Welcome to Power Talk Friday! We are really delighted to introduce you to Amanda Berlin today. Amanda is a communications consultant specifically for entrepreneurs. She teaches visibility strategy, to help people to be seen and appreciated for their uniqueness. She tells us that what she does daily, in her PR niche, is much the same as every one of us, as entrepreneurs, has to do when marketing our businesses. It’s about creating a story around a business or a product that really connects it with an audience. On the show today, she and LuAnn talk about the kinds of pitches that designers need to write, the types of media that are the right fit for designers, and how to create relationships with writers and reporters to get yourself and your projects featured more easily and more often. Tune in today, to find out how to be seen and appreciated!

Amanda studied journalism at George Washington University. She interned at CNN, wrote for a local paper, and spent a decade writing media pitches for companies like Disney, Dove, Brawny, Baskin Robbins, Colgate, and Campbell’s. The pitches Amanda wrote resulted in appearances on almost every level of local television outlet in the country and on every national cable and network morning show at one time or another. Amanda has been featured on Carol Cox’s Speaking Your Brand and she also has a podcast, The Empowered Publicity Podcast. Listen in today, to hear what Amanda has to share!

Show highlights:

• Amanda has a really awesome ‘about me’ page.
• Starting with goals.
• Thinking about goals when considering media and visibility.
• Amanda explains what a PR opportunity looks like.
• Working out what’s most important.
• Unearthing the evergreen and newsworthy opportunities.
• The two kinds of pitches that every designer needs to write.
• Why you need to be really specific about what you have to teach.
• Different pitches for different kinds of media.
• Looking at mainstream consumer media.
• Twitter is an excellent source of information about the media.
• The Profile Pitch. To get you deeper in with your niche audience.
• Telling your own story.
• Why you need to be willing to own your story.
• Going back to who you were before you became who you are.
• Pitching for podcasts.
• Making it as easy as possible for media to say ‘yes’.
• The services that Amanda offers. Go to her website Amanda Berlin

Bio:

I’m a New Yorker by way of New Jersey with stints in Washington, DC and Madrid, Spain.

I’m told my Jersey often shows through, whatever that means. I’m a mama of an only. I’m obsessed with my family as well as finding the exact right word to complete my thought in every conversation (it can get annoying). And peanut butter. I’m also obsessed with peanut butter.

I was born to make sure we are all heard and seen and appreciated for our unique genius.

I about died when I got a poem published in my high school literary magazine.

I studied journalism at The George Washington University, interned at CNN, wrote for a local paper, and then came back to New York City.

For a decade, I wrote media pitches for companies like Disney, Dove, Brawny, Baskin Robbins, Colgate, and Campbell’s. Clients would come to me with a spokesperson and some message points and I’d package it up and create a story that would get pitched to news outlets across the country. The pitches I wrote resulted in appearances on nearly every local television outlet in the country and every national cable and network morning show at one time or another.

My day-to-day in this niche of PR is exactly what every last entrepreneur is tasked with doing when marketing their business. Take a spokesperson (themselves) and a message (their business or product) and create a story that connects with an audience.

Amanda Berlin was referred to LuAnn by Amber De La Garza #385.

Shows that correlate with this one:

Amy Flurry #108 and #323

Ren Millar #12

Ashley Hotham-Cox #321

Jane Dagney #351

Andrew Joseph #39

Jenny Madden #332

Links:

Amanda’s website: Amanda Berlin

Amanda’s podcast: Amanda Berlin

Find Amanda on Facebook: Amanda Berlin Coaching

Follow Amanda on Twitter: Amanda Berlin

Valerie Fund Designer Showhouse April 23- May 19, 2019

Previous guests participating in the showhouse:

Gail Davis

Tina Ramchandani

Blanche Garcia

Marina Umali

WindowWorks is supporting several designers in the Valerie Fund Showhouse by providing window treatments for their rooms.

Kips Bay Showhouse May 2- May 30, 2019

Previous guest participating in Kips Bay:

Corey Damen Jenkins

Links to LuAnn’s books:

Book 1: Luann Nigara

Book 2: Luann Nigara

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! We have Tina Ramchandani, a really smart lady and the founder of Tina Ramchandani Creatives, with us on the show today. Tina is another interior designer who started her career by training at a well-established and well-run New York design firm and we know that it really makes a difference when young designers cut their teeth this way. Tina started her own design business in 2014 and in four short years, she has managed to establish herself as an interior designer on the rise. She was recently named one of House Beautiful Magazine’s 2018 Next Way Designers and she has been featured in Elle Decor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Cottage and Gardens, and more. Listen in today, to find out about Tina and her really successful design firm.

