Dennis Oz:

Welcome to Remodeler Success Podcast. I’m Dennis Oz. Well, you know what? We have a great show for you today because this is going to be all about kitchen design and remodeling.

As you know that we are putting a lot of new episodes out there for you to understand the remodeling work and just learn from our podcast every day. So I have an amazing speaker today. I’m going to introduce her in a minute. But let’s talk about why these podcasts are important for you.

Self improvement is always important. And also your professional improvement is also a part of this things right here at podcast. We are trying to create audible and listenable content for you guys to listen when you’re traveling point A to point B. So if you have nothing else to do you just tune into our podcast and listen to our great speakers here.

So today I’m so excited because there are a lot of things to share. I have Anna Gibson here with me. Anna, welcome to the show.

Anna Gibson:

Hi, thank you so much for having me.

Dennis Oz:

Sure. Could you please introduce yourself,

Anna Gibson:

Anna? Sure, absolutely. I’m Ana Gibson. I call myself the Space Alchemist. I’m with AKG Design Studio.

I’m a certified kitchen and bathroom designer. I’ve been in the industry so a little close to 20 years, if I want to say that. Uh, my studio is based in Reston, Virginia, uh, and we service the D. C. Metro area, but we also actually service the whole worldwide. So wherever you are, we can go with you.

Dennis Oz:

Right.

Great. So it’s 20 years going back what got you into the kitchen and bath design in the first place? What was the moment that you knew that was like the, yes, I want to go this route.

Anna Gibson:

So I have to go back many years ago, maybe 22 years, right? Cause I’m only 21.

So I grew up, my dad is a civil engineer. So I grew up on construction side. So every weekend our weekend hike were actually to construction sites. So when I grew up, I definitely knew that I wanted to be part of that industry. And when I started 20 years ago, I did dabble in a lot of different design team things.

I was going I was doing interior design interior decorator and a lot of different things. But then as soon as I discovered the kitchen and bathroom, the three, I absolutely fell in love with it. And I think that kind of goes back into. My, my dad’s and the engineering background because the kitchen and bathroom and the whole home space is really you need to have that engineering kind of eye and look at things.

At least this is how we work in my studio before we make a space. Pretty. So this is where I feel at home and I absolutely love this industry.

Dennis Oz:

This is great. Let’s talk about this journey a little bit more. Let’s say how do you make sure your clients have a great time working with you from start to finish?

How do you ensure this process is enjoyable for them?

Anna Gibson:

Well, they know what they’re getting in May. First of all, there is, you know, I do not lie to my clients. I do not promise anything I can’t deliver and whatever I deliver is above and beyond what I promised. You know, everyone on my team. From my subcontractors to anybody that I’m vendors, we are all committed to the outcome of the project and for it to be the best possible outcome for my clients.

And I like what I do, but I’m also not going to, you know, paint these broad strokes of how fabulous everything’s going to be. I tell my clients construction involves dust. It involves noise. It involves wood. It involves sawdust. It involves. 30 guys in your house every day, you know, with work boots and, you know, tools, but it’s all part of that journey.

Right. And, and I think because I don’t try to paint this really rosy picture, no one comes to me and says, I didn’t know there was going to be somebody banging on the wall at seven o’clock in the morning. We actually don’t start till eight, but you know what I mean? And I think being honest that way and upfront with my clients is super, super important.

We also, you know, I’m a process person. So when they get my letter of agreement, they know exactly what we’re doing and where we’re doing it and how we’re doing it. And everything is pulled together. It’s not haphazardly just said, Oh, we’re just like this room behind us. You know, this is going to be so fabulous when it’s done.

And well, what does that mean? Right. And I think that’s part of the process that anyone in this business, whether you’re new or you’ve been in for a hundred years, you have to have a process. And you have to be able to explain your process. So that’s probably one of the things, a lot of humor, a lot of patience, a lot of understanding.

You know, I always say that for my clients, I am their advisor. I am their, I am their friend. Right. I am their voice of reason, but I am also their vision of what can be. And one of my clients so aptly said this, we were, we were looking at something somewhere and she said, you know, Sharon brings the possibilities of the universe together, but shares it in manageable bites.

And, you know, that I think is. How we work through things and I’ll never say to somebody. Oh, you love purple. I hate purple. You can’t have purple in your house I I think there’s a lot of designers out there who will say it’s my way or the highway and I think that’s that’s Unreasonable, you know, I’m coming into your home.

