More Articles by Kitty Stein  More Workroom Articles

Workroom Operations

Change Is Absolute
Controlled and planned change is essential in order to prosper.

by Kitty Stein, WCAA

This is the beginning of the second year in the new century, and indeed much of our way of life has changed. The events of September 11, 2001, triggered changes over which we had no control. Like it or not, we are adjusting because we have no choice. Change is absolute! It will always happen whether it is forced upon us or we choose for it to happen. You only have to stop but for a few minutes and observe nature to know that change is constant. One day I spent no more than 20 minutes observing the reflections in a lake. One moment the water was as still and reflective as a mirror, the next moment almost the whole reflection was erased with ripples caused by a very soft breeze, and then the next minute the reflection was clear but rippled. We all know the old saying, “Don’t make waves!” Nobody likes change but it must happen, and it must constantly happen to keep a business prosperous. Don’t think waves, think ripples and you just might be able to make those changes with less panic. CONSIDERING NEW YEAR’S CHANGES What changes have you decided to make this year? If you read my column in last month’s magazine and did your homework, then you have established one or more goals for the new year. In order to achieve those goals, you must make some changes or else they are not really goals, only dreams. I recently heard of one business owner who was reluctant to make changes to her Terms and Conditions contract because they had been that way so long. On another occasion, a new workroom interviewing a potential designer was told to get her price list right the first time because it couldn’t be changed after that. I have to say, hearing this left me with my mouth open. Any business owner knows change is going to happen, and the most dependable of all changes is rising prices. Another frequent change that occurs is in business procedures. We all aim to be better, but we can’t do it without making changes. If you just accept your business as it is year after year, then your more savvy competitors will leave you in the dust. What has always been is not always best. Do not be hesitant to change something that has been working fine when you learn of a better, more efficient way of doing it. This is how you increase your value and make yourself stand out amidst the crowd. This kind of change sometimes happens when you decide to purchase special equipment for fabricating draperies. In my case, when I purchased specialized equipment I had to completely change the way I had been originally taught to do them. The equipment didn’t change the quality of the finished product, but it sure did save time and put money in my pocket! If the change is for the better, go for it. If you know you need to make changes in order to keep your business going and give yourself adequate income to support yourself and your family, then do what you have to do. Remember, you don’t have to like making the change if it’s a change that really must be done. Generally, the thing we all dislike the most is raising prices. Ethical business owners do not raise prices beyond what is necessary. If you conduct your business ethically and with great thoughtfulness for your clients, then price increases—or any other changes—more likely will be accepted with less grumbling. Keep in mind that your clients’ complaints are just a way of using you for a sounding board. It’s human nature to grumble about changes if you can see the responsible party face-to-face. If changes are made by vendors a long distance away and require a phone call to respond to, people are less likely to complain. Instead they will just adjust to the new conditions. I am currently reading a book written by Henry Ford in 1926. He was a brilliant man who was constantly looking for new ways to improve and then making the necessary changes. He had many factories and many businesses outside of building cars. Each time he built or acquired a new business, he would learn from it and then make changes in his other businesses. He was the first one to double the minimum wage of his employees and cut the production time of a Model T in half at the same time! If he can do that, then you and I certainly can make the changes we need to make. CHANGE IS TOUGH Deciding to make a change, then doing what it takes to make it may not be the hardest part. This is the case with raising prices or initiating a contract with terms and conditions. You know you have to do these things for your business to be profitable and efficient. It may not be a problem for you to create these new policies, the problem comes in presenting them and enforcing them with your customers and maybe even your employees. Change, whether you initiate it or not, is not easy for you. Recognize that it is even harder for those affected by the changes you make. If you need to make changes that will affect your employees, then involve them as much as possible in the decision phase before the changes are decided upon. Listen to what they have to say and try to accommodate them as best you can with the changes. After all, they may have better ideas! It is much more difficult if you are making changes that affect wholesale customers rather than retail customers. Soften the blow ahead of time as much as you can. You might even let them know that your business is at a point where some changes need to be made to continue to service them and meet their needs. When you present the changes, you must have the confidence to accept that the changes are good and necessary for you. The wholesale client’s first reaction is simply a negative reaction to change, whether good or bad, because they will have to adjust something concerning them. That leads them to think it is bad for them and they don’t want to change. Aren’t you sometimes that way, when a designer wants to change the way you have always fabricated something? Think about how you handle the changes they want you to make to benefit them. Do you accept them cheerfully or do you complain and resist? When you present the changes to customers, explain why they were necessary and try to show them how it will benefit them in the long run. After all, if you are raising prices, they will charge their customers more and make more money along with you. If you are changing terms and conditions, be sure each client understands the changes and why they are necessary for both of you. PROACTIVE CHANGE A while back, D&WC publisher Carolyn Silberman reviewed the book, Who Moved My Cheese? (See D&WC, July 2000, page 10.) Thank you, Carolyn. If it hadn’t been for your review, I might not have read it! It is a very revealing book of human nature, and I recommend that each of you read it and comprehend the messages it conveys. It will help you to understand yourself and those affected by the changes you make. You might even loan or give them (employees and clients) a copy of Who Moved My Cheese. (It’s a very fast, easy read!) Change is going to happen! It is a fact of life. Winston Churchill said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” In other words, not only be prepared for change, but initiate it before it becomes necessary! You can control a certain amount of change, but it requires diligence and looking ahead to the future. It means staying observant to what is new in the industry. It means really listening to your customers and hearing what they want and not necessarily what they need. As a responsible business owner you have to make changes when they need to be made. The opposite of change is death. If you don’t make the necessary changes when needed to grow and prosper, your business will die. Or worse, you will suffer needlessly for perhaps a long time. Change? You can do it! Challenge yourself to change before it is necessary. Change is just a ripple and before you know it, it will all be smooth and clear again. So go for a change! You and the industry will be better for it! Kitty Stein, WCAA, is a 20-year veteran of the drapery workroom field, having owned and operated her own business for 18 years and having taught classes on window treatment construction. Until 1990, Stein and a partner owned a workroom with nine employees. She since has opened her own smaller workroom, Workroom Concepts, that has just one employee. She also does workroom consulting, seminar speaking and is the author of Order in the Workroom available through Draperies & Window Coverings and Price Your Work With Confidence. If you have any questions or comments about this article, previous articles or any topic of interest to workrooms, please contact me at: Workroom Operations Draperies & Window Coverings 840 US. Hwy One Ste. 330 N. Palm Beach, FL 33408 Fax: 561-694-6578 E-mail: kstein@workroomconcepts.com Web site: www.workroomconcepts.com Kitty Stein, WCAA, is a 20-year veteran of the drapery workroom field, having owned and operated her own business for 18 years and having taught classes on window treatment construction. Until 1990, Stein and a partner owned a workroom with nine employees. She since has opened her own smaller workroom, Workroom Concepts, that has just one employee. She also does workroom consulting, seminar speaking and is the author of Order in the Workroom available through Draperies & Window Coverings and Price Your Work With Confidence.