Today With Jessica Bantom:

Today on A Well-Designed Business, I am joined Jessica Bantom, interior designer, color consultant, and DEIB practitioner. This is Part Two of our conversation on how to become a culturally competent designer, and we are going even deeper.

In this conversation, Jessica walks us through the six habits of a culturally competent designer—the same habits outlined in her new book, Design for Identity: How to

Design Authentically for a Diverse World. Listen now to learn more about each of these habits and how you can incorporate them into your routine and be a part of this phenomenal shift in the industry.

Pick It Apart

[1:58] LuAnn and Jessica discuss the first habit of culturally competent designers: Take accountability, especially during the design process and through inclusive leadership.

[10:25] Jessica explains the second habit: Ask questions. She says this step is about creating a space for conversation, which should be established at the beginning of a project.

[17:58] LuAnn asks Jessica about the third habit: Seek knowledge.

[25:26] Jessica shares that the majority of her book, Design for Identity: How to Design Authentically for a Diverse World, is about the critical fourth habit: Talk to customers.

[34:44] LuAnn and Jessica expand on the fifth habit: Believe people, and why this habit should not be overlooked.

[41:00] Jessica explains the sixth and final habit: Share experience, saying that culturally competent designers need to set the tone, create the space, and model the behavior of sharing experience.

LuAnn Nigara and Jessica Bantom’s Ah-Ha Moments

“All of us need to adopt these habits. So that there is no one outlier in the team or in the organization that is the one speaking up. It becomes a normal part of conversation. And when a point is raised, it can be something that can be can be discussed more broadly.” – Jessica Bantom

“The entire culture of the company has to be a place where you allow people to express their points of view.” – LuAnn Nigara

“When it comes to identity, and representing cultures and identity, and it’s in an authentic way, that does require getting other viewpoints and perspectives..” – Jessica Bantom

“There is this expectation that we can’t start talking about difference until we bring people of different backgrounds into the organization. That is not true. Because, like we said, there is information available and accessible to of us. And it is also not the responsibility of those people to come into a firm and educate their peers.” – Jessica Bantom

“We have to be willing to engage with customers, because we are the experts on design, but they are the experts on themselves.” – Jessica Bantom

“These are principles, these are ideas, these are things that we should be doing to be better humans. However, if that’s not enough to get your mojo going, understand this is your business. Your business is going to dramatically change over the next five-to-ten-to-fifteen years.” – LuAnn Nigara

More About Jessica Bantom

Jessica Bantom is a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) practitioner and workplace strategist whose goals are to help organizations develop customized strategies for transformational change and to enable individuals to take immediate action to become more inclusive. Author of Design for Identity: How to Design Authentically for a Diverse World (coming in April 2023), she is a skilled management consultant with over 20 years of experience, a compelling speaker, and a certified facilitator and coach with a passion for helping people and organizations activate the values of DEIB to become more culturally competent and thrive in our increasingly global economy.

Jessica is a proud alum of the University of Virginia where she earned her undergraduate degree and Marymount University where she earned her Masters. She is certified as an Associate Diversity Coach through the CoachDiversity Institute’s Executive Certification in Diversity Coaching program in collaboration with the Howard University School of Business and holds a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University. In addition, she is a Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP), Prosci Certified Change Practitioner, and Change Management Advanced Practitioner (CMAP) with a specialization in Design Thinking and Innovation from Darden Executive Education at the University of Virginia.   Jessica is also active in the interior design industry as an interior design and color consultant and as an engaged advocate committed to promoting DEIB in the industry and in practice. She describes herself as a multidisciplinary designer of human-centered solutions and uses her specialization in design thinking to develop and apply innovative approaches that transcend industries. A proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, she’s a long-time resident of the Washington DC area, although she will always call Philadelphia home.

Connect with Jessica Bantom

Website 

Instagram 

LinkedIn

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn Live 2023

Watch the Docuseries!

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

A Big Thank You to Our Keynote Sponsors:

Nancy Ganzekaufer

Traci Connell

Duke Renders

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Shows Mentioned:

AWDB #573: Cheryl Luckett, #BLM: See Something, Say Something

AWDB #596: Jamel Williams: A Call to Create Opportunity and Change at the University Level

AWDB #703: Leyden Lewis: The Road to AD100 and Elle Decor Top 125 Requires Innovation and Authentic Creativity

AWDB #720: Flash Back Friday: Cheryl Janis : Defining and Owning Your Niche

AWDB #908: Jessica Bantom: How to Be a Culturally Competent Design Activist & Why You Want to Be One (Part 1)

Today With Jenna Gaidusek:

Today on A Well-Designed Business I am joined by Jenna Gaidusek, Director of Community and Education at Mydoma Studio. Jenna is a talented designer, founder of the Interior Design Playbook (formerly eDesign Tribe) Facebook community and creator of eDesign U, an online school dedicated to providing designers with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in the eDesign industry.

