ART Talk: Building brands with passion and purpose

LAS VEGAS – The recent Las Vegas Market served as the backdrop to the first live ART Talk which took place in the Hubbardton Forge showroom.

The talk centered around “Owning your edge: The business behind the brand” and featured moderator LuAnn Nigara, a successful business owner of window treatments for more 30 years and host of the podcast A Well-Designed Business, along with her guest Christopher Todd from Christopher Todd Design, which specializes in upscale design for interiors, events and special occasions and has offices in Las Vegas and Nashville, Tenn.

When questioned about how he built his brand, Todd said he never said no to a project and constantly pushed himself.

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“I learned early on that when things happen, either good or bad, that it’s important to be honest,” Todd said. “It was one of my defining moments and a huge learning opportunity.”

Todd went on to share the story of how he damaged a silver platter during one of the early events that he organized and went to great lengths to repair it. He even denied knowing where it was to the platter’s owner to give him more time to fix it. When he had fixed the platter and returned it to the owner, she told him that she knew he had it all along and would have preferred honesty from the beginning.

He added that he believes the things that set his company apart include an excellent customer experience, along with his team’s integrity, dependability and creativity.

“It’s not easy to define a brand,” he said. “I think my passion creates my brand since it’s apparent in everything I do.”

He advised knowing what your non-negotiables are in order to draw the type of clients that will click with your brand. “With all the talk about AI, it doesn’t have feelings, so it’s incredibly important to listen to what your customers want,” he said.

When asked about when he knew it was time to pivot and change, Todd finding the higher end niche initially made all the difference, but he also had to allow room to grow.

“When I had bills to pay, I came up with new ways to add clients,” he added. “I feel like it was a combination of both talent and luck, and I never said no to an opportunity. I felt like it was all part of the learning process and tried to get my team to push ourselves in order to have fun and grow.”

Nigara asked Todd about the brands he chooses to work with, and he said that was one of his many non-negotiables. “I work with luxury brands only and often need to reject projects in order to keep my brand awareness intact,” he said.

Todd shared that sometimes luxury can take different forms. Recently, a client paid him $28,000 to redo a house for a couple in their 90s. The actual renovation cost much more than that since he works with only luxury brands, but he cut into his own profit to ensure a beautiful renovation.

“It was the right thing to do,” he said. “They shared the joy they felt in their new home with others, which also helped with future referrals.”

Both Todd and Nigara recommended the book Generating Business Referrals … Without Asking by Stacey Brown Randall. Randall offers five steps to build a business sustained by referrals, case studies and results from business professionals, and a step-by-step roadmap for anyone seeking a better way to grow their business.