A Well-designed Business® | Interior Design | Designers | Business |interior Design Success

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! What do you do when you realize that the business you have nurtured over the years is no longer bringing you joy? Tawna Allred joins LuAnn in this conversation that is not so much about how Tawna built her design business, but how, after 10 years in business, she took a pause, looked inside, and shifted gears to bring back the spark and create the life that she really wanted. Listen in to this inspiring conversation for lessons on learning to trust your gut instinct and following through with simple changes. Tawna Allred opened her interior design business (a single person LLC) in 2009, and she is still a one-woman business today. Tawna labels herself as a multi-passionate creative. Her interior design focus is design-build (new construction and remodeling), and she offers full-service design from plan conceptualization to installing furniture and styling. Tawna's husband is a contractor and although they have separate businesses, he's a huge mentor and supporter of her w

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it's Power Talk Friday! Today, Luann and her guest, Eileen Hahn, dig into how to scale your design business from 2 million to 5 million. Going from 2 to 5 million is not easy, and it does not happen by accident. Intentional is the name of the game when scaling at this level. Who better to take us through that than Eileen? She’s the HR whisperer from LuAnn's first Power Talk Friday Experts book. Eileen was with us all at LuAnn Live and she also has a chapter in LuAnn's upcoming second Power Talk Friday Experts book, as well. Oh, and did you know that LuAnn and Eileen are COUSINS? Tune in to their conversation for expert advice on hiring, retaining, and scaling, and be amazed as Eileen takes this overwhelming task of scaling and breaks it down into a simple (not easy, simple) to-do list! Eileen Hahn is a leadership consultant who works with firms like Anheuser-Busch, Ericson Worldwide, General Motors, Legoland, San Diego Padres, and interior design firms, as well as smaller

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s time for another riveting episode of “What Would Lu Do?”, where you ask the difficult questions and LuAnn gives the expert answers you’ve been wanting. Today’s episode is sponsored by Mydoma Studio. Today’s dilemma comes from Virginia, a self-described #babydesigner. Virginia had a good working relationship with a contractor on commercial projects, and he brought her into one of his residential deals. Everything went great. She returned the favor by inviting him into one of her residential projects. The contractor ended up sending the client a proposal behind Virginia’s back, before she even had the design work presentation ready. This confused the client and made her look bad. Virginia is looking for the best way to handle this situation. Today’s episode will capture your attention because Lu explains how having too much business isn’t always good. Really? Tune in to hear LuAnn explain. Show Highlights: LuAnn provides the details regarding a scary scenario Windo

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Are you really, truly, creating your own designs and ideas? Today’s guest wants you to learn to start with the story you want to tell and to express that in your design. LuAnn gets the pleasure of talking with so many great designers on the show, but she rarely gets the opportunity to chat with a commercial designer. That dynamic flips once again today, because she is joined by Darrell Long of Wilson Associates. Darrell believes it is important to develop your critical thinking in order to be an exceptional designer. He is here to share with us that the magic of creativity is in the story and it is the art behind the design. This is something that he is very passionate about and he considers it his mission to share with other designers, especially younger ones. Please join us in this very special episode! Darrell Long possesses more than 25 years of brand-strengthening design experience that evokes a distinct sense of location, while engaging the world's most discriminati

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Window Treatment Friday! In today’s episode, LuAnn and her friend and co-host of WTF, Vita (Vitalia) Vygovska, discuss how to get yourself in the right mindset for selling window treatments. Window treatments add some dollar bills to that bottom line of a project and are a nice money profit center for an interior designer. Listen in today to hear what LuAnn and Vita have to share with you. Vita is the award-winning window treatment specialist. Her company, Vitalia, Inc, is an all-encompassing fabrication, measurement, installation, and project management service exclusively for interior designers. In business for over a decade, Vita and her team are experts in their narrow field, providing designers with superb quality product and excellent communication. Most importantly, they take off the stress, save time, and give peace of mind in the job is well-done.   Show Highlights: Vita shares her thoughts on selling window treatments. Confidence, product knowledge, st

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! LuAnn’s guest today takes efficiency to a whole new level, and she is also one of the co-authors in LuAnn’s upcoming book A Well Designed Business: The Power Talk Friday Experts, coming out in November 2020. Please welcome Sandra Funk back to the show. After 20 years in the business, Sandra has gained a ton of information, a ton of expertise, and a ton of knowledge, and now, she is offering that expertise, that well-oiled machine to designers everywhere. The Interior Design Standard is a program that Sandra has put together, actual templates for designers to utilize her systems and processes. LuAnn is thrilled to announce that today’s show is sponsored by Interior Design Standard. You’re going to love what you hear! Sandra Funk is the CEO and Principal Designer of House of Funk, a greater New York area design firm working wherever great clients need us. This is interior design with a soul and a sense of place; reflecting your desires, personality, and style. House of Fun

