Posted on

361: Power Talk Friday: Kimberly Merlitti: Does Your Interior Design Business Need a CFO?

Welcome to Power Talk Friday! Today we have Kimberly Merlitti, the owner of KMM Consulting, with us. In her experience, Kim has found that accounting and finances seem to scare most interior designers. So she helps them by going into their businesses and taking on the role of CFO. From there she teaches them how to really understand what they need to do in order to become successful as entrepreneurs as well as interior designers. Kim’s specialty is helping designers with what she calls Project Revenue Accounting, which is how to manage the revenue of a project that is already in process. Listen in today to find out how Kim helps interior designers to really get to grips with their finances and advance their businesses.

KMM Consulting takes on clients from around the United States. Kimberly has 20 years of experience working in accounting for companies such as Swinerton Builders, WRNS Studio and Martin Group. She has her Masters in Accounting from Golden Gate University located in San Francisco, CA. KMM Consulting’s clientele includes a diverse group of service based companies, with the main focus on small interior design, construction, and architectural firms. The goal of her firm is to make the businesses she works for as profitable as they can be by educating them on accounting, cash flow management, tax deductions, project reporting, and business management. Listen in today to find out more.

Show highlights:

  • Kim explains the difference between accounting and projection.
  • What Kim has learned the hard way, about the difference between general contracting and interior design.
  • Creating a contract and coming up with the budget for a client.
  • Unknown factors that need to be taken into account when working out a budget.
  • Why you need to start tracking your time.
  • How Kim uses a payroll calculator to help designers come up with budgets.
  • Working out the billing for your client.
  • Restructuring things when necessary, after tracking your hours.
  • Taking the time, as a principal, to teach your staff about efficiency.
  • The importance of understanding regulations.
  • Working out the cost of employees.
  • How to know if it’s time to hire somebody.
  • The process of doing the projections.
  • Kimberly works with designers in all states. 

Other episodes mentioned on the show:

krista Coupar # 150

Links:

Website – KMM Consulting

Facebook – KMM Consulting

LinkedIn – Kimberly Merlitti

Posted on

360: David Phoenix and His New Kravet Fabric Collection, Well-Suited

david phoenix

Welcome to today’s show! We’re really excited to have the celebrated and influential David Phoenix, of David Phoenix Interior Design in Los Angeles, with us on the show! David is a self-taught designer and today we’re looking forward to talking to him about how he found his way, his passion and his point of view, as a designer. And we also talk to him about the new fabric line he recently developed and launched with Kravet Inc. Listen in to find out more!

David Phoenix Interior Design gives each project a singular ambiance that wholeheartedly embraces, uplifts and celebrates its inhabitants. And David is known for thoughtful, modern luxury and livability. David finds inspiration from a myriad of styles, looking back through history as he creates spaces for today. His work personifies his own approachable, self-assured manner—gracious and considerate. In juxtaposing modern and traditional elements, his aesthetic conveys an easy welcoming sensibility, rich with classic haberdashery details and nuance. David draws from his experience and instinct in the all-important matters of style and function. David enjoys an international clientele of celebrities, royalty, business magnates and discerning homeowners, including Maria Shriver, former Los Angeles Mayor, Richard Riordan and actor Rob Lowe, whose home was featured on the cover of Architectural Digest. He believes in living each day to the fullest, delivering personal, sophisticated and thoughtful environments. Join us today and find out what he has to share.

Show highlights:

David explains how he sees a quintessential American point of view

It all started for David with really great architectural designs in America

David’s day at design school

David’s journey to becoming an interior designer

How David ended up in Los Angeles, California

David’s first job in Los Angeles

How the loss of a friend led David to start out as an interior designer

David’s remarkable shopping encounter with Maria Shriver

Doing worthy things to become worthy

What it’s really all about for David

David’s tagline is “Think big and you’ll be big”

A description of the fabric line that David’s recently developed

The labor-of-love process of David developing his handsome fabric line

David’s appreciation of the Kravet family and their ‘culture of Kravet’ 

Links:

Website: David Phoenix

Link to his collection with Kravet: Kravet Fabric Designer

Link to his furnishings collection with Hickory Chair: Hickory Chair Furniture

Instagram: David Phoenix

Pinterest: David Phoenix

Facebook: David Phoenix

Come and meet Luann and David in person, on Wednesday, October 3rd, at the Kravet Showroom in Chicago, for Chicago Design Week. Go to Luann Nigara for more information.

