Shane Valdes started Affordable Blind Pros in 2010 from home after working for 20 years in the window covering industry. His wife Jeanene joined the business in 2013, the year the couple credits as their official launch. The Four Corners company specializes in window blinds, serving the region’s customers in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. Three employees, boosted by occasional interns and temporary staff, measure, order, customize, and build supports for interior window blinds sold to residential and commercial customers from the company’s showrooms in Durango, Colorado, and Farmington, New Mexico. The business also has an administrative office in Flora Vista, New Mexico.
The husband-wife team has a lot to juggle. Shane manages the shop and serves as estimator, designer, customizer, and installer, while overseeing field and shop staff. Jeanene handles inventory, vendors, order tracking, accounting, financial reporting, and online marketing.
Jeanene reached out to the business resource center at San Juan College, where she learned about New Mexico MEP. “I saw there were gaps in our processing, and I was looking for other resources and connections,” she said. The company was also about to embark on opening a new showroom and was transitioning the shop to a location away from the couple’s home.
New Mexico MEP Innovation Director Denise Williams stepped in to help. She led the founders, interns, and employees through two Visual Stream Assessments for manufacturing: one for workflow and the other for time management.
With the team’s input, Williams introduced shop layouts that maximized lean aspects of workflow and helped develop administrative procedures that encompass everything from estimation through invoicing.
As the company got closer to expanding, Williams accompanied Jeanene on walk-throughs of potential new locations, creating a comparison chart of conditions, lease terms, layout advantages, and related costs for each.
“Denise came and she looked at a building with me and brought to light some questions,” said Jeanine, who realized after discussions with Denise, “We really needed to be honest with ourselves.”
When a decision was made, Williams helped the couple create a plan to efficiently equip and move into the new space. Williams also worked with Jeanene to address her workflow and confront the many interruptions that lengthened the co-owner’s workday.
“Sometimes you’re looking at the bigger picture,” said Jeanene, “and there are things you may not see, especially when you’re trying to do things and doing it by yourself.”
While Jeanene doesn’t view Affordable Blind Pros as a manufacturing company, she admits that products often need to be modified to fit specific situations, which puts the company into the manufacturing realm. And understanding the processes and limitations of the manufacturers they work with has been helpful, she said. “We have to know their processes in order to know our product and be able to recommend a product in any space over time.”
In the two years since the founders began working with New Mexico MEP, Jeanine says they have gained 20 percent more time by becomming more efficient. “We have been able to approach more bid work because more things are in place,” she said. “It’s because we’re at a place where our processes are cleaner and it moves us forward to be competitive and confident in that bid work.”
Bid work includes commercial jobs for medical facilities, educational institutions, and office space.
Jeanene has also seen an increase in showroom foot traffic, and more importantly, a 20 percent increase in revenue.
“The big thing is, it’s enabled us to quickly identify when there’s a gap and address the situation.”
Learn more about Affordable Blind Pros.