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A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

In today's world being a talented interior designer isn't enough to ensure that you have a profitable and successful interior design business. Design school doesn't always teach you the critical business skills to be sure your interior design business be everything you imagined it would be! A Well Designed Business is here to fill in the gaps and give you real live business skills from some of the top interior designers. Your host, LuAnn Nigara shares her 35 years of success in the interior design industry, and she finds the most successful guests to share their interior design business best practices.
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Now displaying: March, 2019
Mar 29, 2019

Welcome to another episode of Power Talk Friday! Today’s episode is a conversation with the founder of Digital Everything, Susana Yee. Susana is a marketing expert in social media and influencer marketing who has cultivated major engagement for companies through her innovative work, such as her Guess “color me inspired” campaign. Within her company, Susana helps individuals with their own social media campaigns, twitter and facebook ad management, influencer marketing, rebranding, content creation, retargeting campaigns, and so much more.

Digital Media is a company that helps others build and market their own personal brands in order to reach out and work with top-notch influencers, or become an influencer themselves. This episode includes techniques and strategies that will help you create and promote yourself on any social media platform. Tune into today's episode of A Well-Designed Business to learn more about Digital Everything and how its program can help you build your social media empire.

Show Highlights:

  • Reaching out and working with influencers
  • Making sure your brand is cohesive and looks promotable
  • Tagging and promoting other brands that are relevant to you
  • Strategies to grow your business through social media
  • How affiliate and brand deals work
  • Being selective about what you advertise
  • Redirecting people to other platforms to avoid exposing secrets
  • Building an email list
  • Being easily contactable and accessible
  • Posting consistently and strategically
  • Putting a value on your services
  • Using people’s needs to your benefit
  • Paying people fairly for their expertise
  • Playing the role of the brand and the influencer
  • A roadmap for how to target and work with influencers
  • Creating campaigns that include and reach a big audience
  • Apps that easily regulate marketing
  • Establishing your personal niche
  • Properly labeling and hashtagging posts

About Digital Everything:

Digital Everything is a Los Angeles based digital marketing firm that works with brands directly and teaches them how to build and make the most out of relationships with influencers.

  • Founded over 20 years ago
  • Services include: social media campaign management, influencer marketing, twitter and facebook ads management, social media strategy, content creation, retargeting campaigns

Links:

Sign Up for Susana's Course:  The Influencer Marketing Roadmap 

Web and social:

Digital Everything

Facebook: Digital Everything

Twitter: Shopping And Info

Previous Shows Mentioned:
Shea McGee of Studio McGee #236 
Shea and Syd McGee #270
Natalie Hurst # 172
Mar 26, 2019

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! We have Tina Ramchandani, a really smart lady and the founder of Tina Ramchandani Creatives, with us on the show today. Tina is another interior designer who started her career by training at a well-established and well-run New York design firm and we know that it really makes a difference when young designers cut their teeth this way. Tina started her own design business in 2014 and in four short years, she has managed to establish herself as an interior designer on the rise. She was recently named one of House Beautiful Magazine's 2018 Next Way Designers and she has been featured in Elle Decor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Cottage and Gardens, and more. Listen in today, to find out about Tina and her really successful design firm.

In today's episode, Tina talks to us about her experience of working for the top-tier New York firm, Vicente Wolf and Associates, prior to opening her own design business. She discusses some of the practices that she has instituted in her firm, like her strategy for establishing monthly tasks in her business, to ensure that she's paying attention to the experience she's giving her clients. Today, Tina and LuAnn also talk about their involvement in the upcoming Designer Showhouse, Grace's House, by the Valerie Fund. LuAnn is on the committee, and Tina is one of the designers. Many of the designers selected to participate in bringing this really special home back to its former glory have been featured on this show, so we're giving all of them a special shout-out today, in appreciation for all that they are doing for our children! Tune in now to find out more!

