Window Treatments for Profit with LuAnn Nigara

Today with Jim Davis-Johnson: Jim Davis-Johnson: Build a Luxury Window Treatment Business Without a Workroom Today with Jim Davis-Johnson of Jim Davis Designs, we get into what it takes to build and run a high-end luxury window treatment business. Jim shares how he grew his company from working in his mother's South Georgia business since seventh grade to running a multimillion-dollar brand serving high-end designers and discerning clients from Atlanta to the Caribbean, all without his own workroom. We talk about the non-negotiables of serving luxury clients: how to present yourself and your brand, how to build vendor relationships that maintain impeccable quality at scale, and how to price properly so you can say yes to every client request without resentment or burnout. Jim gets candid about the hard lessons he's learned along the way and shares why managing your own expectations is the key to running a profitable, sustainable business. If you've been wondering how to elevate your business, attract higher-caliber clients, or work successfully with production workrooms while maintaining custom-level quality, this conversation will give you a clear roadmap. More About Jim Davis-Johnson: Jim Davis-Johnson is the Principal Designer and Aesthetic Artist behind Jim Davis Designs, a luxury window-treatment and soft-goods atelier headquartered in Midtown Atlanta. Since founding the company in 2015, Jim has grown his firm from a one-man operation into a multimillion-dollar brand known for its bespoke craftsmanship, meticulous detail, and elevated client experience. His portfolio spans high-end residential, boutique hospitality, and commercial projects across the U.S., the Caribbean, and beyond, including ongoing work in Antigua and luxury communities throughout the Southeast. Jim brings a rare blend of artistic intuition, technical expertise, and personal depth to his work. Raised in South Georgia in a family dynamic that shaped both his resilience and his drive, Jim built his company from the ground up with no shortcuts, relying on determination, curiosity, and a vision for beauty that felt both healing and purposeful. His upbringing gave him an extraordinary sensitivity to how spaces make people feel, something that now guides every design decision he makes. Jim’s spiritual growth, including transformative experiences with meditation and therapy, has influenced his belief that design is far more than aesthetics. For him, window treatments are an expression of intention: they soften emotions, shift energy, and elevate the way people engage with their homes. He approaches each project as an opportunity to bring clarity, harmony, and beauty into a client’s life, grounding his creative process in mindfulness and the power of meaningful service. Now, since April 2025, based in a street-front Midtown Atlanta showroom with over 22,000 cars passing by daily, Jim leads a team alongside his husband and lead installer, Rickey Davis-Johnson. Together, they provide full-service fabrication, project management, and installation, with a reputation for delivering flawless results and building lasting relationships with designers, architects, builders, and homeowners. Jim’s work is increasingly in demand, from Florida’s coveted 30A corridor to mountain homes in North Georgia, Kentucky horse country, international island estates, and major metropolitan projects. His recent launch of a national quick-ship drapery program and growing e-commerce platform has positioned Jim Davis Designs as a leader not only in custom luxury fabrication, but also in accessible, ready-to-ship window fashions for design-forward clients nationwide. With a philosophy rooted in intention, authenticity, and the belief that design can be both luxurious and deeply meaningful, Jim continues to expand his influence as a designer, entrepreneur, and storyteller. His journey, from overcoming adversity to building a brand grounded in service, craftsmanship, and soul, reflects the heart of his work and the spirit he brings to every project. Ah Ha Moments with Jim Davis-Johnson: “Every lesson is a blessin’.” - Jim "My motto is, the answer is yes. What's the question?" - Jim Connect with Jim Davis-Johnson: Website Blog Instagram What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: Boardroom for Creatives Watch the Docuseries! http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara: LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: WTFP #143: Vita Vygovska: Market to Interior Designers by Building Relationships WTFP #335: WWLD: Too Much Competition in Your Area? Raise Your Prices Anyway. Here’s How and Why

Today on Window Treatments for Profit This is the final episode of the series. And it is the one LuAnn has been building toward the whole time. Because saying no to the wrong opportunity is the hardest decision in intentional growth. Not the no that is obvious. The no that looks like revenue. The no that comes with a relationship attached. The no that arrives during a slow month when every rational instinct says yes. In this episode, LuAnn shares a real text exchange that happened this week between an EW member and a designer who wanted to know her discount on a Hunter Douglas house. She walks through exactly what the EW member said back, why that response was not a closed door but a defined one, and what happens next that tells you everything you need to know about whether the relationship is worth pursuing. She also addresses directly the danger of using not our client as a lazy conclusion instead of an earned one, and explains the distinction between skilled disqualification and face-value dismissal. And she introduces a phrase she uses when speaking live: legalized money laundering. The business that looks busy, feels productive, generates real revenue, and still has nothing left at the end of the year because the model was never protected. This episode is for any window treatment business owner who has ever taken work they should not have because the alternative felt worse. And for any owner who is ready to stop building a treadmill and start building a business that creates wealth. WWLD: Volume or Value? Two Proven Models to Grow a Profitable Business WWLD January Series — Decision 5: Grow Intentionally, Not Accidentally What Would Lu Do?: How to Qualify Leads Without Disqualifying Your Future Revenue Our Favorite Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Windowworksnj.