1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,800 Welcome everyone to buying local. 2 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:05,760 I'm your host, Mike Nelson from 5 Towers Media, joined today by 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,680 Michelle and Tim Schultz of we. We got a few things to talk 4 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:11,840 about, right guys? We've got gotcha covered at 5 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:17,440 Saratoga Designs on Glen. We've got the and I'm going to 6 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,440 mess it up because window depot of the Adirondacks. 7 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,720 Is that correct? Yes, 3 for three for me. 8 00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:30,160 And also you guys are just opening up a showroom over on on 9 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:31,360 Glen St. So we're going to talk about 10 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:32,720 that as well. So welcome. 11 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:34,480 Thank you. Very much. 12 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:37,080 Yeah, happy to be here. Yeah. 13 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:39,920 So Michelle and Tim, if you guys don't mind, maybe just kind of 14 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:43,080 give us, you know, an overview about who you are and, and all 15 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:44,320 the things that you guys are up to. 16 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:49,360 Sure, absolutely. So I can start and then Michelle 17 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:51,240 can get into the sort of some of the details. 18 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,520 So we have different professional backgrounds. 19 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,800 Up until a couple years ago, Michelle's been in the design 20 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,879 area, which she can talk about and work for global window 21 00:01:04,879 --> 00:01:09,200 treatment company Hunter Douglas as a regional sales manager, 22 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:13,880 traveling around various states. Most recently she did that and I 23 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,240 have a history of technology sales, so selling technology, 24 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,680 cybersecurity, things like that to New York State government, in 25 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:23,280 particular in Albany and various businesses. 26 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:29,520 So we decided a couple years ago about the same time to try to 27 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:33,680 exit corporate America as cleanly as we could. 28 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:38,920 We got a little bit, you know, said some thoughts on some other 29 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,080 things we could do on our own that would probably make us a 30 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:47,120 little happier and, you know, hopefully be rewarding as well. 31 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:51,680 So we, after some research, we settled on a franchise initially 32 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,440 a couple years ago. So what 2 years now called 33 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:57,760 Gotcha Covered. It's a national franchise, like 34 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:02,200 180 locations and we have essentially all of upstate New 35 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:04,880 York for Gotcha Covered. It's known as Gotcha Covered 36 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:08,919 Saratoga. Our corporate name that's above 37 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,480 that is designs on Glenn, which we'll talk about in a minute, 38 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:14,560 but got you covered in Saratoga provides custom window 39 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,600 treatments to the Capital District. 40 00:02:17,680 --> 00:02:19,880 Most of our business right now is between Clifton Park and Lake 41 00:02:19,880 --> 00:02:24,040 George. So it's custom blind shades, 42 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:28,560 draperies, outdoor solutions like awnings and power screens. 43 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:36,520 And from that and taking Michelle's design experience, we 44 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,440 realized pretty quickly that there's also a need for interior 45 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:44,200 design services in the region. So that's that was sort of where 46 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:49,440 our idea was born to open up a showroom here in Glens Falls 47 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:54,040 slash Queensbury. And Michelle would be running 48 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:58,800 the design side of that along with with her daughters helping 49 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,440 out as well. And then I'm sort of doing the 50 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:04,720 sort of the sales marketing, networking, installation 51 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:08,600 services right now along with the outdoor solutions, the 52 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,920 awnings and so forth, as I mentioned. 53 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:13,560 So that's sort of where that all started. 54 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,960 And then since then and I'll, I'll pass it to Michelle here in 55 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:19,480 a minute. But since then we also were 56 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,600 offered a window Depot franchise sort of out of the blue. 57 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:28,040 So we are also taking on taking out a lot. 58 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,280 We're taking on Window Depot, what do you know as window 59 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:35,280 Depot, the Adirondack. So quality sort of high end, 60 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,560 high efficiency windows and entry doors. 61 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,320 So we think that complements well the sort of the custom 62 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,440 window treatments and the interior design aspect of the 63 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:46,960 business. And with that, Michelle, maybe 64 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,480 you can talk about why the showroom. 