NEW Update for Studio 3.0 is ready to install

We wanted our Studio users to be the first to know that we have released an important update for all Studio 3.0 users. EVERYONE will want to install this new update as soon as possible.

What's included in this update?

• Studio's search feature is much faster
• The Design Directory of Bedding module* over 1,000 images (haven't purchased this new module click here) Register for the free Beautiful Bedding webinar June 8th and receive a promo code for $35 off.
  
• Improved activation process

*If you have already purchased The Design Directory of Bedding module, your account is already activated for this module.

Important notice: Studio 2.0 users, we are retiring Studio 2.0 at the end of this year. After that date Studio 2.0 will no longer be available for download, nor will tech support be available. Click here to upgrade to Studio 3.0.

Didn't receive a notification that a Studio update was available? When you open Studio you should see a pop-up alerting you that there is an update available. If you didn't receive this notification, click on the link below to install the update.

http://www.minutesmatterstudio.com/files/mmstudio_setup.exe

Confirm that you have the new build date of 5/14/2011. To confirm build date > Open Studio > click on Options (upper right corner next to the ?) > click About MMStudio > (Build 5/14/2011) is displayed at the top. Any modules you have purchased will be displayed below the build date. For those of you that have already purchased, you will see your new module listed as JVTB1.

If for some reason your build date is NOT 5/14/2011, you will need to uninstall your current version of Studio and then click on the download link in this post (above) to install the new version. To uninstall Studio > click Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > scroll down to locate Minutes Matter Studio > highlight and click Remove.

The Power of Marketing (A Guided Tour) Launches March 8th

Marketing is too important to be left to chance; it is the driving force behind your company's success. A meticulous plan is critical to effectively communicating your company's services, priorities, and unique abilities.

As we've all seen, innate talent and hard work are not enough to sustain a healthy pipeline of clients. Every business needs to build brand recognition, expand their business, and generate substantial profits. So here are a few questions to ask yourself...

-Are you sure your clients know what makes you unique and of high value?

- Do you know what works, or more important, what doesn't work when it comes to marketing?

-Are there things that you could be doing to create a more balanced flow of income?

If you paused when answering any of the above questions, it is probably time to rethink the way you're communicating with your potential clients. The Power of Marketing by Minutes Matter will guide you through an intense four-week curriculum developed to inspire creative marking ideas and breathe fresh air into your business. The Power of Marketing reveals the secrets of three of the industry's award winning innovators, Debbie Green, Casey Green, and Jackie Von Tobel.

The weekly sessions are live and will include our unique Power of Marketing book in electronic format. Recordings of each session will be sent to every person who registers. Register by March 3rd and save $50. Note: Even if you can't attend the live sessions you will still receive all the recordings.

The Power of Marketing (A Guided Tour)

1st Session: 03.08.11 at 1:00 pm (EDT)

• The Power of Identity
• Develop Your Own Pitch
• Create a Marketing Plan
• The Power of Branding
• Build a Strong Brand
• The basics of fonts, colors and graphics
• Branding everything from business cards to napkins

2nd Session: 03.15.11 at 1:00 pm (EDT)

• The Power of Successful Tools
• Showing off your work
• Storyboard - a new and innovative approach
• The Power of Publicity
• Make yourself famous
• Build your credentials
• Showcase your talent
• The Power of Blanket Marketing
• Magazines and newspapers
  

3rd Session: 03.22.11 at 1:00 pm (EDT)

• The Power of Generating Leads
• Create a powerful and systematic referral system
• Build partnerships with non-competing businesses
• The Power of Qualifying Clients
• The Power of Lasting Impressions
• Did you remember my birthday?
• Say thank-you in a unique way
• Get that in writing
• The Power of the Internet
• Websites, Blogs and Facebook

4th Session: 03.29.11 at 1:00 pm (EDT)

• The Power of Budgeting
• How much money do you need to spend?
• The Power of Getting it Done
• When will you be done?
• How will you know what works?
  

