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The guest on today's show is Susan Yeley, of Susan Yeley Interiors, in Bloomington, Indiana. A few weeks ago, Susan contacted LuAnn, because she listens to the show a lot and she thought that the particular challenges that she faces in her Design Firm could make an interesting topic. After learning a little more about it, LuAnn agreed and she really hopes that you will too. Listen in to find out about the challenges that Susan faces in her business, which is really defined by the area she lives in. Susan started out as a struggling graduate student in Religion and Philosophy at Indiana University. She later took an unpaid internship at Thomas Jobb, a furniture and fabric showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and became hooked on Design.  She then enrolled at the Harrington College of Design and eventually landed a job at a high-end Residential Design Firm in River North. Susan and her husband finally returned to their roots, a few weeks prior to the birth of their first daughter, in 2005. Listen in now

The guest for today's Power Talk Friday is a really special force to be reckoned with! She's is also the very first guest to be talking about Twitter on the show! Madalyn Sklar is a Business Coach, Consultant, and Twitter Marketing Expert. Other than being an expert on Twitter, she's the host of #Twitter Smarter Twitter Chat and Podcast. She has the weekly #Social ROI Chat, she blogs and she creates courses and also speaks and teaches courses at Madalyn Sklar.com. Listen to getting some awesome advice about marketing with Twitter from Madalyn. Madalyn, who really has some visionary skills, is known for being the Number One Social Media Influencer in Houston, a city which has a population of two million people. She has been blogging since 2000 and she's been founding online communities since 1996 when the internet was new and she saw it as a really great way to connect people. Listen in now, as LuAnn interviews Madalyn, someone who really has the knack of being an early adopter of all things tech! Show highl

Today, LuAnn  is shaking it up a bit and introducing a new monthly feature, called  Design Biz Live. On the third Wednesday of every month, she will be talking with Judith Neary of Roadside Attraction Design Studio and Corey  Klassen of Corey Klassen Interiors and they will be discussing the specific problems and challenges that you are facing in your design firm. Somewhat similar to what LuAnn's been doing for the last eighteen months, however, with Design Biz Live, she will be dealing with the questions that you have by asking them of these two talented designers. So, it's the same, but different... Listen in to find out what it's all about!   If you'd like to know more about who Corey and Judith are, you can listen to episode #170, where LuAnn first met them and there you can hear all about their firms and their backgrounds. What really makes this new feature so actionable and worthy, is that Corey and Judith run two entirely different kinds of firms, with Judith's being a solo operation, on a small isla

Today's guest is Lane McNab, of Lane McNab Interiors. Lane, just like Darla Powell, who appeared on last week's show, has also come to Interior Design as a second career. Listen in to find out all about Lane and how she's developed her really successful Interior Design Business. Lane grew up in Florida and attended school in both Tennessee and San Francisco. She continued her education at Oxford University and at Il Globo Institute, in Italy. Lane's Interior design career is backed with her vast experience and her work and her expertise have been featured in many places, including The Today Show, the East Bay AIA Tour Of Homes, Dwell, Modern Sanctuary, Lux Pad, 24 East, My Domain and also in her home town publication, Berkeleyside, as the go-to Interior Designer, for approachable ways to modernise an historical home. Listen in today, to find out how Lane's career path and the lessons that she's learned along the way have contributed to her success, both as a Designer and as a Business Person. Show highlight

The guest for today's Power Talk Friday is Kathy Knowles, a former HR Director who has become an entrepreneur. Her company is called Intuitive Strategies and Consultants and Kathy has become known as The Soulful Business Mentor. She really understands the challenges one faces, when leaving behind a successful, yet unfulfilling six figure career, to build a more satisfying business and life. Kathy has more than twenty years of experience of maximizing people and potential, as an HR Director, which has given her a real advantage in helping you to create your own Heart and Soul Business. She and her team share proven strategies and formulas, to help you to establish a growth strategy that makes you more money and frees up more of your time. Magic words, right? Kathy's mission is to help more business owners and entrepreneurs to create a life of a business that they love, without sacrificing integrity, income, or sanity! There are really so many things that Kathy, as a talented Business Coach, could have discuss

