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236: Shea McGee of Studio McGee Joins Me Today!!!!

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LuAnn is extremely happy to let you know that she has Shea McGee, of Studio McGee, in the house today! It’s been a long time coming, as she’s a very busy lady, but she’s here today, and you are not going to be disappointed, so listen in to find out about the journey that Shea’s been on and the challenges she’s faced.

If you’re one of the few people who are not familiar with Shea, LuAnn assures you that she and her husband, Sid, truly are the real deal! They are the creators of Studio McGee and today you will hear how Shea realized, only after obtaining her degree in Public Relations, that what she really wanted, was to be doing Design, so she went back to school, to learn how to do that. Soon after, Shea found that she was attracting more projects than she’d ever before thought possible. She and Sid realized that with his business experience and her creative vision, they would really make an amazing team. So they decided to sell their home in California and move to Utah, where they put all their life savings on the line and started a business. Shea used the power of Instagram to grow the business and now, just less than three years later, they have over five hundred and forty thousand Instagram followers, a team of thirty, two multi-million dollar businesses (Studio McGee and McGee and Company) and they have projects all over the country. Listen in today and find out how Shea and Sid manage to run their operation and their family and also, the pro’s and con’s of working with a spouse.

Show highlights:

  • Shea explains how they have managed to get such great results, in such a short time.
  • How Shea and her husband manage their hectic work schedules and still find time to spend together, as a couple and to be parents to their two little girls.
  • The growing pains that Shea and Sid experienced, early on in their business, before they found their ideal way of working together.
  • The real importance of separating the roles of each spouse, in a business partnership.
  • Why you really need to sort out your personal dynamics, as a couple, before entering into a business relationship.
  • Some ways to create the necessary balance within your business. You don’t have to do everything yourself!
  • Ways to divide up the different responsibilities, within a business.
  • Shea gives the backstory behind their really successful businesses.
  • How Shea stretched her content, to tell her story on Instagram when she first started out.
  • Why they made the move from California to Utah.
  • Shea talks about the initial dream that she and her husband shared, for their business.
  • Shea’s advice for Designers wanting to step up above the noise, with Instagram.
  • Some tips to take a good and well-styled photo- one that stands out from the rest, in order to create a really great vignette.
  • How Shea creates her content for Instagram now, as compared with when she first started out.
  • Shea explains her strategic way of growing her Instagram following.
  • How Shea manages to keep up with the engagement on Instagram, with their really huge number of followers.
  • Where Shea draws her design inspiration from.

 Links:

Shea’s website: https://www.studio-mcgee.com

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235: Power Talk Friday – Tabitha Carro: How To Create Creative Content Using Your Smart Phone

Welcome to today’s episode of Power talk Friday! Tabitha Carro is the guest for today and she is the leader of Smart Phone Marketing School. LuAnn really struggles with so much of what it takes to be productive, in using a smartphone and she says she has ninety thumbs, so she’s very excited about having Tabitha on this show today, to help her to figure some of this out. Listen in as Tabitha explains what to do, and apps that you can use, to add that extra little ‘something’ to your marketing, using your smartphone.

Tabitha’s background is as a Certified Elementary School Teacher. She was also the owner of a Curriculum Design Business, from which she developed another business when she realized that she really needed to be able to do things quickly and easily, from her iPhone. She took the bull by the horns and taught herself all the necessary design techniques with the iPhone and so developed her new business, called Smart Phone Marketing School. Now, she has tons of content, videos and tutorials, to teach the people in her Facebook and Membership communities how and what apps to use, on their iPhone, to make their social media marketing way, way easier. She teaches where things are in an app and how to tap into them and get what you want. Listen in now, as Tabitha sheds some light on how to use your smartphone to market your self really easily, even when you’re on the fly!

