Marketing Panes

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Marketing Interviews & Tips for Window Treatment and Awning Companies

  1. APR 28

    The Truth About Pricing, Growth, and Profit in Window Treatments with Anthony Ngucaj

    Guest Profile: Anthony Ngucaj Anthony Ngucaj is the founder of Skugga Blinds, a custom window treatment company serving both residential and commercial clients. With a focus on clean, modern solutions, he has successfully completed projects ranging from private homes to large-scale commercial installation, including projects with up to 1,000 roller shades. Other Notes/Links: Follow Us On: Instagram pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CEwmcFZEYs&feature=youtu.be Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:00) Welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes, the podcast where we talk with real window treatment and awning professionals about what’s working in marketing, what’s changing in the industry, and how to grow smarter. Today’s guest is the founder of Skugga a custom window treatment company serving both residential and commercial clients. He built his business from hands-on experience in construction and installation and has grown Skugga into a company focused on clean, modern solutions. He’s worked on everything from smaller residential projects to large scale commercial installs, including projects with up to a thousand roller shades. What makes his story especially interesting is the evolution. He’s gone from competing on price through platforms like Thumbtack to developing a more strategic approach around pricing, efficiency and scalability with clear goals on building a business that doesn’t rely on him being on site for every job. At the same time, he’s balancing that growth with family life. including being a dad and thinking intentionally about what kind of business he wants to build long-term. This conversation is about growth, mistakes, pricing reality, and what it takes to transition from installer to business owner. Welcome to the show, Anthony Ngucaj Anthony Ngucaj (01:26) hi, how are you? William Hanke (01:27) Fantastic, I’m really happy to have you here today. Let’s jump in and talk about the beginning, like the origin story. How did you get into window treatments from a background in construction? Anthony Ngucaj (01:40) I have necessity to be honest with you. Our shade guy, Steve, who’s my mentor now, whether he realized it or not, but he is. so we will finish our projects and my dad’s name is Bill and the interior designers say, okay, Bill, you did a great job. Now we need shades, we need to sleep. And so my dad be like, okay, let me call Steve. Steve will be… available and everything and, and, but I guess he grew. it came to a point where Steve wouldn’t just be like, okay, I’m coming. He’d be like, wait a minute. How many shades are and how many are motorized? You know, he will have a minimum. then once the, if everything went okay, he’ll come. So at a time came where he wasn’t available, nobody was available. And then, I spoke to him and I said, Hey, we’ve got a problem here. You know, you know, William Hanke (02:18) Yeah. Anthony Ngucaj (02:30) we’re completing 99%. We gotta take the extra 1%. I have some experience, I worked in hotels, you know, and they teach you everything, shades, AC, elevators, whatever. And I said, you know what, I’m gonna do it. And so that’s how I got into it, necessity. William Hanke (02:45) Nice. Yeah, that’s great. You mentioned working with your dad before you started your own thing. What made you want to branch out and kind of start your own business? Anthony Ngucaj (02:57) ⁓ well, I did have an honest conversation with my dad because I’ve been with him since I was 15 years old, know, immigrant family, know, home, what you call it, family business. And I started as a translator. Okay, dad, you know, the customer said this, this, this. Okay, miss, my dad is saying this, you know, it started like that. then William Hanke (03:08) Yeah. Yeah. Anthony Ngucaj (03:22) I passed, started managing multiple projects at the same time for everything, everything. And then before you know it, I graduated my college in 2014 or so. So I was maybe 22 or something like that. And then some more time passed. The problem with having a family business is you get comfortable fast, you know, because you get into this assumption that, okay, I’m going to take over. But as time passes by, it’s kind of like, okay, I need to do my own thing. Do I have a future here? I had a conversation with my dad about this. It was uncomfortable. And we got to a point and we said, listen, you know what? I got to do my own thing. I’m married now. And so, that’s how I got started. It was a little uncomfortable in the beginning for sure. Because as you know, I started from thumbtack and it was just these… Tiny projects, one shade here, 50 bucks there, you know. And, but over time it just, as you said, evolved. Yeah, that’s how I got started. You were about to mention the early grind. Then it was, it was tough because my first customer, I lost her because we had completed the project. did an entire renovation, entire house, beautiful house. And then I go up there and I’m like, Hey, how are you guys doing? I’m here to do your window treatments. They looked at me like I came from the moon. They’re like, Anthony, what are you doing here? Yeah. I’m like, what I’m. William Hanke (04:53) Thank Anthony Ngucaj (04:56) I mean, here, do your window treatments. They’re like, okay, I guess do your thing. I don’t know. You know, and they were telling me stuff I’ve never heard of cellular shades. All I knew was roller shades. That’s all I knew. They were telling me cellular shades, Hunter Douglas, Gerber, something like that. I’m like, wait, what, what is cellular shades? I thought, I swear to God, I thought cellular shades was with the phone. I said, it must be something you can control from your phone. You know, but, William Hanke (05:09) Okay. What the hell? Fair enough. Anthony Ngucaj (05:25) I lost her because to be honest, she could tell that I had no idea what I was talking about. So that was embarrassing. But then some more time passed and I met and I had my first customer and I don’t remember her name, but she was maybe in her sixties who had been in early seventies and she had a problem with her vertical blinds. Right. And still, I mean, I was just like figuring it out and And I had told her, listen, miss, you know, I’m all about customer service and I’m trying to save you money. And I’m going to do the minimum that I can, you know, so you don’t have to buy a new shade or something like that. Cause I’m not here to upsell. I’m here to take care of you and your needs, you know, as I went by the time I, by the time I went through, had gotten there three times. Very nice lady paid me every time. And then it got to a point where I called Steve and I said, Steve, man, listen, I’m trying to fix this vertical line and it’s giving me a freaking headache. And then Steve was like, we should have come in sooner. I will tell you, waste your time. Just tell her, buy a new track. It had head rail. And then that’s it because, the clips, the carriers, whatever that carried the vines, right. They were broken. And because these were old fashioned ones to replace them. It was it just it was impossible, you know And so by the time I told her this she said okay send me a quote and like I didn’t add anything on top I just told her listen this size cost this much. just sent her a link and everything And then she said look, you know what to be honest you we spent so much money at this point that We’re just gonna leave it as it is, know what? William Hanke (06:54) Right. Anthony Ngucaj (07:18) Thursday, I, to be honest with you, if I could have not charged her, it would make me feel so good. You know why? Because she reminded me of my grandma who had passed away maybe like two, three years before her. Very nice lady. but everything’s a learning experience over time, you you evolve and you got to adapt that business to be honest with you. ⁓ well, business like that. ⁓ I know, ⁓ since a very young kid I’ve been in the business world. And I’ve seen two different types of business professionals, business owners, right? There’s the first type where it’s they’re strict. It’s, this is what I do, know, have a nice day. I’ve been doing it for 30 years, have a nice day, right? And then there’s the other one, which I’m not gonna lie, it’s more of the modern generation, right? where they analyze trends and they see, okay, I spent X amount of time doing this activity. Maybe I should switch around and do something else instead within the same market, To be honest with you, the way that things are flowing, things are changing so fast, technology, AI, you have to. you will be left in the dust and they’re gonna be like, what? Skugga who? You know? You know? They’re gonna be like, what? Nah, must adapt. You have to go with the flow. And I don’t remember the scientist’s name, but he said, survivor of the fittest, Charles Darwin. Talk about evolution. He said survivor of the fittest. When he said that he didn’t mean the strongest or fastest, he meant who can fit into any given… William Hanke (08:44) Yeah. Yeah. Anthony Ngucaj (09:08) situation best. That’s what that means. It’s about adapting to any situation, to your customers, to the market. It’s a lot, you know, it’s been a man. It’s been a journey. William Hanke (09:21) Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So speaking of the early grind and kind of getting those first customers, ⁓ tell me about the name Skugga. Where did that come from? Anthony Ngucaj (09:31) Gosh, that’s hilarious. First of all, that

