Today With Katie McFarlan:
Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. What does it take to be successful? We talk about it week in and week out on the show. There are so many details, so many facets to business success. But there are a handful of business practices that every successful designer puts into place—the things that set them apart from those who struggle. Today, Katie McFarlan of Dakota Design Co joins me to share the six business practices she believes are key to a well-designed business.
Pick It Apart
LuAnn Nigara and Katie McFarlan's Ah-Ha Moments
“The more clarity you can put around things the less opportunity there is for designers to complain about “scope creep.” If you didn’t define what it is that you do, how is the client supposed to know that it’s out of the parameters?” -LuAnn
“When you do the same thing over and over again, it’s good at getting you to be more efficient and working out the kinks. Your clients will enjoy working with you more when they know what to expect.” -Katie
More About Katie McFarlan:
As a former wedding and event planner with 16 years of experience in operations and project management, Katie enjoys using both her creative and analytical sides to find solutions that work for her clients. With her intimate knowledge of how both industries work, she knows what it takes to get behind-the-scenes operations running smoothly so businesses can grow in a sustainable and professional way. Today her business, Dakota Design Company, helps interior designers and wedding planners who are buried in business operations get back to doing the creative work they love. Through consulting and done-for-you implementation, she and her all-female team streamline their clients’ services and pricing, create strategic client experiences, and refine and implement processes their teams and customers will appreciate.
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2
Connect with LuAnn Nigara
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LuAnn’s Blog
Other Shows Mentioned:
A Big Thank You to Today's Sponsor:
Mydoma Studio, 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 Renee Biery:
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I am chatting with Renee Biery, owner of deVignier Design, Inc. and Only Girl On the Jobsite podcast. Renee works in restoration as well as new construction and she wanted to share with my listeners how renovation management is a stable income for interior designers throughout the year, as procurement and decorating ebbs and flows per job. A lot of takeaways here. Enjoy!
Pick It Apart
[3:50] Renee describes the scope of renovation management in her business.
[14:26] Renee shares how she changed the initial conversations with her clients, so that they would consider her for renovation management as well.
[22:53] Renee shares another way we can position ourselves to clients as their one stop shop.
[32:40] Renee gives us tips as designers on how we can confidently show up at a typically male dominated job site.
LuAnn Nigara and Renee Biery's Ah-Ha Moments
“Many designers are doing renovation management, but don’t necessarily lead with it in their marketing.” - Renee Biery
“There’s a lot of different people with different skill sets that are needed to complete the project, but they don’t have overlapping skills. A designer can add to that and elevate any project.” - Renee Biery
“View yourself as an equal on the team. You are not above and you are not below.” - Renee Biery
“In order to be taken seriously, you have to show up seriously.” - LuAnn Nigara
More About Renee Biery:
Renée deVignier Biery, ASID, is an interior designer based in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a graduate of the New York School of Interior Design, one of the country’s oldest conservatory interior design programs, earning a degree with distinction in 1994 as an Associate in Applied Science in Interior Design. Biery is formally trained in practical interior architecture with advanced technical and rendering proficiency. Her credentials include NCIDQ board licensing as a professional member of the ASID, the design industry’s highest certification.
For Biery, design is a lifelong calling. It is a throughline of home life, from the traditional American houses of the Delaware Valley, to her training and professional experience in the design world of New York, and back again to her roots in Wilmington. Across this map of influences, design has given Renée the way to celebrate a sense of place that is both local and original.
Renée deVignier Biery was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware, home to the Winterthur Museum among many important and historic residences and gardens. Good design was always in her surroundings, “a common language of big rambling homes filled with proper antiques,” she explains. She drew her inspiration early from a number of grandly formal old houses belonging to members of her own family in Virginia and especially from her two grandmothers—one, a southern, Virginia lady with an eye for cutting-edge New York and European fashion, and the other, a social worker who had a talent for understanding people deeply. Those qualities combine in Biery’s approach to design. She puts people and their practical needs first. She aims to create work that will be lasting and meaningful. She views tradition with an edge but also with a natural, truly southern civility.