Jenna doesn’t want you to go it alone as a designer, which is why she joined forces with Mydoma Studio and created the Virtual Assistant Certification program.

Listen now to this sponsored episode for all the details about this amazing new resource available only through Mydoma.

Pick It Apart

[3:07] Jenna explains what a virtual assistant is and how they help businesses.

[4:47] LuAnn and Jenna discuss the need for virtual assistants, especially for designers, and why Jenna and Sarah Daniele from Mydoma partnered to create a certification program specifically within the Mydoma Studio platform.

[11:00] LuAnn identifies the ideal candidates for this course.

[14:41] Jenna explains what candidates need to do to get started in the certification program.

[15:50] LuAnn asks Jenna about common tasks VA’s will complete and different ways they can collaborate with designers after this training in both the project management and rendering.

[19:29] Jenna and LuAnn discuss the benefits of having a VA certified in Mydoma Studio, including access to Mydoma, training updates, and access to the community for a year.

[28:11] Jenna explains how the week-long course is structured and how to apply.

  LuAnn Nigara and Jenna Gaidusek’s Ah-Ha Moments  

“Virtual assistants are basically like your right hand, man. They can help you streamline your process, take the things off your plate that you just don’t enjoy doing, but they thrive on…[doing] the things that you don’t love to do, and it makes a great partnership.” – Jenna Gaidusek

“There are people that might not be designers that are so perfect for this role as a VA that it just fits and it just clicks and we need you as designers to be our other half.” – Jenna Gaidusek

“‘This is a tremendous benefit, that if I recognize the value that Mydoma Studio can be to my business—to my back end, to my operations and my system, but I mentally don’t have the capacity, whether it’s actual intellectual capacity or physical capacity timewise…[Now there is] somebody that I can pay to put my projects in to get everything done.” – LuAnn Nigara

“I believe if you have an organized brain, we can teach this to you.” – Jenna Gaidusek

  More About Jenna Gaidusek 

Jenna is a talented visual communicator and interior designer with a passion for creating beautiful and functional spaces. She made the decision to leave her corporate interior design career in 2015 to launch her own online interior design business, which quickly gained traction and became a successful venture while she was living in New York City.

She began sharing her work on social media, and other designers frequently reached out to her with questions. During this time, Jenna noticed a lack of information and resources available for eDesign, which was not yet a popular concept.  To meet this demand, Jenna founded the eDesign Tribe Facebook community, which quickly grew into a thriving platform for designers to connect and learn from one another (now called the Interior Design Playbook).

With a continued need for education in the field of virtual design communication and business development, Jenna created eDesign U in 2018, an online school dedicated to providing designers with the knowledge and tools needed to succeed in the eDesign industry.

Jenna also recognized the need for a more user-friendly and affordable 3D rendering program and embeddable shopping list for designers. In response, she developed a cutting-edge platform that provided just that. This platform was quickly embraced by designers and became a game-changer in the industry.

In 2022, Jenna’s efforts and dedication to eDesign were rewarded when her eDesign Tribe community and all associated entities were acquired by Mydoma Studio. This acquisition provided designers with an unprecedented level of resources and support, allowing them to render their designs and manage their projects with ease.

Jenna’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to eDesign has had a significant impact on the industry, and her contributions have been widely recognized. She continues to be a thought leader in the field, and her passion for helping designers succeed is an inspiration to all who work with her as the Director of Community and Education with Mydoma and continues to work as a practicing virtual interior designer.

Connect with Jenna Gaidusek

Website

Virtual Assistant Certification

Instagram 

Get 20% off Mydoma for 3 months!

A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Mydoma Studio

Other Shows Mentioned:

#91: Sarah Daniele – Co-Founder & CEO of Mydoma Studio

#177: Power Talk Friday- Sarah Daniele, CEO of Mydoma Studio is back to tell us what’s new for you at Mydoma Studio!