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! No matter where your business is, it’s going to take trial and error, iterating, learning, changing, and growing to take it to the next level. And if anybody knows how to build a business from the ground up in new locations multiple times, relying on solid networking and content marketing strategies to help her forge new connections and succeed in new places, it’s today’s guest. LuAnn welcomes Lesley Myrick back to the show. Listen in to learn what Lesley has to say about building a successful business, even when you’re starting in a brand new place.  Lesley Myrick is an adventurous, organized, and enthusiastic interior designer in the Atlanta, Georgia area (and she works with clients all over the US and Canada, too). Lesley is originally from Canada and has lived and worked in Toronto, Ontario; Los Angeles, California; Waco, Texas; and now Macon, Georgia. She earned an honors diploma in interior design from Sheridan College in 2005 and launched Lesley Myrick Art + Design

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! LuAnn’s guest today is Mitch Hahn, the CEO of Nordens, a large, established accounting firm in Central London. Mitch is not new to the struggles and successes that accompany accounting for home designers. Simply put, Mitch doesn’t just look at home design from an accountant’s perspective; he sees accounting from a home designer’s perspective, too, so he truly speaks creatives’ language. Listen in for what Mitch has to say about what to look for in an accountant and how accountants can better serve designer clients.  The CEO of an established accounting firm - like, over-3000-clients-established - at only 31, Mitch Hahn is versed in starting a company from scratch at a young age. And he’s not too bad at helping a variety of other businesses do the same, either.  Plus, with a variety of home design businesses included within that scope, Mitch is not new to the struggles and successes that accompany accounting for home designers. It’s that “struggle”

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s time for another episode of “What Would Lu Do?”, where you ask the questions and LuAnn helps out with the answers. Today’s dilemma comes from Virginia, a self-described #babydesigner. Virginia had a good working relationship with a contractor on commercial projects, and he brought her into one of his residential deals. Everything went great. She returned the favor by inviting him into one of her residential projects. The contractor ended up sending the client a proposal behind Virginia’s back, before she even had the design work presentation ready. This confused the client and made her look bad. Virginia is looking for the best way to handle this situation. Listen in as LuAnn digs into the details, susses out the situation, and lays out her reasoning on the resolutions. If you are not working with a coach or perhaps you don’t have a business mentor or business bestie to provide guidance, this is the perfect opportunity to email LuAnn the burning issues that you nee

Welcome to a Well-Designed Business! Today’s guest is the Paloma Contreras - the Elle A-list, Forbes recognized, shop-owning, fabulously talented design influencer. You know, the Paloma Contreras that has163,000 Instagram followers? This lady is one amazing powerhouse! Keep listening, though, because it wasn’t always that way. She is a lady who cried on Sundays because she dreaded her work week so much, then went on to find her niche, love her job, and become that Elle Decor A-Lister. Don’t miss LuAnn’s and Paloma’s inspiring conversation about trusting your gut, taking action even when you’re afraid or unsure, and going for the big dream in your head and making it reality. Based in Houston, Texas, Paloma has honed her eye for style over more than a decade in the design industry. She has developed a reputation for designing beautiful interiors in a broad range of styles which are executed in a manner that is polished, refined, and effortless.  Paloma has repeatedly been named on the prestigious ELLE Decor

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! LuAnn welcomes Brad Leavitt of A.F.T. Construction back on the show today. Brad is here to talk with us about the “B” word - budgets! And the other “B” word - builders! Taking charge of the money for our projects is vital. In fact, it’s absolutely necessary if you want to build amazing client relationships and get the respect you deserve from your builders - and really anyone you interact with in your business. Brad is going to get into that with us today. Plus, LuAnn has been saving a question from one of her designers for him, so listen in to hear that question and see how Brad responds. Brad Leavitt is President of A Finer Touch Construction, LLC, a luxury residential and commercial builder located in Scottsdale, AZ. His Podcast, “The AFT Construction Podcast”, is focused on bringing value to its listeners, no matter their industry. The topics are focused on marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, organization, building science, and construction. Brad is an ambassad

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, and welcome to another conversation in our Black Lives Matter series! Albie Buabeng, a specialist in e-design, joins LuAnn to share the internal struggle she had when she first began her design firm, and her desire to be part of the change in our world so that her daughter’s generation reaps the benefits. This is one #smartlady who walks the talk. Albie also shares some valuable resources, so don’t miss this! As both interior designer and content creator, Albie's passion for decoding spaces is the culmination of nearly a decade of retail visual merchandising and freelance marketing, sprinkled with a lifetime of experiences. Using her background of space design and storytelling, Albie took her real-life lessons and launched an online interior design service. Her love of design has since evolved into a destination for inspiration centered around her blog, video content, social media, podcast, and self-published book, in addition to her current role as the marketing coordina

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 across Canada and North

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! LuAnn has a very special episode for you today. Amber De La Garza is back with her on the show. Amber De La Garza is The Productivity Specialist. She is also one of the co-authors of LuAnn’s third book coming out this fall, which is A Well Designed Business: The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2.  This episode is a little bit different than most, because today LuAnn and Amber are going to be talking about the work that they have accomplished, the internal stories and beliefs that Amber has helped LuAnn overcome, and the ways that they adapted strategies and worked through obstacles together, allowing LuAnn to reclaim some of her own time. They’re going to pull back the curtain on their process and the lessons that were learned along the way.  Amber is a coach, trainer, speaker, and writer, and she hosts her own podcast, Productivity Straight Talk. She helps business owners improve their time management and elevate their productivity, which in tu