During and following her schooling, Biery worked in the design field in New York. She began in 1993 as an associate in the legendary Lexington Avenue boutique of designer Charlotte Moss. She spent several years as a senior designer in the firm of Barbara Hauben Ross, a well-known New York designer who specializes in refined, luxury Art Deco interiors. During this tenure Biery honed her skill not only in historical and architectural renovation, but also, specifically, in the edited simplicity of early modern color, shape, and structure. The experience has given her a quietly pared-down viewpoint to balance more embellished, traditional environments.
Biery returned permanently to Wilmington in 2000 and established her own firm, deVignier Design, Inc. She works in restoration as well as new construction, and remains committed to the personal attention of a studio practice where she is fully involved from inception to installation with every assignment. “These are people who are sharing their lives with me, who will often spend a number of years with me on a project,” she says. “If I do my job right, the relationship is as lasting as the work, and the resulting house will look like the homeowners, not me.”
Connect with Renee Biery
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:
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
Other Shows Mentioned:
#16- Charles Pavarini: Behind the Scenes of the Architectural Digest Design Show 2016
#305- Elizabeth Scruggs: The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business.
#380- Circle Design Studio: Architect & Interior Design Firm: John & Theresa Dorlini
A Big Thank You to Today's Sponsor:
Mydoma studio, the project management tool for you to organize your communication with your team, your clients and your trades. Invoices, proposals, presentations, project milestones all in one place. See it for yourself- go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Today is Window Treatment Friday, and we are debuting part 4 of our Pricing Window Treatment Series. Vita is back with some great tools that she has learned to use when pricing a window treatment to a consumer.
Today, we are talking about how to breakdown your pricing for a client. How much detail do you include? How do you explain labor, fabric, hardware, and installation costs? We talk about it all! Tune in to learn how to have this tough conversation like a pro.
Vita is the CEO and founder of Vitalia Inc., a nationally recognized authority on quality window treatments and soft furnishings, located in the Metro Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania. Vitalia Inc. is your workroom and your partner for custom window treatments. Their mission is to provide value to their clients and improve their lives.
Vita would love to talk to you. Share your feedback, questions, problems, and challenges with her, and also your wins. You can email her at vita@vitaliainc.com
The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point
LuAnn Nigara and Friends Meet and Greet at High Point
Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events
http://www.luannnigara.com/cob
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!
Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action
Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts
LuAnn’s Website
LuAnn’s Blog
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Kravet. Have you heard? The majority of Kravet Inc. product is in stock and ready to ship within days. Order your favorite patterns from Kravet’s exclusive in stock collections like Barbara Barry’s Midsummer to CuratedKravet’s exclusive decorative accessories. Keep your design projects on track with Kravet Inc. and order memos today at http://www.kravet.com.
Today With Jessica Davis:
Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, Jessica Davis of JL Design in Nashville, Tennessee is joining me to share her tried and true strategies to hold clients accountable at the beginning, middle, and end of your project. We’ve all been on a tense phone call with a client about something not going their way. You think about all the ways this could have been avoided. Today Jessica shares her strategies to hold your clients, and yes sometimes even holding yourself accountable.
More About Jessica Davis:
Jessica Davis founded JL Design in 2005. She is a graduate of Watkins College of Art in Nashville Tennessee, and brings 18 years of Interior Design experience to the JL Design team.
“I knew I wanted to be involved in Design at a very young age, when I realized there were always new challenges to overcome. I have always been surrounded by the arts and I have always felt that my inner creativity would ultimately guide me in my career. I wanted to be a part of something that would allow me to work closely with people and enrich their lives through design. For me, Interior Design is defined by functional, unique, creativity tailored to each individual.”
With a degree in Interior Design, Jessica began consulting on Design projects in Middle Tennessee, and was soon being commissioned for jobs in New York, New Jersey, and Miami. JL Design’s reputation for innovative Interior Design solutions has made it a leader in its class.
