The Decorating Voice

Don't Walk Alone In The Desert: Lessons Learned in Arizona

Recently I returned from the SDP annual conference in Arizona with a lot of new ideas and inspiration to build my business.   Mary Carol Garrity inspired all of us with her candor and her remarkable story of her rise to the top.  Despite her abundance of personal success in the home furnishings and decor industry,  I couldn't help but notice how much credit she gave to others who have helped her along her walk. 

I went to conference a few days early to take advantage of the SDP's invitation to "relax, renew, and rejuvenate".  My roommate Wendy and I started out early our first day into the desert for a 2.5 mile interpretive walk established and maintained by the Wild Horse Pass staff.  As the blazing sun bore down upon us, I realized an even earlier start might have been better.  We found our way together though, and enjoyed the Gila River and the natural flora of the Arizona desert.

Wendy left conference a day earlier than I, and on that last day there I decided to take that desert walk by myself.  I started out early, recalling it would be about a 40 minute walk.  I had my bottled water and cell phone, but no sunscreen or hat to shield my face from the already intense sunrays.

Somewhere along my way, I inadvertently strayed off the trail.  Suddenly I noticed there were no signs to read; there was no Gila River along my side.  I strained to see the rooftop of our resort, but the horizon revealed few clues.  I tried to retrace my steps but suddenly everywhere I looked the scenery looked the same: dry, dusty and brown without a trace of shade.  I tried to quell the panic I was starting to feel emerge.  The eerie desert silence did not help.

True I had my cell phone, but no actual phone numbers to the resort.  Earlier that morning I had been in touch with Kris Ozgar, someone I had only briefly met from conference, about sharing a ride to the airport.  Quickly I hit "send" on my phone as she was the last person I had contact with before my walk.  I was relieved to hear her voice, but felt foolish telling her I was lost in the desert, not knowing how to explain where someone might find me.  I told her I would find my way, and hung up feeling a little less alone.

By this time it was really getting hot and my walking pace increased along with the temperature.   I knew I had to find my way back to the river and that if I could find it, I would follow it back to the resort.  Ten to fifteen minutes later I heard the water and saw a small sign bearing a stick picture of a hiker. I was headed back to civilization...but still it was a long walk back.  I called Kris again and told her I had found my way.  When I finally opened the door of the resort and embraced the cool blast of AC, I realized I had been gone almost an hour and a half!

As soon as I felt secure on that trail back to safety, I began to think about what had happened.  I am sure a lizard or two heard me say aloud "Beth, what were you thinking taking a walk alone in this desert? "   Wasn't it blatantly clear at conference that we need our friends and colleagues for support, to get ahead, to help us find our way?   

Yes, this was the most valuable lesson I learned at conference, August 2008.

Beth Batke

Living on Purpose

"What one loves in childhood stays in the heart forever."  ~  Mary Jo Putney

How much of your day is spent working on things that make your heart sing?  Are you the one who loved re-arranging your bedroom as a child?  Or making furniture for Barbie's Dream House?  Or opening a new box of crayons and dreaming about the possibilities?

How long are you going to wait to be fully you?  Start living your dream by registering for a class in Interior Redesign, Home Staging, or Color Confidence with trusted professionals from The Society of Decorating Professionals!  Find other "experts" to take over the tasks that drain/weaken you (even if it's something you're able to do). 

If you feel stuck in your current career, begin today to concentrate on adding more things that inspire & energize you.  If you need help starting, check out Oprah.com/workshop for an eight session lesson from Marcus Buckingham.  He is a well respected author and business coach.  Marcus encourages you to follow your strengths to lead to your life's calling because "You've been blessed with so much uniqueness!"

Comment below and let me know how you're doing at working in the area of your strenths.
Kris Porter -
www.TheSDP.com 
www.KristinePorter.com

Oprah Believes in Terry Grahl's Dreams

For this posting to make sense, be sure to read the post, Believe in Your Dreams first.