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s time for another episode of “What Would Lu Do?”, where you ask the questions and LuAnn helps out with the answers. Today’s question comes from Carol Ann Hirvat. Carol worked with a client a few years ago on a $45,000 job that ultimately never went anywhere. Then out of the blue, the client reaches out with an apology and requested for a second chance. Guess what happens after Carol invests another 15 hours into the deal? Yep! So Carol would like to know her next best steps. Listen in as LuAnn digs into the details, susses out the situation, and lays out her reasoning on the resolutions. If you are not working with a coach or perhaps you don’t have a business mentor or business bestie to provide guidance, this is the perfect opportunity to email LuAnn the burning issues that you need insight on and she’ll answer them on air. Please send your questions to LuAnn Nigara WWLD! Show Highlights: LuAnn provides the details around Carol’s situation. Giving the benefit o

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! LuAnn’s guest today is someone who made quite an impression on the audience during a LuAnn Live event by sharing her “eat, pray, love” story. Lisa Gilmore told the audience how she was in such a hard space, mismanaging money, and doing all the things incredibly wrong. Who didn’t feel a connection with this lady for her honesty and bravery? Listen in to find out how Lisa turned her business (and life!) around by owning her errors and being consistent, and just see if there’s not something in here that you can use for your own. Lisa Gilmore, one of the Southeast’s leading luxury residential designers, is known for the customized one-of-a-kind interiors she creates for large scale homes and condos in Tampa Bay and throughout North America. She has over a decade of experience providing luxury environments for CEO’s, attorneys, business owners, entrepreneurs, tech company executives, and other prominent clients. Her work and her unique “liveable glamour” style have been featu

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! LuAnn shares a conversation with Deb Mitchell on today’s show. You may know Deb on Instagram as DesignWriterDeb. She’s a writer specializing in serving interior designers. Did you know that your own writing style can differentiate yourself from other designers in the way it reflects your personality and your style? And that the most impactful way of writing speaks to the client? Listen in for tips on how you can make this happen, or how you can work with Deb if you’re needing a little extra help in communicating effectively with your ideal client. Deb Mitchell’s career as a professional writer began when she responded to an ad in a local Charlotte, NC magazine seeking volunteers for a readers’ panel. On a tour of the magazine’s offices with the other selected panelists, the idea for an article came to her and when she mentioned it to the editors, they hired her on the spot as a writer. Nearly ten years and hundreds of articles later, Deb decided to

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! LuAnn’s friend and previous guest, Cheryl Luckett, joins the show today for the next episode in the Black Lives Matter Series. Cheryl shares her experience in growing up in the deep south, her recollection of her first experience with racism, and the thoughts that went through her mind in that horrifying moment. You’ll also hear her explain how lack of inclusion and lack of resources in our own industry are racism hurdles. LuAnn and Cheryl cover many ways that you can do your part in creating inclusion and progress in our industry. Every action by each one of us matters! With a 15-year career in Corporate America as a Registered Dietitian and Human Resources professional, Cheryl launched Dwell by Cheryl Interiors in 2012 seeking a creative outlet and an opportunity to explore her passion for design. The venture began with her blog chronicling her own home improvement projects and quickly morphed into a “side-hustle” decorating homes. After five years and a carefully execu

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Cynthia Collins joins LuAnn in today’s episode for a discussion on mentorship. Cynthia is going to walk us through how she finds the best young talent available and how she helps them grow and learn, often producing long-lasting employees that fit in at her firm for many years to come. Cynthia is a true servant at heart, with a mission to help and guide others whenever and wherever possible, leaving a positive impact on the world. Listen in for ideas to make your company culture rewarding and uplifting, and how you can recruit young people that will grow with you into the future! In 1992, Cynthia Collins began Collins Interiors, a Dallas-based firm specializing in full-scale residential interior design. Throughout the years, Cynthia has been privileged to work with some of the most talented architects in the field and has been a part of projects across the United States, including Texas, North Carolina, Utah, Colorado, Florida, Georgia & California. Each detail is meticul

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! Amanda Berlin joins LuAnn on today’s episode to chat about a holistic visibility strategy. If you’ve been considering defining or refining your vision and fresh ways to reach your goals, you’ll want to listen in for Amanda’s tips! Amanda is one of the co-authors in the next volume of The Power Talk Friday Experts. Amanda Berlin is a Communications Consultant for Entrepreneurs. After more than a decade in the New York City public relations world, Amanda Berlin now uses her pitch powers for good. She helps entrepreneurs step into their presence, create a story that inspires others, and spread their message in the media. Amanda has created a library of template guides and trainings and works one on one with clients to guide them to strategic story-telling and media relations based on her 12 years of experience guiding strategy for major brands in the corporate world. Amanda and her clients have been featured in all types of media — from Business Insid