Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# 282: Do What You Say: The Refreshing Business Philosophy of Budget Blinds of the Tri-Cities

• Skip Mauney & Emmett Brost • Episode 282

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What makes Emmett Brost with Budget Blinds of The Tri-Cities a good neighbor?

Ever wondered what goes into creating those perfect window treatments that transform a house into a home? Skip Mauney sits down with Emmett Brost, owner of Budget Blinds of Tri-Cities, who reveals the fascinating journey that took him from theater school to restaurant management and finally to becoming the region's window covering expert.

With refreshing candor, Emmett dispels common misconceptions about his industry – starting with the company name itself. "Budget" doesn't mean cheap; rather, they offer "a style for every budget." He explains how window coverings have evolved much like appliances – the days of products lasting 30+ years are largely gone, making it crucial to select the right manufacturer based on your specific needs. With access to over 30 manufacturers and 28 different window treatment styles, Budget Blinds brings an entire showroom directly to customers through free in-home consultations.

What truly sets Emmett's business apart isn't just product selection but a commitment to reliability that's surprisingly rare in the home service industry. "We say we're going to do something, and then we do it," he emphasizes, contrasting with contractors who make vague promises or disappear entirely. This project management approach, combined with genuine customer focus, has allowed Budget Blinds of Tri-Cities to thrive for over 11 years, serving thousands of homes throughout the region. Whether you need a single specialized treatment for your front door or complete solutions for an entire home, Emmett's team tailors recommendations to your specific situation rather than pushing unnecessary products. Ready to transform your windows from afterthoughts into highlights? Connect with Budget Blinds of Tri-Cities today and experience the difference that true professionalism makes.

To learn more about Budget Blinds of The Tri-Cities go to:

https://www.budgetblinds.com/johnson-city-tn/

Budget Blinds of The Tri-Cities

(423) 759-3810





Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monty.

Speaker 2:

Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of the Tri-Cities. So I am very excited to have a person in our studio this morning, live, and very excited to have them and to learn all about what they do. And I'm sure you'll be just as excited because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, mr Emmett Brost, who is the owner-operator of Budget Blinds of the Tri-Cities. Emmett, welcome to the show. Yeah, thank you, skip, excited to be here. Well, we're glad to have you. Like I said, excited to learn all about what you do. So, if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about your business?

Speaker 3:

Well, so I'm a franchisee with Budget Blinds of Tri-Cities. We serve all the way from past Mountain City to Kingsport to down past Greenville city, to Kingsport to down past Greenville. Um, we are. We do in-home, free in-home consultations to help you pick out all of your window covering needs, as well as some outdoor living space needs. So, um, unlike most window covering dealers that have one or two manufacturers that they may work with, we actually, as such a big company, um, that we a part of a big brand of budget blinds. We have a vendor alliance of over 30 manufacturers with over 28 different styles. So we bring a showroom to you, we customize our, what we bring to you based off of the homework that we do to work with you as our clients.

Speaker 2:

Wow, 30 different manufacturers Incredible. Yeah, it's a lot. It is a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot to choose from. Wow, 30 different manufacturers Incredible yeah, it's a lot. It is a lot, a lot to choose from. Well, emma, how did you get into this business?

Speaker 3:

I got into it. I came out of restaurant actually, so I always wanted to own my own business. I've owned a little Caesar's pizza. I was getting out of working with my brother. We had, I had helped him run his gosh. It was at at one point is a 30 unit franchise. We'd created a burger restaurant this is all in Washington state and I just I'd, I'd burn out on restaurant. You know, if you can make it in restaurant, god bless you and your heart One hundred percent and your family. And so it just wasn't, wasn't for me. I can still barbecue and do hamburgers really well, I did it last night, so my degree actually is in theater.