The guest for today's show is the truly remarkable Darla Powell, of Darla Powell Interiors, in Florida. Darla and LuAnn initially became friends through the social media of the podcast and then continued their friendship with conversations on the Designer Facebook Groups that they were both in and also through Instagram. It's not unusual for LuAnn to become friends with the people that she interviews for the podcast, and she and Darla also have a few friends in common (Mark McDonough from Tastefully Inspired and Karina from Superior K Interiors), so she really thought she knew all about her, until she went out and did her research for the interview. Then she was truly surprised to learn a few things about Darla that she didn't know before! Listen in to find out all about these surprising details. Mark McDonough was actually the person who suggested to LuAnn that she should consider having Darla on the show. He pointed out that this was a second career for her and that she was going to be a truly amazing Inte

The guest on today's show is Enoch Bartlett Sears, a licensed California Architect and the founder and publisher of Business of Architecture. He's the creator and host of The Business of Architecture, the number one podcast for Architects and he is also the co-founder of The Architect Marketing Institute. LuAnn had to wait quite a while to get to interview Enoch, as he really is busy, so she's grateful and very glad that he found an hour for her today and she thinks that you're going to be glad too! Listen in, to find out how you can increase both the income and the efficiency of your business, with the fantastic resources that Enoch has for you. LuAnn came across Enoch because of his podcast. She's a regular listener and really enjoys his show and thinks that what he does is really terrific! She finds that he actually does a lot of the same things that she does on her podcast, except that his target is Architects, so she just switches the word 'Architect' in her mind, for Interior Designer. Enoch interviews

The guest on today's Power Talk Friday is Dorien Morin-van Dam, the Owner and Social-Media Consultant with More In Media, which is located in sunny Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Dorien helps Small Businesses Owners with their strategies, planning, and execution, around Social Media. Listen in to find out more about Dorien and what she has to share, to help Small Business Owners with their Video Marketing on Social Media. Dorien is a Coach and Trainer, who concentrates on Video Marketing and  Social Media Management. She particularly enjoys working with Video Coaching and helping people to overcome their fear of the camera. This is something that she runs into all the time, with local clients and Small Business owners who really need to be on camera, yet have real fear around doing that. Dorien has found that here is such a great need for this right now, with Video Marketing being so popular, that she is also busy writing a book about it. Dorien, who's a Mom with four teens and three dogs, loves to run marath

Today's show is taken from LuAnn's presentation that she gave at the I.W.C.E. LuAnn starts her presentation by explaining the mix that goes into creating a really successful business. She points out that you are actually your own magic pill and that you really do have the ability when it comes down to making decisions. All that you need is to have confidence in yourself and to know that you have a good business and that you're a good business leader. Then, you have to identify the obstacles and make a plan, rather than running away from them. The really important part though, is to make the decision, as confidence and a plan are nothing without a decision. So, every day, as a business person, you have to choose to go out and do what is necessary. Listen in now, to LuAnn's really valuable presentation. LuAnn explains that Window Works was initially a franchise which started in the early 70's and went until the early 90's and that she and her two partners owned three of them. From year one and for the next te

Today's guest is Manuella Moreira, one of LuAnn's long time early listeners to the show.  In May, there was a big event at the insanely gorgeous Ethan Allen Showroom in New York City, where Manuella works with Barbara Viteri, the Designerlebrity.  You can go back and listen to the audio of that show (#185 ), or you can see the video of it on A Well Designed Business Youtube channel- something really well worth seeing! Listen in to find out more about Manuella and her fabulous career. Today, we're talking about Manuella's fascinating career, working for Ethan Allen. What LuAnn finds interesting is that it's really so completely different from what she would have expected an Ethan Allen Designer's career to look like and she points out that the opportunities that this brings for Manuella are truly remarkable. Listen in now, to find out more. Today, Manuella talks to LuAnn about: The research that she did and the decision-making process that she went through in 2013 when she had the opportunity to go to Etha

