In today's Power Talk Friday, I'll continue with the second half of the Design Bloggers Conference Summary series. I'm covering the top lessons that I've learned through podcasting about interior design. Last week, we went over the first three lessons #165.
The other shows include Claire Staszak and Kelsey Grose this past Monday and Wednesday and this coming Monday will be Amber Lewis. All 3 interviews had some terrific advice for design blogging as well as running your firm and building an audience on Instagram. Three truly smart ladies! Today, we'll cover the rest. Join me now with The Things I Learned From A Well Designed Business Part 2!
#141 Jim Riviello says that we need to change our way of thinking about things in order to be successful. Jim, a business coach and the owner of Leadership X University, explains that we need to Be-Do-Have, not Have-Do-Be. In today's show, I will clarify this powerful explanation.
#21 Stacy Garcia took a leap of faith and decided to invest in vintage wallpaper and fabric as a starting point for creating a new textile line for the hospitality industry.
#55 Rachel Moriaty heard about Facebook Live and the rest is history.
#128 Grace McNamara was an Advertising Director, thirty-one years old and with no idea of how to run a magazine, was given 24 hours in which to decide if she would buy two magazines. Despite huge fears, she jumped into it and became an entrepreneur and a magazine publisher.
Interior Design Is A Business First
#2 and #Sandra Funk House Of Funk
#36 Susan Brunstrum
#24 #45 #60 #81 #150 Krista Coupar
#71 Dr. Ellen Fischer- Ellen cautions us about the main reasons that Interior Designers have trouble being profitable:
Ellen's advice to new graduates:
Ellen's advice when hiring interns and junior designers for your firm:
#6 Erika Ward- Erika attributes her success to her expertise and knowledge in Business Management. She advises:
This will ensure a proper foundation for a profitable business, allowing you to explore your talent, create fantastic spaces for your clients and explode your Interior Design business.
Links:
Jim Riviello: https://lxu.training/
Today’s guest is Kelsey Grose. I sat beside her at the Design Blogger’s Conference and after she won an award, I knew immediately that I had to get her on the show. I’ve been doing a whole series lately with all of the people I met at the Design Blogger’s Conference, so you are going to learn so much from all my guests in this series.
I was even more blown away when I learned that Kelsey has only been in business a year! That blew me away and I knew I had to work with her. So in addition to having the privilege of interviewing her today, I’m pleased
Kelsey Grose is the owner of Farmer’s Daughter Interior. Kelsey is based in Canada and has quickly found a following all over the US as well. She uses a 6 step design process that combines several different design styles. She has a passion for small business and entrepreneurship and she’s here today to share her wisdom with us.
Listen in as Kelsey and LuAnn discuss:
Today's interview is the first of three, which are as a follow up to the recent Design Bloggers Conference, which was held in LA, this last March. LuAnn really loves the process of how these designers create blogs to serve as a marketing arm for their business and a lead generator for their design firm. Listen in today to get some really great, actionable tips that you can duplicate.
Today's guest is Claire Staszak, who won the award at the Conference for the best blog writing of 2017. She is a Chicago-based interior designer who is known for her holistic design process of combining refined aesthetics with wellness principals, as she draws on her years of experience as a Yoga and Meditation Instructor, to gently guide her clients through the process of unearthing and then refining their own, unique style, resulting in a sanctuary which is timeless, rather than trendy.
Claire studied Interior Design at the School of Art Institute in Chicago and she holds a Certificate of Kitchen and Bathroom Design from Harper College. She's a certified Yoga Instructor, with more than five hundred hours of training and she also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism from the University of Dayton. Claire did apprenticeships at two high-end firms- Nate Berkus and Associates and Kate Marker Interiors. Her own work has been featured in Design Sponge, Rue Magazine, and Domino. In 2016, she had the honor of being nominated for HD TV's Fresh Faces of Design Competition. With her latest project of renovating her own home, a 1932 Tudor Style brick bungalow in Chicago, Claire is using her own, eclectic style. You can follow this renovation on her blog. Listen in to today's show to find out more about Claire, and how she uses her blog as an effective tool for marketing her business.
Today, Claire talks to LuAnn about:
Claire's website: www.centeredbydesign.com
http://centeredbydesign.com/spring-home-tour-week-one-doreen-corrigan/
In today’s Power Talk Friday episode, I’m kicking off the Design Bloggers Conference Summary series. I was inspired by the conference that was held in Los Angeles in March, and I wanted to share it with you. I had to condense my presentation down to only 13 minutes for the conference, but I can take the time here to expand! I’m covering my top lessons learned through podcasting about interior design. We’ll go over the first three lessons today and cover the rest next week. Join me now!
