Grit Blueprint
Book a Strategy Call
Speaking · IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference

IHI 2026: Speaking and Training for Independent Retailers

IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference

At the 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference, Stefanie Couch delivered two sessions on retailer storytelling and executive visibility. Grit Blueprint helped shape the topics with the organizers and supplied presentation resources attendees could use after the event.

Stefanie Couch, in a pink hat and floral dress, gestures toward a slide beside the IHI podium during The Media Playbook

Presenting The Media Playbook at IHI 2026.

Organization
IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference
Format
Two 30‑minute sessions
When
IHI 2026, July 29–30, 2026
Where
JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, Orlando, FL
The EventThe TalkResourcesPhotosFrom The RoomFAQ

The Media Playbook focused on turning a store’s everyday expertise into useful content. Unmistakable explored how owners and leaders make their experience and reputation visible to customers, employees, and industry partners.

Both addressed a practical question: how can an independent business help more people understand what makes it worth choosing?

About the Independent Home Improvement Conference

IHI 2026 took place July 29–30 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes. Hosted by the North American Hardware and Paint Association and The Hardware Conference, the event brought independent home‑improvement retailers together with vendors and industry peers for education and networking.

The program covered leadership, employee engagement, retail operations, technology, marketing, merchandising, and advertising. Grit Blueprint’s sessions connected those business concerns to the people and knowledge inside an independent store.

Developing Education Around the Audience

The work began before the conference. Stefanie collaborated with NHPA’s education team to develop topics suited to independent retailers and the event’s 30‑minute session format.

In planning conversations with Cody Goeppner, she explored how businesses could build recognition around their own people and expertise. Executive visibility connected to several audiences, including customers, prospective employees, and vendors. Retail storytelling offered ways to help the business stand out in a crowded market.

The result was two complementary topics with practical starting points. One focused on the stories a business could tell. The other focused on the leader’s role in building recognition and trust.

The Talk

Practical Starting Points for Retailer Storytelling and Executive Visibility

Sessions
The Media Playbook: How Independent Retailers Can Use Storytelling to Stand Out in a Crowded Market
Unmistakable: Executive Visibility in the Independent Home Improvement Channel
Audience
Independent home‑improvement retailers, vendors and industry peers
Topics
Retailer storytelling, Executive visibility, Customer trust, Recruiting, Vendor relationships
Our work
Developed topics with NHPA’s education team, delivered two sessions and supplied the final presentation decks
Attendees seated in a breakout room watch Stefanie Couch present beside a screen reading “Somebody in your market is on their couch tonight.”
Stefanie Couch presents to independent retailers during a session at the IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference.
Session

The Media Playbook

The Media Playbook: How Independent Retailers Can Use Storytelling to Stand Out in a Crowded Market approached content through the reality of running a store.

An experienced counter employee, a product demonstration, a common customer question, or a familiar team personality could become the starting point for a useful story.

Stefanie’s presentation gave retailers a manageable approach:

  • Identify people whose knowledge or personality would help customers
  • Choose a recurring subject or segment
  • Give it a recognizable name
  • Set a regular publishing day
  • Use a format that fits the team’s time and strengths

That format might be a short video, a YouTube explanation, an email, or a podcast. The purpose was to make knowledge the team already shares available beyond one in‑store conversation.

For retailers balancing customers, staffing, inventory, and deliveries, the presentation showed how to begin with the people and work already inside the business.

Session

Unmistakable: Executive Visibility

Unmistakable: Executive Visibility in the Independent Home Improvement Channel focused on the owner or leader.

An opening exercise asked attendees to examine what someone could find about them online. A leader might be well known to existing customers and vendors while leaving little context for someone encountering the business for the first time.

The session connected public presence with customer trust, recruiting, vendor relationships, and the future of the business. It encouraged leaders to review their profiles, their store’s information, and the material people can discover through search.

How the Two Sessions Fit Together

The Media Playbook helped retailers identify stories their teams could tell. Unmistakable asked leaders to consider how their own experience and reputation appeared alongside the company.

Practical Education for Independent Retailers

Grit Blueprint developed and delivered practical education on retailer storytelling and executive visibility, supported by presentation materials attendees could revisit.

The work combined audience planning, session development, live speaking, and post‑event resources. It gave retailers starting points for sharing their team’s knowledge and helping more people understand the business and its leaders.

Learn more about Grit Blueprint’s speaking and industry education.

Session Resources

Resources Attendees Could Revisit

After the conference, Stefanie supplied the final presentations to the organizers. Both decks were included in the event’s shared presentation library. Attendees could return to the exercises, share the material with colleagues, and discuss how to apply the ideas in their own stores.