Today is the first of two shows sponsored by Designer Inc. If you haven't yet heard of Designer Inc, be sure to go back to episode #85, where Heather Gillette, it's founder, was first introduced onto the show. On that show, LuAnn talked to her and to Designer, Mark Cutler about the introduction of Designer Inc to the marketplace. Today, Heather is back, joined by her co-founder, Dorothee Fischer, to share all of the latest developments to this valuable Interior Design Business tool. Listen in to find out all about these developments. By using the To The Trade Only Designer Inc, you can cut your sourcing time by half. You can source by using filters- by product, by the showroom, by price point, by color, or even by dimension. It allows you to create client project folders, to organize your finds and you can share customized tear sheets with your clients. LuAnn points out that this software does not replace a Management System like MyDomo Studio- Designer Inc works in conjunction with your Client Management Sy

Today's guest is Joe Cariati, an award winning glass blower, artist, craftsman, and educator, who has had more than twenty years experience as a designer, maker, and mentor. Listen in to find out more about Joe and his really arty craft. Joe opened his own studio in Los Angeles, California in 2003, where he still continues refining his craft and pushing his boundaries, both as a glass blower and as a designer. He launched his own business, Joe Cariati Design, in 2015. Listen in today, as Joe talks to LuAnn about his career, the things that he's learned about being a Creative and running a profitable business, and also about the new line of glassware, lamps, pendants, and accessories that he now has available for you, through CuratedKravet.com.   Today, Joe talks to LuAnn about: His background, starting in college and the many years leading up to where he is today. The thousands and thousands of things that are made in his studio every year, today, with a very small team of three. His simplistic, yet co

Today's show is a very different one. LuAnn is airing someone else's podcast on her feed and she really hopes that you will like it! She was a guest on Nicole Culver's podcast, called A Few Blissful Bites, a few weeks ago. Nicole is a podcaster and business person who teaches food bloggers how to turn their blogs into profitable businesses. LuAnn listens to Nicole's podcast because she truly believes that business principals are business principals and anybody who does a good job of expressing and teaching them, is worth listening to. So she asked Nicole to be a guest on her show, but the funny thing is that Nicole said that LuAnn should be on her show too! Listen in as LuAnn and Nicole talk about building a business that you can be proud of.   The thing about Nicole is that she's very actionable. She runs a community, she has a Blogger To Business Support Group, where she offers training and resources, she does workshops and she does goal check-ins and live Q & A- and she brings all of this to her food blo

Have you been considering putting your toe into the podcast pool lately? If so, you will really learn a lot from today's Power Talk Friday, as LuAnn interviews Rob Greenlee, a pioneer in the Podcast Industry. LuAnn often talks about your 'only' on the show. Well, Rob's only is that he is the very first person to take a radio program and turn it into a podcast and that's pretty exciting!  If you're wondering why she's talking to a leader in the Podcast Industry, it's because Interior Design Podcasts are busy popping up all over. Although LuAnn and Nick have been covering the business side of the industry on their podcast, the consumer-facing side of podcasting has more and more Interior Designers joining their ranks. LuAnn has had a number of previous guests who'd had their own podcast by the time that she had interviewed them and this is apart from the dozen or so other shows that have launched in the last year or two, that LuAnn has not yet had a chance to engage with. These are all consumer facing and talki