65 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,880 So the showroom is definitely something I think we waited a 66 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,600 little bit to grow into because we were just outgrowing that 67 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:02,080 Home Office space. It was, it was, it was, it was 68 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:07,000 getting very, very cramped. So we decided to start looking 69 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:13,080 for, for a, a showroom space that could accommodate all three 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,000 of those businesses together, especially with Tim bringing on 71 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,480 windows and door samples. I don't know where the heck we 72 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:23,880 were going to put those. So, you know, the cars are only 73 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,960 so big, right? So, so anyhow, we decided to, 74 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,560 after some serious shopping around the Queensbury Glens 75 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,880 Falls area, we, we found a location that we fell in love 76 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,520 with that gave us all the space that we needed. 77 00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:41,160 So we're looking forward to hopefully opening. 78 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:47,120 We have a target open date of January 16th, so we'll see if 79 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:50,600 all those things align properly and we can get there. 80 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:56,240 So the showroom's going to give clients who walk in the 81 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:58,960 opportunity to kind of go into a different section. 82 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,240 If they're looking for Windows and doors, they're going to be 83 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:05,320 able to go into that section where Tim has all that set up. 84 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:11,360 We will also have you know, window treatment displays up a 85 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:17,400 whole beautiful fabric walls and hardware along with also 86 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,400 something else in in the home interior design aspect. 87 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:24,840 We have custom furniture that can be designed. 88 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,120 We also have home decor items that will be for sale. 89 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:32,960 So we'll have a whole mixture of things in here for clients to 90 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:37,080 see so. You guys definitely have your 91 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,600 hands full. Other other than that, we have 92 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:44,640 nothing to do. Yeah, I'm sure you get bored all 93 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:45,880 the time. I bet, right? 94 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,000 Yeah, yeah, we're, yeah, we're, we finally realized that we 95 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,320 should probably recruit some of our kids to help us out. 96 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:56,040 So. Not a bad plan, Not a bad plan. 97 00:05:56,160 --> 00:06:01,840 I I'm curious on, on the production side of things, are 98 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:04,320 you, you know, for Windows and doors, are you guys also doing 99 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,840 installations or are you just on the sales component of selling 100 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,760 the windows and doors and then working hopes to find an 101 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,080 installer or how does that work? Yeah, installs as well. 102 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:19,880 And to accomplish that, I've right now I've, I've created a 103 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,080 partnership with a local company as well. 104 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:24,680 I'd be happy to, to mention them. 105 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,080 It's Jay and Jay Michael's construction. 106 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:34,120 There are two guys, John and and Justin, real, real motivated, 107 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:39,600 high energy, professional gentleman who have built a 108 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:44,160 couple homes and do remodels. So I found them sort of randomly 109 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,400 and they seem to be working out well for us. 110 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:48,400 That's awesome. Yeah. 111 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,840 As soon as you were talking about all the different things 112 00:06:50,840 --> 00:06:53,440 that you guys were doing, I was like, wow, I'm like how, how do 113 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,360 you like I understand the the sales and marketing aspect. 114 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,480 Obviously that's kind of my role and and what my career has been. 115 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:01,800 But then I was like, man, you got to do all that stuff and 116 00:07:01,800 --> 00:07:03,240 perform the work. Like how you doing that? 117 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:06,200 Yeah. We, we can do pretty much the 118 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:09,520 window treatment installation. We pretty much have that down 119 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:12,200 overall. We do have another independent 120 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:13,800 installer we can use for window treatments. 121 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:15,920 But for window treatments, we can sort of handle that. 122 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,000 But yeah, I think windows and doors, we definitely are going 123 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:20,200 to need to partner with with that company. 124 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:25,760 Yeah, what I know You say you did a lot of research. 125 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:30,400 Why did you end up landing on Got You Covered at Saratoga? 126 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:34,880 Well, that was something Tim spent I'm pretty sure months 127 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:37,480 researching on different franchises. 128 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,800 It wasn't actually going to be, you know, necessarily window 129 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,640 treatments in the beginning when he was searching, he was 130 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:51,640 searching for different types of franchises to, to get started. 