Speaker 3:

And my brother, he asked me he's like what are you going to do then if you don't want to do this anymore? I was like I honestly have no idea. And so he suggested it to me because a couple of his business partners that owned Little Caesars one of them had gone into budget blinds and his he convinced his brother that this is the right way to go, is a good, a good job, uh, or good business to own. And so, uh, they both sold their three stores in iowa and one moved back to washington and he was my neighboring franchise and I talked to him about it and I was like wow, like this sounds actually like a great business. So, honestly, I never. I never thought like the kind of the joke is, you know, like I make women's houses pretty. I never thought that this was going to be the job that I was going to be doing, but it's been pretty great. I've met. I've met thousands of people over the last 11 years. I've probably been in almost 6,000 homes at this point, so yeah, 11 years.

Speaker 2:

you've been in business. 11 years, wow.

Speaker 3:

Well, that's incredible Nothing that says that at all. Obviously it's working for it. Yeah, it is it is Well.

Speaker 2:

what are some myths or misconceptions in the blinds industry? Can you think of it?

Speaker 3:

Well, the biggest, the biggest one, I'd say, is our name, um, and it's you know, unfortunately it was. It was picked by the five guys 30 years ago or so. Um is budget blinds, a lot of people the misconception is is the word budget means cheap, um, or really, really, really inexpensive? Uh, and so, really, we're a style for every budget, and window coverings tend to be more expensive, like custom window coverings, just like all custom stuff. It tends to be more expensive than what people are anticipating. So, but when you are buying something that's custom, it's going to be something that lasts you a long time if you're buying from the right manufacturers. And so we tailor our, I tailor my approach within my office to what, how long do you want it to last? Because we have different manufacturers that are going to last a different period of time and also, just like with appliances, it's a good one to base it off of. Is that you?

Speaker 3:

You've heard the saying things aren't made like they used to be, you know, and so, um, where you used to be able to get a set of blinds or something that's going to last you 30 years, that's really, unless you pick like one or two manufacturers, you're really not getting 30 years out of a product anymore, just like a refrigerator from the 80s still works, but a refrigerator from the 2010s doesn't in most cases. So I'd say that's a misconception. Misconception, um. And then also, it's not just, uh, like mini blinds, or wood blinds, or shutters, or faux wood blinds, which that's the correct way to say. It's not foxwood, it's bowwood and it's french. They kind of ruin the word for us. So, um, it's not. There isn't just that, there isn't just vertical blinds, like, there's literally over 28 different styles of window coverings. So it's. You'd be surprised with all the different options that are available, and so that's our job is to make sure that you're aware of them.

Speaker 2:

Very cool. Well, who are your target customers and how do you reach them?

Speaker 3:

You know that's the thing is that first time home buyers, all the way to people that have multi-unit properties, we are geared to do commercial we're geared to do. We have a style for every budget. So we have access to a product called Lutron Savoia that if, like you, have the house that you're working with architects and you're hardwiring everything and you're prepared to spend, you know, five to ten thousand dollars a window, we have access to that. Um, I haven't done that out here in east tennessee. Um, as you know, not everybody has is getting it done by their architects.

Speaker 3:

But then we also have, like your first time home buyer and, um, like you know, some houses we just do one window, like we've done. Houses where we've gone in just to do the one glass window on their front door. Wow, yeah, we'll, it's, it's not. We're not doing window coverings around like 30 to 50 dollars, like we're not. That you're not going to. That's where you just go to a local you know walmart or something and you buy some cheap vinyl mini blinds. The stuff that we're putting in is more. You're looking to actually have something that is really made for the windows and don't look like an afterthought gotcha, gotcha, and how do you reach folks that have that need?

Speaker 3:

um, mostly your podcast, no there you go.

Speaker 3:

Good answer yeah, right, right, um, so, uh, different avenues of marketing. It's nice to be a part of a national franchise because we have some advertising that goes through them. A lot of word of mouth, uh, if you go check us out on Google, um, my business, then, um, you'll see our different amount of like. We have a lot of reviews from our clientele, um, and they're they're newer, they're not ones that are old, like. We have reviews as of, I think, this week, um, yeah, of our work, and so you can find us online at budget blindscom, forward slash Johnson city, dash, tn, or just Google budget blinds and it'll come up into your area and you can put in your zip codes because we're franchised and we have exclusive territories.

