Welcome To No Strings Attached

Intro / Outro 0:06

Welcome to No Strings Attached, untangling conversations about shady topics. Hosted by Roger Magalhães, this podcast pulls back the curtain on the window covering industry with expert insights and a splash of Brazilian flair. Whether you're an installer, designer, dealer, or just fed up with crooked blinds, get ready for real tips, industry know-how, and plenty of laughs. Now, let’s get untangled.

Roger Magalhaes 0:33

Hello, hello, and welcome to another show of No Strings Attached. My name is Roger Magalhães, and I am your host. If this is your first time here, welcome to the show. And if you’ve been here before, welcome back.

How I Enter The Shade Business

Roger Magalhaes 0:50

Today, I am going to share why I started writing blogs. But before that, I just want to remind you about BlindsOnline.com. They are our sponsor, and if you're looking for a curated, easy-to-use, affordable selection of window coverings, BlindsOnline.com is your best place to go. They have a good selection, no-nonsense options, just the basics, and you don’t need to worry about choosing between 50 shades of white. Just go there, check them out: BlindsOnline.com, our sponsor. So, on today’s show, I’m going to talk about why I started writing blogs. The whole thing started when I got into business back in 2006. I always wanted to have a business; I just didn’t know what kind. Then, for one reason or another, I came across an opportunity when my cousin shared with me what he was doing. He was installing window shades, and I thought it could be a good opportunity. Honestly, I didn’t even know that was a business or an industry. But I said, “You know what? I’m a truck driver, I like to work with my hands, and I can do this on the side.” And that’s how I started. After a while, I realized I could actually make a business out of it, so I started taking it more seriously. But one of my problems was always the business side of things. So I decided to take a QuickBooks class at a high school—one of those night classes. I went there just to learn a little about how to balance my books, how to understand invoices and estimates, and the basics of running a business. The guy teaching the class was an accountant, QuickBooks-certified, and he was also a member of a networking group called BNI.

Roger Magalhaes 3:35

BNI is a global organization specialized in networking events. Not exactly events, but more about creating groups where you meet every week with the same people, start developing relationships, and develop trust. That’s how you start building your network over time. I didn’t know anything about this. So this guy realized—I guess he realized—I had potential, but I was also green at the same time. So he said, “Roger, are you familiar with BNI?” And I said, “No, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” So he mentioned it to me. I checked them out and decided to join a chapter in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, back in 2007. Fast forward, BNI is not just a place that you go and network. You build trust, so it takes time. You go there, you have a commitment, and you go there every week. People share things. You learn from each other. It’s very structured. It’s very good for understanding how other businesses work, their struggles, their wins, what works for them, and what doesn’t work. And you become a better businessperson by doing that. Throughout my time there, one guy—we call it an education coordinator. His role is to educate. He has a five-minute session at every meeting to educate the rest of the group on something. This time, he was talking about how personal marketing could work for small business people, which means you don't need to sound corporate. You can just be yourself. You can share a photo of a family vacation. You can share a struggle. These are different tactics that you can apply to your business because you're not surrounded by all these bylaws or worried about being sued by the public. You can be a little more forgiving, a little more intimate with your marketing strategies, and with your approach to clients.

Roger Magalhaes 6:20

That really resonated with me. And I said, “Okay, I understand that. I see the benefit of being a little more personal.” And this guy, at the same time, suggested I check out someone called Michael Katz. He was a marketing guy specialized in solo companies and solo professionals, and his approach was exactly that: tell things that give you an advantage over big companies. I started to follow this guy, and I started getting his newsletters, and I really liked it. I really felt, “Okay, I belong here. I can do things like that. I see the benefit of it.” But I did not start writing newsletters right away. I just took my time. I was too busy chasing invoices, up on ladders, and doing all the small business owner things that we need to do every day. But eventually, I needed to do some marketing for my business, and for one reason or another, I started writing newsletters. I was collecting emails, and that's how I started.

Roger Magalhaes 7:45

Obviously, my English back then was terrible. I didn't know much about it, I didn't have the grammar, or anything more polished, so I hired someone to revise my pieces. And I still was brave enough to send them out. The idea was good; the English was not. So I had some help to make it more palatable, and I started sending them out. I would mix real stories with a little humor, sometimes things that didn't go well. I was brave enough to show my true colors, not just the perfect, polished jobs that happened, but also the struggles, the things that went sideways, the mistakes. And people really related. I started getting feedback. People started liking it, commenting, and even sharing their own things with me. And I thought, “Wow, people are really trusting me here.” It took time, but eventually I started liking writing more and more, to a point that somehow my name got passed along to some people in the industry, and I ended up being invited to start writing articles for magazines about installations, struggles, and things of that nature. Eventually, I started being known in the industry for my articles and such, and I never stopped writing newsletters for my clients. I even started a second business, Trading Up Consulting, and I started writing a newsletter, Trading Secrets, for them. The whole thing just became natural, to a point that people were kind of saying, “Roger, you really have a unique style. Why don't you write a book?”

