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6 Interior Design Podcasts Designed to Help Build Your Business

The BEST Interior Design Business Podcasts - Episode 131

We’ve got 6 ah-mazing interior design podcasts for you today.

Today’s interior design podcasts episodes come from hosts Jeff Hayward, Susie Rumbold, Terri Taylor, LuAnn Nigara, Darla Powell, Melissa Galt & Laura Thornton.

Today’s podcast guests include Charlotte Dawson, Stephen Tozer, Susie Rumbold, Elizabeth Gerdes and Melinda Ortley.

So much good stuff to help us level up our design business…give ‘em a listen.

  • Interior Design Business - Jeff Hayward and Susie Rumbold - Career Changing To Interior Design - 52 min

  • Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - What to Do When You Look Successful But You’re Not Profitable - 27 min

  • Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - Elizabeth Gerdes: The Powerful Impact of Peer Relationships When Building Your Window Treatment Business - 55 min

  • Designed By Wingnut Social - Darla Powell - Mini News : Defining Your Brand Voice Will Lead To Your Ideal Client - 16 min

  • The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - 15 Reasons You May Not Be Getting Hired - 45 min

  • The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk Copy Writing with Deep Connection Stories with Melinda Ortley of Everlee Studio - 44 min


Interior Design Business - Career Changing To Interior Design - 52 min

Many people would love to have a career in interior design. To get there, some take the conventional route of obtaining an interior design qualification straight out of school and then gain experience within an established design practice before branching out on their own, but many also set up businesses later in life and enjoy a satisfying career having already had a career in another field.

Do late design bloomers have any advantages over their younger rivals? And is it possible to be a good designer without a design qualification?

In today’s episode, hosts Jeff Hayward and Susie Rumbold chat with three designers from very different backgrounds discuss this topic - Charlotte Dawson from Chestnut Interiors, Stephen Tozer from Boaz Interiors and Susie Rumbold, creative director of Tessuto Interiors and a Past President of the British Institute of Interior Design.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


Interior Design Business - What to Do When You Look Successful But You’re Not Profitable - 27 min

Just because a business looks like it’s doing well, doesn’t mean it actually is.

You might have a lot of money going through your accounts, but how much is left over at the end? If it’s not as much as you’d like, what’s going on there?

In today’s episode, host Terri Taylor aims to get to the bottom of it.

It can be hard to pinpoint why you’re not making any profit when it feels like you’re working hard, getting clients, and finishing great jobs. The truth is there are probably a lot of things behind the scenes that are leaking money. The good news is most of them have easy fixes, so let’s talk about what they are in this episode of the Interior Design Business podcast.

Topics covered in this episode include:

  • The importance of good financial reporting

  • Why you should be using design management software

  • Why you need to learn to delegate and relinquish control

  • Using systems to simplify your business


You can check out this podcast episode here:


Window Treatments for Profit - Elizabeth Gerdes: The Powerful Impact of Peer Relationships When Building Your Window Treatment Business - 55 min

In today’s episode, host LuAnn Nigara ​​chats with Elizabeth Gerdes, owner and operator of Stitch Above the Rest, an award-winning custom drapery workroom in Woodstock, Georgia.

After designing and fabricating custom window treatments for residential and commercial clients for almost 20 years, Elizabeth is handing over the needle and thread, hiring employees, and moving out of her basement workspace into a storefront and workroom.

Elizabeth is smack in the middle of pivoting her business, and she is here discussing what she is doing, whose advice she is seeking, and how she is making all of those big decisions that come with growing a business.

Pick It Apart

  • [4:24] LuAnn explains that Elizabeth’s business has grown and changed so much in the past year and how important it is to explore growth in real time.

  • [6:00] Elizabeth walks through how she pivoted her business and the support she has had along the way.

  • [17:36] LuAnn points out that Elizabeth created her own advisory board to help navigate decisions, but ultimately, she had to be the one to take the leap.

  • [24:10] Elizabeth walks through the luxury services she wants to provide.

  • [34:34] Elizabeth talks about how inspired she was after her first Exciting Windows CEO conference.

LuAnn Nigara and Elizabeth Gerdes’s Ah-Ha Moments

  • “You combine your own work experience, your own journey, you combine what your inside voice is telling you, but then you combine that Counsel of outside people.” – LuAnn Nigara

  • “‘Find out what your competitor is offering and sell against it.” – LuAnn Nigara

  • “As a visionary, as an entrepreneur, we can do multiple things really well. But the exciting part of our businesses is when we recognize the thing that we do the best, and that makes us the happiest doing. And that is a sweet spot for an entrepreneur.” – LuAnn Nigara

  • “I wanted to be better because I felt like I was around people who wanted to be better.” – Elizabeth Gerdes

  • “If you need something, an EW member will help you out.” – Elizabeth Gerdes

You can check out this podcast episode here:


Designed By Wingnut Social - Mini News : Defining Your Brand Voice Will Lead To Your Ideal Client - 16 min

Today’s Mini News episode highlights Darla Powell’s latest informational webinar, “The 6 Keys to Success on Instagram.”

Today’s excerpt focuses on solidifying your branding.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


The Affluent Creative - 15 Reasons You May Not Be Getting Hired - 45 min

When you're working at the right end of the market, it’s actually incredibly rare that a client won't move forward once they've been educated about the value of your design proposal, even if they give some initial pushback on pricing. So, if you find yourself struggling to seal that deal with your ideal client, you need to look at some of the other, surprising factors that may be making your ideal client hesitate to work with you.

Today, host Melissa Galt shares 15 reasons that might be stopping us from getting hired, even when our price is right.

The absence of a thorough design process, a low Know-Like-Trust factor, and even a potential client's partner feeling insecure can drastically impact your success rate. In this episode, Melissa guides us through the process of focusing on your client's interests, making your relationship with potential clients an inviting and exciting courtship, and allowing our own personalities to shine through your business to attract similarly-minded clients.

She also discuss ways to make your clients feel special throughout the design journey – from sending thoughtful check-ins and gifts to walking them through their agreements so they are familiar with your process every step of the way. Tune in today to learn how to provide that first-class client care your ideal client expects, increase proposal acceptance rates, and uncover the secrets of getting hired and creating lasting connections with your clients.

In this episode, you will hear:

  • Surprising factors that impact your success rate in getting hired

  • Why making the courtship with potential clients more inviting and exciting can help secure long-term client relationships.

  • How to provide first-class client care 

  • The importance of walking clients through your agreements and leveraging digital tools to remove obstacles during the discovery process

You can check out this podcast episode here:


The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Let's Talk Copy Writing with Deep Connection Stories with Melinda Ortley of Everlee Studio - 44 min

In today's episode, host Laura Thornton enters the world of copy writing with Melinda Ortley of Everlee Studios to explore the power of storytelling to create meaningful connections with your potential clients.

Melinda has a unique approach to copywriting and has revolutionized the way interior designers connect with their audiences. By infusing deep connection stories into their social media channels, websites, and various online platforms, Melinda has not only helped designers attract new clients but also enhanced their search engine optimization (SEO) and created new streams of revenue.

Storytelling techniques can transform your design business and take your client relationships to a whole new level. Get ready to uncover the secrets behind crafting captivating narratives that resonate with your target audience on an emotional level.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


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