Mastering the Art of Interior Design Business: Must-Listen Podcasts

The BEST Residential Interior Design Podcasts - Episode 166

Today’s must-listen interior design business podcasts episodes come from hosts Terri Taylor, Michele Williams, Dennis Scully, LuAnn Nigara, Rick Campos, Melissa Galt and Laura Thornton.

Today’s podcast guests include Matt Drinkhahn, Ellie Cullman and Amber Peterson.

Here’s hoping you find something to help master the art of your interior design business.

  • Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - Time Values - 20 min

  • Profit Is A Choice - Michele Williams - How to be Eternally Optimistic about Your Finances - 47 min

  • Business of Home - Dennis Scully - Ellie Cullman: 'Design is all psychology' - 54 min

  • Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - What Would Lu Do?: Combating the Mindset and Pitfalls - 17 min

  • Design Biz Survival Guide - Rick Campos - Amber Peterson: Navigating your Design Journey - 32 min

  • The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - How Perfectionism is Killing Your Profits and What to Do About It - 49 min

  • The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk about your "What to Expect" client facing document - 19 min


Interior Design Business - Time Values - 20 min

I bet you didn’t start your own business so that you could work 60 hours a week, never take a vacation, and miss family events. 

You might often find yourself in those situations because you’re a people pleaser, you don’t want to turn away business, and you feel bad saying no. Those are just a few of the things that tend to affect us as designers and how we undervalue our time. 

In order to move away from being overworked and underpaid, you’ve got to rethink how you value time. Not all time has the same value, and that’s what podcast host & coach Terri Taylor is exploring in this episode of the Interior Design Business podcast. She’s teaching us how to identify the value of your time so that we can integrate more high-value tasks into our schedules and get rid of the things that are wasting time and draining money. 

Topics covered in this episode include:

  • Why time is your most important asset 

  • How to track your time 

  • Why you need to stop giving away your time

  • How much time you should be spending on design

Tune in to find out how to get all your work done in 40 hours a week and make more money, not less.


You can check out this podcast episode here:


Profit Is A Choice - How to be Eternally Optimistic about Your Finances - 47 min

In today’s episode, host Michele Williams chats with Matt Drinkhahn of the Eternal Optimist Podcast and Pro Coach Advisors. Matt is full of information, enthusiasm, and excitement about understanding our numbers, especially surrounding financial literacy. Matt is going to share about his journey including some of his embarrassment at not knowing his numbers and then harnessing the power behind those numbers to scale and grow businesses. This is a fun enjoyable conversation, and I invite you to listen in and take notes. 

Topics Mentioned:

  • Financial Ownership 

  • Overcoming Shame 

  • Financial Literacy

  • Optimism

Key Thoughts:

  • I think sometimes we're so used to learning by only getting it right and not a lot of learning comes from failure. The older I get, the more I'm embracing failure as a learning tool. 10:18 Michele 

  • The question is what am I going to do today that my future self will thank me for? 13:40 Matt 

  • Now you have a lot of women who are in companies that are making multiple millions of dollars, and they don't even have the background, because they've just never been taught that. 19:53 Michele 

  • I just want my story to be a testimony for others that it may feel like a dark place and maybe a stressor, you can get over that you can make it through one step at a time. 22:55 Matt 

  • My whole theory behind the podcast is profitability is about more than money. It's profitability of communication, the profitability of time, of en ergy, and of the whole thing. 31:41 Michele 

  • One of the biggest challenges that I see in recovering perfectionists and highly functioning workaholics is they don't know how to let go and they don't know how to delegate effectively. 43:07 Matt 

You can check out this podcast episode here:


Business of Home - Ellie Cullman: 'Design is all psychology' - 54 min

Ellie Cullman got into the profession through a chance encounter involving an ill-fated screenplay, but once she got started in design, her career took off. Over nearly 40 years in business, her firm, Cullman & Kravis, has earned a regular spot on the AD 100 and Elle Decor’s A List, graced countless magazine covers, and earned numerous awards for its work.  

