“Perfect For Our Schedule!”

We are very blessed to have been part of the Made in the Shade family for the last ten years and look forward to many more years of working with you and growing our business. We had never worked in the window covering industry and knew nothing about owning our own business. After speaking with several other franchises, we realized that Matt would most likely be in the restaurant business for the rest of his working life and that we would need to accept that he would not be around at night or on the weekends. Then, we spoke to you about the opportunity to own a Made in the Shade franchise. We discussed it and realized that we were comfortable and ready to make a change!

We are so glad that you allowed us the opportunity to be a part of Made in the Shade. The buying power that we have is unbelievable for a “small business.” Since we work out of our home and a storage warehouse, we have no storefront overhead and can price our products competitively. I am very thankful that there are so many people always willing to answer questions and provide support. With your Made in the Shade business model, you have allowed us the opportunity to own our own business without starting from scratch. We do not have to spend time reinventing the wheel. Do you know how much time it saves not having to create marketing materials?

Making our own hours and setting our own schedule is the main reason that we were looking for a business model that fits our family. Having Matt around at night and on the weekend has made all the difference to me and to our teenage boys. Our business has increased year over year since we started, even through Covid! Matt was able to double his restaurant manager salary within the second fiscal year. We love what we do, and we love our clients! We have been able to recruit several friends and family to join Made in the Shade and Matt’s brother even moved across the country to come join us. We are very excited about the future! Thank you, Cathy, for all that you do to support your dealers.

Best,

Matt & Kelli Houston
Made in the Shade, Austin, TX