131 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:56,280 So when he started going through the different companies that 132 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,040 were out there and available when window treatments came up, 133 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:04,360 that's when my ear, you know, he got my attention because that's 134 00:08:04,360 --> 00:08:09,040 my world. So, you know, and so as we deep 135 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,440 dived into that a little bit more, it just seems like a more 136 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:17,000 natural fit because I've been, I would have been selling for 137 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,560 Hunter Douglas for about 8 years or so. 138 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:26,680 Prior to that I had a interior design business for about 15 139 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:34,039 years and also, you know, my son-in-law has been doing 140 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:39,320 installs for other dealers and manufacturers around the area. 141 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,480 And then my daughter was also a designer. 142 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:48,480 So it just seemed like a natural fit to be able to bring those 143 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,440 people on and and make that connection with the, you know, 144 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:55,080 doing the the gotcha covered franchise. 145 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:58,720 It just seemed natural. We had a ready made team to go 146 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,520 and most people walking into a franchise don't even know how to 147 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:07,120 install a shade, let alone know the background and have the team 148 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:09,880 that we already had built. So it was. 149 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,040 It was a perfect match, I believe. 150 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,600 Yeah, and and that you know the the power of franchising, right? 151 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:19,120 Like it's, it's, I think such an amazing way to go for people 152 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,400 when they're launching a business that so much of the 153 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,960 learning is already done, the mistakes have already been made 154 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,560 by someone else and get to standing on the shoulders of 155 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:30,120 giants, so to speak, right, to come into a system that's ready 156 00:09:30,120 --> 00:09:30,920 to go. Yeah. 157 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:32,960 And they were under other window treatment. 158 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,200 Once we narrowed it down to window treatments because that 159 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,360 was her, where she came from, her experience, there was 3, I 160 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:42,600 think different window treatment franchise that we're looking at. 161 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,440 And we definitely relationship wise, we hit it off with a 162 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:49,680 gotcha covered folks, they're out of Colorado, hit it off with 163 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:53,360 them. So much so that our franchise 164 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:57,800 Rep we got to know and we invited her to our wedding a 165 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:01,560 couple years ago. So so we hit it off with them, 166 00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:05,320 you know, relationships means a lot, you know, and so, so that 167 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:07,360 worked out well. We got we get good support from 168 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:09,440 corporate. That's awesome. 169 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,600 And so you have a a pretty extensive background, Michelle, 170 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:15,400 as far as the interior design goes, it sounds. 171 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:20,600 Yes, I mean, I had a like I said, I had a business down in 172 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:26,040 Clifton Park for about 15 years and it you know, mainly it was 173 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:30,160 my main focus was, you know, it started off with remodeling 174 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:32,680 bathrooms and remodeling kitchens. 175 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:38,160 And from that it just, it totally exploded into, you know, 176 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:43,440 doing other aspects of interior design, reconfiguring rooms and 177 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:47,440 textures and lighting and color and all of those different types 178 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,200 of things. So you know, it just it just 179 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,920 naturally, you know what people you know have been asking for, 180 00:10:56,240 --> 00:10:59,160 you know, or what I have been doing that I enjoyed to do, just 181 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,960 people started asking for help professionally. 182 00:11:02,400 --> 00:11:05,240 So that's kind of how it evolves for me. 183 00:11:05,440 --> 00:11:09,560 You know, I was one of those kids that when my mom came home, 184 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:13,560 the living room would be rearranged, the bedrooms would 185 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,880 be rearranged, and that's, you know, that was what I was doing 186 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,840 as a kid for fun, so. That's funny. 187 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:23,000 It's kind of always been something that I really love and 188 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,120 have been passionate about. Yeah. 189 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:29,200 And I, I'm curious to hear about like what does the process now 190 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:33,480 look like for you with, you know, you have the three service 191 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,200 offerings, obviously they all kind of tie into each other are 192 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:40,320 complimentary in some fashion. So what does that look like for 193 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:44,640 prospective clients or clients that come in and, and and work 194 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:48,000 with you guys? Well, I'll let you. 195 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:51,800 Yeah. So essentially, you know, folks 196 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,040 are finding us. Obviously, we first started 197 00:11:55,040 --> 00:11:58,080 mostly by Google searches, right? 