Lolly Rush Lux, our Associate Director of Member Services and Project Manager extraordinaire, along with her husband, Tyler, are soon leaving for London.  A truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as Tyler has been transferred across the pond for a 2-year assignment.

She has been an extraordinary part of our team, one that we can all count on, seeing to the most minute of details for our clients and members alike.  She put a new definition on multi-tasking, handling everything with grace and aplomb.

How does one say goodbye to a co-worker, a friend, a trusted employee?  With tears, best wishes, and a very large martini!  You will be missed, dear Lolly!

Our very best wishes on this grand adventure.

I’m currently sitting on an Alaska Airlines flight, flying from DC to Seattle.  It’s a long flight, the seats are average size, and the paid snacks are average too.  However, there are some remarkable things about this flight that do not just have to do with Alaska Airlines.

This plane has WiFi.  Yes, I realize that this technology exists but it’s surprising how many planes do not still have the service (come on airlines, get with it).  I was excited to learn that we would have WiFi, but imagine my glee when I found out that Bank of America (who is the credit card backer of the Alaska Airlines Visa) would be covering the cost of the WiFi for all Alaska flights this month.  Typically the WiFi is up to $12.95 for a flight of this length.  I have a Bank of America credit card, and now I’m more likely to keep that card and to consider B of A for other banking and credit card needs.  I don’t know how the deal worked between B of A and Alaska, and I don’t really care.  I do care that I have free WiFi right now; my experience with Alaska is better and I like Bank of America more.

Bank of America win.

Alaska Airlines win.

Alaska Airlines also has these cool electronic devices called DigEPlayers.  This means that for a fee, you get your own digital player that is preloaded with several movies, TV shows, music videos, music, and more.  This is mentionable in and of itself because I like that I can choose what I watch and I don’t have to strain to watch a movie that I didn’t really want to see in the first place on an overhead screen.  I mentioned that these DigEPlayers have “More” and this is where we find another joint venture win.  I scrolled through the menu and found that the player has Soundview Executive Book Summaries.  I have seen these advertised in a magazine, and they did not look inexpensive, but imagine my glee (AGAIN) when I found that I could choose from over 45 business books and hear the executive summaries during my flight.  Now I’ve been able to try out this service, while I’m a captive, bored audience, and now I will be more likely to actually purchase this summary subscription

In-flight boredom eradicated... (at least on Alaska Airlines!)

from Soundview because I recognize the value and I like that they entertained me.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries win.

Alaska Airlines win.

Since I really enjoyed listening to a couple of these executive summaries, I found that I wanted to know more than just the 20 minute soundbyte on a couple of them.  This means that I opened my Firefox, went to Amazon, and bought the books…from the sky.  I’m sure this is SkyMall taken to a whole new level.

Amazon win.

Author win.

Alaska Airlines win.

So, the next time that you are thinking about running your company as an island, think about how much happier you could make your customers or clients if you give them things that may not cost you any extra but mean a lot to them.  People remember what made them happy and when they were happy.  Shouldn’t that be in your store, in your office, on your website, or on your flight?  I’ve almost even forgotten about the $20 that Alaska charged me to check my bag.

By the way, for inquiring minds that may want to know, I bought Seth Godin’s Free Prize Inside and Rohit Bhargava’s Personality Not Included.  I will keep you posted.

A guest blog post by Gail Doby, ASID, Design Success University

I’ve been an interior designer for over 20 years, so I’ve had plenty of time to make these mistakes.  Here’s a startling statistic (and I’ll bet it is higher during this recession) – 62.8% of all new businesses fail within 6 years according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and 96% fail within 10 years.  That means you’re lucky to be one of 4 out of 100 to make it past 10 years…or is it luck?

What if you could avoid the mistakes that these business owners made?