Influence and authority are gained through NICHING
If you think your life is busy, get ready to meet Susan Winterstein, of Savvy Interiors, in San Diego, California. As well as running an Interior Design Firm, she also has Inside Savvy, a Retail Store and Savvy Giving By Design, a non-profit organization. Susan also has a husband and five daughters. Listen in today, to an awesome conversation with a remarkable woman.
On today's show, the focus is on her non-profit, Savvy Giving By Design. LuAnn is truly overwhelmed with what Susan is doing. She points out that even though there are other designers who are involved with different ways of helping out and giving back, Susan has turned her business into a full on Non- profit Organisation of her own, with an extremely organized platform. Listen in to find out more.
Today, Susan talks to LuAnn about:
Links:
The main website for Susan's Non-profit: www.savvygivingbydesign.org
Susan's website: http://www.savvyinteriors.com
Susan's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SavvyGivingbyDesign/
Susan on social media: Youtube
Instagram: @Savvy Giving By Design
My guest for today’s exciting show is Highlyann Krasnow, one of the founders of The Developers Group, now MNS, located in Brooklyn, NY. Not only did she oversee the design of her company’s buildings and sales offices, but then she opened The Design High, the exclusive interior design arm at MNS. Highlyann is involved in commercial interiors and residential projects, but the focus of our conversation today is on the commercial side of her business. Join us!
What you’ll hear in this episode:
Resources:
www.thedesignhigh.com (Highlyann’s website)
Email Highlyann: hsk@mns.com
The guest on today's show is Natalie Norcross, the dynamic founder and CEO of A Design Partnership, which is a Premier National Marketing and PR Agency. Natalie herself has appeared in Boutique design, Esquire, Hospitality Design, Access Hollywood, E Entertainment, Television, and Extra. Listen in today and learn about some great strategies and marketing tips from Natalie.
Natalie started her career as an Interior Designer, after which she built, then in 2008, sold, a highly successful firm, specializing in both Residential and Hospitality. Fellow designers in Architectural Firms then began asking for her help with generating leads, media placements, and marketing tools. That was how A Design Partnership started out. The agency, with Natalie, her two partners and a staff of nine high-powered designers and marketing experts has really grown over the last nine years. Listen to today's show to find out more about how this energetic group, who are passionate about helping design-minded companies to exceed their goals, transform their brands and evolve their businesses, work to create success.
Today, Natalie talks to LuAnn about:
Natalie's website: www.adesignpartnership.com
You may remember on episode 110 when Mark McDonough was on the show and he talked about his blog, Tastefully Inspired. Today we are going to be talking with Karina Jones who is a contributor plus an interior designer on Mark’s Tastefully Inspired blog. Karina holds degrees in communication in arts and education.
She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has her own full serviced firm that she founded in Charlotte, North Carolina: Karina Jones Designs and also has her own blog that she uses to educate people on the different aspects of design. Design is visual and Karina is going to talk with us on how she and Mark use the Tastefully Inspired blog to bring the visual to a blog.
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I have the original Rockstar interior designer on the show today, Kelli Ellis! I know we all know Kelli as an interior designer because she has been published in national magazines. It’s likely that you have seen her on TLCs show Clean Sweep as the featured designer, HGTVs Take Over My Makeover and many more. In addition to being an accomplished interior designer, featured in many publications and on TV, she is a certified life coach and a design psychology coach.
She received her certification in interior design for the Interior Design Institute in California and she also holds a BA in Marketing from California State University of Fullerton, a law school education from Western State University and a Liberal Arts education for the University of London. On top of all of this, she is on the board of directors for Miracles for Kids lending her name and time to this passion project which is aiding the children in Orange County in need.
Show Notes:
Resources:
Do I Look Skinny in this House?
www.instagram.com/designerkelliellis
We’re back with another power talk Friday on A Well-Designed Business! I have Nancy Ganzekaufer back with me today! If you are new to the podcast Nancy was on the show in the very beginning on episode 15. On that show we talked about her background, business background and “niche is rich”. She has so much she can teach us and you should really go back listen to her episode. She is a life and business coach and the founder of “Your Business Partner”. Through her life and work she empowers women entrepreneurs to create the life and business they have always wanted. She understands the unique challenges that women entrepreneurs face when trying to pursue their dreams and leads by example with her hard work, encouragement and her no BS leadership style.