    46 min

  2. APR 1

    Industry Pulse (Q1 2026): From Slow Season to Smart Growth: Real Talk from the Field

    Adam Culbreath Adam Culbreath, co-owner of Made in the Shade St. Louis, was raised in Wildwood, Missouri, and graduated from Eureka High School. He developed a passion for soccer early on, which he continues to enjoy today. Adam pursued a degree in finance at Murray State University, where he also strengthened his bond with his brother through shared experiences, including fraternity life. He has a strong sense of adventure, highlighted by studying abroad in Alicante, Spain and traveling to over 20 countries. After college, Adam returned to St. Louis to start a business with his brother, combining his entrepreneurial drive with a deep connection to his hometown. Dustin Yocum Dustin Yocum is the owner of World Class Window Coverings, serving Contra Costa County, CA. With over 20 years of industry experience, from manufacturing to retail, Dustin leads a team dedicated to building personal relationships, listening to clients’ needs, and delivering “World Class” Red-Carpet service. His hands-on approach ensures homeowners and businesses get creative, high-quality window solutions every time. Other Notes/Links: pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Adam Culbreath Made in the Shade St. Louis: Visit Website Dustin Yocum World Class Window Coverings: Visit Website Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK7WWPPIyA4 Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:00) All right, welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes the podcast where we talk with real window treatment and awning professionals about what’s working, what’s changing and how they’re growing their business. I’m Will Hanke and today’s episode is our quarterly check-in where we zoom out a bit and look at what’s actually working in the industry right now. Today I’ve got two guests. First of all, Adam Culbreath Adam is the co-owner of Made in the Shade St. Louis, a Wildwood, Missouri native and a finance graduate from Murray State University. With a background shaped by travel to over 20 countries and studying abroad in Spain, Adam brings a global perspective to his work. Today, he runs the business alongside his brother, combining his entrepreneurial drive with the strong roots in his hometown. Dustin Yocum is the owner of World Class Window Coverings, serving Contra Costa County, California. With over 20 years of industry experience from manufacturing to retail, Dustin leads a team dedicated to bringing personal relationships, listening to clients’ needs, and delivering world-class red carpet service. His hands-on approach ensures homeowners and businesses get creative, high-quality window solutions every single time. Guys, welcome to the show. Adam Culbreath (01:21) Thanks for having us. William Hanke (01:22) Yeah, appreciate you guys being here. let’s start with something simple. How has Q1 felt for you guys so far? Adam, you want to start? Dustin Yocum (01:22) Yes, thank you. Pleasure. Adam Culbreath (01:31) Sure, it’s been kind of odd. It was a little bit different than last year, but kind of a more seasonal, know, kind of went back to the general season that I think window treatments have where January, February is generally a little bit slower. And then it picks up once the warm weather hits with, you know, the early spring stuff. So, you we had a pretty slow January, February, but we’ve since made a lot of that up just with the business from this month and last month. So, which is… William Hanke (01:47) Yeah. Adam Culbreath (01:57) Pretty similar to how we started when I first started the business, know, the first several, couple of years before COVID and all the craziness of the, you know, all that brought, but I would say this one was pretty standard. William Hanke (02:08) Pretty standard. And you’re in the Midwest, so we have four seasons in the Midwest. How about you, Dustin? I know California has one season, Summer. Adam Culbreath (02:13) Yeah, all the seasons. Dustin Yocum (02:17) Pretty much the weather was pretty consistent. Although we’ve had a lot of rain You know, which is great for us, but a little unusual. But yeah, similar like quarter one’s always a little slower And you know Right now we’re picking up so as it’s getting warmer people are wanting more exterior products We’re getting getting those calls coming in. So actually this month is we’re doing very well William Hanke (02:24) Yeah. Okay, that’s great. I’ve also heard it’s been really warm in California, unseasonably warm, so that probably drives a lot more of the exterior stuff. Dustin Yocum (02:46) Yeah, for March it’s been it’s been insane. yeah, it’s it’s the warmer weather brings brings people out wanting them to spend some money. So it’s been it’s been a good thing. William Hanke (02:55) Yeah. How does your Q1 this year compare to your last year? Dustin Yocum (02:59) Well, it’s very different for us just because we merged with a new company. we got, I can’t even compare any numbers to any season we’ve ever had. this is all brand new us since we’ve merged with Winduology. William Hanke (03:06) Yeah. Fair enough, that’s great. Congrats on that growth, by the way, that’s awesome. What has been taking up most of your attention lately in the business? Dustin Yocum (03:13) Thank you, Most of my attention, honestly, is just trying to generate leads and then put a system in place so that way we could nurture those leads and then handle those leads as they come in. So I think it’s mainly just working with the team and figuring out what we need to do so we can be consistent from start to finish for everybody. And we finally now have that team in place where we can do that. William Hanke (03:37) Nice, that feels good. You got the hiring out of the way, now you just have to work on systems. Perfect. Dustin Yocum (03:42) That’s right. That’s right. Every day it’s just improving. That’s I mean, it’s never going to stop. William Hanke (03:46) It never does stop. Yeah, the systems get better, but there’s always some sort of tweaking or update or something changes where you got to go back and redo something. How about you, Adam? What’s been taking up most of your attention lately? Dustin Yocum (03:55) That’s right. Adam Culbreath (03:55) yeah. Right now, I would say we actually have kind of been actually hiring some installers. So we’ve been trying to implement a little bit more systems with that, trying to train new people for installation. It’s the hardest position we found to fill consistently and to have, you know, redundancy and quality. you know, we’re… We’re actually losing my installer, which is my dad. He’s actually, he’s been working with us for, he joined us a couple of years after we started our company with my brother and I. And now he’s kind of moving on to another role kind of in the early stages of retirement, which is pretty exciting for him. So now we’re moving towards less family members into the business, which is nice, but also, you know, trying to create some processes where we can actually have people that are, you know, quality installers that can join into the business, know what to expect, know what to do. So kind of starting to build those processes around them so that way we can grow. Because we’re getting a lot of leads and we have a good salesperson, a couple of good salespeople now, but we’re starting to need to focus on the supply part of the business rather than the demand. William Hanke (05:05) Nice. That’s great. A lot of window treatment dealers are struggling to find installers. How did you guys find yours? Adam Culbreath (05:12) We’ve always found them from different methods, but for one, we actually used Indeed for an installer that we’re actually going to be hiring here at the end of this week, actually. But I found them through multiple different methods from other installers just referring us, as well as taking cards from handyman contractors that we liked. Sometimes when you show up to some of these jobs, you’re like, you know, the fourth or fifth guy that is working on another project in that house while they’re finishing, you know, some space. So, you know, with that, we’ve always just asked for leads and are also just asked for referrals from the client themselves. You know, did you like your guy? Did you like how they did this or that? And a lot of these guys know how to do and install a lot of different products. They actually don’t really mess with window treatments too often is what we find, but they are willing and interested because you can make a lot of money doing it. You know, and so it can be just a little add on. already have a lot of the tools. So we’ve been kind of pushing people that ultimately have some of have their own business and just want to grow, you know, an extra, you know, an extra thing that they can install to make some additional money. It’s a one day job. so it’s not something that’s going to totally rock their world. They can fill in, they can use it to fill in, you know, kitchen remodels, bathroom remodeling stuff, if they have a couple days while the drywalls, butters, they’re in or the painters are finishing. So, found that to be kind of a unique fit. We found some really quality guys to do it. William Hanke (06:31) That’s a great way to do it. Are you just 1099 those guys? Adam Culbreath (06:34) As of right now, yeah. So, but you know, as they grow and I think a lot of them like it, they see it can be simple, but there’s still enough challenge to what has to be done that there’s a decent amount of experience that needs to know like what

