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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 de

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 Impress

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 Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point Exciting Windows! Build a Better Business Registration luannuniversity.com 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 We

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 mo

Today With Meredith Huck: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined with fellow Jersey girl Meredith Huck, Founder of House of Huck. Meredith and I were chatting on Instagram, and it ended up with one of those instances in which I saw value in her being a guest on the show.  Meredith has successfully achieved a net amount of six figures within her first ten months of business. She is here to give my audience three helpful tips for those who are twiddling their thumbs about starting their design business. Don’t worry, we get it. But I know that you will find value and information that will give you the confidence you are desiring to go for it! More About Meredith Huck: Founded in 2020, House of Huck creates timeless spaces focusing on functionality and beauty while keeping your lifestyle top of mind. We make the process streamlined and straightforward, taking decision fatigue off your plate and holding your hand every step of the way. Meredith and her husband live in Coastal Connecticut wi

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today we are going to talk about unleveling to new, different, bigger, and better projects. These are the projects that you want to do but currently are not doing because you don't have the experience yet. Let's talk about it! What’s new with LuAnn Nigara Power Talk Friday Tour Fall 2022 luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com 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 Power Talk Friday Like Us: Fa

Today with Kelly Fridline: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. For many of you, running a successful and profitable interior design firm is the ultimate goal. But sometimes, the goal might look different. Perhaps you’ve thought about coaching, course creation, or another avenue besides a traditional firm. There are many career paths in the industry, and all of them require adjusting, evaluation, learning, and making mistakes. Today, Kelly Fridline joins me to discuss what it looks like to take a unique career path and what she has learned as she has carved out her businesses. Pick it apart: [2:34] Kelly discusses her background in architecture and the path she took to interior design.  [17:15] Kelly shares why she has chosen to not become licensed as an architect.  [34:08] Kelly highlights why she started Virtual Design Mentor as a networking and growth opportunity for designers.  [47:10] Kelly shares why her business involves other coaches and the strengths everyone brings to the table.  [53:2

Today With Nancy Ganzekaufer: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It’s Power Talk Friday and this show is sponsored by Nancy Ganzekaufer and her newest program Profit Insiders for Interior Designers. She is back to talk about the importance of analyzing your profitability. More specifically, Nancy is here to discuss the importance of knowing your numbers for the jobs that are already completed. The whole point of our business right? Tune in to learn if how your pricing your projects is benefitting or hidduring your business, and how Nancy can help. More About Nancy Ganzekaufer: Nancy Ganzekaufer is a focused, motivated, and dedicated Interior Designer Business Coach. Through her work, Nancy empowers creative entrepreneurs to build the life and business they have always wanted and deserve. As a mom of three young adults and a successful business owner, Nancy understands the unique challenges entrepreneurs face when pursuing their dreams of growing a profitable business. She leads by example through her hard w

Today with Pamela Durkin: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today with Pamela Durkin, author of Elevate and owner of Pamela Durkin Designs, we are discussing how to time block our tasks. Pamela is coughing up some great strategies on how we can set specific blocks of time for specific tasks that will help us, get this, “Get more done in one day then you used to get done in an entire week.” Pick it apart: [2:00] Pamela talks to us about time blocking to increase productivity.  [8:30] Pamela takes us to the next level of getting a weeks’ worth of things done in a day.  [11:15] Pamela explains a strategy for completing the potential tasks we get from when we check all of our emails. [26:00] Pamela and LuAnn discuss the importance of communicating to your clients your time expectancy.  LuAnn and Pamela Durkin’s Ah-Ha moments: “We need concentrated time to accomplish anything. We need to be aware of the fact that bouncing around to different tasks can hurt our productivity. ” - Pamela Durkin   “If we

