Join Us for the Exciting Windows
2026 CEO Conference
October 27-29, 2026 | Kansas City, Missouri
Stop Guessing. Start Reviewing.
You know you should be doing a year-end review. Most owners never really do. One and a half days away from the phone, the job site, and the sales calls, to finally sit down with your numbers, benchmarked against real window treatment businesses, not a guess off the internet. Decades of real experience in the room, and a table full of owners living the same numbers you are. You do the work. You don’t have to do it alone.
Steve Bursten’s “Make a Friend” 7-Steps Selling System
Presented by LuAnn University
October 27th, 2026 · 11:00AM-4:00PM
The 2026 Exciting Windows CEO Conference
A Two-Day Conference in Kansas City, Missouri
October 28th – 29th, 2026
Kansas City, Missouri
Presenters
LuAnn Nigara — Co-Owner, Exciting Windows
Host of A Well-Designed Business and Window Treatments For Profit. LuAnn and Vin ran Window Works together for 40+
years before co-owning EW.
Vin Nigara — Co-Owner, Exciting Windows
The numbers guy. Vin built the Exciting Windows Perfect P&L benchmarks. He and LuAnn ran Window Works together for 40+ years before co-owning EW.
Jessica Harling — Co-Owner, Exciting Windows
4th generation window treatment pro, sales to operations, before co-owning EW and founding Behind the Design, a hiring and process development firm.
Built for Real Business Owners
EW members work together all year long, people who’d rather help than compete. Some days you’re a step behind, getting help. Other days, you’re the one giving it. At the CEO Conference, we do that in person: a real year-end review and a plan for the year ahead.
Once you’re there with the time and the right numbers in front of you, you’ve got two things no search engine or AI can give you: decades of combined, real experience in this exact business from LuAnn, Vin, and Jessica, and a room full of other owners living the same numbers, the same vendor issues, the same sales calls. Between the two, you start building your plan, built with guidance from people who’ve actually been where you are.
Already a member? This is what the year builds toward.
Not yet a member? If you miss this one, your next shot is twelve months out.
Steve Bursten’s “Make a Friend”
7-Steps Selling System
Presented by LuAnn University
October 27th, 2026 · 11:00AM-4:00PM
Box Lunch Included
Don’t miss the best training for window covering sales professionals!
The Most Respected Industry Selling System. Over 500 Graduates. Many Sell Over $1,000,000 a year.
- Know their budget before you ever show a sample.
- Present your value so clearly it sells itself.
- Ask the questions that set up every negotiation to win.
- Walk into every appointment ready to lead it.
- Grow your top-line sales, your average sale, and your close rate, all three.
Learn the Exciting Windows sales process to achieve higher sales and higher gross profits with instructor Jessica Harling.
I spend my time now as a leader working to develop and inspire our team members.
— RICK BAKER, CEO GALAXY DRAPERIES
“It’s simple, if you want to improve your business you need to surround yourself with people that challenge you. And you’ll find that in exciting windows”
— MARK PEREL, HOMESTEAD WINDOW TREATMENTS
CEO Conference Schedule
Tuesday, October 27
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM — Managing for Profit
90 minute Power Session with Vin Nigara. Members and not yet-members are welcome to attend. Free with coupon code: PROFITS ($195 value) – click here to register
11:00 AM – 4:00 PM — Steve Bursten’s “Make a Friend” 7-Step Selling System
The premier sales training system for window covering sales professionals with instructor, Jessica Harling
4:00 PM — NAC Meeting (EW National Advisory Council)
6:00 PM — Opening Reception – EW Members Only
Wednesday, October 28
8:00 AM — Registration Desk Opens
9:00 AM — Conference Begins – Welcome & Introductions
9:45 AM — Both Businesses Were Right (Opening Keynote)
Two window treatment businesses. Same start, same foundation and systems. One grew to five million. One grew to one million. Both owners knew their numbers. Both chose on purpose.
11:15 AM — The Perfect P&L: Financial Benchmark Review (Presentation)
See exactly where your business stands against real, model-specific benchmarks.
11:45 AM — The Chess Game of Money: Finding Your Highest-Leverage Move (Roundtables by Revenue)
Knowing your numbers isn’t the same as knowing what to do with them.