    46 min

  3. FEB 24

    Retail Reinvented: The Great Curtain Company’s Modern Model

    Guest Profile: Lexi Schultz Lexi Schultz is a co-owner of The Great Curtain Company, a woman-owned, mother-daughter business based in Austin, Texas. With nearly two decades in the custom drapery and window treatment industry, Lexi has built a reputation for blending high-end design with real-world expertise, helping homeowners and designers navigate everything from fabric selection to architectural problem-solving. Known for her candid approach, deep industry knowledge, and concierge-level service, Lexi specializes in custom drapery, shades, and design-driven solutions that elevate how people live in their homes. Offer: As a thank you to the Marketing Panes community, Lexi is offering a complimentary Curtain Clarity Call for designers or homeowners who need direction on an upcoming project. It’s a short, high-value conversation to help you avoid costly mistakes and move forward with confidence. Simply mention the podcast when you connect with her. Other Notes/Links: Websites: The Great Curtain Company pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9CcZVXdDzs Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:02) Welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes the podcast where we talk with real window treatment and awning professionals. about what’s working and marketing, what’s changing in the industry, and how to grow smarter. Today’s guest is the owner of The Great Curtain Company in Austin, Texas, a showroom known to locals as the Disneyland of Curtains. Her roots in the business run deep. She grew up working side by side with her mom. We’re gonna dig into that a little bit. her mom who ran a decorating den franchise and then co-founded their own drapery business in 2006. Since then she helped grow the company into one of the largest curtain showrooms in the Gulf Coast region expanding from retail into trade services, custom fabrication, and most recently a new educational platform called Art of Drapery Academy. She’s a savvy sales leader, designer advocate, and unapologetic fan of American-made sourcing. Lexi Schultz, welcome to the show. Excited to dig into some of this stuff. There’s a lot to unpack here already, right? Lexi Schultz (01:09) Hey, well, thanks so much for having me. ⁓ I’m so excited too. I really appreciate you guys and I can’t wait to tell you more about our story and kind of how we work. William Hanke (01:22) Yeah, yeah, well, why don’t you go ahead and take me back? Take me back. How did the great curtain company come to be? Lexi Schultz (01:29) Sure. So my mom, Lauren Schultz, she has owned a decorating den franchise since the early 90s. So when we moved to Texas, I very, at a very young age was following her around at, you know, site visits and things like that, kind of helping her with books and things like that. And she had this franchise for probably a solid 10 years and she grew her franchise into one of the biggest decked-in franchises in the central Texas region. And after she did that for long time, she decided that she didn’t want to be a part of a franchise anymore. She really wanted to dig deep and do her own thing. So she did her own interior design for a long time. But as the early 2000s came around, she had decided, you know what, I want to go back to window treatments. Window treatments were always a passion of hers. And in my entire childhood, we grew up with the most extravagant swag boards and all of the OG 90s stuff that you remember, William Hanke (02:16) Yeah. Lexi Schultz (02:19) know, wallpapered drapes, wallpapered walls, wallpapered everything and draperies that match. And so I grew up with a love of the same textiles and just the overall craftsmanship that go into this. So in the early 2000s, she decided, you know what, I’m done with doing interior design exclusively. I just want to do window treatments again. And she built this storefront from scratch in 2006. And as I was graduating high school, I had kind of two paths to choose. You I could either kind of go along with what I thought I was going to do, which was graphic design. and I’ve been noodling around in Photoshop since I was nine years old. So I had a really firm grasp of design and layouts for magazines and doing all of our advertising and things like that. But when she built this showroom and I did all of that for a couple of years when we first started, I really wanted to get into the tactile beauty of fabric, actually touching and seeing and working with real textiles versus everything being conceptual on the computer all the time. So I really leaned back into interior design. but still work both side by side. So in 2006, we built this beautiful storefront. It is not a franchise. It is family owned still to this day, 20 years later. It’s still the two of us. And we have a great staff and installer on staff and everything to be able to help us make some of the most beautiful treatments you can possibly imagine. Yeah. William Hanke (03:37) I love that. That’s great. What’s it been like building something like this with your mom? Lexi Schultz (03:42) It’s been both fun and challenging. So I am an only child. So she is literally my best friend. She’s everything to me. And so when we built this storefront, was initially her vision of just having wall to wall custom draperies that were ready made. We had a concept in 2006 when we first started where it was dominantly just beautiful silk draperies, because silk was the thing in the early 2000s. a very Tuscan Italian Mediterranean style showroom for the central Texas region of that time. And her concept was just, want to have beautiful off the shelf, high quality, handmade in the US type drapery. And we did that for many years until we saw more architects building and developing bigger homes, bigger windows that required custom. So that’s where we just fully went into custom. But building a brand side by side with a family member. It’s been really rewarding, know, her having all of the experience to be able to produce a business model that allows me to kind of pick up the torch now and be a face person for our brand and still be very much in touch with today’s trends, having all of the knowledge, but also the current foresight of where, you know, our business model is going. It’s been fun working with her side by side for so long. Yeah. William Hanke (04:58) That’s great. So my daughter Amber works with me too. she so I understand I understand the dynamic ⁓ Lexi Schultz (05:01) ⁓ yeah, for sure. We certainly have our moments. I’m not gonna lie and say we don’t have an all out, you know, fight over something or a concept both of us don’t agree on. We do a lot of designing for the showroom as far as having display pieces and like what brands to bring on. William Hanke (05:12) Right. Lexi Schultz (05:18) So we don’t always see eye to eye as like what drapery we want to make on the wall or what Roman shade we want to make for a display for this season. But beyond that, we’ve been working together so long that we really have a very know, tandem style of how we’re gonna do the future building of the store. William Hanke (05:34) Yeah, it’s fun. The dynamics great. And I’ve given Amber, my daughter permission to tell me no, because as a visionary, you’re like, we should do this, and we should do this, and we should do this, right? So I need somebody to kind of keep me focused. ⁓ Lexi Schultz (05:39) yeah, absolutely. Exactly, exactly. She’s a very, she’s a great idea person and I like to be more of an executor. So it’s a good combination, but sometimes where it’s like we have so many ideas, but we want to do them all at one time. And it’s not totally logistical to do that, but we can. William Hanke (06:02) Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I know you probably started out in the mail room or whatever and worked your way up. So how have you seen over the last 20 years the businesses evolved? Lexi Schultz (06:04) Yeah. Yes, exactly, yes! Yeah, so like I mentioned before, we started off, our concept was strictly just walk-in traffic. We did newspaper magazine ads in the day. We had magazine ads. There was no real internet advertising at this time. It hadn’t become quite a thing just yet. And so we really relied heavily on being open six days a week, you know, 10 to five, having clients come in and do, you know, design on the fly where they bring pillows or they bring sketches of their window configurations. And pictures on a camera phone or even print it out at that time. And so people would bring a lot of homework with them just without even making an appointment. It was full walk in and we could sit down and look at things on the wall and go, this is the one. But in the last decade, specifically from like 2013 to 2019, we saw a huge shift in not only not wanting to something off the shelf, really honing in on customization. So we brought on a lot of different suppliers and vendors when it came to hardware. when it came to fabric and then ultimately buying in and building our workrooms that can support a much larger scale than we had initially thought the showroom was ever going to be. So in the last 10 years or so, we’ve William Hanke (07:23) wow. Lexi Schultz (07:25) seen walk-in traffic kind of dip. I’m pretty sure anyone in this industry who’s got a storefront, a brick and mortar has seen the same thing since the pandemic. But we started to see just a bigger trend at that point of online people, different vendors from around the country providing things and being able to drop ship. So

