’ll talk to you about your responses to the DBRx pre-session questionnaire, analyzing your plans, identifying new opportunities, providing support in areas of particular concern and brainstorming with you on next steps and new ideas. We’ll focus on things that you’re passionate about and that can make you money. Plus, we’ll help you map out a plan to get started and to keep the momentum going. The conversation lasts 1-1/2 hours and you’ll leave with meaningful moneymaking ideas, clear priorities, renewed energy and interest in your business, along with useful connections and resources..

There are only four sessions available, so register now! 

If you need a “big-picture” review of your business—what are your opportunities and what practices may be holding you back—sign up for one of the DBRx consultations. If you know specific areas you want to work on—from marketing, to PR, to business-building, and more—choose one of the eight other DBRx sessions.

For more information, pricing, descriptions and to register visit www.debbarrett.com

 DBRx Schedule

Monday, April 25                              

            1:00- 2:30        DBRx Workshop Consults

            2:45- 4:15        DBRx Workshop Consults

            4:30 – 6:00       DBRx Workshop Consults

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With High Point beginning today, my mind wanders from what will the new collections look like to can my customers afford them?   More news this week from a range of sectors indicate that commodity prices continue to soar .  Steelcase and Herman Miller announced price increases to offset lower margins and inflationary commodity costs.  So how will  furniture manufacturers at HP deal with commodity shortages, and increases?  We’ll be at KBIS and Vision11 later in the month for a firsthand view of how that sector will handle the commodity chaos.

Furniture Today gives a hint of what’s to come.

HIGH POINT – Everyone’s least favorite topic – price increases – will be in the spotlight this week as soaring raw materials costs have forced most case goods, upholstery and bedding resources to hike prices on at least a portion of their line. Producers say they don’t like it. And retailers say they like it even less. But significant cost increases on everything from the steel used in recliner mechanisms to the glass used in curio cabinets have left producers with little choice.

“I am taking as much as I can bear and then passing some along,” said Page Wilson, president of case goods and occasional resource Pulaski. “Nobody likes it, but for the most part, everybody understands it.” Most of the price increases are in the 3% to 5% range, but vary widely depending on the product.

Upholstery and bedding resources, for example, have been hammered by multiple increases in the price of foam, while upholstery producers have also seen increases in the cost of fabric and fiber – especially materials coming from China.”The price increases from China have just been insane,” said Chuck Tidwell, vice president of merchandising and product development at upholstery producer Franklin. “We’re trying to absorb as much as we can, but some of it has to be passed on.”

Stein World President Richard Olmeda said China is facing inflationary pressures due to increased domestic consumption, and spot labor shortages caused by migrant workers who have job opportunities in other high-tech industries.What’s unusual is that upward pressure is occurring during a period of low demand. It’s typically seen during periods of higher demand, he said.”Everything in China seems to be going up,” added Ray Steele, co-founder of Gail’s Accents. “It’s 2% here, 3% there.” Steele said his company hasn’t raised prices – yet – because container shipping costs have gone down in recent months. However, neither Steele nor anyone else ruled increases out entirely.

I have seen it trickling down into my business in the last month as new sample books arrive in the studio. One caught my eye for its’  amazing large scaled embroideries on a cotton ground, but priced at $99 a yard; I will see customer sticker shock.  So who or what’s to blame?

Mother Nature- Bad weather around the world has wiped out crops and herds. We’ve talked about cotton prices, leather hides, wool and cashmere. Now we have the catastrophe in Japan( known for their innovation in textiles and polyesters. )It’s no surprise sheets and towels have become more expensive. 

Cautious Industry- The American home décor industry is notorious for importing goods from Asia, primarily China. Yet the rising cost of imports has put producers in a quandary. Returning to domestic manufacturing isn’t an option. Many domestic producers are now looking to Vietnam and Thailand.  Same story, second verse.

Rising energy costs- As the last month has told us, increases in the cost of oil impact everything from transportation prices to production of petroleum-based raw materials (polyester).  Decorative accessories made of resin, textiles created from synthetic fibers, and containers traveling by ship or truck will all be impacted. 

Shortages – After the initial shock of the economic downturn, retailers and manufacturers got savvy and reduced inventories. Now both finished goods and raw materials are in short supply.  We’ve all had the not so pleasant experience of more backorders, mill drops and end bolts recently created a vicious cycle of reselects, waiting, customer frustration  to  losing the sale……

As an example, domestic supplies of leather hides have shrunk to historic lows.  A recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Leather Costs Hit by Supply Squeeze,”, reported, “U.S. federal data show cattle-hide prices are at their highest level in nearly a decade, jumping 24% in the last year to $82 apiece.”  That leather chair you’ve been craving has become a bit pricier than you anticipated.

China- Underpaid Chinese workers are demanding and getting higher wages and benefits leading to an increase in factory production costs.  Not surprisingly factories then pass the increase along to American importers.  Many workers are also leaving physically demanding jobs in textile or furniture factories and moving to better gigs in technology, creating a shortage of labor.

Bottom line- Buckle your seat belts we’re in for a bumpy ride for the rest of 2011. We’ll need to find new ways to win the customer and capture the sale .   We can no longer sell design and its products on price or price masquerading as “value”   ….Any ideas?