198 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:01,800 Or Facebook page, but now there's more more and more word 199 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:03,880 of mouth is a way to imagine right with the clients we're 200 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:05,680 building. We've been running for two 201 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:07,160 years, really about a year and a half. 202 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:10,840 We've been ramped up with got you covered and 2025 was a 203 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,400 pretty good year for us. But again, working out of the 204 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,920 house, I think we have sort of a ceiling, you know, of of the 205 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:22,440 business we can generate. So, so once folks find us, we 206 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,400 then offer a free in home consultation, design 207 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,720 consultation, which is I was in Michelle's area. 208 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,880 So she goes into that. By the way, we do residential 209 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,360 and commercial. In fact, today we're going to 210 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,920 see a hotel, a local hotel about some draperies. 211 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:40,920 So yeah, we do residential and commercial. 212 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:44,680 So Michelle will go in and really look at not just, you 213 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:47,640 know, sort of what the client thinks they want, but but really 214 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,000 sort of take a snapshot of it and get a full understanding of 215 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:56,640 the home and you know, their preferences and you know, what 216 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,960 they really want to accomplish short term and long term. 217 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:02,280 And then should come back with some recommendations, which may 218 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:06,960 or may not be close to what the client had originally thought 219 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:10,240 they want to do. There's other factors to 220 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:13,920 consider too, like energy savings and automation, right? 221 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,520 We do a lot of automate automated window treatments now 222 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:19,200 that can be central like Alexa for scheduling. 223 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:21,480 But energy savings is a big thing. 224 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,680 There's actually federal tax credit for some window 225 00:13:24,680 --> 00:13:28,800 treatments so that, you know, there's a lot of considerations 226 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:32,320 that that are more than just sort of color and fabric, right? 227 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:36,080 So that's what Michelle does and comes back typically within 228 00:13:36,080 --> 00:13:39,800 what, 24 hours of the quote. It depends. 229 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:42,000 And then and then we're off and running. 230 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:46,520 But you know, so, so on top of that, obviously now she's doing 231 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:49,600 more interior design work as well because when she's in the 232 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,680 home, a lot of times folks will say, hey, by the way, you know, 233 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:57,280 what do you think of, you know, this arrangement in the living 234 00:13:57,280 --> 00:13:58,640 room? And I was trying to do this but 235 00:13:58,640 --> 00:14:01,720 can't quite get there. So Michelle can offer insight on 236 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:03,400 that. But we really like to get to 237 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:07,480 know the client, you know, certainly is probably why we 238 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:09,800 don't charge for it in in home consultation. 239 00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,720 We really want to get to know them and just sort of be at ease 240 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:15,720 with having a discussion on what they're really looking to do. 241 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,360 And then again, Window Depot, the Adirondacks is brand new, so 242 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,560 we're just launching that. But that's going to be a similar 243 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:27,720 concept where I'll go into the homes and, you know, inspect the 244 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:32,200 windows for free and give a quote and or doors, entry doors 245 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,320 as well. And then, you know, see if it 246 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:41,280 meets client's needs. Yeah, it's, it's fascinating, 247 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:44,440 you know, all the different, you know, kind of verticals that you 248 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:47,240 have and how they all, how they all kind of work together. 249 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,440 It's what do you think some of the the bigger challenges that 250 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,280 you're seeing or, or or expect to see as you're integrating 251 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:56,520 these three different businesses? 252 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:01,160 Yeah. I think one thing you know, 253 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,160 it's, it's interesting because of the showroom. 254 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:05,320 It's going to give us some good visibility, especially in our 255 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,040 location, right, which is, you know, right across the street 256 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:14,440 from Mohans on Glenn St. And so I think visibility is not 257 00:15:14,440 --> 00:15:16,720 going to be an issue. But what we have to avoid is 258 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,200 brand confusion too. I think, you know, especially 259 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,920 online, right? So we, I think it's a great 260 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:27,880 thing that we have these three different logos, if you will. 261 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:32,680 And oh, by the way, you know our our landlord in this Plaza is by 262 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,640 low flooring warehouse. I was. 263 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:36,920 Going to ask that if that was the building, yeah. 264 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,840 Yeah, so we're really going to have a home improvement pod 265 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,400 here, you know, a little one stop shop, right? 