    59 min

  4. FEB 10

    How Better Measurement Systems Help Window Companies Scale with Nathan Eldridge

    Guest Profile: Nathan Eldridge Nathan Eldridge is the CEO of Franchise Support Services (FSS), Nathan has leveraged his extensive background in technology and executive management to bring transformative solutions to the industry. His entrepreneurial journey began with the launch of two successful window treatment franchises in Dallas and Houston, where he quickly identified the industry’s need for more efficient and accurate measuring tools. Nathan’s most notable contribution is the development of the FSS Window Pro™ app, a groundbreaking tool that has revolutionized the window treatment consultation process. By integrating Bluetooth laser and tape measure measuring technology with cloud-based data management, Nathan has addressed one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: measurement accuracy. The app has significantly reduced errors, saved costs, and improved the speed of consultations, directly impacting the bottom line of businesses in the sector. This innovation demonstrates Nathan’s commitment to not only his own success but to the advancement of the entire window coverings industry. Beyond his technological contributions, Nathan’s launch of the Commercial Takeoff service further showcases his dedication to empowering small retailers to expand into larger commercial projects. By simplifying the complexities of project bidding, he is enabling more businesses to grow and thrive. Nathan Eldridge is a visionary leader who is actively reshaping the window treatment industry. Other Notes/Links: Websites: Franchise Support Services pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://youtu.be/P-Fl6yWv4JU?si=NExbpwY1f8Nw6RVu Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:00) Hey, welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes the podcast where we talk with real window treatment and awning professionals about what’s working in marketing, what’s changing in the industry, and how to grow smarter. Today, we’re joined by the founder of Franchise Support Services and a long-time leader in the window treatment space, Nathan Eldridge. Nathan comes from a deep background in engineering and tech. And after running successful franchises in Dallas and Houston, he shifted his focus to helping businesses improve accuracy, workflow and field operations. His work centers on solving real measurement and training challenges that every window treatment and awning company deals with. Welcome to the show, Nathan. Nathan Eldridge (00:47) Thank you very much, Will. Glad to be here. William Hanke (00:49) Yeah, glad to have you here today. know we’ve been friends for a while now, so ⁓ it’s exciting to have you on to kind of talk about what you’re up to. Yeah. So for anyone who hasn’t met you, how did your career in window treatments begin and how hands-on were you with the measurements and installs early on? Nathan Eldridge (01:11) My journey into the window treatment world was very interesting. in 2018, 2019, I started to look at franchises. I knew I wanted to buy a franchise. And I probably looked at, you know, probably 80 businesses. And when I came across the window treatment business, I looked at it and I realized like an epiphany, like window treatments is what my wife would love to do. And it took us about 18 months of exploring and looking at FDBs, but we bought our first franchise in 2021. And that was with Gotcha covered. It was for my wife to run full time. I kept my corporate job in the backend and I was going to help with systems and processes because that’s what I’ve done for my career. It took us about four months getting into the business and constantly telling our family about how exciting it was and talking with the window treatments and my wife just gravitated to the design side and the fabrics and all those different types of products. My sister looked at it and said, wow, this looks awesome. I want to do the same thing. so within about four or five months, I partnered with my sister. opened a second franchise. And then within one year we expanded to four territories. And so it was quick, fast and furious kind of growth into it. know, anyone that knows me, I don’t sit still very well. And so the growth and the explosion into it, I was there building the systems, the processes, and kind of looking at what we were doing. measurements quickly rose to the top of my focus list for my sister and my wife about how to optimize. And ⁓ what started as just trying to fix something for my family turned into a new product for the industry. William Hanke (02:52) Very good, and that product is the FSS Window Pro, right? Nathan Eldridge (02:58) That’s it, yep. So the FSS Window Pro is the app that we launched. When we first created it, it was really just something that was putting there for us. Being part of a franchise, we have 160 other best friends that are franchise owners and we started to show it to some of them and they started to ask, well, how do we get this? We want this in our business. And so we kind of went down a path of just being something we were gonna use internally to, okay, let’s open it and try to get it to where other franchises can use it, our friends. And then they would tell people and people started coming to us and saying, well, how do we get access to it? We’re not part of the franchise. so it just kind of bloomed in 2023 into something that we put open to the market. And it’s kind of grown word of mouth since then. William Hanke (03:39) I love it. ⁓ That’s awesome. the FSS Window Pro was even an idea, what were some of those biggest frustrations that you were seeing out in the field? Nathan Eldridge (03:50) Man, so measurements were dependent on the person. So you could have one person that could do it really well, one person that did terrible at it. Tape measures, they’re error-prone in real-world conditions, right? You’re at the end of the day, you’re tired, you’re having to bend over, or you’re on a ladder reaching up. My wife is very short, so everything that was above her head was a challenge. You also, it’s independent on rounding decisions. So it’s very inconsistent from person to person, how they read it, what they round to. In our industry, doing inside mount. and rounding down is very important. ⁓ Then that came down to writing the measurement. introducing the human error, was that a 5 8s or a 3 8s, reading the handwriting later, transcribing it ⁓ wrong, were the top pain points. Those five were top pain points for us. William Hanke (04:38) Yeah, and as a systems guy, human error is like the bane of your existence, right? You the whole reason you build these things. Nathan Eldridge (04:45) Yeah, yeah, you know, a good system should have no human error. The process should be so robust that anyone can use it, right? You don’t need super humans to run your business. William Hanke (04:55) Yeah. Right. Yeah. And you’ve mentioned before that those processes and not the people are often the root of the mistakes. So can you unpack that a little bit more? Nathan Eldridge (05:08) Yeah. So coming from my corporate background, you know, at multiple degrees in engineering, lean is embedded in everything that I’ve done my whole career. And, you know, errors when they do happen, it’s not human. The human nature is we go, why did you make that mistake? And you focus on the person, you know, a really basic tool that, you know, people learn early on in lean is five Y’s, right? So when you ask why five times, so if you took a measurement that’s wrong and you asked, why was it wrong? It’s wrong because someone wrote it down incorrectly. Why do they get written down incorrectly? Because the rep was rushing, relying on their memory. Why were they rushing? Because there wasn’t a standard workflow, no validation. Why was there no validation? Because the process was never designed to catch errors. And by time you get down to the fifth, you’re no longer talking about the installer, the sales rep, you’re talking about what’s missing in the standards or a lack of a tool. And so it’s really just about bringing that into a workflow and trying to make it where it’s optimized, where everyone can succeed at the same level. William Hanke (05:57) Right? Yeah. Yeah. And so that’s awesome. You took that kind of you drilled down into what the real issue was, tried to start solving for that, which would obviously then work its way back up the chain. What was what kind of surprised you the most on the tech side training gap, even resistance to change? Nathan Eldridge (06:27) So the first stage was with my sister and my wife and their adaption to new technology was good. I brought them the solution and they were eager to remove problems and so the adaption was easy. When we went to the next step, we kind of expanded it to franchises. I found that people really had a hard time of, this is how I’ve always done it. I’ve always used tape measures. I’ve always done a notepad with a pen and paper. ⁓ Somewhere in the journey into launching it into the full market, I heard enough customer feedback that people maybe didn’t trust lasers. They bought a laser 10 years ago and they tried it and they had accuracy problems. And a lot of the times if you, fly, why did they have accuracy problems on a laser? They treated it like it was a hammer. They threw it in a tool bag. You got thrown in the back of the truck when most of these lasers need to be treated like a cell phone, right? You don’t just throw it in a bag and throw it somewhere. You put it in your pocket. It’s taken care of. ⁓ But one of the thin