Photos

In The Room.

Stefanie Couch beside the IHI podium, with the Unmistakable title slide on the screen behind her
Stefanie Couch, in a pink hat and yellow top, smiles while talking with attendees at a crowded IHI conference gathering.
Attendees seated in a breakout room watch Stefanie Couch present beside a screen reading “Somebody in your market is on their couch tonight.”
Stefanie Couch presenting to attendees in an IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference breakout session.
Three women pose on a red carpet before a Beacon Awards, Top Guns and Young Retailer of the Year backdrop.
Three attendees at the awards backdrop during IHI 2026.
A smiling woman in a pink captain’s hat and blue patterned dress poses outdoors among palms beside the IHI logo.
An outdoor portrait at IHI 2026 in Orlando.
Six attendees pose together in a bright conference hall, two wearing matching Big Sexy Fan Club shirts.
Attendees pose together in a conference hall at IHI 2026.
From The Room

Conversations Beyond the Sessions

The conference also created room for individual conversations. In a public post after IHI 2026, Aubuchon Hardware’s Jared Brown described a discussion with Stefanie about strengths and leadership that stayed with him after the event.

That conversation extended the leadership themes beyond the session room and into the experience of an individual industry professional.

“I had a conversation with Stefanie Couch that I haven't stopped thinking about.”
Jared BrownDirector of Inventory Control, Aubuchon Hardware
Jared Brown
Aubuchon Hardware
Last week at #NHPA 's #IHI conference, I had a conversation with Stefanie Couch that I haven't stopped thinking about.

In the course of the dialogue we were talking about skills and personalities, strengths and weaknesses, and one things led to another and we pulled up my CliftonStrengths from 2009 and compared them to my results from 2023.

In 2009, my #1 was Command. Decisive, take-charge, sure of myself. By 2023, Command had slipped to #7, and Deliberative had fallen from #3 all the way to #31. What climbed to the top instead were Input, Learner, and Intellection. Curiosity. The pull to gather and understand before I act.

Then Stephanie asked me a question I still can't answer cleanly: "Which one do you think is the real you?"

The research says these results aren't supposed to move much. Gallup's own data shows them holding steady over a decade. Mine didn't stay put.
And honestly? I don't know which version is the real me. I think it lives somewhere in the middle.

But here is what I keep coming back to. So many of us pour our energy into wishing our weaknesses weren't there. I could spend years mourning the Command I used to lead with. Or I can pay attention to what actually lights me up now, and make it GREAT.

Thanks for the question, Stefanie Couch

#NHPA #IHI
View the post on LinkedIn by Jared Brown (opens in a new tab) ↗
FAQ

Stefanie Couch At IHI 2026 (Independent Home Improvement Conference), Answered.

What did Stefanie Couch speak about at IHI 2026 (Independent Home Improvement Conference)?
At IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference, Stefanie Couch delivered two sessions on retailer storytelling and executive visibility. The Media Playbook focused on turning a store’s everyday expertise into useful content. Unmistakable explored how owners and leaders make their experience and reputation visible to customers, employees, and industry partners.
When and where was the session?
IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference took place July 29–30 at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida. The North American Hardware and Paint Association and The Hardware Conference hosted IHI 2026 (Independent Home Improvement Conference).
Who was the session for?
Stefanie Couch’s sessions at IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference were developed for independent home‑improvement retailers, including store owners and leaders. The event brought independent home‑improvement retailers together with vendors and industry peers for education and networking.
What format was the session?
Stefanie Couch worked with the North American Hardware and Paint Association’s education team to develop two topics suited to independent retailers and the 30‑minute session format at IHI 2026 Independent Home Improvement Conference. After the conference, both final presentations were included in the event’s shared presentation library so attendees could revisit the exercises.
What does Stefanie Couch speak about?
Stefanie Couch speaks about storytelling, visibility and leadership for businesses in the building industry, including independent home‑improvement retailers. At IHI 2026 (Independent Home Improvement Conference), Stefanie Couch delivered two sessions: The Media Playbook, on retailer storytelling, and Unmistakable, on executive visibility.
How can I book Stefanie Couch to speak?
Grit Blueprint’s speaking page covers Stefanie Couch’s speaking and industry education. Learn more about Grit Blueprint’s speaking and industry education.
Bring This To Your Event

Practical Ideas Your
Audience Can Use On Monday.

Keynotes, educational sessions and workshops for building industry associations, events and teams: AI, personal branding, marketing and leadership.