Hi Welcome to another episode of A Well-Designed Business. On the show today I have Brook Devenport. Brook is the owner of Blinds & More located in Minnesota. We are going to hear Brook’s personal story and how she took a business that practically started by accident and after nearly 6 years she transformed it into a well run, profitable business with 7 team members who together do both custom window treatments and interior design in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa.
Show Notes
It took a lot of planning and tool-using
You can find the rest of the show notes and resources at www.windowworks-nj.com
I have another fun show for you today! Taylor Spellman is with us today. Taylor is a New York based interior designer and staging expert. She is also the host of Bravo’s new TV show “Yours Mine or Ours”. No matter what she is designing- whether it be a 10-million-dollar penthouse, the lobby of a high-rise or the showroom for a fashion client-- her super down to earth personality combined with her bold style makes her a stand out in our interior design community. Taylor has the unique and unteachable talent using high end one of a kind pieces to an afternoon spent at the Goodwill. Today you will learn how she came from humble beginnings and now has million dollar clientele in New York City.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Welcome back to another power talk Friday! I am happy to introduce to you Lindsey Anderson who is also known as One Click Lindsey. The reason for this is that she is a professional coach, counselor and her business is in helping. Lindsey is the founder and CEO of Trafficandleads.com. Today we are going to talk about how to get your web presence to work for you.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works.
Kate Greunke is with us today! Kate is a published author, entrepreneur and founder of Kate the Socialite. Kate the Socialite is a marketing firm and niches in marketing for interior designers, window treatment professionals and remodelers. After two years of watching interior designers be taken advantage of by big companies and listening to her clients say and tell her how difficult it was to keep up with their email and social marketing, Kate decided to create a solution. She had already been designing custom newsletters and social media content for years. Not everyone could or would spend big bucks on a custom package. She decided to create a marketing solution that was affordable and easy to use, something that could be easily customized and sent in just a few clicks. Then a short time later, Socialite Subscribe was born!
Check out Kate's website at www.katethesocialite.com.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Something must be in the air, I keep running into fourth generation business owners! Last week Scott Kravet was here for our 100th episode and he told us about the history of the Kravet family. He is part of the fourth generation of the Kravets to work and run Kravet Inc.
Today we have Jake Baer on the show with me and he is the twenty-eight-year-old CEO of Newel. Newel is the home of the largest decorative art collection and furniture in the US. Newel has been known for many years for its prop rental business since the 1930s. Jake was named the CEO of Newel in 2015 and he has really spearheaded change with a brand-new gallery in Manhattan. He has recently moved their collection to a massive warehouse in Long Island City in Long Island. We are going to talk about how he is moving Newel into a new age.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Welcome to another power talk Friday! We have Shauna Lynn Simon with us again today! If you listened to a previous power talk Friday, we started talking about how to host a successful home consumer event. In the first episode, we talked about the first three things that you need to do to set up a successful event. This included choosing your title, choosing the venue for the workshop, how to market your event and securing sponsors. Today Shauna Lynn is going to take it further with us and talk about content creation, managing and selecting guest speakers if it’s not yourself, handouts that you should possibly do using your event for a lead generation machine.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Before I introduce our guest on the show today, Joni Vanderslice I have a big announcement! I am happy to introduce a new sponsor to the show: Mydoma Studio. If you remember a couple of weeks ago we had Sarah Daniele, the CEO of Mydoma Studio who told us about her company, how she came to found it, and all the features it has for you to help run your interior design projects more efficiently. If you missed that show you should go back and listen to Sarah and all about Mydoma Studio! In the meantime, thank you Mydoma Studio for recognizing these fabulous interior designers that we have here at A Well Design Business.
As I said we have Joni Vanderslice with us today and she is the owner and president of J. Banks Design Group in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Joni founded her firm thirty years ago! Since then she has nurtured the Hilton Head Island-based operation into an internationally recognized force of residential and resort design. J. Banks Design takes on a global portfolio of projects that translates resort living to home and home living to resort-living.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works.
