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

Today we have Chad James with us from Chad James Group. Chad has a very thoughtful way of setting up his business. He considers his firm an educational firm and has the roles divided up into very specific categories. He identifies people as interns, apprentice, junior designer, design assistant and Chad himself. He is going to discuss with you ways to duplicate the systems he uses to manage his team with these categories. Show Notes: How did Chad come to use the systems he uses? What does he look for in an intern? How does he handle his hire process? Does each new person have to start at intern and work their way up? Take the initiative! How does he handle his staff day to day? Check out the rest from our resource center: http://windowworks-nj.com

Today on the show we are in for a real treat! Alan Tanksley has a “royalty” background in interior design and has his own successful firm: Alan Tanksley, Inc. We are going to talk about his “royalty” background and how space you work in can make a difference. Show Notes: Was Mark Hampton his first job? What has he learned working for different designers? How has his design changed? What advice would he give to someone starting out? How does the space he works in inspire him? How did he design his space? Make sure your team “fits” together! See the rest of the resources here: http://windowworks-nj.com

On this week’s power talk Friday I have a returning expert: Kae Whitaker of Kae Whitaker Solutions! When Kae was on the show before she shared with us a case study with a particular interior designer that she helped turn her business around in three months-Farrha Hyman. Today she is going to talk with us how to hire the people you need. Show Notes: How do you decide how many people to have? Where should you look for people? What college student majors is a good pick? How do you increase workflow? Make good relationships with coordinators! What does the interview process look like? Paid employees versus intern When is the best time to find an intern? What are the six things that have to be in place for an intern? See the rest of the resources here: http://windowworks-nj.com

We have Natalie Reddell  for this Well-Designed Business podcast episode. She is an interior designer, lifestyle blogger, and founder of Commander in Chic Design firm. Natalie began her career as a designer at the age of 4 , when she began collecting toothpaste tube tops as buffet lamp lampshades for her dollhouse.  When she's not working, she can be found at home with her 17-year old son, Schuyler, and  Scarlett O'Hara (their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel). Natalie received her undergraduate degree in interior design from Florida State University. She also studied the history of architecture & design at Parsons University, Paris, France. She has been in the industry for more than 16 years & has experience in kitchen & bathroom design,home staging,  historic-restoration, commercial design & buying for a large furniture company. Her work now is mostly high-end residential design. She has clients in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, the Carolinas, Montana, Colorado, Panama and the Bahamas. For the rest of the show

We have Laura Umansky from Laura U! This is a special interview for me because I love to meet the people you look up to in the design world. We love to see them create beautiful interiors but also big business platforms for themselves. Today we are going to talk to Laura about this. Laura founded her business Laura U in 2006 and personalized customer service is paramount. Show Notes: What was her work experience before going out on her own? Was there a business plan? What’s it like working with her husband? How did she establish the minimum of rooms she will do in a project? What are the processes her business uses? How is destination design different? What are the biggest challenges in destination design? For the rest of the resources, please visit http://windowworks-nj.com   Website: http://windowworks-nj.com Instagram:   http://instagram.com/windowworks Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/windowworksnj Twitter:   https://twitter.com/WindowWorks_NJ

Welcome to another power talk Friday! I have Tim Templeton with us today. Tim is the author of a referral of a lifetime in the Ken Blanchard series. Ken is a veteran executive entrepreneur, consultant, international best-selling author, speaker and lifelong learner. Tim and I are going to be talking about referrals. We will discuss how to get them, how to access them, how to ask for them and how to maximize them. I know from personal experience that this is something that entrepreneur’s struggle with. Show Notes: What is the importance of referrals? What is Tim’s philosophy? How did Tim meet Ken Blanchard? Is there an art to getting referrals? What process should you use to get a referral? How should you go about rebuilding a relationship? All referrals are not treated equally! What is a perfect client avatar? Resources: Tim’s Website:  consultinggold.com The Recognized Authority Always Positive in Your Business The Entrepreneur’s Handbook Vince Siciliano The Tipping Point Mark Levy www.th

Welcome back! Today we have Lori Sawaya! Lori has been in the business of color for over 20 years. She has a background working with print, architecture paint, and color. Her experience and knowledge enable her to make complex color concepts easy for everyone to understand. Today we are going to talk about color, what you should keep in mind when picking a color and new tools you can use when it comes to color. Show Notes: What is her opinion about color? What is spectral data? What is colorimetry? What are the most common color mistakes? Why is light so important? Have any mistakes been made? Be professional as you can! What new tools can be used? For  the rest of the show notes and resources please visit: http://windowworks-nj.com

