Robert Westley Designs is a fun and innovative small family business run out of the SOCO (South Coast Collection) shopping center in Costa Mesa, Orange County California.  Robert Westley’s business is a great fit for this new progressive development for trendsetting specialty resellers.

Orange County Legal Services Referral – Starting Up

Andrew (Andy) Gale of Incorporation Attorneys was introduced to Robert by his accountant and helped him set up his business, taking him through the steps and introductions necessary to create a robust business.  Since then, Andy has had the pleasure of watching Robert create success with a furniture business during the economic downturn, using creative genius to navigate numinous challenges.

Small Business Challenges Faced by Robert Westley

Robert Westley has been running for a long time, and through its existence, it has faced many challenges. One challenge that this family business faced is the constant rise and fall of the economy in the past few years. In 2007, the furniture design trade went through a rough stretch. There was a freeze in capital spending towards home improvement in all of America. At that time, even rich people stopped hiring interior designers. Interior designers in America went from designing huge homes to designing rooms in homes, to designing items within the rooms of homes.

Good Marketing Strategies for Small Furniture Business

The management of this small business is really good. There are many effective marketing strategies done to keep the business going. One of the ways they effectively market their products is by giving incentives to designers who use their line of products and additional discounts.

Another good marketing strategy is wisely selecting the location of their furniture store. They chose to have the store right on SOCO shopping center in Costa Mesa, Orange County, California. This is a great strip because many people consider it a lifestyle center.

The area is lined with fabulous coffee bars, classy wine bars, beautiful tea bars, delicious pastries etc. Because of the assorted choices in this strip, people crowd this place all the time. SOCO is a good location because there are very few furniture stores left in San Diego County, so people find it more fun to come down there.

People who are looking for furniture shops would rather go to SOCO because it is more fun to go to a lifestyle center with various choices than just going to a home furniture center would be.

An Advantage of Starting Your Own Small Business

One of the advantages of starting your own small business is that you can design it your own way. Small business owners can run their business their own personal way.

In Robert Westley Design’s case, the business is run by the family, and the members help each other in various ways to make a successful furniture shop. For example, Robert, the father, designs furniture and manages the shop while Westley, the son, handles the marketing online.

The business partners, therefore, are the family members themselves. Moreover, this successful small business can be passed down from one generation to another.

Continue reading – Part two of this client feature with Robert Westley Design.