Judith Taylor: Strategies for Working with Family and Friends

Episode 340 of A Well-Designed Business®

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340: Judith Taylor: Strategies for Working with Family and Friends

Welcome to today’s episode. We have Judith Taylor, of Judith Taylor Designs, with us on the show and today we talk to her about navigating the murky waters of working with friends and family. She also talks about the new furniture line that she is launching and her multi-generational heritage of furniture design and manufacture. In addition to studying interior design, Judith also studied at Toronto School of Art, she has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and business administration and a past career in IT. These added areas of understanding have provided her with the unique ability to combine practicality, psychology, and aesthetics into her interior design projects. Listen in today to get her really spot-on advice and tips for working with family and friends in a way that won’t drive you crazy!

Judith is the founder and principal designer of her award-winning firm which specializes in residential design. She did her formal training in interior design in Toronto, where she received high honors for her work, which is inspired by broadly reaching disciplines. Judith started her career in IT, where she honed her skills in project management and developed a deep understanding of the process and an orientation to details. Today she lives in Toronto’s Beaches neighborhood with her family. Listen in to find out more!

Show highlights:

All designers have a friend that they don’t want to say ‘no’ to, or that they wish they hadn’t said ‘yes’ to.
What to do when you’re approached by someone at a dinner party and they ask for some free advice about interior design.
How to gently lead friends to the front door of your business.
Using the right language to make it very clear that you are dealing with a business transaction.
Sometimes there could be a fair payoff from working with friends or family.
Establishing firm boundaries can be really tricky with friends.
How a small favor can quickly snowball.
Giving yourself a chance to reflect on the reality of the workload of a personal favor.
Dealing with friends and family members who push your boundaries.
Being clear about what you will and won’t do.
Explaining to friends and family the amount of work that goes into what you do.
Handling discounts appropriately with friends and family.
Why you have to be willing to have the hard conversation with friends and family.
About the soon-to-be-launched furniture line that Judith has developed.