A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today with Meredith Kallaher: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Once a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Meredith Kallaher took her love of numbers and fondness for small businesses and became a certified paid ad specialist. Learn the strategy Meredith uses for her clients to grow their social following and advertise on social despite increasingly restricted targeting options. Pick it apart: [8:35] Meredith recaps the iOS 14 update of April 2021 [13:25] Meredith explains a sample ad campaign creation [16:58] Meredith advises how to set up your social profile section [18:38] Meredith explains how to set up a social ad campaign [38:57] LuAnn shares a tactic for time blocking More About Meredith Kallaher: Meredith Kallaher helps entrepreneurs develop and implement marketing strategies that optimize for profit and meet their customers where they are with social media advertising (i.e. Facebook and Instagram ads) and conversion copy writing. Her 6 years of experience as a CPA with PricewaterhouseCoopers combined with her ownership of The Scout Guide Miami franchise where she developed an extensive advertising and social media marketing expertise has uniquely prepared Meredith to help businesses execute and implement successful social media advertising campaigns. Connect with Meredith Kallaher Website Instagram What’s new with LuAnn Nigara Exciting Windows! Build a Better Business Registration luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big Thank You to Today's Sponsor: Mydoma Studio: Mydoma is your complete designer toolkit. Mydoma makes it easy to streamline your processes, track projects, communicate with clients, and get organized. It’s created by designers for designers, specifically to address what you need as a business owner. I’ve said countless times that systems and processes are how you reach the next level of profitability. Mydoma Studio makes it easy to do that. You can get 20% off your first three months by going to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness.

Today with Chanae Richards Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. The journey to building a well-designed business isn’t always linear. Sometimes designers come from the most unlikely of careers. That’s something we have heard many times on the show. But today Chanae Richards shares the story of how she founded her firm Oloro Interiors. Not only did she come into the space as a second career, but she even built her interior design business in an unusual and unexpected way. She has made some very unique decisions along the way that have led to her success. Pick it apart: [22:24] Chanae shares her unconventional story, which started in finance and then included Peer Space rentals before design. [29:37] Chanae and LuAnn dive into how she secured 500 rental bookings in two years, laying the foundation for her design referral base. [36:50] Chanae discusses how seeing another successful Black designer fueled her decision to leave her career and start her business. [44:55] Chanae reflects on her decision to shift her business to 100% referral-based. [1:04:30] Chanae highlights her Entrepreneurial Retail Center—a way that she gives back to the community and helps those who live in public housing start their own entrepreneurial journeys. LuAnn and Chanae Richard’s Ah-Ha moments: “There’s the confidence, and there’s the know-how behind that confidence. It’s not just the showy ‘I know it all,’ but it’s why you know it and how you know it and having them believe that you understand the guts to it.” -Chanae Richards “What’s interesting about this is that when you think about if somebody hypothetically said, ‘I want to be an interior designer…I have my education and my internships and I have my chops and I’m ready to go, but I don’t have clients yet. Should I start focusing on a rental space while I try to build my design business?’ You could line up ten business coaches and more than 50% of them would say, ‘No, don’t divert your attention.’ But you did it because you didn’t ask anyone’s permission, and that’s sometimes the best thing in the world. And it worked for you.” -LuAnn Nigara “I’m able to do all that I do, simply because I have hired and cultivated great teams, both at the firm and the Center. I have a number of people who are simply brilliant and I mean that. I hire great people and empower them to do great teams both inside and outside the firm.” -Chanae Richards More about Chane Richards: Chanae Richards is the CEO & Principal Designer of ọlọrọ interiors, an interior design firm with offices in Philadelphia and New York. Her curated spaces and design expertise have been featured in ELLE Décor, Business of Home, Philadelphia Magazine, and Apartment Therapy as well as on national syndicates including MSNBC, National Geographic, Vice, CNN, and The Travel Channel. An inaugural Philadelphia Mural Arts Fellow, Chanae also serves as the Managing Director of Philadelphia Housing Authority’s Entrepreneurial Resource Center, a groundbreaking initiative providing residents with free business resources and support for community innovation. Chanae received her BA from Temple University and MA and MPA from Rutgers University. She is also an alumna of Bank of America Women’s Institute at Cornell University and a member of the Black Interior Designer’s Network. Connect with Chanae Richards: Website Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma Studio: Mydoma is your complete designer toolkit. Mydoma makes it easy to streamline your processes, track projects, communicate with clients, and get organized. It’s created by designers for designers, specifically to address what you need as a business owner. I’ve said countless times that systems and processes are how you reach the next level of profitability. Mydoma Studio makes it easy to do that. You can get 20% off your first three months by going to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness. Other Shows Mentioned: #06 Identifying Your Transferrable Skills with Erika Ward #711 Christine Platt: The Afrominimalist

Today with Renee Gurganus: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking to Renee Gurganus, Executive Director of the Window Coverings Association of America (WCAA). I’m so happy to finally have Renee on our show. The WCAA is an association that I have been a board member of for two and a half years and I am so proud of everything they have done for the window coverings industry to provide education, networking opportunities, collaboration and so much more! Please check out this episode to learn the value that the WCAA could bring to your life, even if you aren’t in the window industry. Pick it apart: [12:00] Renee tells us about WCAA’s WISP program and how it highlights the members and links them to other members. [13:00] Renee talks about partnering with LIG to offer members insurance options. [22:00] Renee tells us about all of the different chapters WCAA has throughout the U.S. and also virtually. [32:40] Renee informs us about the Jill Robson Scholarship offered through the WCAA. LuAnn and Renee Gurganus’ Ah-Ha moments: “One of the really important things that our association does is that it really listens to our members. We get requests and survey feedback and we look at it as a team and talk about how we can implement those requests.” - Renee Gurganus “I want to emphasize that WCAA is an association and has really great benefits, but the greatest benefit is that we care so much about each other. We are a community that really helps each other.” - Renee Gurganus “There is a different feeling at a WCAA meeting. It feels like you’re coming to be with your friends as opposed to a networking situation.” - LuAnn Nigara More About Renee Gurganus: Seasoned, dedicated, and multifaceted professional with 20 years of leadership experience in nonand for-profit organizations. I am currently the Executive Director of the Window Coverings Association of America (WCAA). Known for my talent in Strategic Planning and re-branding of nonprofit organizations. Armed with proven record of success in spearheading initiatives to drive resolutions of problems and improve productivity. Equipped with excellent decision-making capabilities, along with keen attention to detail and organizational skills to monitor and document pertinent information to create reports accurately. Recognized for strong verbal and written communication as well as interpersonal abilities in establishing rapport with clients and key stakeholders. Renee lives in Wilmington, NC with her husband Mark and their two German Shepards – Sig & Heidi. She enjoys reading and enjoying time on their boats almost year around. Connect with WCAA: Website Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today with Leia Ward Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. New York-based luxury stager, Leia Ward, took her dad’s suggestion to start a staging business and ran with it. She learned the business, wore every hat, and pushed out of her comfort zone to build an amazing business. Learn how she handles her finances, where she got her business knowledge, and what she tells herself every day. Pick it apart: [13:46] Leia tells about her first real staging gig a luxury property [19:16] Leia shares how she got images for her website [23:16] LuAnn recaps Leia’s smart business choices [26:17] Leia tells how she creates a strategic plan [30:06] Leia tells how she visualizes future memoring [41:00] Leia tells how she learned the money side of the business [49:39] Leia shares about the Profit First method she used LuAnn and Leia Ward’s Ah-Ha moments: There’s value in being strategic. Take time to think “how do I want to be received?” - and then you work backward from there.” - Leia Ward “The number one thing is, don’t worry about what anyone else is doing.” - Leia Ward “It’s the true desire connected to the gratitude and the action that makes it happen.” - LuAnn Nigara “If you’re going to dream, dream big.” - Leia Ward More about Leia Ward: LTW Design is an award-winning staging design firm specializing in exclusive luxury properties. Named one of the ‘Top 10 Luxury Stagers’ in the country, the firm’s expertise is limitless. With an expansive inventory of furniture, accessories and artwork, their strategic interior marketing approach helps to sell homes swiftly and at top market Value. Founder & Principal Leia T. Ward is a one-of-a kind uniquely qualified leader in the real estate staging industry. Professionally trained and using the most innovative marketing techniques, Leia & her team have staged the most exclusive homes in the Northeast ranging from $1M- $20M, including the residence of Bruce Willis + Emma Hemming. Known for her attention to detail and forever inspired by her world travels, Leia has remarkable talent for blending textures, natural light and clean lines in every project. The LTW brand has a signature style of casual sophistication, creating calm and beautifully balanced spaces. Clients today benefit from her exceptional communication, project management and problem solving skills mastered during her 10 years working in the television and magazine industries in New York City. She has developed a unique ability to understand her client’s needs — which has been a key part of LTW Design’s success. Her trademark aesthetic of clean lines, bold neutrals and layered textures has been featured in magazines and websites including House Beautiful, Town & Country, CTC&G, New England Living, PureWow, Serendipity, Access Hollywood and more. Connect with Leia Ward: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma Studio, a software that helps you get paid faster, save time on admin work and manage your projects more efficiently. Go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness to learn more. Other Shows Mentioned: #467 #76 #123 #396 #545

On Today’s Flashback Friday Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On today’s Flashback episode, we’re revisiting with Laurence Carr, a Manhattan-based designer who had two careers before settling on design. Learn why she formed an advisory council to coach her new business and why sticking to her core business strategy has led to her rapid success. Pick it apart: [6:52] Laurence speaks about how her advisory board works. [18:32] Laurence speaks about the sustainability mission for her business [21:37] Laurence tells about how her eBook magazine supports her email list [22:57] Laurence explains how her previous job influenced her own business [29:07] Laurence explains how she works with freelance designers [35:18] Laurence explains how she hires freelance designers [42:12] Laurence shares about her online affiliate brand marketing [55:22] Laurence talks about her quarterly strategy meetings LuAnn and Laurence Carr's Ah-Ha moments: “We talk about designing rooms, environments, space - but we have to know how to design a strategy as well.” - Laurence Carr “Design the career you want to have.” - LuAnn Nigara Connect with Laurence Carr Website Facebook Instagram Youtube What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet has been a pillar vendor since the beginning of Window Works. They are also an original show sponsor. I just want to say thank you to Kravet for believing in this design community and for helping the show become a reality. Explore the entire library of guaranteed in-stock fabrics at kravet.com. And get 10% off using coupon code AWDB10.

Today with Marianna Zimmerman Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Marianna Zimmerman, owner of The BEST is yet to come DESIGNS, LLC. "Your current situation doesn't have to be your final destination." This quote from Marianna gives you a little clue of what we’re discussing today. For years Marianna was working in administration at a hospital. She questioned if she was able to do what she REALLY wanted to do, own her own design business. With the support of her husband and her decision to believe in herself, she has successfully owned her firm for 12 years. If you have any doubt or fear or questions about your abilities, know that this episode will give you the kick in the pants you need. Pick it apart: [7:00] After 20-30 years, Marianna tells us how she got into design. [19:15] Marianna tells us about the makeup of The BEST is yet to come DESIGNS LLC. [21:25] Marianna explains her fee structure and advice on how to charge clients. [45:00] Advice on taking the leap to starting your business. LuAnn and Marianna Zimmerman’s Ah-Ha moments: “I didn’t want to feel like I was playing catchup, but I had to realize that it’s not about playing catch up or competing. It's more about sharing my gift and what I can offer to the world.” - Marianna Zimmerman “Not every project is photo worthy. The reason you do what you do is to make the client happy. In the end, a happy client is the goal, not the professional shot.” - Marianna Zimmerman “You have to be the one to do it. Whether you have the emotional, physical or financial support of someone or you're on your own with no support, ultimately you have to be the one to do it. You have to decide to be excellent and make the decision to execute.” - LuAnn Nigara More about Marianna Zimmerman: Marianna Zimmerman, Brooklyn NY Native lived many years in Boston Ma until eventually settling down 9 yrs ago in good ole Dallas Texas. After Graduating from QC Design school 2001, She became a Certified Interior Designer and then a ASP Home Stager in 2009. With over 20 years of experience and helping friends and family design their homes part time while always working 2 jobs as a single mom, She moved to Texas and her husband encouraged her to use her gift & venture into her own business. She launched The BEST is yet to come DESIGNS LLC in 2011. Marianna believes "great design is about creating a beautiful space that you feel comfortable coming home to." She is devoted to designing with luxury and style that is affordable. She has always believed in the motto "your current situation doesn't have to be your final destination"... The Best is yet to come! While specializing in Modern aesthetics, she has traveled all over helping clients with a variety of different styles and genres. She is a self proclaimed decor fanatic and always finds that "one unique piece" that she incorporates & leaves her stamp in the project. She believes being an East Coast girl, living in a Texas world is what separates her from other local Interior Designers- Her modern, edgy, "think outside the box" flare combined with her passionate work ethic & outgoing friendly personality makes it natural for her to work with each client's specific style and needs. Connect with Marianna Zimmerman: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma: Hit the reset button and shake up your mindset and processes to reach those big goals on your vision board. Register now for the Mydoma Studio’s 19H, a one-day seminar to set you on the path to the success you’re dreaming of. There has been no shortage of shakeups in the industry the last little while. From the need to do things more virtually, to the issues with supply chains – no matter how well you’ve weathered the storm, no doubt you’ve felt the effects somehow. Fresh, actionable advice. Bold ideas. Helpful tools and templates. In short, everything you need in one action packed day to have the best 2022 possible. To get your ticket head on over to mydomastudio.com/19hluann/ – and just for podcast listeners, the early bird pricing has been extended right up until the day of the event. Other Shows Mentioned: # 167 Kelsey Grose- Winner of Best New Design Blog at Design Bloggers Conference 2017 # 203 Darl