  Hi!  Welcome to another episode of A Well-Designed Business! Today is the actual 6- month anniversary of the podcast and I thought I would do a solo show and reflect on The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business. And then I am going to share with you, my Top 10 favorite podcasts. Now these are by no means the only things learned in these last 6 months and they are not even necessarily the absolute most important. And as a matter of fact, I have specifically not included the coaches and consultants on this list. Every one of the consultants I have had on has shared extremely valuable advice, but it is straightforward and easy to grasp listening to their interviews. Today I am concentrating on regular designers like you who have discovered something, implemented something and are by doing it have made improvements to their businesses. So are you ready? Sandra Funk Levy- The Importance of Systems for a Profitable Interior Design Business ; Episode # 2.  Sandra is all about the systems, systems, sys

It’s power talk Friday! Krista Coupar is with us again! Today she is to talk with us about work-life balance. The key questions we need to ask ourselves to arrive at this perfect equation. Show Notes: Are hours wanting to work and amount of money wanting to make realistic? How do you make more money working less hours? Math vs finance Why is it so important to simplify? Why is it important to understand the seasons in interior design? For the rest of the Show notes, please visit: http://windowworks-nj.com

Guess what? This is our six month anniversary! I have two very special shows for you this week. The first show we are going to meet one of the masterminds behind the fabulous curatedkravet.com platform. Curatedkravet.com is celebrating a few milestones of its own. This spring marked the one year anniversary of the hugely successful curatedkravet.com! Our special guest today is Will Hunt Lewis, Senior Director of Merchandising of curatedkravet.com! In this position, he oversees all business done with merchandising and product development for all product category. Today Will Hunt and I are going to talk all curatedkravet.com from quality, delivering times, to the designers that curate the rooms.   Will Hunt's previous experience includes One Kings Lane as Buyer of Furniture, and Jonathan Adler where he oversaw all aspects of merchandise planning for all distribution channels.  Prior to moving to New York, he owned his own home furnishings and gift retail store in Mississippi.   For the rest of the Show not

Maria Killam is the founder and CEO of Understanding Undertones of Colour. She's a decorator, author, speaker and internationally sought-after Colour Expert. Transform the way you see color at http://www.mariakillam.com Maria's has 5 Fall Specify Colour with Confidence™ workshops scheduled, get all the information about what they include and upcoming dates here.   If you want to learn Maria's system of Understanding Undertones and finally get your paint colours and finishes right, go here. Maria's second ebook White is Complicated: A Decorator's Guide to Choosing the Right White takes the mystery out of the thousands of whites available and you end up with the 5 useful whites that you'll use every time you need to specify a white for trim, cabinets, woodwork and walls.    Choosing exterior colour this season? Maria's How to Choose Exterior Colours with Confidence 60-minute webinar will give you a step-by-step process and includes Maria's go-to exterior colours.   For more expert tips, visit: http://w

Welcome to another Power Talk Friday! My guest today is Alice Seale, who has over 30 years entrepreneurial experience as a realtor in the retail design industry. She is the founder of Seale Realty Advisors in the Dallas area. Alice has co-authored the book, Winning Ways in Real Estate. She has great advice for entrepreneurs. Join us! What you’ll hear in this episode: Alice’s path to real estate in retail design What to look for in a realtor How a design center is born and developed The mix of wholesale and retail How Alice spots the trends in “pop-up” design centers Rent or buy? How do you decide? Alice tells you what questions to ask up front HVAC—why you MUST pay attention! Watch expenses on taxes and insurance! Consider leasing with an option Ask for any accommodations up front Find a realtor who has YOUR best interests in mind Why renting is a good option to start out in business Know what’s going on in your city and its development How to know when it’s the RIGHT time to purchase How to

  Hi, welcome to another episode of A Well-Designed Business! If you are a loyal listener—thank you for tuning in again! And whether you are new or returning, please go over to our Facebook page and like us there so you can be a part  of the conversation, to be in the know about all things A Well-Designed Business podcast and Window Works. Find us at www.facebook.com/windowworksnj   So on the show today you will meet Terri Lind Davis from Tampa Florida. Terri has 30+ year career in interior design and today we discuss the path her business has taken. From the beginning right out of college to today where she is revitalizing her business with a return to one of her passions and talents, painting. It’s sort of a memory lane conversation but see if you can identify the 2 major things in her career that have created and sustained a pipeline of clients for her in 2 Florida cities over 30+ years… So stay put, I’m going to tell you about Kravet Inc, our show sponsor and then we’ll meet Terri. So what were Ter

Today I would like to introduce, dare I say my first fan: Rachel Moriarty! She has been so supportive from the beginning on social media. I would like to give her a huge THANK YOU! One of the conversations that we had on social media about more episodes with solo entrepreneur shops and firms. It’s nice to show appreciation for the big influencers on the show. We can see where a business can go. But we need to take the time to also have good conversations with people who run fabulous businesses all by themselves. Show Notes: What was Rachel’s motivation to talk about solo entrepreneurs? What is a creative entrepreneur mindset? What kind of systems and programs does she use? What is a “work jam”? What is her design process? Why “Go Red for Women”? Who does her photography? Look vs feel in a room What advice does she have for new entrepreneurs? Please visit  http://windowworks-nj.com for the full episode and show notes. 

