Editorial

Read Any Good Books Lately?

by Howard Shingle,
Carolyn Silberman

Usually it's summertime when someone asks that question as he or she looks to pick up the latest best seller or hottest paperback. But mid-February is just as good a time as any to sit down to a good read. A new book arrived in the mail the other day. It was Kitty Stein's Price Your Work with Confidence! It comes highly recommended—not just by us, but by a number of people in this industry whose names you'd recognize from the pages of this magazine, from educational conferences and seminars, and industry trade shows. The book's subtitle reads: "Fearless Pricing Made Easy." The purpose of the book is to take anyone, regardless of how knowledgeable or how long in business, through a series of steps to learn how valuable a talented workroom owner is to the industry, how to determine the right market on which to focus a business, and how to set prices that are in line with the type of work, the amount of time it takes and the overhead that must be met while still making a deserved profit. In short, it is a basic business primer not only for the drapery workroom, but for the retailer as well. It is complete with instructions for determining markup, net profit and salary. It also is inspirational and will be a valuable and often referred to resource for anyone who reads it. Time and again we hear about books that have made a special impact on a person's business or personal life. Whenever we can we like to pass along the recommendation to our readers. While we don't often do that in the pages of Draperies & Window Coverings, we do offer recommendations and a selection of books, both industry specific and general, through our Web site. At www.DWCdesigNet.com you'll find a link to Bookstore and in just one click you'll be taken to a list of books, videotapes and workbooks on everything from creating effective advertisements to working with fabrics to creating work orders all available through D&WC. Another click takes you to a list of books recommended by our columnists, cover story subjects and others that range from customer service to creating custom window coverings. So during your next few moments of downtime, visit the D&WC online Bookstore and order up some instructional, inspirational and motivational books to add to your required reading list. Anytime is a good time to improve your business!

More Editorials  More Editorials from Guests