“I feel so fortunate to be able to bring my devotion and energy to my clients every day, and forge relationships that I find so crucial when working in someone's home or personal space. There will always be a need for functional, progressive Interior Design, and I am committed to the art form and the evolving industry as it meets the needs of today.”
Carrie Flynn is the owner of Virtual Simplicity, LLC., which specializes in helping our clients get their online programs created, designed, and ready to launch with simplicity and ease, so they can launch + maximize profits fast. We offer custom funnel design + tech setup in Kajabi, and full launch management strategy/support. Carrie loves yoga, her daily coffee, British TV shows and movies, and college football (Go Gators!). She's been married to her husband for 17 years, and together they have two daughters, ages 13 and 5. Carrie lives in the Mount Dora, FL area with her family.
Connect with Jessica Davis
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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:
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
A Big Thank You to Today's Sponsor:
Mydoma studio, the project management tool for you to organize your communication with your team, your clients and your trades. Invoices, proposals, presentations, project milestones all in one place. See it for yourself- go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness
Today With Carrie Flynn:
Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today Carrie Flynn, owner of Virtual Simplicity, LLC. is joining us to talk about all things, launching.
Listen, I’ve launched a lot of successful programs; Money, Mindset & Sales, the Power Talk Friday Tour…but I would be lying if I said I did it all by myself and knew exactly what I was doing in terms of the TECH side. Thank God for my team! We, as creatives, have the brains, expertise, and superpower, but launching can be overwhelming.
Carrie is a certified Master Marketer and Launch Manager and is here to prepare us for what to expect (including the roller coaster of emotions), do, and not to do when it comes to launching a new product or service. Enjoy!
More About Carrie Flynn:
Carrie Flynn is the owner of Virtual Simplicity, LLC., which specializes in helping our clients get their online programs created, designed, and ready to launch with simplicity and ease, so they can launch + maximize profits fast. We offer custom funnel design + tech setup in Kajabi, and full launch management strategy/support. Carrie loves yoga, her daily coffee, British TV shows and movies, and college football (Go Gators!). She's been married to her husband for 17 years, and together they have two daughters, ages 13 and 5. Carrie lives in the Mount Dora, FL area with her family.
Pick it apart:
[1:50] Carrie explains what it means to be a certified master marketer and certified launch manager.
[10:30] Carrie gives some ideas you can take on your own to vet your launching idea to see if it will even work.
[23:55] Carrie gets more in depth on how to prepare for the emotional side of a launch.
[37:40] Do you need to invest in ads and if so, what is a healthy budget?
LuAnn and Carrie Flynn's Ah-Ha Moments
“The clientele for your one on one business, won’t necessarily be the same clientele for your new launch.” - Carrie Flynn
“You could have come up with an awesome idea that your people don’t need. They want to buy a transformation” - Carrie Flynn
“The vehicle is your choice to decide how you want to put your idea out there.” - Carrie Flynn
“Like I always say, if you are going to do it, do it like a business.” - LuAnn Nigara
Connect with Carrie Flynn
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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:
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
Other Shows Mentioned:
EPISODE 32 Robin Baron – The President of ASID NY Metro Chapter Talks with us about PR and Brand Development
EPISODE 540 Robin Baron: Strategic Thinking on Product Development
EPISODE 474 Bria Hammel: Keys to Scaling Your Interior Design Firm
EPISODE 731 Chloe Mackintosh: Chloe Mackintosh: How She Went From Blogger to Interior Designer
EPISODE 476 Amanda Hamilton: Running a Mid-Size Firm & Creating Additional Revenue Streams
EPISODE 687 Demetrius Robinson: Show Up & Do The Work
EPISODE 701 Kristen Rivoli: New Brand, New Year: How Rebranding Can Work for Interior Designer
Today With Rick Campos:
Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Whether we’ve had it for 6 months or 5 years, we still have questions when running our design business. The experience may not be the same, but the questions we ask ourselves are. It’s the circumstances that change.
Today with Rick Campos, who does freelance consulting exclusively for the interior design community, we tackle these questions that linger in our minds and all of the resources that are all around us that can answer them.