Show highlights:

  • Window Works will be working with Tina and the other designers, doing window treatments and pillows for the Valerie Fund showhouse, Grace's House.
  • Tina talks about her amazing experience and the confidence she gained from working for Vincente Wolf for five years.
  • What Tina learned from working for Vincente Wolf, that she's brought to the way she runs her own firm, Tina Ramchandani Creative.
  • The way that Vincente Wolf managed to inspire Tina's confidence.
  • The natural way that Tina empowers her junior designer, Kay, in the same way, that she was inspired by Vincente.
  • Learning to trust the people you have hired.
  • How Tina knew that it was the right time for her to leave her mentor, Vincente.
  • How interior design principals gain from giving their all to their junior designers.
  • The systems that Tina initially took away from Vincente's firm.
  • The way that Tina tweaked and changed some of Vincente's business systems, to work with the way she works.
  • Tina and Kay sit down at the beginning of each year and assess the things that are not working and the things that need to change in the business.
  • Tina discusses the goals that she and Kay set for each month.
  • Tina and Kay meet each week to discuss what needs to be done in the business.
  • Having outside help has really assisted Tina in running her own business.
  • Tina has built in specific times of the month to address her business operations.
  • The pressure that comes with being driven in business.
  • Tina talks about the awesome Valerie Fund.
  • All about the showhouse, Grace's House which is going to open on April 25th, 2019.
  • There are many special events which will be happening at the opening of Grace's House.
  • Tina talks about the colorful room that she is is designing in Grace's house.
  • Benjamin Moore has kindly sponsored all the paint for Grace's House.
  • Getting things to run smoothly when the pressure is on.
  • Tina discusses the event that she is going to be doing with a women's group on the 15th of May, to raise money for the Valerie Fund.
  • LuAnn is having a book signing for her new book, on the 30th of April, at 6 pm, at Grace's House.

Tina's bio:

Tina Ramchandani Creative (TRC) is a full-service design firm that creates modern, sophisticated and relaxed interiors. TRC's turn-key service makes it easy for clients to move into a completed home with minimal stress. Tina Ramchandani incorporates her vast experience and global perspective into her signature style that delivers a warm layered aesthetic, enhancing your lifestyle and inviting you to truly “live” in your bespoken space. Tina places a strong emphasis on artwork, couture pieces, and custom elements, within the client's budget. While creating a unique, livable environment for clients, Tina incorporates local artists and artisans to bring spaces to life, and showcase clients' personalities in their homes.

TRC has developed a complete and individual onboarding process, which allows Tina to get to know clients and their needs in depth. Clients will share their inspirations with Tina, while also sharing details of how they live in their space, what they are looking to improve or change, as well as what they are interested in aesthetically. Tina and her team then create two complete design presentations for clients. First, the team offers a preliminary meeting, with floor plans and layouts, furniture styles, lighting pieces, fabrics, colors, and art inspirations. After honing in on the direction, TRC develops a comprehensive presentation for clients, soup to nuts. Tina and the team present every item in the space, from furniture to lighting and floor covering to window treatments. This allows clients to see the design vision in its entirety. Once approved TRC takes care of everything, so clients can sit back, relax, and watch their space come together.

Tina Ramchandani developed her design expertise with several top tier, high-end residential and commercial interior design firms in Manhattan, including Frank & Marcotullio Design Associates and Vicente Wolf Associates, which led to the formation of Tina Ramchandani Creative in 2014. Ms. Ramchandani is deeply appreciative of good design and passionate about the impact social awareness can have on one’s life. Tina’s work has been nationally recognized by publications including Elle Décor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Cottages & Gardens, Lonny, Gotham, Cover, she was most recently named a “2018 Next Wave” designer by House Beautiful.

She is also the founder of Life in Sketch, an internationally recognized interior design blog where she shares what inspires her in the world of design at large, from her daily experiences in New York to her extensive travels abroad.

Press Release for Grace's House, presented by the Valerie Fund:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Valerie Fund

The Valerie Fund presents Grace’s House, A Designer Showhouse Restoration of historic Plainfield mansion will benefit children in our area battling cancer and blood disorders

Maplewood, N.J. January 14, 2019 – In May of 2018, nine-year-old Grace received a devastating diagnosis: she had a Germ Cell Brain Tumor. Grace’s treatment brought her to The Valerie Fund Children’s Center at Newark Beth Israel and after rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, she is recovering well. Her grateful family sought ways to give back to the organization that was taking such good care of their daughter and granddaughter. Last June, they spearheaded an extraordinary fundraising effort during The Valerie Fund’s annual 5K Run and Walk in Verona Park, Verona, NJ raising close to $32,000. Grace’s grandfather, Dan Reichard, a builder and principle of ER Development was interested in collaborating further with The Valerie Fund. He and his partners Thomas and George Allen purchased a 7,000+ square foot Colonial Revival in Plainfield, NJ restoring original elements and preparing it for featured designers to showcase their visions.