Today with Beth Bender: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Beth Bender, principal and co-founder of The Dove Agency where Beth has developed a team that expertly provides back-office operations for interior design professionals, from strategic planning and consulting to targeted marketing solutions. With 20 years of design experience, Beth decided she wanted to start something that would help those in the design industry with the back end of their businesses. Supporting both the financial and marketing aspects of the design business, Beth and I discuss The Dove Agency, how it works, benefits of working with the agency, and the fact that if you don’t run your operations smoothly, no matter how talented you are as a designer, it could mean the end of your business. More About Beth Bender: Principal and Co-Founder Beth Bender specializes in new client and strategic partner acquisitions for The Dove Agency. Beth has developed a team that expertly provides back-office operations for interior design professionals, from strategic planning and consulting to targeted marketing solutions. Additionally, Beth oversees human and organizational development services and she also manages strategic growth strategies at The Dove Agency. Beth earned her degree in human and organization development from Vanderbilt University, and she brings more than 20 years of design experience to her work, enabling her to advise and assist clients with uniquely informed perspectives as she helps them maximize their time, resources, and profitability. Combining their impeccable expertise, proficient knowledge, and well-versed viewpoints, Beth and her co-founder, Kenda, together developed services that streamline administrative processes, giving interior design professionals the time to do what they do best—design. These processes are the foundation and hallmark of The Dove Agency today. Beth works closely with the marketing team to strategically position each designer with the tools necessary for calculated growth, increased influence, and measurable success. Connect with Beth Bender: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet Inc. has been here since the very beginning, helping me help you is a pretty incredible thing. If you have not opened your trade account with Krravet, yet, please go to kravet.com. No minimums per order or per year. Go to kravet.com today and use the code awdb10 to get 10% off any one order of Kravet fabric, wallpaper or trim. Other Shows Mentioned #575 WTF Episodes: #653, #645 , #610 , #586 , #551 , #539 Sara Lynn Brennan: #607 , #524 , #514 , #463

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today is a follow-up to last week’s show where I suggested a framework for setting meaningful goals for your business. If you missed it, go ahead and listen to Episode 735 for all the background details of the DTBE goal-setting framework. In today's episode, I am going to share a story and a lesson based on the first step of the DTBE goal-setting framework— The D for Design. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: WWLD #735 What We Talked About: Self-Care with S.A.S.S. 5-Day Challenge! The Job You Were Born For by Eileen Hahn Today's Sponsor: Mydoma: Hit the reset button and shake up your mindset and processes to reach those big goals on your vision board. Register now for the Mydoma Studio's 19H, a one-day seminar to set you on the path to the success you're dreaming of. There has been no shortage of shakeups in the industry the last little while. From the need to do things more virtually, to the issues with supply chains - no matter how well you've weathered the storm, no doubt you've felt the effects somehow. Fresh, actionable advice. Bold ideas. Helpful tools and templates. In short, everything you need in one action packed day to have the best 2022 possible. To get your ticket head on over to mydomastudio.com/19hluann/ - and just for podcast listeners, the early bird pricing has been extended right up until the day of the event.

Today with Frank Eybsen: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today we speak with Frank Eybsen, founder of Buildlane. Buildlane’s mantra is to make custom easy for designers. We all know how daunting the custom process can be. Whether you are near or far, seasoned or new, Buildlane provides an experienced team and talented builders to carry out your specific custom furniture needs. Tune in to learn how to join the Buildlane platform and all of its wonderful benefits. Hint: Your Buildlane experience will leave you with an unexpected custom education. Pick it apart: easy for interior designers. [14:45] Frank explains all of the different opportunities to specify custom furniture through Buildlane. [29:28] Frank tells us the criteria for someone to be a part of Buildlane and also how a designer is given the opportunity to meet and get to know their builder. [35:45] Frank explains the benefits of their templates program and how to use it. [43:48] We learn the difference between 8 way hand tied versus springs. [47:33] LuAnn and Frank discuss how Buildlane has come at the right time, in terms of being eco friendly they can make it happen, especially with the help of Carla Pile. [54:53] Frank tells us how designers can get signed up for a trade account with Buildlane. LuAnn and Frank Eybsen's Ah-Ha moments: “Working with Buildlane you will have an extension of your own design team that is entirely in charge of managing your production.” - Frank Eybsen “From designers who are really green to experienced designers from big firms, everybody comes in with some knowledge gaps. The amazing thing that's happened with Buildland is that we’re educating people throughout the process. They learn that the mistakes that could have happened, didn't happen.” - Frank Eybsen “I love the transparency of being able to see the piece of furniture all through the process.” - LuAnn Nigara “With the sit test for those who can’t test the quality of the furniture before they order, we like to say to designers to have your client sit in something and tell us what it is that they loved, and we’ll be able to reproduce that. We know what everybody is building with and what materials they are using.” - Frank Eybsen “Truly I think the biggest thing with pricing has to do with the workforce behind the work. You can tell when you look at the details in the craftsmanship.” - Frank Eybsen Connect with Frank Eybsen Website Instagram More About Frank Eybsen: Frank Eybsen is an entrepreneur in the home industry from Los Angeles, California. While originally a fixture in the LA Tech Startup, his love for building things and manufacturing led him to the heart of furniture production in California - South Los Angeles. It was here that he received a hands-on education in upholstery and case good construction. This experience led to the founding of Buildlane - a platform where the country’s best craftspeople come together with the country’s most creative designers to create custom furniture. What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Thank you to Buildlane for sponsoring this show!

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today is the first show of the new year, so let's work together and make sure 2022 is a productive and profitable year! In this episode, I will be talking about goal setting and strategies that can help us all tackle the year ahead. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: Sara Brennan: #463, #514, #524, #607. Shea McGee: #236, #270 Amber Lewis: #169, #184 Jacklyn Marie: #515 Demetrious Robinson: #687 Cheryl Luckett: #292, #397, #573 The Vogue Room Foundation and The Vogue Room Interior Foundation started by Ebony Staten of The Vogue Room Inside Voice Outside Voice

Today with Chelsie Butler: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Today I am joined by Chelsie Butler. Chelsie is the executive editor of Kitchen & Bath Business, the official publication of the National Kitchen and Bath Association and the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. I think we can all agree that to be featured in a magazine would be amazing! Today, Chelsie explains not only the benefits of being published in a trade magazine, but also the best practices on how to approach a trade magazine. I think you’ll be excited to learn all of the opportunities available to designers that Kitchen & Bath Business offers. From the KBB Person of the Year to being a guest on the podcast to being a judge at their awards program, Kitchen & Bath Business is much more accessible than you would think, to market your business. Pick it apart: [1:55] Chelsie explains to LuAnn the criteria and qualifications of how someone can become KBB’s Person of the Year. [9:20] This is where Chelsie and LuAnn start to pick apart all of the benefits of being published in a trade magazine. [18:40] Chelsie explains how the case is not always KBB finding the designer and doing a Q&A, but that a designer can pitch themselves, a topic, AND write the article. [28:45] Chelsie and LuAnn offer information and reassurance about nominating yourself for an awards program or Person of the Year. [35:15] Chelsie talks about the editorial advisory board and how you can be involved in that. LuAnn and Chelsie Butler’s Ah-Ha moments: “In terms of being published in a trade magazine, you’re able to elevate yourself among your peers.” - Chelsie Butler “When you submit yourself for the magazine, it’s not just the end result of being selected, which is exciting, but it’s also the creation of the relationships with the editors, writers, other designers etc. Sometimes the benefit is truly the building of the relationship because you can trace back so many other benefits that result from the relationship.” - LuAnn Nigara “We want to show the pretty projects and pictures, but we want the audience to come away learning something. The more information we can get from the designers, the more likely we will be able to feature your project.” - Chelsie Butler “We’re open to the designer actually writing the article and then I will edit it. We’ve worked with designers where there has been a lot of editing, and then after several more articles there is minimal editing. We’ve worked with designers where there is minimal editing right off the bat.” - Chelsie Butler “As a content creator, you are putting a magazine out, you are putting the podcast out, you are putting the webinar out, you are probably spending 60% of your week looking for people and ideas. So anybody that puts their hand up and expresses interest, that is a win win. It’s an opportunity for the person and less research that you have to do.” - LuAnn Nigara “When submitting your project, professional photos are what we are looking for if you have that.” - Chelsie Butler Connect with Chelsie Butler Website Instagram Facebook Twitter LinkedIn More About Chelsie Butler: Chelsie Butler is the executive editor of Kitchen & Bath Business, the official publication of the National Kitchen & Bath Association and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show. She has been an editor for various trade magazines in the Atlanta area since graduating from the University of Florida with a journalism degree in 1993. Titles relevant to her current position have included Atlanta Home Improvement, Commercial Construction, Hospitality Construction and Commercial Kitchens magazines, as well as Design:Retail, a KBB sister publication. She has participated in panels at multiple industry events, including Coverings, KBIS and ICFF, and during her time in her current position, the magazine has won two prestigious Azbee awards and one from Trade Association Business Publications International. Besides her career, another of Chelsie’s passions is volunteering at local animal rescue shelters, which she has been involved with for 10 years. What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma: There has been no shortage of shakeups in the industry the last little while. From the need to do things more virtually, to the issues wi

Today with Ippolita Rostagno Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Ippolita Rostagno, founder of her eponymous 20 year-old jewelry brand, and co-founder of the luxury e-tailer, Artemest.com. While taking a leave of absence from her jewelry company, Ippolita learned to trust her professional intuition through all of her challenges, from people saying “no,” to certain technological challenges. Ippolita and I discussed the, “Come to Jesus” moments she faced with her jewelry business and while building Artemest.com. We discuss the importance of recognizing “failure,” to fail quickly, and to listen to your intuition. Listening to her intuition led Ippolita to temporarily leave IPPOLITA Jewelry. Listening to her intuition led Ippolita to buy back her jewelry company, grow it, while also growing Artemest from 60 artisans to 2000. This is a good one, folks! Pick it apart: [9:15] Ippolita explains how she gained the trust of the artisans in Italy who had resistance to sell online in addition to questioning how the beauty and detail of their craft could be portrayed. [17:50] Ippolita talks about how instinct and knowledge let her know that there are potential customers for these artisans and where there is demand. [21:57] Surprising lessons that Ippolita has learned along the way. [31:00] Ippolita and LuAnn discuss how not giving up, reflecting, and being persistent will lead to success, with examples. [42:00] Ippolita explains how Artemest works. LuAnn and Ippolita Rostagno’s Ah-Ha moments: “If you just start to research your industry, you can make choices along the way that really inform your path.” - Ippolita Rostagno “Execution is everything!” - Ippolita Rostagno “We say all the time, if you’re not making any mistakes then you’re just playing it too safe and you really aren’t stretching yourself in any way, shape or form. But it’s easy to forget that all of us make mistakes, no matter how amazing, we look at Artemest and think how everything must have been so easy.” - LuAnn Nigara “Living a life that is full of love and satisfaction is very important and I think it looks different for everyone. You can't be motivated by money, you have to be motivated by your passion. It's all going to take a lot of work. Being an entrepreneur means that you have a certain kind of courage to not align yourself to any one process; that you're willing to find a solution. Put your money where your mouth is, devoting your time, energy, and resources to making your dream come true.” - Ippolita Rostagno “It’s a good reminder that when we look at two of your businesses, how lucky they are, but there was a lot of intentional strategizing to make them happen. We can take those lessons to our own businesses; interior design firms, architecture firms, photography firms….” - LuAnn Nigara More about Ippolita Rostagno: Born and raised in the hills of Florence, Ippolita has always been inspired by the richness and simplicity of Italian culture. As a young girl, she discovered her love for jewelry in the shops and stalls of Ponte Vecchio. An artist first and a designer second, Ippolita studied sculpture and ceramics for five years at the Istituto D’Arte in Florence. After working in bronze and stone on large-scale works, Ippolita was inspired to apply her aesthetic to the world of adornment when she launched her eponymous jewelry collection in 1999 in New York with Bergdorf Goodman. A reverence for women and the female body has informed her style and her design vocabulary from the start. Her highly personal approach to fine jewelry is expressed in the sculptural nature of the organic shapes of her precious metals. A proprietary blend of 18K Gold and other precious metals creates a distinctive “green” hue, flattering to all skin types while her 925 Silver is a color with a brilliance all its own. The stone cuts Ippolita uses are characterized by their artfully random, larger-than-normal facets that conspire to create plays of light and shadow against the skin. Ippolita’s jewelry is an encounter with beauty. That beauty is an experience shared – between seller and buyer, wearer and creator, lover and loved one, devotee and neophyte. It is generous, participatory, outward-facing, welcoming, and open to all. “Beauty in our everyday lives brings joy to the human experience and fosters a culture of care.” “Age-old craftsmanship and the texture of the hand-wrought process are essential and defining to every piece I design.” “I want to sculpt feminine ease using shape and form in organic unity. Celebrating raw materials while also revealing evidence of the maker’s hand. All the while investing in wearable certainty.” “Wear the mark of the maker. Age-old craftsmanship and the texture of the hand-wrought process are essential and defining to every piece I design.” Connect with Ippolita Rostagno: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.l

Today with Erica Courdae: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Erica Courdae, diversity and inclusion coach, is packed with simple, actionable advice ensuring our conversations and workplaces reflect a sense of kindness and inclusion. She also shares what to do when we get it all wrong as we continue to learn and grow alongside our fellow humans. Pick it apart: [10:10] Erica explains simultaneous realities [13:38] Erica explains what true conversation is [15:31] LuAnn covers a critical sales mistake [24:44] Erica shares how she works with businesses [39:10] Erica advises about how to communicate DEI efforts with a new, diverse hire [44:28] Erica explains what she means by “operating on demographics without psychographics doesn’t work” LuAnn and Erica Courdae’s Ah-Ha moments: “You’re not expected to know it all or have access to everything. You just have to be willing to stay in action.” - Erica Courdae “We are all processing through our own lens. There has to be a space of understanding.” - Erica Courdae “It’s not okay to assume that somebody wants to be a part of something that you didn’t give them the opportunity to opt-out of.” - Erica Courdae “There are learning opportunities in being less than perfect. If you get it all right, you’re not continuing to grow.” - Erica Courdae Connect with Erica Courdae Website Facebook Podcast Instagram Pause on the Play Podcast Community Salon Instagram LinkedIn Salon Website Erica’s FREE Imperfect Ally's Evaluation Checklist More About Erica Courdae: Erica Courdae has dedicated her life to expanding how others interact with the world through powerful conversations. As an entrepreneur and certified coach, her work is focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), imperfect allyship, and imposter syndrome. This work has taken her into communities and onto national stages as a speaker and educator at noteworthy industry events like AltSummit, ShePodcasts Live, and Being Boss. Erica is also the owner of an inclusive beauty salon, Silver Immersion, and the host of Pause on the Play, a podcast that features open dialogue on topics like company culture, visibility, and mindset. She lives in Maryland with her two children. What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet: Window Works has been having quality conversations with Kravet since the beginning. Their people know how to listen and how to deliver a premium experience and premium fabrics for both their buyer and for the end customer. For 10% off, go to kravet.com and use coupon code AWDB10