Previous episodes mentioned on the show:

345: Chris Ramey

Posted on

359: Power Talk Friday: Colleen Primm: A Real Strategy to Get Interior Design Projects Utilizing Facebook Groups

colleen primm

Welcome to today’s show! We are really happy to have a new designer, Colleen Primm, joining us today. Recently Colleen decided to start a client-facing Facebook group to share her expertise, to get her name out there, and also to get some clients into her pipeline. Although she only started the group at the beginning of June this year, she already has more than 640 members, almost all of whom are potential clients! On the show today she will be talking to us about her Facebook group and she will also explain exactly what she puts in there. Listen in to find out how Colleen has managed to attract so many potential clients to her group in such a short space of time.

Colleen, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration (management) from The University of Toledo, an M.B.A. from Averett University and has also attended Cuyahoga Community College for Interior Design, has taken a pretty unconventional path to interior design.  Before deciding to make the change, she worked in the banking industry for twelve years, where she first underwrote commercial loans, and then a little later, mortgage loans. After a few years, she became a trainer, teaching people how to write mortgage loans. While working on residential loans, Colleen got to see a lot of homes, because she was reviewing home appraisals. That’s where her love of design, and wanting to help people achieve better-looking homes came from. She finally decided to turn her passion into reality and quit her banking job to go back to school for Interior Design. So Colleen is the rare interior designer who can not only decorate your home but also talk to you about your mortgage! Listen in to find out more!              

Show highlights:

  • Why Colleen chose this particular method to market her firm.
  • What it will take for you to join Colleen’s facebook group.
  • Colleen wants to have only members who will bring value to the group.
  • What inspired Colleen to start her Facebook group.
  • The importance of getting constructive feedback.
  • The precise message that Colleen sent out when she started her Facebook group.
  • Getting lots of engagement with Facebook groups.
  • Colleen’s strategic way of attracting mainly local clients to her group.
  • All about Colleen’s Facebook contests.
  • The number of paid consultations that Colleen has done as a result of the group.
  • Colleen explains and clarifies the amounts she charges.
  • The amount of preparation that Facebook Live requires.
  • The kind of questions that Colleen deals with.
  • The events that she’s created as a result of her Facebook group.
  • Making connections- and making money at the same time!
  • The kind of preparation that Colleen does and how she manages her time.
  • The importance of being really well organized.
  • How to learn more about lenders and the programs that they have to assist designers.

Links:

Facebook: Colleen Primm

Instagram: Colleen Primm Design

Website: Colleen Primm Design

Private Facebook Group: Primm and Proper Design Talk with Colleen Primm

Posted on

358: How To Decorate – The Ballard Design Podcast Hosts Join Me.

Ballard Designs

Welcome to today’s episode! We are delighted to have Karen Mooney, Taryn Schwartz, and Caroline McDonald with us on the show today. They are the three women responsible for the designer program at Ballard Designs and they are also behind the Ballard Designs’ podcast, How To Decorate. Today they will be sharing their experience of interviewing celebrity interior designers for the podcast and also some of what goes on behind the scenes with the celebrity designers. Listen in today to find out what it really takes, and what really happens, when you get the opportunity, and then make the commitment to being a celebrity designer for a company as large as Ballard Designs.

Karen, Taryn, and Caroline are the hosts of the Ballard Designs’ How To Decorate podcast. And their goal is to help you to unleash your ‘inner decorator’. Outside of the podcast, they work in different departments at Ballard Designs. Karen has a background in graphic design and she’s the senior vice-president of Brand management. Taryn is an industrial designer in the Product Design department. And Caroline manages content marketing, specifically the blog How To Decorate, and also art producing digital marketing photography. Listen in today to find out more.