I am helping create this environment This nurturing environment, which is your shield from the outside world. When you close that door, you know, that is your time capsule. That can be whatever you need it to be. And I work really hard to honor that. Yeah, this is great.

Dennis Oz:

This is great. Since we’re talking about design and processes, the engineering is a big part of it, definitely. But what’s your favorite part of the design process?

Is there any aspect that you find most rewarding?

Anna Gibson:

So of course, you know, everybody loves the moment when you walk into that space and it’s the most beautiful and the client is shining and, you know, you get that pat on the shoulder. But for me personally. Is that first moment when I walk into the space and I get the opportunity to redesign it and make a whole new face for our clients and looking and seeing opportunities that are beyond what the client is able to see.

This is where I love it. This is where my my engineer dad kicks in and. Literally, you know, moving the kitchen from one side of the house to another moving kitchen walls, windows, anything that we can do to really make that the space to be special. This is where I love it. You know, everybody can make a space.

Pretty right? Um, I’m sure you have a great taste. I’m sure your neighbor. I always tell my clients that everybody can go find some great pictures on social media and put it together. And wow, it looks great. But if the space is not functional, if it’s not functioning for your lifestyle, it’s really not worth the investment.

This is for me. This is like where I shine. This is what we start and put a lot of focus in my studio.

Dennis Oz:

So here we are talking about the importance of personalization. It’s really important to create a space that is specifically for yourself because people have different habits and people, most of the time when they come to you, I think the first thing that you look at is their lifestyle, I believe, right?

Your Just when you’re assessing there, you have to understand how they live, right? Is there anything else that you have to look at before understanding what they’re exactly looking for?

Anna Gibson:

I definitely like to push the envelope with my clients. So that is also one of the questions that I ask with them is how much can I push the envelope because.

Yes, they they lived in that space. They know what are their pain points. They know what they don’t like what they do like. They obviously don’t know how to fix it. That’s why they call us, but they have some ideas. They’re like, Oh, well, I was thinking to do this and this, but then you’re the one that comes and have the experience that you can say, but Okay, this is a great idea.

But what if we close this window, open a door here, do one, two, three, and then they’re like, standing there like, Oh, so I’ve ever been figuring out what is their lifestyle? Who is the, who is the people are going to be using the kitchen? How they’re using them? Is there anyone with different abilities that are going to be using whatever activities are in the house?

So, for example, even my own kitchen, when we did the whole space, I knew that I needed to have it. Okay. A big open kitchen because we love to host and we host. Usually we have minimum of 20 people. Most of the time we have 50, like I like big group of people. So I knew that everybody’s going to be in my kitchen because.

That’s what, as much as it sounds cliche, everybody always end up in the kitchen. So I made sure that even if I have four or five people standing in my kitchen, it still has room for everybody to be there. My little trick that I did was that I created a bar to the side, but now everybody’s hanging out to the side of the kitchen and not in my center.

So we really want to make sure what is those different little things that are really make unique to our clients. And at the same time, we also want to see how much we can push their boundaries. Because some people are very comfortable or uncomfortable removing walls. And they’re like, no, I really want to stay within these four walls, three walls, whatever they have, and just make the best of it.

And some clients are going to be more open to like, do whatever you want, right? Like, okay, take this down this wall, move my kitchen to the other side, whatever it is. So you really want to make sure that. You do talk to the client about those kind of opportunities that you have because sometimes they’re not aware and there’s a lot of times my client do comes like, Oh, I didn’t think about it or I didn’t think I’m going to like the idea of this, all this open space or having this one, two, three in here.

But now that I’m seeing your design, I’m like, Wow, this is really blow my mind. But again, you just need to make sure that you have that open communication with your client about How much, or how can you push that envelope with them?

Dennis Oz:

I agree with that, and whenever I, whenever you’re talking about understanding the client needs, we’ll definitely dive a little more into that in the next questions, but I think that, when I was looking at your, background, and before we even meet here, I saw that you traveled a lot.

You are such a traveler. I just wanted to ask you, how do these global experiences just influence your design style? Is there any changes, or do you see something that you see over there, and just when you’re traveling, and would you like to apply to your design? How does it work?