Show highlights:

  • Tabitha explains all about the super cute and direct labeling app called This by Tin Rocket, which could be really useful in the Design Industry.
  • Which apps Tabitha uses, on her iPhone as well as on her desktop.
  • The best ways to utilize the Legend App, to announce across social media, that you’re about to go live.
  • Why what Tabitha teaches is great for everybody, even those that aren’t so ‘techy’.
  • Why Tabitha really thinks you should care about Instagram stories.
  • Facebook Live or Instagram Stories? When to use each one.
  • How you can increase your engagement on Facebook Live with Instagram Stories.
  • Apps that can really enhance your Instagram Stories.
  • A way to put something on Instagram Stories, without showing yourself.
  • If you have 10 000 or more followers, you can link that up with Instagram Stories.
  • Some tips and great apps for using an iPhone with Pinterest. Tabitha has a blog post about this.
  • Why Tabitha actually prefers using a phone screen, when working with Pinterest.
  • Tabitha has a Facebook Live session to teach you how to use Adobe Spark on your phone.
  • All the fabulous free content that Tabitha has made available for you.
  • Tabitha’s not all about selling, however, she is opening up a paid membership program.

Links:

For Tabitha’s free courses, go to courses.tabithacarro.com

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234: Kimberley Kay Interiors: A New Designer & Her 1st 5 Months in Business

What is your vision for your design business? How do you manage to balance work and life? Are you managing it, or has the business taken over your life? When you’re in the middle of the day-to-day of running a business, it can be easy to forget why you started in the first place. Whether it is creative freedom, income to support your family, or a dream that has finally taken flight, it is so important to keep the values you hold dear close at hand. This podcast is all about giving you tools that you can use to launch your design business. Today, I am thrilled to bring to you Kim Worswick, who has been in business for just five short months and is already operating close to her values. What’s her secret? This podcast!

Kimberley Kay Interiors is Kim’s solo firm and boy has it taken off! Kim has a strong Instagram presence, where she films these great short videos that are zany, fun and full of personality and great design. Kim’s business is based on referrals so that she can ensure that she is only taking the right amount of projects at a time. Work-Life Balance is so important to Kim, so she has set up her business around that value. Today, we will share how Kim launched her business, sticks to her values, and overcomes mistakes and challenges as her business has grown. It is encouraging to hear how this podcast has changed Kim’s life, and I would love to hear from you too! Give this episode a listen, and then reach out to me to let me know the ways our guests have transformed your design business.

 

More from this episode:

  • Kim talks about her crazy, zany Instagram videos.
  • Take a little inspiration from Kim who used tools from the podcast to launch her business.
  • Kim operates off of her 5 Key Values.
  • Work-Life Balance is the basis for Kim’s business model.
  • Using Interior Design as an act of community service.
  • Growing a business only to the point where it fits within your lifestyle.
  • Working underneath a lead designer was beneficial, but creatively stifling.
  • Why a bookkeeper should be your first hire.
  • Learning from mistakes and celebrating triumphs.
  • Gaining customer loyalty by doing whatever it takes to get the design right.

Links:

https://www.kimberleykayinteriors.com   https://www.instagram.com/kimberleykayinteriors/   https://www.facebook.com/kimberleykayinteriors/

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233: Design Biz Live – Do this Self-Assessment of Your Skills

We are back together for another installment of Design Biz Live, in spite of all the obstacles and scheduling conflicts we’ve had to overcome to make it happen! I’m back with my trusted experts, Judith Neary of Roadside Attraction Design Studio, and Corey Klassen of Corey Klassen Interiors. One of our goals is to cover all aspects of the flat fee vs. hourly rate question that designers face. What we have discovered is that there is a more basic issue at stake that we must turn our attention to first. The issue is that YOU, as a designer, need to know what you are and are not most efficient at in your business. In other words, you need to break down the work of a designer into your personal strengths and weaknesses. Corey and Judith have developed a self-assessment for principals to use in evaluating all the different things we do for our clients. As industry leaders, Judith and Corey have spent a lot of time speaking in front of their peers, and they have developed this tool with the purpose of evaluating your skills as they relate to your design firm. Let’s jump into this conversation!

