Today with Rydhima Brar:

Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, Rydhima Brar of R/terior Studio shares her story and her journey to design with us. From her childhood in Kuwait, to her corporate career in LA, to launching her own firm at the beginning of the pandemic, to amazing growth and press attention—Rydhima shares how her story, and how storytelling in general, laid the foundation for her design career.

Pick it apart:

• [5:00] Rydhima shares her journey and discusses her connection to construction and design during childhood in Kuwait. 
• [16:08] Rydhima discusses how a difficult personal experience launched the rebirth of her career and pushed her into her passion—design. 
• [32:05] Rydhima and LuAnn discuss the Kaleidoscope Project and Rydhima’s experience with it. 
• [46:26] Rydhima reflects on her path and what she has learned.

LuAnn and Rydhima Brar’s Ah-Ha moments:

“My world just turned upside down. It was a scary thing—my journey was terrifying. But during that time when I was home, a rebirth happened. I gave birth to my daughter and I gave birth to my business. That’s when I decide to really pursue my passion and remove myself from a place of fear and anxiety and into a sense of calm. Design became a place of refuge for me.” -Rydhima Brar

“That is the key. When you are determined, then you make things happen. It’s not a passive thing—starting a business. It’s not just an idea you put on paper that unfolds in front of you. It’s waking up everyday, recommitting to taking action, to being determined, to being undeterred, to believing in yourself and knowing that you’re worth it, that you’re worth doing this career.” -LuAnn Nigara

More about Rydhima Brar:

Rydhima Brar grew up in Kuwait, where her childhood was filled with breathtaking design & architecture, helping out with her father’s construction business. In 1990, the effects of the Gulf War drew Rydhima and her family to leave their home in the cover of night for another country. Returning to Kuwait after the war, I experienced the rebuilding of our home, and the rebirth of a nation. As her father then rebuilt his business, she helped him organize his building materials and sample libraries, always complaining but secretly loving every minute of it.

As a young adult, she then took to New York City to begin a career in Business and Finance, yet her love for design never left her. After several years, it was a move to L.A. that sparked the next evolution for her career, now shifting toward design, a transition that was gradual yet inevitable. Starting with her own condo, she rediscovered her love for an approachable + functional + luxe aesthetic, using bold color and unique pieces throughout. Friends were impressed with the result and Rydhima then began to help design their spaces.

A few projects later, she found herself fully immersed in the world of professional design, where she felt she belonged. She then balanced going back to school while working on projects, and the pages of the new chapter were lled with new experiences and challenges, which eventually led to the most recent chapter, the birth of her own business, R/terior Studio.

FUN FACT

Rydhima has a blog dedicated to discovering what your favorite cocktail says about your interior design style! Rydhima believes that craft cocktails, much like interiors, need to be carefully crafted with attention to every detail to become a masterpiece—Each ingredient, or design element, has a purpose, and when paired well with other ingredients, the result is sophisticated, balanced, and bold. Check-out the blog HERE.

Connect with Rydhima Brar

Kaleidoscope Project  

Website 

Instagram 

Facebook 

Pinterest

LinkedIn

Blog

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

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

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

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:

#739 Marianna Zimmerman: It’s Never Too Late to Design Your Life

#771 Power Talk Friday: Michelle Feeney, Founder of Floral Street. To Succeed, Identify a Gap in the Marketplace

#743 Chanae Richards: An Unconventional Path to an Interior Design Business

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

#397 Power Talk Friday: Where Are They Now?: Cheryl Luckett: Dwell By Cheryl

#291 Cheryl Luckett – From Side Hustle to Full Time Interior Design

#267 Rasheeda Gray: A Pipeline With Over 20 Interior Design Projects in Under 2 Years

#562 Rasheeda Gray: #BLM 2020 The Year of Vision

#23 Rio Hamilton – Media Expert and Author of the Wildly Popular Industry Blog, Mon Oncle

#614 Dennese Guadeloupe Rojas: Creating Another Revenue Stream for Your Interior Design Business

#47 Gail Davis: Make Your Life Count

#669 Kelly Collier: Managing Expectations Through Clear Messaging

#677 Megan Molten: To Succeed, Focus on Your Why

#455 Megan Molten: Planning Creates Success in Your Interior Design Business

#601 Darla Powell: Real Tips to Up Your Social Media Game

#330 Darla Powell: Darla Powell Interiors 18 Months After Opening

#203 Darla Powell – How to Launch an Interior Design Firm

Today with Deborah Main:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business.

Today’s episode is a little bit different than the usual business acumen. We’re diving into Deborah Main’s story of how she became The Pillow Goddess. Deborah is the epitome of an inspirational story—of resiliency, of overcoming hardship, and chronic illness, and of art and creativity serving as an outlet in times of suffering.

