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Manufacturer Group Fashionline shares insights and highlights from experienced business people entering the window furnishings industry for the first time.
Make no mistake; the blind industry is full of people that have been in it for 20+ years; multiple generations of families with tremendous Australian manufacturing history.
Those that enter the industry as newcomers can view it with fresh eyes. The first question newbies are asked when they start in window furnishings, especially if they’re experienced business people from another industry, is: “What are your first impressions?”
We asked Sharon and Jim Tieman, owners of Premier Shades at Wyoming, NSW, for their observations from their early days.
“There’s a lot to learn” said Jim Tieman, Director, who with his wife Sharon, used to own a national restaurant supplier retail and online business. “I’m still learning. You’d be foolish to think you know it all in this business. I’m not afraid to ask questions and find a quicker, faster, better way to do things. It seems there is a tremendous amount of knowledge in this industry locked in people’s heads. They don’t mind sharing it, but you have to know who to ask. We spent the first few years just trying to learn as much as we could. Every rep that walked through the door, we would pick their brain. We would attend every training event we were invited to and have been to four Super Expos in nine years, the first one within three months of owning the business.”
Sharon Tieman said her biggest insight was the polarising opposites of competitiveness and kinship within the industry. “Let’s face it” she said, “this is a competitive industry! Every home has a window; actually, several of them. I was surprised however, at what lengths competitors would go to, to get a sale; even lying, bullying and not honouring warranties. On the other hand, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of this industry. There have been so many really generous suppliers and peers in the industry who went out of their way to help us in the early days. To this day we still call many of them friends.”
In terms of the benefits Premier Shades has secured from networking and knowledge sharing, joining Fashionline has played a significant role.
“We were new to the industry and it seemed like a great opportunity to learn more from well-established businesses. I remember when we bought our first roller cutting table. One of the other members invited us to their factory and showed us some of the tricks of the trade. You just can’t buy that sort of knowledge.”
