Elizabeth Gerdes: Sometimes a Pivot is the Best Thing for Your Window Treatment Business Happiness

Today With Elizabeth Gerdes:

Welcome to Window Treatments for Profit. You may find that after years of successfully running your business a certain way, there would never be a reason to change that “way.” Why would you? You’ve been kicking butt all these years with the same system and process.

My guest today, Elizabeth Gerdes, owner of custom drapery workroom, Stitch Above the Rest, LLC likely thought the same thing until she realized she HAD to make a change. This change included passing the fabrication baton to employees and shifting her duties in her business.

What she wants you to know though is that doing the “uncomfortable” and making business changes was all for the best, for her health and her happiness.

Pick It Apart

[9:00] Elizabeth begins her story on how she got into fabricating custom window treatments.

[15:55] A conversation about the willingness to ask for help and be open to different ways of doing things.

[25:45]  LuAnn and Elizabeth talk about why clients willingly were on a two year waiting list for Elizabeth’s services.

[37:20] Where Elizabeth is currently in her business model.

LuAnn Nigara and Elizabeth Gerdes’ Ah-Ha Moments

“I think a lot of business owners feel that even though we may have accomplished a lot of our goals, we’re not always completely satisfied because we still have a vision and more we want to create. But we do need to take a step back and look at how far we have come.” – Elizabeth Gerdes

“A lot of the reason why people work with me is because I treat people the way I would like to be treated, so I let them know the situation upfront. I let them know what’s going on from the beginning and if they are on a waiting list I keep up the communication which builds our relationship.” – Elizabeth Gerdes

“For anyone who is in the workroom industry, there are so many classes out there where you can learn to fabricate a swag, or hems in a drapery, but when you open your brain to the business part of it the flood gates open.” – Elizabeth Gerdes

More About Elizabeth Gerdes:

Elizabeth Gerdes is the owner of Stitch Above the Rest, LLC, an award-winning custom drapery workroom in Woodstock, GA. She has been designing and fabricating custom window treatments for residential and commercial clients for almost 20 years. Though she works mostly direct to the consumer, she does have a few regular designers that use her for their higher-end projects. Elizabeth loves a good window treatment challenge and gravitates towards non-traditional projects that other workrooms walk away from. Her company offers full-service project management, from consult to install, taking the stress out of custom window treatments so the client can relax in their home and feel proud to show it off.

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A Big Thank You to Today’s Sponsor:

Let’s thank our show sponsor, 38East by Comfortex. 38 East is the original fabric collection designed by our very own Kimberly Serafim at Window Works. This collection features 14 patterns in 9 colorways and can be ordered by the yard to send to your own workroom for your soft treatment projects or you can order roman shades, drapes or roller shades made of these beautiful patterns through Comfortex. You know

Comfortex, you know their quality and you know the people who run the company. This is top shelf organization and at WWKS we couldn’t be more grateful or thrilled with this collaboration with them. The 38East Collection is printed on a gorgeous linen like ground that has a wonderful hand and makes a truly gorgeous window treatment.

Call your Comfortex rep today to get your sample books. You are going to love having these fabrics in your library.