Diane Gardner is a tax coach and the author of Why Didn't My CPA Tell Me That? and Stop Overpaying Your Taxes. You are going to be blown away today by the information Diane shares. She saves her clients thousands of dollars in taxes with every consultation. Many times we look backward in dealing with our taxes, and a tax coach looks at the future and plans it exactly how you want to be. In this episode you will learn: What is a tax coach and why do you need one How you can plan where your tax liability be Why your accountant isn't your tax coach Why tax filing is different than tax planning How your legal entity can make you pay less in taxes Why it's almost a guarantee that you are paying too much in taxes Resources:   Website: http://www.adeptbusiness.biz/index.php   Book:  Stop Overpaying Your Taxes

Today we are going to talk about going to market with Deb Barrett! She specializes in a niche for attending the different furniture and accessory markets: High Point and different markets around the world. Now she is specializing in bringing groups to these markets so that they have the best experience at market as opposed to walking in circles and not knowing where to go. Today we are very lucky because high point is about two and a half months away! This is a great time to listen to Deb with her expertise and knowledge on how to make the best of attending markets in general but we are going to be talking about High Point because it’s coming up soon. Show Notes: Why should people attend High Point? What is High Point? How do you know if you should go to High Point? How should you go about pre-planning? How is High Point divided? What advantages come with registering? Why would designers want to think about expanding internationally? Be up to date on business etiquette For more details on this epi

LuAnn Nigara is an award winning window treatment authority, author, and host of the 5 star-rated podcast, A Well-Designed Business, which serves the design industry as an overall business dynamo. Based in Livingston, New Jersey, LuAnn got her start in 1982 when she, her husband, and cousin, purchased a franchise of the Florida based, full service window treatment company, Window Works. With LuAnn at the helm of sales, they quickly expanded from New Jersey to serving the entire metro area from Philadelphia, to the Hamptons to Connecticut and became the leading showroom in gross sales of the more than 120 stores Window Works stores around the country. “I have always been fascinated by sales and the components of a sale,” explains LuAnn, who brings an unmatched passion and expertise to the business of window design. “At ten years old my Aunt gave me the book, The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino and I quickly looked for every book like it. That was the beginning of what became my obsession with th

Welcome back to another Power Talk Friday! I’m happy to let you know that we have David Duncan Livingston with us today! He is a professional photographer from the San Francisco Bay area. He has worked in over 40 states and 4 provinces! His particular skill, in addition to his photography, is that he works with interior designers as a producer, art director, and stylist when doing professional photography for you and your projects. He really works with you to get to the story that you are trying to produce with each project. I have to tell you that once you look at his website you will see that he does exactly what he says he does. For this power talk Friday David and I have to decided to talk about Houzz and we are going to pick his brain on how each of us can maximize our Houzz platform. Show Notes: What happens in the initial phase? How do you decide what kinds of pictures to post on Houzz? Is there such a thing as putting too much on your profile? How do you organize an idea book? Why is it importa

Today we have a treat because Veronica Solomon is a rock star powerhouse woman in interior design. I came across Veronica and I thought she is a smart lady, she has some great things to share and always seems to have good advice. Then I browsed her website. I had to be picked up off the floor. Once I was off the floor I probably spent as much time on her website as I have on other designers’ in the past 8 or 9 months that I have been interviewing. She has so much information and it's put out there so organized, clear, and user-friendly; and talks to the consumer. Today she is going to share with us how and why she decided to organize her website. Show Notes: What is a “how we work” page? Be up front! How does having the price figures on her website help her with business? Who created her website? How does “wix” work? What is her plan for the fall? What are some of her future goals? How did she grow her group? Are live videos the future?   Read the entire show notes and access resources at: http

On the show today we have James Swan! James is the host of the podcast Million Dollar Decorator. This is in addition to his illustrious career as an interior designer. Being the host of this podcast and speaking with James about being guests on each other’s podcasts I really started doing research on him. I am very impressed at what a high level accomplished interior designer he is. Let’s be honest there are interior designers who make it big in their hometown and have a good 25 to 30-year career. But then you have interior designers that do things in a high level way and that is James! And this is what we are going to talk about today. Show Notes: What’s the scoop on his career background? Delegate! What are some things to think about when starting a business? Why is training so important? What’s in his book? Will there be another book? How did he end up in Maine? To learn more about James Swan, please  visit http://windowworks-nj.com/james