Today with Chloe Mackintosh Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m chatting with Chloe Mackintosh, the principal designer and creator of Boxwood Avenue. Chloe and I discuss her journey from owning an Etsy shop in college, to developing a thriving blog, e-commerce / brick & mortar shop, and design firm. Moving to a town of 99 people, Chloe explains how she built a team of 12 people to help her conduct her business and formulate a proper “system and process.” Pick it apart: [8:06] Chloe talks about how she shut down The Shop for one year and, while she is very grateful for the business that she received at the time, it’s ok to follow your intuition and put the ball down so you can put things in order and work on your other goals. [28:07] Chloe discusses the importance of setting clear business and financial goals and how to strategize and budget in order to achieve those goals. [39:47] Chloe and LuAnn discuss systems and processes and how digital platforms like Asana, along with their team, have been key in organizing their businesses and systems and processes. Examples and Chloe’s daily business routine included. [48:36] Chloe shares her who, when and what in terms of her content creation process for Boxwood Avenue. [57:30] Chloe admits how assistance with systems and processes has made her more confident in conducting her business and how, “Not passing on discounts” is important as a designer. LuAnn and Chloe Mackintosh’s Ah-Ha moments: “ That’s so sweet that you’ve noticed my belief of: If not you, then who? I would agree with you. It has helped me power through many things over the years as well. If you’re not going to do it, somebody else is? What trait, skill, asset...do they have that you don’t have? Figure it out. You can get what you need to have, to do it.” -LuAnn Nigara “ To build a business out at the size that you built it out, it’s again recognizing that different things are not your superpower. Surround yourself with people who understand those things respect you as you respect them back and also share your goals.” -LuAnn Nigara “Going above and beyond is important because one referral can lead to 5 referrals, that can lead to a really incredible project. Our biggest project came from Facebook, so don’t be afraid to showcase work that you are proud of, but also remember that focusing on the client’s experience and doing the best that you can do will grow your business.” -Chloe Mackintosh “The confidence that having great systems and processes and Renee’s help with our deliverables allows me to present myself better to clients and vendors. The confidence has been a big turn-around.” -Chloe Mackintosh More about Chloe Mackintosh: Chloe Mackintosh is the founder and creative director of Boxwood Avenue. She is a designer, shop owner, and blogger. She began her journey at 17 years old with an Etsy shop and has since built her business into a thriving blog, e-com / brick & mortar shop, and design firm. With a growing social footprint of over 10 million impressions per month and 250,000 followers across social platforms, Chloe now leads a team of 12, all from a town with a population of 99. Chloe has been featured by many publications including Domino and Country Living, she is a Better Homes & Gardens Stylemaker and former contributor to Martha Stewart. In addition, she leads retreats for small business owners each in Sonoma, CA at the Boxwood Avenue Creative Business Retreat and is a speaker at The Haven List Workshop for Interior Designers. With clients spanning from coast to coast, she has worked hard to develop a solid foundation of systems and processes. Today she will share how she went from not knowing what a “system or process” was to leaning on them to scale her business. Connect with Chloe Mackintosh: Boxwood Avenue Website Shop Boxwood Avenue Boxwood Avenue Design Instagram Facebook YouTube What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods offers a line of handcrafted and custom curated, premium hardwood and resilient flooring. If you want easy-to-clean flooring for your allergen-free home environment, check out Revel Woods and become a Revelwoods Trade Designer today. Find out more at www.revelwoods.com.

Today with Corinne Bentzen: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today is a sponsored show with The Company Store, a premier source of luxury down bedding and home products. Corinne Bentzen, CEO of The Company Store, shares the company history, their commitment to quality, focus on responsible manufacturing, and understanding that the customer comes first. Pick it apart: [9:54] Corinne share the mission of The Company Store [13:22] Corinne tells about her suppliers and responsibly created products [17:48] Corinne tells about how the pandemic has affected the company [22:22] Corinne advises designers on helping clients understand the quality of The Company Store products [25:00] Corinne shares how The Company Store works with the trade [30:43] Corinne speaks about how designers can set up a trade account LuAnn and Corinne Bentzen’s Ah-Ha moments: “We have a responsibility to make great choices for our customers.” - Corinne Bentzen “Your home has never mattered more than now.” - Corinne Bentzen “There’s no better gift than leaving the client with a great night’s sleep.” - Corinne Bentzen Connect with Corinne Bentzen Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest Twitter More About Corinne Bentzen: Born in Geneva, Switzerland, Corinne Bentzen began her career at Procter & Gamble, where she built brand identity for premium brands before taking the leap across the pond to join Tiffany & Co. in New York. There she put her strategic thinking, strong decision making, and leadership skills to work, ultimately leading her to The Company Store where she breathed new life into the 110-year-old home goods retailer acquired by The Home Depot in 2018. Not one to shy from a challenge, Corinne most recently took over the leadership of Home Depot’s HD Home, in addition to her leadership role at The Company Store. An avid skier and cyclist, Corinne lives in Connecticut where she enjoys an active family life with her husband, two children, and their rescue dog Rosie. What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Thank you to The Company Store for sponsoring this show!

Today with Erica Reiner Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Erica Reiner of Eco Method Interiors niched down and rebranded after a few years in business. Learn what prompted her big change, what she does when the scarcity mindset strikes, and how her business has changed since she stopped trying to be everything to everyone. Pick it apart: [4:04] Erica shares what prompted her rebrand [10:15] Erica shares her struggle with her scarcity mindset [24:50] Erica advises about sourcing green products [34:28] Erica tells about variable standards for green products [42:50] Erica shares her thoughts about the link between environmental and social justice [49:42] Erica and LuAnn speak about niching and overcoming the scarcity mindset LuAnn and Erica Reiner’s Ah-Ha moments: “Set up expectations early and often.” - Erica Reiner “You have to figure out what is important to you and what is going to motivate you when it gets tricky and tough”. - Erica Reiner “If you do something from your heart and explain your reasons why, no one can compete with that.” - LuAnn Nigara More about Erica Reiner: Erica Reiner is the owner / principal designer of Eco Method Interiors, where her company helps people transform their space, health, and the planet. As an inspired interior designer specializing in cleaner and greener spaces, Erica truly can’t decide if she likes working best in residential, commercial or short-term rental sectors with all the fun that comes with each. Erica and her team are hired by clients for full service interior design, online E-design, and event styling. Since 2015, Erica has helped clients create more joy, expression, health and wellbeing through transformational design that goes deeper than aesthetics using the “Eco Method” way. Erica loves sharing her knowledge and has been featured in Better homes and Gardens, Forbes, Apartment Therapy, Reader's digest and more. Looking forward, Erica is working towards leading the home decor and design industry into a greener, cleaner place. In her spare time, she's hanging with her husband Reed and rescue mutt, Hank. Connect with Erica Reiner: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: I’ve been doing business with Kravet through Window Works for decades so I wanted to share their statement on their furniture sustainability: At Kravet Inc. we are committed to providing quality product with limited environmental impact, pairing beauty and heirloom quality materials with sustainability to support both the planet and our future generations. The Kravet Inc. legacy is impenetrably bound to environmental awareness. On their website, at kravet.com/furniture-sustainability, they list all their sustainability efforts. Here’s a quick sampling: Nearly all waste products are sustainably recycled at Kravet Furniture factories. Greater than 80% of the metal upholstery springs in Kravet Furniture come from recycled metal products. The foam padding in Kravet Furniture contains the highest possible content of soy in an effort to reduce petroleum-based substances. Other Shows Mentioned: Susan Inglis: episode 670 Mike Peterson: episode 569 Deborah Rosenberg, Dimare Design: episodes 82, 117, 212, 218 Lane McNab: episodes 205, 699 Asha Jaipur Living: episode 526

Today with Danielle Hayden: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Danielle Hayden of Kickstart Accounting takes us through what she’s learned from years of helping female entrepreneurs understand their money, heal from damaging money mindsets and make smart business decisions. Learn what financial considerations to pay special attention to at each stage of your growing business. Pick it apart: [9:38] Danielle explains her mission of helping business owners understand their numbers [14:31] Danielle shares what CFO tasks are [18:37] Danielle explains how deeply her team understands her clients [23:44] Danielle reviews common setbacks for businesses with 100k in revenue [33:11] Danielle reviews common setbacks for businesses with 250k in revenue [35:53] Danielle reviews common setbacks for businesses with 500k in revenue [39:11] Danielle talks about options for a managing the business while staying close to design [42:15] Danielle talk about planning at the 2 million gross revenue level [45:11] Danielle shares her monthly give back event where individual staff members bring ideas and causes [48:41] Danielle shares about her system for unbiased/inclusive hiring [56:45] Danielle talks about her Five Day Bootcamp LuAnn and Danielle Hayden’s Ah-Ha moments: “You cannot get to a million dollars working in your business five days a week.” - Danielle Hayden More About Danielle Hayden: Danielle Hayden is a reformed corporate CFO (chief financial officer) who is on a mission to help rule-breaking female entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can gain the confidence needed to create sustainable profits. After spending 10+ years in the boardroom as a corporate finance officer, Danielle is now in her sweet spot as the co-owner of Kickstart Accounting, Inc. where she helps business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis, and education and as the author of the Profit Planner book series. When Danielle isn’t crunching numbers on her clients’ behalf or crafting the next iteration of the Profit Planner, you can find her hanging with her two kids as she inspires them to lead their fullest lives or doing any, and almost every fitness-related activity ranging from Spartan races to pilates. Connect with Danielle Hayden Website Instagram Facebook What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A BIG Thank You to Today's Sponsor: Mydoma Studio: Mydoma’s workflow software helps you keep your projects organized from beginning to end, and also offers a valuable, thriving designer community. Mydoma is created by designers, for designers, so you know that it can truly offer everything you need to stay organized and free up your time. You can get 20% off your first three months by signing up at mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness. Other Shows Mentioned: Episode 622

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! We are continuing the year-end review mini-series! During this series, I will pick apart areas in your business that I want to encourage you to address as we approach year-end. To run a profitable business that supports you financially, professionally, and personally, you have to first know where you are, to then understand where you are going. I always say you have to run the autopsy of every project, and your business is no different than any other project you work on. In this series, we will run the autopsy of our entire year and today I am going to encourage you to review your technology, subscriptions and memberships, and insurances. You know what the Vin Man says, sometimes it’s not what you make, it’s what you don’t spend. So, let’s see if we can save you from some unnecessary spending in 2022, shall we? What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast Other Shows Mentioned: Episode 719 Episode 721 Episode 723 Episode 725

Today with Tanya Dalton: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Tanya Dalton, best-selling author, speaker, productivity expert, and growth strategist for female leaders is here to share a helpful goal framework that leaves space for life’s ups and downs, celebrates progress, and prevents you from getting discouraged and quitting. Pick it apart: [4:16] Tanya shares the mindfulness exercise she uses during her commute [9:27] Tanya summarizes her new book [11:58] Tanya walks through her IMPACT goal framework [25:05] Tanya shares her email-checking system [31:05] Tanya details her customer service system that includes auto-FAQs and using templated responses/multiple inboxes [38:30] LuAnn explains Sara Brennan’s calendar hack for new client consultations [43:58] Tanya covers quick tips on implementing habit stacking LuAnn and Tanya Dalton’ Ah-Ha moments: “It’s a choice to have an extraordinary life.” - Tanya Dalton “The goal isn’t the goal. Goals are the vehicle to get you the life you want.” - Tanya Dalton More About Tanya Dalton: Tanya Dalton is a best-selling author, speaker, nationally recognized productivity expert, and serves as a growth strategist for female leaders. In addition to her first book, The Joy of Missing Out, being named one of the Top 10 Business Books of the year by Fortune Magazine, Tanya’s podcast, The Intentional Advantage has received millions of downloads from listeners around the world. She is also a featured expert on several networks including NBC and Fox and is a VIP contributor for Entrepreneur.com. Tanya has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications including Forbes, Inc, Fast Company,and Real Simple. She has been awarded the elite Enterprising Women Award and has been named the Female Entrepreneur to Watch for the state of North Carolina. Tanya is also the founder + CEO of inkWELL Press Productivity Co. a multi-million dollar company providing tools that work as a catalyst in helping women do less while achieving maximum success. Connect with Tanya Dalton Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Buy Tanya’s Book What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet is a fifth generation family business that distributes top quality fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, trimmings, carpets and accessories. To view their selection, visit Kravet.com and make sure to use coupon code AWDB10.