More About Rick Campos:
Rick Campos is a self proclaimed “recovering interior designer” with fifteen years of experience in the design industry. Formerly Director of Business Development for a notable Orange County design firm, his daily interactions with architects, builders, vendors and clients contributes to a broad perspective of the design industry.
In 2018 Rick traded in his tape measure for a microphone and launched Design Biz Survival Guide - a podcast about life and business for interior design professionals - with the intention of informing and inspiring the design community.
In 2019 Rick integrated freelance consulting into the platform with an emphasis on “the business of design” exclusively for the interior design community. He has since helped numerous design entrepreneurs grow their business to new levels.
The platform has since evolved to include annual business development retreats, learning opportunities, networking events, and an online community.
“My mission is to be the source of information and inspiration to interior design entrepreneurs that I needed when I launched my own design business back in 2007. To promote and further develop a design community that supports and empowers fellow design professionals on their journey in life and business.”
Pick it apart:
[4:00] Rick introduces what we will be talking about today, that a creative business is still a business.
[6:57] Rick addresses challenges that may arise from three to ten years down the road of owning your design business.
[16:24] Rick tells us the types of questions designers ask each other when they connect.
[33:40] Our conversation continues with great questions to ask your colleagues, including their background.
[38:27] Rick gives us details about his 3rd annual Design Biz Retreat.
[42:05] Rick talks about his expertise; selling luxury.
LuAnn and Rick Campos' Ah-Ha Moments
“No matter how long we’re in our design business the questions we have are the same, it’s the circumstances that are different.” - Rick Campos
“It’s the conversations with other people in the business that answer your questions, not Google or Youtube.” - Rick Campos
“What I have said one billion times is that people buy people and process, not products.” - LuAnn Nigara
“If anyone is going to help guide you, it’s going to be a fellow designer because they’re already doing it.” - Rick Campos
“Getting together with other people who do what you do is one of the most enjoyable ways to push the envelope on your business.” - LuAnn Nigara
Connect with Rick Campos
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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:
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
Other Shows Mentioned
#06- Identifying Your Transferable Skills With Erika Ward
#50- Veronica Solomon: Powerful Marketing for Your Interior Design Firm- Website to Fan Engagement on Facebook
#180- PowerTalk Friday: Michele Williams Talks About Profit First and Why It Matters to You
#482- Cheryl Clennendon- Small Business, Think Big
#485- Power Talk Friday: Claire Jeffers- Rock the Consult
A Big Thank You to Today's Sponsor:
Mydoma studio, the project management tool for you to organize your communication with your team, your clients and your trades. Invoices, proposals, presentations, project milestones all in one place. See it for yourself- go to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness
Today With Michelle Wiebe:
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today is a Flashback Friday epsiode, where we revisit some of the most popular shows from our archives. I hope you enjoy Michelle Wiebe's episode that originally aired as episode 148!
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.
Pick it Apart:
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point
Exciting Windows! Build a Better Business Registration
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
Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast
Today With LuAnn Nigara:
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today is a solo show. I am sharing my thoughts on the biggest piece of business advice I have to offer from my long career as a business owner.
There are so many things you need to learn to run a well-designed business. If you’re a longtime listener than you can probably name many of them by now. But today, I am sharing my absolute greatest takeaway that you need to know.
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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:
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
Other Shows Mentioned:
#575 Lisa Gilmore: Finance Fridays! From 850k to 2.25 Million in One Year!
#467 Taylor Spellman: Hard Truths on Why You Need to Manage the 80% Business
#398 Courtney McLeod: Defined Process = Success in Your Interior Design Business
#781 Flash Back Friday: Lori Morris: When Working with the Luxury Client, the Answer is Yes!