Today's guest is Reed Humphrey, the President of Alder and Tweed Home Outfitters in Park City, Utah, a family owned business that Reed runs with his two sisters. Reed was first exposed to the world of interiors at the age of eight, when he would travel all over the world with his parents, who were the owners of a successful lighting business, to visit suppliers and factories. This really allowed for Reed to develop a discriminating eye and knowledge for quality. This expertise has carried on as Alder and Tweed continue to source some of the best leathers, fabrics, furnishings, and suppliers in the world. Listen in to find out about how Reed and his sisters have used their really clear vision to re-invent and niche their business,  to service strictly, the vacation homeowners buying in Park City, Utah. Reed, an open, humble and skilled leader, has operated the business side of Alder and Tweed for the past thirteen years, overseeing the logistics, strategy, marketing, and human resources. He also supports the

Today's guests are Ronald Alvarez and Monica Santayana, the principals of Moniomi Design in Miami, Florida. This is really going to be a great show for the takeaways, so if you're in business with a partner, whether you're married to them or not, you will really get some great value today! Listen in as this very special husband and wife team talk about how they work and relate together and how this contributes to the great success of their company.   Ronald and Monica met while attending Florida International University, where they were both studying Architecture. They started Moniomi about five years ago and they've become unbeatable, due to the fabulous way that they lead their team, in the up and coming River Area of Miami. Monica focuses on the creative details and finishes and selecting the specifics of the Design Process, like the textiles and the furniture, while Ronald, who has his background in Project Management and Advertising, keeps everything running on time, within the budget and moving forwar

The guest for today's Power Talk Friday 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 Eng

Are you a little intimidated at the thought of incorporating art into your design projects? Well, today's show could really help you to move beyond that, as the discussion centers on the value of a trusted vendor- in this case, an expert Framer, someone who can really help you to attain success in this area.  LuAnn points out that the expert Framer is yet another colleague for you to rely on and so she couldn't think of a better way to have this conversation, than to have an artist on the show, alongside his favorite Framer. Listen in today, as LuAnn talks to Paul Thomas, a renowned artist and Daniel Beauchemin,  an accomplished Interior Designer and the owner of the famous Chelsea Frames, in New York City, about the importance of quality professional framing and how that can really enhance a beautiful piece of art. Paul Thomas has been described as an artist of intuition. His paintings are composed through a natural pattern of creation, rather than a formal analysis. Paul's work is a true reflection of his

Today’s guest is Kathy Kuo, an open, high-energy, talented designer, and Rockstar businesswoman.  You may have seen her amazing Instagram feed or heard of the online boutique she founded, Kathy Kuo Home. She’s also a wife, mother, cook, and world traveler. Born in Taiwan, raised in Boston, and now settled in NYC, Kathy graduated from the Rhode Island School of Interior Design and has traveled to over 30 countries. She recently starred in the FYI Network’s Rowhouse Showdown and her designs have been featured in several lifestyle publications. She’s here to discuss her career, her design firm, and how Kathy Kuo Home can help you! What you’ll hear in this episode: The impetus behind the e-commerce site she founded 10 years ago: it later became Kathy Kuo Home How times have changed in the last 2-3 years Kathy’s site, and how it is consumer-facing and trade-facing Freedom and flexibility with online shopping How Kathy’s network functions to meet clients’ needs What it’s like working with celebrities Grea

The guest for today's Power Talk Friday is Jan Bowen, the Founder, and Principal of Strategic Solution Services. Jan is an author, a keynote speaker, a catalyst and a thought leader, with the central theme of her work being alignment. Jan talks about work aligning with life from both the inside and the outside. She is passionate about helping people to live their lives fully, through her work as an Author, a Coach, and a Public Speaker as well as through her business. Listen in to find out more about Jan and the really inspiring work she does. LuAnn could talk to Jan about any of the several aspects of coaching that she does- Leadership Coaching and working with teams or individuals, but the subject of intuition is the one that came up. There are so many things that LuAnn can teach, but she realized that although she's a huge believer in intuition and she's spent her whole life, since childhood, cultivating it, she feels that teaching people how to cultivate and follow their intuition isn't something that sh