Today with Beth Bender:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Beth Bender, principal and co-founder of The Dove Agency where Beth has developed a team that expertly provides back-office operations for interior design professionals, from strategic planning and consulting to targeted marketing solutions.

With 20 years of design experience, Beth decided she wanted to start something that would help those in the design industry with the back end of their businesses. Supporting both the financial and marketing aspects of the design business, Beth and I discuss The Dove Agency, how it works, benefits of working with the agency, and the fact that if you don’t run your operations smoothly, no matter how talented you are as a designer, it could mean the end of your business.

LuAnn and Beth Bender’s Ah-Ha moments:

“One of your premises is that interior designers should invest in the back end, operations end of the business. You’re talking my language because the whole premise of my podcast is that yes, you need talent to be successful, but your talent isn’t going to be the reason that you are successful. You can get some attraction and some clients, but to create a long lived sustainable profitable business you have to learn how to efficiently run the back end.” – LuAnn Nigara

“We feel that for a design form to be able to have sustained growth you have to have a two-pronged approach. You have to be able to identify both your marketing needs and your financial needs and they have to be in step.” – Beth Bender

“At the end of the day, it really should come down to counting every penny because there are tight margins. Regardless of whether you are charging by the hour, or a set fee you still have to know, How much time did I spend on that project? What was the monetary value of that time?” – Beth Bender

More About Beth Bender:

Principal and Co-Founder Beth Bender specializes in new client and strategic partner acquisitions for The Dove Agency. Beth has developed a team that expertly provides back-office operations for interior design professionals, from strategic planning and consulting to targeted marketing solutions. Additionally, Beth oversees human and organizational development services and she also manages strategic growth strategies at The Dove Agency.

Beth earned her degree in human and organization development from Vanderbilt University, and she brings more than 20 years of design experience to her work, enabling her to advise and assist clients with uniquely informed perspectives as she helps them maximize their time, resources, and profitability.

Combining their impeccable expertise, proficient knowledge, and well-versed viewpoints, Beth and her co-founder, Kenda, together developed services that streamline administrative processes, giving interior design professionals the time to do what they do best—design. These processes are the foundation and hallmark of The Dove Agency today.

Beth works closely with the marketing team to strategically position each designer with the tools necessary for calculated growth, increased influence, and measurable success.

Connect with Beth Bender:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

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

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

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

Other Shows Mentioned

Episode 575 Lisa Gilmore: Finance Fridays! From 850k to 2.25 Million in One Year!

WTF Episodes: #653, #645 , #610 , #586 , #551 , #539

Sara Lynn Brennan Episodes: #607 , #524 , #514 , #463

Today with Katie McFarlan:

Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. The client experience is something we all think about. How do we elevate the experience for our clients so that they feel like we truly care about them without making ourselves crazy by bending over backwards for each client? The answer just might lie in your processes. Today, I’m joined by Katie McFarlan of Dakota Design Company. Katie works with designers to build a strong client experience through streamlined processes, smooth operations, and clear expectations. She’s sharing with us how defined processes lead to a luxury client experience that helps you and your clients.

Pick it apart:

• [2:19] Katie shares why she’s so passionate about the client experience and why it’s so important for designers. 

  [9:13] Katie explains how she helps clients uncover their processes—even if they haven’t formally defined them. 

  [16:24] LuAnn and Katie dive into what the client experience actually entails. 

  [25:49] Katie discusses how the backend of the business shapes the client experience. 

  [46:30] Katie talks about the common hangups she sees with her client’s processes. 

LuAnn and Katie McFarlan’s Ah-Ha moments:

“Every time there’s a new delay or a new charge, if you have already set the expectation of ‘Hey, this is what’s going to happen, I’m going to be there with you every step of the way,’ it allows the client to just enjoy it rather than be terrified the entire time. I think having the client experience nailed down is so key for businesses that have a long deliverable or lead time for delivering their final service.” -Katie McFarlan

“The ROI is not just that it benefits your clients, but also that it shows just how much your company is doing for them, and that speaks to the value and how you’re charging what you charge.” -Katie McFarlan

“You’re not necessarily imposing a process or a system on any one business. You’re taking the existing processes and systems (whether they are formalized or not), whatever individual process a firm might have, and you’re analyzing it and saying, ‘How do we announce, describe, explain, or give collateral information on that phase so that the customer feels informed and cared for.” -LuAnn Nigara

“I think the biggest takeaway that I have is that the client experience is everything you do, not just a thank you note. So often we throw the word “client experience” around when we’re talking about the subtleties and the niceness and the pretty that we bring to the relationships, but a really terrific client experience is one where the process feels organized and systemized, and the client understands their role in it and can know what’s coming next and see what it is that you’re doing on their behalf the whole time.” -LuAnn Nigara

More About Katie McFarlan:

As a former wedding and event planner with 16 years of experience in operations and project management, I love using both my creative and analytical sides to come up with solutions that work for my clients. With my intimate knowledge of project management and the entrepreneurial mindset, I know what it takes to get behind the scenes operations running smoothly so businesses can grow in a professional way.

Today I help luxury interior designers and wedding planners who are buried in business operations get back to doing the creative work they love. I create and improve their processes and set up systems so they can streamline their workload, move their business forward, and free up their time to focus on the things that matter most.

Connect with Katie McFarlan:

Website

Instagram  

Blog

Client Experience Download for listeners

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Other shows mentioned:

#616 Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole: Onboarding New Interior Design Clients