Christened Grace’s House, the mansion is located in the historic Hillside Avenue district and will eventually be for sale, but in Spring 2019, the public will have the opportunity to tour approximately 20 of the house’s rooms, nooks, stairways and landings, and other spaces across three floors.

Interior Design businesses selected to participate in bringing this very special home back to its former glory include:

AK Design Studios, Monsey, NY

ANEW Kitchen and Bath Design, Plainfield, NJ

B-garcia designs, Montclair, NJ

Butter and Velvet Home Designs, Denville, NJ

California Closets, Fairfield, NJ

CD Interiors, Manalapan Township, NJ

The French Martini, Westfield, NJ

Gail Davis Designs, South Orange, NJ

Global Home Interior Design, Princeton, NJ

Images in Design, Cranford, NJ

JAB Design Group, Penn Valley, PA

JMW Interiors, Millburn, NJ

Liepold Design Group, Millburn, NJ

Marina V. Design Studio, Ridgewood, NJ

Mendham Interiors, Mendham, NJ

Mimi & Hill, Westfield, NJ

Samuel Robert Signature Spaces, Millburn, NJ

Swati Goorha Designs, New Providence, NJ

Tina Ramchandani Creative, New York

“Building a Brighter Future for The Valerie Fund Kids.” Proceeds from public and private tours of the showhouse as well as ad journal sales and sponsorships will benefit The Valerie Fund’s Green Light Initiative, a $5,000,000 Capital Campaign. This initiative is the most ambitious chapter in The Valerie Fund’s history to date, poised to extend “next generation care” to thousands of children fighting life-threatening diseases. The Valerie Fund is proud to recognize Design NJ as a media sponsor, Holby Valve, Coughlin Duffy LLP, Stephen and Tina Squeri as sponsors and Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings as a sponsor and a designer resource. Generous in-kind sponsors already committed to the project include Benjamin Moore, Dente Trading Classic & Luxury Stone, Swarovski and Window Works.

At The Valerie Fund each year, Grace and 6,000 other precious children benefit immeasurably by receiving their medical treatment close to home in a child-centered environment. Individualized support from an entire psychosocial team – Integrative and Palliative Care Specialists, Psychologists, Social workers, Child Life specialists, and Educational liaisons -- makes sure their quality of life is the best it can possibly be without regard to insurance reimbursements. And Grace’s favorite – Camp Happy Times, is a free one-week overnight summer camp for children with cancer.

To see the amazing house transformation, Grace’s House will be open to the public every Thursday through Sunday beginning Thursday, April 25th through Sunday, May 19th. Tickets for the house tours are $30 on The Valerie Fund website The Valerie Fund and $35 at the door.

About The Valerie Fund: After their nine-year-old daughter Valerie succumbed to cancer, founders Sue and Ed Goldstein were determined that no family should have to travel great distances to receive superior medical care. Along with a group of close friends, they began fundraising efforts from their living room---tireless work that would lead to the 1977 opening of New Jersey’s first pediatric oncology facility at Summit Overlook’s Hospital. More than 40 years later, The Valerie Fund’s mission remains that of supporting comprehensive health care for children battling cancer and blood disorders. Seven Valerie Fund Children’s Centers are located in the metropolitan New York and Philadelphia areas.

For more information, please contact Bunny Flanders, Director of Marketing and Communications at bflanders@thevaleriefund.org

Previous episodes mentioned on this show:

Century Furniture and Carrier and Co. Launch at High Point Market #407

Links:

Tickets for the Valerie Fund showhouse: The Valerie Fund Specials Show House

The Valerie fund showhouse:

The Valerie Fund

The Valerie Fund

Tina’s event at the showhouse as discussed in the show:

Eventbrite Lady Drinks Cocktails And Private Tour with Interior Designer Tina Ramchandani In Support of Graces Tickets

Tina's website and social media links:

Tina Ramchandani

Instagram: Tina Ramchandani

Pinterest: Tina Ramchandani Creative

Linkedin: Tina Ramchandani

Mar 22, 2019

Welcome to Power Talk Friday! Today's show is sponsored by  Bellacor, and we have Sara Saferstein, the director of the Bellacor Pro Division, with us on the show. Bellacor is an online company, established in 2000. They have all the top brands in lighting, decor, and furniture, and they have commercial products as well as residential. In today's episode, Sara will be talking to us about the Bellacor Pro Division, which is their resource for you, as an interior design professional. Listen in today, to find out how Bellacor Pro can make your life easier and your next project a little less of a project.