Show highlights:

  • Gear your services toward your skill set according to the self-assessment
  • How Judith and Corey got the idea for developing this helpful tool
  • The three phases of the assessment: concept, execution, and administration
  • Debunking the “ideal client” myth
  • Why you need to get clear on what you do really well
  • A basic fundamental that a designer must figure out via the self-assessment:
    • What am I most efficient at?
    • How can I fill in the gaps that I’m not best at?
  • Look for opportunities to improve your skill set
  • Your business evolves and grows as a living, breathing entity
  • The relationship between your strengths and weaknesses and the question of flat fee vs. hourly rates
  • For the client, services needed in each of the three phases and their associated fees
  • Segmenting your services in each distinct phase
  • How the designer controls “the process”
  • Setting the project and the team up for success
  • How designers get into trouble when they tackle things they aren’t good at
  • How Corey graphed his and his employees’ strengths of skill and how the result measured up to their perceptions
  • When you as the business owner-need to change the outcome
  • How to have the difficult conversations with employees
  • “Am I interested in rehabilitating this employee or do I want them to leave my firm?”
  • The “show-tell-do” and feedback process
  • Reach out to get an honest evaluation of your performance as a designer
  • How to ask questions to former clients for feedback about your fee structure

Links:

Visit https://www.windowworks-nj.com/designbiz2 to download the self-assessment!

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232: Power Talk Friday – John Ruhlin: The Art & Science of Creating Powerful Relationships

Today we are in for an incredible treat. John Rhulin is the founder of the Ruhlin Group, a powerhouse company that helps high-end firms reach their audience, maintain customers, and gain referrals through Gift-Giving. John has roots as a salesman, but by seeking opportunity, reaching for excellence, and learning the huge value of gratitude, John has created a Group with high-end clients such as the Chicago Cubs and Electrolux. 

With such huge clients, it might seem like a stretch to think that John has wisdom for you and your design business. Well, that simply isn’t true! The elegant principles of good gift-giving are universal, and they will help you win referrals and maintain clients. The secret is in the gift itself: personal, unexpected, and filled with authenticity. Today, you will learn what gifts to give, when to give, and how to keep your clients close at hand. It’s time to stretch those generosity muscles and make someone’s day. Winning clients and growing your business is really as easy as that!

Show highlights:

  • John shares his first selling experiences with Cutco that shaped his business acumen.
  • Building a company around gratitude.
  • Hear John’s incredible story about the Brooks Brothers.
  • John has unparalleled employee relationships to change the way they do service.
  • John’s advice to small business owners who are trying to gift their customers well.
  • The best gift John has ever received.
  • Re-defining the way that we treat our customers.
  • Make referrals happen by taking care of the “inner circle.”

 Links:

Follow the link for John’s gift to our listeners! 10 Gifts to Avoid Giving.  

https://giftologybook.com/design/

Pick up your copy of Giftology by John Ruhlin

https://ruhlingroup.com/

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231: Cynthia Spence – Formula for Success in Interior Design: Business Skill, Integrity and A Personal Brand

Today, we have Cynthia Spence on show with us. She is the Principal of Cynthia Spence Design, which is a Full-Service Interior Design firm,  located in the San Francisco Bay Area and it caters to both Residential and Commercial clients. Cynthia feels that the world has become increasingly more noisy and so it’s really important to her to create environments that are both soothing and restorative for her clients. Today, she spends some time talking about how her previous career, in Marketing and Management positions in prominent Entertainment and High Tech companies, informs her Interior Design career. Listen in to find out more.

Although it’s not the typical route to Interior Design, Cynthia’s experience in Relationship Marketing, Creative Services, and Project Management has had a role to play in shaping her business and has also contributed largely towards its success. You will benefit from this experience too, as she really goes into a lot of detail about the skills and services that you need to have, in order to create a truly successful firm. Listen in now, to find out what Cynthia has to share with you.

