679: John Robert Wiltgen:Hard Conversation, Marketing and Luxury Clients

Today with John Robert Wiltgen:   Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. My guest today is John Wiltgen. John has, for the most part, retired, from his 40+ year career as the principal of John Robert Wiltgen Design Inc., based in the Chicago area. John and I touch on many topics today, (I mean, after such a long and successful career, there s a lot of ground to cover!) We start by talking about how to manage client expectations when you are faced with delays, missed deadlines, disappointed clients, all the way to attracting luxury clients, servicing luxury clients as well as raising your prices when you have returning clients. John had a lot of wisdom to pass on to us and it is no wonder, so tune in for a jam-packed episode!   More About John Robert Wilgen: The integration of art, architecture and design is fundamental at John Robert Wiltgen Design, Inc. This inclusive approach applies to a residence being designed from the ground up, the ingenious restyling and updating of an existing home and the selection and installation of finishes and furnishings. In addition, JRWD creates the construction documents and wields impressive construction management skills, often acting as a general contractor. The result is always a distinct, luxurious residence expressing the owner's personal style. "Everyone says our work is dramatic," reveals John Robert Wiltgen. "No matter the scope of any given project, our ultimate goal is to create something extraordinary that's exclusive to our client." Obsessing over making their client’s worlds beautiful has taken them across North America and halfway around the world – from Chicago’s Gold Coast to Africa’s Ivory Coast. His firm’s name is synonymous with its reputation for excellence and superior quality in design, styling, and craftsmanship. Some of their client’s include talk show host, writer, producer, and actor Steve Harvey, producer, director and actor John Cusack, Chicago Bulls general manager and NBA Hall of Famer Jerry Krause, and former Governor and First Lady of Lagos State (Nigeria) Mr. and Mrs. Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu. Their clients also relied on the JRW team to assist them develop sophisticated art collections. They have placed an artist’s proof of Picasso’s “The Cranach”, a bigger than life size Botero sculpture, a complete suite of Warhol serigraphs, and two Monet paintings in their client’s homes – just to name a few choice pieces. John’s own private collection includes a Henry Moore drawing that, after his purchase, was featured in a 5-museum tour curated by the Henry Moore Foundation (Much Hadham, England). He is also a collector of ancient Egyptian faience, Attica and Roman ceramics. Discerning real estate developers across the country and in Canada often hired John Robert Wiltgen Design to evaluate and revise architectural layouts of new, not yet built, multi-unit housing projects to improve the utilization of interior space. His award-winning sales centers and model homes consistently generated increased revenues and have been featured in local real estate periodicals, as well as national shelter and design magazines, bringing valuable third-party endorsement to his commissions.   The completed projects of JRWD have been featured in over 200 newspaper and magazine articles including Newsweek – an unlikely place to find copy about a residential home designer. His commissions also appear in numerous hardcover books. He has been seen on HGTV’s Homes Across America, I Want That! Baths, I Want That Kitchens, NBC’s Open House, as well as Fox TV and WTTW. A comprehensive library of JRWD press and many of their completed projects, awards, etc. can be viewed at www/jrwdesign.com. Connect with John Robert Wiltgen: Website Instagram  Facebook  YouTube What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! 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Take a class, take some time for yourself, do what you need to do to get your business in shape for Fall. Decide to be excellent! Other shows mentioned: #642 Thom Sweeney #668 Marlo Thomas #74 Candace Olson #34 Mary Fisher #465 Jan Showers #40 Meryl Santopietro $485, #325, #237 Claire Jefford #297 Mikel Welch #549, #388 Corey Damen Jenkins