Show highlights:

  • Why they prefer doing their interviews in-person.
  • How the relationship between Ballard Designs and their celebrity designers works.
  • Why Ballard Designs chose to work with Suzanne Kasler, Bunny Williams, and Miles Redd.
  • Making their celebrity designs affordable to their customers.
  • The level of creative involvement of the talented celebrity designers.
  • What it really takes to become selected as a celebrity designer.
  • Why it takes what it does to become selected as a celebrity designer.
  • Why it really takes such a lot of work to be a celebrity designer!
  • Finding the right kind of vendor.
  • Why a long-term business relationship is actually a lot like a marriage.
  • Bringing Suzanne onboard.
  • Then bringing Bunny and Miles onboard.
  • The way that the designers earn their money.
  • The way that people respond to Miles’ dramatic pieces.
  • Using inspiration to grab the imagination of the customer.
  • Ways of making tried-and-trusted products look fresh again.
  • Some ways that designers could get to become the celebrity designers.
  • Doors always open as a result of relationships- so be nice!

Big name designers discussed on today’s show:

Bunny Williams, Miles Redd and Suzanne Kasler

You can find the How To Decorate podcast on iTunes.

Note: This show will also be on video on Luann’s Youtube channel.

Links:

Ballard Designs

How To Decorate

Instagram: Ballard Designs

Facebook: Ballard Designs

Posted on

357: Power Talk Friday: Heather McManus: Where Are They Now? Introducing Collaborate to Win

Heather-McManus

Welcome to another Power Talk Friday! Today we’re having a Where Are They Now episode, featuring Heather Mc Manus, our very first guest ever on the show! Heather is an award-winning designer from New Jersey and the principal of Artistry Interiors. She is also the author of the book Love Where You Live- Dream Homes Made Real, which is available on Amazon. On the show today Heather will be telling us all about her latest venture, Collaborate To Win, a buying group that she started for you, her designer colleagues, to become stronger together and make more profit through having access to products that may normally have been unavailable to you due to buy-in minimums and yearly volume quotas. Join us on the show today to hear Heather explain her really interesting idea!

Heather started Artistry Interiors in 2012, after having worked in the design industry for a decade. Her first job, after graduating from the Pratt Institute, was at a high-end workroom where she gained really invaluable experience and learned everything about how quality window treatments and upholstery are made. From there she went on to further broaden her knowledge and expertise about furniture construction and quality through working at both Ethan Allen and Bograd’s Fine Furniture. Listen in today to find out more!

Show highlights:

  • Heather’s concept of a video tip per day that she discussed in her interview on our very first show.
  • All about Heather’s innovative concept, Collaborate To Win, and why it was born.
  • Some of the growing pains that helped Heather grow.
  • Collaborate To Win even works nationally.
  • Dealing with breakages.
  • How the concept actually works.
  • The level of trust that is required for this unique concept.
  • Keeping relationships intact is a key requirement for the group.
  • How the payment for the orders works.
  • Heather is constantly creating educational videos to explain the rules of the game.
  • When an order actually becomes an order.
  • The importance of working systematically.
  • How Heather uses videos to explain her pricing.
  • The constant teaching, mentoring and masterminds that Heather does to assist people with her concept.
  • The cost for the membership of the group.
  • How you will really save money by being a member of the group- one order through the group could cover your entire annual membership buy-in!
  • Why you really need to be responsible to be a member of the group.
  • To learn more about Collaborate To Win, there will be a website up and running by this fall. In the meantime, you can email Heather at collaboratetowin@gmail.com– an email address dedicated specifically for this group.
  • The details that you will need to send to Heather in order to apply to join her group.
  • To meet Heather in person, she will be at Windowworks, in Livingstone New Jersey, for the October Lunch and Learn on October 29th. RSVP via Instagram (@windowworks)

Raquel Langworthy will be at Windowworks on September 17th for the September Lunch and Learn.