#683 Jessica Matteson: The Client Experience Is #1 in Design
#412 Power Talk Friday: Ashley Uhl: How to Deliver a High-End Client Experience
#663 Andrea Hysmith: Structure and Flexibility, Keys to Reaching Goals in Your Interior Design Business
#516 Power Talk Friday: Jude Charles: Video Storytelling for Your Brand
#626 Power Talk Friday: Jude Charles: How to Tell Your Story to Connect with Clients in Interior Design
#718 Power Talk Friday: Jude Charles: The Power of Dramatic Demonstration in Your Business Videos
#724 Power Talk Friday: Jude Charles: Using Video to Close More Interior Design Deals
#125 Nicole Heymer- How To Brand Your Business. Yes, again! Do not miss this one!!!
#317 Nicole Heymer: 6 Keys to Planning A Website That Makes Things Happen
#466 Power Talk Friday: Nicole Heymer: You’ve Defined Your Brand…Now What?
#589 Power Talk Friday: Eileen Hahn: Scaling from 2 Million to 5 Million
#622 Dwayne Bergmann: Empower Your Team to Own the Project Management While Maintaining Design Vision as the Creative Director
#634 Power Talk Friday: Jessica Harling: A Specific Process for Onboarding a New Hire
#669 Kelly Collier: Managing Expectations Through Clear Messaging
Window Treatments for Profit Podcast Episode #25 Rick Baker: Preserving Your Values as You Grow Your Window Treatment Business
Other Resources Mentioned:
Finances Podcast Episodes Collection
Hiring Podcast Episodes Collection
Window Treatments for Profit Podcast
LuAnn and Friends Facebook Group
Nancy Ganzekaufer’s Facebook Group
Veronica Soloman’s Facebook Group
Claire Jefford's Facebook Group
Cheryl Clendenon’s Facebook Group
The Wingnut Social Media Lab Facbeook Group
IDS Conference coming up this August 2022
Design Biz Survival Guide Retreat October 2022
The Power Talk Friday Tour this October at High Point Market
Today With Adam Urbanski:
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today is a Flashback Friday epsiode, where we revisit some of the most popular shows from our archives. I hope you enjoy Adam Urbanski's episode that originally aired as episode 280!
Today's guest is Adam Urbanski, aka The Millionaire Marketing Mentor and he’s a real headliner in Online Marketing and Podcast circles! There are so many ways that Adam could really help and influence all LuAnn’s Designer friends to get that extra ‘something’ to tweak their businesses, so today, she’s decided to go with Adam’s Dream Business Design Process. Listen in to find out how this process helps Designers to identify what they want to sell the most and also how to sell to the most clients.
Adam, who has been in business for seventeen years now, is really the ‘go-to guy’ for Coaches, Consultants and other Service Professionals who want to attract more clients, convert more high-value sales, build an authority brand, or grow a Lifestyle Business that has more impact and generates more income. Adam’s clients have often doubled, tripled and even ten times-ed their businesses, some of them in as little as ninety days! All of this and Adam started out with only $194 and limited English and he still managed to turn his first business into a seven-figure business in less than ten years! LuAnn knows that she’s in the presence of a true expert with Adam, so she’s very grateful that he’s on the show today! Listen in now, as Adam shares some really hot tips with you, to help you to become a way better business strategist!
Pick it apart:
Becoming a master of, and being known for a very specific approach.
What his six question worksheet allows you to zero in on.
How he discovered his ideal clients.
That 90% of his clients are women and this happened by design!
That marketing is really all about listening.
Adam talks you through his six questions and how to best approach working with them.
Finding your specific magic, as a Designer.
Thinking about your dream income, per client.
Identifying your dream project.
Identifying the characteristics of your dream client.
What you’d need to do in order to execute your project in the best possible way. (i.e. identifying your Superpower)
Really understanding the expectations that you have to meet with your project.
Expressing what you’re really good at to your client.
Establishing systems for really clear processes in your business.
Knowing that everything is changing all the time, so you need to maintain a constant process of evaluation with your clients.
Asking yourself how much money you’d like to make from each project, per year.
Examining which three to six marketing activities you really need to focus on- to avoid becoming overwhelmed.
That you should really become a one track pony, in order to not lose sight of your core competencies.
Connect with Adam Urbanski:
What’s new with LuAnn Nigara
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:
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