The Power of Marketing (A Guided Tour) includes:

• Four live sessions
• Recordings of all live sessions
• Electronic Storyboard (in Studio format) (see preview below)
  
• Avatars (in Studio format) (see sampling below)
  
• Power of Marketing book in electronic format (chapters sent in conjunction with live sessions)
• Design Articles (for use in blogs, magazines or newspaper)
• Design Contracts
• Resource Documents
• Worksheets

| Preview of Electronic Storyboard |

|Sampling of Studio Avatars to be used in blogs, magazines or newspaper articles |

| Buy now |

Register before 3/03/2011: $347 (Save $50)
Use Promo Code: POM50

Price after 3/03/2011: $397

Marketing is our passion,

Co-Authors
Power of Marketing (A Guided Tour)

Vision10 - Interviews with Exhibitors

Vision10 in Atlanta ended on Saturday. Grace looks so tiny under that enormous sign! Classes were very educational, as always. My class on Cloud Computing enlightened attendees on the benefits of moving their business to the Clouds. One attendee asked, "Are you saying we wouldn't have to have a server?" I responded, "That's exactly what I am saying." Everyone left the seminar with all of the possibilities swirling in their heads. Minutes Matter will be offering a series of webinars on Cloud Computing later this summer. Watch your Inbox for more details on why and how you can move your business to the Clouds.

The new Social Media Day, on Friday, was a huge hit. Somfy hosted a Tweetup, which included free drinks for everyone! Attendees tweeted and blogged all day about the conference. That afternoon, I was part of a panel discussion on how blogging benefits the interior design industry. Jackie Von Tobel did a fabulous job hosting the panel discussion. The panelists were Brian Patrick Flynn, Valorie Hart, Skyla Freeman, Jay Helser and myself. You could tell this group came from a wide variety of backgrounds. The discussion was very educational and, at times, quite humorous.

Saturday morning, the last day of the show, was the first opportunity I had to tour the show floor. I wanted to make sure I took some videos to share with those of you that were not able to join us in Atlanta. I interviewed a couple of vendors and asked them to tell me a little about the services and products they offer.

Mark your calendars, Vision11 will be held in Tampa, Florida, April 14-16, 2011. Grace, her staff and I hope to see you there!

click on image to view video

Jenna Abbot, Executive Director for WCAA (Window Covering Association of America) has only held this position for a year, but you wouldn't know it looking at all the changes that the WCAA has undergone during her tenure. The entire WCAA board attributes much of the organization's success to Jenna's attitude and her keen business skills. The board consists of Bob Hipps - President, Margi Kyle -Vice President, Ed Hopkins - Treasurer, Jeanelle Dech - Secretary, Beth Hodges - Past President, Bill Taylor - Director, Roman Hardy - Director, Linda Principe - Director, Michele Williams - Director, Lora Vestal Scott - Director, Joe Jankoski - Director, and me, Debbie Green - Director.

If you're not a member of the WCAA, check out their website or visit a local chapter in your area.

click on image to view video

Jay and Mark Helser are two great guys; you can randomly ask any one of their customers about them and you'll hear story after story about how their products and customer service is the best in the industry. They have a passion for their business and it shows. Hats off to you guys, I know success will continue to follow you!

As usual, the WCAA After-Hours Party, hosted by Helser Brothers on Friday night was a blast. I was so tired and, I hate to admit it, a little stiff from all the dancing. I could hardly get up the next morning! It was a sight to see, since I really can't dance, but that definitely wasn't true for most of my fellow party-goers. I think, as I said last year also, that I've got to take dance lessons. You have to watch the video all the way to the end to see Jay and Mark doing their best Robot moves. I'll be sharing Jay's video with you once he finishes the final edits.

click on image to view video

This was my first time to stop by the Lutron booth and I was certainly glad I did. Joe Secena, took time to enlighten me on all of their products. After Joe's tour, I can see why Lutron leads the industry in motorization. Can you say "Quiet Motors?"

click on image to view video

Jeanelle Dech, CEO of the CHF Academy, sponsored the Construction Zone at Vision10. The Construction Zone conducted live demonstrations throughout the conference. In addition to offering specialized classes at the CHF Academy, they also offer an industry network membership, Drapery & Design Professional, which includes a bi-monthly magazine, access to the industry's largest forum and free educational webinars.

click on image to view video

Teia Combs with M'Fay Patterns told me they have a new pattern collection that includes an instructional DVD. They also have a new supplement available for purchase. Teia, you were such a delight, who wouldn't want to buy from you?

Minutes Matter Booth Redesign was a Big Hit in High Point!