Other episodes mentioned on the show:

Nicole Heymer (Curio Electro #235 #317)

 Links:

Book – Love Where You Live: Dream Homes Made Real Collaborate to Win – Collaborate To Win  Collaborate to Win Facebook page Facebook –  Artistry Interiors LLC Instagram – Artistry Interiors  Website – Artistry Interiors 

Posted on

356: Vincere: Insights on Designing for the Luxury Market

Vincere

Welcome to the show! Today we are very happy to introduce you to Vincere, an influential, Chicago-based, full-service interior design firm,  founded in 2007 by Micheal Stornello and Tom Konopiots. Vincere is a business fully committed to the principals of precision, proportion, scale, and form. They have completed projects throughout the Midwest, California, and Europe and their wide range of enterprises include everything from the pre-construction stage, through the interior design phase, to the acquisition and placement of the art and accessories. The team at Vincere firmly believe that the key to success lies in careful listening and clear communication. Join us on the show today to find out what Michael and Tom have to share with you.

Both Tom and Michael have very strong business backgrounds. Michael used to be in the television industry where he served as executive vice president, development, for King World Productions (now CBS Television Distribution). Tom was previously COO and CEO of two futures brokerage companies. Listen in today to find out how their previous business experience has informed the way that they run their full-luxury interior design business.

Show highlights:

  • Some background on Mike and Tom’s previous careers.
  • How their shared passion brought them to start an interior design business.
  • How they learned their design skill set through their real-life experience.
  • Some of the mistakes they made and lessons they learned through trial and error.
  • Creating impact for their clients and closing deals with three-dimensional floor plans.
  • The way that they work with their vendors and contractors using 3-D models.
  • The importance of being well-prepared and paying close attention to detail.
  • All their clients are really value-conscious, regardless of their wealth.
  • Their approach to addressing budget-related issues with their clients.
  • The way that technology helps them to overcome certain client issues.
  • Managing a million-dollar budget so that it looks like a million-and-a-half-dollar budget.
  • They are fully transparent with their clients, in terms of the cost of things.
  • In certain circumstances, it’s necessary to tell the client that they’re not the right fit.
  • Avoiding traps and pitfalls with clients and adding the appropriate markup.
  • Creating the kind of contract that can be put away and not thought about again.
  • Finding the right balance within a partnership.

Links:

Website – Vincere

Facebook – Vincere

Instagram – Vincere Interiors

Previous episodes mentioned on the show:

Sandra Espinet #287

Fred Berns #289

Chris Raney #345

Posted on

355: Power Talk Friday: LuAnn Nigara: Crush The 4th Quarter Of 2018

Luann University Courses And Intensives

Are you ready to crush the last quarter of 2018? And are you really ready to make this the very best quarter of this year? Well, if you’re the rare designer who is deciding to act, rather than to stay with the status quo, and to do, rather than wish, today’s show is just for you! We have two very specific opportunities for you, and two different ways that we’re making it possible for you to be the best you can be. Listen in now to find out how to take your game to the next level.

The first opportunity is the second stop on the Power Talk Friday Tour. (It’s happening on Saturday 13th October 2018 in High Point, North Carolina.) For the High Point tour, Luann has gathered some of the new Power Talk Friday experts including Claire Jefford (#325 and #237), Stacey Brown Randall (#93) and Michele Williams (#137 and #180). The second opportunity is the two masterminds that Luann is offering, Foundation and Transition. Listen in to find out more.

Show highlights:

  • On the tour, Claire will be talking about managing client expectations, something fundamental to running a successful project.
  • Pinpointing the challenges that tend to come up with new projects.
  • Most problems with new projects are rooted in something that wasn’t clear in the initial agreement.
  • Claire will walk you through the best practices for setting up your project to succeed.
  • Stacey has proven techniques for building your pipeline through referrals- without asking your clients for them.
  • Stacey is a business coach with a recently-launched podcast called Roadmap To Grow Your Business.
  • Stacey will teach you methods to attract new clients into your pipeline- immediately.
  • Michele Williams, principal of Scarlet Thread Consulting, will also be with Luann on the tour.
  • Michele coaches designers and window-treatment professionals on the financial methods and systems for running a profitable business.
  • Michele is about to launch her new podcast, Profit Is A Choice.
  • Michele is also a certified Profit First coach.
  • What you have to understand, in order to really be successful with your business.
  • Why you really need to come to the High Point Tour.
  • How Luann will use her superpower to help you.
  • How the High Point Tour will be structured.
  • What you will gain from attending the tour.
  • The price for the tour and what it includes.
  • Having the chance to get to know the awesome sponsors.
  • About the Foundations and Transitions Masterminds.
  • Foundations is group coaching for new designers.
  • What you will learn in the Foundations Mastermind.
  • The Transitions Mastermind is for the more seasoned designer.
  • What you will get from the Transitions Mastermind.