On this episode of the podcast, she speaks with host Dennis Scully about her approach to hiring and retaining a great staff, how she’s reacted to ups and downs in the economy, and why design, at its core, is all psychology.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


Window Treatments for Profit - What Would Lu Do?: Combating the Mindset and Pitfalls - 17 min

Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Have you ever heard of the term "Yeah, but" business owner? It refers to those who ask for advice but then dismiss it with excuses.

If you're curious about how this attitude can hold back a business's growth and success, host LuAnn Nigara has got the perfect podcast episode for you today.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


Design Biz Survival Guide - Amber Peterson: Navigating your Design Journey - 32 min

In today’s episode, host Rick Campos welcomes Amber Peterson - Director of Store Design and Planning at PIRCH. Together, they explore Amber’s design journey and how she filled in the gaps in her design education to pursue a retail design career. We also discuss her design team’s approach to setting expectations, collaborating with brands, and the delicate balance of designing with consumers and designers in mind. If you’ve ever walked through a PIRCH showroom and wondered…“Who designed this?”, you’re about to find out.

As they steer through Amber's early career, from the sunny coasts of Southern California to becoming an indispensable asset at PIRCH, she doesn't hold back in sharing her wisdom with those eager to venture into the dynamic design realm. Her mantra is simple - pinpoint your passion, do your research, and seize every opportunity that comes your way. She also reflects on her experiences with feedback, the essence of collaboration in the design process, and her definition of success.

Tune in and discover the myriad possibilities in the design industry.

Show Highlights:

  • Amber shares her journey from aspiring fashion designer to leading store design at a major retailer, highlighting the various paths a career in design can take.

  • The unique challenges and opportunities presented by retail design, including creating displays that boost sales and designing showrooms from scratch during a pandemic.

  • Amber’s approach to design, emphasizes the importance of understanding demographics, connecting with the community, and constantly refreshing showroom designs.

  • The importance of continuing education in design, with Amber discussing her ongoing learning experiences in the field and the opportunities available for designers at PIRCH.

  • Amber’s advice for those exploring different paths in the design industry.

  • Amber’s definition of success, emphasizes the value of a work-life balance and not taking feedback personally.

You can check out this podcast episode here:


The Affluent Creative -  How Perfectionism is Killing Your Profits and What to Do About It - 49 min

Podcast host Melissa Galt is willing to bet that if you are about to tune into this show, there is a 90% chance that you are a perfectionist. Melissa can confidently make that claim because she has yet to meet a creative who wasn’t!

As creatives, we often fall into the trap of postponing opportunities and stalling our business progress in the name of achieving that "perfect" standard. We may laugh it off or even try to turn it into a strength, but this bad habit can harm our business profits. In today’s episode, we’re having a crucial conversation about perfectionism and how it is sabotaging your business success.

First, we’ll explore the 10 hotspots where perfectionism might lurk in your business, from logo design to your website, business cards, and photography. Then, we’ll discuss the three different types of perfectionism and the two dimensions of perfectionism, all of which could be costing you time, money, and opportunities. I’ll also share my best strategies for beating perfectionism and unlocking the true potential of your business.

Remember, perfectionism is not a strength but a self-imposed standard that often stands in the way of progress. Let’s beat perfectionism together so you can maintain your business momentum!

In this episode, you will hear:

  • The most common areas within your business that perfectionism is disrupting and how to overcome these tendencies

  • How setting realistic and flexible goals can help you beat perfectionism

  • The importance of allowing yourself to be bad at something until you get good at it

  • How to embrace imperfections and harness the gifts they offer

You can check out this podcast episode here:


The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Let's Talk about your "What to Expect" client facing document - 19 min

In today's episode, host Laura Thornton dives into the importance of the "What to Expect" client-facing document. We'll explore why it's a game-changer for establishing clear communication, setting boundaries, and ensuring a smooth and successful design journey. 

You can check out this podcast episode here:


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