    47 min

  5. JAN 27

    Building Skills, Confidence, and Community in the Workroom Industry with Ceil DiGuglielmo

    Guest Profile: Ceil DiGuglielmo Ceil DiGuglielmo is the owner of The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library, the industry’s largest collection of educational resources for Custom Home Furnishings Professionals. She is also the owner of Learn to Choose Window Coverings an online course for window treatment professionals created by Linda Erlam.Ceil has owned a to the trade workroom since 2005. Ceil is passionate about education and technology in the window coverings and soft home furnishings industry. She has taught at the Custom Workroom Conference and has done presentations for several Window Coverings Association of America chapters. Ceil is the producer and Host of The Sew Much More Podcast, an interview-style podcast sharing the stories of the people in the custom home furnishings industry. Ceil also produces and co-hosts 30 Minutes with Workroom Tech with Susan Woodcock, offering workroom education. Other Notes/Links: Websites: The Sew Much More Podcast The Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library Learn to Choose Window Coverings pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://youtu.be/Fb98Tcf4LtQ Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:00) Welcome back to Marketing Panes where we talk with real window treatment professionals, business owners and service providers about what’s working in marketing and what’s changing in the industry. Today’s guest is Ceil DiGuglielmo a longtime workroom pro turned educator and the current steward of the Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library. one of the most comprehensive collections of training and tools in the industry. She spent years helping fabricators and designers not only level up their skills, but build confidence and community along the way. We’ll talk about. what today’s workroom professionals need most, what’s shifting and how people learn the trade, and why education and support can’t be one size fits all. Let’s get into it. Ceil, first of all, thank you so much for being on the show today. Ceil (00:55) Well, thank you. It’s my pleasure. William Hanke (00:58) Glad to have you on. ⁓ How did you first get into this industry? Ceil (01:04) Well, it’s interesting. Well, I think especially for people my age who are in the industry, it started out as I chose to stay home when my oldest daughter was born. And a few months into that, I was like, this isn’t quite what I expected. And I also needed to make some more money. And I had some skills. I knew how to sell. My very first business was making bridal headpieces. And I literally would make a headpiece, photograph it, take it apart, make another headpiece, actually, my husband photographed He was a photographer at the time. And I put together a book and then I started advertising locally. And I did that for a couple years, but I had been in business. I worked for a retail, large retailer in the Philadelphia area. I just did not know how to run a business. And I ended up going to a SCORE meeting for female entrepreneurs. And they are the service core of retired executives if people don’t know who they are. William Hanke (01:57) Okay. Ceil (02:02) It was eye-opening and I learned a lot about how to run my business. I got myself a score mentor and I met two interior designers there who were looking for someone to make soft furnishings and window treatments for them. And it was like the perfect alignment. ⁓ I was able to work with them. And since they were new, I could say to them, I have no idea how to make that, but I will find out. And it was, I wasn’t embarrassed or trying to prove myself. They were new. There were things they didn’t know. So it was a great start. And then I sort of fell into, I found out about other people in the industry through a conference that was advertised. And I went. William Hanke (02:34) Yeah. Ceil (02:46) and I sat down in my first class and it was like, ⁓ these are my people. Like this is what I want to be doing. And I realized it was in fact a business that fabricating window treatments could be a career for me. And it could be something I could work around my family schedule when I needed to and grow it as my family grew. William Hanke (02:59) Yeah. Yeah, I love that you say this could be a business. I remember that as well. Like, ⁓ I could probably do this. This could be a thing, right? Yeah, that’s awesome. So you’ve worked in several corners of the trade now. What experiences shaped that approach? Ceil (03:20) Yes, it’s gonna be a thing. Well, we talk a lot about learning to say no, but it’s also important to say yes. And I said yes to a lot of odd things. And one of the things that I said yes to was doing my own podcast. I had been listening to a podcast that was actually meant for crafters. And I say this very respectfully, I’m really not a crafter. William Hanke (03:58) Sure. Ceil (03:59) I need to make something that has a purpose. I mean, I knit and I do some other things, but I never really saw myself as a crafter and I don’t, can’t tell you why I used to listen to this podcast, except that the woman who did it did such a brilliant job of asking questions. Her name is Abby Glassenberg. And I kept listening to it and thinking, oh, somebody in our industry should do this. William Hanke (04:10) you Ceil (04:24) somebody in our industry should do this. And then one day I figured like, well, I’m somebody and I can go to YouTube and figure out how to run, you know, do a podcast. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. As you well know, there was a whole lot more to it. But I said yes to it. I started to do it. And then when Janelle Deck, who was a previous owner of the Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library was William Hanke (04:38) Sure. Ceil (04:52) realizing it no longer connected to what she was trying to build. She and I sat down and talked about it and actually the anniversary is coming up very soon. On January 17th of 2017, we signed the papers and I took over running the Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library. William Hanke (05:12) Wow. Wow. Ceil (05:14) So again, I said yes, but I didn’t quite know everything I was getting myself into. But I had been a member of the library and I understood what having a place to go to and look for information, but also having a community. At that point, Facebook groups were becoming very popular, but sometimes I’d look and there’d be like 3000 members on a Facebook group. And I had no way of knowing whether they were professionals or whether the questions that were being answered were the best way to do things or the most recognized. right way. I know there’s no one right way to do everything, but I would get too many answers for things. Inside the library, it’s a smaller group. It is professionals. It’s people who have been helping other people for years. We have some people who are retired from the business and still continue to come into the library and answer questions and help people. So I loved what the library stood for and it was a great ⁓ William Hanke (06:12) Love you. Yeah. Ceil (06:18) It was a great combination of the podcast and the library. I did not realize that I would have so little time and I started to cut back on the fabrication. So in the past maybe two or three years, I’ve cut back to maybe just one or two clients that I work with. And that’s more to keep myself in the workroom once in a while than anything else. So the focus now is on running the library, doing the podcast. And part of the library is also a digital digest, which is a magazine geared towards workrooms. William Hanke (06:45) Yeah. ⁓ that’s awesome. You’ve basically you mentioned score earlier on. You’ve basically built a version of score specifically for this industry, right? Ceil (06:57) Thank You know, I hadn’t thought about that, but yes, based on the fact that so many people within the library are seasoned fabricators and willing to answer questions. the content of the library, Will, it’s grown over the years. Some of it is, William Hanke (07:08) Yeah. Ceil (07:26) Recorded webinars from the old custom home furnishings Academy some of it is courses that people put together sold for a little while and then realized that the content was important but not as Up to date so they would donate it to the library and also have a great working relationship with the workroom channel and a lot of our industry teachers record courses on there. So yeah, yeah, you’re right. I had not thought about that, but it is kind of like score for window treatment fabricators. William Hanke (07:59) Yeah, yeah. And for listeners that aren’t familiar with score, we’ll put a link in the show notes for sure, because I used score when I first got started. What an amazing organization to really, you I love to hear success stories like yours, where you had a mentor that helped you just, you know, just explain that, yes, this can be a thing. And this is the way to get there. Ceil (08:08) Okay. And what I loved about ScoreWill was that it was people with, at one point I had one mentor and then for a little while I was meeting with two or three people. During the pandemic, we were only meeting on Zoom. So ⁓ like three of them would jump on and they would give me different perspectives from their industries. So it was just, and just really helped me keep on task about running the business end of things. William Hanke (08:43) Yeah. Ceil (08:50) not just being creative and this is pretty, I want to make this. I really had to focus on that part of it too. William Hanke (08:51) Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Creat

    51 min

  6. JAN 13

    Adapting a 50-Year Window Treatment Business for Today's Homeowners with Brandon Moss