I’d like to see you avoid them, and if you’ve already done a few of them, now you can learn what not to do so you don’t waste your valuable time and money:

1. Not having a written “ideal client” profile – If you don’t know who your ideal client is, how can you tell other people who they can refer to you?  If you’ve ever had the client from &%$&, (or more than once) the key is to know what you don’t want in a client as much as what you do want.
2. Not knowing the lifetime value of your client – If you’ve been in the business even a few years, you can add up your billings and divide by the number of clients to get your current lifetime value.  You should also look at how long they stay as a client.  These two metrics are critical in your business planning and if you have this data as part of your Business Dashboard, it will help you grow your business. (more…)

The to-do list can be a daunting document.  For every one item you check off, you probably add two.  For many of us, it is far longer than the number of hours that we each have in our days.  The question then is: “how can we set up a strategy to prioritize the to-do list so that you are best utilizing your time”?  Think about ROI (return on investment) as your ROT (return on time).

Too Familiar?

Here is a new system that we created within our company.  I suggest that everyone have the same 3 categories across the team, but that the prioritization is role-specific.

Determine your 3 categories that all of your actions fall under (or should fall under).  In our company, I determined the following as our 3 categories:

1. Revenue producing:  an item on the to-do list that will bring money into the company
2. Service-related:  an item on the to-do list that will make our members or clients lives and businesses better
3. Brand awareness and networking: actions that will help build our brand throughout the industry and beyond

Based on your list, prioritize your categories.  My particular role in our company is bringing in new business and also long-term strategy.  If my role was to service our clients and members more directly, I would prioritize the categories differently.  Therefore, my category prioritization is as follows:

1. Revenue production
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking
3. Service

Determine some examples of what each category would entail.  For example, I would use the following examples for our company:

1. Revenue production: sales calls, creating letters of agreement, invoicing, etc.  For your firm, this might also be billable hours or creating proposals.
2. Brand awareness, strategy, and networking:  arranging presentations at design centers, writing blog posts, staying connected with my professional network, etc.
3. Service:  adding functionality to the website that would improve the client experience, monthly member calls, etc.

A few more ideas:

• Establish a “D” category.  There will naturally be things that fall into the “Other” category.  We call those category “D” items.  These will still need to get done but in the prioritization exercise, they will be the items that are least important to your business.
• Every time you add something to your to-do list, make sure that you put a letter next to it or color code it.  This will show you where you need to be prioritizing and what items can be downgraded.

For more great techniques to work smarter, I suggest Gina Trapani’s columns at FastCompany.com. What systems do you use to prioritize your laundry list of to-dos?

Sometimes, receiving confirmation that you’re taking the right steps for your business is all it takes to push you ahead even further.  Success is closely linked to communication, which is why it can be particularly advantageous to talk to someone, ask questions, and discuss any possible ideas you hope to incorporate into your business structure.  This is exactly where Martha Kirkpatrick, Director, Member Services comes in for our Gibson Design Management members.  Martha provides immeasurable assistance to clients through monthly “sounding board” calls, where she lends an ear and her thoughts, helping members sort through any inquiries or ideas regarding their business’ success.

This is a service offered to all members (and included in the price of monthly membership!), and one that has played a particularly important role within our clients’ businesses—allowing clients to fine-tune new ventures, determine how to effectively use their Gibson Design Management membership, and mold personalized strategies for branding, marketing, expansion and more.  Here’s what members have said about the importance of conversation and sounding board calls:

“I think of Gibson Design Management as a very capable employee that I have on call at all times. Whether it’s product sourcing, CAD drawings or advice that I need, Gibson is always there to save me!” — Marlene Oliphant, Marlene Oliphant Designs LLC

“I love working with Gibson Design Management!  Although technically a solo-entrepreneur, I have a team of knowledge, support and creativity on my side at all times.  Monthly member calls with Martha remind me that I never need to “go it alone”!” – Sarah Devaney-O’Neil, Storibook Designs, Inc.

“The monthly mentor calls with Martha Kirkpatrick have been very helpful.  Martha always immediately finds the answers to my questions and reports back to me within 24 hours, if not sooner.  I know that in Martha I have someone to go to if I ever have a question or a need and that it will be taken care of.” — Randy Trainor, C. Randolph Trainor, LLC

“For the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in monthly coaching calls with Martha Kirkpatrick.  As the owner of a small interior design firm, I have found the calls to be both productive and motivating. Martha has listened to challenges and helped brainstorm solutions for a variety of business topics. These calls have become, without a doubt, one of the greatest benefits of my membership with Gibson Design Management.” — Vicky Serany, Southern Studio Interior Design

If you are a Gibson Design Management member and have not yet taken advantage of the sounding board calls, please email Martha to schedule.  If you are not a member, and you would like to find out more about becoming a member, please email Alexandra Gibson.

