Today With Josh Cooperman:

Josh Cooperman and I have been crossing paths at trade events for years — waving at each other across the hall, meaning to sit down, never quite making it happen. We finally did, live at KBIS in the KB podcast studio, and this conversation was worth every year of waiting.

Josh is the host and publisher of Convo by Design, a platform dedicated to exploring what he calls sublime design and the creatives who make extraordinary spaces a reality. His background is anything but conventional — degrees in journalism and social sciences from Washington State University, followed by a career that ran through CBS Radio’s motorsports division in Dallas, music promotion at KDGE-FM, and a stint as General Manager and Program Director of Playboy Radio. Yes, really. He started Convo by Design in 2013 because he wanted to do what he always wanted to do when he grew up, tell stories about the things he loves. Sound familiar?

What makes this conversation different is that Josh and I are both long-timers in this space. We started our shows within a year of each other, when most people didn’t know what a podcast was. We’ve watched this medium grow, get crowded, get noisy, and get commoditized. And we have a lot of opinions about what that means for anyone thinking about entering it now.

We also get honest about what we’re each building next and why the next chapter looks nothing like the last one.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why most designers who want a podcast should pause and answer one question before they do anything else

• What your “why” has to be — and why lead gen from an industry-only audience is not a strategy

• The real reason 90% of podcasts die before episode 10, and what separates the ones that don’t

• Why “award-winning” and “luxury” have lost their power as positioning language — and what to say instead

• The editorial calendar mistake LuAnn made for seven years (and what she finally did about it)

• Why the trade publications seeded thought leadership to podcasters — and what that opened up for all of us

• The MBA format: what it is, why it’s coming, and what it means for how you use this show going forward

• Josh’s new venture, Shelter Republic — a closed-end, invitation-only community for designers who want peer connection, thought leadership development, and real conversation outside of the once-a-year trade event circuit

• Why the best idea Josh has had in years came from his son — a computer engineer with zero background in design who spotted a gap the industry couldn’t see from the inside

If you’ve been listening to this show for a while, this one will feel like a conversation between two people who have been doing this work long enough to tell you the truth about it. And if you’re newer here, welcome. This is a good one to start with.

Connect with Josh: Convo by Design: convobydesign.com Shelter Republic inquiries: convobydesign@outlook.com

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

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

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Welcome to today’s show! We are really happy today to have Candy Scott and Rachel Cannon join us on the show! In today’s episode, these two smart ladies will be talking to LuAnn about the changing landscape in the business side of interior design. Candy and Rachel are both highly organized, with finite systems in place for running their businesses and they truly understand that you really need to know and sell your own value, as a designer, rather than the value of the products that you specify. Listen in, to find out what they have to share with you on the show today.

Candy is the principal of Mood Design and Build, which is located in Chicago. She has won multiple awards during her seventeen-year career in designer and she’s worked with large developers and corporate clients, outfitting high-rise condominium lobbies, club rooms, and model showrooms.

Rachel is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She has clients from Palm Springs to Palm Beach, with over fifteen years of experience in residential and commercial interior design. She opened her own firm, Rachel Cannon Interiors nine years ago and her work has been featured in Traditional Home, The Wall Street Journal, HGTV, My Domain.Com, and Southern Home. Tune in now!

Both Rachel and Candy are going to be at LuAnn Nigara Live, It’s About The Conversation.

Show highlights:

• Business disruptions are not a new thing.
• The future of the interior designer with the disruptive emergence of products being available online to the consumer.
• Being a designer is not just about selling merchandise- it’s so much more about the relationship.
• As designers, you need to be the innovators!
• Why you have to start charging for your services.
• If you make your money on a flat fee, you don’t have to focus on selling furniture.
• Creating tracking documents for orders.
• Surviving the changes in the industry.
• The layer of service that Candy has added to her business, to really set it apart.
• The value of having the designer run the project.
• Rachel’s ideas for designers to make money, going into the future.
• The middle end of the market is going to go away.
• Rachel’s approach to design consult packages.
• The importance of branding.
• As an entrepreneur, you just have to be open to change.
• Some things to consider when creating your brand.

