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Lighting with Lisa: The Lighting Podcast
Join us at Lighting with Lisa: The Lighting Podcast! This is the original podcast for the lighting industry (formerly known as Light Files) welcoming all lighting nerds working at lighting showrooms, as sales agents, for manufacturers to join the conversation! Independent lighting showroom owner and industry advocate Lisa Bartlett hosts a regular discussion of the latest industry news, information, challenges, and trends, always with an eye to the continued success of lighting showroom and the residential lighting industry as a whole.
Episodes
119 episodes
2023 Recap & Looking to 2024 in Lighting
Navigating the shifting tides of the lighting industry is no small feat, and as I peer into the rearview mirror of the past year, I'm struck by our collective resilience. Even as we missed the zenith of success from previous years, there's a sp...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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41:36
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Implementation Update & Service Add-ons for Showrooms
If you noticed there was no LWL episode last week, it is because I was mid-implementation of NetSuite with not an ounce of energy to spare. Listen now for an update on our process PLUS a great listener tip that I elaborate on to drive add-on se...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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34:52
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Social Media : The Hard Truth
Are you weary of cookie-cutter content and impersonal posts that are plaguing your social media experience? Do you feel like the lighting industry is lagging behind in effectively harnessing social media's full potential? Yeah, I am too. So hea...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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36:39
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Holiday Gifting: Move From Autopilot to Thoughtful Choices
It's time once again to plan your holiday gifts for your best customers and staff too. This year, let's challenge the autopilot mode most of us fall into during the holiday season, and let's question if our annual gifts to clients and employees...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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34:42
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Feeling Overwhelmed? Same.
Facing challenges in your business? A storm of one's own making or something external? Me too. I'm opening up in this episode about my recent work life (and complete lack of balance) in an effort to make us all feel a little less alone. Sharing...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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36:06
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Review and Refresh : Your Customer's Journey
When was the last time you were a customer in your own business? Not as an expert in what you do but as a true never-before-visited customer? This episode talks it through and highlights the importance of excellent service and how our imm...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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36:03
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Margins, Margins, Margins
Brace yourself, as we're about to set off on an electrifying journey, illuminating the intricacies of boosting margins in the lighting industry. We'll unearth how market changes disrupted traditional pricing structures, causing a 'margin squeez...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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37:46
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Maximizing Efficacy: Training Strategies for Lighting Sales Staff
Today's episode highlights the challenges and potential solutions for training sales staff in the toughest category we face : lighting & fan technical expertise. We explore the importance of effective training, discussing the balance ...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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33:11
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Transformative Power of Data in Lighting Showrooms
Are you poised to revolutionize your lighting showroom with the power of data and robust ERP systems? We'll delve into the data consistency, examining its need to keep up with the ever-evolving industry standards. Information overload or ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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30:01
Showroom Strategizing & Updates
Do you struggle with navigating Saturday staffing and hours for your lighting showroom? Dive into the evolution of my own lighting showroom and our journey with Saturday hours. We'll also delve into the challenges and rewards that come with man...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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28:00
Closing a Chapter, Beginning a New: Exciting Changes
As the Lighting Showroom Association chapter draws to a close, there is much to celebrate. We've had an enriching six-year journey, creating a legacy with our interactive 3D model and augmented reality program, which is set to expand even furth...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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19:50
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June Lightovation Recap : Selling to the Trade
A quick Lightovation recap + an extended discussion of the things I learned in the panel discussion for lighting showrooms on how to sell to the design trade. And I'm pleased to announce it was very informative and encouraging! Sea...
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Season 1
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Episode 107
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22:44
Margins, Sales & Other Concerns
There has been a lot of chatter in our podcast community this past week, focused a lot on sales channels, margins, and our dreaded "race to the bottom" in pricing policies. I've also been asked several times about the general state of sal...
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Season 1
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Episode 106
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29:18
A Peach and a Pit for the Lighting Industry
I wanted to take an episode to talk about a big positive and a ongoing negative in our lighting + fan industry. I won't spoil the peach/pit (or rose/thorn if you prefer) here, so take a listen, share with a colleague and let me know if yo...
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Season 1
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Episode 105
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25:21
Fear, Success, and Feeling Stuck
Being an entrepreneur isn't for the faint of heart, as y'all well know, and there are definite moments of stress, worry, and fear that can paralyze you and your business. What do you do when you feel your business is ready to add on a new reven...
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Season 1
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Episode 104
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23:33
Technology, Lamping, Trade Services & More
This episode is another "grab bag" of various topics -- from technology to improve shopping experiences, an ill conceived New York magazine article on LEDs, and a service that makes it easy for designers to have access to all kinds of brands --...
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Season 1
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Episode 103
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28:46
The Downside of Assumptions
We all make them and so often they seem innocuous. But assumptions are a silent killer to the forward momentum of any business or industry. Bits of information shared by even the most trusted colleagues are often lacking key details. But we oft...
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Season 1
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Episode 102
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31:12
Hiring for Your Lighting Showroom
Let's face it, finding great help for the sales positions at your lighting showroom is a tough task. In this episode, I talk through some of the challenges and tips for hiring a great staff member and how to get them on board and working succes...
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Season 1
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Episode 101
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23:45
Episode 100! Where to from here?
The Light Files has made it to episode 100! That's nearly two years of podcasting, and I can hardly believe it. This super-sized episode is a discussion of how we got here and where we are going now -- as a podcast, as the LSA, and the lighting...
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Season 1
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Episode 100
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36:49
Shifts in the Lighting Industry
A few news items have come out recently that indicate shifting trends in how the lighting industry might operate in the not too distant future. I recap these news items and discuss small ways that our industry has been shifting in the past few ...
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Season 1
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Episode 99
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28:17
Shopping Trends & Knowing Your Worth
The January 2023 issue of Furniture, Lighting & Decor is filled with so much great content, this episode is only the first in my discussion of what I found inside -- from ongoing reminders about the value lighting experts brin...
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Season 1
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Episode 98
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23:33
Lightovation Recap
January Lightovation was last week in Dallas and this episode is my recap of the week plus some other news, information, and highlights surrounding market, product intros, and our manufacturer partners.
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Season 1
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Episode 97
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23:46
Top Five
A new year means a recap episode of lessons learned in 2022! This is my top five lessons in the lighting + fan industry for 2022 -- what are yours? I conclude with my wish for 2023 for all of us.
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Season 1
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Episode 96
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26:28
Return Policy
What is your showroom's return policy? When is the last time you even looked at or revised it? After a recent question from a customer, I updated my own return policy and took the opportunity to also take a look at the policies of other showroo...
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Season 1
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Episode 95
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22:32
Improving One's Business, Day by Day
As the leader of a small business, if there is one thing I have learned know with certainty, it is that the "work" never stops. There are always new ideas and challenges to try to anticipate, and I firmly believe that if you stop thinking about...
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Season 1
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Episode 94
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22:35