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Today on the show I have Rhea Mader! Rhea is the principal of Tumbleweed Interiors in Kansas and an interior designer who specializes in health care facilities. Rhea provides sustainable designs that improve better quality of life, cost effective, eco-friendly and evidence-based design. Her goal is to see patients and residents live independently with hope and dignity. Rhea earned her BFA/IFA at the Academy of Art University in California and she is also LEED and CLIPP certified. Rhea and I met through Cheryl Janice, who if you are an avid listener of this podcast you know who Cheryl Janice is. She was one of the first guests that talked to us about how she specifically walked away from being a generalist designer into a specialist. I use her as an example a lot! If you are new to the show, please go and listen to episode 41 after this episode because it will really fill in the spaces that we take for granted that Rhea and I talk about.
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My guest today is Charmaine Wynter, the principal of Wynter Interiors and the owner of Bespoke Design Boutique in Texas. You may already know Charmaine because she is one very busy lady! She is a radio show host of The Living Well show, a speaker, HGTV design host pioneer and you may know her from her design advice column, Ask the decorator. In addition to all of this, Charmaine is a firm believer in paying it forward. She has been involved in several charities and has sat on universities and government advisory boards to help shape the interior design industry. Today we are going to discuss the design niches of designing for small spaces.
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It’s time for another power talk Friday! I am happy to say that I have Carmen Torres with me today! Carmen Torres is a HR specialist. She has over twenty years in experience helping employers create equitable and safe work space environments for both employers and employees. She is a trusted advisor to many organizations and has helped many small to midsize businesses and non-profits produce reliable and stable HR departments.
She has a 360 analysis of the human resource function that results in building job descriptions, policy and procedure manuals, conflict resolution, employee retention, employee termination structures, compliance, audits and standards and employee communications. This is for everybody whether you have fifty employees or just one. You need to know these procedures so that an employee can’t come back and sue you.
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Barbara Viteri is back on the show today! Get ready! Her show is one of those where your face hurts from laughing so much. Barbara was originally on the show on episode number 46. You really should go back and listen to that episode after this one because we are not going to go into all of Barbara’s twenty plus industry years of experience. Today on the show we are talking about designerlebrity. She teased us with this when she was last on the show but her website has finally launched! If you haven’t heard of this yet listen up! Barbara is here to tell us all about designerlebrity.com. When you get done listening to Barbara you will know why you want to be part of this new part of the industry.
Also, don’t forget to listen all the way to the end after the interview to learn the new way to get on our email list!
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Today’s guest is Gary Inman! If you don’t know who Gary Inman is, get ready! Gary is a nationally celebrated, award-winning interior designer, author, and public speaker. He has been published in major magazines and several other places. Gary is also the vice president of Hospitality with Baskervill, which is an international giant in hospitality serving four star and five stars luxury hotels and resorts. His design métier includes handbags, women’s evening wear, textiles, lighting, rugs and furniture including his acclaimed Home Couture Collection for more counsel. He is also a High Point Style Spotter, an Instagram taste maker, the editor of Art and Fine Living and the popular guest on TV programs.
Stay tuned after the interview. I have some important news on how you can get on our email list!
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On this Power Talk Friday I have Casey Destefano with me! A few months back I was on Casey’s podcast. She is the host of the hit podcast “Women with Balls…in the Air”. She coaches her audience to have more successful careers and abundant family lives without pulling their hair out. If you did hear about our episode on Casey’s podcast that’s terrific! If you didn’t, please go over to iTunes and check out Casey’s podcast especially if you are someone who is trying to run a business and manage your family and children and get it all done. Like Casey says you have balls but they are in the air! But in addition, if you haven’t heard of Casey or her podcast you might not realize that she is an accomplished director and producer with more than twenty years’ experience. Casey could be on the show to talk about any number of things but today she is going to talk her number one skill set. She is a multimedia marketing agency. What she does for businesses is web design, video production, digital marketing and small business coaching. Casey is especially passionate about helping women and working with them to help them achieve their goals.
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Our guest today, Chris Kofitsas is the president of “New World Design Builders”. If you have ever had the pleasure of dining at Catch LA, Catch New York City or ABC Kitchen in New York City then you have had the pleasure of experiencing Chris’s work firsthand. Today Chris is going to tell us about his unique firm. Chris is the architect, builder and interior designer on all of his projects. Over twenty years of experience and training allows him to interlace these disciplines of architecture, interior, furniture and lighting design into an immersive experience paired with his discerning eye for beauty, attention to detail and commitment to excellence. Chris is one of the most sought after hospitality interior designers and the industries recognized Chris’s designs with multiple awards.
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Resources:
www.newworlddesignbuilders.com
I have Marina Case with me today and she is the principal of The Red Shutters located in Warwick, New York. Marina is a self-described hobby decorator who has become an accomplished interior decorator. Today you will hear Marina talk about the specific steps that she took to create the interior design business that she has today that would be envied and admired by any of us. Marina has been honored as one of the top fifty New York designers in New York spaces. She has won national acclaim for her design at the spa at Glenn Mear Mansion which was named one of the top 100 places in the world to visit by Departures Magazine. She also hosts a radio show, a live show where she interviews many people in the decorating field. Good news! She will be making that available in a podcast very soon!