Show highlights:

  • How Cynthia’s past career created a framework and positioned her perfectly for an Interior Design business.
  • Why the skill of listening is really so important, in the Interior Design business.
  • Cynthia explains her approach to her clients because every client is really uniquely different.
  • Some of the nuts and bolts of how Cynthia’s management experience informed her, when she started out with her own business, twelve years ago.
  • Why you really need to take great care of your vendors– and even possibly defend them at times.
  • Creating the right balance between your strengths and weaknesses.
  • The real value in making mistakes.
  • The importance of ethical behavior, honour, and integrity, for your business.
  • Cynthia explains how her business is set up and what it looks like.
  • How to let your client know that you have their project under control. (Even if it doesn’t seem that way for you at the time!)
  • Some advice about home automation, for new Designers.
  • Cynthia talks about her super powers.
  • What made Cynthia transition her career to Interior Design.
  • The better you are at what you do, the more in demand your services will be.
  • Why it takes a lot of resilience, to start your own business.
  • Learning to stand in your client’s shoes, to really understand them.
  • Cynthia’s goals for the next few years.
  • Cynthia discusses the creative aspects of working as an Interior Designer.
  • Some advice for people who are trying to work out how to market their firm.
  • The type of aesthetic that Cynthia prefers.
  • Spinning your own take on a particular style.
  • Creating your own brand.

If you have used any Kravet product recently, take a picture of it, post it to social media, use the hashtag #instakravet and tag Kravet, as they will repost some of them.

Links:

Her social media: https://twitter.com/CynthiaSpenceSF #itsallabouttheedit https://www.instagram.com/cynthiaspencedesign/

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230: Maria Viola-Kutruff – Should You be an Adjunct Professor at an University?

My guest today is Maria V. Kutruff, principal of Viola Interior Design, which is located in the Philadelphia area. Over the last 14 years, Maria’s work has ranged from designing custom furniture to designing office spaces to the renovation of entire residences. She is active in the American Society of Interior Designers, having served on its board and received several awards. She received her master’s degree in Interior Architecture and Design from Drexel University, where she currently teaches design at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. Our focus today is around what it takes to be an adjunct professor, including the pros, the cons, and the nitty gritty. Join us!

What you’ll hear in this episode:

  • Why the curriculum is set up to help design students explore their creativity
  • Our goal in teaching design: to learn about design first and then budget issues
  • Advice to all design students: Take a business class not related to design
  • Why Maria chooses to be an adjunct professor
  • Stay open to new ideas and stay relevant!
  • New things outside your comfort zone
  • The endless possibilities in networking and connection
  • Requirements to be an adjunct professor and the process in acquiring this position
  • How to reach out to colleagues and cultivate a relationship with a university
  • How to prepare your curriculum and how to teach it
  • The time commitment required as an adjunct each week
  • When mature decisions have to be made about balancing a design business and teaching
  • Term-by-term flexibility as an adjunct
  • Build up your credibility as a new adjunct
  • The possibility that exists in having a full-fledged design career along with a corollary career as an adjunct
  • Get to know people and bring value to them

Resources:

Drexel University Interior Design Program: https://drexel.edu/westphal/academics/undergraduate/INTR/   Maria’s website: https://violainteriordesign.com   Email Maria: maria@violainteriordesign.com

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229: Power Talk Friday: Jody Padar – How To Hire & Talk With a CPA

Interior Design Business Podcast A Well-Designed Business® LuAnn Nigara

The guest for today’s Power Talk Friday is Jody Padar. She’s a CPA and she also has a podcast called ‘Let’s Get Radical’, so she goes by the name ‘The Radical CPA’. Jody is the CEO and the Principal of New Vision CPA Group, which is a Public Accounting firm based in the Chicago area. Jody joined her father’s firm more than ten years ago and today, we talk with her about what happened when she first joined, what it was like and what transpired from that. Listen in to find out more about Jody’s radical approach to accounting and how it can really be of benefit to you, in your business.