Deborah’s story serves as motivation, inspiration, and absolute proof that art and design can heal and bring joy in even the toughest of times.

Pick it apart:

• [0:36] Deborah shares her inspirational story of battling chronic illness.
• [14:24] Deborah discusses how she found pillow design, serving as a creative outlet that helped her focus on something positive.
• [24:00] Deborah shares the limitations her illness still has on her life and what it has taught her.
• [35:46] Deborah tasks about how she works with interior designers.
• [43:42] LuAnn and Deborah discuss the new collection with Robin Baron.

LuAnn and Deborah Main’s Ah-Ha moments:

“You mention it as part of your journey, ‘Oh I answered an open call for designers and made some pillows and applied to Austin Fashion Week’ as if they are things you just do in the course of your day. I’ve got to believe that it took a lot of courage and guts to actually do it.” -LuAnn Nigara

“I was very sick at the time, and my husband thought I was crazy but he supported me. He easily could have said, ‘Oh you’re obviously feeling better—why don’t you just do the dishes and make me some food?’ But he just saw what was happening. He saw me opening up and lighting up and he was so happy to see that that he never questioned me—he just wanted me to keep doing pillows.” -Deborah Main

More about Deborah Main:

Deborah Main is The Pillow Goddess, a dynamic, innovative design leader who has helped individuals and businesses create beautiful, distinctive high-end spaces for 18 years.

Based in Austin, Texas, Deborah’s experience and deep appreciation for design, textiles, the home furnishings industry, and a wide variety of interiors and home products gives her a fully-rounded understanding of what it takes to provide an exceptional luxurious look and feel to both personal environments and commercial spaces. She provides interior designers with high-quality products for their clients, while also helping retailers and brands differentiate their products/services from their competitors.

Deborah’s private clients are some of the leading high-end specialty boutiques, national e-commerce sites, interior design businesses, and home brands in the United States. She has helped them provide value to their customers and environments – building brand awareness in the process – which has allowed them to position themselves as the exclusive and unsurpassed option for luxury clientele.

Connect with Deborah Main

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

The UnZipped Collection

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

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

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

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:

#449- Design Biz Live: What We Learned at LuAnn Nigara Live, It’s About the Conversation.

#454- Power Talk Friday: Jamie Lieberman: Hashtag Legal: Lawyers That Speak Designer.

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

#640- Power Talk Friday: Ashley Connell: Founder of Prowess: Helping You Find Your Next Hire.

#654- Jenny Madden: Navigating Maternity Leave in Your Interior Design Business.

#721- What Would Lu Do?: Year End 2021-Questions to Ask.

#723- What Would Lu Do?: Let’s Do a Revenue Generator Review.

#725- What Would Lu Do?: Year End: How to Plan Your Marketing.

#727- What Would Lu Do?: Year End Review: Apps, Tech, Memberships and More!

Thank you to today’s sponsor!

Mydoma Studio: Mydoma makes it easy to streamline your processes, track projects, communicate with clients, and get organized. It’s created by designers for designers, specifically to address what you need as a business owner. I’ve said countless times that systems and processes are how you reach the next level of profitability. Mydoma Studio makes it easy to do that. You can get 20% off your first three months by going to mydomastudio.com/awelldesignedbusiness.

Other Shows Mentioned:

#540 Robin Baron: Strategic Thinking on Product Development

#32 Robin Baron – The President of ASID NY Metro Chapter Talks with us about PR and Brand Development

#41 Cheryl Janis

#423 Tiffannie White

#715 Kathleen Jennison

Sassy Says #45 Tiffannie White

Sass Says #31 Cheryl Janis

Today with Sonal Kotecha:

Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today we have on Sonal Kotecha, founder of Rumah Interiors, a Dubai-based boutique interior design firm.

Sonal and I were going back and forth on Instagram and she was telling me all of the lessons that she had learned from the show. As we were chatting, a light bulb went off and I knew I had to have her on as a guest. I am so appreciative of her sharing her lessons that I know you will benefit from hearing her story. Enjoy!

Pick it apart:

[6:38] Sonal tells us about the first big lesson she learned from A Well-Designed Business.

[17:30] Sonal explains her second lesson from the podcast regarding your talent as a designer is not enough for success.

[27:49] Sonal and LuAnn discuss the third lesson Sonal learned.

[42:25] Sonal elaborates on her fourth lesson.

[50:22] Lesson 5- we all need a “Vin” man.

[54:40] Last lesson of work-life balance is key.