Anna Gibson:

Absolutely. Um, you know, I feel like we In the U.S
We always feel that we have the latest and the greatest. And, uh, and we used you. We tend to be a very U. S. Centric because it is. It’s a very big continent, very big space, and we do have very different design style from coast to coast. So there is a lot of opportunity to hear. But I feel that when you leave the U.S and look at different market and different opportunities, you can bring so much back. Who your clients and honestly, if you don’t know, the U S market is usually five to 10 years behind the European market. So if you want to talk about design trends. About technology. If you look at the European market, especially Germany, Italy, the UK, if you want to see what’s coming to the U S and you want to be on top of the trend, just go over there, see what’s going on.

And you’re going to be the biggest guru in the U S. Uh, just to give you example, in 2018, I gave a speech, um, in cave is about designing small spaces. And the big thing about designing small spaces. Is to have Multitasking appliances and fixtures. So one of the things that I showed you in that presentation of it was like such a big, wow, was the multitasking sink, a sink that you can put the cutting board and all that stuff.

I had to go to Europe to find these photos and lo and behold, now in 2024, it’s one of the biggest trends, and I don’t think we. But one kitchen now, even no matter what the size, but we don’t have those. Sinks that have all the accessories that are built in where it’s a cutting board with drawing rag wherever it is But 2017 2018 I had to go back to europe to kind of blow the mind of you know The presentation in kbiz because it wasn’t something that was really popular or in the market in the u.

s and now it’s like it a must have so really Open your mind, and if you can’t travel, and a lot of us can’t travel, go to K Biz, go to the ICFF, which is in New York, um, that now, even though it’s called the Contemporary Furnishing, they actually have a really big kitchen and bath aspect, and it’s amazing what kind of kitchen they have.

Cool things they bring from all over the world that you can see and learn and you don’t have to travel if you can’t.

Dennis Oz:

And just we mentioned KBIS. KBIS is coming up at the end of February. So we are so excited about that. And as RTA Marketing and we are bringing our legendary app Super Susan to KBIS and we will be exhibiting right there in South Hall and for all our speakers out there, we would like to see you in our booth, but I know what, how do you feel like, every year KBIS is another story.

So I’m so excited about that. Since you mentioned that one. Do you have the same excitement? What do you think?

Anna Gibson:

I love k biz. Uh, this is kind of like something we’ll jump on later because you were asking about The kitchen and bath at the end of the day. It’s it’s a small industry and we all know each other so for me again, you know being in the industry for For quite some time a lot of times for us.

It’s actually our summer camp and it’s our reunion I get to see designers that I follow them on Instagram, designers, but we became friends during those visits to, uh, KBiz and it’s just a really big reunion. But beyond that aspect, the educational value in KBiz is just, like, there’s so much value in there, but it’s just amazing.

And yes, you’re going to meet new vendors, you’re going to meet new vendors from around the world. And it’s a really good opportunity to create those connections that are really important in this industry.

Dennis Oz:

We also see the trends. That’s why I would like to ask you this question here. The trends are, yeah, there are so many trends.

I’m sure you see a lot of different trends in different decades. What trends are you seeing in our industry right now, anything that’s really catching your eye?

Anna Gibson:

So first of all, I have to say we’re finally moving away from the gray and the white and the subway tile. So I used to joke that like, if you want a subway tile, you’re not allowed to be my client.

So I just couldn’t deal with that anymore. And, um, but I do see again, the European influence, we see a lot of that coming. We see much more of the clean line, contemporary design, darker colors, including blacks, warm woods, like your background, that I think really warms up the space, whether it’s kitchen and bathroom or whatever it is.

And I absolutely love it. So I really do like clean spaces. And I love that this is the trend that we’re going. But the warm, uh, warmth of the space. And also bold colors. We’re not afraid anymore. Like, I believe that white is, even though I am wearing a white jacket, white for me is the color of non commitment, right?

Because you can’t commit to anything. You want to make it. Timeless. You want it to make it for resale value. You want to make it whatever, but you can’t commit to a color. You go with white and seeing that our clients are staying in their home, sometimes staying in their home longer, being able to bring their personality and not be scared, which meaning away, moving away from the white and bringing color, I just absolutely love that.

Dennis Oz:

Sometimes some of the speakers that I, host here on our podcast they’re saying we don’t even follow trends, it’s good to know about it. So for example, like a new realtor, when they are just putting a new house in the market, probably they would like to go just like you said, with no commitment, let’s put the white kitchen over there.