The Bellacor Pro Division is there to help you with your projects, whether you're working on single, one-client projects or on the commercial side, with multi-unit projects. Bellacor Pro has a team specifically dedicated to helping you with your orders and there are also ALA certified personal account managers, available to help you with all your questions around specifying and sourcing their products. Bellacor Pro has a special trade-pricing program with free shipping, and right now they are welcoming new interior design accounts, and other trade professional accounts to join them. Tune in today, to get all the details about the awesome Bellacor Pro Program.

Show highlights:

  • Sara talks about the Bellacor dedicated trade team, specifically for interior designers.
  • The kind of partnerships that Bellacor builds with the interior design and the builder communities.
  • It really helps to not have to worry about all the little details of a project.
  • Sara talks about her experience in the industry.
  • The wide range of lighting and furniture items and products that Bellacor has for interior designers.
  • Sara explains the advantages of using Bellacor Pro as your resource for lighting and furniture products.
  • You will get Bellacor's trade pricing with any of their manufacturers.
  • Why you really need to be part of Bellacor's trade program.
  • About Bellacor's free shipping, and their flexible 30-day return policy.
  • Bellacor is willing to think outside the box in order to help make your purchase successful.
  • The advantages of having a dedicated team on tap to help you.
  • The way that Bellacor Pro helps designers, day-to-day, with their projects.
  • Bellacor Pro offers interior designers continuing education.
  • There is a lot of complexity and detail involved in lighting.
  • Bellacor Pro really adds value for designers.
  • Bellacor Pro brings you the look you want at the price point you can afford.
  • Get the best product at the best price from Bellacor Pro.
  • Experience the Bellacor Pro Advantage of a high value, high touch relationship with their community.

About Bellacor Pro:

Unique clients require unique solutions.

As designers, you need to delight your clients, deliver on time and on budget and we understand that. We are Bellacor Pro — A trade-program designed to meet the unique requests of interior designers, architects, builders, and other trade professionals. We deliver exceptional product selection and service including:

  • Guaranteed low pricing every day: Get our best trade pricing
  • Brands you love: Select from more than 500 designer- and builder-preferred brands in lighting, furniture, and home décor.
  • Dedicated account team: Your dedicated account team of industry veterans and

ALA-certified professionals will help you find the perfect products for every

project in your portfolio.

  • Free shipping: Everyday free shipping, with no minimums for trade professionals.

Sara Saferstein, the Director of Bellacor Professional, has more than 20 years of industry experience working with manufacturers, designers, and retailers in lighting and home décor. Her team will make your next project a little less of a project while making your life as a designer easier.

Links:

BellacorPro: Bellacor

LinkedIn: Bellacor

Instagram: Bellacor Lighting

Facebook: Bellacor Lighting

Twitter: Bellacor

Pinterest: Bellacor

Telephone the Bellacor Accounts Management Team: 1877 688 7039

Mar 19, 2019

Welcome! Today we have Leslie Price, the principal of Price Style and Design, with us on the show. Leslie's superpower is sourcing and selling art for her projects and in today's episode, she explains why this is so important and personal to her. We also have a really nice conversation with her about her career and the turns it has taken, starting out in the home staging industry and then pivoting into strictly interior design. Leslie also talks to us about her studio and the wonderful setup she has in collaboration with her upholsterer, and about the pros and cons of charging for an initial consultation. Listen in now to find out more.

Price Style and Design is a San Francisco Bay Area-based design and style firm, specializing in creating colorful, comfortable, and welcoming interiors. Award-winning designer and owner, Leslie Price, has a passion for creating light-filled, open, and uncluttered spaces influenced by an appreciation for the fresh colors of nature- an instintive artistic awareness which she developed growing up in Honolulu, Hawaii. Leslie's impeccable attention to every detail will help you create comfortable and beautiful spaces that speak to your heart.

Working from the belief that you must love where you live, Leslie and her team focus on designing spaces that inspire joy and happiness. With expertise from a thirty-year visual merchandising and design career, Leslie is uniquely positioned to help you understand and refine your own style, so you can enjoy the 'art of living' in your home. Tune in to find out what Leslie has to share.