LuAnn and Sonal Kotecha’s Ah-Ha moments:

“The discovery call is a sales presentation and the way we choose to discuss something, like trade discounts, will impact not only that conversation, but all of the following conversations.” – LuAnn Nigara

“We know what we are good at and we lean into that, and we hire people for the areas that we aren’t “good.” – LuAnn Nigara

“We need to strategically prepare for situations when we are not being driven by a state of emergency.” – Sonal Kotecha

More about Sonal Kotecha:

Sonal Kotecha is the founder of Rumah Interiors, a Dubai-based boutique interior design firm, dedicated to providing a stellar design service for her clients in the Middle East and beyond.

She calls herself a child of the world – after growing up as a second generation Indian in the United Kingdom, to parents born and raised in Kenya – she moved and set up her own home base in Dubai at the young age of 24, where she continues to live with her husband from yet another corner of the world, South Africa – and she credits this diverse background as being the reason she is able to connect on a deeper level to people & clients from all over the world.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture & Design from Nottingham Trent University in 2007. Shortly after graduating, fate led her on a one-way ticket to Dubai, where she built up experience working both as an in-house designer for a private developer, then for a multi-disciplinary interior design studio, before taking the plunge into entrepreneurship and starting Rumah Interiors in 2017.

Sonal likes to keep her ear to the ground when it comes to movements in her local property industry and has witnessed first-hand the astronomical leap in residential projects in Dubai over the last 12 months. Sparked by a post-pandemic heightened appreciation for a well-designed home environment, and several new UAE’s government backed initiatives, such as more accessible residency visa options, an influx of new residents moved into the country that she has proudly called home for the last 12years. As a result, the floodgates to new projects opened up, and she had to quickly adapt from being a one-woman show, to a small team of powerful [female] design professionals, who could take on multiple projects in parallel from concept through to completion.  She realized that some of her old processes & contracts were no longer viable, and then along came A Well Designed Business Podcast – and in the conversations, she found answers to the questions that had been keeping her awake at night…

Connect with Sonal Kotecha

Website

Instagram

Facebook

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

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

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

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:

#449- Design Biz Live: What We Learned at LuAnn Nigara Live, It’s About the Conversation.

#454- Power Talk Friday: Jamie Lieberman: Hashtag Legal: Lawyers That Speak Designer.

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

#640- Power Talk Friday: Ashley Connell: Founder of Prowess: Helping You Find Your Next Hire.

#654- Jenny Madden: Navigating Maternity Leave in Your Interior Design Business.

#721- What Would Lu Do?: Year End 2021-Questions to Ask.

#723- What Would Lu Do?: Let’s Do a Revenue Generator Review.

#725- What Would Lu Do?: Year End: How to Plan Your Marketing.

#727- What Would Lu Do?: Year End Review: Apps, Tech, Memberships and More!

Thank you to today’s sponsor!

Did you happen to go to the new Kravet Showroom in HP last month? They unveiled the Kravet Home. Kravet has furniture, rugs, lighting accessories and fabric for every room in your house, including your outdoor rooms. The new showroom in the Steel Building is beautifully set up as a home. From the foyer as you enter, all the way through the living room, great room, dining room, bedroom, home office suite and the outdoor patio space. It is a treat to see the fabrics, wallpapers, sofas, desks everything all displayed just as you would specify them in your projects. And the rooms have been designed by some of your favorite designers. Thom Filicia, Carrier & Co and Mabley Handler to name a few. So if you are planning to go to HP in the fall, be sure to put Kravet on your list of must see stops. And in the meantime, go to kravet.com and get your trade acct set up today. No opening minimum orders, no yearly minimums and true trade pricing, so you can make money. Check it out and tell them I sent you.

Today with Rick Campos:

Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined by Interior Designer and fellow podcaster Rick Campos of Design Biz Survival Guide. I had the absolute honor of turning the tables on Rick and putting him in the hot seat for his 4 year anniversary episode. I am delighted to share this with you today and thank you again Rick for the tremendous honor of making me apart of this milestone.

More about Rick Campos:

Rick Campos is a self proclaimed “recovering interior designer” with fifteen years of experience in the design industry. Formerly Director of Business Development for a notable Orange County design firm, his daily interactions with architects, builders, vendors and clients contributes to a broad perspective of the design industry. In 2018 Rick traded in his tape measure for a microphone and launched Design Biz Survival Guide – a podcast about life and business for interior design professionals – with the intention of informing and inspiring the design community. In 2019 Rick integrated freelance consulting into the platform with an emphasis on “the business of design” exclusively for the interior design community. He has since helped numerous design entrepreneurs grow their business to new levels. The platform has since evolved to include annual business development retreats, learning opportunities, networking events, and an online community. “My mission is to be the source of information and inspiration to interior design entrepreneurs that I needed when I launched my own design business back in 2007. To promote and further develop a design community that supports and empowers fellow design professionals on their journey in life and business.”

Connect with Rick Campos

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Podcast

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

Inside Voice, Outside Voice Monthly Virtual Events

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

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

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

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