Let’s not scare that woman with the, I don’t know, like a cherry look, maybe they don’t like cherry, and just because of the kitchen cabinet color, the opportunity just slips through the fingers and you just end up with nothing just because of kitchen, because there are some parts when the new homeowners or like prospective homeowners are looking For new places and kitchen is one of the most important places that you are looking, of course, and that’s why they why this pretty much no commitment color.

So let’s be safe color. That’s what I understand from what you said, but I’m sure there are a lot more challenges during the design process. That’s why I would like to take the conversation to there because I have a follow up question. We would like to learn more about how you, what are the challenges first, right?

What are your challenges when you’re facing when you’re doing a design process? And my follow up question will be, how do you tackle these challenges? How do you overcome these challenges?

Anna Gibson:

Sure. So especially because it kind of goes back to what we just talked about where we live in the D.

1. Metro area, and this is a very transient area, right? We have a new government every four years. We have a lot of military people. So when a lot of time when we come into client homes, one of the first conversations that we have or one of the things that they bring to us is Yeah. About resale value or like what’s going to happen in five years because they don’t know when, where are they going to be in the next few years.

So this is where you have to really talk to your clients about their lifestyle. The funny part of that conversation about that resale value is so embedded in this area, specifically here in the D. C. area, that even people are not planning to leave the area or move, they’re still talking to me about that resale value that is somehow, it just, I don’t know where it’s coming from.

So, again, it’s really important to talk to your client and understand where it’s coming from. And understand is it really something that is real, meaning that yes, this is a military family that’s probably going to be moving in a few years, or this is going to become a rental, or again, family that involved in politics that might not be here, or I had a couple that we did a beautiful, beautiful remodel for them, they remodeled all their main floor, which had offices for both of them, there’s a pool in the backyard, or it’s.

They have all the master bedroom, all the facilities on the main floor, and we were talking about aging in place and like, and I was talking and I’m like, wait a minute, why are we talking about resale value? You’re spending thousands of dollars to make this beautiful space that you can stay here as long as you want.

You don’t have to move from here. You have the bedroom on the main floor. You have your offices. Everything is here. All the amenities you need. So why are we talking about real estate? And resale value. Why are we talking about what’s going to happen in five years when you are planning to age here? So let’s do what you actually want to do.

Let’s do what you love, what works for you. And they were so grateful that I pushed them away from it because at the end of the project, they were like, wow, we are so excited. We are going to live here 10, 20 years. We’re going to enjoy that space. And this is our space. It’s unique to us. We love it. A regional thing for the DC area, but I think it’s probably all big metro areas.

You, you might have that kind of, uh, conversation that you need to have with your client.

Dennis Oz:

I believe it’s a very common conversation because when you’re just starting a new kitchen design that we’re going to talk about, especially homeowners, and maybe they’re looking for resale value, they may change ideas in the future, that’s perfectly fine, but creating some space for Yourself and your client right there at that moment is the most important thing, not because when you’re trying this, I think what you said, correct me if I’m wrong, because when you are like thinking about the resale value, you’re designing for something for the next people that are going to move in, right?

Anna Gibson:

And as much as I call myself the space alchemist, I’m a magician, but I’m not. But I’m not a fortune teller, okay? I’m a magician, not a fortune teller. That’s why I tell them. Like, I don’t know what’s gonna happen in five years. I don’t know what’s gonna happen in ten years. You know, fashions and trends do come back and circle.

And if you stay long enough, probably. But you still need to wait a good 30 40 years before it comes back. So really, we want to take The design trend to account, but at the same time we want to design something that is unique and special for you and your family.

Dennis Oz:

That’s a great point. So folks, you’re here. You’re learning from here. I’m sure that right now when someone says, let’s talk about, let’s think about resale value. I’m sure you have a better answer right now. Thank you so much for that, Anna.

So we are also preparing our people here for that next interview. So that’s interview with the client. That’s great. That’s why I was going to ask you this, some of your recommendations, what advice would you Give it to someone that is just starting out in the kitchen about design.

I’m asking you this question because we have a lot of listeners here there are followers here that are either they started and they really have some like pushbacks and because being a business owner there are a lot of mistakes that we, that I’m sure that you made in the past.

So looking at these mistakes and Looking at these, all these, I would say, struggles that you experienced in the past, what would be your advice to the people who are just starting in kitchen and bath design?

Anna Gibson:

Oh, um, like I tell my contractor, always cover your ass, and pardon my language, always cover your ass, which means you have everything documented in writing.