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! We are continuing the year-end review mini-series! Over the next few weeks, I will pick apart areas in your business that I want to encourage you to address as we approach year-end. To run a profitable business that supports you financially, professionally, and personally, you have to first know where you are, to then understand where you are going. I always say you have to run the autopsy of every project, and your business is no different than any other project you work on. In this series, we will run the autopsy of our entire year and today we are talking about our marketing plan for 2022. I am going to kick this off with a line from one of my partners at Exciting Windows!, Steve Wishnow. "Always be marketing." No matter what kind of firm you have, no matter how large or how small or how busy or slow you are—always be marketing. Let's get to it! What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today with Jude Charles: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday and Jude Charles is back on the show! Today, Jude shares the final part of his video storytelling framework - Dramatic Leverage. Jude shares some of his 70 ideas for distributing your brand videos so you can help people understand who you are, how you can help them, and why they want to choose you for their next project. Pick it apart: [5:36] Jude shares the story of lipstick brand found Keyshia Ka’oir [14:15] Jude recaps why story is so important to building your brand [26:40] Jude share the re-engagement tactic he uses to get more projects [29:52] Jude relays the story of a business coach he worked with on her testimonials [33:18] Jude offers his advice for interior designers who want to create videos LuAnn and Jude Charles’ Ah-Ha moments: “What you want more than anything is to resonate with your audience.” - Jude Charles “We have gold in our hands but we’re searching for silver.” - Jude Charles “Think bigger and go deeper”. - Jude Charles “It is not optional to be in business and not tell your story.” - Jude Charles More About Jude Charles: Jude Charles is a story-driven filmmaker, brand strategist & speaker. For over 13 years, he has been producing documentaries & videos for purpose-driven entrepreneurs. He lives and breathes YOUR brand. He digs deep to find the compelling stories that no one else knows & then leverages those stories to scale your business. Connect with Jude Charles Website LinkedIn Jude's Book What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet is a fifth generation family business that distributes top quality fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, trimmings, carpets and accessories. To view their selection, visit Kravet.com and make sure to use coupon code AWDB10. Other Shows Mentioned: #516 #626 #718

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! We are continuing the year-end review mini series! Over the next few weeks I will pick apart areas in your business that I want to encourage you to address as we approach year-end. To run a profitable business that supports you financially, professionally, and personally, you have to first know where you are, to then understand where you are going. I always say you have to run the autopsy of every project, and your business is no different than any other project you work on. In this series, we will run the autopsy of our entire year and today we are going to do a revenue generator review. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today with Duke Renders: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today’s sponsored show with Fernando Duque of Duke Renders is valuable on multiple levels. Not only will you get a unique insight into what the world of high-quality 3D rendering offers you and how Duke Renders can help you take advantage of it, but you’ll also hear from an expert business owner who knows what it takes to grow a business to full fruition within just a year. Pick it apart: [8:12] Fernando shares the story of how helping his wife led to the creation of Duke Renders. [13:45] LuAnn and Fernando discuss the importance of core values and how sticking to them makes business decisions easier. [31:39] Fernando highlights the process of designers working with Duke Renders, from start to finish. [48:27] Fernando points out what makes Duke Renders different and why you should work with them. [51:48] Fernando shares the company’s referral system and previews the Black Friday offer you need to take advantage of. LuAnn and Fernando Duque’s Ah-Ha moments: “It’s all about core values and how to build a company from the very beginning with a nice set of rules that you live by. For us, it’s very simple. Some of our core values are that we are a client-centric company and we have to pay attention to detail because we’re serving such a specific industry. We like to have our fair share of fun too. Being a client-centric company means that we put the client first in everything that we do. I know it sounds like everyone does that focusing on creating the best experience for our clients is what we focus on. That comes with brand loyalty, and that’s why our clients keep coming back.” -Fernando Duque “I love what you said—if you’re going to do something through the filter of your values, it saves you so much time. That’s something I say over and over and over again. It’s why a designer has to set their mission, their vision, and their core values.” -LuAnn Nigara “That line, ‘We didn’t know much about rendering but we knew how to build a business’ is the premise of the podcast...It’s like we say all the time—you don’t need to hire someone with a skillset; you need to hire someone with ethics, who shares your core values...You’re going to teach them the rest, but you can’t teach them character. This is the same thing to me with the business. You didn’t need to know about rendering. You needed to know about business.” -LuAnn Nigara “The trick to building a healthy company is that the minute you find out there’s someone better than you, hire them and spread the culture of your company. For us, we started hiring better 3D artists from very early on. That’s why we have grown so fast and been able to serve more people.” -Fernando Duque Connect with Duke Renders Website Referral Program Quote Your Project Email: [email protected] Instagram Facebook More About Duke Renders: Fernando is a serial entrepreneur, born in Venezuela, with a bachelor in Economics and an MBA from Babson College. He has a passion for starting companies and making them grow, Duke Renders being the 5th in his career. He lives in Tulum, Mexico with his beautiful wife Mina (who you can listen to in episode 639) and their new baby Company B Penelope. io Duke Renders is a 3D Rendering Studio based in beautiful Tulum, Mexico. They serve busy interior designers with 100% accurate photo-realistic 3D renderings. Their goal is to make you and your clients feel proud, confident and empowered at every step of the design process. They have clients such as Intercontinental Hotel Group, Kate Rumson, Eneia White, Mikel Welch, Lindsey Brooke and over 300+ more. They created the renderings for the Obsidian Experience by BADG (Black Artist Designers Guild) and their work has been featured in Forbes, Architectural Digest, House Beautiful and now the Luann Nigara's Podcast. What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Thank you to Duke Renders for sponsoring this show! Other Shows Mentioned: #47 Gail Davis: Make Your Life Count #639 Mina Duque: Starting an Interior Design Firm in a Foreign Melting Pot #297 Mikel Welch: Interior Design, TV, Self Made Man #703 Leyden Lewis: The Road to AD100 and Elle Decor Top 125 Requires Innovation and Authentic Creativity

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today starts a series that over the next few weeks will pick apart areas in your business that I want to encourage you to address as we approach year end. To run a profitable business that supports you financially, professionally, and personally, you have to first know where you are, to then understand where you are going. I always say you have to run the autopsy of every project, and your business is no different than any other project you work on. In this series, we will run the autopsy of our entire year and today we are going to start with a session on the questions you need to ask yourself and your team when starting the autopsy process. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

On Today’s Flashback Friday Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On today’s Flashback episode, we revisit episode 41 with Cheryl Janis. After an accident left her searching for help in the world of natural medicine, Cheryl realized that there was a powerful niche waiting for her—designing for boutique visionaries in the holistic health world. Niching opened up a world of possibility for her, and brought more joy to her business than she had experienced in her 19 years of design. Pick it apart: [5:45] Cheryl shares her story of how a frightening accident and a difficult recovery led to her niche. [13:08] Cheryl highlights the positives her niche brought to her business. [20:20] LuAnn and Cheryl pick apart the scary parts of niching and how Cheryl overcame them. [27:23] Cheryl explains evidence-based design and how it helped her improve as a designer. [56:08] Cheryl shares how “snail mail” gives her a unique opportunity to connect with clients. LuAnn and Cheryl's Ah-Ha moments: “All this creativity that felt bottled up when I was a generalist suddenly started to explode, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with that.” -Cheryl Janis “When something is gnawing at you, and you’re not happy in what you do, you want to find that thing that does make you happy. Sometimes that’s difficult. Sometimes it takes years to do.” -Cheryl Janis “I think it’s terrific, and it could be executed by anyone to any niche. It could be bathrooms, kitchens, nursery, commercial, lawyers offices. The point is, find the thing that when you’re doing and creating that space, you’re not looking at the clock. It’s what projects you are drawn to.” -LuAnn Nigara Connect with Cheryl Janis Website Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest Cheryl's Podcast What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revelwoods is a family run business, led by John Dupra. They are a hyper-personalized concierge service providing wood flooring at wholesale prices to you, the interior designer. Go to revelwoods.com to find out how you can add profit to your projects by making the wood floor purchase part of your proposal. Revelwoods wants to help you be the wood flooring expert. Their design trade program is designed to help you succeed, to help you be the best resource for your client as well as helping you navigate this territory with your contractor. They know the business, the typical distribution channel and they know how you can make more money and be the expert in the room. Go to revelwoods.com and see how it works. Other Shows Mentioned: #41 Cheryl Janis: Create Clarity for Your Interior Design Firm and Watch Your Profits Grow #15 Nancy Ganzekaufer- Niche is Rich

Today with Peter Lang, Kim Merlitti, and Michele Williams Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Our financial Power Talk Friday experts, Michele Williams, Peter Lang, and Kim Merlitti are talking about year-end cleanup and planning for the new year. They cover what your balance sheet should look like, what tax strategies you can consider, what to look for in a financial professional, and why mindset matters. LuAnn, Peter, Kim, and Michele's Ah-Ha moments: “The balance sheet should be a perfect representation of your financial state at that moment.” - Michele Williams “It’s the day-to-day that moves us forward in any plan - it’s not just the big moment. It’s every single day being committed to the goal.” - Michele Williams “When you put it down on paper, it happens.” - LuAnn Nigara More about Peter, Kim, and Michele: Peter Lang Peter Lang is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He is the founder of The Designer CPA, a CPA firm that works exclusively with business owners in the design industry. He has worked in public accounting since graduating from Providence College in 2002. After working for several larger size firms in Boston and Rhode Island, Peter realized his true passion was to start a firm that specifically focused on designers. Kim Merlitti Kimberly Merlitti owns KMM Consulting based out of Washington, D.C. Kimberly has 20 years of experience working in accounting for companies such as Swinerton Builders, WRNS Studio and Martin Group. She has her Masters in Accounting from Golden Gate University. Located in Washington D.C. her clientele includes a diverse group of service based companies, with a main focus on small interior design, construction and architectural firms. The goal of her firm is to make the businesses she works for as profitable as they can be by educating them on accounting, cash flow management, tax deductions, project reporting, and business management. Michele Williams Michele is the founder of Scarlet Thread and Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia. Today we will learn about Michele’s background which includes the financial software industry as well as a business in soft window treatment fabricator. She also has a BS in business administration, a diploma in Christian life coaching and she is one of the few certified profit first coaches in the United States. Michele was also the communication director and editor in chief of the Drapery and Designs Professional Magazine from 2009 to 2012. She is a member of The Design Collective in Atlanta, the Designers Work Club Council and the Window Covering Association of America. Connect with Peter, Kim, and Michelle: Peter Lang Website Instagram Facebook Kim Merlitti Website Instagram Michele Williams Website Instagram Facebook Podcastd What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods offers a line of handcrafted and custom curated, premium hardwood and resilient flooring. If you want easy-to-clean flooring for your allergen-free home environment, check out Revel Woods and become a Revelwoods Trade Designer today. Find out more at www.revelwoods.com. Other Shows Mentioned: #164 #368 #284

Today with Jude Charles: We’re welcoming Jude Charles back to the show! Jude Charles, the video brand strategist, is back and this time, he’s walking us through how to take that special, differentiating moment and express it through a three-part documentary-style video series he calls “dramatic demonstration”. Pick it apart: [8:09] Jude recaps the why behind his storytelling framework [14:20] Jude gives an example of how he did a storytelling video for an interior design client [18:09] Jude reviews the three-part documentary video series for LuAnn’s podcast [22:10] Jude shares the five demonstrations necessary for a good video documentary series LuAnn and Jude Charles’ Ah-Ha moments: “Hearing something said 1000x is not as powerful as seeing it once.” - Jude Charles “The whole point is answering the question: why should I do business with you vs. every other option that is available?” - Jude Charles “You are the sum of everything you’ve done.” - LuAnn Nigara “It’s not just about creating a cool video. It’s about telling your story and getting people connected to you on a deeper level.” - Jude Charles More About Jude Charles: Jude Charles is a story-driven filmmaker, brand strategist & speaker. For over 13 years, he has been producing documentaries & videos for purpose-driven entrepreneurs. He lives and breathes YOUR brand. He digs deep to find the compelling stories that no one else knows & then leverages those stories to scale your business. Connect with Jude Charles Website LinkedIn Jude's Book What's new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well - Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet is a fifth generation family business that distributes top quality fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, trimmings, carpets and accessories. To view their selection, visit Kravet.com and make sure to use coupon code AWDB10. Other Shows Mentioned: #516 #626

Today with Susan Wintersteen Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Susan Wintersteen, one of my first-year podcast guests, is back on A Well-Designed Business, to share tips on business growth and the importance of a mastermind community to get to the next step. As a business owner rock star, Susan has mastered the art of hiring people who create a positive workplace and support the functions of the business as a whole. Listen in to learn how you can use elements of Susan’s hiring processes to level up your own business - using the predictive index, strong interviews, and detailed skill sets to get good, competent people in the right roles. Susan has applied these same hiring standards to her Savvy Giving by Design nonprofit, which is looking to raise $50,000 this year to support room makeovers for children in medical crises. Pick it apart: [8:46] Susan explains how some employees can divert energy from growing the business, and how important it is to find efficient people who are happy to work in that job. [13:00] Are you hiring exceptional people, or are you settling? [18:00] Susan shares her tips on how to take suggestions and make your own decisions for how you are going to grow your business. Gather information, weigh the trustfulness of the source, and DO it! [19:30] Join a Mastermind or get a coach to get insight from people who are succeeding in their industries at the highest level. [20:40] Savvy Giving, an all volunteer-based foundation, explained. [23:47] With the goal of getting into as many rooms as possible, Susan set up a “pop up designer program” to get local interior designers to volunteer and aligned with Make A Wish to maximize the outreach effort. [27:00] Susan explains - What is Savvy Giving by Design? [35:55] Savvy Giving by Design brings in the light and the joy to families in crisis. [39:28] The design and function of the space is essential, and we receive support through our “Fund a Need” page to gather inventory for the room. [43:34] Beyond the aesthetics - what do the children need to heal? [46:50] LuAnn’s podcast is about making sure interior designers have the skills, the opportunity, to better themselves, to be a better business, and be profitable. [47:40] Adding a nonprofit “layer” to your business, and partnering with Make A Wish for the greatest impact. [52:13] A roadmap for success - How Susan trains volunteer interior designers for Savvy Giving wellness design standards, logistics, and processes. [57:55] Duplicating Savvy Giving at scale. [58:48] The same hiring principles used to find the right employees apply to running a nonprofit. [1:00:18] Designers have so much talent to give and can make an impact on a young person. [1:02:01] Savvy Giving raises the majority of its funds on Giving Tuesday. Looking to raise $50,000 on November 30th this year. LuAnn and Susan Wintersteen’s Ah-Ha moments: “I didn’t come this far to let it slip through my fingers.” - Susan Wintersteen “I don’t need my team to know all the answers, I just need to know that they know where to look for them.” - Susan Wintersteen “Marketing is not your problem. You need to get your team squared away so you can work in harmony.” - LuAnn Nigara “You don’t always have to know the answer, but you have to be willing to go find the answers. And you have to be willing to search for it and ask for it. You have to use your voice and ask for it.” - LuAnn Nigara “You have to be willing to invest in yourself.” - LuAnn Nigara “A well-designed space can contribute to up to 30% of our healing.” - Susan Wintersteen “Make an impact that will make them happy and healthy.” - LuAnn Nigara “Focus on the basic needs first, then put the pretty in.” Susan Wintersteen “When you grow and scale your business, there are going to be pivots, and it’s important to roll with reality.” - LuAnn “Build something beyond you. Something that will have a life of its own and continue to grow and flourish and have longevity.” - Susan Wintersteen “Go big or go home.” - Susan Wintersteen More about Susan Wintersteen: Susan believes in the transformative power of good design, and also, good chocolate—each day her vice is a good piece of Sees. Appreciating these special moments, whether savoring chocolate or spending time near the water with her husband of 30-plus years, her five daughters and dogs (the dogs are male—had to even the score a bit!), makes Susan a more empathic designer who is in tune with the needs of her clients and community. In all areas of life, Susan likes to have fun and isn’t afraid to push boundaries, and that translates into her exuberant designs. She has carefully curated a team of designers for their expertise and commitment to creativity. Savvy’s work embodies the laid-back California vibe while incorporating unique, personal touches. Susan prides herself on being a straight shooter with a sharp wit, and she is fluent in the language of sarcasm. Her clients know what to expect, as she engages them closely throughout the entir