Show highlights:

  • Leslie talks about the mid-life epiphany she had about her business.
  • Leslie goes with the flow because she knows it will all work out in the end.
  • How Leslie's interior design career began with home-staging.
  • Her transition from home-staging to interior design.
  • Why Leslie moved from home-staging to interior design.
  • Some of the realtors that Leslie used to work for, doing home-staging, still send her client referrals.
  • Leslie talks about her retail space, it's a purpose, and what it means to her business.
  • The win-win situation Leslie has with the people she splits the rental for her retail space with.
  • Why Leslie doesn't charge for her initial consultation.
  • The struggle that Leslie's having with not charging for her initial consultation.
  • Leslie believes that art is a legacy that talks about your soul.
  • Leslie talks about her passion for helping clients to source their works of art.
  • Art is an asset that continues to gain value.
  • How Leslie helps her clients to make the most of their art.
  • The way that Leslie sources works of art for her clients.
  • How Leslie charges her clients for finding their art.
  • Leslie bridges that gap between artists and buyers who may be intimidated to speak to the artists.
  • Leslie talks about her mother's art and her art collection.

Links:

New podcast by Marianne Cherico launched Jan 25, 2019:

Home Stagers and Designers on Fire 

Leslie's website: Price Style And Design

Leslie's Instagram: @pricestyleanddesign 

Facebook:  Price Style And Design

Pinterest:  Price Styling

Previous episodes, with more info on home staging:

Shauna Lynn Simon #76

Yohan May Interiors #396

Marianne Cherico #123

Taylor Spellman #106

Previous episodes, for more info on selecting, selling and framing art:

Katharine Earnhardt #239

Paul Thomas & Daniel Beauchemin #291

Previous episodes, for more info on creating a lead magnet:

Savour Partnership #209

Mar 15, 2019

Welcome to Power Talk Friday! We have a really terrific guest, Ashley Uhl, the founder and principal of Ashley Uhl Consulting, with us on the show today. Ashley consults and teaches interior designers, just like you, how to deliver a high-end service experience. If done correctly, this will lead to more efficiency in your business, greater profit, and most importantly, client loyalty. Ashley is one smart lady and she knows the incredible impact that delivering a spectacular experience can have on a business.  In today's episode, she explains how to keep things simple in your business to uplevel it and create the kind of experience that makes clients come back. Tune in now! You're going to love it!

Ashley has a background in client relations, sales, and communications at the top leadership development company, Dale Carnegie. She's also had a number years of working with, and getting to understand the expectations of high net worth clients at the wealth management firm, Morgan Stanley. In addition, Ashley also pursued her certificate in interior design. Listen in today, to find out from Ashley how to improve the process and client experience of your business and to attract luxury, high-end clients.

Show highlights:

  • Ashley shares the three E's of high-end service experience.
  • It's the small things that count.
  • Showing your clients that you're ready to take their project on.
  • Ashley has created a pyramid to explain the levels of need of the client experience.
  • Dealing with grey areas with clients.
  • Making it easy for your clients to understand, and be part of your design process.
  • Manage the clients' expectations. They want you to lead them and they feel safer when they see that you are in control.
  • Make it easy for the client to hire you.
  • Creating loyalty that will last a lifetime.
  • The way you handle your mistakes will have an impact on your success.
  • A handwritten thank you note really makes a great impression.
  • The benefits of developing a great relationship with a restaurant.
  • A million tiny things can add up to a really incredible experience.
  • Giving high-end clients unique and awesome experiences.
  • How designers can work with Ashley and Ashley Uhl Consulting.
  • Ashley teaches systems and processes, with a touch of luxury.

Bio: Ashley Uhl, owner, and founder of Ashley Uhl Consulting know the incredible impact that delivering a spectacular experience can have on a business. That’s why her mission is to help designers learn how to deliver the type of high-end service experience that allows them to increase their profits, efficiency, and client loyalty.

Ashley’s been cultivating a love for service her entire lifetime. Traveling extensively throughout the world early on in life, she developed incredible respect, understanding, and interest in the five-star service and hospitality she encountered.

She furthered her interest in service with formal training and work in human relations, sales, and presentations for top professional development company, Dale Carnegie. This allowed her to expand her abilities to both create memorable experiences for customers, and prevent conflicts and frustrations from happening between a business and their clients.