266 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:46,200 Maybe people don't want to go to the big boxes or whatever, but 267 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,400 it'll be a nice destination for folks that want to look at, you 268 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,560 know, more than just flooring, more than just window 269 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,920 treatments. But anyway, so I think brand 270 00:15:55,920 --> 00:16:00,360 confusion we need to try to to avoid, but it's really just 271 00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:04,960 getting the word out as to who we are and and why there's value 272 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:08,640 in having sort of the custom design, custom window treatment 273 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:13,640 service versus you know, maybe going elsewhere where you know, 274 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,360 you're not sure what you're getting as far as quality and 275 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,240 quality of the service. I'd like to add to that too. 276 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:24,800 And I think that one of the other challenges, which, you 277 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,440 know, hopefully it's a good problem is growth pains. 278 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:35,040 You know, now being in a showroom and having, you know, a 279 00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:40,200 place where people can come to us, having enough people to 280 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:45,320 handle all of the different aspects of everything that we do 281 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:49,480 from, you know, scheduling and inventory and all the things 282 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,520 that are happening behind the scenes too. 283 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,840 You know, so it's, I think there could be some growing pains, but 284 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,400 we're kind of expecting that I I believe and you know, and we'll 285 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,400 be probably hiring some. Yeah, I think we'll be creating 286 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,280 some jobs hiring. Some people so. 287 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,400 Love it, love it. And I, I, I share your 288 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,000 sentiment, Tim. I also hope people don't go to 289 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,520 the big box stores and they come to see you guys. 290 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:19,400 We're all about buying local over here. 291 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:20,960 I don't. Want to need names or? 292 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:24,680 Anything. So, yeah, we, yeah, we just, you 293 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:27,280 know, really firmly believe in buying from our neighbors 294 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:31,200 whenever possible. So it's, I agree with you there. 295 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:35,520 What you know, you kind of mentioned a little bit, I'm 296 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:38,960 curious, you know, who who are potential like who would be 297 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:41,880 people or businesses for that matter since you also do 298 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:44,200 commercial work, like who would be the types of people or 299 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,400 businesses that might find the service that you're offering 300 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:53,000 valuable? Well, we're finding that you 301 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,200 know, a lot of people that have in the Lake George area, well 302 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,440 from Clifton Park to Lake George, but you know, Saratoga 303 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,240 and Lake George are seem to be a heavier market. 304 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,080 And we're, we're seeing these people that are coming up here 305 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,320 that maybe have a second or a third home that are, are ready 306 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,200 for a change. It's new construction, a 307 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:21,840 remodel, whatever it might be that those are the clients that 308 00:18:21,840 --> 00:18:26,240 you know, we, we would like to have a chat with, you know. 309 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,800 I also had from a partnership. Partnerships are important to 310 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:30,840 us. We haven't talked about that 311 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,240 yet. And I and I've been part of what 312 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,480 I do in the last year and a half is try to build relationships on 313 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,920 the business side. So we've done some lunch and 314 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:44,760 learns at realtor offices, right, so that they will know of 315 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:47,760 us and potentially refer us to their clients. 316 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,800 We've had a couple of meetings at architects and we actually 317 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:55,360 have a couple nice partnerships with architects in the area who 318 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:59,240 like to see the quality of of our window treatments and 319 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,600 service builders. Builders know of us, some, you 320 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:07,520 know, some, some know of us. Anyway, you know any 321 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:11,680 organization, any company that we can add help to add value to 322 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:15,360 their efforts to their clients. You know, we're all about trying 323 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:17,840 to establish the Win Win partnerships locally. 