Joyful Holidays!

Happy new year, everyone! If you are a subscriber to my weekly newsletter, you will notice that this coming year I will be focusing on the law of attraction - in every area of business and personal life. You can use the law of attraction and positive goal setting to skyrocket your design business and achieve any goal. More coming in the months ahead, including my personal success stories. In the meantime, have a relaxing, fun, enjoyable new year!

Just one spot left!

Do you want to make 2008 your most profitable year yet?

I have one spot left in my 2008 VIP Mentorship Program.

This program was created in response to your requests for...

• Ongoing support for developing a successful design business that fits your lifestyle and makes you lots of money
• Personal one-on-one coaching to handle your specific challenges and needs
• Increased focus, clarity, feedback, and accountability
• Personalized action steps to move you toward your goals and dreams

Finally! There is a customized program just for designers - to personally coach you toward your goals.

Get all the details and an application here.

To your success!

Nika

Marketing Makes You Fat

Scientific studies show that marketing is tied to weight gain! Well, actually, the studies show that elevated levels of stress often cause increased fat. And since many designers tell me that marketing makes them feel stressed, I just made the connection.

So to ease your stress (and possibly increase your health and fitness), I've decided to answer some common marketing questions

1. What are the most effective ways to market a design business?
   First, let's define "effective." Effective marketing is creating a lot of awareness about your company - for the least amount of money. The more effective your marketing, the more calls you will get from prospects looking for your services. (Selling the prospects on you and your services is the next step, but first you have to get them to call.)

   The most effective marketing techniques for designers are the ones that create relationships - in other words, marketing that focuses on a specific target audience, includes personal contact, and emphasizes continual customer satisfaction.

   Okay, you want the short answer? Here are the marketing techniques that work the best:
   - email newsletters sent at least twice per month
   - calling past customers at least once a year
   - knocking on doors in new neighborhoods
   - mailing personal notes to new neighborhoods and past customers
   - live classes or demonstrations (only if they are done regularly, and then followed up with one or more of the above methods)

2. What are the cheapest ways to market my design business?
   See all the techniques above.

3. What are the best ways to get repeat sales from past customers?
   See all the techniques above.

4. How do I get more clients that I really like working with?
   See all the techniques above.

Okay, this may seem like a joke, but seriously - these marketing techniques work! And if you put each method into your schedule and make a system for yourself, you will be taking away a HUGE part of your marketing stress.

Here's to your marketing fitness!

Wanna get this all done?

I'll personally mentor you to help you create a thriving design business...

FINALLY ... There is a customized program just for designers to personally coach you toward your goals!

I have 3 spaces open for my 2008 VIP Mentorship Program starting in January.

Get all the details here.

VIP Mentorship Program

The Romantic Life of the Interior Designer

The secret to becoming a wealthy decorator. Learn easy, fun tips for creating a successful interior design business. You don't have to do it all alone! Make money doing what you love. Interior decorating, design, home fashions, staging, redesign.

How to Market During the Holidays - without stress!

Note From Nika

I am so thankful for the beautiful colors outside my window. It's a rainy, icky day,

but the coppery leaves on the big tree by my kitchen really make me smile.

Are you feeling thankful today? For most of us, this time of year is filled with gratitude and excitement, but also lots of stress. While we are rushing to get orders completed and make clients happy, many of us are feeling too busy and overwhelmed to market ourselves. This week's article explains why that could be deadly for your business - and gives you some simple ways to

market through the season successfully and with less overwhelm.

To your success,

'Tis the season - to be jolly, joyful, and full of stress. Every job must be completed before the holidays, and it's your responsibility to see that everything goes perfectly. 'Tis the time of year when most home fashion professionals are overloaded with work. How can you enjoy the holidays when you have so much to get done for other people? And how can you possibly be expected to also promote your business during this busy time?

Most of us don't. When we are busy with a lot of design projects, we don't have the time to do our regular business promotions. Some designers think: "I have a lot of business, so why do I need to spend time on promoting?" or "I'll take care of marketing if I get slow." or "I would like to do some promotions, but I simply can't find the time now."

The problem with these thoughts is:

An ultra-successful business requires consistent, steady, recurring marketing (even when we are too busy).

I'm sure you realize that placing just one ad in a local paper is not going to create long-term success; your ad needs to be seen consistently to get lasting results. It's like building a strong foundation. The longer your promotion goes on (the longer prospects continue to see your ads), the more powerful the credibility and confidence in your company. This is why marketing experts suggest that you run your ads over and over.

If you were running a recurring ad in a newspaper, and you took it out for a few months, chances are you would have to start over - from scratch - rebuilding your foundation. This is very costly and time-consuming. The most effective way to keep your business going is to market continually and consistently.

So how do we do that when we are so busy? Here are a few ideas to reflect upon:

• Set it and forget it
  Newspapers and magazines allow you to purchase recurring ads. Set up a long-term contract, so you know that your promotion is going on continuously - keeping you in homeowners' minds, even through your busy rush.

• Email newsletters
  If you send out newsletters, don't neglect this month. To save time, you can recycle an old article (like I just did!). You don't need to write anything new. The most important thing is to get the newsletter out!

• Just make a phone call
  One of my favorite (and most successful) marketing ideas is calling past clients. Gather a list of your favorite ones, and call to say happy holidays. Your quick phone calls will remind clients of your products and services. And what a great time of year to do that (bonuses are received now, and homeowners are fantasizing about what to spend theirs on)!

Give yourself the gift of a long-lasting, thriving design business. I wish you happiness, joy, and success.

Increase Your Profits by Promoting Safety

It's always great to promote safety, and why not boost your business at the same time? National Window Covering Safety Month is a wonderful "excuse" to do just that.

The Window Covering Safety Council's promotion is designed to increase consumer awareness of cord safety concerns. It is a nationwide campaign that urges parents with young children to repair or replace pre-2001 corded blinds, shades, and draperies with today's safer products. Join the crusade!

And you can promote so much more than window coverings during Safety Month. Here are a few promotional ideas to try this month...

• Send a special "Decorating Safety" email to your clients and prospects. Encourage them to review and follow your safety tips on cribs, windows, bedding, rugs, etc. They'll probably realize they need your help and invite you over for a consultation.
• Add the "KIDS, CORDS, CAUTION" slogan to your promotional materials this month
  
  
• Mail a "Safety Tips" postcard to clients
  (find tips and downloads at: http://www.windowcoverings.org/safetymonth/safety _tips.html )
  
  
• Offer retrofit kits for repairing older window coverings (available at no cost at: www.windowcoverings.org)
  
  
• Promote cordless products
• Send a press release to your local papers to encourage safety (and promote your business)
  See a sample from the Window Covering Safety Council.

Here's to a safe and profitable month!

Design Success System Workshop

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"How I Turned My Struggling 7-Day Workweek into a Thriving Successful Design Business (where I work only 4 days a week, make lots more money, and enjoy my life more than ever!)"

Call #1:
The 3 Most Improtant Things I Did
to Bring My Design Business to the Next Level

Call #2:
Designer Success Stories:
Meet designers just like you
who have used simple ideas to create wild success
(and see how you can, too!)

You can listen right here
by using the audio player above!

Details on my Design Success System Workshop, which is being held on October 12 and 13 in NJ, are at:

www.DesignSuccessSystemWorkshop.com

Can't wait to see you this fall!