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Welcome back to another power talk Friday! I’m very happy to let everyone know Krista Coupar is back in the house! Krista has two businesses: Coupar Communications and Studio Coupar. Coupar Communications is a public relations and market agency located in San Francisco. Studio Coupar is a full-service design support firm for interior designers, architects, contractors, and builders. On top of running two businesses, she has six children! Talk about a busy and talented lady. Today Krista is going to give us some great tips on what and how we should analyze our business starting the new year.
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Today Brittanie Elms is with me on the show. Brittanie is a smart, young go-getter who recently founded and launched her own company called My Design Assistant. Brittanie recently reached out to me because she is an avid listener of the show and she was interested in a sponsorship and wanted to know what that entailed. So, while that didn’t work out I was so impressed by her and her services and the concept of hers that I asked her to be on the show. My Design Assistant is a virtual design service specifically for interior designers. The purpose of this service is to decrease the behind the scenes work and to allow the interior design owner to focus on the business while finding time for themselves.
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On the show today, we have Michelle Wiebe! Michelle is the principal of Studio M in Tampa, Florida. The specialty of Michelle’s firm is luxury residential new construction. I know we have talked to quite a few designers in this field I haven’t really picked their brain as much as I did with Michelle today.
Her firm in addition to luxury residential, new construction they also do family condominiums, corporate headquarters, medical offices and small-scale hospitality spaces. Michelle is a busy lady! In addition to all of this, she serves on the board of interior design at Florida State University her Almer mater. She also serves on the high point market authority board and she goes all over the country speaking on design social media. She is the editor of Impression, the Studio M design blog.
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I have Calvin Correli with me today and I have learned talking with him before the show that he is a very interesting man! He is an artist, entrepreneur, a CEO of a holistically focused multimillion dollar software company called Simplero. Calvin is very passion about helping online business owners do exactly what makes them feel most alive and is currently working on branching out to bring all of his talents including music, spirituality, personal growth and bring all of this into an exciting new experience.
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If this is your first time, I am so happy that you found us! Today I am pleased to introduce you to Amanda Reynal! Amanda received her Bachelor of Arts at Trinity College. She then studied the masters abroad in Florence, Italy and ultimately learned her trade at the New York School of Interior Design and Parsons School of Design. Recently, she spent three years in London which provided the perfect venue for traveling and continuing her education in English and European decorative arts and antiques as well as contemporary art. Amanda’s introduction to interior design began in New York first at an architecture firm and then as a senior design associate at the prestigious Cullman and Kravis. You will hear today that this had a huge influence on her future success. In 2001, Amanda founded Amanda Reynal Interiors in Des Moines, Iowa which was born through a huge break with the opportunity to design the master bedroom suite at the Des Moines Symphony show house.
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I am very happy to announce that I have my buddy Sandra Funk from House of Funk! If you are a returning listener you will know exactly who Sandra Funk is because you know she was on the show on episode 3. You have heard me mention her on the podcast several times over the past year. The reason why you hear me mention her so much is I just admire so much how she runs her business. So often I have other guests on the show that I admire the same way but I don’t see it head on and day to day. So, when I want to make a point or mention her it’s because I see her work up close all the time.
If you are new to the show this is all new information. Sandra Funk is the founder and principal designer of House of Funk. It is a full-service firm with offices in New York City and Montclair, New Jersey and they also have e-funk, their online option for interior design. The thing about House of Funk is that they are fully dedicated to living purposefully and authenticity. House of Funk supports charitable organizations such as Charity Water and the Junior League. Both organizations empower women. Why is Sandra Funk back today? Sandra has rebranded her firm after ten years in business. She has taken a pivot and did some soul searching. We are going to talk about that a little bit.
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Welcome back to another power talk Friday! Kimberley is a full service, luxury interior designer and she has offices in Canada and Los Angeles and is the founder of Business of Design. Business of Design is a dynamic platform for interior designers who want to run more profitable businesses.
The number of resources that Kimberley has available for you at the Business of Design platform is unbelievable. She is also an author of several books. If you would like the full back story on Kimberley, please go back to episode 112 on this podcast. Today she is going to talk with us about the flat fee demons! She is an expert at pricing your project and positioning your firm and projects for maximum profitability. I have to let the cat out of the bag! Kimberley is starting her own podcast!
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March 9th Webinar - Win The Flat Fee Game: