Kathy Raph (Gotcha Covered Window Treatments)

Kathy Raph is a franchisee owner of Gotcha Covered, a Twin Cities company that offers custom window treatments to homeowners.

Born in Coon Rapids, Raph grew up in a bustling household with eight other siblings.

To escape the frenetic pace of life at home, each summer her parents took her and her siblings to a rustic cabin just outside Crosslake to swim, eat ice cream, and bond as a family.

“That was fabulous,” Raph remarks of those gatherings, which still occur every year once the blistering Minnesota cold has subsided.

From the seventh grade until she graduated high school, Raph was a cheerleader.

“But it wasn’t like the cheerleading that you see now. We weren’t that athletic,” she jokes.  

“It was more about getting the crowds to cheer with you.”

After high school, Raph went to work at U.S. Bank as a teller, and over the course of the next thirty years she gradually ascended the corporate ranks.

“Career wise, I was gung-ho about climbing the corporate ladder,” says Raph, who during her tenure at U.S. Bank got married, had two daughters, and earned a college degree.

“Everything that happened in my life happened while I worked at U.S. Bank. I thought I was going to retire there, but when the corporation underwent some structural changes, I was part of a group of people that were laid off, and that’s when I decided to reinvent myself.”

Raph’s unforeseen departure from the banking conglomerate occurred in 2018, and with three decades of banking experience, combined with degrees in Financial Economics and Management Information Systems, Raph figured she would soon land a position with another reputable company in the Twin Cities.

“In theory, my degrees could translate to a lot of industries,” Raph notes.

While searching for her next professional opportunity, she had the chance to attend seminars that discussed various career options, and so, on a frigid and snowy day, she braved the elements and drove to one of those seminars, only to find that she, and the instructor, were the only people in attendance.

That specific seminar was slated to revolve around becoming a franchisee of a proven business, something Raph never before envisioned because of her lengthy career in Corporate America.

“But the instructor that day showed me an alternative path. He ran me through personality assessments, and we did a deep dive into what makes me happy and how I can be happy in a career,” she explains, and with her permission, Raph was presented with three different franchising opportunities, one of which was with a window treatment company called Gotcha Covered, which specialized in blinds, shades, shutters, drapery, top treatments, motorization, and commercial solutions.

Captivated by the prospect of being her own boss, Raph agreed to become a franchisee of Gotcha Covered.

Right away, Raph was given tips from the company for how to generate business, which included attending local networking groups to talk about how she could help homeowners looking for window treatment options.

Gotcha Covered also helped establish an online presence for her on Google, and soon, her phone rang, and suddenly she had her first appointment.

“Before that meeting, I was so terrified,” Raph admits, but her first lead ended up becoming a recurring client.

“After that I grew a lot through referrals, and more people finding me on Google.”

Over time, Raph began to master the nuances of window treatment options, to the point that she developed strong relationships with vendors she trusted to deliver exceptional products to her client base. 

“I now have preferred suppliers because I am confident in their quality and service, plus their ability to fit the various price points of my clients,” Raph says, which enables her to focus her efforts on what she’s excellent at:

Communicating quickly and effectively with her clients.

For context, before Raph ever visits a client’s home, she sets up an initial phone call to determine how she can best assist homeowners.

“Before we ever meet in person, I try to get a good idea of the type of problem I can solve for my clients,” Raph says.

“I also have an online gallery sent to my clients so that they can mark their favorites, and then when we meet at their home, I can bring a variety of samples that I already know they will love.”

In-house consultations are complimentary and are scheduled at the client’s convenience. They can also be conducted after traditional business hours, if need be.

Typically, the appointment itself lasts anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending how the no-obligation, information-based meeting unfolds. 

“When I’m at a client’s home, the aim is to have an in-depth conversation about what they’re looking to accomplish, but I’m also taking measurements that will allow me to develop an estimate,” Raph clarifies.

Once she has the necessary information, Raph can then produce a quote in about one day.

“I work hard to turn the quote around in 24 hours because no one wants to sit around and wait two weeks for somebody to get back to them with a price,” Raph says.

As for how much money homeowners should expect to budget for working with Raph and Gotcha Covered, that depends on several factors like how many windows a client is looking to have done, as well as what products they select.

At the same time, Raph says whole home projects will range anywhere from 1.5-3% of the value of the home.

For example, on a home that would list for around $500,000, a client can reasonably assume that their project will run at least $7,500, with the potential to increase in price depending again on quantity of windows and quality of products.

Of course, if homeowners opt to only do a select number of windows, then the price will be lower.

For her part, Raph doesn’t try to convince homeowners what route they should take.

Instead, her goal is to be a trusted source of information and someone clients can rely on, an approach that to this point has served her well.

“People either like my personality or they don’t,” Raph says with a laugh.  

“Often when I get a job, it’s not because of price or the products I have. Yes, those things are important, but a lot of homeowners also want to be treated fairly and with respect, and so when I do that, and when the numbers make sense, that’s when homeowners tend to move forward with my services.”

At present, new homeowners represent a sizeable portion of her business.

“Especially new construction because there are no window coverings, and therefore they have a real need,” Raph says.

Customers who are in the midst of remodeling also will enlist Raph’s services because “almost always window treatments will come with that plan.”

Plus, she receives a significant amount of business from homeowners who are getting new windows and then decide that they also want to modernize their window treatments.

In each of the aforementioned instances, those clients had a clearly defined need for Raph and Gotcha Covered’s services, which is why a homeowner who is merely exploring the idea of custom window treatments or just wants to learn a little bit of information may not immediately benefit from working with Raph.

“I wish I had the time to help everyone who is even remotely interested in window treatments because I love providing value and information, but right now my business is more geared toward helping people who are ready to buy and want a professional service to guide them from start to finish,” Raph says.

Looking ahead, as Raph continues to establish herself in the custom window treatment industry, she will eventually look to hire someone so that she can devote her time and energy to working on the business as opposed to in the business.

“I want to be so busy that I won’t be able to do everything myself, and then eventually take a step back and spend more energy toward building the business,” Raph says.

“But I’m also not sure that I ever want to fully step away from what I’m currently doing, because when I see a client marvel at their new window treatments, that makes me feel fulfilled and proud of the work I do.” QS

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