Today with Lori Morris Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Lori Morris, one of the most passionate and driven people LuAnn has ever come across, joins the show today to share what it takes to grow your business to the level of attracting luxury clients and delivering the level of service and design that they expect.  Even as Lori’s business has grown so large, she maintains creative control and has a hand in every project they tackle. If you want to attract those luxury clients, if you want to work on these magnificent homes, if you want to offer that truly above and beyond level of service, then stay tuned to LuAnn and Lori’s conversation for takeaways that you can apply to your business to help reach your goals.  Not one to merely dip her toe in the water, Lori Morris is an ‘all or nothing’ designer whose artistry is rooted in tradition, unconventional ideas and fearless execution of perfection. Reinventing the standard of design since 1987, her work can be found in some of the most high-end properties a

Today with Rydhima Brar: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, Rydhima Brar of R/terior Studio shares her story and her journey to design with us. From her childhood in Kuwait, to her corporate career in LA, to launching her own firm at the beginning of the pandemic, to amazing growth and press attention—Rydhima shares how her story, and how storytelling in general, laid the foundation for her design career. Pick it apart: [5:00] Rydhima shares her journey and discusses her connection to construction and design during childhood in Kuwait.  [16:08] Rydhima discusses how a difficult personal experience launched the rebirth of her career and pushed her into her passion—design.  [32:05] Rydhima and LuAnn discuss the Kaleidoscope Project and Rydhima’s experience with it.  [46:26] Rydhima reflects on her path and what she has learned. LuAnn and Rydhima Brar’s Ah-Ha moments: “My world just turned upside down. It was a scary thing—my journey was terrifying. But during that time when I was home, a rebi

TODAY WITH MADELEINE MACRAE: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. For today’s Power Talk Friday, I’m sitting down with long-time friend of the show and Power Talk Friday expert Madeleine MacRae.  I often hear from listeners and designers who understand that the old adage, “You have to work on your business, not in your business,” is true if they want to grow and scale. But they don’t always understand what that actually looks like. Madeleine breaks down the CEO-level activities that let you scale at each stage of business. Pick it apart: [3:48] Madeleine breaks down the four stage of business and what each one entails.  [9:58] Madeleine and LuAnn discuss the value in knowing what level of business you desire to end up at.  [17:31] Madeleine breaks down the CEO-level activities that solopreneurs should be doing. [27:35] Madeleine shares what the CEO must do as an owner/operator.  [46:54] Madeleine discusses the high-level activities that business owners should be doing at the owner/manager level. [55

Today with Deborah Main: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today’s episode is a little bit different than the usual business acumen. We’re diving into Deborah Main’s story of how she became The Pillow Goddess. Deborah is the epitome of an inspirational story—of resiliency, of overcoming hardship, and chronic illness, and of art and creativity serving as an outlet in times of suffering.  Deborah’s story serves as motivation, inspiration, and absolute proof that art and design can heal and bring joy in even the toughest of times. Pick it apart: [0:36] Deborah shares her inspirational story of battling chronic illness. [14:24] Deborah discusses how she found pillow design, serving as a creative outlet that helped her focus on something positive.  [24:00] Deborah shares the limitations her illness still has on her life and what it has taught her.  [35:46] Deborah tasks about how she works with interior designers. [43:42] LuAnn and Deborah discuss the new collection with Robin Baron. LuAnn and Debo

Today with Desi Creswell: Welcome to A Well Designed Business. If you’re anything like me, you have a neverending to-do list. There’s always something else to get done, another box to check, another urgent task to complete. But when we get bogged down in those tasks, it becomes impossible to work on the business.  So how do we motivate ourselves to take a step back and work on the higher level needs? Interior Design Coach Desi Creswell shares her framework for getting big tasks done, even if it feels like you’ll never be able to. Learn more about Desi’s masterclass “The Focus Fix” starting June 7th, 2022 Pick it apart: [2:52] Desi talks about what a balanced business looks like and how we stop ourselves from building one.  [14:40] Desi sheds light on common mistakes she sees when people try to focus on important tasks.  [29:09] Desi walks through her simple framework for tackling major tasks. [45:08] LuAnn and Desi talk about how to keep yourself committed to tasks even when you don’t want to do them. 