Today with Fay + Belle: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today’s show is sponsored by Fay + Belle, a full-service luxury rug collection that offers authentic vintage and fully customizable rugs for design firms in the United States and Canada. The company was founded by sister-in-law duo, Kate O’Hara and Kaley O’Hara. Kate is the principal of Martha O’Hara Interiors, and has appeared on the show before. But when she noticed that acquiring custom rugs was a difficult process, she decided to find a way to streamline it for herself. Today, Kate and Kaley share their story and explain how Fay + Belle can help you. Pick it apart: [4:00] Kate and Kaley share the background on how Fay + Belle came to be. [11:00] Kate and Kaley discuss what sets Fay + Belle apart and what makes them compelling. [12:30] LuAnn asks about the pain points designers face when ordering custom or vintage rugs. [27:11] Kaley discusses her sales background and how that plays into the success of the brand. [31:20] Kate and Kaley share the details on the ordering process and how it is streamlined to help you. LuAnn and Fay + Belle’s Ah-Ha moments: “You hear people say ‘by designers, for designers,’ which I love. But Fay + Belle is by designers and battle-tested by them. It served us for many years before we opened it up to other designers. It wasn’t serving a problem we saw that we thought theoretically might help designers. We built this selfishly for ourselves and then thought, ‘it works, let’s open this up to other designers.’” “I hate the word trend, but it seems on-trend with sustainability and being ecologically forward. You’re repurposing things and get it back into the marketplace so it’s not sitting in a landfill.” -LuAnn “You have the advantage of doing so many projects and overseeing a company that puts out so much production in a year. So what you experience in a quarter, a smaller firm might experience in a year. The volume that you do puts you in a place to understand and see what’s happening in the trends and rugs.” -LuAnn More About Fay + Belle: Fay + Belle is a full-service luxury rug collection that offers authentic vintage and fully customizable rugs for design firms in the United States and Canada. Run by sister-in-law duo Kate + Kaley O’Hara, the company has found success in the industry since its founding in 2016. Kate, Co-Founder + Owner, positioned the rug brand for a luxury market and expanded its products into a successful e-commerce business. Kaley, Head of Sales + Designer Liaison, expanded the company’s interior design influence by growing a successful social media presence and developing meaningful relationships with designers across the US. Today, Fay + Belle works with some of the most well-known interior designers in the country and has been featured in publications such as Austin Monthly and MidWest Homes. Connect with Fay + Belle: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: If you have found yourself hung up with stock and delivery, having to waste hours searching through various platforms for antique and vintage rugs, or a clunky ordering process that tanks your productivity, then Fay + Belle is your answer. So go to their website, fayandbellerugs.com, and set up your trade account. And remember, if you use the code welldesigned10, you’ll get an extra 10% off. Thanks again to Kate and Kaley for sponsoring this episode and sharing their story and insights with us.

Today with Kathleen Jennison Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Some of us come into this business because we’re naturally-born creatives that never imagined doing anything else. Others spend time in the corporate world but embrace an inner passion. But my guest today is unique—for Kathleen Jennison, a brain injury changed the way her mind functioned and opened the door for a new path as an interior designer. Today, she’s sharing her journey and the lessons she learned along the way. Pick it apart: [6:34] Kathleen shares her journey through trauma and how she grew her design talents from it. [15:32] Kathleen discusses her decision to start her own business and how systems and organization helped her. [22:39] Kathleen describes the way her business grew and the big decisions and leaps of faith she had to take as it did. [40:38] LuAnn and Kathleen discuss evaluating projects and profitability. [52:39] Kathleen discusses how marketing is always important, even when your business is thriving. LuAnn and Kathleen Jennison’s Ah-Ha moments: “You have to be willing to take a risk. Some people are risk-averse and some people aren’t. There’s nothing wrong with having a home office and working by yourself, because you can still be successful, but it just depends on what you want to do and how you want to feel.” -Kathleen Jennison “I look at the profitability on the project before I even present it to my client. I do a spreadsheet and see if there are adjustments I need to make ahead of time. Maybe there’s a coffee table we specified that they can find on the internet for cheaper...so let’s pick a different coffee table that is available to the trade only so we can increase our profit on it before we present it to the client.” -Kathleen Jennison “I love that you brought out the very real point of always be marketing, but as you are building the business and you’re fine-tuning who your ideal client is, you want to always be evaluating that marketing. So we’re not going to start whatever we’re doing, but as your pipeline gets consistently full we can say, ‘Maybe we have 15 active projects in the pipeline but are they all our ideal clients?’ When you do have those projects in your pipeline you can be a little bit riskier in your marketing and start speaking just to the ideal client.” -LuAnn Nigara More about Kathleen Jennison: About KTJ Design Co. Kathleen Jennison | Owner & Lead Designer Hello! I’m Kathleen Jennison, and I offer interior design services for forward-thinking homeowners, regardless of whether they know what their style is. I specialize in helping people just like you create an environment with resources and materials appropriate for their needs and budget. As a full service interior designer, I use the Meticulous Method, providing plans with complete interior design specifications for both new and existing properties. My goal is to thrill and delight each client with every project. In addition to my suite of interior design services, I also own a general contracting company. Because of this, I’m happy to provide general contracting services for your project as needed. I also welcome partnerships with any professional who is serving your project, including architects, other general contractors, and landscape designers. This multifaceted approach helps me provide creative and technical solutions while also enhancing the quality of life for my clients. Before becoming an interior designer, I enjoyed a long career as a Certified Public Accountant and was an auditor of many large corporations. This highly analytical and technical career coupled with my (second) Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design ensures that I am well-equipped to handle any challenges that might arise during a project. A traumatic brain injury propelled this talented interior designer to unexpected heights. . . . When you are introduced to a person’s life story, you often can’t help but believe certain things happen by design. In some instances, this can be applied both literally and figuratively. For me, an unexpected and traumatic circumstance gave me one of two options: live my life by design or live it by default. I chose the former and have never looked back. Up until 15 years agoI used to be a hard-charging, successful CPA. However, my career hit a detour when a car accident in which I was involved in 2006 suddenly changed the trajectory of my ambitions. After experiencing a traumatic brain injury as a result of the accident, my analytical mindset pivoted in a new direction. While my analytical processing did not necessarily diminish, it took somewhat of a back seat to this new, creative and innovative mindset that surprised me. However, I have not taken this for granted and, as a result, discovered a new purpose for my life that has opened more doors than I could ever imagine. Before the accident, I was completely engrained in being an accountant. After the accident, I struggled for a couple of years. I had been on medical leave f

Today with Braden Drake: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Braden Drake of Unf*uck Your Biz podcast is a California tax attorney specializing in helping creatives made sense of business finances and tax law. He’s sharing all about business entities, business insurance, and CPA service structures. He’s sharing his lighthearted and easy-to-follow education style that empowers creatives to understanding the foundational principles of money and business tax law. Pick it apart: [12:15] Braden shares the non-negotiable insurance a business should have [18:02] LuAnn asks Braden about how to handle business registration and nexus for businesses that work and do business in multiples states [23:34] Braden breaks down LLCs, Corporations, and S Corps [27:44] Braden reviews a simple math example of when it makes sense to be an S Corp [36:42] Braden explains the different business models of CPAs [42:31] Braden shares about his upcoming educational program LuAnn and Braden Drake’s Ah-Ha moments: “You get what you pay for - are you paying for consulting services?” - Braden Drake More About Braden Drake: Braden is a California licensed attorney and tax professional. His tagline is your gay best friend here to help you get your legal and tax shit legit. Braden works primarily with service based, creative small business owners through his courses where he educates on contracts, business entities, cash flow, systems and taxes. Connect with Braden Drake: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest Podcast Book What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started.

Today with Geoff Siebold Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re diving into the world of luxury carpets. While most of us don’t understand the intricate inner workings of carpets, my guest today, Geoff Siebold of Stanton Carpet, thinks that we should, and I agree with him. In this episode, Geoff explains to me what we need to understand about the practicality of different carpet types so that we can steer our clients in the right direction and offer them more value through our own knowledge and expertise. Pick it apart: [4:15] Geoff discusses how the environment and lifestyle of your clients affect carpet choice, and what “practical luxury” means. [10:49] Geoff highlights how synthetic carpets have improved over time, offering more choices for your clients. [22:00] Geoff gives us a deep-dive into the construction of carpets and what it means for your clients. [33:10] Geoff and LuAnn discuss how different traffic areas impact carpet choices, and talk about a special tool to help your clients. [44:57] Geoff reminds us of the factors that affect a carpet’s performance. LuAnn and Geoff Siebold's Ah-Ha moments: “It’s important to understand your environment….One of the catchphrases for Stanton is ‘practical luxury.’ It’s having a product that looks fantastic but is suited either with fiber or construction to withstand everyday maintenance. There certainly is a time and a place for the luxury setting, whether it’s a master suite, or you’re an empty nester and there isn’t a lot of traffic or pets. But as a general rule, you want to make sure that if it’s a space with a lot of traffic, it’s a durable construction.” -Geoff Siebold “What you’re saying is that companies like yours, Stanton, the big products, if your mission is to educate the sales staff and support staff at the designer trade room, then we only have to say to them, ‘I want more information beyond the look the style, the feel, I want to really understand what it is that I should know about carpeting so that I am an informed person when I go to do my projects.’” -LuAnn Nigara “I think many of the designers that are bold enough, and brave enough, and assertive enough to bring knowledge to the table, those are the ones that add value. It’s not ‘whatever the end-user wants, the end-user gets,’ it’s got to be one of those things where not only do we know what’s best for the interior in terms of color, style, and pattern, but now we need to talk about the actual practical living that you’re going to have to accommodate to get this type of product. That upfront management of expectations is so important.” -Geoff Siebold More about Geoff Siebold: Geoff Siebold has been passionately engaged in the luxury carpet and area rug market for over 22 years. He began his career as a manufacturer's sales agent representing high-end carpet and rug brands throughout the Midwestern United States. He was responsible for cultivating business from designers, architectural firms and wholesale-direct showrooms. Within a year, he was hired by one of the manufacturers to become their Midwest Regional V.P. of sales. He was the youngest manager in the company's history. From there he moved on to be a National Director of Dealer Sales for a prominent luxury area rug manufacturer. In early 2007, Geoff returned to his agency roots and once again represented the best domestic and international manufacturers and distributors in the luxury carpet market. Then, in 2014, Stanton Carpet hired him to be their National Sales manager for Antrim Carpet and ultimately the National V.P. of premiere brands including Antrim, Rosecore and Crescent Carpets. Geoff has extensive experience helping designers curate products and leverage technologies in order to grow business and add value to their clients. He has also developed specific training programs aimed at helping designers better understand fiber, construction and application of luxury carpets. Connect with Stanton Carpet: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest Twitter What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet: Kravet is committed to helping you serve your clients. Their new website redesign makes finding quality home furnishings even easier for you. With the new redesign, you can quickly access all of your tools, lik

