Today we have Chad James with us from Chad James Group. Chad has a very thoughtful way of setting up his business. He considers his firm an educational firm and has the roles divided up into very specific categories. He identifies people as interns, apprentice, junior designer, design assistant and Chad himself. He is going to discuss with you ways to duplicate the systems he uses to manage his team with these categories.
Show Notes:
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Today on the show we are in for a real treat! Alan Tanksley has a “royalty” background in interior design and has his own successful firm: Alan Tanksley, Inc. We are going to talk about his “royalty” background and how space you work in can make a difference.
Show Notes:
See the rest of the resources here: http://windowworks-nj.com
On this week’s power talk Friday I have a returning expert: Kae Whitaker of Kae Whitaker Solutions! When Kae was on the show before she shared with us a case study with a particular interior designer that she helped turn her business around in three months-Farrha Hyman. Today she is going to talk with us how to hire the people you need.
Show Notes:
See the rest of the resources here: http://windowworks-nj.com
We have Natalie Reddell for this Well-Designed Business podcast episode. She is an interior designer, lifestyle blogger, and founder of Commander in Chic Design firm.
Natalie began her career as a designer at the age of 4 , when she began collecting toothpaste tube tops as buffet lamp lampshades for her dollhouse. When she's not working, she can be found at home with her 17-year old son, Schuyler, and Scarlett O'Hara (their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel).
Natalie received her undergraduate degree in interior design from Florida State University. She also studied the history of architecture & design at Parsons University, Paris, France. She has been in the industry for more than 16 years & has experience in kitchen & bathroom design,home staging, historic-restoration, commercial design & buying for a large furniture company. Her work now is mostly high-end residential design. She has clients in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, the Carolinas, Montana, Colorado, Panama and the Bahamas.
For the rest of the show notes, please visit: http://windowworks-nj.com
We have Laura Umansky from Laura U! This is a special interview for me because I love to meet the people you look up to in the design world. We love to see them create beautiful interiors but also big business platforms for themselves. Today we are going to talk to Laura about this. Laura founded her business Laura U in 2006 and personalized customer service is paramount.
Show Notes:
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Welcome to another power talk Friday! I have Tim Templeton with us today. Tim is the author of a referral of a lifetime in the Ken Blanchard series. Ken is a veteran executive entrepreneur, consultant, international best-selling author, speaker and lifelong learner. Tim and I are going to be talking about referrals. We will discuss how to get them, how to access them, how to ask for them and how to maximize them. I know from personal experience that this is something that entrepreneur’s struggle with.
Show Notes:
Resources:
Tim’s Website: consultinggold.com
The Recognized Authority
Always Positive in Your Business
The Entrepreneur’s Handbook
Vince Siciliano
The Tipping Point
Mark Levy
The Referral of a Lifetime Guide Book www.thereferralofalifetime.com
Welcome back! Today we have Lori Sawaya! Lori has been in the business of color for over 20 years. She has a background working with print, architecture paint, and color. Her experience and knowledge enable her to make complex color concepts easy for everyone to understand. Today we are going to talk about color, what you should keep in mind when picking a color and new tools you can use when it comes to color.
Show Notes:
For the rest of the show notes and resources
please visit: http://windowworks-nj.com
Hi! Welcome to another episode of A Well-Designed Business! Today is the actual 6- month anniversary of the podcast and I thought I would do a solo show and reflect on The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business. And then I am going to share with you, my Top 10 favorite podcasts.
Now these are by no means the only things learned in these last 6 months and they are not even necessarily the absolute most important. And as a matter of fact, I have specifically not included the coaches and consultants on this list. Every one of the consultants I have had on has shared extremely valuable advice, but it is straightforward and easy to grasp listening to their interviews. Today I am concentrating on regular designers like you who have discovered something, implemented something and are by doing it have made improvements to their businesses. So are you ready?
then with the list that’s opposite of yours, you arrive at the qualifications that you’re looking for in your first hire. Link: http://windowworks-nj.com/06-identifying-your-transferrable-skills-with-erika-ward/
7. Nancy Ganzekufer- Niche is Riche, Broad is Broke. Episode 15. Countless examples, Cheryl Janis specializing in boutique healthcare spaces, Terri Lind Davis with her art and boomer focused design, Heather McManus with her video series and her book, I could go on…all of these designers and many more have created a niche so that they can stand apart from any other designer a prospective client might be contemplating. Andrew Joseph from Andrew Joseph PR said to us- discover what is your “you”, what is your essence, what makes you different from the others. Link: http://windowworks-nj.com/nancy/
Top 10 podcasts I Listen to:
Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this different episode. Please remember to connect with me on Facebook at www/facebook.com/windowworksnj, find all about Window Works at www.windowworks-nj.com and don’t forget about your 10% discount on your 1st curatedkravet.com purchase. At checkout enter CKPODCAST
Thanks so much, have a great day!
It’s power talk Friday! Krista Coupar is with us again! Today she is to talk with us about work-life balance. The key questions we need to ask ourselves to arrive at this perfect equation.