Rachel Cannon is an interior designer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with clients ranging the nation from Palm Springs to Palm Beach. She has over 15 years of experience in residential and commercial interior design, nine of which are at her namesake interior design firm, Rachel Cannon Limited. Armed with a degree in interior design and a background in art history, Rachel joins together classic principles with a decidedly contemporary tone. She provides her clients with sophisticated interiors that exude an effortless combination of subtle color, rich architectural detail, and a beguiling mix of livable, tailored and luxe details. With a clientele of professionals and families with demanding schedules, Rachel is most praised for her ability to simplify the interior design process while paying meticulous attention to planning and detail. The finished product: a livable yet polished space the entire family can enjoy. Rachel’s work has been featured in Traditional Home, The Wall Street Journal, HGTV.com, MyDomain.com and Southern Home. Her captivating wit and knowledge of art, design, and architecture have made her a favorite on television, radio, and podcasts. While always on the go, the Rachel Cannon Limited team is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In 2014, Candy Scott founded MOOD Design and Build where she continues to work with residential clients, business owners, and development partners on their homes, offices, and commercial interiors. As a designer, Candy is most inspired and intrigued by the transformation process. Both for the people who inhabit the spaces and the physical spaces themselves. She believes bringing consciousness to our spaces greatly impacts the way we think, feel, and behave.

Candy graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh, NC with a Bachelor’s of Science in Interior Design. Through the years, she has won multiple awards and has worked with large developers and corporate clients outfitting the high rise condominium lobbies, clubrooms, and model showrooms. She has worked with small to medium-sized businesses as well, transforming their lobbies and offices to places employees love to work.

Previous shows mentioned on this episode:

Candy #227

Rachel #306

Wendy Woluschuk #316

Links:

Rachel Cannon:

Rachel Cannon Limited

Instagram: RCL Interiors

Facebook: RCL Interiors

Candy Scott:

Mood Design Build

Instagram: Mood Design Build

Facebook: Candy Scott

Book mentioned in the show: Start With Why- How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Portfolio.  

The guest on today’s Power Talk Friday is Fred Berns, the only Interior Design Industry Business Coach, and Speaker.  Fred was a Speaker at the Design Blogger’s Conference, held in L.A. In March, where he spoke about how to create your bio, so this show is tagged onto the Design Blogger’s Series. This is the fourth time that Fred has appeared on this show and LuAnn is really happy to have him back again because he always brings so much value. (He previously appeared on shows #22, #48 and#96.) Today, Fred will help you to figure out your ‘only‘, so listen in now and find out why it’s so important.

Fred creates personal bio’s and other promotional materials for design professionals, worldwide. He has had more than twenty-five years of experience, training design professionals and creating their online profiles, website, and social media copy, blogs, and marketing forums. He also offers a wide range of business coaching services, including his High-End Performance Coaching Program, his bio briefing and his website once over. Listen in to today’s show to find out from Fred how you can really stand out in the marketplace.

Today, Fred talks to LuAnn about:

• Why it’s so important for you to figure out your ‘only’.
• How he helps designers to arrive at their ‘only’.
• Some categories to consider when trying to figure out your ‘only’ phrase.
• How to be sure that you are really the ‘only’ one when making that claim.
• How to subtly modify your ‘only phrase’, if necessary.
• Using the word ‘specializes’ to better describe your ‘only’ and to differentiate yourself.
• That your ‘only’ doesn’t have to be a big thing.
• How having an ‘only’ helps you to charge a higher fee.
• How he helps people to draft letters to inform customers that they are raising their fees.
• How educating people about your value helps to overcome their resistance to your charging top dollar.
• Why he encourages you, as a designer, to highlight rather than hide your past.
• That it’s often the small things that make you unique.
• Some examples of how you can incorporate your ‘only phrase’ into your bio, to make yourself memorable.
• Ways for newly graduated designers to set themselves apart.
• His victory vocabulary.
• Using the law of attraction to draw the kinds of clients you’d like to work with towards you.
• That the most financially successful designers are not necessarily the best designers.
• ‘Only’ is not the only word, but it’s the best one!