Whether it’s a change order or even when you start with the design, we have our clients sign off on everything. They sign off on the floor plan, they sign off on elevations, they sign off on even on material selections. Every piece of materials, we present a photo with our design package and they sign off on everything.

So nobody can come and tell me that this is not what they selected. And that’s not what they wanted. And that’s not it, right? And then especially for the contractors out there, I know you’re running around, you’re doing a lot of things. The client asked to do some changes. You’re like, okay, great. It’s going to cost that much.

Then they, you know, say, oh, okay, that’s fine. And then you come and you did not do a change order. And. You know, it can be that the project end on Friday, but sometimes it can be that the project will a couple months down the road. The client has so much going on, they’re so overwhelmed by the process. If you think that they’re going to remember what you told them a few months ago about what is going to be to add five more recess lights, or that was that not part of the project, they’re not.

But making sure you have that change order, whether it’s material, where it’s labor, that is signed, or at least have an email, text message, something in writing that makes sure that you are, you’re covered. But you can go back and reference to the client, like, hey, This is what we agreed to because I’ve seen too many contractors and even I got burned.

I had a client that she was the one that was the craziest story ever because she was the one that actually selected the countertop. He was the one that came to the meeting ready to go said, this is the countertop that I want. So I also brought a sample because it was, um, man made material. We usually don’t look in larger pieces because they’re very similar to each other.

And also because she was the one who told me that that’s what she wants. I assumed wrongly that she did all the research that she needed about that countertop, including a look, looking at larger pieces. And after it was installed, She absolutely hated it and claimed that that was not what she selected.

Absolutely. This is was a disaster. And that brings me to my other quick note is. Make sure you have wonderful vendors that you work with, because you know what, my granite company said no problem, they replaced it, it was still with cost, but they gave her a huge discount to make sure that nobody is, you know, losing their pants over that situation, but these are the vendors that I’ve been working with for over 15 years.

So I know that they always have my back and they’re going to take care of me. But make sure every little detail, I know sometimes it feels tedious. Make sure you cover yourself.

Dennis Oz:

Going back to my kitchen design days, I was working in the showroom that I was I was not the designer. You can’t be a designer without all this training.

And like, I just trained to use 2020. Let’s say I was a. 2020 operator, let’s say. But what I really see during that process was you said it was a man made stone, but especially for the natural stone, every slab is different. You just put that in there. And then all of a sudden the couple, they started complaining about that because the thing that you saw on sample could be different from the actual slab.

So here. folks, Anna is talking about the importance of your protection. So you have to protect yourself first from all these kind of things. Even here, customer may not like it, but at least your papers will allow them to accept the extra cost related with that. So here, look, this is what we said.

And this thing happens. As you can see, we just put a note over there. Those are natural products or man made products can be different from the sample. So that’s why it’s you have to make sure that you put that on your contracts and you get the sign signature at the bottom of this page. This is very important here.

So I’m sure you totally understand what Anna is trying to say here. So would like to take the conversation from a little more like an operational side to the marketing side. Most of the time when we are talking about marketing.

I see that our designers in 20 years, 30 years in the business, they already have their name out there. So they are like the one name that they have the go to name because they have a great network and everything over there. And they don’t even promote themselves. They don’t need to promote themselves in different digital marketing channel.

And sometimes they just show up on conferences like KBIS that also supports who they are. How would you play the marketing game? Any kind of strategies that you can share with us. These strategies maybe have worked for you in the past or when you’re trying to promote your business. What do you say about that? How do you market you and your business?

Anna Gibson:

Right, like this is very true. As you said, I’ve been in the industry long enough that right now I would say that probably 90 percent of our jobs are active referrals and we work very deeply on fostering and building our list and going back and making sure that we We really take a big advantage of our list, whether it’s newsletters, wherever it’s our blog, which is, which is our own YouTube show, which is design tips and sips and making sure that we stay connected to our clients.

The last couple of. So the last year I have two clients that we did their kitchen almost 18 years ago, and they sold their homes, moved to a new home, and now they have new projects for us. So this is how deep we go with our clients. So building the relationship with your clients, staying in touch with them throughout the years, it’s super, super, super important because those clients are also, are not only they’re coming back.