Roger Magalhaes 10:00

And that idea started coming back more often, from different people, to the point that I said, “You know what? I kind of like that. I think I'm going to do something about it.” And then, last year, I realized that 2026 is the year that I'm completing 20 years in business with Shades In Place. It's a huge mark. It's a huge milestone for any small business. So, to celebrate that, I said, “Why don't I put together some newsletters?” Which, to me, is my major achievement in creating this little community with my clients. And something that really helped me become known throughout the industry was my writing. I said, “Why don't I put together some newsletters and create a book?” So, at the end of the year, these things started taking shape

Roger Magalhaes 11:15

and the project became 20 newsletters to represent 20 years in business. On top of that, I didn't want to just copy and paste. So I wrote the newsletter—actually, the newsletters were already written—so I put them together and added comments to each newsletter, feedback from clients, and some personal thoughts and experiences, something to relate to each one. And honestly, that became really good. With my early readers community, I have a few people there giving me feedback and all, and I’ve had an extremely positive response, which made me very, very proud. So, with that, I decided to create another website called RogerMagalhaes.com, where I combined all my businesses under that website. And the reason for that was just to stop confusion, because some people know me from Shades In Place, some people know me from the podcast, some people know me from Trading Up Consulting, and I said, “Why don't I put all of these together under the same roof

Roger Magalhaes 12:55

so people understand exactly my roles and what I do in each business?” So I put that together. You can check it out. I actually have links here in the show notes, so please check it out. And with that, obviously, I had to have a blog. I had to have a newsletter about that new idea as well. So I created Stories in Motion, which is basically not exactly window-treatment-related directly, but it is part of the window treatment industry. It is window treatment in a way, because I’ve only been here because of the industry that helped me grow and helped me get to where I am today. So RogerMagalhaes.com is kind of a hub website where I have all my other business insight there, a little story about how I got there. I also have a blog and, from that, I’m building a page for my book. The book is hopefully going to come out around June or July, when I truly celebrate 20 years. June 23rd is, actually, the anniversary date.

Stories In Motion And Deeper Writing

Roger Magalhaes 14:29

And the book is called Nobody Told Me That. And the reason for that title is exactly that. These were things that I learned as I went. Nothing planned, nothing you learn in school and then apply. It is really the school of hard knocks in the purest way possible. So that’s the reason I’m writing Stories in Motion: a little more personal, with deeper thoughts about life. I’m 52 years old now, so that’s five decades of experience, five decades of blood, sweat, and tears. Everyone who reads the blogs really likes them. At least that’s what they tell me, so I’ve got to believe it. It’s something sincere. It’s something from my heart that I really want to share. So today’s podcast is about that: how I started from a different angle than most marketers who pay to advertise—postcards

Roger Magalhaes 15:55

magazines, whatever. To me, it was just being sincere. It was just being honest. It was just being myself, sharing my stories. Obviously, it gets uncomfortable sometimes. I also had my wife kind of in the background, like in the back room, just watching and saying, “Oh, okay, don’t say it too much this way. Be a little more polished here.” She was kind of the guidance I needed to have the right tone, but definitely something that gave me an edge. So, sharing that with you today, please check the links in the comments, in the show notes. Check the website. Also, if you are interested in my book, there’s a link where you

Roger Magalhaes 16:55

can sign up and get a sample chapter in your inbox so you can check it out. You’ll also see how I structured each newsletter, with comments, with lessons, and with questions. They are called Food for Thought, so you can see what I bring to the table that way. If you have any comments, any suggestions, or even want to share what your best marketing tactic is for your business and how you got to where you are today, I’d love to hear it. Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you next time. Take care.

Intro / Outro 17:37

That’s a wrap for this episode of No Strings Attached: untangling conversations about shady topics. If you've enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this podcast with fellow industry pros and window treatment enthusiasts. For more expert insights, follow Roger on social media and visit Shades In Place at www.shadesinplace.com. Thanks for listening. Until next time, keep your shades stylish and your conversations shady.