Links:

Go to Luann’s website Luann Nigara to get the early episodes.

To find out more about the tour go to Luann Nigara and click on the ‘coaching’ tab.

The landing page for the masterminds: Luann Nigara

Sponsors: The Power Talk Friday Tour is sponsored by MyDoma Studios, Revel Woods, and Bijou Wall Coverings.

Luann’s second book, The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business, will be coming out in February of 2019.  This book is for the designer who wants to be intentionally focused, efficient and profitable. Luann has gathered 12 of the Power talk Friday experts and together they have created the go-to book for you to get detailed explanations, advice, and clarity about the ideas and concepts that have been discussed on the podcast, over the past two-and-a-half years.

Posted on

354: Dina Holland: Blogging, Instagram, and Business Strategies

dina holland

Welcome! We have Dina Holland with us on the show today. And she’s someone you may already know from her Instagram stories, with her really down-to-earth, likable and engaging approach. On today’s show, we talk to Dina about the importance of finding your personal voice and the value of being real and authentic in everything you do- with your blog, your social media, and your website. Listen in today to find out how this can really help you to find clients who are just the right fit for you. 

Dina is the founder and principal of Dina Holland Interiors, but you might know her through her blog and Instagram account name, Honey, and Fitz.  It all started with a blog about eight years ago when Dina chronicled her own adventures in home decor and DIY projects. What started out as just a personal creative outlet quickly grew into a following of thousands with readers tuning in to see her own projects and those for neighbors and friends. Through word of mouth and the power of social media, Dina has grown her business far beyond the reaches of her blog and turned it into a successful full-service interior design firm with clients all over the country. Listen in today to find out what Dina has to share.

Show highlights:

  • How Dina’s authentic voice on her website is a pre-qualifier to the clients that are reaching out to her.
  • The importance of being true to yourself.
  • The list of questions that Dina has on her website.
  • How Dina’s questions help potential clients to find just the kind of help that they’re looking for.
  • The really clever content to be found on Dina’s website.
  • Why Dina has put pricing on her website.
  • The really great copy on Dina’s website.
  • How Dina learned all she knows about design.
  • How Dina started out as an e-designer.
  • Dina’s shift towards Instagram.
  • How, as a designer, to start charging friends and acquaintances.
  • The importance of having really good photos.
  • Charging appropriately for the managing, sourcing, ordering, and shipping of products.
  • Why charging an hourly rate is simply not enough.
  • How Dina managed to figure out the next level of trade sources.
  • How Dina managed to do floor plans when she first started out without any training.
  • How Dina dealt with her branding- from Honey and Fitz to Dina Holland Interiors.
  • Dina is getting ready to launch a small online shop.

Other episodes mentioned on the show:

Gail Davis #47

Carly Waters #211

Links:

Website – Dina Holland Interiors

Shop (launching later this summer) – Dina Holland Interiors

Instagram – @HoneyandFitz

To become a trade member of Article.com go to Well Designed Article to register.

Posted on

353: Power Talk Friday: Virginia Muzquiz: The Referral Diva on Intentional Networking

virginia muzquiz

Welcome to another Power Talk Friday! You’re in for a huge treat today! We have Virginia Muzquiz, the Referral Diva, on the show with us! Virginia is a connector with a real passion for teaching people how to cultivate referrals. And on the show today she explains how she teaches people to be referral-ready so that they can go out and get the referrals they need to grow their businesses. Listen in to find out more.

Virginia is the owner and chief connection officer at Master Connectors Incorporated and she is the executive director of B & I in America. She has over thirty years of experience in teaching six-figure companies and solopreneurs how to build a sustainable and profitable business.