But there are also the clients that are going to give you referrals. For example, we have a client that several years ago, we did her condo. Unfortunately, while she was, while we were doing the, doing her townhouses, sorry, while we were doing her townhouse, unfortunately, her uncle passed away. So she inherited this beautiful, perfect location, uh, condo.

So we ended up remodeling all that condo. So that, that was going to be her property for rental property. But then COVID came and she decided she doesn’t need her big house anymore. She sold that house, moved into the condo, and then bought a beach house in Connecticut. So we ended up doing the beach house in Connecticut as well.

So not only we did three projects with her, she also gave us two referrals. So we did two more projects from her and there’s more referrals coming. So build that, that personal relationship and staying in touch with your clients is the most valuable things that you can do for yourself. We, honestly, we have clients that we became good friends with.

We have clients that we traveled the world with those clients, but we. Party with and celebrate personal milestone and achievements and holidays. And we really try to make sure that we stay with them wherever it, like I said, doing all your regular stuff, which is the newsletter and all that stuff, but at the same time also send an email or a phone call, happy birthday.

Just checking on you. I heard your daughter’s getting married. Congratulations. Sending a little gift saying, Hey, I heard, you know, it’s your birthday. Here’s a little things and also working with the people that are feeding our industry. So who are the playmakers that can help you? We have amazing relationship with a lot of real estate agents in this area.

Because they’re the one that know when people are moving, going, and even they usually become a resource for their clients. So even years after they already sold the place to the client, their clients, because they are building those relationships, they will call them and see who is on their list. That will be that person to do the remodel or to do the design work And I want to make sure that in this area Those real estate agents are going to be saying.

Oh ana akg design studio. That is the person for you So you network with them, you know every time they give you a referral you need to send them a gift And again, just stay front and center before those big players.

Dennis Oz:

That’s really important. When you were just explaining that, I just realized that I have received a cup from a company, it’s our vendor.

And they sent this beautiful cup to me through the mail. And this is our first year. Every day that I just pour a fresh cup of coffee myself that I remember that moment. you see how powerful that is.

And you’re, you’re talking about an example, like in 18 years ago, right? Look at that example, folks. It’s many years ago that you have already completed many projects and you have a lot of referrals from the same person. This is how you build your business from the one customer.

One client may open up a lot of doors for you. That’s what we are talking here. So thank you so much for that.

I would like to talk about these since you talk about some of the milestones. I would like to talk about some of the game changers in our industry. Can you share any unique insight or I would say your wisdom nuggets that have been game changes for you or it could be game changer for anyone else in the industry 

Anna Gibson:

Um, I don’t know if it’s a really big game changer.

Maybe it is for somebody so watch out But we did talk about you know going to kbiz and keeping in touch with your vendors and fellow designers and fellow remodelers and I think actually for me it’s It did become a very big game changer because a lot of us as business owner, a lot of us sometimes work in a vacuum, right?

We have a team, but we are, I always joke that yes, I have a team, but I’m also the cleaning lady. I am the marketing person. I’m the accounting, you know, at the end of the day, we are responsible for everything, even if we have a team that helps us do those things, we are the ones that are the brain behind the operation.

And it becomes that vacuum that sometimes you just get stuck there and you don’t have anyone to bounce ideas. So creating those relationships within the industry, making sure that, you know, you’re connecting with our other.

Making sure you are connecting with other designers, with other vendors in the industry. You can bounce ideas or let’s say you’re trying to engineer this weird pocket door or I don’t know what, and you’re trying to really think there’s some other people out there, but you feel comfortable enough that you can share that and be like, Hey, Sharon, blah, blah, I’m working on design.

I’m sorely, totally stuck. What do you think? And they’re all, oh, you know what? I did that. Or I know that Megan did it six months ago. Call her and she will give you the 4 1 1 1 on it. Right? So, and the same thing is with the vendors. Like I told you about the countertop is the facts that I’ve been working with them for so many years and they know that they got my business no matter what.

Go, being able to go back and say, Hey, listen. It’s not your fault. It’s not my fault. We always have that one, you know, client vet, whatever he is, and we want to make sure that we take care of them. So not only they took care of their client, they took care of me because we have that relationship. So building those relationship along the way, it’s a small industry.

Um, you know, I was running through your episodes, and I’m like, I know Alison Soler, I know Adam Gibson, and we’re not connected, even though when we go to Caymans, because we’re all both A. Gibson, they’re always mixing us up. And We have long curly hair. Um, no, we’re not connected. So yeah, we all know each other and I know that I can reach out if I have a question about photography.