In High Point last week, we debuted our new booth redesign. We definitely stood out from the crowd. We moved to the ground floor of the Suites of Market Square (G-4029.) The new colors and sleek design attracted lots of people and lots of compliments.

Six weeks ago, Jerry asked what color(s) do you guys want to paint the booth. Casey got right to work on the design which included the new colors and our shopping girl. Ten days later Casey and I had a total redesign. It seems when you change one thing it ALWAYS leads to another. All of us that worked in the booth felt more efficient and l more organized with all of our new storage.

The attendees loved our mini theater. They could rest their feet and eat popcorn while they watched our seven minute video showing how Studio is the perfect visualization and marketing tool for their business.

Casey had a sofa in the original design, but we decided we had to stop somewhere. I did see several white leather sofas that would be perfect. Maybe in 2011!


All the kiosks and cabinetry were custom built. The TV kiosks were a quite the conversational piece, one vendor asked for Jerry's AutoCAD drawing. The TV kiosks were 48" wide x 96" tall x 10" deep and did I mention really heavy? As we lifted the kiosks up into place, I was so scared I would let my side slip and the whole thing would fall, damage the kiosk and/or break the TV. Jerry did some research on the Internet and discovered that Craters and Freighters would pickup, crate and ship our custom cabinets to High Point and promised they would be delivered in perfect condition. We were blown away with how well our cabinets were packed. They arrived without one scratch. The new polished concrete floors made it very easy to move the cabinets into place.



We loved the white stools and pull out trays for our keyboards and extra storage.



Jackie had lots of fans stop by to see her and get their Design Directory of Window Coverings book autographed.


Come see us in High Point at the fall market October 16 - 21, 2010.

JVT Module Three is HERE!

When you open your Studio program this week, you should receive a prompt telling you that there is an update available. This update is for ALL Studio 3.0 users and contains several enhancements, as well as the images for "Jackie Von Tobel's Module 3!" (Remember, even though everyone will be able to see Jackie's designs, only those who have purchased that particular JVT Module will be able to drag those images onto their workspace.) We've made it easier to recognize Jackie Von Tobel images which now display as blue text so you can quickly distinguish Jackie module images from the other images inside Studio.

It's here ... Jackie Von Tobel's Module Three is now available! There are over 250 gorgeous new designs for you to customize and use for your clients. If you haven't purchased this module yet, now is the time. Adding images to Studio will allow you to create rendering faster. Remember, all full designs break-apart. You can mix and match to create a unique look and then save to your custom tab. Module Three sell for $197. To purchase this module click HERE to be taken to our online shopping cart.

New Jackie Von Tobel Bedding Book Available!

We are thrilled to announce that we now offer Jackie Von Tobel's newest book, The Design Directory of Bedding! As you may know, Jackie's designs are exclusive to Minutes Matter's Studio software. This book is beautifully hand drawn by Jackie Von Tobel and contains over 1,000 illustrations that are sure to inspire you! Order this fabulous bedding book today by clicking HERE. Minutes Matter will begin developing the bedding modules from The Design Directory of Bedding by Jackie Von Tobel starting in Spring 2010. The illustration above is an example of the pleated corona and bedding collection found on page 367. If you've not yet see Jackie's Window Treatment Modules for Studio, click HERE to learn more. These break apart designs allow you to customize every detail of a rendering. Exciting News: The Design Directory of Window Treatments (Module 3) is expected to release next week! Take advantage of the introductory pricing before it expires on October 18th!

New Studio 3.0 Update ~ Coming Soon!

We have a surprise for our Studio 3.0 users! Our Studio 3.0 users are thrilled with the break-apart designs however, several of our prior 2.4 users would like to see the components added back into 3.0 to give them even greater flexibility. As always, we listen to our customers and are adding many components back into Studio 3.0 (at no charge) in an update. We are adding Swags, Top Treatments and drapery components. The exact release date of that update hasn't been determined, but we are working hard to make it happen very soon. We will keep you updated. Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don't miss the latest news!

We have also color coded all of Jackie Von Tobel images. This will make it easy to spot her designs. Everyone will be able to hover over them to view them but only those that have purchased JVT modules will be able to drag them to the workspace. Click on the screenshot above to enlarge the image to view a sample of the color coding.