I'M BACK!!!! WOW what a experience!!!! Monday's Oprah show was live in Chicago with Jamie Lee Curtis. I arrived to the studio around 6am and met many wonderful people who also were lucky enough to manifest reservations for the show. My brother and I sat in the top row but I felt so close to Oprah. The best part of the show was the after show with Racheal the contestant from the Big Give who was voted off on Sunday. What a life lesson Oprah taught the entire audience. ''God knows how amazing you are, we must let go of any negative thoughts to allow any blessings into our lives'' I would have never thought that just one year ago my life would be like this today.

April 18th I will be starting my season 5 with the 100 day challenge on youtube!!! Hmmm I wonder what the universe (God) has planned for me now?

P.S.  Many of you know about the #10 that keeps showing up in my life....Ever since the shelter project I keep finding 10 cents, $10 dollars,10 in the harpo producers phone number and the latest (My room at the Omni hotel was on the 10th floor) Just another sign letting me that I am heading in the right direction....

Many many blessings to all of you,
Terry oxoxo
www.TerrysEnchantedCottage.com
734-776-0848

Believe in Your Dreams

How are you? As many of you know for the past year I've been on one amazing journey. For many years I've been a collector and flea market junkie. Growing up my mother would pack all five of us in the huge brown station wagon and head off to all the flea markets and garage sales to find the best bargain and hidden treasure. The memories were so special I had to continue the story by finding my own lost treasures to love and cherish for my home.

Shortly after my last child stepped foot on the school bus I decided I wanted to start my own decorating business. I wanted to give women hope and I understood tight budgets. There was only one thing holding me back MONEY. As I stood in my cottage looking at all the vintage treasures I knew I had to let them go if I had any chance of going to this decorating class in PA.

So silly as some may say but my vintage composition dolls were the hardest to sell. I decided I would only let them go if one buyer bought all of them. I ended up selling the dolls on Ebay and cried the entire time while wrapping them for their new home. When I was a little girl my dolls were always important to me I felt if I was taking care of them I was taking care of myself.  Now I was set financially and ready to fly out to JoAnne Lenart Weary's class in PA. I remember returning home taller and emotionally stronger. ''The class was worth every doll''

Only a week had passed since the class and I received a phone call from an angel asking for help at a shelter. As my heart began to race I knew this call would some how change my life forever. After the visit at the shelter I left depressed and over whelmed I just wasnt sure if I wanted to even take on the challenge of my life.''The challenge'' renovating a shelter, healing spirits and but finding the core of who I really am.

As many of you probably don't know, I have been cleaning my brother's store and my mother's home for the past 4 years, while dreaming of having my own decorating business. One day at my mothers home I decided to print out the photos of the shelter. I love polka dots probably as much as JoAnne loves her leopard print. I will never forget the moment when I looked at the photos and there it was a polka dot pillow on a stained mattress. I heard a voice from within say, ''Trust in me'' it was without a doubt, God guiding me to believe.

That voice was so strong that I decided to take on the challenge and renovate the women's dorm at the shelter. The very next morning I headed off to staples to make copies of all of the letters I needed to mail to businesses and corporations for help. I knew my bank account would be negative but I now had FAITH and BELIEVED that all would work itself out. Feb. 2007 I just caught the last ten minutes of the reaction to the secret on the Oprah Show. Once again the voice appeared saying, ''Don't worry about what you don't have just be ready for what is about to come.'' I was so excited about this secret I googled it and found a woman named Lilou Mace on youtube. WOW!!! I was blown away by how this woman was using the law of attraction and a vision board to manifest her dreams in 100 days.

I immediately signed up for the 100 day challenge on youtube, charged a web cam and made my vision board. Day after day I would video journal my life and the 2007 Hopeful Haven entire shelter project. More and more I began to see signs that would help guide me in the right direction. I want you all to know that when I took out all of my hopes and dreams from within placed them on a black board I began seeing the true me. I made sure to be grateful even before a blessing happened and I needed to nuture my dreams just like I was taking care of a garden.
    