Today with Molly Schoneveld: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Some of you aspire to be a designer that helps people in your community live better, feel better, and appreciate their spaces more. Others want to design for the high-end client, creating luxury spaces. But others want something a little bit different—to become celebrity designers featured on television and in major publications. Today, publicist Molly Schoneveld is going to share with us how you structure your career to strategically build up your persona and work toward that celebrity status. Pick it apart: [1:21] Molly shares what your number one job is when you desire to be a celebrity designer. [15:21] Molly and LuAnn discuss the importance of having a signature style and investing in quality photography for your portfolio. [27:03] Molly explains why niching is even more important if you want to become a celebrity designer. [30:30] Molly lays out the steps to getting featured in the media as a designer. [42:54] Molly shares what it takes to reach out for collaborations and cross-promotions to help grow your online presence. LuAnn and Molly Schoneveld’s Ah-Ha moments: “What do you want to be known for? ONe of the commonalities between people who want to be on television and those who just want successful firms is that if you want to be known, you have to hone your own style.” -Molly “Having a point of view or a signature style...we all know designer colleagues that will design a beautiful Mediterranean home, or a Scandinavian design, or whatever it is, but what you’re saying is that if you’re going to be a celebrity designer, you have to dive into a niche.” -LuAnn “Certainly you can get publicity without a niche, if your projects are of a certain caliber. Getting your project placed is one thing. Trying to really build your personal brand and your studio brand is something else. So having a point of view is really the thing you need, if you want to take it to the next level.” -Molly More About Molly Schoneveld: Molly Schoneveld founded The Storied Group in 2008 (under the name SW PR SHOP) to offer a unique point of view at the intersection of entertainment, design, and luxury lifestyle. She has over 15 years of experience in PR and marketing, beginning her PR career at PMK/HBH (now Rogers & Cowan PMK), where she worked with A-list talent, as well as on Oscar campaigns for directors, producers and films. In 2007, she left PMK to launch her sister-in-law's maternity line called Schone Maternity. The line was enormously successful, being touted by O, The Oprah Magazine as "the really good guy of the month" for their dedication to fair labor factories and support of artisans across the globe. It was working with Rebecca that ignited Molly's entrepreneurial spirit, and while she loved the gratification of watching this new line prosper, she missed the diversity of working with more than one client. It wasn't long before she formed a partnership with a former PMK/HBH colleague Jennifer Weaver to begin SW PR Shop. The two grew the business together for nine years until Jennifer moved out of state. Molly took over the company and rebranded under the name The Storied Group. Career highlights Include putting the Interior design firm Hammer and Spear on the map as a design destination In the downtown L.A. Arts District, and helping to transform Golden Door, which had become a tired brand that was once a pioneer In the wellness industry, back Into what Conde Nast Traveler called In 2019, "The Most Iconic Spa." Molly has worked with such design talent as Drew Scott of Lone Fox Home, Kishani Perera, Hammer and Spear, Lisa Gilmore Design, Marie Flanigan Interiors, The Habitat Collective, Tracie Butler, and many others. Her first job was working for producer Brian Grazer at Imagine Entertainment, the year he won the Oscar for A BEAUTIFUL MIND. Molly has built a solid reputation providing great attention and care to every client and has proven success in getting results. She has secured cover and feature stories in domestic and international publications, including Architectural Digest, WSJ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Veranda, InStyle, House Beautiful, Departures, New York Times, Robb Report, Sunset, as well as numerous television segments with a national audience. Connect with Molly Schoneveld: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagr

Today with Christine Platt Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Christine Platt, the author of The Afrominimalists Guide to Living with Less offers a fresh take on minimalism, why it’s not just a one-day throw-out marathon, and what it takes to get to the core of how we got overwhelmed with clutter in the first place. Pick it apart: [7:58] Christine shares where to start your journey of discovery [14:35] Christine describes her one day, one year challenge [18:16] Christine shares what minimalism means for her [23:40] Christine shares about buy-nothing groups as a way to release your items [45:35] Christine summarizes her theory of minimalism LuAnn and Christine Platt’s Ah-Ha moments: “For me, minimalism is really just about being a more mindful, intentional consumer - just having the things you need and love in your life.” - Christine Platt “It’s good for your own mental health - clutter takes up physical space and mental space.” - Christine Platt “Our natural way of being is always to just have enough.” - Christine Platt “We have to learn to be content with enough.” - Christine Platt More about Chrsitine Platt: Christine Platt is a modern-day renaissance woman also known as The Afrominimalist. She holds a B.A. in Africana Studies, M.A. in African-American Studies, and J.D. in General Law. An award-winning author of over two dozen literary works, Christine’s most recent book, THE AFROMINIMALIST’S GUIDE TO LIVING WITH LESS is a radical re-envisioning of minimalism that focuses on authenticity over aesthetics. A resource for anyone seeking to discover the truth behind their overconsumption as well as how to let go of what no longer serves them, The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less encourages us to be intentional, mindful consumers so our lives are filled with only those things we need, use, and love. Visit her online at TheAfrominimalist or on Instagram @afrominimalist. Connect with Christine Platt: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma: To learn about how it can uplevel your professionalism and organization, go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness and scroll down to the designer testimonial videos. Also on that site, my listeners can click to receive 20% off Mydoma for 3 months.

Today With Terri Taylor: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! Today’s Power Talk Friday is sponsored by Interior Design Business Academy and specifically the Interior Design Business Academy 2021 Summit, which is happening Wednesday, November 3rd through to Friday, November 5, 2021. Overhaul Your Interior Design Business in 3 Days to Finally Get Paid What You are Worth Event dates:Nov 3-5 2021 This event will run from 10:00 am EST to 6:00 pm and it is entirely virtual. This is an intimate group to maximize the attention given to each and every attendee. Day 1: Wednesday, November 3rd, 11AM - 7PM ET Day 2: Thursday, November 4th, 11AM - 7PM ET Day 3: Friday November 5th, 11AM - 7PM ET In today’s conversation, Terri Taylor not only shares all the details of the outstanding Summit she has planned for you, but she shares valuable tips for running your firm. The summit is open to all interior design business owners, not just IDBA coaching members, so be sure to check it out at Interior Design Business Academy Summit 2021 Terri Taylor is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at design conferences and showrooms throughout the country. She speaks on a number of topics related to the business of interior design, including: business practices, sales, marketing, motivation, leadership, success, and personal growth. Ms. Taylor is nationally known as an interior design business expert and coach who teaches and mentors interior designers to help them create successful design businesses. Terri has over 32 years in the interior design and construction business. She holds both residential and commercial general remodeling Arizona Contractors Licenses, and qualified for her NCIDQ certification in 1991. Terri is a professional member of ASID, IDS, and NCIDQ. Her Tucson-based design studio, Taylor Design Group, was a diversified design practice working in the areas of high-end residential design and remodeling, model home merchandising, hospitality, and medical and professional offices. Her studio has been the recipient of ASID Arizona South Chapter Design Excellence Awards every year since 1986 and she received the ASID National Design Excellence Award in 2000. Terri’s design work has been published in regional and national design journals, including ASID ICON and Wall St. Journal. Terri retired from her studio practice in 2015. In 2009, Ms. Taylor created Design Biz Blueprint (now Interior Design Business Academy); an education and coaching resource that provides a unique mix of design business strategies and systems, and powerful positive mindset to help interior designers create meaningful success. She’s inspired thousands of interior design entrepreneurs through her speaking engagements, seminars, on-line education, and coaching. Terri connects with heart-centered designers to help grow their business strategy, accountability, and profitability all while undergoing a beautiful personal transformation. Connect with Terri: Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Website Other Shows Mentioned: Episode 548 Episode 602 Episode 662

Today with Jenny and Ben Slingerland Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Jenny and Ben Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors share the growing pains of their luxury design firm, how they run their team, and how they fill the gaps in expertise. Jenny also details what her Design for Build course involves and how it helps her students expand their business and get the respect of builders. Pick it apart: [25:22] Ben explains what their new hire, a client experience coordinator, manages [27:24] Jenny explains how she provides initial design guidance on a project to her design staff and has designers handle client communication [38:49] Jenny shares the coaches she and Ben have hired to enhance and grow their business [44:01] Jenny explains how her class can help designers gain an additional revenue stream and how to talk to clients about the furniture stage [47:41] Jenny explains how her LuAnn University course will help designers [1:07:58] Jenny shares real advice for designers just getting their feet wet LuAnn and Jenny and Ben Slingerland’s Ah-Ha moments: “There is nothing greater to me if my students get one job or a positive response from a builder.” - Jenny Slingerland “It’s knowing what the builder’s expectation is and delivering it in an organized, buttoned-up manner.” - Jenny Slingerland “If you can make their life easier, they will hire you again and again.” - Jenny Slingerland More about Jenny and Ben Slingerland: Jenny is the Owner and Principal Designer of Black Ink Interiors, a luxury residential interior design firm based in Arizona. She and her team serve clients throughout the United States and the Bahamas. Jenny is known for her unique sense of style and her ability to visualize the possibilities of any space. She is an award-winning designer who has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Business of Home and Luxe Magazine. Ben is the Chief Operating Officer of Black Ink Interiors. He left the corporate world in 2018 to join the team and oversee the back end operations, allowing Jenny and the design team to focus on the client-facing activities. Ben has an MBA and over 20 years of business experience across multiple industries and disciplines including land acquisition & development for a national homebuilder and senior procurement and human resources roles at Mars Incorporated. Connect with Black Ink Interiors: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma: To learn about how it can uplevel your professionalism and organization, go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness and scroll down to the designer testimonial videos. Also on that site, my listeners can click to receive 20% off Mydoma for 3 months.

Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Ever wonder how Vita Vygovska of Vitalia Inc. Window Treatments & Awnings has been able to scale her business and maintain a family life at the same time? Her passion for spreadsheets has helped her design and build a digitized Project Management system that streamlined her business process and serves as her center of truth. Listen now as she outlines the 10 must-have elements that every Project Management System needs. Pick It Apart: [18:35] Vita explains show a PMS gives you the options and checklists to make sure nothing is forgotten or falls through the cracks. [36:33] Vita shows how to use the reports from your digital project management system to evaluate your business [39:11] Vita shares about how she has worked very hard to consistently refine the systems and processes of her business and the benefits that brings to her personal life. [40:50] Vita shares how she got a business coach. [43:07] Vita reviews the need for a process of project management to get your order through each project stage [48:17] Luann talks about key project stages: waiting for approval/deposit and balance due Ah-Ha Moments with LuAnn Nigara and Vita Vygovska: “10 points to a great Project Management System, but one of my favorites is that it has to be suggestive and intuitive, a va-va-voom, sexy system!” - Vita Vygovska “A good Project Management System can provide validation to the feelings of busy because you can see the numbers in front of you, and gives you a whole new level of awareness.” - Vita Vygovska “Mindset is huge. Other people giving you limitations is horse crap.” - LuAnn Nigara More About Vita Vygovska Vitalia Vygovska (Vita for short), CWFP, MBA, is an award-winning window treatment specialist, author, speaker, mom, wife, and a ballroom dance enthusiast. Her company, Vitalia, Inc, provides all-encompassing concierge-level, tech-driven fabrication, measurement, installation, and project management services exclusively for interior designers. In business for over a decade, Vita and her team are experts in their narrow field, providing designers with superb quality product and excellent communication. Most importantly, they take off the stress, save time, and give peace of mind in the job is well-done. Connect with Vita Vygovska: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today with Rachel Moriarty Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about visibility and authenticity. So many of us are bought into the idea that niching is the right way to go. But when we go to sit down and think about what we do that’s special, we can’t figure it out. For my guest today, Rachel Moriarty, the answer came from tapping into her own existing strengths and experiences. Now, she’s sharing those insights with us! Pick it apart: [8:45] Rachel shares her biggest challenge with visibility and how she managed to overcome it. [14:40] Rachel and LuAnn discuss how your background and strengths can play into your success as a designer—even if they aren’t related on the surface. [36:30] Rachel talks about her own challenge with wrestling with herself and how she finally pushed through. [44:00] LuAnn and Rachel reflect on Rachel’s ability to stand in her own light and bring her authentic self to the table. LuAnn and Rachel Moriarty’s Ah-Ha moments: “There’s no competition because everybody knows exactly who they are and stand in that space so strongly.” -Rachel Moriarty “To me, it’s non-negotiable to have people in my life that know more than I know. It’s as simple as that. Because otherwise, how am I going to know more?” -LuAnn Nigara “I love these tight relationships that I have with my clients because it allows me to go in deep, which I think is my gift as an introvert.” -Rachel Moriarty More about Rachel Moriarty: Rachel Moriarty is an Award-Winning Designer, #1 Best Selling Author, Style Expert as well as a Color + Pattern-ista! Perhaps most importantly, Rachel is the ultimate colorful character! Those who know her and follow her on social media look forward to seeing her vibrant wardrobe, eclectic jewelry, and her ease with being what she calls ‘extra.’ Rachel’s multi-cultural roots - she is Mexican, Native American and Filipina - are an integral part of her love of diversity in design. Rachel is not afraid of color, texture, and design influences from across the globe. Raised by a Mexican-American feminist mother with a creative side, Rachel’s grandparents hail from Manila, Mexico City, the Arizona border town of Douglas, and California’a agricultural San Joaquin Valley. Rachel embodies and embraces them all as part of what makes her uniquely American and creatively equipped to design any space. Rachel embodies her personal belief that color adds interest and excitement to the world, and, like a chef seasoning a meal, she sprinkles it liberally to add passion and flavor. Rachel’s iconic designs and unique personal philosophy have been featured in many publications, including Vision Magazine and San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyle, and Rachel has been featured on HGTV and The Design Network. Rachel has partnered with Unique Design Solutions to create her own tile color collection, and maintains an active clientele of both residential and commercial design clients. A former fashion stylist, Rachel’s passion for fabric, texture and color infuses all her creative work. Rachel is a master of weaving color into the spaces she designs to create energy, warmth and authenticity. There is a reason that clients line up to work with Rachel! Her warmth, enthusiasm and confidence manifest a seamless design experience and make the project fun start to finish. A true design pro with years of experience, Rachel makes it a point to work with trusted tradesmen, quality craftsmen, skilled artisans, reliable installers as well as local artists to take each design project from concept to completion. Connect with Rachel Moriarty: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started. Meet Revel Wood’s John Dupra at High Point at our Meet and Greet on Thursday oct 14, 2021 or at the PTF Tour on Friday Oct 15th 2021 check the show notes fo