    Guest Profile: Brandon Moss Brandon Moss, CEOBrandon Moss is the son of founder Mike Moss and now leads a nearly 50-year-old window treatment business as CEO. He carries forward his father’s commitment to quality and customer service while guiding the company through the changing expectations of today’s Florida homeowners. Under Brandon’s leadership, the business continues to evolve by modernizing systems, adapting marketing strategies, and embracing innovation, all while staying rooted in affordability, trust, and service excellence. Brandon brings a valuable perspective on generational leadership, balancing tradition with change, and running a mature business in a competitive, fast-moving market. Other Notes/Links: Website: Blinds & Shutters by Discount Mike pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3CwKC48lHg Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT William Hanke (00:01) Welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes. Today’s conversation is part of our quarterly series where we step back and talk about what’s happening right now in the window treatment industry, what’s changing and what business owners should be paying attention to this quarter. My name is Will Hanke and today I’m joined with Brandon Moss, CEO of a nearly 50 year old window treatment business. Brandon represents the next generation of leadership. balancing longstanding values with realities of today’s homeowners and modern marketing. In this episode, we’ll dig into how legacy businesses adapt, what Brandon is seeing in the market right now, and the lessons other owners can take into the rest of this year. Brandon, thank you for being on today. Brandon (00:51) Hey, Will good to see you, you handsome little fellow, you. William Hanke (00:54) I appreciate that. ⁓ Fantastic having you on. I always enjoy our conversations. Tell me what it was like stepping into a leadership role in a business that your father built. Brandon (00:59) Yes. So a little about my background for the listeners. My wife and I own a manufacturing company. We are in the dairy manufacturing and we manufacture ice cream. I’m not really at liberty to tell you the companies that we sell to, but they’re very large. There’s a lot of quality control and safety issues that go into that. I expect the manufacturers of window treatments to follow those same quality issues. about five years ago, my father had suddenly passed away. He started this blinds company in 1979. I grew up in it. I was literally playing in the basement on Graber G71 tracks. These were my toys. William Hanke (01:31) you you Brandon (01:48) My brother and I built forts with them and I would install on Saturdays. When I went off to college, my father bought me a pickup truck, a toolbox and said, while you’re studying, sell blinds. And that’s what I did. ⁓ At some point after college, I went back down to South Florida, worked with my father and his store for a little bit and decided, you know what? William Hanke (02:04) nice. Brandon (02:13) I don’t want to do this. Let me get out of this business. I came back to central Florida and my wife and I built this factory that makes ice cream. So when my father had passed away, we were closing things up, tying up loose ends and I just fit into it like an old sock, an old glove. It felt comfortable. And my wife took over the ice cream business and I’m rebuilding and relearning this window treatment industry. William Hanke (02:40) Nice, nice. So it was always there, but kind of out of mind, I guess. And now. Brandon (02:46) Yeah, I left the industry just as there was consolidation from regional fabricators. And the major brands like Hunter Douglas and Graber were taking over fabrication at their own factories or overseas or, you know, over the borders, whatever they’re doing now. William Hanke (03:04) Yeah. What part of the the business that you’re now that you’ve been thrown into maybe voluntarily? What was kind of the hardest part to take ownership on early on? Brandon (03:17) I think the pricing strategy has been a real struggle for me. The name of our company is Blinds and Shutters by Discount Mike. And I think that worked in the late 70s and 80s, maybe even going into the 90s. But I think now, unless you want to do high volume on low margin products, there’s not a lot of money in discounting. I think the consumer is not educated on what a window treatment is, what the product is, what the difference is between a premium brand or an off brand. I argue that 90 % of my customers don’t know the difference between Graber, Hunter Douglas, or ABC Blind Regional Manufacturer. And it means nothing to them. You have to demonstrate it to them. I think… William Hanke (03:59) Right. Brandon (04:06) You know, I was going off of some advice from some of my father’s old friends and people in the industry. And we had set some pretty high margins. We were losing sales, then we lowered it. And we’re trying to find a happy medium between, you know, 48 % and 60 % for every job, which is difficult sometimes. And you have to walk away. But I’d rather do quality jobs than a whole lot of little junk. I also personally don’t want to repair things. William Hanke (04:30) Yeah, that’s great. Right. Yeah. I’d say probably 85 90 % of our clients don’t compete on price. We do have some that that is what they stand on is that will beat all the competition. But for the most part they are clients don’t want to compete on price. Brandon (04:51) Yeah, you’d rather do quality. I agree with that. I think another big challenge that I had was, ⁓ William Hanke (04:56) Yeah. Brandon (05:02) and I didn’t realize this, but it became abundantly clear to me that there’s only so many fabric manufacturers on the planet and everybody basically has the same. the larger manufacturers, I believe they’re all dropping the ball. I really do. I think the I’ve come across a couple of regional manufacturers here in Florida that are doing a really great job. They’re providing good customer service. They’re available to answer questions. The challenge is they use different components. And what happens if they disappear? What happens if they have bad management with their money and they go bankrupt? Their lifetime warranty isn’t worth anything. William Hanke (05:45) Right. Yeah, definitely makes sense. think along those lines, your dad started this in 1979, you said. What were some of the biggest things like pricing and like finding different manufacturers? What were some of the things that you found you needed to modernize along the way? Brandon (06:03) So my father was paper and pencil, know, carbon copy invoices went to a customer’s house and had the book, opened it up and sat on their table and went line by line. know, seeing that my father was in business for, you know, 15, 20 years just in central Florida where I am, I’m coming across repeat customers. They call, I go to their house. We sit down at the kitchen table and they tell me about the conversations they had with my father. your father said this and he did that. My father was very, very entertaining. ⁓ William Hanke (06:35) Okay. Brandon (06:41) My father made friends and joined that sit down. Trust was developed because we’re selling. Trust me, I’m going to take your deposit and I’m actually going to return. William Hanke (06:51) Right. Brandon (06:52) Join that period. There’s trust. So there’s something to be said about the old charts where you open up the binder and you find the fabric and you come down and you pick it out and then you add the options to it and have your little calculator and add it all up because that’s the time period where you’re developing the trust. So now that I’ve switched to using the tablet and I’m using ⁓ software that has the pricing built in, I’m losing that. that natural period to have a face-to-face, eye-to-eye conversation with somebody. So I’m finding myself having to stop and find, I love your dog, your dog is cute, and connect with the client to build that trust. William Hanke (07:36) Yeah, yeah, I can see that everything’s a lot faster and more automated, more optimized, but at the same time, you’re missing a piece. Brandon (07:40) Bye. Right. Yeah. I think the technology is fantastic. I embrace it. I’m looking forward to the next wave of technology. I think the consumer is changing. The baby boomers are slowly becoming a consumer that they’re done renovating their homes. at the tail end of their lives. Fixed incomes, they don’t want to spend the money. Generation X, where you and I come from. William Hanke (07:48) Yeah. Brandon (08:14) We’re now starting to think about retirement and where we’re spending money, but you have the millennials and the newer generations that were built on do it yourself, learn how to do it. And they’re going onto Amazon and they’re finding a shade for $150. And they, when you say the same size windows, 400, 500, 600, they don’t want to buy. William Hanke (08:37) Yeah. Definitely makes sense the different markets or segments out there. then trying to, again, trying to build trust with all of them, but definitely in different ways. Brandon (08:42) Correct. Yeah, you have to bring a value. If somebody is calling you to do an estimate and it’s just a discovery, you’re not going to walk away with the sale unless they’re an impulse buyer. If they’re cautious about their budget and they really want to know, it doesn’t matter. You come in there with a $5,000 quote, if that’s a thousand or $2,000 too high

    36 min

  7. 12/09/2025

    Skylight Shades for Window Treatment Dealers: Easy Upsells, Solar Technology, and Untapped Revenue with Wayne Feltman