 

LuAnn knows that at times, we all have to hear the same thing a number times before the light bulb actually goes on in our heads. Jody, as The Radical CPA, has a very different way of going about helping business owners and small businesses to navigate their way around the accounting side of their businesses and stay on track. It’s a far cry from the old and staid model of accounting and this is why LuAnn has invited her on the show today, to put the bug in your ear again and to remind you that it really is time to grow up and do things right in your business. So, listen in now, for some great insights from Jody, about how accounting technology can really work for you, in your business.

 

 

Show highlights:

 

  • Jody talks about what it was like when she joined her father’s firm and what happened there, once she joined. 
  • The realization that Jody had about her business ten years ago, as a result of working with all the new technology and software that became available to her through the internet.
  • How Jody banded together with other young CPA’s seven years ago and they became coined as a movement of doing things in a different way- or Radical CPA’s.
  • The value and insight that a CPA should be bringing to a business, should be in in the forward-looking and the cash flow projections and helping to build the business.
  • In the past, CPA’s were so busy doing things, that they didn’t have the time to step back and work in an advisory capacity. Now however, they can work in that capacity, because the technology is doing all the work that they used to have to do.
  • What you, as small business owners or Interior Designers, need to know, in order to ask an Accountant or CPA the right questions. 
  • If you’re still living in a paper world, the first thing is that you have to automate, because the power is in the data.
  • Working with Cloud Based Accounting. You can put the information in and the technology (the software program) does 85% of the work.
  • Jody suggests using Quick Books Online, or Zero. These will allow both you and your Accountant to log in to your data.
  • Working with your Accountant, in order to realise your goals– It’s important to think about where you want to go, in your business, because the way that your Accountant is going to work with you, will be based on your values.
  • Why Jody thinks that CPA’s stand in the best position, as Business Coaches.
  • Accounting is the language of business, so you need to be open to the advice of your Accountant, to face the facts and grow your business.
  • It’s very important to find the right Accountant- the one that you can really relate to.
  • New school Accountants are building advisory into their practices.
  • It’s best to work with an Accountant who is working in a timely manner, in real time.
  • You want to be talking to your Accountant four times a year, at minimum.
  • Most Radical CPA’s work in a fixed fee model, charging a subscription based monthly fee. This is to encourage communication.
  • Your choice of entity is your number one tax saving factor. 
  • Sales tax is a huge issue, so you, as Designers really need to talk to a professional about this. 
  • Avalara.com is a great place to go to check out the Sales Tax Laws.
  • You need to keep trying until you find the Accountant who is exactly the right fit for you and your business.

 

Links:

 

Jody’s website: https://www.newvisioncpagroup.com 

 

You can listen to Jody’s podcast, Let’s Get Radical, on iTunes or Stitcher.

 

Jody on Twitter: @jodypadarcpa 

 

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228: Kamila Gornia – Facebook Coaching Sessions – FB Ads Demystified

Today we have Kamila Gornia, a Digital Marketing Strategist, on the show and she’s here to help demystify Facebook Ads for us. LuAnn is particularly interested in this topic, because she herself, doesn’t have a very good grasp on it. This means that she’s tended to put the brakes on with the use of social media in her business, not really knowing if it would be effective enough to be worth spending money on. However, with all the reading and listening that she’s been doing around this topic recently, she feels that the time has now come to get to understand it. LuAnn tends to make the assumption that if she’s struggling to understand something, then others out there will surely be too, so listen in today, as Kamila helps you to understand how Facebook Ads really work.

When Kamila was only twelve years old and still living in a small town in Poland, she got her first computer. This was very exciting for her, so she dove right in and got a little nerdy. She’s the kind of person who, if she sees something that seems exciting to do, she just does it! So she learned HTML and created her first website around Japanese Manga and Anime comic books (not very popular in Poland), and started marketing– without even realizing that that was what she was doing! Her approach to it was very organic and the response that she got via the chat room culture of the time was great, so it actually took off. She found it pretty easy to bring on volunteers to help her to make this available to other people, because everyone was so excited about being part of this really cool venture, even though there was no money being made. She actually managed to get to forty thousand views, without any social media or pay traffic, in less than five months! Listen in now, to find out from Kamila how you can really get Facebook Ads to work for you and your Interior Design Business.

