She was driving in on a beautiful, blue-sky Friday morning thinking we survived COVID, we finally made it — and by that afternoon, 90% of her business was gone.

Vita Vygovska built Vitalia Inc. from a shop-at-home business run out of a 1998 Honda Accord into a team of 10 with a 2,500 sq ft workroom north of Philadelphia. In this episode she pulls the curtain all the way back — the corporate job that was quietly killing her, the terrifying decision to scale, the electrical fire that leveled everything, and the one line on her to-do list she kept pushing down until it was too late.

What we get into:

• Why she researched cardboard boxes and gyms before landing on window treatments
• The "God, take it all away" moment — when success became a burden
• The Ukrainian saying that reframes every money decision: "a poor person pays twice"
• Vision boards, faith, and why the universe meets you halfway (but only if you do the work)
• The fire, the 45 minutes that made it worse, and the insurance mistake she owns completely
• Why her ultimate goal is a business that runs without her — where work is optional

Guest - https://vitaliainc.com/

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In this episode I walk you through what happened next — the runaround about "better pricing," the 120 links you scroll past just to find the actual hotel site, and the moment it asked me to create an account before it would take my money. That's where I lost it. I picked up my card, walked out, drove four blocks, and paid more at the next place. Happily.

What we get into:

• Why "we'll give you a better price online" is a lie customers can smell
• The real cost of making people jump through hoops to pay you
• How the check-in-the-mail habit quietly delays projects and kills sales
• Appointment-only, business-hours-only, sign-up-to-leave-a-review — the friction you stopped noticing
• Why you can't spot your own barriers, and the one thing I do first on every consulting job

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Pricing blinds, shades, shutters, and drapery installs can feel like a trick question, because the “same” job is never actually the same job. A single bracket problem, an out-of-square opening, or a ceiling with no backing can turn a quick visit into a custom engineering session. I walk through how I think about window treatment installation pricing so you can stop guessing, protect your time, and still give clients a number that feels fair and clear. 

We get into the most common pricing strategies installers use in the window coverings world: per unit for shades, linear foot for certain treatments, and square foot for shutters. I also explain why shutter installs can price differently by region, especially when direct-mount work on trimmed windows forces careful panel alignment and long adjustment time. For drapery installation, we talk about what often gets missed in a base quote, like steaming, dressing, high ladders, and other site conditions that quietly eat your margin. 

Then we zoom out to the business side: overhead costs, job volume, and how to sanity-check whether your “great price” actually pays the bills. I share why I avoid presenting an hourly rate to homeowners even if I use an hourly number in my head, plus how to add an hourly line item for repairs, templates, or truly unique situations. We also touch on the unsexy truth that reputation sets your ceiling: how you treat clients, punctuality, and professionalism can determine what people will pay. 

If you’re an installer, dealer, designer, or workroom trying to build a pricing sheet you can stand behind, this is for you. Subscribe for more honest trade talk, share this with someone pricing their first jobs, and leave a review so more pros can find the show.

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He knocked on doors for years, built a multi-million-dollar operation, and still hit the moment every founder dreads: more revenue, more stress, and less money left at the end of the month. That’s the heart of my conversation with James Hutchings, founder of Southwest Blinds and Shutters and the mind behind the Aeris Dealers Network, a dealer-first approach to products and profitability in the window coverings world.

We walk through James’ real timeline, not the polished version. He starts as a young newlywed in Las Vegas, stumbles into door-to-door sales with no training, and learns how to turn bare windows in new neighborhoods into consistent blind and shutter installs. Then we dig into what happens when hustle turns into scaling a small business: hiring friends and family, stacking overhead, managing people without systems, and discovering that growth can expose every weakness in operations and leadership.

If you care about entrepreneurship, door-to-door sales, trades-based businesses, or building a profitable company that can actually scale, press play. Subscribe, share this with a business owner who needs the math, and leave a review with the biggest lesson you’re taking from James’ story.

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A client once dragged a chair into the room and silently watched me work, and it taught me more about business than any motivational quote ever could. When you’re building something from scratch, the real test isn’t whether you can do the job on a perfect day. It’s whether you can keep your hands steady when you’re sweating, uncertain, and someone is judging every move. 

I’m celebrating 20 years with Shades In Place, and this is part two of the “20 moments” series: ten more lessons, mistakes, and wins that helped me stay in the game. We talk about joining the WCAA trade association for networking and visibility, leaning on industry communities for support, and why repeating training can be one of the smartest investments you make. I also break down how a simple client newsletter turned into years of loyalty, industry writing opportunities, and eventually my book, Nobody Told Me That. 

We go straight at pricing and mindset too. If you act uncomfortable with your own numbers, clients feel it instantly, especially in premium categories like window treatments and motorized shades. I share what I learned about charging for value, staying calm around big prices, and protecting the one asset you can’t replace: your reputation, even when fixing a mistake costs real money. 

If you’re growing a small business, selling a professional service, or trying to reinvent your career, you’ll leave with practical moves you can use this week. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a push, and leave a review so more builders can find the show.

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Twenty years ago, I didn’t even know the window treatment industry was a real business lane. I thought hanging shades was something everyone did themselves. Then I spent one weekend with my cousin and watched his phone light up with customer calls and I realized there was a hidden market for shade installation, blinds, and in-home service work that most people never notice until they need it fast.

I’m celebrating 20 years of Shades in Place by walking through the first 10 turning points that shaped how I operate, sell, and grow. These lessons live in what I call “courage and motion” the early season where you move forward without feeling fully ready. I talk about getting fired for doing a good job, why that closed door mattered, and how training and certifications (including Hunter Douglas certification) changed my skill level and confidence. I also share how Lowe’s subcontractor work became a real-world school for customer service, speed, and professionalism, plus the moment I shifted from installer to dealer when a simple phone call created an opportunity.