While later serving high net worth clients at wealth management firm, Morgan Stanley, and simultaneously decorating her first home, Ashley found her other passion, interior design. But after working on projects with family and friends, she realized that design itself wasn’t her calling. So with a nudge from her husband, she decided to combine her love for both service and design. Thus, allowing her to become the first and only service consultant exclusively focused on interior designers.

Links and Resources:

Ashley's website: Ashley Uhl Consulting You can sign up here for a free download of Ashley's The Essentials of a High End Designer Experience. And Ashley is offering you, the listener, 20% off of any of her services. Please use the code WELLDESIGNED.

Ashley's blog: Ashley Uhl Consulting

Ashley on Instagram: Ashley Uhl Consulting

Ashley on Facebook: Ashley Uhl Consulting

LuAnn on Instagram: Luann Nigara

 

Ashley Uhl’s company, Ashley Uhl Consulting is one of the sponsors of LuAnn Nigara Live. To register, go to https://luannnigara.com/luann-live/

Mar 12, 2019

Welcome to today's episode! We have Nicole Gibbons on the show with us today and she's an entrepreneur, interior designer, blogger, and on-air personality. Nicole spent more than a decade in the fashion industry, serving as the Global Director of PR and Events at a major woman's retailer, prior to starting her work in the interior design industry. She has appeared on the Emmy Award-winning Home Made Simple, as well as on the Oprah Winfrey Network, for three seasons as a designer helping deserving families to re-imagine their living spaces. Listen in today, to find out more about Nicole.

Almost every interior design client that Nicole worked with complained to her about the overwhelming process of selecting and buying paint and also about the lack of transparency with the paint ingredients. So now Nicole has turned her attention to the paint industry, as the founder and CEO of an innovative new resource in paint called Clare. Clare takes the pain out of paint shopping because all the paint is Premium Zero VOC and Greenguard Gold Certified. Clare is also the first ever direct-to-consumer paint brand and Nicole has a to the trade program available, just for you! On the show today, she talks to us about her journey and she shares her observations about her diverse career and explains how Clare is reinventing the way that people shop for paint. Tune in for more!

Show highlights:

  • Nicole talks about her how she created her career by design.
  • Transferring your skills from one career to the next.
  • Nicole would love to be the next Martha Stewart.
  • How Nicole's career has evolved.
  • Strategically creating a parallel path is not an easy thing to do.
  • Some tips for establishing yourself in the design industry as a recognized expert.
  • What it takes for an opportunity to get on TV.
  • TV really doesn't pay as much as you would expect.
  • How to be comfortable in front of the camera.
  • About Nicole's exciting new endeavor that came to fruition in 2018.
  • Nicole really wanted to disrupt an industry and do something that could help people solve a problem.
  • Nicole's 'aha' moment.
  • How Nicole has done to simplify the color palette.
  • The way that Nicole helps people with their color choice.
  • Nicole's product descriptions really help you to understand what the color will feel like.
  • About the features of Clare's seamless to the trade program.
  • Nicole wants people to feel as safe as possible when using her paint products.

Previous shows mentioned in this episode:

High Point Market Spring 2019:

Ashley Grigg, Lisa Mende and Jeanne Chung #406

Century Furniture with Carrier & Co #407

Visual Comfort with Lauren Rottet #408

Links:

Nicole's website: Clare

Article

If you are going to HP Spring 2019, please join LuAnn on Saturday, April 6th at 12 noon at the HPMKT Theater. She will be giving a keynote presentation followed by a book signing of her new book, The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business, The Power Talk Friday Experts. This book is actually launching the week before at LuAnn's big event, LuAnn Nigara Live, It’s About the Conversation. To learn more, go to Luann Nigara and click on live events.

Mar 8, 2019

Welcome to another episode of Design Biz Live! Corey Klassen and Judith Neary join us once again on the show today. During the summer of 2018, Corey and Judith both experienced shifts in their businesses which really tested them as business owners, entrepreneurs, and as interior designers. In the previous episode of Design Biz Live, we spoke about what Judith went through last summer and today, we're going to be talking about Corey's experience. Listen in to find out more!