#375: Power Talk Friday: Bonnie Fahy: How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Your Interior Design Business

#555: Sarah Daniele: 19H The Blueprint, Create Resiliency in Your Business

#618: Jenna Gaidusek: How to Build an Online Business in Interior Design

#879: Power Talk Friday: Sarah Daniele: Mydoma Studio and the Business of Change as the Interior Design Industry Enters a Digital Transformation

Today With Christina Richardson:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today we’re traveling outside the country. My guest Christina Richardson from Christina Richardson Interiors. Christina is a Scandinavian native who grew up on the charming coast of Northern Sweden. After moving to the U.S. with her husband and two daughters, Christina earned her interior design degree from the New York Institute of Art and Design. With 20 years of interior design under her belt from Sweden, Christina has learned a lot in the business of starting over in another country. She is here to share the “musts” of what she learned you should do if considering taking projects in another country.

Pick It Apart

[5:00] Christina shares her experience coming to the U.S. and becoming an interior designer.

[9:10] How Christina got clients being from a different country and not knowing anyone.

[15:27] What to think about if you are in the U.S. and want to start a project in a different country.

[20:20] Christina explains the Vienna Agreement.

[34:42] Tips on vetting a contractor when you are doing an out of country project.

[44:05] Christina explains how things work when there are cultural differences.

LuAnn Nigara and Christina Richardson’s Ah-Ha Moments

 “People like you give newer designers hope where you go through the stages of fear, but you plow through,” – LuAnn Nigara

“It’s important for everyone to know about the Vienna Agreement

More About Christina Richardson Christina Richardson is a Scandinavian native, she grew up on the charming coast of Northern Sweden, in the small town, Skellefteå. After moving to the U.S. with her husband and 2 daughters, Christina earned her interior design degree from the New York Institute of Art and Design. Having previously earned her masters degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelors degree in construction engineering, and with over 20 years of interior design experience in Sweden under her belt, she’s able to capture the best of both worlds and deliver an alluring blend of function and style that is uniquely her own. A completely female-owned, led, and run business, Christina Richardson Interiors boasts a rich portfolio that includes design elements like Scandinavian, contemporary, coastal, bohemian, and transitional. But Christina doesn’t believe in imposing a style onto her clients. Instead, she figures out what their authentic style is, and then works to make it look absolutely amazing. “I want people to feel like they are seen and heard.” she says. The team is spread out all over the world, Yasmine in New York handles Christina’s PR and communications and Ida in Sweden keeps track of Swedish trends, projects and she also does all the copywriting work and is responsible for all the newsletters. Installation crews are hired close to the sites. Christina works tightly with selected contractors that all have a trained eye for details and design, with several zoom and facetime calls per week to make sure the result is perfect. “Zoom really has changed the design industry”, Christina says, “ I only visit my projects once or twice before install and it works amazingly well when you have good and reliable contractors” The common theme that ties every project together is that each design is created through Christina’s beautiful Swedish lens. Her well-balanced style is fresh, warm, functional, and full of light. It’s sophisticated with a playful edge to wake you up, and unexpected pockets of humor to keep you on your toes. For example, in a recent Hilton Head home design project, upon a classy Serena and Lily end table, sits a rebellious set of coasters that state in all-caps, “Don’t f up the table”. It’s little surprises like these that are indicative of a fabulous mind having designed the space. Speaking of surprises, all of her clients get to experience the treat of her signature design move, “the red thread”. In each design project, Christina creates one area that makes a big statement; bolder than the rest of the space. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll discover she has left little clues, or a “red thread” throughout the rest of the interior, showing you what lies ahead in the big statement area. To the untrained eye, her signature Scandinavian style may appear modern, but as Christina explains, there’s a big difference between the two. “Modern style is colder, minimalistic, and not as functional. Scandi style is all about warmth and light, and very, very functional!”. It makes perfect sense that Christina’s Scandinavian style combines an abundance of both warmth and light. She grew up in an environment that lacks daylight for a substantial part of the year, so playing up light is a big design focus for her. And cold environments like Sweden inspire all things cozy and comfortable, hence the need for generous warmth and function. Connect with Christina Richardson

Website

Instagram 

Tiktok

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn Live 2023

Watch the Docuseries!

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

A Big Thank You to Our Keynote Sponsors:

Nancy Ganzekaufer

Traci Connell

Duke Renders

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Shows Mentioned:

#638: What Would Lu Do?: Processes and Contracts: They Aren’t Made to Be Broken

#789: Flashback Friday: Michelle Wiebe: Breaking into New Construction as an Interior Designer

#866: McCall Dulkys: Building a Successful Design Business From Around the World