I know that I can call Adam and ask him the questions. If I have questions about kitchen and bath that I couldn’t figure out something I know that I can reach out to Allison and score a question. So knowing that there’s people out there and cultivating those relationship. Is very, very valuable and really helped me develop my Business and take it to the next level because I don’t feel that I’m already that I’m in a vacuum just here by myself, struggling with whatever question I have.

Dennis Oz:

Well, we’re going to be wrapping up after this question, but KBIS is coming. I just wanted to add an extra just to an extra question over there is like, imagine that you are going to KBIS for first time ever. How do you make the most. of the show. If you’re going there first time, you don’t know anyone.

You have no idea who is who and you haven’t met any people. It’s your first day in KBIS and what do you tell us? What do you do?

Anna Gibson:

Um, that’s a good question. It’s going to be overwhelming. So a couple of years ago, I brought my assistant with me and I have to tell you it is, if you go to Caybis.

The first time it is overwhelming. So the number one, don’t take anything that they give you because otherwise you’re going to end up with a second luggage, but don’t take anything. So that’s kind of like, oh, but the other thing is that most of the vendors reach out to your vendors. A lot of your vendors having parties.

Happy hours, opportunities to network. So after you walk down the halls, make sure that you go to those happy hours, connect to the people, stop in the booths, talk to people. Here is a great example. So, 2018, 2019, I, uh, the Natural Stone Institute had a wonderful booth that had espresso. And, man, if you’ve been to Cavis, you know that, like, you need all the coffee in the world.

So, I think I went past their booth, like, four times, and every time I had a coffee, I ended up just standing there talking to them. Got into conversation with the lovely people there. They had a little raffle going on about, you know, traveling with them. And guess what? I ended up winning and I went to Brazil with them.

And not only that, I developed amazing relationship with them. I became an official speaker with them. I spoke for in KBiz, I do podcasts with them. I’ve been to China with them. And this is all because one cup of coffee in KBiz. So don’t be afraid to A, call your vendors now before you leave, because most likely those big vendors have already parties.

Happy hours, dinners that are going to be booked, even if they’re not showing in CABIS, a lot of the time they are actually going to be in town. So they will take clients to dinners. So again, reach out to your big vendors and especially a lot of you guys involved with IBS as well. IBS is going to be there as well.

So a lot of the remodeling and the construction. Big vendors are going to be there as well. And again, they have happy hour in their booth. Great way to get some free booze and food and go and make the relationship, make the relationship with your vendors. And your connection and and build those connection in cave is great.

Dennis Oz:

This is great advice. Thank you so much. And a couple of days ago, actually, we just came back from Vegas. We were on TISE 2024. That was more like flooring professionals over there, but a lot of like countertop professionals. I see Cambria was there. And we were exhibiting in the kind of section over there.

What I really see is when you are going to a show like KBIS Folks, you meet with your fellow people. And you will meet the people that they already made the same mistakes that maybe you are doing right now and you can learn from these people how to play the game, like in the short term and the long term doesn’t really matter, but you learn from them.

And I’m going to ask you this, like your opinion about that. You meet people that you cannot call them competitor because you want them to win and they want you to win as well. This is what that is. And I’m sure here we would like to talk about a little more about like the importance of chapters here, Anna.

I would like to ask you that. And why we should be there as KBIS is a part of it, of course. But maybe with this podcast, we can help our I would say audience to go there and at least be a member of their local chapter and meet new people. What do you think?

Do you see it’s valuable to meet our local people, local business owners at the same chapter meetings, or we should avoid all our costs? What do you think about that?

Anna Gibson:

I’m a big fan of NKBA. I’ve been a certified kitchen bathroom designer since 2009. And the local chapters, again, they’re, like you said, they’re a wealth of knowledge.

It’s not your competition. I don’t go to my NKBA chapter because I’m looking for work or leads. I’m going there because I’m looking to connect with my vendors. I’m going there to connect with my industry. I’m going to learn and create a camaraderie. Like you said, there’s Probably designers and remodelers are struggling about the same thing, and you just need to start up a conversation to talk about what is going on.

Because, especially when you’re, when you go to KBiz, of course you’re going to get it. It’s national and actually also international now. You get a lot of stuff that is going to be from all over the U. S. But when you go to your chapter, you get the local snapshot. So, if you feel like, oh, business has been down, and you’re feeling like, It’s my fault.

