GREAT 3 IDEA: Don't Be Afraid to Reinvent Your Business

In the late 1990s, anyone wanting Sandra Nunnerley's elegant, custom-designed furniture had to have deep pockets as well as good taste. Long accustomed to serving the upscale market, with a single chair tagged at $10,000, Nunnerley said she was pushed into the retail market by copycats. “I started to notice that copies of my custom designs were appearing in retail outlets,” said Nunnerley.

Fueled by the middle-class housing boom, Nunnerley teamed up with furniture giant Lane Upholstery to design a line of elegant sofas, beds, chairs, and tables.

Her furniture and interior designs, the subject of an upcoming book and featured in Architectural Digest, appealed to Lane Upholstery president Arthur Thompson.

“Sandra is a designer of remarkable talents, one who has consistently responded to a discerning international clientele,” Thompson remarked when the line was launched. “Her simple, sophisticated designs fill a void in the marketplace for furniture that meets the demands of modern living without sacrificing elegance, style, and tradition.”

Although her line for Lane was lucrative, Nunnerley said in 2005, her research showed that the U.S. housing boom was about to become a housing bust. “I did very well with Lane, but I could see the market changing, and by the end of 2005, I said this cannot last … this thing is a bubble.”

“I saw the train coming and knew we had to rethink the company,” said Nunnerley. “We were really making a profit on our high-end residential work, so I decided not to continue with designing products.”

Colleagues who kept serving the mass market furniture, including Michael Smith, the Obama's interior designer, “got into a lot of trouble.”

Since moving back to serve the highest end of the market, Nunnerley said the company has “never been so busy.” The Manhattan-based firm has grown from 6 to 10 employees.

“At the level I work now, it's only for the very rich,” she said. “That's the reality of it. We've become a boutique high-end residential firm, doing everything from interior architecture to design.”

Her clients own multiple homes, boats, and airplanes. To keep them happy, she often commissions other designers to create one-of-a-kind pieces.

“We survived and have never been busier,” she said. “Unfortunately, the architects are walking the streets. We advertised for an architect and received 700 resumes.”

Nunnerley urges other business owners to “move with the times.” She said, “You have to constantly rebrand, especially in this global market. It's a whole new world.”

Looking back, she knows she did the right thing by moving away from manufacturing. “If I continued, I would have been out of business.”

While Nunnerley saved her business by returning to the highest end of the market, long-time restaurant owners, the Ghios, continue to update the menu and operations at Anthony's Seafood Grotto in San Diego. The restaurant won the local best seafood restaurant award 14 years in a row.

Years ago, when they dropped the zabaglione cake from the menu, Rick Ghio told me he feared his dear, departed grandmother, Catherine, would send a lightning bolt down from heaven in protest. “We did it because we were throwing away more cake than we were selling,” recalled Ghio, referring to the traditional sponge cake served with a rum custard sauce.

Dessert sales perked up when Anthony's started serving tiramisu and fresh fruit tarts. After 50 years in business, Anthony's dropped rosé from the wine list, switching to white Zinfandel. The Ghios continue to make changes every year. But why would a business founded in 1946 make changes?

“We were losing our market share,” he said. “Our reputation was still strong, but people were not dining at Anthony's as frequently as they did in the past.”

Families still booked tables for major celebrations and holidays, but the younger families and couples did not consider Anthony's a hip place to eat.

“Competition is fierce, relentless, and unforgiving,” said Rick's brother, Craig, now responsible for business development. “Diners have more choices than ever, and tradition is no longer enough to keep them coming back.”

The Ghios admit that making changes to an iconic eatery is a “scary process,” especially since “there's a huge risk in saying goodbye to some of the things we had been doing, but we have been truly blessed by the response.”