Things seemed to be going really well business-wise for Corey at the beginning of 2018. Then he experienced an unexpected shift in his business and he hit the ditch. Corey understands, however, that although change can be daunting, we still need to take responsibility for keeping a positive attitude. He knows that there are some really big problems out there in the world and it's important to recognize that our own problems are usually quite small in comparison. Tune in today to find out how Corey managed to take control, shift his mindset, lean into the change, and become the project manager of his life.

Show highlights:

  • Corey had a team of three, then, almost overnight, he was left with just himself.
  • Corey views the shift in his business as an unexpected gift.
  • The way that Corey adjusted his business to his best advantage.
  • What Corey discovered about himself.
  • Corey moved his home and his office in just two months.
  • The major life-events that Corey experienced recently.
  • The importance of staying on an even keel.
  • Getting clear about his goals.
  • Corey realized that he had to become the project manager of his life.
  • You've got to dig in and own your stuff.
  • Having the confidence to shift gears in his business.
  • Making choices based on the quality of life that you want for yourself.
  • It's hard to be a leader when you hit the ditch.
  • The clarity that Corey gained from his difficult experience.
  • You don't need a crisis to have a revelation about yourself.
  • Finding the next level.
  • Mistakes are your education. And owning your mistakes is vital.
  • Listen to your inner voice.

Links:

Corey Klassen Interior Design

Judith Neary - Roadside Attraction Studio

Previous episode of Design Biz Live Luann Nigara

Mar 5, 2019

Welcome to today's show! We are really happy today to have Candy Scott and Rachel Cannon join us on the show! In today's episode, these two smart ladies will be talking to LuAnn about the changing landscape in the business side of interior design. Candy and Rachel are both highly organized, with finite systems in place for running their businesses and they truly understand that you really need to know and sell your own value, as a designer, rather than the value of the products that you specify. Listen in, to find out what they have to share with you on the show today.

Candy is the principal of Mood Design and Build, which is located in Chicago. She has won multiple awards during her seventeen-year career in designer and she's worked with large developers and corporate clients, outfitting high-rise condominium lobbies, club rooms, and model showrooms.

Rachel is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has clients from Palm Springs to Palm Beach, with over fifteen years of experience in residential and commercial interior design. She opened her own firm, Rachel Cannon Interiors nine years ago and her work has been featured in Traditional Home, The Wall Street Journal, HGTV, My Domain.Com, and Southern Home. Tune in now!

Both Rachel and Candy are going to be at LuAnn Nigara Live, It's About The Conversation.

Show highlights:

  • Business disruptions are not a new thing.
  • The future of the interior designer with the disruptive emergence of products being available online to the consumer.
  • Being a designer is not just about selling merchandise- it's so much more about the relationship.
  • As designers, you need to be the innovators!
  • Why you have to start charging for your services.
  • If you make your money on a flat fee, you don't have to focus on selling furniture.
  • Creating tracking documents for orders.
  • Surviving the changes in the industry.
  • The layer of service that Candy has added to her business, to really set it apart.
  • The value of having the designer run the project.
  • Rachel's ideas for designers to make money, going into the future.
  • The middle end of the market is going to go away.
  • Rachel's approach to design consult packages.
  • The importance of branding.
  • As an entrepreneur, you just have to be open to change.
  • Some things to consider when creating your brand.

Rachel Cannon is an interior designer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with clients ranging the nation from Palm Springs to Palm Beach. She has over 15 years of experience in residential and commercial interior design, nine of which are at her namesake interior design firm, Rachel Cannon Limited. Armed with a degree in interior design and a background in art history, Rachel joins together classic principles with a decidedly contemporary tone. She provides her clients with sophisticated interiors that exude an effortless combination of subtle color, rich architectural detail, and a beguiling mix of livable, tailored and luxe details. With a clientele of professionals and families with demanding schedules, Rachel is most praised for her ability to simplify the interior design process while paying meticulous attention to planning and detail. The finished product: a livable yet polished space the entire family can enjoy. Rachel's work has been featured in Traditional Home, The Wall Street Journal, HGTV.com, MyDomain.com and Southern Home. Her captivating wit and knowledge of art, design, and architecture have made her a favorite on television, radio, and podcasts. While always on the go, the Rachel Cannon Limited team is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In 2014, Candy Scott founded MOOD Design and Build where she continues to work with residential clients, business owners, and development partners on their homes, offices, and commercial interiors. As a designer, Candy is most inspired and intrigued by the transformation process. Both for the people who inhabit the spaces and the physical spaces themselves. She believes bringing consciousness to our spaces greatly impacts the way we think, feel, and behave.