Speaker 3:

I do have a neighboring franchise whose budget blinds are Rogersville. His name's David, really nice guy, so he would be able to take care of you. There's a budget blinds in Knoxville, there's a couple in Knoxville. Then the further West you go, there's a lot. There's a budget blinds in Asheville Really nice guy. So we all work together like business partners as well. So, but, yeah, a lot of word of mouth in our, in our reviews helps.

Speaker 2:

Of course, word of mouth is probably the best advertising you can get. No question, no question.

Speaker 3:

And we have route vehicles as well. So we're just a driving billboard. Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 2:

There you go Well outside of work. What do you like to do for fun?

Speaker 3:

I have four kids. So nothing no, I'm kidding, I have four kids and so really trying to spend time with them, like to go hiking. Last not this last weekend, but the weekend before that we went hiking down by Rhone Mountain and it was kind of cool because we were there's like a where we went, there's like a stream or river that goes by, and we all jumped into it. Kind of cold, but it felt really nice and my 10 year old like looked at, or my 11 year old looked at me. He's like hey, dad, would you baptize me? So it was really cool. So you know just little things like that. So, um, you know going to church, that kind of stuff. So, yeah, awesome.

Speaker 2:

Well, best answer of time with family, absolutely. Especially if you're a significant other watches the podcast. I'm kidding.

Speaker 3:

Yep.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely Well, if you could think of one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about budget blinds of the Tri-Cities, what would that?

Speaker 3:

be. People say it but they hope that people do this, especially in the in-home service industry is that we say that we're going to do something and then we do it, and then we say we're going to do something and then we do it, and we're consistent like that. I've been into too many people's homes where, you know, somebody came to give them a quote and they still haven't received their quote a week later and they're waiting to compare quotes. I've been there and a guy you know, a client, stopped our consultation because the electrician showed up and he was supposed to be there at 8 am and I was like geez, it's 1030. And he said no, two days ago.

Speaker 3:

So a lot of times the in-home market of people coming and doing service, they say that the general timeframe of when they're hoping to try to be there. But we, after 11 years, we really approach it as project, as project management, and so we give you like the fair timing of when we're going to get something done and we don't. We're not going to put you off, so we just do what we say we're going to do and and I'm not going to try to push you into something that doesn't make sense for you. I take the information that you give us and work with that to make recommendations that are best for you.

Speaker 2:

Very cool, Good thing to remember. You do what you say you're going to do and that's a novel concept. Novel concept, that's right. Well, and you mentioned your website, if you don't mind again, how can our listeners, if they're interested, need some blinds, want to get a quote? How can they learn more?

Speaker 3:

You can give us a call at 423-360-1600. Give us a call and we can get you set up. You can text us at that same number. You can go to our website, budgetblindscom, and then put in your zip code where it asks for. You can check us out on Facebook we're Budget Blinds of Tri-Cities and you can Google us and go to our Google page. Each of those ways you can connect with us. We're also on Instagram, so we're in a lot of different places and then just keep your eye out when you're in different neighborhoods you might see one of our stepstakes signs out with our phone number on there. You know, I jokingly say they're like our little political signs of the blind party. So it says Budget Blinds on it and our website and our phone number.

Speaker 2:

Awesome. I will keep my eye out for those blind political party signs. That's pretty cool. That's right, very cool. Well, emmett, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you spending time with us and our listeners today to tell us all about budget blinds, and we appreciate that and hope in the future. Wish you and your family, your four kids and budget blinds of the tri-cities all the best. Thank you you as well, skip. Appreciate it. All right, man, we'll talk soon. Maybe we can get you back sometime. All right, sounds good.

Speaker 1:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnptry-citiescom. That's gnptry-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.