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Whether you are buying or selling design these days hold onto your hats! Things could be about to get crazy.  Last month, Dick Gentry of  Wesco Fabrics foreshadowed what is to come with this great post on his blog, Gentry Connects. If you’re not a subscriber- become one. He always has insightful comments,  really understands fabrics and the fabric market; plus I love his musical suggestions sprinkled into his posts! I ‘ve added a couple of my own comments and spottings at the end of the post.

On January 28, 2011 Gentry Connects post said:

I’ve never witnessed anything like the price hikes of the past few months. We have received multiple price hikes monthly from suppliers in the last six months. Holding prices for a 6 month catalog becomes a near impossible task. It has been totally nuts! Why is it happening now?

We will see a bump in prices this year from everything from barbecued ribs and coffee to clothing. Manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers must raise prices because of escalating commodities, or raw materials. Commodities like corn, cotton, wheat, coffee, sugar, and cocoa surged last year as severe weather crippled many crops, while increased domestic demand from China and India continue to explode. We are faced with the perfect storm of supply and demand.

COTTON futures skyrocketed 92% in 2010, thanks to floods in Pakistan and heavy rains in China that damaged crops. MAN-MADE FIBERS like polyester have jumped in price. Growing worldwide demand has impacted textile commodity prices. Currency issues and speculators have adversely affected markets as well.

SILK pattern “Wes Eternal City.”

SILK pattern “Wes Life Experience.”

I have an unabashed love of silk fabrics and have sourced from Indian companies for years. In the past year we have been hit with large silk price increases. India sources the majority of their silk yarns from China. They have seen a doubling of yarn prices in 2010! Increased domestic demand for silk in China and India has helped drive up prices. During our visit to Heimtex in Frankfurt we talked with many suppliers about the volatile situation. Though we still bought beautiful silks for our future Fall 2011 line we were shocked at many of the prices! We have to carefully edit our selections as never before! Many Indian suppliers are now creating new constructions of silk mixed with polyester, linen, and cotton for more affordable price points.

An important factor affecting textile commodity pricing is the growth of domestic demand in China and India. These are gigantic markets and just a few upward demand clicks influencing pricing pressure.

China is the world’s second largest luxury market after Japan and will be number one very shortly. Years ago shopping in Paris we would see throngs of Japanese tourists flooding Chanel and Gucci boutiques. Today you see Chinese travelers buying like crazy in those high-end stores!

We all wish for the simpler times of the past. Obviously it is a much more complicated and interconnected world today. I remember once visiting weavers in Bago, Burma, and marveled at how they worked their ancient hand looms. Even they are paying more for their yarns.

Our mission for the past 65 years remains the same at Wesco Fabrics. We constantly strive to provide interior designers beautiful fabrics and window coverings that excite their customers. Our passion for excellence is steadfast. Thank you for all your interest and support!

As gas prices are about to hit $4.00 a gallon in Chicago, I find myself spotting more and more products affected by the ” commodity chaos”  Dick talked about.   Leaving Paris the end of January we saw LONG VAT lines  of Chinese and Japanese tourists with bags of luxury goods  in the Air France terminal, a testament to the growth of these markets.

On the fiber front, Cashmere prices are set to soar after a harsh winter in Mongolia wiped out a quarter of the country’s wool producing goats. Experts say the lack of supply and increased demand could drive up prices by as much as 40 percent.

Fragrances are not immune to this either. The bad news  is that natural aphrodisiacs commonly used in fragrances, are facing shortages. In economic terms, this lays bare the fragility of supply chains in a globalised market.  Fragrance brands are absorbing the costs for now, but if commodity prices remain high they will have no choice but to pass these on to the consumer. This 5.9 billion global industry relies on a complex network of suppliers from every continent to provide the myriad spices and essential oils that go into the perfume used in fine fragrances and household products. In recent years, freak conditions have disrupted this volatile ecology and sent prices soaring.

“Like fine wines, fine fragrances use natural ingredients affected by microclimates in local growing regions and perfumers are used to sudden change changes in these conditions,” says Lisa Hipgrave, director of the International Fragrance Association UK. “However, there have never been this many strange weather conditions simultaneously causing shortages all over the world.”

UPDATE:

In doing some fashion research, I came across this article in the Wall Street Journal that echos Dick’s sentiments. If fashion designers are already revamping collections because of prices you know that interior collections are not far behind.  I hope jobbers and manufacturers do not trim updates, stylings and collections any  more than they have. Just when we though we were coming out of the woods- the industry could crawl back under it’s rock.  Hmm.. High Point could be interesting.

Materials Girls: Designers Trim Hemlines, Costs

Runway Fashions Get Revamped as Cotton, Wool, Leather and Silk Prices Rise

When dreaming up her fall collection, designer Nanette Lepore says she imagined herself floating on a cloud in a celestial fantasy. Then fabric prices brought her crashing back to earth.

Ms. Lepore and some other designers are removing bows, switching to less-expensive fabrics and changing linings among other steps because commodity prices are increasing so quickly. These materials costs are most acutely affecting the tier of luxury designers just below the high-end brands.

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