    Guest Profile: Wayne Feltman Wayne Feltman is an accomplished sales management professional that has built a long-term career with VELUX Skylights, the world’s leading Skylight and Roof Window Manufacturer. Wayne started his career with VELUX as a territory sales representative and served in this capacity for about 4 years before advancing into a District Sales Management role overseeing the Eastern Great Lakes District for more than 20 years and most recently moved into a Business Development Management role responsible for the growth and development of the company’s Skylight Specialist Program across a 15-state area comprised of the greater Midwest. Prior to VELUX, Wayne grew up working alongside his father in the family’s retail hardware business but also spent some summer months working for his grandfather, a residential homebuilder. Wayne graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science from the university’s nationally ranked Business Management and Entrepreneurship Program and while in college, had co-founded and operated a Landscape Management Company giving him a combination of academic and a first-hand real-world experience on what it takes to start and run a successful small business. Through some early exposure to skylights, Wayne developed a passion for Skylights and Sun Tunnels due to their unique ability to transform space and bring an abundance of daylight and fresh air into the built environment where people live, work and play. Other Notes/Links: Velux Website: VeluxUSA.com Contact: Reach out through the Velux website to connect with your local representative. pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://youtu.be/cmQdFuX4C08 Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT Will Hanke (00:00) Welcome to another episode of Marketing Panes, the podcast where we talk with real window treatment and awning service providers or business owners about their successes and struggles related to marketing their business. I’m your host, Will Hanke. Today we’re exploring a powerful but often overlooked opportunity, Skylight Shades. If you’ve ever thought skylights were just an architectural feature or dismissed shades as a niche product, you’ll want to stick around. My guest today is Wayne Feltman, a seasoned sales management professional with deep expertise in new business development, sales training, and residential construction. With a strong background in roofing materials, skylights, and solar hot water systems, he now leads efforts to expand the reach of Velux, skylights, and sun tunnels. In his current role, Wayne is passionate about empowering entrepreneurial minded individuals and build businesses that transform homes and lives with daylight and fresh air through a franchise like program that delivers turnkey success without the fees. Wayne, thank you so much for being on the show today. Wayne Feltman (01:08) Will, great to be here. Thanks for having us. Will Hanke (01:10) Yeah, I really appreciate it. So Wayne, could you start by giving the listeners a quick introduction and how, tell us how you got started in the industry. Wayne Feltman (01:18) Sure, absolutely. So I probably should start by just saying I’m based out of Indianapolis, Indiana, born and raised. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. My dad owned hardware stores. So kind of grew up doing the retail hardware thing. And through that, we interacted with a lot of trades. My grandfather was a builder and spent some summers working with him, kind of being the runner and the clean up guy. that did lead to me getting into landscaping. My brother and I had started and ran a landscaping business for a number of years. I tried that, but ⁓ ultimately I had decided I wanted to go to college to be an architect. Initially went to school to be an architect, quickly found out in early 90s that a lot of those guys were struggling to find jobs. So changed my major. I was going to try to get a minor in business anyway, but ended up switching to going full-time business and entrepreneurship and management. Finished with my business degree. I continued to run the landscape management business part-time with my brother for a bit, but tried a few different things. Just to give you an idea, the diversity of my background was a stockbroker financial advisor for about a year, then got into computer system sales for about two to three years. And I was chasing the almighty dollar like a lot of us do coming out of college and just wasn’t happy, wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. And through some early experiences, with Skylights through my parents who had built or renovated a few homes where we incorporated Skylights. I knew a little bit about Velux and Skylights and saw that they were hiring a territory representative, applied for that position and had to do a pretty hard sales job on that. The hiring manager asked why a stockbroker turned computer sales guy turned landscaper wanted to sell Skylights for a living, but he took a chance on a kid. and hired me on and I was the Indiana Kentucky sales and territory rep for about four years. So that was kind of my ⁓ humble beginnings in terms of how I came to Velux and the rest is history as they say. Will Hanke (03:15) Wow, it’s always interesting to hear people’s backstories about the random things they did that really had nothing to do with where they landed. Love that. Wayne Feltman (03:22) For sure, for sure. But it really was some early exposures though. mean, had it not been, my parents had built a, well, the first exposure really was a lakeside condo, a real narrow kind of three story condo that we had built back in the 80s, early 80s actually. And they incorporated some skylights, vending skylights. And this was just a summer getaway for my parents. We didn’t vacation, that was our vacation, so to speak. Cause when you’re in retail, you’re seven, 24 seven. Will Hanke (03:49) Yeah Wayne Feltman (03:52) But we’d go up there and you know dad would have us go upstairs and open up the skylights to cool the place down because in the summer when we’d head up there be really hot ⁓ So that was my first kind of all-cott exposure at the time. You know, didn’t realize how relevant that would be in my life ⁓ And then several years later, we acquired a log cabin in southern, Indiana That was my grandfather something he had built back in the 60s And my mom wanted to always wanted to add a sunroom off to the back of it. So we hired a contractor And to his credit, he said, once we had this sunroom off the back of this house, we’re going to cut off the vertical windows going into that kitchen and dining area. And it’s going to get really dark. And to his credit, he said, I highly recommend we add some skylights not only over the kitchen area, but into the sunroom. And of course, we were pretty much on board with it because of our previous experience with skylights. But it was with that remodeling project that I really came to understand the value and power of skylights. it totally, and this is a dark log cabin. And it just totally transformed the space. ⁓ And we went on to add skylights to the boathouse, to a gazebo, to a detached garage. I definitely live and breathe it these days, and we practice what we preach. Will Hanke (04:59) Yeah, so you’ve been with the company more than two decades. What’s kept you excited about Skylights all these years? Wayne Feltman (05:05) Yeah, you know, when I first hired on, like I said, I was a territory rep for Indiana and Kentucky and really enjoyed the job, moved up into a district management role for about 20 years. And then here the last few years, I’ve been in a business development role across the greater Midwest. So I went from a state and a half to six states as a district manager to now about 15, 16 states. So with those roles comes a different focus. But really, it’s just the variety of what we do. We interact with every type of trade. So we interact with roofers, builders, architects, remodelers. ⁓ So when you’re doing that variety of interactions, it just never gets boring, quite honestly. And then Velux, the company, I mean, every few years we’re bringing something new to market. It’s a very innovative company, builds quality products. ⁓ So just as you think you got your head around everything that we make and sell, they throw a curveball at us and introduce something new. I think for all those reasons, know, it’s been 26 years, but I’ll be honest, some of my earlier career or jobs, I should say, seem like they were a lot longer than my 26 years at velux despite only being a year or two. Will Hanke (06:20) Yeah. For dealers that are not familiar, what does ventilation and light really mean in practice? Wayne Feltman (06:27) Yeah, no, great question. Actually, it’s fundamental to our company and our founding. So actually the name Velux is the root of two Latin words, V-E for ventilation, LUX, the Latin word for light. And just to give you a quick snapshot of the background of the company, mean, our founder was actually a glazing engineer by training and was given the task of converting attic spaces to classrooms. So this was back in 1941. There was a war going on. We’re based in Denmark. We’re a Northern European company. And they were trying to utilize all the attic space. A lot of buildings were destroyed. But anyway, he was given the task of converting some attic space to classrooms. And at the time, materials were scarce. Resources were scarce. ⁓ And so he came up with an ingenious way of putting a piece of glass ⁓ in the plane of the roof that would pivot and rotate and ventil

    48 min

  8. 11/11/2025

    The Leadership Advantage: How Graig Weiss Inspires Growth Through People and Purpose