In today’s episode, Tina talks to us about her experience of working for the top-tier New York firm, Vicente Wolf and Associates, prior to opening her own design business. She discusses some of the practices that she has instituted in her firm, like her strategy for establishing monthly tasks in her business, to ensure that she’s paying attention to the experience she’s giving her clients. Today, Tina and LuAnn also talk about their involvement in the upcoming Designer Showhouse, Grace’s House, by the Valerie Fund. LuAnn is on the committee, and Tina is one of the designers. Many of the designers selected to participate in bringing this really special home back to its former glory have been featured on this show, so we’re giving all of them a special shout-out today, in appreciation for all that they are doing for our children! Tune in now to find out more!

Show highlights:

• Window Works will be working with Tina and the other designers, doing window treatments and pillows for the Valerie Fund showhouse, Grace’s House.
• Tina talks about her amazing experience and the confidence she gained from working for Vincente Wolf for five years.
• What Tina learned from working for Vincente Wolf, that she’s brought to the way she runs her own firm, Tina Ramchandani Creative.
• The way that Vincente Wolf managed to inspire Tina’s confidence.
• The natural way that Tina empowers her junior designer, Kay, in the same way, that she was inspired by Vincente.
• Learning to trust the people you have hired.
• How Tina knew that it was the right time for her to leave her mentor, Vincente.
• How interior design principals gain from giving their all to their junior designers.
• The systems that Tina initially took away from Vincente’s firm.
• The way that Tina tweaked and changed some of Vincente’s business systems, to work with the way she works.
• Tina and Kay sit down at the beginning of each year and assess the things that are not working and the things that need to change in the business.
• Tina discusses the goals that she and Kay set for each month.
• Tina and Kay meet each week to discuss what needs to be done in the business.
• Having outside help has really assisted Tina in running her own business.
• Tina has built in specific times of the month to address her business operations.
• The pressure that comes with being driven in business.
• Tina talks about the awesome Valerie Fund.
• All about the showhouse, Grace’s House which is going to open on April 25th, 2019.
• There are many special events which will be happening at the opening of Grace’s House.
• Tina talks about the colorful room that she is is designing in Grace’s house.
• Benjamin Moore has kindly sponsored all the paint for Grace’s House.
• Getting things to run smoothly when the pressure is on.
• Tina discusses the event that she is going to be doing with a women’s group on the 15th of May, to raise money for the Valerie Fund.
• LuAnn is having a book signing for her new book, on the 30th of April, at 6 pm, at Grace’s House.

Tina’s bio:

Tina Ramchandani Creative (TRC) is a full-service design firm that creates modern, sophisticated and relaxed interiors. TRC’s turn-key service makes it easy for clients to move into a completed home with minimal stress. Tina Ramchandani incorporates her vast experience and global perspective into her signature style that delivers a warm layered aesthetic, enhancing your lifestyle and inviting you to truly “live” in your bespoken space. Tina places a strong emphasis on artwork, couture pieces, and custom elements, within the client’s budget. While creating a unique, livable environment for clients, Tina incorporates local artists and artisans to bring spaces to life, and showcase clients’ personalities in their homes.

TRC has developed a complete and individual onboarding process, which allows Tina to get to know clients and their needs in depth. Clients will share their inspirations with Tina, while also sharing details of how they live in their space, what they are looking to improve or change, as well as what they are interested in aesthetically. Tina and her team then create two complete design presentations for clients. First, the team offers a preliminary meeting, with floor plans and layouts, furniture styles, lighting pieces, fabrics, colors, and art inspirations. After honing in on the direction, TRC develops a comprehensive presentation for clients, soup to nuts. Tina and the team present every item in the space, from furniture to lighting and floor covering to window treatments. This allows clients to see the design vision in its entirety. Once approved TRC takes care of everything, so clients can sit back, relax, and watch their space come together.

Tina Ramchandani developed her design expertise with several top tier, high-end residential and commercial interior design firms in Manhattan, including Frank & Marcotullio Design Associates and Vicente Wolf Associates, which led to the formation of Tina Ramchandani Creative in 2014. Ms. Ramchandani is deeply appreciative of good design and passionate about the impact social awareness can have on one’s life. Tina’s work has been nationally recognized by publications including Elle Décor, The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Cottages & Gardens, Lonny, Gotham, Cover, she was most recently named a “2018 Next Wave” designer by House Beautiful.

She is also the founder of Life in Sketch, an internationally recognized interior design blog where she shares what inspires her in the world of design at large, from her daily experiences in New York to her extensive travels abroad.

