Kitchen & Bath Business - April 2020 - 26

NKBA LIST

3 Tips for Running a
Successful Business

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LuAnn Nigara explains
how to convey leadership

NKBA'S ANNUAL CHAPTER OFFICER TRAINING PROGRAM to strengthen and
honor a network of dedicated members provides a tremendous resource for
the association's leadership at the local level. Officers from 70 chapters across
North America convene just before the start of the Kitchen & Bath Industry
Show to celebrate their accomplishments, learn valuable information and
break out into role-specific groups to learn more about their positions.
This year, Chase, Kohler and Monogram Appliances generously sponsored
the event in Las Vegas.
LuAnn Nigara, host of the podcast "A Well-Designed Business" and
author of The Making of a Well-Designed Business, served as the keynote
speaker. She is a successful co-owner of Window Works, an award-winning
window treatment and awning retailer in Livingston, N.J., who is dedicated
to providing outstanding customer service.
Nigara shared three keys for building and maintaining a successful business.
1. Leadership. "A leader has to be willing to accept responsibility for every
single thing that happens," she said. "That person has needs to have the
hard conversations - with compassion."
Being the leader of a company brings the responsibility of determining
the company's vision and building it up to be strong. Nigara explained that
Window Works strives to provide 100 percent customer satisfaction and
integrity, and it is committed to providing the best service possible.
Good leadership means identifying the company mission and establishing core values. This lays the foundation, and when the leader embodies
that mission, like-minded employees will follow.

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By LOREN KESSEL,
NKBA social media and
creative content associate

It's also important to remember that what
the company stands for and the level of customer service will be indicators of the brand as
a whole. Her advice for brand strengthening?
Ask customers about their experiences. Nigara
said asking five previous customers is a great
starting point for brand-building and gathering
the information that helps convey core values.
A leader needs to ask these questions and train
employees so they can perform at the highest
standard and deliver quality work.
"Take your ideas and mold them into the
most important values to enact effective leadership tactics," she added.
2. Create systems. "When you decide your core values, you decide your parameters and guidelines,
and you'll be successful," said Nigara. "You'll
complete tasks the same way every day, which
establishes your reputation - and this means
people can depend on you."
Clear processes allow for delivering great results. Without an overarching plan, employees
cannot work to the best of their abilities. Take
time to brainstorm ideas in a way that works for
the company, and then collate the answers in an
organized manner.
It takes time to create a company's systems,
and it may be a painstaking process. However,
consider what it would be like to manage a
company without reliable procedures. Without
structure, there is more room for error. Instilling
systems in employees prepares them for present
and future situations.
Nigara emphasized enforcing systems starts
before the hiring process. She also stressed the
importance of laying out all expectations and
systems in a job description so candidates are
aware.This encourages using correct procedures.
"Take inventory of all of your systems and
tasks, and eventually this will become an operations manual,"she said."Don't worry about it all
fitting together. It will happen."
3. Decide to be excellent. "Deciding to be excellent is
important,"said Nigara."When you decide your
mission and decide to be excellent, you know every day what it is that you're trying to accomplish."
Anyone can open a business, but it takes this
decision to be the best and to foster an efficient
company that stands out. Nigara discussed
throughout her presentation how Window
Works and her colleagues strive to be great
every day. Showing up and being committed
without sacrificing quality sets a good business
apart from a great business.
"Will you decide to figure out what your
company mission is? Will you create your systems and manuals?" she asked. "If you do these
things, you'll have a well-designed business."

/ APRIL 2020 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

3/24/20 5:47 PM

http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - April 2020

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