324 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:24,280 Other company? Other companies also like home 325 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:29,680 automation, you know, dealers that are going in and putting in 326 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,200 surround sound systems and Sonos and Control 4 and all those 327 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:37,520 types of things because our systems that are motorized do 328 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,960 integrate with all of those different solutions as well so. 329 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:44,760 I have two quest 2 follow up questions. 330 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,760 To that one, you mentioned Realtors. 331 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,280 Do you get into like staging and things like that with Realtors 332 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:52,280 or is it more? Just funny. 333 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,840 It's funny you mentioned someone asked us last week for the first 334 00:19:54,840 --> 00:19:57,200 week, everybody. Else is asking us about it and, 335 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,880 and I said, honey, do you know what size warehouse we're going 336 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:04,160 to need if we do that? I mean, I'm all over it, but you 337 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,560 know, so. Yeah. 338 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:12,680 But we, it's not something that's off the table like so it 339 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,560 is something that we we're thinking about, but how we're 340 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:22,200 going to go about doing it and what type and at what level is 341 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,920 what we we have to figure out. Yeah, yeah, for sure. 342 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,160 And the I had a second follow up question for you and now it's 343 00:20:30,160 --> 00:20:34,960 escaping my, my, my foggy brain here, my holiday brain. 344 00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:38,240 We've been not since slip mode the last week or so. 345 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:43,360 Oh well, hopefully it'll come back to me here. 346 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,920 So 00. And then, you know, on the, on 347 00:20:48,920 --> 00:20:51,360 the construction side, when you're working with builders, is 348 00:20:51,360 --> 00:20:57,520 it or contractors? Is it because you are working 349 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:01,120 with them on like the window and door side or just the the window 350 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:02,840 treatment side or all of it? Like what? 351 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,320 How are you working with builders and contract? 352 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,040 That's kind of a little bit of a mixture because if we're doing 353 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:11,000 the windows and doors, we're most likely doing that with the 354 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,480 builder or contractor. If I'm doing the window 355 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:19,920 treatments, I have pretty much I'm working side by side with 356 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:23,840 the homeowner that's going to buy the home because they're 357 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,720 making their selections and we're doing that together based 358 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:28,960 on everything else that they're putting in a room. 359 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:34,000 So it's that's kind of like two different two different answers 360 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:34,480 there. I know. 361 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:40,200 But yeah, so that that's usually how that how that goes. 362 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,360 And, you know, there could be, I think we may have had, you know, 363 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,120 some builders where, you know, they're building a spec house, 364 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:50,920 you know, so they want to put something nice in, doesn't have 365 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,480 to be crazy over the top. But maybe let's put some 366 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,000 motorized shades in some common areas like the kitchen and the 367 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:01,040 living room where we can, we, we can put, you know, do that for 368 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,160 them before the house is is sold, you know, so that they've 369 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,560 got a spec home that's showing some, you know. 370 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,160 And I'll also sort of as a side note before I forget, which 371 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,600 really doesn't really tell the last question, the awning, the 372 00:22:16,600 --> 00:22:19,840 awning and power screen business grew a fair amount last year 373 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:21,520 too. I was actually going to ask 374 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:23,520 about that. Yeah, 'cause we can do awnings 375 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:26,960 up to 30 feet that we did an install last year or was it 2 376 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,720 years ago? Last year did a 27 foot, 400 LB 377 00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:35,000 awning in Lake George and poor Michelle here up on a ladder 378 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,000 helping us with that one. But we can do big ones and 379 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,040 they're automated and they're LED lit from underneath. 380 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,440 So they're really cool. But but those are nice. 381 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,200 And then power screens. Sorry. 382 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,200 Oh, no, I I was just going to say it. 383 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:54,520 It's a question on the awnings for for clarification, right? 384 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:59,840 Because I know just recently I became aware of like your 385 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:06,040 motorized pergolas and different outdoor features that have 386 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:08,320 become like really wild and crazy. 387 00:23:08,600 --> 00:23:12,360 And so when I hear the word awning, I think of like the old 388 00:23:12,360 --> 00:23:15,240 school like business awning. And so I went. 389 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,000 But that's not what you're talking about though. 