Today with Sonal Kotecha: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today we have on Sonal Kotecha, founder of Rumah Interiors, a Dubai-based boutique interior design firm. Sonal and I were going back and forth on Instagram and she was telling me all of the lessons that she had learned from the show. As we were chatting, a light bulb went off and I knew I had to have her on as a guest. I am so appreciative of her sharing her lessons that I know you will benefit from hearing her story. Enjoy! Pick it apart: [6:38] Sonal tells us about the first big lesson she learned from A Well-Designed Business. [17:30] Sonal explains her second lesson from the podcast regarding your talent as a designer is not enough for success.  [27:49] Sonal and LuAnn discuss the third lesson Sonal learned.  [42:25] Sonal elaborates on her fourth lesson. [50:22] Lesson 5- we all need a “Vin” man.  [54:40] Last lesson of work-life balance is key. LuAnn and Sonal Kotecha’s Ah-Ha moments: “The discovery call is a sales presentation

Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Today is Window Treatment Friday, and we are debuting part 3 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 covering profit, and what designers can expect when selling window treatments. More About Vita Vygovska 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 Connect with Vita Vygovska: Website Instagram  Facebook  Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn What’s new with LuAnn Nigara The

Today with Rick Campos: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined by Interior Designer and fellow podcaster Rick Campos of Design Biz Survival Guide. I had the absolute honor of turning the tables on Rick and putting him in the hot seat for his 4 year anniversary episode. I am delighted to share this with you today and thank you again Rick for the tremendous honor of making me apart of this milestone. 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 Ri

Today with Corinne Bentzen and Melanie Kaplan:  Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On today’s sponsored show, I’m sitting down with Corinne Bentzen and Melanie Kaplan from The Company Store. We’re talking about the importance of staying on color trends, seasonal rotations of products, how the brand stays dedicated to premium quality, and their commitment to sustainability. Pick it apart: [18:34] Melanie shares her background in design and textiles, including experience in cotton mills that laid the foundation of her expertise.  [23:27] Melanie discusses how her team plays into the success of the brand.  [26:30] Melanie talks about the company’s design process and valuable partnerships.  [31:30] Corinne and Melanie share how seasonal rotation and constant innovation keep the brand’s designs fresh and relevant.  [44:23] Corinne and Melanie talk about how they maintain their commitment to artisanal quality. Ah-Ha Moments: “We have global design partners all over the world. It’s been my experience that

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Have you ever had a project where you felt undervalued and taken advantage of? A situation where someone else was taking credit for your work? What about mixing work and family?  These factors create a spiderweb of entanglements and equal a ticking time bomb of emotions and feelings. Today's episode comes from a listener who, while highly skilled, talented, and experienced, has found herself in a situation where she has mixed family and business in a high dollar project in which she is not getting the compensation or recognition for her contributions. Listen in as I break down the situation, the challenges, and what Lu would do. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara Exciting Windows! Build a Better Business Registration luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Inside Voice, Outside Voice Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business

Today with Michelle Feeney: Welcome to A Well Designed Business.  On this Power Talk Friday I am talking to Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street. Floral Street is a modern British fragrance that is both sustainable and eco-friendly. You’re probably wondering why I had Michelle on. Well despite her not being in interior design ,Michelle has provided me with a couple of aha moments that I want to bring to my listeners. She is an intelligent and accomplished business person and I can’t wait for you to hear about her experience to the top, how her fragrances make her customers feel, and how taking a break to stay at home gave her the information she needed to jump back in!    Pick it apart: [1:00] Michelle and LuAnn talk about the correlation between how a floral scent should make you feel on your body, but also when you walk into a room.  [13:18] Michelle talks about starting Floral Street at 53-years old.  [27:18] Michelle tells us how Floral Street breaks the mold in the sustainability of the fragr