Virginia believes that referrals are built out of relationships- and that requires people to like and trust you. This is why she really knows that learning how to create and leverage social capital is crucial in building businesses. Her numbers don’t lie and Virginia’s methods grew the contract service division of a nationally known education franchise from zero to 2.5 million dollars specifically, and only, by word-of-mouth. Today Virginia shows more than 1400 entrepreneurs how to redirect the time and money spent in non-productive networking into leveraged word-of-mouth strategies that produce measurable improvements in their ROI. Virginia is also the host of the Passion + Purpose = IMPACT podcast. Listen in to find out what she has to share with you on the show today.

Show highlights:

  • Virginia explains where she starts when teaching people how to be referral ready.
  • Simply showing up with your skill-set, as a designer, is not enough.
  • The key to creating really effective referrals.
  • The gift that you need to bring along to your potential client.
  • The importance of being really clear.
  • Getting your clients to align with your core values.
  • Knowing who you are and what you love.
  • Giving to givers who give.
  • How Virginia helps business owners to discover their own, unique core values.
  • The importance of finding what you’re really passionate about.
  • Virginia’s four-step plan to succeeding at networking events.
  • What you need to read and listen to, in order to really be prepared for networking events.
  • The right way to get someone’s business card.
  • Knowing what your niche is so that you can connect with your tribe.

Other episodes mentioned on the show:

Article.com #301

Links:

LinkedIn: Virginia Muzquiz

Website: Master Connectors

Twitter: The Referral Diva

Facebook: Master Connectors

To become a trade member of Article.com go to Well Designed Article to register.

To get the info about Luann’s mastermind go to Luann Nigara and click on the coaching tab.

Posted on

352: Shannon Claire: Strategies for Growing Your Instagram Following

shannon claire

Welcome to today’s show. We have Shannon Claire, a designer that Luann discovered on Instagram, with us on the show today. Shannon has a really beautiful Instagram feed and on the show today she will be talking about it and she will also share some tips from the perspective of someone whose career is not an Instagram marketer but has utilized the tool in a really effective way.

Shannon Claire is an interior designer and stylist based in Washington, DC, specializing in

creating beautiful spaces so that your home feels uniquely and comfortably you, but elevated. Shannon Claire offers many services that include full-service interior design by the hour, e-design projects for clients who do not live locally but still need design help, and event and space styling. She has been featured in HGTV Magazine, Domino, The Washington Post,  Buzzfeed, The Everygirl, Glitter Guide, The Charlotte Observer, CNN, Forbes, Style Me Pretty, House Beautiful Magazine, and Style At Home Magazine. Listen in to find out what she has to share on the show today.

Show highlights:

  • The first thing to think about, as an interior designer, if you want to really start taking your Instagram seriously.
  • It can be hard to switch from using Instagram as a personal, or social tool, to use it as something that can funnel back into your business.
  • The importance of identifying what your particular brand looks like on paper, or in a photo.
  • Shannon explains why she only shares things on Instagram that fit into the specific aesthetic that she has created there- like pink walls.
  • The way that Shannon’s before and after pictures really draw you in.
  • Shannon discusses her ‘wake-up point’.
  • The benefits that she has seen from really dedicating herself to her particular style and aesthetic- and the kind of content that she was posting.
  • All the pictures on Shannon’s feed are from her own home or her own projects.
  • The way that Luann’s Instagram feed has changed recently.
  • The things that will really make your Instagram feed uniquely yours.
  • Choosing your Instagram photos intentionally.
  • The way that Shannon uses visual landmarks to let people know that she is in DC.
  • Some things that you can do to reach out to the people in your area, to let them know where you are.
  • Some information about the way that Instagram’s algorithms operate.
  • The importance of having an engaged following on Instagram and building a community.
  • Effectively using captions on your photos.
  • Learning to be authentically yourself!
  • Ways to get your work featured out there.
  • What comment pods are–and how to use them.

Links:

Instagram – @shannonclaire

Blog – Shannon Claire Interiors

Pinterest – Shannon Claire Interiors

Shannon’s website: Shannon Claire Interiors