This is a celebratory episode dear loyal listeners! This is our 100th podcast episode and it’s time to celebrate! It’s certainly a very optimistic number as the podcast prognosis goes: If you make it to the 7th episode, you can make it to the 45th … and if you make it to the 100th you’ll make it for a while! Our guest for this landmark episode is Scott Kravet, the great grandson of Samuel Kravet, the founder of Kravet Inc.
Kravet Inc. will be celebrating its centennial anniversary in 2018. Another 100th reason to celebrate! Kravet Inc. was established in 1918 by Samuel Kravet, and it has grown to be the industry leader in the home furnishings industry -- fabrics, furniture, carpets, drapery, trimmings, wall coverings, and others. The family’s commitment to innovation has helped the company transform from a small fabric house to a global leader, representing brands and designers from all over the world. Kravet Inc. owns Kravet, Lee Jofa, Groundworks and GP & J Baker, all high-end fabric houses that specialize in style, luxury and exceptional design.
Scott Kravet, part of the company’s 4th generation, is the Creative Director and Head of Product Development. Having a near encyclopedic knowledge of fabrics, he oversees all aspects of product development for Kravet and its brands. He is an alumnus of Emory University and the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science. Scott manages creative teams in 5 design studios in New York and worldwide. He travels the globe sourcing products from the finest craftsmen and best mills.
I’m deeply grateful to Kravet Inc. for continuing to sponsor our podcast (since 2015) which by now is followed by professional groups consisting of over 70,000 and growing! At the minimum, Window Works get contacted by 5 interior designers daily and they all mention the Well-Designed Business podcast as the source and resource. Thank you, Kravet Inc.!!
Show Notes
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works.
It’s power talk Friday again! I have a treat for all of you today. I found our guest, John Muldoon while I was doing research, and I got jazzed up when I saw what John is doing! We are going to be talking to him about his “business” (a consulting firm) that he has had for twelve years! But we are really going to get into his powerful blog called The Monthly Experiments Project.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Today on the show I have Carrie Leskowitz! Carrie brings a unique perspective to her work. She is not only an interior designer but she is also a certified Marth Beck life coach. Carrie combines her background in fashion and psychology with twenty years in the interior design industry. She shows her clients how our living space often mirrors our inner space. Her blog: Carrie’s Design Musings, is in its sixth year and has a very loyal following!
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works
Our guest today on the show is Linda Holt! Linda was recommended to me by a listener of the podcast! Thank you, Marie! She suggested Linda because she admires her work and she loves the interesting bit that she comes from a twenty-year career in photography and she specializes in modeling and celebrity head shots. Linda has worked with more than 3000 celebrities, actors and models as one of Boston’s top headshot photographer. So today she is going to talk to us about why she made the switch from photography to interior design.
Show Notes:
The rest of the show notes are in our resource center: Window Works.
We are back with another power talk Friday and we have Fred Berns with us again! As you know Fred Berns has been on the show two other times. We have talked about our bio briefing, our website once over because Fred is a leader in the interior design business coaching arena. He has twenty-five years of experience specializing in helping interior designers grow their interior design firms through more effective websites, more effective programs, and more effective introductions and bios. Today we are going to talk about selling methods of the masters.
Show Notes:
Download the free resources from Fred Berns from our resource center: Window Works
Today I have someone whom I’m sure many of you are familiar with his businesses or platforms. You have probably heard of at least one of them and maybe you know Adam Japko through one of these. He is the founder and CEO of Esteem Media but prior to Esteem Media he was the president of DigitalSherpa. Esteem Media is the home of leading national and local media brands that specialize in luxury home design and fine wine. Through Adam Japko, Esteem Media leads the industry in community and initiatives that help business professionals just like you navigate the shift between traditional and digital media. Adam also has a wine blog called WineZag. I hope you enjoy this interview with Adam Japko as he talks about his business Esteem Media and all about the Design Bloggers Conference!
Show Notes:
You will find the rest of the show notes at our resource center: Window Works.