    Guest Profile: Graig Weiss Graig Weiss brings over 20 years of leadership experience and a people-first mindset that has shaped everything from public schools to personalized service calls. Before entering the window treatment industry, he led Foundation Academies in Trenton, taught in the South Bronx and the Dominican Republic, founded a school in Punta Cana, and consulted with Cambridge Associates. Now, he’s the hands-on owner and operator of Bloomin’ Blinds of BuxMont, managing everything from sales consultations to installations — bringing the same passion and impact to home transformations as he once did to education. Under his leadership, Bloomin’ Blinds of BuxMont was named 2024 Franchise Owner of the Year, earned top national sales awards, and became one of the brand’s highest-performing and most recognized franchises. With a degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh, two master’s degrees, and a life full of family, travel, and skiing, Graig blends heart, hustle, and hands-on leadership. Other Notes/Links: pssst…. want to be a guest on the show? Listen to other episodes Subscribe to Marketing Panes for more expert insights, strategies, and real stories from across the window treatment and awning industry. Spotify: https://bit.ly/4j20C49 ApplePodcast: https://bit.ly/4c2VN8s Video https://youtu.be/KPqir3eVOwk Click here to display Transcript TRANSCRIPT Will Hanke (00:00) Welcome back to Marketing Panes the podcast where we dive into real marketing strategies, stories, and shifts happening in the window treatment and awning world. The guest joining us today brings over 20 years of leadership experience and a people first mindset that has shaped everything from public schools to personalized service calls. Before diving into the world of blinds, he led foundation academies in Trenton. taught in the South Bronx and Dominican Republic, founded a school in Punta Cana, and consulted with Cambridge Associates. Now he’s the hands-on owner and operator of Bloomin’ Blinds of Buxmont, where he manages everything from sales consultations to installations, bringing the same passion and impact to home transformations as he once did to education. Under his leadership, Bloomin’ Blinds of Buxmont was named the 2025 Franchise Owner of the Year, earned top national sales awards across multiple categories, and became one of the brand’s highest performing and most recognized franchises. With two master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and a life full of family, travel, and skiing, he’s a guy who blends heart, hustle, and hands-on leadership. Welcome to the show, Graig Weiss Graig Weiss (01:23) All right, thank you so much. Great to be here. Will Hanke (01:25) Yeah, I appreciate it. So quick disclaimer before we just jump into the questions, Graig is a client of ours and has been probably for two years or so now. So we’ve been doing his marketing and just wanted to clear the air there and make sure everybody knew about that before we started. All right, so Graig, thanks for being on the show. Why don’t you give me the 10,000 foot view of what you’ve got going on currently with the business. Graig Weiss (01:51) Yeah, so as Will said, know, Bloomin’ Blinds, Buxmont, we’re up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, just outside of Philadelphia. We cover most, pretty much anywhere within an hour of where I live. Mobile-based business, Bloomin’ Blinds is a franchise system, like a lot of others. and mobile base, mobile showroom. We go out to the customers, we can do consultations in their home and install high-end window treatments. Will Hanke (02:26) Awesome. And you’re located in Pennsylvania. Graig Weiss (02:29) Yes, just outside Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania, we also get over a little bit into New Jersey, over into the Princeton area of New Jersey, but mainly the surrounding suburbs of Philadelphia. Will Hanke (02:41) Awesome, awesome. So what drew you to the window treatment business and what drew you to Bloomin’ Blinds in particular? Graig Weiss (02:49) Yeah, so it’s a great question. If you would have told me five years ago that I’d be doing window treatments, I would have never believed you. I’m a former school administrator. I was running a charter school in Trenton, New Jersey. And after the pandemic, I knew I just needed to do something a little different. I needed to get away from school administration and started researching franchises. And there were a lot of things that I liked about Bloomin’ Blinds and window treatments in general. And that was about three years ago and took the leap and have been growing it ever since. And I think the thing that surprised me most about it is how much I actually enjoy it. Originally it was going to be a side business for me and I was going to hire somebody just to kind of run it. And at the encouragement of the brothers that own Bloomin’ Blinds they were like, you got to get in the van, you got to learn the business. And I was very reluctant, got in the van and then decided, you know what, this is great. You get out there and meet some wonderful people. You know, you make your own schedule. There’s a sense of accomplishment when you do projects and whatnot. And so it’s been a fun ride and we’re continuing to grow it. Will Hanke (04:00) That’s awesome. Now, coming from the education side, how has that background influenced how you’re running your business right now? Graig Weiss (04:08) Yeah, it’s, you know, lot of it, you know, kind of carries over. mean, one of the things that I would say is like, it’s all people first. You know, having run an organization, you’re always focused on the people and our customers are no different. We’re focused on what they need and listening to them and their needs and really delivering a service and a product that are really second to none. That’s the goal overall. Will Hanke (04:35) How do you think customers see Bloomin’ Blinds in your area and how do you want them to see it? Graig Weiss (04:42) Yeah, I mean, I guess the first thing is we want them to see it because, you know, I mean, that’s that’s marketing, getting getting them out there. And it starts with the pink shirts and the pink vans and, ⁓ you know, really just getting that brand recognition out there. ⁓ I think window treatments overall is it’s ⁓ it’s not it’s not an industry that’s necessarily that visible. I know before I got into the the industry, the only place is I kind of. thought of were like, know, blinds.com and, you know, maybe blinds to go because they have their big, you know, red buildings. And maybe walk down an aisle at Home Depot. There are a lot of other, you know, great vendors out there. And so I think that’s that’s first and foremost. But I think, you know, Bloom Blinds in particular, I always try to put myself in the customer’s shoes and what what would I want as a potential customer? And like really just treating our customers that way, showing up on time, doing what we’re say we’re gonna do, delivering a perfect product, non pushy sales, all those things I think contribute to ⁓ what we’re trying to convey to all of our customers. Will Hanke (05:58) Cool, thank you for that. So I want to talk a little bit about customer experience since we’re kind of on that train. ⁓ What does it actually look like in your business beyond even the install? Graig Weiss (06:11) Yeah, so I mean, you know, I would start with first that like 95 % of the customers that we have are really great people. And that’s one of the things I love about this business overall. You get out there and you meet some really great people that would probably have never otherwise encountered in our lives. you know, so the experience is actually, it comes naturally. Like we don’t have to fake it. You you’re going out there, you’re listening to customers, listening to… you know, what their needs are, what are they trying to accomplish? Because window treatments should be both beautiful and functional. And so we’re really trying to listen for and ask the right questions as far as what do they need and want their home to, what do they want their home to look like and what do they want their window treatments to be able to do? And then it’s, you know, basically steering them in the direction and exploring different options. I’m not a believer, we don’t have favorite window treatments. They all have their pros and cons and that’s really what we’re trying to go through and really trying to ⁓ just match up what a customer wants and what’s gonna work best for them. Will Hanke (07:23) I love that I actually had that experience a month or two ago. We had a company come out to do ours and my wife was thinking of Roman Shades and after having a great conversation and getting some consultation, we ended up with Shutter. So totally different than what we thought we wanted. But that consultation piece is really huge. Graig Weiss (07:44) Yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, we find that often. you know, sometimes people call away something that they think they, you know, they saw on Pinterest that they think is going to work really well. And maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. And so we’re just kind of like laying out the pros and cons in order to make sure that they’re happy customers. Will Hanke (07:46) Yeah, that’s. Yeah, definitely makes for a better experience. Can you tell me about a time when some sort of customer interaction turned into a great marketing win? Graig Weiss (08:12) Yeah, so we often do, I one of the things that’s really unique about Bloomin’ Blinds is we do repairs as well. And we do repairs not because it’s the highest, you know, profit margins or, you know, anything like that. We do it as a courtesy to the customer because if you have, let’s sa

    35 min
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About

Marketing Interviews & Tips for Window Treatment and Awning Companies

Information

  • Creator
    Window Treatment Marketing Pros
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    62
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Marketing Panes

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