Today's guest is Reed Humphrey, the President of Alder and Tweed Home Outfitters in Park City, Utah, a family owned business that Reed runs with his two sisters. Reed was first exposed to the world of interiors at the age of eight, when he would travel all over the world with his parents, who were the owners of a successful lighting business, to visit suppliers and factories. This really allowed for Reed to develop a discriminating eye and knowledge for quality. This expertise has carried on as Alder and Tweed continue to source some of the best leathers, fabrics, furnishings, and suppliers in the world. Listen in to find out about how Reed and his sisters have used their really clear vision to re-invent and niche their business,  to service strictly, the vacation homeowners buying in Park City, Utah.

Reed, an open, humble and skilled leader, has operated the business side of Alder and Tweed for the past thirteen years, overseeing the logistics, strategy, marketing, and human resources. He also supports the wholesale side of Alder and Tweed Furniture. Since 2004, the firm has focused on a client-centric approach to projects, and it has grown to a staff of eighteen employees, with offices in both Park City, Utah and in Big Sky, Montana.

Reed, who lives in Sandy, Utah with his wife Jenna and his daughter, London, was raised in El Dorado Hills, California and moved to Utah in 2002, after being offered a scholarship to play basketball for Utah Valley University, where he studied business. Reed speaks Japanese fluently and enjoys basketball, golf and traveling. Listen in now, to find out more about Reed and his really successfully niched business.

 

Today, Reed talks to LuAnn about:

• How the family business, which started out as a retail showroom, has evolved, over time, eventually targeting vacation home buyers in Park City.
• How they decided to close their original business in Salt Lake City within one week, to move to Park City.
• That the family all knew that they had to make a move, at the time- and fast.
• The dynamics involved in running a family business.
• What Reed and his sisters did to brand themselves in a different light, so as not be just another Design Business
• How Reed and his sisters became are aware of the pain points of their clients, and what they do to help them to overcome these problems and make everything really easy for the client.
• How they manage to allocate the money as an operating expense, to fly out to see the clients.
• How they went into their new niche market and became known within it.
• What they did to reach out to Real Estate Agents in Park City, within their first six months.
• How they really make it their business to cover everything, seamlessly.
• How their referral stream has really picked up.
• How their Junior and Senior Designers work as a team, together with Reed's sister, Heather.
• How the processes of their projects run.
• How their Client Portal

Their fantastic team, which is capable of running different projects, at different stages, all at the same time.

The different packages that they have available, for all the various, different client needs.

Why Reed and his sisters haven't really made it known that they are the owners of the firm.

The biggest thing that Reed would caution people wanting to start a similar business with.

How they manage to operate their business without a showroom.

That they focus on quality and customer experience, rather than on the numbers.

What Reed and his team really love about what they do!

Links:

http://www.alderandtweed.com http://www.alderandtweedfurniture.com

Upcoming events include today’s FB Live Flash Mob at 2:00 pm EDT from the Kravet Showroom.

Then, Design Uncorked – How to grow from Design Firm to Design Empire. A live interview with Kelli Ellis from the Kravet Showroom at Las Vegas Market on Tuesday, August 2 at 2:00 pm. 

Last week did you catch our 1st guest blog post by Kelsey Grose of Farmer’s Daughter Interiors? “How I Landed A Full Kitchen Project With No Portfolio”

It’s a great read.

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