Today with Bethany Wrede Peterson: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Bethany Wrede Peterson, an interior designer, host of Arrived podcast, and business coach who specializes in helping designers find their unique voice. Bethany and I are talking today about a topic that isn’t new to the podcast—unlocking your unique voice, your niche, the thing that you do that nobody else does that makes you the obvious, only choice. But Bethany manages to frame it in a way that opened my eyes, despite the fact that I have been having these conversations for the last five years. Pick it apart: [3:55] Bethany shares the common trait she has seen in interior designers that holds them back from niching. [9:10] Bethany discusses tips for finding your voice even when it’s not easy to filter down and discover it. [21:43] Bethany talks about how to overcome the mindset blocks surrounding your voice. [42:11] LuAnn and Bethany discuss how to conduct a post-mortem following a project and turn every failure into a success. LuAnn and Bethany Wrede Peterson’s Ah-Ha moments: “If you think about it from the perspective of what’s not worked versus what has worked...where have you felt burnt out in a client project? That’s a huge indicator that that is not the direction that you want to be taking your niche into.” -Bethany Wrede Peterson “I think why it’s been troublesome for some of our colleagues to identify their only or their passion, is because they do that first level—review their past clients and see which ones they’re happy with. But happy is not as specific as ‘Which ones could you identify with so well that you could anticipate their needs, that you could identify with so well that you instinctively understood what they would like or want or the way you would service them that would be successful?’ The way you described it was so clear to me.” -LuAnn Nigara “It’s not enough to simply say, ‘sustainable design,’ because we know there are a thousand other designers that can work to that. It’s about how we demonstrate that we are the right person for that client, not only for the broader niche, but with actually relating to that person’s whole life and story.” -LuAnn Nigara “If you second guess yourself, your talents, your divine right to be doing this, then you’re depriving the rest of us of that talent that you’ve got. If you don’t show up and do it, then somebody doesn’t get it. And you have to think about that because there’s somebody out there that needs what only you can offer.” -LuAnn Nigara More About Bethany Wrede Peterson: Bethany Wrede Peterson is an interior designer turned podcast & brand messaging coach. She helps interior designers and creative entrepreneurs find their Voice to become more profitable, achieve greater meaning, and have more FUN in their work. Bethany started her self-development podcast, ARRIVED., in 2019 initially to help her then-niche – single men – find their voice at home and in their relationships. After the pandemic hit, Bethany started receiving requests from peers to help them launch their pod, and realized that her own story needed to feature in her coaching. She works with clients one-to-one and is also the creator of 'Find Your Voice', an online course to help creatives rediscover their Why, find their Voice, and launch their pod in 8 short weeks. Bethany has been featured in The Guardian; Wallpaper*; The Course Method; OnlineCourseTalks.com; I AM CEO; Subkit; and Minnesota AM950 radio. Her podcasts, 'ARRIVED.', and 'ARRIVED...Daily.' have been streamed in 25 countries. Connect with Bethany Wrede Peterson: Website Instagram Podcast What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma is your complete designer toolkit, the place for you to manage all of your projects, from time tracking to communication to product approvals, so that you can free your time up to focus on your business and serve your clients. You can get started today and save 20% off your first three months at mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness. Other Shows Mentioned: # 174 Power Talk Friday- Fred Berns- Own Your “Only” Word & Tips to Discover Yours #256 Nancy Ganzekaufer- A Powerful Strategy to Attract More Clients #440 Power Talk Friday: Tobi Fairley: Her Design You Coaching Program

Today with Jessica Mann-Amato Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Jessica Mann-Amato of Mancini Duffy, a New York architectural firm specializing in commercial and hospitality projects shares the innovative design software her firm uses to help clients visualize their project, iterate in real-time, and confidently add their stamp of approval. Pick it apart: [6:18] Jessica walks through her paperless process [18:45] Jessica shares how they introduce 360 process to a legacy client [22:49] Jessica explains how Covid forced them to develop the firm’s 360 system further [24:49] Jessica explains her company’s R&D department [40:18] Jessica talks about the state of her commercial firm in this semi post-pandemic climate and how her clients are adapting their spaces [52:10] LuAnn talks about how designers can help local businesses set up a Zoom room [53:53] Jessica talk about how to purchase the ToolBelt software LuAnn and Jessica Mann-Amato’s Ah-Ha moments: “This environment allows everyone to visualize what we’re describing.” - Jessica Mann-Amato “It allows us to be more intentional about when we’re utilizing in-person time versus video time.” - Jessica Mann-Amato More about Jessica Mann-Amato: Jessica Mann-Amato, IIDA, is a natural design leader. With over 20 years of client-focused design experience, she oversees workplace strategy, space planning, and interior design for Mancini’s New York office as a principal and shareholder. She works diligently to bring her colleagues and clients together to achieve a shared vision, infused with a creative edge, that meets—and exceeds—expectations. Jessica utilizes Mancini’s cutting-edge technology to further the design process and bring each client’s vision to life. She uses the company’s state-of-the-art Design Lab to lead clients through proprietary 360 Design Sessions which immerse them in their future spaces and allow for a truly collaborative and interactive design process, which Jessica has always promoted with her clients. Jessica cut her teeth by devising beautiful and functional interiors for consumer goods companies, digital media movers and shakers, and boutique financial firms. Her career highlights include design projects for a wide array of clients that met unique business goals, integrated new workplace strategies, and delivered design that has had significant impact on clients’ company culture. She has created spaces for clients such as Indeed, Rent the Runway, McGraw-Hill, Rauxa, Pernod Ricard USA, ALM Media, and Citigroup, among many other innovative companies. Jessica believes that true design inspiration is achieved with real collaboration within her group and with each client. She readily shares what she knows with the designers of Mancini, making mentoring and professional development a key component in her work. A graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, before joining Mancini Jessica worked with Spector Group, HLW International LLP, NELSON, Furnstahl & Simon Architects, and Conant Architects. She served as the 2009-2010 International Interior Design Association (IIDA) NY Chapter President. Connect with Jessica Mann-Amato: LinkedIn Mancini Duffy LinkedIn Twitter Instagram Mancini Duffy Facebook Website What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started. Meet Revel Wood’s John Dupre at High Point at our Meet and Greet on Thursday oct 14, 2021 or at the PTF Tour on Friday Oct 15th 2021 check the show notes for links to both of these and check the show notes for the link to revelwoods.com/pro-account to learn more about how you can educate yourself on flooring, confidently specify the right product for your project, and profit from your expertise.

Today with George Oliphant: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! George Oliphant from NBC’s George to the Rescue shares how the show (now in the 12th season) came about, how he chooses designers to help him, and why relationships matter. New Jersey designer, Campbell Minister, was chosen as the featured designer (who then chose Window Works to supply the window treatments!). Pick it apart: [14:43] George shares how he got the George to the Rescue opportunity [38:42] LuAnn asks George how a designer can put themselves up to be a designer on the show [45:33] LuAnn explains the connection between relationships and opportunities LuAnn and George Oliphant’s Ah-Ha moments: “It all comes down to relationships. Who have you taken the time to know? Who have you taken the time to help along the way?” - LuAnn “I wanted to be part of the helping.” - George Oliphant “People really like to help other people - and if they can, they will.” - George Oliphant More About George Oliphant: George Oliphant is the popular Emmy Award-winning host of NBC's George to the Rescue, a weekly national home improvement show. For 12 seasons, George and his team of contractors and interior designers have rescued deserving homeowners and community centers. George Oliphant started out his career as a touring children's theatre actor. He quickly transitioned to become the host of Nickelodeon's Nick GaS. From then on, he worked as a VJ for various MTV shows. After working as a VJ, he landed jobs for NBC as a host, one of them being, Open House to the Rescue, which then turned to George to the Rescue. The show began in New York and is now a part of all NBC stations across the map. GTTR recently won a second consecutive National Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Lifestyle Series”. You can stream past episodes at Youtube.com/George2Rescue and on Peacock. Connect with George Oliphant: Website George to the Rescue Instagram George Oliphant Instagram Facebook YouTube Connect with Campbell Minister: Website Pinterest Instagram What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started.

Today with Leyden Lewis Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. We talk a lot about the business side of design—from niching to raising your rates to processes and systems. But today, we’re talking about the root of design—creativity. Bringing creativity and innovation to your design not only establishes you as a designer, it also levels up the value you bring to your clients. My guest today, Leyden Lewis, is certainly an innovator and a visionary. He’s sharing his insights into designing from the heart, creating irreplicable work, and drawing inspiration from the world. Pick it apart: [3:47] LuAnn and Leyden reminisce on their friendship and working relationship. [18:00] Leyden highlights what he has learned in hindsight from his career. [34:15] LuAnn and Leyden discuss how creativity and innovation play such a vital role in design. [42:45] Leyden shares how finding the Black Artists + Designers Guild reignited his career. [55:08] Leyden gives his input on the shift in opportunities for designers of Color. LuAnn and Leyden Lewis’s Ah-Ha moments: “Be aware that your own maturation, your own age, your own marketing and financial literacy has to tie in. If anything, I learned everything that I know about my business from a series of amazing exposure and failures. Everyone’s story is the same in that regard. We all make errors or misjudgments.” -Leyden Lewis “In five and a half years doing this business, almost every successful designer who has been on the show agrees, it almost always comes down to relationships. It’s the relationships you make, it’s the way you care for them. The internet is going to be there, but what I want to say to the younger designers is don’t negate the relationships.” -LuAnn Nigara “I’m an outlier. I try to push myself. I bring the fierceness and the robustness and the pushing of the design envelope to my own work. Of course, I have done simple designs for clients who do not want to be pushed, but wherever there’s an opportunity, I push the envelope. Because design for me is an absolutely organic concept. I think it should be evolving, I think it should reflect the times that we’re in, the conditions, the people, the cultural shifts. To me, design is not static.” -Leyden Lewis More about Leyden Lewis: Leyden Lewis Design Studio is a Brooklyn-based firm that over the last thirty years has created poetic and culturally sensitive spaces and furniture in the United States and around the world. Founder and Creative Director Leyden Lewis is a trained architect with a background which encompasses the culturally rich Caribbean heritage of Trinidad and Tobago, urban sophistication, and classical European Modernism. Leyden Lewis Design Studio has been included in the Elle Decor’s A-List top 125 designers in the world in 2019 and 2020, as well as features in Architectural Digest by Carly Olson, New York Magazine - The Cut by Wendy Goodman, a TV feature on Open House TV on NBC, House Beautiful by Hadley Keller. As a fine artist, his work has been exhibited widely and has received much acclaim, in 2004, Leyden Lewis was invited by the curator Thelma Golden to participate in the Harlemworld: Metropolis and Metaphor show at the Studio Museum in Harlem. Critic Herbert Muschamp referred to Lewis's work as "the poetic heart" of the exhibition. When it is desirable, Leyden Lewis Design Studio assists and consults with building art collections for clients. Connect with Leyden Lewis: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma is your complete designer toolkit, the place for you to manage all of your projects, from time tracking to communication to product approvals, so that you can free your time up to focus on your business and serve your clients. You can get started today and save 20% off your first three months at mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness. Other Shows Mentioned: #587 Darrell Long: The Best Design Comes From Within, Not Pinterest

Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Vita Vygovska of Vitalia Inc. is back for Window Treatment Friday and this time we’re talking digitizing your systems. Why go digital? Go paperless to take back your time and alleviate that frustrating back and forth with your vendors and installers. Dread the client making a change to the estimate? With Vita’s digital system, you’ll fret no more! Pick It Apart: [10:37] Vita shares what she’s hearing is the biggest struggle of window treatment pros [12:25] Vita describes a digital time-saving solution for repetitive processes [17:26] Vita shares the second step to automating your backend systems [20:19] Vita shares the third iteration the original estimate receives - becoming a PO for the vendor [21:20] Vita shares how the original estimate is turned into notes for the installer [28:29] Vita advises listeners how to think about a big change [37:09] Vita tells why posting your documents to the cloud will simplify your life Ah-Ha Moments with LuAnn Nigara and Vita Vygovska: “If you are using pen and paper and a calculator to figure out the yardage, that has to stop!” - Vita Vygovska More About Vita Vygovska Vitalia Vygovska (Vita for short), CWFP, MBA, is an award-winning window treatment specialist, author, speaker, mom, wife, and a ballroom dance enthusiast. Her company, Vitalia, Inc, provides all-encompassing concierge-level, tech-driven fabrication, measurement, installation, and project management services exclusively for interior designers. In business for over a decade, Vita and her team are experts in their narrow field, providing designers with superb quality product and excellent communication. Most importantly, they take off the stress, save time, and give peace of mind in the job is well-done. Connect with Vita Vygovska: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn What’s new with LuAnn Nigara Luannlive.com luannnigara.com/launch http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today with Kristen Rivoli Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Many designers are interested in expanding their business, whether that involves bringing a product to the market, tapping into a new niche, or building up passive income. My guest today, Kristen Rivoli, brings interesting insight into this idea. She recently rebranded and added a passive income stream to her business, built on selling curated designs to those who love the idea of design but don’t have the budget for it. She’s sharing her insights with us in today’s episode! Pick it apart: [2:14] LuAnn and Kristen discuss the changes to the design world post-pandemic and how the industry has shifted over time. [14:41] Kristen discusses the importance of data, organization, and processes. [21:00] Kristen shares her new passive revenue stream and how she started it. [30:23] Kristen highlights how she branded her passive income stream without taking away from her luxury design brand. [1:01:07] Kristen emphasizes how she leaned on experts to help her launch the expansion of her business. LuAnn and Kristen Rivoli’s Ah-Ha moments: “The best advice I can give to my clients right now is, we’re going to move forward with the design, but we’re all just going to have to be a little more patient. Things are a little more upside down today. It’s just our reality of today.” -Kristen Rivoli “Give all sides of the design world a try. Try it on and see if it works.” -Kristen Rivoli “It is a challenge. Many designers have talked about the challenge of offering a different ladder of services that is different than their bread and butter or passion.” -LuAnn Nigara “There are lots of potential clients who are not your client today, but they will be in five or eight or ten years. If you can offer a service to them that respects where they are now...that’s what you’re doing. You’re saying I know that you want something beautiful and you want someone to help you but you’re not quite ready for my full service, so let’s deliver something to you, let’s get you in the Kristen family, and in ten years when you’re ready, you’re going to think of me first.” -LuAnn Nigara More about Kristen Rivoli: Kristen Rivoli Interior Design, founded in 2009, is built upon my extensive experience designing luxury residential and large-scale commercial projects. With an expertise in new builds and gut renovations, I design premium homes customized to your tastes and needs. My designs have been featured in Architectural Digest, House Beautiful, New England Home, Boston Common, Domino, Boston Globe Magazine, and HGTV. A native of western New York and graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, I live with my husband, two sons, and dog just outside of Boston. Connect with Kristen Rivoli: Website Rooms by Rivoli Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma Studio is the best place for you to manage all the details of your design projects. From time tracking to invoicing and receiving payments, even communication between you, your trades and your client. Go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbuisness to get started today. Other Shows Mentioned: #319 Power Talk Friday: Kristan McLaughlin – Your Local Design Center As A Resource for Your Interior Design Projects #10 Denise McGaha – Deadline Driven Design

Today with Mickie Kennedy: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. For Power Talk Friday, small business PR pro Mickie Kennedy joins us to share a unique angle we can use to help get the attention of publications. Learn how to reverse engineer an effective press release that starts with ditching everything we know about design, allows us to gather feedback from consumers, and positions us as a thought leader in the industry. Pick it apart: [2:38] Mickie talks about why focusing on PR strategy matters [8:03] LuAnn summarizes how HARO and proactive PR differs [16:50] LuAnn and Mickie talk about a PR strategy schedule [22:52] Mickie shares how to do “newsjacking” properly [27:50] Mickie suggests his take on the suggested number of survey respondents [32:08] Mickie offers his opinion about why PR helps your business LuAnn and Mickie Kennedy’s Ah-Ha moments: “Having those “as featured on” sections on your website convey expertise and is an implied endorsement.” - Mickie Kennedy More About Mickie Kennedy: Mickie Kennedy is the Founder and President of eReleases, the small business leader for press release distribution, now celebrating 22 years in business. He is an expert at helping small businesses increase their visibility and credibility and he’s here today to share some valuable insights. Connect with Mickie Kennedy: Website LinkedIn Facebook Twitter What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started.