1:15 PM — Lunch
2:15 PM — Member Success Story
Wednesday, October 28 (Continued)
2:45 PM — Who Runs What? Current and Future Org Chart (Presentation)
Every seat in your business, mapped to a real name, right now, and where it needs to be in 12 months.
3:30 PM — Name Every Seat: Current and Future Org Chart (Workshop)
Build your own current and future org chart, guided, at your table.
4:30 PM — Member Success Story
5:00 PM — Day 1 Concludes
Thursday, October 29
9:00 AM — Welcome & NAC Report
9:20 AM — What They Actually Spent: Real Marketing Budgets, By Revenue (Presentation)
Real EW member marketing budgets, and what growth vs. maintain mode actually costs.
9:30 AM — Where the Money Actually Goes: Marketing Allocation, Current & Future (Workshop)
Build your own marketing budget, category by category, for the year ahead.
10:30 AM — Close the Gap: Sales Performance, By the Numbers (Workshop)
Review your real close rate, average sale, and what small improvements are actually worth.
11:15 AM — Your Number: Projecting 2027, Month by Month (Workshop)
Build your real revenue projection for next year, and your Profit Plan.
12:15 PM — Member Goals & Commitments
12:45 PM — Conference Concludes
IS THIS EVENT FOR YOU?
You should attend if…
- You don’t know what a healthy gross profit margin looks like for a window treatment business.
- You have told yourself “I’ll get to my numbers on Friday” more Fridays than you can count, and Friday never comes.
- Whether you’ve been in business one year or twenty, you’ve never had an actual plan, you just keep building the car while it’s doing sixty-five down the highway.
You should not attend if…
- You’ve been profitable enough, long enough, to stop asking why.
- You want someone else to build your strategy for you.
- You’re comfortable, and comfortable is working just fine for you.
What’s Included?
Full access to all sessions -
The complete Year-End CEO Workbook
Round table discussions by revenue-
Your 2027 Profit Plan, started here
Select meals included
Registration Is Open!
Steve Bursten’s “Make a Friend” 7-Steps Selling System
October 27th, 2026
11:00 AM – 4:00 PM | Box Lunch Included
Kansas City, Missouri
The Exciting Windows
CEO Conference
October 28th – 29th, 2026
Kansas City, Missouri
CEO Conference attendance is for Exciting Windows members only! Explore EW membership
Non-Members are welcome to register and attend the 7-steps class & Managing for Profits with Vin Nigara.
Click to Register for Managing for Profits
Sponsored by…
FAQs
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When is the conference?
October 27-29, 2025
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Will there be meals provided?
Cocktail Reception Tuesday Evening | Sponsored Lunch Wednesday
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Where is the Exciting Windows CEO Conference?
Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel Kansas City-International Airport 7640 Nw Tiffany Springs Pkwy Kansas City, MO, 64153 Click to Reserve Your Room
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I’m not an Exciting Windows member. Can I attend?
CEO Conference is reserved for EW members. Sessions cover real financials, margins, payroll, and compensation, openness that only works among committed members. Good news: membership has no waiting period. Join EW, and you're eligible to register right away! Explore EW membership.
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Can I bring someone from my company?
CEO Conference is for the business owner. Exceptions: a spouse or partner or a key employee you're grooming toward ownership. We talk real numbers here, margins, pay, compensation, so only bring someone you're fully comfortable learning these things.
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How should I prepare?
You'll receive the Year-End CEO Workbook in advance, with exactly what to gather before you arrive. Beyond that, come ready to work: bring a laptop with access to your data and financial records, so nothing's out of reach if you have a question.
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Does what I share stay in the room?
Yes. What's discussed at the CEO Conference stays with the members in it.
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How can I get more information?
Just ask! Email hello@excitingwindows.biz.
There are members in this group that can show me what’s possible. No need to reinvent the wheel.
— SUSAN DAY, OWNER EXCITING WINDOWS BY SUSAN DAY
Exciting Windows has the resources to train new decorators to make an impact from day one.
— MATT COBB, OWNER, SOUTHERN TRADITIONS