After 7 months of continuing to trust, believe and have faith the shelter received everything on the dream list and vision board a total of $200,000 in monetary and furniture donations. I was finally awaken from within and noticing signs from the universe (god). Soon as the shelter project was finished I noticed another sign but this one was in my Sunday newspaper. I hardly ever read the home section because, to be honest, it's soooo boring but I heard the voice from within say, ''READ IT''  I could'nt believe it the Assocaite Editor of Country Decorating Ideas wrote a story in my hometown paper.  On my vision board  I wanted the shelter project to be published in a national magazine. Shortly after emailing the Associate Editor my dream became reality. Paint Magic a special annual publication of Country Decorating Ideas # 90 featured the project in Nov. 2007. I also had a photo of Mary Engelbriet the editor of Home Companion o n my vision board. On Aug. 20 @ 2:19 I received a call from Cynthia Bix a writer for Home Companion she had just found my web site and wanted the shelter project in their magazine. WOW!!!! huge manifestation!!!! Four months had past and I received a call from Tony Dimartino the Contrubiting Editor of Home Companion apologizing for the publisher deciding that the forgoodness sake column was being cancelled. At first I really thought it was a mistake and then I felt very calm and knew that god had bigger plans for me.

I want you all to know that I put on my dream list that I wanted at least two redesign jobs a week and on my vision board I had a picture of a woman with money falling on her from the sky. It only took three days after christmas when I received an email from the editor of Homestyle section in Detroit News asking if I would do a video of a redesign and a story for the paper. I know without a doubt my faith and trusting in god made all of that happen. Yes! you do have to put footsteps to your prayers but the foundation is faith. Since Jan. 12th I have been swamped with job offers, I have paid off 1/2 of my debt and ARE YOU READY FOR THE BIG NEWS?!!!!! On my vision for the past year I have had a picture of Oprah and me. On March 10th the Oprah show played a video of me talking about last years shelter project and here's the huge manifestation and blessing!!!!! I received an email on Wed. April 2nd from Winnie a producer from the Oprah Show letting me know that she has reservations for me and a guest for Monday's show. I surprised my hero and my big brother Todd to fly out with me and stay at the Omni hotel.

I hope all of you know that you always have had the power to manifest your dreams, you just need to BELIEVE.....

Many Blessings,
Terry Grahl
www.TerrysEnchantedCottage.com
734-776-0848

Your Personal Voice

I have had requests to make the blog a place to meet and greet one another as well to say on top of what is happening in the world. So this is the place, tell us about you, how long have you been in business, what are the biggest struggles and joys in having your own business.  This will be a great way for you to network with others and build your own power group of people.  The SDP strength is helping decorating professionals to succeed. We try to do our part through webinars, blogs, teleconferences, weekly newsletters, annual conferences and more. Then the way each of you share and support one another is the other 1/2 of the success circle we are trying to build. So tell us about you in this posting and let's start the process going.

You might be a member of The SDP or someone who wants to build a decorating business. We would love to get to know you.

Are you an Industry Expert?

Do you want to be known as the Expert?  Do you want to boost your Credibility?  Then audition NOW for your chance to be a conference speaker at "Prospecting for Gold...in the Wild, Wild West"2008 SDP Conference, August 6-8 in AZ!  Last year's success was built on a blend of speakers, so in addition to our exciting Guest Speakers, we will be showcasing a limited number of our successful members' talent and expertise. Share your gold nuggets of information with your peers and gain credibility as an industry expert. Choose to speak during a break-out*session or lunch and learn*.  Speakers may be part of a panel.

Apply Today!

Audition Package:submit all six requirements

NOW!  If you are not contacted within 48 hours of e-mailing, please call 866-737-4737.  Speaker selections will be announced by March 7, 2008.

