Lighting with Lisa: The Lighting Podcast

What will 2023 hold for the lighting & fan industry? A few marginal changes to be sure, but I'd also argue that as an entire industry, 2023 offers us an amazing opportunity to really coalesce as a whole and forge stronger and deeper partnerships. As homeowners start to move more to the renovation market than new home construction, the value of working with an independent lighting showroom...

Since 2020, I have been expanding into different product categories for my lighting showroom, some with seeming more success than others.  In this episode, I dive into the nitty-gritty of our explorations into cabinet hardware and holiday decor as a retail store -- giving you the real numbers and pros and cons behind these expansions. What new items have you tried in your lighting showroom? Has it...

The LSA AR & 3D model program has officially launched and I am jazzed about it! So much so, that this episode is an audio "white paper" on the benefits of this program and why this opportunity to do this as the lighting & fan industry only leads to success all around. Instead of benefiting just one company's marketing team in a small way, this is a powerful sales tool alread...

Well friends, I have to admit, the inspiration just wasn't popping this week for the podcast and I realized -- that's what I need to speak about. What do you do when you're on the "struggle bus?" How do you overcome the feeling of "this just isn't working out like I planned" and learn and grow and carry on? And perhaps the most important thing to know is tha...

When you own your own business or are similarly self-employed, how to do you maintain accountability? What strategies work to keep yourself motivated and on task? In this episode, I discuss several ways I hold myself accountable plus a few other ideas but I really can't wait to hear your feedback -- how do you hold yourself accountable in your job?  What pushes you to put in the extra effort...

2022 is rapidly heading to a close and as we all look at the past year and think about the coming one, I want to challenge us all, as an entire industry, to do some deep reflection and accept some change in 2023. Let's look at spaces where we can all improve and work on investing time and energy (and probably some money too) into making changes and finding new opportunities. It is so easy to...

So the holiday season is upon us again, and I don't know about you, but getting customers into the showroom sometimes seems like the biggest challenge from mid-November through New Year's. In this episode, I talk about the importance of planning your annual in-store promotions and events in order to keep a continual flow of "feet in the door" to support your lighting showroom,...

So, my extended vacation is over and you might be wondering -- did I even have a business left to come back to?  The answer is a big YES and I couldn't be more pleased with how my professional world carried on during my absence. I also had the great mental reset that I knew I needed but was apprehensive about taking. If you are wrapped up in the doldrums of your day-to-day work life, I totall...

We've all heard about it and as a manager, you've definitely experienced it, the employee who "quietly quits" and stops doing anything beyond the bare minimum of their job responsibilities. Perhaps just a sign of burn out or the need to increase everyone's feeling of value as team member, but regardless, ending up with dissatisfied team members (and worse, managers) can ha...

Discounts are seemingly ubiquitous these days, but should they be? There's definitely a place for them with obsolete merchandise, but what about in new-to-market goods?  Are we actually doing our businesses and industry more harm than good with perpetual sales? Can we outsell our profit margin losses to remain viable? Let me know what you think on this one! Fixture Finder Lighting Jobs Email...

Through another podcast, I was recently turned on to Peter Drucker's Eight Practices of Effective Executives and a lot of this list really resonated with me as I continue on my leadership journey. I wanted to share the list here as I know many of us are not born leaders, but have become one along the way out of necessity. This list renewed my commitment to focus on opportunities; to engage an...

I am pre-recording several Light Files episodes because right now, I am on vacation! And preparing for this time out of the office has been incredibly stressful, but the more I think about it much needed -- and probably is for you too! So here are my thoughts on the importance of time off and I'd love to hear your times for successfully unplugging and stepping away from your day-to-day so tha...

As a leader and as a business, what are your superpowers? The answer, of course, will be different for everyone. It is always important to learn and try new ideas, programs, or skills, but I also think it is critical to know your core competency and really build on that asset first. Your superpower is likely someone else's kryptonite, which just means that we need to support ourselves and bus...

This week I cover the rest of the LSA AR program and why I see value for the entire industry with an investment in this program. Ready to sign the petition to let our manufacturers know you're excited for this sales tool? Here's the link! https://form.jotform.com/222353274836155 Fixture Finder Lighting Jobs Email Lisa

This week's episode is all about the exciting new LSA Augmented Reality program and why I am so excited to bring this tool to our industry.  Fixture Finder Lighting Jobs Email Lisa

On a recent Zoom call, I went off on a small tangent about how siloed we can be in the lighting & fan industry and the realization hit me that of course we don't have to be! There is so much we can learn from one another by sharing even small tips and ideas that would encourage us all and help increase our growth. We have so much data, tools, skill, ideas, and opportunity -- we just need...

I recently had to make a purchase of a major home appliance I was struck over and over by aspects that were very different than how sales and distribution are handled in the lighting & fan industry. There are pros and cons all around, to be sure, but my biggest takeaway is that we are leaving so much partnership opportunity on the proverbial table in the lighting & fan industry. And isn&ap...

What is the social media strategy for your business? Do you have one or do you find yourself, like a lot of us do, posting just to post? Are you working on increasing sales? Branding? Rather than just tick a box on a "to-do" list, it might be worth revisiting your social media strategy to make sure you know your audience(s) and are creating a meaningful connection with them. Be objective...

I recently had a great conversation with Matt Rowan of Dominion Lighting. A new LSA member showroom and recent Showroom of the Year winner, Matt had a lot of useful insight in the experience of a lighting showroom and connecting with customers that really impacted me. We spoke a lot about the importance of learning, sharing, and growing as an industry by supporting one another. Listen now for even...

How do you set your business up for the maximum amount of success with customers? I think a large part of the answer is by providing your core customers with the experience they need and want. How do they prefer to shop? Is delivery critical? Is a gallery display required? Do they need everything in stock? Whatever the case is for your lighting showroom, I'd encourage us all to focus on how o...

I'm ready for some visual merchandising inspo, how about you? This never-ending but important showroom job always benefits from a little outside inspiration, so post your favorite vignettes to Instagram and tag the showroom & @lightfiles (and maybe even @lsamembers too) and let's all gain some ideas and find ways to step up our own visual merchandising. Small steps lead to big change...

I get it, change is tough. We resist change out of a perceived risk or fear, which is a pretty natural thing. But... we are in need of change in our industry. And achieving change will require a relentless commitment to furthering the core of our industry as a whole, leading to collective and individual success. I've been on this mission for at least five years now, and the good news is that...

June Lightovation was a whirl for me, but not in the typical showroom "buyer" sense. This June, I was focused on the launch of the Lighting Showroom Association's industry-wide Augmented Reality program. Listen to this episode to learn more and hear why I fully believe in the value of this program and why it is time to bring an initiative like this to our market & industry. I ca...

Where do you find inspiration and motivation to keep moving when the well is starting to run a bit dry? Coming off of a week at Lightovation, it seems inspiration is everywhere, but since Markets are infrequent events, where else can we go to find incremental inspiration and ideas to make our businesses better and more successful? Let me know your favorite sources of inspo and I share a few of min...

As our industry heads to Lightovation in Dallas this week, I always enjoy the shift to being a buyer and looking at my business from the perspective of a customer and purchaser instead of a manager and distributor. And what I find resonates with me as a buyer, it turns out, also seems to resonate with my own customers. So what can a manufacturer do at Lightovation to generate engagement and create...