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

Last fall we had the fortunate opportunity to work with Schelfe and Associates, an interior design firm from Raleigh, NC, on a project located 90 minutes outside of Hong Kong, China. The project consisted of converting an existing villa into a high-end boutique hotel, that, when built, will have 6 guest rooms, an owner’s suite, a cinema room, a game room, a karaoke room, a golf simulator room, multiple lounge areas, and more.

Gibson Design Management created four renderings for Schelfe and Associates to present to their clients, helping to better their understanding of the design concept through the renderings and an interpreter. Tim Schelfe, principal at Schelfe and Associates, took our renderings, a plethora of fabric samples and tear sheets, and more for the presentation to his new Chinese client. Upon return, Tim said that the renderings were a hit—they greatly helped bridge the language barrier between his team and the client. The client even said, “I want more pictures!”

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

Tim wrote the following testimonial about the process:

“Gibson Design Management was instrumental in allowing our firm to organize the creative vision of the project without getting bogged down on preparing our own interior renderings or color boards. With the renderings provided by Gibson I was able to present my client a very clear and precise vision of the finished interior. Our client was ecstatic with our presentation and signed off on our design as presented.”

Design by Schelfe and Associates | Rendering by Gibson Design Management

What happens when you and your client both speak the same language? Should you still use renderings? There are countless times when a client will express his or her wishes using incorrect terms such as “I like modern” when what they actually like is “transitional.” Utilizing renderings can help combat these misunderstandings and ensure that you and your client are on the same page before the room is installed. Furthermore, the level of trust that is instilled once a client sees the renderings is immense—instead of just listening to your description, they can actually see what you mean.

A picture, or in this case a rendering, is worth a thousand words.

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As small companies, our most limited resource is our time.  Therefore, it is not surprising that the question arises, “Why should my business be on Twitter?”

1.  It’s one of the least expensive ways to perform research and development. Once you have even a few hundred followers, you have a great sample size to extend business questions.  Wondering whether people would be interested in a certain new service?  Put it out to the Twitterverse.  The worst thing that can happen is that no one answers.  The best thing that can happen is that you receive several responses and have valuable information about how to proceed.  This could save you a tremendous amount of time and money.

2.  Someone may be talking about you. Whether it be positive or negative, someone on Twitter may be talking about your business.  How will you respond if you are not there to listen?  I recently tweeted that a restaurant I frequent in Charlottesville always has terrible service.  This received a huge response from my Charlottesville following (15+ tweets back and forth about the pros and cons of the restaurant).  Crickets from the restaurant (even though they are on Twitter- this actually makes the silence worse).  This could have been a perfect opportunity for the restaurant to make happy customers.  [See a video here about how P.F. Chang's is on the cutting edge of using Twitter to make customers happy].

3.  You are able to show your company’s true personality. By showing your true personality, you will attract more of  your ideal clients.

4.  You never know who you are going to meet. Just like you can’t expect your phone to ring if you never leave the house and network, Twitter is an opportunity to network and engage with people on an even broader scale.  I have not only met people across the world (we seem to click well with Toronto twitterers for some reason) but have also met some great people in our area who I may never have met otherwise.  This has translated to real life connections and business referrals.

5.  Become a better educated businessperson. Twitter is full of tweets with resources for business.  It is also a great place to pose a question like, “Are there less expensive alternatives to Photoshop?”  Then just wait for your following to chime in on its experiences and knowledge.

This would not be a complete blog post if I did not mention that I posed this question to my Twitter following and received the following responses.

Question:

Received these answers from some of my great followers:

If your business is already on Twitter, what are some of your success stories?  What have you found to be the greatest benefit of Twitter?