Show Notes:
For the rest of the Show notes, please visit: http://windowworks-nj.com
Guess what? This is our six month anniversary! I have two very special shows for you this week. The first show we are going to meet one of the masterminds behind the fabulous curatedkravet.com platform. Curatedkravet.com is celebrating a few milestones of its own. This spring marked the one year anniversary of the hugely successful curatedkravet.com!
Our special guest today is Will Hunt Lewis, Senior Director of Merchandising of curatedkravet.com! In this position, he oversees all business done with merchandising and product development for all product category. Today Will Hunt and I are going to talk all curatedkravet.com from quality, delivering times, to the designers that curate the rooms.
Will Hunt's previous experience includes One Kings Lane as Buyer of Furniture, and Jonathan Adler where he oversaw all aspects of merchandise planning for all distribution channels. Prior to moving to New York, he owned his own home furnishings and gift retail store in Mississippi.
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Maria Killam is the founder and CEO of Understanding Undertones of Colour. She's a decorator, author, speaker and internationally sought-after Colour Expert. Transform the way you see color at http://www.mariakillam.com
Maria's has 5 Fall Specify Colour with Confidence™ workshops scheduled, get all the information about what they include and upcoming dates here.
If you want to learn Maria's system of Understanding Undertones and finally get your paint colours and finishes right, go here. Maria's second ebook White is Complicated: A Decorator's Guide to Choosing the Right White takes the mystery out of the thousands of whites available and you end up with the 5 useful whites that you'll use every time you need to specify a white for trim, cabinets, woodwork and walls.
Choosing exterior colour this season? Maria's How to Choose Exterior Colours with Confidence 60-minute webinar will give you a step-by-step process and includes Maria's go-to exterior colours.
For more expert tips, visit:
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Welcome to another Power Talk Friday! My guest today is Alice Seale, who has over 30 years entrepreneurial experience as a realtor in the retail design industry. She is the founder of Seale Realty Advisors in the Dallas area. Alice has co-authored the book, Winning Ways in Real Estate. She has great advice for entrepreneurs. Join us!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
Get all the details from Alice here: http://windowworks-nj.com/alice-seale
Hi, welcome to another episode of A Well-Designed Business! If you are a loyal listener—thank you for tuning in again!
And whether you are new or returning, please go over to our Facebook page and like us there so you can be a part of the conversation, to be in the know about all things A Well-Designed Business podcast and Window Works. Find us at www.facebook.com/windowworksnj
So on the show today you will meet Terri Lind Davis from Tampa Florida. Terri has 30+ year career in interior design and today we discuss the path her business has taken. From the beginning right out of college to today where she is revitalizing her business with a return to one of her passions and talents, painting.
It’s sort of a memory lane conversation but see if you can identify the 2 major things in her career that have created and sustained a pipeline of clients for her in 2 Florida cities over 30+ years…
So stay put, I’m going to tell you about Kravet Inc, our show sponsor and then we’ll meet Terri.
So what were Terri’s 2 pipeline builders?
They were the position at the high-end furniture store and the years associated with the luxury homebuilder. Both of these not only brought in clients in real time, they both resulted in repeat business with these clients and referrals from those clients year after year, long after she left the store and after the builder retired.
And you know what I’m thinking?
While Terri didn’t necessarily strategically plan her 2 pipeline builders, you certainly could. If you are starting out, could you work part-time at a luxury furniture showroom or a kitchen showroom, a tile showroom? Somewhere you could meet a new stream of potential clients? Of course you would be up front and discuss policies with the owner but as Terri said, it is good for them too…you can agree to bring any purchases of their product line back to the store…win-win for both of you.
Or another avenue is to reach out to builders and realtors…And don’t just send a card or a packet…make a meeting, explain you want to develop a long-term relationship with them that brings value to their clients. Explain that they can proudly tell their clients they are associated with a talented, trusted interior designer to help them with their new home purchase.
Paint the picture for the builder or realtor so they can see the relationship and how all 3 parties involved- you, them and the client are enhanced by their suggestion to use your services…
Do either of these sound like something you could do? I’d love know if you do one or the other. Go to our Facebook page and tell about what you did and how it went. If you hit a roadblock, let me know that too, maybe I can help you through it.
Terri had a few more words of wisdom earned over her career so go over to www.windowworks-nj.com/terri-davis for your free pdf of The Things I Learned From Terri Davis.
Remember to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, FB and let me know when you use the lessons from our talented guests.
Have a great day!
Today I would like to introduce, dare I say my first fan: Rachel Moriarty! She has been so supportive from the beginning on social media. I would like to give her a huge THANK YOU! One of the conversations that we had on social media about more episodes with solo entrepreneur shops and firms. It’s nice to show appreciation for the big influencers on the show. We can see where a business can go. But we need to take the time to also have good conversations with people who run fabulous businesses all by themselves.
Show Notes:
Please visit
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