Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! In this episode, LuAnn chats with Jaclyn Lankiewicz, the woman behind the Instagram handle, Jaclynmari_.

She is the principle of Jaclyn Marie Interiors based in Long Island, NY.

Her journey into interior design, like many, has not been a direct line. Basically, Jaclyn created an Instagram page that was getting so much attention that it prompted person after person to ask her if she would design their space. As you will hear today, her response was, “I finally said to myself, ok, let me do this”.

Jaclyn created an Instagram that has created a design business, and since you already have a design business and want to create more clients through Instagram, perhaps you’ll find her tips to be very helpful.

Listen in to see what we can learn about how to attract clients through Instagram!

Show Highlights:

• Keep your feed neutral, bright, and uncluttered.
• Edit your pictures properly, paying close attention to wood tones.
• Be strategic about what and where you’re posting.
• Keep an eye on your nine squares.
• A picture of herself, a zoomed-in picture of styling, and a larger picture, such as a whole living room or whole kitchen is another tactic that Jaclyn likes to use.
• Sharing a little of her personal life through Instagram helps people feel connected to her.
• Another tip that Jaclyn offers is tagging retail vendors because they re-post a lot.
• Jaclyn likes to share designers on her story (but not on her feed), and details the reasoning behind this.
• Answering every message and comment from followers is a great way of engaging with them and inspiring trust.
• How to identify someone whose work you’d like to share, and how to reach out.
• Understanding your “why” and saying no to those you don’t wish to collaborate with.
• Posting new content every day shows your followers that you’re reliable.
• Jaclyn mentions apps that she finds helpful: Videoshop, Unfold, rewardStyle, VSCO, Snapseed, Retouch, and Planoly.

Resources: 

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Podcast – Please SUBSCRIBE, Rate & Review!

Purchase LuAnn’s Book!

The Power Talk Friday Tour

LuAnn Live

Connect with Jaclyn!

Jaclyn’s Website

Jaclyn’shouzz

Jaclyn’s Instagram

Wingnut Social

East End Interiors Trade

Thank You to These Podcast Sponsors:

Connect with Your Local Kirsch Distributor Now!

Kirsch

Open Your Trade Account with ARTICLE.com Here!

Article

Other guests mentioned from previous episodes:

Sara Lynn Brennan #’s: 463, 514

Darla Powell #’s: 203, 330

Kim Merlitti #’s: 361, 442

Sandra Funk #’s: 2, 145

Welcome to the show! We have Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto, the founders of Park and Oak Interior Design Studio, located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with us today. These ladies work on new construction, renovation, and furnishing projects across the US, and you may even know them from their Instagram, with 130 000 followers. The way that they handle themselves and speak about their firm really conveys the confidence that they have in what they’re doing. And the success they’ve had in their first three years in business is not at all typical. In today’s episode, Renee and Christina pull back the curtain and boldly share with us their experiences and the lessons they have learned over the last three years. Listen in today, to find out what they have to share.

Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto founded the Park & Oak interior design studio in 2015. They are known for creating homes that are visually stunning, yet functional and comfortable. Their work, rooted in the art of timeless style, is driven by the belief that design can be used to create feelings of comfort and happiness. It combines the best of their individual aesthetics for a unique look. Christina and Renee have a creative energy that is engaging to work with. Using beautiful and unexpected sources of inspiration, they work collaboratively with clients to create spaces that thoughtfully honor the spirit and traditions of their owner. Tune in now for more!

Show Highlights:

• Renee and Christina talk about what each of them brought to the table when they started out, and about what attracted them to each other, as business partners.
• Some of the one-year and five-year goals that they established when first starting out.
• Renee and Christina’s approach to the individual roles that they have in the business.
• Renee describes the really special way that she and Christina work together.
• From a park bench to a studio.
• The first person that they hired was a bookkeeper.
• What kept them powering through in the beginning, when they were sacrificing a lot and there were many challenges to face.
• Struggling with balancing family life and business.
• It took some time to bring their really awesome team together.
• In year two, they experienced a turning point in the business.
• They use a finite system to prevent problems and execute their projects efficiently.
• Learning from their mistakes and gaining the courage to stand up for themselves.
• Creating the right systems, in order to protect themselves.
• There’s really a lot going on behind the scenes too.
• How they find the time to keep their systems in order and their projects running smoothly.
• Renee is behind their really impressive Instagram following.

Links:

Park And Oak

Facebook: Park And Oak Design

Twitter: Park And Oak

Instagram: Park And Oak Design

Pinterest: Park And Oak

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

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

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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

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Thank You to Today’s Sponsor:

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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.