We go deeper on the business side too: learning QuickBooks so product sales and service income don’t get messy, joining a weekly networking group to build public speaking confidence, and taking on scary jobs like shutters, corner windows, two-story drapery, and motorized shades. If you’ve ever felt behind, shy, or unsure whether you’re “qualified,” these stories are proof that progress often looks like baby steps, good relationships, and the willingness to ask for help.

Subscribe for part two next week, then share this with a friend building a small business and leave a quick review so more people can find the show. What’s one moment that changed your path?

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Most people think window treatments are “just a rod and some fabric” until they watch a real pro work. We’re joined by Mark Koperweis, better known as the Drapery Guru, to unpack what elite drapery installation actually looks like and why the smallest details decide whether you earn referrals or refunds.

Mark walks us through his path from learning fabrics and saying yes to early jobs, to becoming the installer other designers and workrooms trust when perfection matters. We talk about the hidden value of showing up on time, protecting the home, keeping a clean site, and making every measurement and bracket feel intentional. If you’re in a trade business, home services, or any client-facing work, the principles translate: standards create trust, and trust creates pricing power.

We also get technical on Lutron shades, motorized roller shades, and Lutron drapery tracks. Mark explains why luxury shading projects are rarely simple, how recessed pockets and corner conditions force real engineering decisions, and how shading ties into lighting control and home automation systems. A big theme is partnerships: electricians and AV companies often win the early scope, then Mark steps in for custom draperies, Roman shades, and the fabric work they don’t want to touch.

Along the way we hit real-world business lessons, from billing product up front for healthier cash flow to preventing fabric disasters like gravity wrinkles, plus why steaming is quality control, not a cosmetic extra. If you want more honest conversations about business reinvention, craftsmanship, and building something that lasts, subscribe, share this with a friend in the trades, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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Three years ago, my wife and I packed up our life in Boston and moved to Florida. No five-year plan. No spreadsheet of pros and cons. Just a gut feeling and a decision to go.

This episode is about that move — but it's really about something bigger: the three types of people when it comes to change.

The first one plans everything before they act. The second one plans so much they never move at all. The third one jumps in and figures it out on the way down. I'm the third type. Always have been.

I get into the goods, the bads, and the ugly of starting over: keeping my 17-year Boston business alive from 1,200 miles away, learning to delegate when I thought nobody could do it better than me, walking into a more competitive market where literally nobody knew my name, and discovering a whole world of window treatments I'd never even heard of (hello, hurricane shutters and retractable awnings).

Here's the heart of it: there's no right or wrong way to face change. There's just knowing who you are and acting like it.

In this episode:

• The three mindsets people bring to risk and opportunity
• What it really takes to run a business long-distance
• Why letting go (delegating) was harder than the move itself
• Building a network and referrals from zero in a brand-new market
• The Brazil deal that taught me "no risk, no upside"
• The Florida surprises I never planned for
  
  #Delegation #RemoteBusiness #FloridaBusiness #PodcastLife #MindsetMatters #RiskAndReward #SmallBusinessDecisions

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Three years ago, my wife and I packed up our life in Boston and moved to Florida. No five-year plan. No spreadsheet of pros and cons. Just a gut feeling and a decision to go.

This episode is about that move — but it's really about something bigger: the three types of people when it comes to change.

The first one plans everything before they act. The second one plans so much they never move at all. The third one jumps in and figures it out on the way down. I'm the third type. Always have been.

I get into the goods, the bads, and the ugly of starting over: keeping my 17-year Boston business alive from 1,200 miles away, learning to delegate when I thought nobody could do it better than me, walking into a more competitive market where literally nobody knew my name, and discovering a whole world of window treatments I'd never even heard of (hello, hurricane shutters and retractable awnings).

I also tell the Brazil investment story — the deal a friend talked himself out of while I jumped in, and what ten years revealed about which of us made the "right" call.

Here's the heart of it: there's no right or wrong way to face change. There's just knowing who you are and acting like it.

In this episode:

• The three mindsets people bring to risk and opportunity
• What it really takes to run a business long-distance
• Why letting go (delegating) was harder than the move itself
• Building a network and referrals from zero in a brand-new market
• The Brazil deal that taught me "no risk, no upside"
• The Florida surprises I never planned for

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Some people get into business because they love the work — they're great with their hands, they can produce something beautiful — but the business side feels like a foreign language. Other folks come straight out of Corporate America loaded with business knowledge but couldn't install a blind to save their life. Most of us are missing something.

This week, Roger sits down with Jessica Harling of Behind the Design to talk about how you fill in the gaps you didn't even know you had.

Jessica's a fourth-generation member of a family design business that's been running since 1936 — and she's spent the last decade helping flooring, furniture, window covering, and interior design companies fix the two things that quietly hold them back: people problems and process problems.

In this conversation, Roger and Jessica get into:

• Why so many business owners are brilliant at their craft but stuck on the business itself
• The "easy industry" myth — and why everyone who believes it changes their mind in about 90 days
• How a former teacher and theater kid ended up coaching design-trade companies (and why observation is an underrated business skill)
• What a 30-day company audit actually uncovers when an outsider looks in
• And the one piece of advice from Jessica's 101-year-old great-grandmother that's worth the whole episode: "You can either complain or change. Those are your choices — and it's in your control."

If you've ever felt like you've hit a ceiling you can't explain, this one's for you.

#NoStringsAttached #WindowTreatments #InteriorDesign #SmallBusiness #FamilyBusiness #BehindTheDesign

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