Candy graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC with a Bachelor's of Science in Interior Design. Through the years, she has won multiple awards and has worked with large developers and corporate clients outfitting the high rise condominium lobbies, clubrooms, and model showrooms. She has worked with small to medium-sized businesses as well, transforming their lobbies and offices to places employees love to work.

Previous shows mentioned on this episode:

Candy #227

Rachel #306

Wendy Woluschuk #316

Links:

Rachel Cannon -

Rachel Cannon Limited

Instagram: RCL Interiors

Facebook: RCL Interiors

Candy Scott

Mood Design Build

Instagram: Mood Design Build

Facebook: Candy Scott

LuAnn Nigara Live- It's About The Conversation - At the event, on the 30th and 31st March, in New Jersey, Candy will be paired with Fred Berns and they will be talking about How to Find Clients and Build Your Pipeline. Rachel will be paired with Sarah Daniele and they will be talking about Why Your Business Grows When you Establish Your Systems. Go to Luann Live to sign up for the event.

To join LuAnn's facebook group, LuAnn Nigara & Friends 

Go to Luann Nigara Book2 to see the cover of LuAnn's new book.

Book mentioned in the show: Start With Why- How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Portfolio.  

 

Mar 1, 2019

Welcome to our third sponsored show for High Point Market April 2019, brought to you by Visual Comfort and Co., and featuring the new product launch designed by today's guest, Lauren Rottet. Lauren is one of the most-celebrated interior architects in the world today, with an extraordinary record of awards, publications, lectures, juries, and honors. We are really delighted to have this dynamic, innovative entrepreneur on the show with us! In today's episode, she will be talking about her career, her lessons learned, and about her latest endeavor, the stunning lighting line she has designed for Visual Comfort and Co. Tune in now!

Visual Comfort and Company is located in Houston Texas, and they have been the premier source for signature designer lighting since 1997. For more than 30 years, Visual Comfort and Company has collaborated with some of the most influential and iconic designers in the industry to produce lighting using natural materials of exceptional quality and distinctive hand-applied living finishes. Visual Comfort is proud to offer the industry’s widest range of incomparable lighting choices of extraordinary quality at a remarkable value. Previous collections have been designed by design greats including Alexa Hampton, Thomas O’Brien, Kelly Wearstler, and John Roselli among others.

Lauren is the only woman in history to be elevated to Fellow status by both the American Institute of Architects and International Interior Design Association. She also holds the coveted titles of Interior Design Hall of Fame and Interiors (now Contract) Designer of the Year and she is a Lifetime Appointee to the U.S. General Services Administration’s National Register of Peer Professionals for Design Excellence. In 2006, she was inducted as an Inaugural Member of the Women in Design Hall of Fame. In 2012, she was named Boutique Design Designer of the Year. In 2014, Lauren was inducted into Hospitality Design magazine’s legendary Platinum Circle, the magazine’s highest honor for design professionals. Her furniture and product designs have earned her four gold medals for Best of NeoCon as well as a Chicago Athenaeum Award. Listen in to hear what she has to share on the show today.

Show highlights:

  • Lauren talks about her firm, how they started out, and how they got to where they are now.
  • Hotels specifically budget for regular renovations.
  • The way that Lauren practices diversification in her business.
  • Designing for ocean and river cruisers.
  • The way that Lauren's team was educated about designing for ships and cruise liners.
  • Everyone in Lauren's office works on all the different kinds of projects.
  • It takes a lot of homework to make a project successful.
  • Creating the brochure for Viking.
  • Breaking into a new market with hospitality.
  • Lauren talks about her new venture with Visual Comfort.
  • Lauren has always been fascinated by glass.
  • She has been designing product for about thirty years.
  • So much has opened up recently with new technology in lighting.
  • Visual Comfort doesn't skimp on quality!
  • How Lauren's relationship with Visual Comfort came about.
  • The creation of a light, from design to manufacture.
  • Lauren tells us where and when we're going to get to see her at High Point Market.

Previous episodes mentioned on the show:

Sue Firestone #404

Links:

Website: Rottet Studio

Twitter: Rottet Studio

Instagram: Rottet Studio

Visual Comfort: Visual Comfort

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