Today with Lane McNab: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I’m joined by Lane McNab. Lane runs a successful interior design business, Lane McNab Interiors, but, like so many of you, she found herself wanting to diversify. That desire eventually led to the birth of Guild by LMI, Lane’s furniture line. Starting a furniture line, or adding any facet of the business, takes a lot of work. Today, Lane is sharing a spotlight on the challenges she faced and how she overcame them along the way. Pick it apart: [1:41] Lane shares what drove her to start her line and how her core values guided her in her endeavor. [20:08] Lane discusses how she navigated production for her line, and how that has changed as the line has started to thrive. [27:45] Lane details how to balance a commitment to sustainability and high-quality. [32:02] Lane shares insights into the process of working in showrooms and the lessons she had to learn as she navigated that world. [48:27] LuAnn and Lane discuss the nitty-gritty details of what financial impact went into the creation of the line. LuAnn and Lane McNab’s Ah-Ha moments: “You have to determine along the way where you’re going to make a compromise, because you can’t make everyone happy all the time. So you have to determine what is the foundation of what you’re trying to do, and then that can inform those decisions as you’re trying to make them. There are hundreds of decisions that go into developing something like a furniture line.” -Lane McNab “You know what I love about that, is it’s so typical of any entrepreneur’s journey, but of course to a designer’s journey. I can imagine that if you analyzed the projects you’ve done and the way you priced them twelve years ago, you’d probably say the same thing: ‘in the beginning I wasn’t sure if I was going to get another client or if the phone was ever going to ring again, so I was pricing projects at a lower rate. But I eventually understood that my value was worth more.’” -LuAnn Nigara “Once I know what I’m going to do, and that my risk tolerance is ok with it, I’m just going to do it. I’m not going to hit a wall of ‘oh it’s too hard or too expensive.’ You just get to the next fork in the road and figure out how to make it work.” -Lane McNab More about Lane McNab: A Southern transplant, Lane grew up in Tallahassee, FL and completed undergraduate studies at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. Soon after she moved to the West Coast where she attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Graduating with advanced degrees in vocal performance, she pursued her music career spending several years as a highly-acclaimed operatic soprano in leading roles throughout the Bay Area. After years of extensive travel and studies abroad, Lane left opera singing to manage the demands of a growing family. When she returned to the working world, she focused on her other artistic passion: designing interiors. Before founding Lane McNab Interiors in 2012, she apprenticed with a local design and construction firm as a designer and project manager which gave her an invaluable hands-on experience and a deep knowledge of the design and construction process. A continuously curious learner with a passion for beauty, uniqueness, detail, and quality Lane has created a firm with a team of like-minded professionals giving her a devoted clientele and close relationships with vendors and tradespeople throughout the Bay Area. Her designs have been featured in numerous publications and tastemaker sites. When not passionately pursuing design, Lane spends her free time with her three children and husband in their 115 year old house in Berkeley, CA. Connect with Barry Lantz: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet: Kravet’s commitment to innovation and their ability to bring in new technology works to make life easier for you as a designer. Their new website redesign makes finding quality home furnishings even easier for you. With the new redesign, you can quickly access all of your tools, like your account settings, price lists, current and past orders and more. The product has also been enhanced to offer more tailored results to get

Today with Desi Creswell: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Desi Creswell, interior design coach and mindset guru shares the common signs of overwhelm and what can be done to combat the overwork that quietly sneaks into our lives when we take our eyes off our work/life vision and start telling ourselves all sorts of stories about why we must stack our day so high it starts to spill over. Pick it apart: [9:51] Desi covers the first few signs of overwhelm: buffering, daydreaming about quitting, and not being excited about your wins. [16:26] Desi walks through the final signs of overwhelm: not feeling creative and not having fun anymore. [27:05] Desi addresses how we can prevent overwhelm. [43:01] Desi offers approaches to saying no to a project. [51:19] Desi shares how working on our mindset allows us to process through negative emotions. LuAnn and Desi Creswell's Ah-Ha moments: “We’re overworking because we’re trying to get somewhere, but that ends up slowing us down - and might result in us quitting the dream instead of getting us there faster.” - Desi Cresswell “Confidence is being able to have your own back through any emotion and knowing you can handle it.” - Desi Cresswell More About Desi Creswell: Desi is a Certified Life & Business Coach for interior designers who are exhausted from the hamster wheel and want to get out of the hustle. As a former interior designer who found another way, Desi understands how it feels to be trapped in the constant spin of busy work. Through her intimate group program and private coaching, she coaches designers through mindset tools and practical strategies so that they can make the time to build meaningful progress toward their business and life goals. Connect with Desi Creswell: Website Instagram Facebook What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started. Other Shows Mentioned: #475 Power Talk Friday: Desi Creswell: How to Create More Time #557 Power Talk Friday: Desi Creswell: Develop Your CEO Mindset

Today with Barry Lantz: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. In his twenties, Barry Lantz worked retail before starting his own full-service interior design business. Then, instead of retiring, he switched gears to begin a successful encore career in art. Learn what advice this seasoned pro has for young designers and the words his mother told him that he’ll never forget. Pick it apart: [7:09] Barry talks about his first job before starting his own business. [11:15] Barry shares his story about pitching to Kravet. [17:41] Barry talks about his unique approach to client presentations. [26:35] Barry shares advice for designers. [30:36] Barry talks about the need for designers to have confidence. LuAnn and Barry Lantz’s Ah-Ha moments: “For me, selling is the rush. I just love to sell!” - Barry Lantz “Two of the biggest words for success are selling and presentation.” - Barry Lantz “I never think anything. I’ve never said that to a client.” - Barry Lantz More about Barry Lantz: Known nationally for his sense of style and interior design talent, Barry Lantz embarked on a professional artistic career in 2010. After painting several pieces for an event and selling them unexpectedly, he began to paint on canvas as a layer to his design business. His art has become an important component of his successful design profession. Barry of A Lantz Design has designed interior and exterior spaces for more than thirty years. His signature interiors have been published in local and national publications. Barry’s work is admired, respected and enjoyed in over thirteen states in the United States. His style and talent have also been featured on HGTV. Barry continues to provide interior and exterior design services to his clients everywhere. The long lasting relationship he has with clients is what motivated him to begin his expression on canvas. With the use of color, scale, form and balance the interior spaces he creates become works of art. By applying his forward design approach to canvas, Barry’s art comes alive with movement, mood, color, scale and proportion. Inspiration comes from shapes, light, texture, color and earthly ingredients. His new found love for painting has become a passion. “Having placed several hundred pieces since 2010 is overwhelming and very flattering,” he shares. Barry paints in his design studio in Carmel, Indiana. His studio features work in all sizes and colors and you can see a painting in progress. Commissions are welcome for the most discriminating buyers and collectors. Connect with Barry Lantz: Website Instagram Barry Lantz Interiors Kravet: Barry Lantz Canvas to Cloth What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kravet: To see what’s new at Kravet, go to Kravet.com and use coupon code AWDB10 for 10% off. If you are going to High Point this fall, Oct 2021, please be sure to stop into to Kravet. Their showroom is one of the most beautiful ones there. You can see the Canvas to Cloth Collection, meet the Kravet team and let them know how much you appreciate their support in helping me bring this podcast to you. If you will be in High Point, I hope you are planning to come the LuAnn and Friends Meet and Greet party sponsored by Revel Woods Pandora's Manor. This is a free event but you do need to RSVP. Please go RSVP here!

Today with Lisa Princic: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. We talk a lot about niching on the show. But today we’re talking about a different aspect of getting clear on what you do—your value proposition. Don’t let the marketing jargon fool you: your value proposition is something you already have, whether you’ve defined it or not. Today, business strategist Lisa Princic is sharing her insights on what a value proposition is, why it matters, and how to gain clarity around yours. Pick it apart: [0:53] Lisa highlights what a value proposition is and how it helps you think about your business like a business. [5:15] Lisa shares her story of entrepreneurship and how she realized that she needed to define her value proposition. [11:12] LuAnn and Lisa discuss the emotional transformation designers offer their clients and how they can distinguish that from others. [23:48] LuAnn and Lisa talk about why it’s worth taking the time to get clear on your messaging. [31:05] Lisa discusses why targeting your message at the clients most ready to buy makes more sense than trying to attract everyone. LuAnn and Lisa Princic’s Ah-Ha moments: “This is what I find interesting about service-based businesses. We start a little bit casually. We say “I want to do this thing” and we don’t really think about it like a business. But could you imagine a business that is planning to have huge growth or is asking for a lot of venture capitalist funding before they get started—they have to prove themselves before they go to market. They’re figuring out their value proposition before they’re setting up shop. They have to know that it’s getting traction, they have to do their market research, and they have to get clear on why it’s going to be successful. We don’t do that.” -Lisa Princic “Whether or not you call it out on your website “I am the interior design that does sustainable design” for example, if you have enough blog posts and information out there, the people that are searching that will find you, and if they love your portfolio and all the other things fall into place, then they already know you can do that because of the writing, but whether your website has you niched all the way down is irrelevant at that point.” -LuAnn Nigara “Trust is created through words more than it is through photos. It’s letting them know what you do. You can be ultra nurturing, you can be leading edge...these are all really subtle things that we can write down...You’re going to better suit different clients based on your personality.” -Lisa Princic More About Lisa Princic: Lisa Princic is a trained business strategist and the host of the Scaling Deep Podcast. Lisa's clients turn to her for help with business growth when they are worn out from chasing the next mass marketing trick, but know they need to go beyond word of mouth. She is a results-oriented, deep thinker who has an innate instinct for “seeing” the value of a business and turning that into a pipeline of ideal clients. A staunch believer in business simplicity and intention, Lisa helps her clients accomplish their goals by focusing on what to do AND what to ignore. Connect with Lisa Princic: Website Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Podcast What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Revel Woods: your source for premium hardwood and resilient flooring. Using the Revel Woods selector tool, you’ll be able to find curated suggestions for your project catered to your client’s home. When you sign up for a free professional membership, you’ll get access to exclusive discounts and referral benefits. Visit revelwoods.com to get started. Other Shows Mentioned: #651 Power Talk Friday: Rachael Bozsik: Gaining Credibility in Interior Design #174 Power Talk Friday- Fred Berns- Own Your “Only” Word & Tips to Discover Yours #256 Nancy Ganzekaufer- A Powerful Strategy to Attract More Clients #214 Rachel Moriarty: How FaceBook Live Can Be A Game Changer For Your Interior Design Business

Today with Kate Rasmussen: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about how to take on new projects—specifically projects that you don’t have experience or expertise in. It can seem almost impossible to break into new avenues in your business. But with the right strategy in place, you can find and land new projects, even without the specific expertise in that area. I’m joined by Kate Rasmussen of Wade Weissmann Architecture, who has quite a bit of experience doing just that! Pick it apart: [1:16] Kate talks about putting together pricing and proposals when jumping into brand new types of projects. [9:50] LuAnn and Kate discuss how to successfully manage new projects without having the systems and processes in place. [18:07] LuAnn and Kate talk about the importance of designing with your client’s budget in mind. [32:25] Kate shares how to find growth opportunities for your firm. [45:55] Kate gives her insight on how to develop relationships with architects. LuAnn and Amy Lynn Allard’s Ah-Ha moments: “When you’re breaking into a new market, you’re probably not going to hit the same profitability margin, but you also don’t want it to hit the bottom line too hard, especially when it’s a much larger project.” -Kate Rasmussen “We analyze at the end of a project what went well, what didn’t go well, from design to schedule to communication, and then at the heart of it, profitability.” -Kate Rasmussen “It does attest to the power of relationships, that it’s not a transaction, it’s a conversation, it’s a friendship, it’s a relationship. You’re not necessarily calling them to ask them to show you or teach you or help you propose this. You’re calling on a colleague that you know has done a project of similar style or scale and you’re picking their brain about that project— what were the pitfalls, the challenges, what did you not know before you started.” -LuAnn Nigara Connect with Kate Rasmussen: Website Instagram Facebook Pinterest What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Mydoma: Mydoma is the designer toolkit. Not only does it offer a workflow software to keep your projects organized from beginning to end, but it also offers a valuable, thriving designer community. Mydoma is created by designers, for designers, so you know that it can truly offer everything you need to stay organized and free up your time. You can get 20% off your first three months by signing up at mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness. Kirsch: Kirsch is your source for custom drapery hardware and window coverings. With a history of innovation and extensive industry knowledge, Kirsch can set you up with what you need for your next project. Visit kirsch.com to learn more.