390 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,280 That's correct. We're not talking about that at 391 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:21,680 all. There's an array of beautiful 392 00:23:21,680 --> 00:23:24,920 fabrics to pick from. Different edging that you can 393 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:31,080 do, obviously different sizes and these are all motorized so 394 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,320 there's no old fashioned crank thing going on while you still 395 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,600 have that option in case you lose power, but you're that's 396 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,440 not how you're operating the awning anymore. 397 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:44,160 And then in the arms of the awning has all of the LED lights 398 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,080 which are dimmable so you can make it look very, you know, 399 00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:52,240 aesthetically pleasing. And then, you know, in our area 400 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:57,240 too, especially up in Lake George, we also give our clients 401 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:02,040 a wind sensor to go with this awning so that if it's getting 402 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:05,000 too windy, the the awning is going to automatically close. 403 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:08,680 Oh wow, that's very cool. So especially Michael, it's all 404 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:10,720 for awnings. It's all about expanding 405 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,760 available living space in in power screens too. 406 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,600 We've done some power screens where people their house is back 407 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:19,840 up to to the woods and they can't use their outdoor patio 408 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,120 because of the bugs. So we just, we did a couple last 409 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:25,840 year, we just created a whole other room for them essentially 410 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,760 by by installing power screens. And well, so, and that's what I 411 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,320 was going to ask about in the power screen. 412 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:33,880 So is it essentially you're building out a frame and then 413 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,240 these screens can go, can open or close, go down or go? 414 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,560 Up exactly right, Yeah. Very sleep looking, yeah. 415 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,880 Yes. And how is it? 416 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,240 Is there like an app for that so you can control it all from your 417 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:49,520 phone or is it push button on the? 418 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,040 Right now it's remote. We're the company that we use 419 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,320 manufacturers in Florida. They have a remote, but I 420 00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:58,200 believe they're going to go to the the app hopefully this year. 421 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,080 Very cool, very cool. I I know we're we're getting 422 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,880 close on time here guys, but I want to make sure people know 423 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:07,400 how to find you, where to find you. 424 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,600 If they want to talk to you and they want to get started. 425 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,000 Well, how do they do that? Sure. 426 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:18,840 Well, our showroom is going to be at Seven O 4 Upper Glenn St. 427 00:25:19,160 --> 00:25:23,960 which we're in suite 1. So we're at the very front of 428 00:25:23,960 --> 00:25:27,440 the building with all the glass facing Glenn St. 429 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,440 As far as, you know, we have a, a, a phone line. 430 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,840 You know, of course people can call our, our phone 431 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:39,200 518-863-5525. We have so many phone numbers, 432 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:45,480 5525 and of course our emails. I'm 433 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,680 mschultzthatstschultz@gotchacovered.com. Yeah. 434 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,320 And then of course, our website, you can go there and fill out a, 435 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,240 a web contact form for us to give you a call. 436 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,280 And we also are on Facebook and Instagram and, and that kind of 437 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:06,560 a thing there where people can reach out to us that way as 438 00:26:06,560 --> 00:26:09,280 well. That'll be market 32 shopping 439 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:11,000 grill like got your covered shirt out you'll. 440 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:15,280 See our truck too you'll. See our truck too. 441 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,560 Truck is all been wrapped up so it looks pretty good. 442 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:21,400 Very nice. Well, guys, I, I really 443 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:23,880 appreciate you taking time out and coming on the show with us 444 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,040 and to help our listeners and readers kind of learn more about 445 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,000 who you are and what you're doing. 446 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,640 And you know, like I said that we're love it, love what you're 447 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,160 doing, love, love the small business community here in the 448 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:35,760 we're in Washington, Saratoga County. 449 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,200 So anyway we can help. Let us know and thanks for 450 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,280 coming on the show. For having us, Mike, we it was, 451 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:43,160 it was a lot of fun. Thank you very much. 452 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,360 We appreciate it. Yeah, no problem, no problem. 453 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:48,320 And of course, thanks everybody for listening. 454 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:52,720 You can find us online at buying local dot US or you can find our 455 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:57,480 podcast on Rumble, YouTube, Spotify and Apple and appreciate 456 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:00,920 you listening and share the show and you'll hear from us next 457 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:01,120 week.