Show highlights:

  • Kamila explains about the two different camps of people when it comes to paid advertising on Facebook.
  • Kamila explains the first things you need to know and have in place, before spending any money or putting your toe into the water of the ads and the paid portion of Facebook.
  • Crafting an offer (or funnel) that you can send the Facebook Ads traffic to.
  • You need to have a very specific and focused way of getting the traffic to your website, so Kamila gives you some really great options for this.
  • Understand that with your email list, you are actually building an asset.
  • Kamila gives some ideas for Interior Designers to create and grow a following.
  • Why Kamila really likes creating quizzes.
  • A mistake that many people tend to do, with making things DIY.
  • Using E-books, Training Programs, Questionaires or Schedule a Call, to create a Call to Action to drive traffic to your website.
  • The Design Industry is very visual, which makes the process a lot easier.
  • Designing your Call to Action, based on your goals.
  • How to format your Call to Action, through using Facebook Ads.
  • Understanding who you’re targeting and also what people will be seeing, with your Facebook Ads.
  • What a Carousel Ad
  • The images are the most important thing with Facbook Ads, then after that comes the headline and ad copy.
  • Get straight to the point, with the copy in your ad.
  • Working with Conversion Objective Ads, using pixels. (You can download a Facebook Pixel plug in.)
  • How to add a snippet of code on your Thank You Page, to turn a conversation into a lead. This can be a more profitable way to do things.
  • Understanding who your ads are going to be shown in front of- either a warm audience or a cold one.
  • Creating a warm audience on your website, through using pixels with your Facebook advertising.
  • What it would cost you, to create  Facebook Ads. The prices really vary a lot.
  • How much to budget for, if you’re new to Facebook Advertising.

Resources:

Kamila’s website: https://www.kamilasocial.com

Her podcast: The Kamila Gornia Show: Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Leadership with Heart Behind Hustle

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227: Candy Scott – Practical Advice to Launch, Grow and Sustain Your Interior Design Business

Interior Design Business Podcast A Well-Designed Business® LuAnn Nigara

My guest for today’s amazing show is Candy Scott, the Principal of MOOD Design + Build, based in Chicago. She gives practical advice on launching, growing, and sustaining an interior design business. Candy has 15 years’ experience in both commercial and residential design. She graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC, with a BS in Interior Design. You’ll hear her describe how her early experience working with a large developer and  with large corporate clients, outfitting high-rise condominiums, lobbies, model homes, and showrooms all contributed to some of the principles and lessons she brings to her own business. She founded MOOD Design + Build in 2014, and continues to work with residential clients and small business owners with their homes, offices, and small-scale commercial interiors.

Show highlights:

  • Candy’s background and experience after design school
  • Benefits to working at a furniture store, learning customer service and different segments of the business
  • Making mistakes in the early years: “falling down and getting back up again”
  • The consciousness it takes to “get out of the drama”
  • Finding the place of relating to clients, vendors, and contractors with a sense of mutuality
  • Meeting clients where they are: hearing their frustrations and fear
  • The range of services offered by MOOD Design + Build
  • How the design phase and the build phase differ
  • Breaking down a project into smaller increments and tracking the data
  • How to be the go-to for referrals for the business that larger firms don’t want
  • Why you must attend networking events
  • Weekly sales activity: why you can’t let this part of your business go
  • Developing relationships with realtors
  • Candy’s blog post with 7 Initial Questions for Developing a Beautiful Space and 5 Steps to Making a Beautiful Space (check out her website!)

Resources:

Candy’s website and blog:

https://www.modddesignbuild.com

Her Twitter: https://twitter.com/CandyScott_