{"id":168237,"date":"2026-04-09T13:26:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:26:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kbbonline.com\/?p=168237"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:29:17","slug":"kbb-2026-person-of-the-year-sharon-sherman-shares-tips-from-a-pro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kbbonline.com\/business-people-news\/kbb-2026-person-of-the-year-sharon-sherman-shares-tips-from-a-pro\/168237\/","title":{"rendered":"KBB 2026 Person of the Year Sharon Sherman Shares Tips From a Pro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Know your superpowers and never stop learning. That was the theme of a discussion between Chelsie Butler, executive editor of KBB magazine, and Sharon L. Sherman, CKD, CID, NCIDQ, founder of Thyme & Place Design in Wyckoff, NJ. Butler interviewed Sherman, KBB\u2019s 2025 Person of the Year<\/strong><\/a>, on the NEXT Stage at KBIS 2026 in February.<\/p>\n

Sherman, who has been in the industry for 43 years and in her own business for 24, shared advice from her \u201cTips from the Trade\u201d blog on her Thyme & Place website. Her overarching message was to continue learning about all facets of the industry and to capitalize on available resources to grow volume and profitability in a proprietary business.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to provide info that\u2019s good for manufacturers and designers,\u201d said Sherman, \u201cand to provide a full-bodied read that\u2019s fun \u2014 and you learn something from it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butler asked Sherman to share key strategies that will help designers improve their processes.<\/p>\n

Value Your Work<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sherman said one of the key things designers must recognize is their value to the remodeling process. She always charges a consultation fee but donates 40 to 50% of it to a local social services organization in Ridgewood, NJ.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings that have no value are given no value; think about what \u2018free design\u2019 means,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a business, and if someone is not willing to invest in me, I\u2019m not benefiting. So, I started collecting a consultation fee, and if they don\u2019t use me, I donate it to the community. My clients and potential clients like knowing that up front. I believe that what you put out into the universe, you get back. It\u2019s a win-win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Use Available Resources & Learn from Other People\u2019s Mistakes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As part of her own journey, Sherman wrote three \u201cGuidebooks\u201d that share useful information, strategic advice and missteps to avoid.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou learn from your mistakes, but you also lose money,\u201d she acknowledged. \u201cI created a series of guidebooks to help people learn from my<\/em> mistakes. When I started, I had no idea about the business side of things \u2013 and no one helped me. So, I feel a responsibility to share my mistakes and what I learned from them, help others and to train the next generation and set them on a path for success. It\u2019s a \u2018pay-it-forward\u2019 approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

The guidebooks detail several key topics:<\/p>\n