1. Short Bio
2. Headshot (jpg)
3. Contact Information
4. Three learning outcomes from your presentation
5. What makes you qualified to speak on this topic?
6. Topic of Choice :1* Breakouts (60 minute)-select from topics list below, or  2* Lunch & Learn (20 minutes) -state your topic

All materials must be returned via email  on or before Friday, February 15, to [email protected]

Selected Presenters will receive:

Professional Press Release

Business Card Sized Ad in New SDP Publication

Customized  Presentation Skills Webinar

Presentation Certificate

Select from these Break out Session Topics

• Decorating beyond Redesign
• Creating your Golden Board of Success-dream/vision boards
• There's Gold in them thar Hills (alternative revenue streams, event planning, over 55, etc)
• Successfully Sifting Colors
• Morphing your Talent, when you're too tired to move the sofa
• Eureka-Attracting Attention and what to do with it
• Taking your Business to the next Level...is it time?
• Striking Gold in any Room-10 pieces that never go out of style
• Trash to Treasure-one man's dust is another man's gold
• Creating Clients for Life...with Golden Service
• Fearless Marketing with Techie Tools
• Empty Teepees Never Sell-products, props and profit
• Fabulous Forms and Pricing

It takes a team to build a successful business

It takes a Team to build a Successful Business!

Forgive me Hilary for the play on words but one of the largest reasons for business failure is the insistence of the entrepreneur to "go it alone". Every successful business became so because the owner realized he/she needed support and wisdom from people skilled in areas he/she is not. Now some of the team may be your alter-ego or the other side of your brain, but let's be honest, you can't be expert at all of it. Recognize that and more importantly, take action and you will see a big change in your bottom line. 

Let's talk about what a successful team should include!

#1 YOU!  You are the talent, the heart, the reason that the business came into being.  Take some time and list what you do really well that impacts the business, now look at your list and see what you LOVE to do.  That is what you do, now find "your people" to do the rest.  Some will not cost you anything and some may come with a fee attached. I know, you can't afford it, but hear me when I say, you can't afford not to find someone help you to do the things you are not as qualified to do. 

The Money People-Quick, tell me your total sales for 2007 and how many clients you had.  What was your average sale?  What do you mean you don't know? Is this a weak area for you?  How do you know if you are really making money?  Find the Money People. It may be one or more, an accountant to help analyze your numbers occasionally and a weekly or monthly  person who simply tracks your income and expenses on a computer, or a service who specializes in small business book-keeping.  You will be amazed how reasonable it is.  If you insist on doing it yourself, then set your books up on Quickbooks so you can really analyze your numbers easily. 

Peer Power-This is the person or persons who keep you encouraged and shares successes and failures with you.  They may be in the same business as you, or a fellow entrepreneur struggling with the similar business issues. They may also serve other rolls on your team, if they have strengths in areas you do not. You can perhaps reciprocate by sharing your skills and talents with them.

The Visionary-This is the person who helps you to look at your business in new ways.  They encourage you to go outside your comfort zone and look at your overall business model without the emotion or attachment you have. This person may be a business coach, mentor, or a trainer who is experienced and knows what to look for. This is also the person who tells you kindly, when you are doing something non-productive.

The Networker-This is the person(s) who believes in what you do or sell.  They like you, respect you, and more importantly, like to talk and share with their own circle of influence. You can't pay enough for the validation that The Networker can bring to your business as word of mouth is powerful in raising your business credibility.

The Marketer-This is the person (maybe your alter ego) that plans your marketing strategy and implements it.  the Marketer knows those who take the Field of Dreams approach to business, you know, build it and they will come, will never succeed.  Success is part luck but mostly planned.  The goal of a smart marketing strategy is to build credibility for you and your business. Try this simple test to see if your current marketing strategy has been working for you.  Google your name and business name nationally and regionally and see how many times you  appear on the first two pages. Nationally, it should be mentioned at least once, particularly if your name is at all uncommon. Regionally, it should dominate both page one or two.  If not, "The Marketer" is doing a poor job for you.

Okay, there was a look at the key members of your Success Team.  Do you have someone working in these areas?  Time to treat your business like a business and build a team that will ensure your success.  JoAnne Lenart-Weary, Vice Director of The SDP