Press Release for Grace’s House, presented by the Valerie Fund:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Valerie Fund

The Valerie Fund presents Grace’s House, A Designer Showhouse Restoration of historic Plainfield mansion will benefit children in our area battling cancer and blood disorders

Maplewood, N.J. January 14, 2019 – In May of 2018, nine-year-old Grace received a devastating diagnosis: she had a Germ Cell Brain Tumor. Grace’s treatment brought her to The Valerie Fund Children’s Center at Newark Beth Israel and after rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, she is recovering well. Her grateful family sought ways to give back to the organization that was taking such good care of their daughter and granddaughter. Last June, they spearheaded an extraordinary fundraising effort during The Valerie Fund’s annual 5K Run and Walk in Verona Park, Verona, NJ raising close to $32,000. Grace’s grandfather, Dan Reichard, a builder and principle of ER Development was interested in collaborating further with The Valerie Fund. He and his partners Thomas and George Allen purchased a 7,000+ square foot Colonial Revival in Plainfield, NJ restoring original elements and preparing it for featured designers to showcase their visions.

Christened Grace’s House, the mansion is located in the historic Hillside Avenue district and will eventually be for sale, but in Spring 2019, the public will have the opportunity to tour approximately 20 of the house’s rooms, nooks, stairways and landings, and other spaces across three floors.

Interior Design businesses selected to participate in bringing this very special home back to its former glory include:

AK Design Studios, Monsey, NY

ANEW Kitchen and Bath Design, Plainfield, NJ

B-garcia designs, Montclair, NJ

Butter and Velvet Home Designs, Denville, NJ

California Closets, Fairfield, NJ

CD Interiors, Manalapan Township, NJ

The French Martini, Westfield, NJ

Gail Davis Designs, South Orange, NJ

Global Home Interior Design, Princeton, NJ

Images in Design, Cranford, NJ

JAB Design Group, Penn Valley, PA

JMW Interiors, Millburn, NJ

Liepold Design Group, Millburn, NJ

Marina V. Design Studio, Ridgewood, NJ

Mendham Interiors, Mendham, NJ

Mimi & Hill, Westfield, NJ

Samuel Robert Signature Spaces, Millburn, NJ

Swati Goorha Designs, New Providence, NJ

Tina Ramchandani Creative, New York

“Building a Brighter Future for The Valerie Fund Kids.” Proceeds from public and private tours of the showhouse as well as ad journal sales and sponsorships will benefit The Valerie Fund’s Green Light Initiative, a $5,000,000 Capital Campaign. This initiative is the most ambitious chapter in The Valerie Fund’s history to date, poised to extend “next generation care” to thousands of children fighting life-threatening diseases. The Valerie Fund is proud to recognize Design NJ as a media sponsor, Holby Valve, Coughlin Duffy LLP, Stephen and Tina Squeri as sponsors and Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings as a sponsor and a designer resource. Generous in-kind sponsors already committed to the project include Benjamin Moore, Dente Trading Classic & Luxury Stone, Swarovski and Window Works.

At The Valerie Fund each year, Grace and 6,000 other precious children benefit immeasurably by receiving their medical treatment close to home in a child-centered environment. Individualized support from an entire psychosocial team – Integrative and Palliative Care Specialists, Psychologists, Social workers, Child Life specialists, and Educational liaisons — makes sure their quality of life is the best it can possibly be without regard to insurance reimbursements. And Grace’s favorite – Camp Happy Times, is a free one-week overnight summer camp for children with cancer.

To see the amazing house transformation, Grace’s House will be open to the public every Thursday through Sunday beginning Thursday, April 25th through Sunday, May 19th. Tickets for the house tours are $30 on The Valerie Fund website The Valerie Fund and $35 at the door.

About The Valerie Fund: After their nine-year-old daughter Valerie succumbed to cancer, founders Sue and Ed Goldstein were determined that no family should have to travel great distances to receive superior medical care. Along with a group of close friends, they began fundraising efforts from their living room—tireless work that would lead to the 1977 opening of New Jersey’s first pediatric oncology facility at Summit Overlook’s Hospital. More than 40 years later, The Valerie Fund’s mission remains that of supporting comprehensive health care for children battling cancer and blood disorders. Seven Valerie Fund Children’s Centers are located in the metropolitan New York and Philadelphia areas.

For more information, please contact Bunny Flanders, Director of Marketing and Communications at bflanders@thevaleriefund.org

Previous episodes mentioned on this show:

Century Furniture and Carrier and Co. Launch at High Point Market #407

Links:

Tickets for the Valerie Fund showhouse: The Valerie Fund Specials Show House

The Valerie fund showhouse:

The Valerie Fund

The Valerie Fund

Tina’s event at the showhouse as discussed in the show:

Eventbrite Lady Drinks Cocktails And Private Tour with Interior Designer Tina Ramchandani In Support of Graces Tickets

Tina’s website and social media links:

Tina Ramchandani

Instagram: Tina Ramchandani

Pinterest: Tina Ramchandani Creative

Linkedin: Tina Ramchandani