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exciting Windows⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Power Talk Friday Tour 2025⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today on Window Treatments for Profit You already know what your bottleneck is. You have known for months. Possibly longer. And every week it costs you time, energy, and profit while you wait for the right moment to fix it. In this episode, LuAnn Nigara names the real reason operational bottlenecks stay in place long after the owner has identified them. It is not a systems problem. It is a thinking pattern. And it has the same root cause whether you are a solo owner doing everything yourself or running a team of ten. LuAnn shares a phrase she coined twenty-five years ago, Architectural Digest isn't coming, and explains how she used it with clients who were spinning on decisions that did not need to be that hard. Then she turns it directly on the owner who has been waiting for the perfect solution, the perfect system, the perfect moment to fix the thing they already know needs fixing. You will also hear a specific, common example of this pattern that applies to every size business: the meeting you stopped having because it felt redundant, and what it actually cost you when you did. This episode is for any window treatment business owner who has been circling the same operational problem for too long and needs someone to say: you already have the answer. It is time to move. ⁠WWLD January Series — Decision 4: Remove One Operational Bottleneck⁠ Our Favorite Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Windowworksnj.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exciting Windows⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Power Talk Friday Tour 2025⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today on Window Treatments for Profit You built the roles. You wrote the expectations. You had the conversations. And somehow everything still routes back to you. In this episode, LuAnn Nigara names the pattern underneath that dynamic, and it has nothing to do with your systems. It starts with a dishwasher. It ends with a hire LuAnn made twenty years ago that changed everything about how she thinks about building a team. The woman she hired fresh out of college, Kim, turned out to be better than LuAnn at fabric selection, design ideas, and technical product knowledge. And instead of correcting her back toward her own version, LuAnn said so out loud. Fifteen years later she was able to step out of Window Works when she wanted to. Kim is now a partner in the business. This episode is about the shift that actually breaks the pattern of everything routing back to you. Not a framework. Not a meeting. The moment you look at someone on your team and say out loud: you are better at this than I am. I want you to own it. And it is about the pattern that prevents that moment from ever happening: the silent redo, the quiet correction, the message your team receives without you ever saying a word. What Would Lu Do?: Part 3- Create a Stable Team That Doesn’t Rely on You Our Favorite Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Windowworksnj.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exciting Windows⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Power Talk Friday Tour 2025⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today on Window Treatments for Profit In January, LuAnn gave you the system. The problems-to-be-resolved file. One owner per issue. Consistent communication until the loop is closed. That system works. But only if something else is already in place before the problem arrives. In this episode, LuAnn tells the story of a $15,000 shutter mistake in South Orange, New Jersey, and what her partner Bill did in the moment that turned a costly error into four more rooms of business and a client who trusted Window Works more after the problem than before it. The reason Bill could walk straight into that hard conversation without calling anyone is the lesson. Not the system. The standard that existed before the pressure arrived. LuAnn also turns the mirror directly on the listener. She cannot give you a Window Works story of what happens when you avoid the hard thing, because Window Works did not do that. But you may have that story. And this episode will help you see exactly what it cost you, and what to do so it does not cost you again. This episode is for any window treatment business owner who has ever delayed a hard client conversation and watched a small problem become an expensive one. WWLD January Series — Decision 2: Shorten the Time Between a Problem and a Decision WWLD January Series — Decision 4: Remove One Operational Bottleneck Our Favorite Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Windowworksnj.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Exciting Windows⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Power Talk Friday Tour 2025⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