I haven’t been doing enough. Maybe going and like listening to your vendors and talk to them. And if you have good relationship with them, they will be honest with you. And they’re like, yeah, you know, the market been really slow in the last couple of months. You know, what can we do together to, to help boost things, but at least, I don’t know, maybe misery like company.

So at least you, you feel not that alone in that. Situation. I believe the chapter also provide a lot of education. So, uh, actually, they, they have to provide certain amount of education for the NKVA rules. So those particular educational moments are fantastic because you get to, again, get to know and meet some local people, but I know our chapter also bring them.

Speakers from all over the country as well. So then we get to hear and meet thoughts and opportunities that we haven’t thought or seen before, which again, helps you expand yourself as a business owner, as a designer, as a remodeler, and bring those really awesome ideas to your client and be that person that bring the trends to them.

Before they even know it’s a trend because you’re already ahead of the game and bring those Really cool amazing solutions And not like I call them the pinterest solutions, right? but like I don’t know who came up with that it’s probably going to fall apart five after five minutes, but bring the real life Solution that actually going to stay and the NKBH at your local chapter is really fantastic place for you to start.

Dennis Oz:

Exactly.

Thank you so much for that information. Well, I’m sure it’s a world of knowledge here to talk about kitchen and bath design and everything. And I thank you so much. I would like to ask you one final question before we actually officially wrap up here. Um, we, yeah, we talk a lot about like kitchen design and everything, but I would like to talk about future here.

How do you see the future of kitchen and bath design?

Anna Gibson:

Future? The future is bright, right? Like I, it’s a great industry and we have a lot of technology that is coming into the kitchen. Which is good and bad, but I think at the end of the day, it is really good. It is going to be helping a lot of people to be more interactive in the kitchen.

So I know it just. Like, just like I kept, I keep saying, like, you need to stay in order to be on top of your game, get those clients, you need to step, be, step ahead of all the markets. You now, as a kitchen designer, we need to be technologists, right? We need to know what are all these connected appliances are doing, how are they going to help our client.

And explain it to them because yeah, we’ll take them to the appliance store, but my appliance guy always joke that I know better than him of all these things, because I make it my business to make sure that I know every little thing that goes into my client’s home. So going ahead with technology, making sure you understand lighting, making sure you learn.

And be the, be there in the forefront of what is coming, traveling the world, going to caves, looking for these, these resources that’s going to put you ahead. And there’s a lot of really cool things coming. I think we have opportunities to also reinvent the kitchen, right? Right now we’re no longer talking about the triangle.

We’re moving to station and I think there’s a lot of different things that we can keep pushing the envelope of what can be done in that space and how it can be done. And that’s the cool part about being a kitchen and bathroom design because these spaces are always evolving and you’re in the forefront in that.

And AI is coming as well. That’s a whole conversation I can have with you. Uh, which I am really excited. I am really excited to see what kind of AI options and solutions they’re going to be showing in KBiz. It’s obviously, it has some scary points as well. But like every technology, you know, we all used to be scared from Alexa and all these talking devices.

And now, you know, we can’t live without that, right? Um, so yeah. Go out there, explore, and learn, learn, learn.

Dennis Oz:

Anna, thank you so much. That was quite a bit of a conversation, and it’s a lot of great information that you shared today. before we just officially finish the podcast, I would like to ask you if someone has any kind of follow up question.

Like, what’s the best way to reach out, or do you have your website, or would you like to share your email? Considering our 10, 000 plus subscribers, how would you share your contact information with our audiences?

Anna Gibson:

Sure, absolutely. I love to mentor and I love to help, and I love to keep people in the industry and help people stay along in the industry.

So I’m always looking forward to, to connect with people. So you can always check my website, which is www. akgdesignstudio. But the best way is to email me. Which is Anna, it’s very simple, Anna at akgdesignstudio. com. So email, cause I never know where I am, I might be recording something, I might be on the road, I might be in Caibas, China, I don’t know, somewhere.

So, but I always have access to my email, so, and I, I do make effort to. Respond to all emails. Absolutely. And thanks so much folks.

Dennis Oz:

That was another episode of remodel of success podcast. And thank you so much for joining us today. We’re going to see, thank you. We’re going to see you next time. Thank you so much for joining us.

Goodbye.

Anna Gibson:

Thank you. Bye.