Everyone that has Studio 3.0 installed on their computer will receive a pop-up notification window asking if you would like to install the new update. Be sure to say "YES."

We have postponed the release of Jackie's 2nd module since we decided to add components to this update. Would you like to see all the images in Jackie's 2nd module? Click here to visit "The Lounge", Anna has done a screenshot of all the images included in this module.

Remember, all Studio 3.0 users have the ability to save items to their Custom Tab. I absolutely love this new feature. Also, don't forget about our Search feature: right click on a main category e.g., Draperies and type in scallop as your search word. Boy, there is a lot of those. Do the same in Swags & Valances and search for empire. You will notice over to the right a gray index will appear, which indicates Studio is searching. The index will turn white and search results will be displayed.

Please feel free to post any comments or questions you may have regarding our upcoming update.

Jackie Von Tobel Module 2 Sneak Peak

Jackie Von Tobel Module 2 is almost ready to be released. I have posted all of the new images on "The Lounge." I have posted a few of my favorites below, you will see it was hard to just pick one or two. Click on the picture below and it will take you to "The Lounge." Be sure to scroll down there are several posts.

Enjoy looking at all the new images,

Perfecting Your Image

As far back as I can remember I have always been fascinated with successful people. I made it my mission to find out what it was about them that allowed them to achieve their goals while others tried and failed. Later in life, as I developed my business and entered into new and challenging areas of my career, I made a conscious effort to surround myself with suppliers, manufacturers, and colleagues who were considered outstanding leaders in their professions. By watching them closely and paying attention to how they presented themselves and how they ran their businesses I was able to make significant improvements to my own image and business. What I had not anticipated was that, because of the associations I had formed along the years with these professionals, I had achieved a certain credibility of my own within the industry and with people and potential clients I had never met. The mere fact that I was associated with leaders in my industry imparted to myself, and my business, a certain cache and reputation that would have been very difficult to build on my own. By choosing my suppliers, manufacturers, contractors and associations carefully I was able to capitalize on their reputation and success. When I made the decision to affiliate myself and my book, The Design Directory of Window Treatments, with a digital design software provider I took a close look at both companies that provided this service. It was clear that Minutes Matter Studio was the only choice for me. The quality and character of the people that you allow into your life and business speak volumes about you as a person and a professional. Just as you can be accused of "guilt by association" with shady or untrustworthy individuals you can build "success by association" with upstanding, reliable, industry professionals. Any person or company who is perceived as having an association with your business will leave a lasting impression with your clients. It is important to your success to manage those perceptions by discussing what your expectations are of your suppliers and contractors. For example, I provide my independent installers with booties which they wear over their shoes when entering a client's home. They lay down a clean white drop cloth in their assembly area and lay another drop cloth beneath ladders or scaffolding. They are aware that they should not take smoke breaks or eat on the job. They know that I expect them to behave in a professional manner when they are working for me because I have had a detailed conversation with them to lay out my rules. Your associates cannot meet your expectations unless you have clearly communicated to them what those expectations are! Conduct an analysis of your associations at the end of every year to see who is affecting your business in a positive way and who may be detracting from it negatively and take quick action to make the necessary adjustments to maintain the image you want to present to your clients. Building beneficial relationships is an ongoing process that takes planning and hard work, but the payoff is well worth the effort.

Get out there and build some positive associations today!

Jackie Von Tobel

The Designers Source for Inspiration and Education

Launch Party Highlights

Minutes Matter is preparing for our biggest release ever! Join us for a sneak peek of Studio 3.0 and Jackie Von Tobel's first window treatment module. Here are a few exciting features and functions we will be revealing.

~ Exclusive Jackie Von Tobel Module (optional purchase)
~ All Pate Meadows & M’Fay Patterns FREE!!
~ All New Re-Illustrated Designs
~ One-Click Trim
~ Sleek New Look
~ Photograph Scale Tool
~ Break Apart Designs
~ Customizable Index
~ Larger Icon Preview
~ Automatic Backup
. . . Just To Name A Few!!!

View this LIVE Webinar to see all the new features of Studio 3.0 and preview Jackie’s first module.

Preview of Jackie's First Module

We are SOOOO excited to be releasing the first of four Jackie Von Tobel Window Treatment Modules. Here is a sampling of the renderings included in this first release . . .