The BEST Interior Design Business Podcasts
The BEST Interior Design Business Podcasts - Episode 186
Listening to today’s curated collection of the best interior design business podcasts is the easiest, fastest, most repeatable way to improve your interior design business.
We curate the best interior design business podcasts Monday to Friday because we have used them to already improve our own interior design business - Robb & Company.
In today’s installment, we’ve got episodes from hosts Dennis Scully, Rick Campos, Rebecca Ward, LuAnn Nigara, Beth Bieske and Rhiannon Lee.
Today’s podcast guests include Benjamin Johnston, Peter Lang, Selena Lewis, Megan Pisano and Maria Georgiou. Enjoy.
Business of Home - Dennis Scully - Why Benjamin Johnston aims for excellence, not perfection - 57 min
Design Biz Survival Guide - Rick Campos - Peter Lang: The Designer CPA - 42 min
Design Curious - Rebecca Ward - A Designer's Passion: from Wallpaper to Running a Full-Service Interior Design Firm With Selena Lewis - 40 min
A Well-Designed Business - LuAnn Nigara - Megan Pisano: Instagram for Interior Designers: Engagement Matters More than Followers - 1 hr, 2 min
Design Dialogues - Beth Bieske - A Dialogue with Maria Georgiou - 56 min
Designing Success - Rhiannon Lee - AI for your interior design business. - 34 min
Business of Home - Dennis Scully - Why Benjamin Johnston aims for excellence, not perfection - 57 min
Interior designer Benjamin Johnston began his career in architecture working in Japan for the renowned firm of Cesar Pelli. But he soon found himself drawn to interior design, and opened up his own shop in his home state of Texas. In a relatively young career, Ben has won wide recognition for his work—his projects have graced magazine covers, and he’s landed product deals with Chaddock and S. Harris.
On this episode of the show, host Dennis Scully chats with Johnston about the problem of luxury brands not offering luxury service, learning to talk money with clients, and why he strives for excellence, not perfection.
Design Biz Survival Guide - Rick Campos - Peter Lang: The Designer CPA - 42 min
In today’s episode, host Rick Campos chats with Peter Lang, Founder of The Designer CPA - a public accounting firm that specifically works with interior design business owners. They discuss the nuances of accounting for the business of design, best practices, and the value of integrating your CPA into your regular business and financial strategy sessions. Peter also shares how he has leveraged years of data specific to the business of design to develop a resource guide of financial benchmarks to help you set realistic strategic goals for your design business.
The conversation ends with Peter sharing his advice on finding the right balance between work and life and how to define success in entrepreneurship and the design industry.
Show Highlights:
Peter’s transition from general accounting to specializing in the interior design industry.
Peter provides solutions for financial management challenges faced by interior designers, including cash management techniques and understanding sales tax.
The importance of a standard data report for design professionals is discussed, with tips on data collection, presentation, and utilization.
Lang shares insights into average gross margins, overhead costs, payroll, and other financial aspects of the interior design business.
Advice on choosing the right project management software and achieving a work-life balance.
Design Curious - A Designer's Passion: from Wallpaper to Running a Full-Service Interior Design Firm With Selena Lewis - 40 min
In today's episode, host Rebecca Ward has a fascinating conversation with Selena Lewis, a professional interior designer known for her eclectic style. We dive into her journey in the design world, how she started her business, her unique design style, and her expertise in incorporating playful wallpapers, rich textures, and bold patterns into her projects.
She reveals how she found her niche in wallpaper, a design element often overlooked or underutilized, and discusses the importance of educating clients about the transformative power of wallpaper in creating truly exceptional spaces.
Rebecca & Selena also discuss an important pain point that many designers face: how to get paid for your calling.
Why you’ve got to check out today’s episode:
Discover 5 ways to differentiate yourself as an interior designer in a competitive market
The importance of visualization and hands-on interaction with clients
Use the 10 tips on getting started in Interior Design without returning to school
A Well-Designed Business - LuAnn Nigara - Megan Pisano: Instagram for Interior Designers: Engagement Matters More than Followers - 1 hr, 2 min
We all know that social media can be a great marketing tool—if you can build up a big following. But if you’re struggling to gain a big number of followers, is it even worth the time?
In today’s episode, LuAnn’s guest, Megan Pisano, would say the answer is absolutely yes. With under 4,000 Instagram followers, Megan has still managed to put social media to strong use for her business through engagement and relationship building. Learn why engagement matters more than metrics!
Pick It Apart
[2:27] Megan breaks down how she started using social media for her business.
[15:42] LuAnn and Megan discuss the importance of investing in professional photography.
[16:20] Megan shares the nitty-gritty of her Instagram approach, from content to hashtags.
[33:24] Megan discusses how relationship-building and engagement matter so much on Instagram.[45:04] Megan and LuAnn talk about the value of referrals, networking, and live events.
LuAnn Nigara and Megan Pisano's Ah-Ha Moments
“So even though the first time they reach out to you, it's technically a cold lead, it actually is functioning like a warm lead, because the relationship has already begun.” -LuAnn
“You have to post pictures of yourself. People want to know what you look like.” -Megan
Design Dialogues - Beth Bieske - A Dialogue with Maria Georgiou - 56 min
In this episode of the Design Dialogues podcast, host Beth Bieske interviews Maria Giorgio, a rendering expert. Maria talks about the importance & accessibility of rendering technology and the benefits it brings to designers, such as the ability to make changes quickly and present realistic visuals to clients. Maria also touches on the topic of AI in design and how it can be seen as another tool to enhance the design process.
KEY PARTS IN THE DIALOGUE
9.18 Maria talks about the way in which renders and the process have improved
14.24 Maria talks about how to use renders in your workflow
25.31 Maria talks about how to work with someone putting together your renders.
Designing Success - Rhiannon Lee - AI for your interior design business. - 34 min
In today’s episode, host Rhiannon Lee is exploring the use of ChatGPT, and how you can teach it more about your business and get more targeted and appropriate resources.
Ever wondered how AI might save you real time? In under an hour, you'll learn how to create a brand tone of voice document, a precise ideal client avatar, and a 30 day content calendar – all tailored to your unique brand voice. Plus, get actionable AI tips on directing its functionalities and producing SEO-friendly content.
And as a bonus, Rhiannon’s got three ready-to-use prompts in the show notes for you.
Use this prompt to identify your brand tone of voice “Analyse the following captions and create a brand voice document that can be used to instruct others of the tone of voice of the brand” *insert two or three captions into the prompt, one storytelling, a newsletter, a informative or educational etc preferably something with lots of words.
Use this prompt to reverse engineer your perfect client. “I want you to create a full ideal client avatar based on these service features *insert your offer and any information you’re 100% certain of about your ideal client. Don’t overthink just list out any dot points you know and let the robot do the rest.*
Use this prompt to create a content calendar. “Act as a social media strategist. Ask me strategic questions to support my goal of XX (reach, engagement, followers etc) on Instagram. These questions should give you what you need to create a full content marketing plan. The reason I want to achieve that goal on Instagram is XX. My business offers interior design in the form of *give service details* ask me one question at a time and then when you have enough information create a 30 day content strategy with daily instructions of what to post. Can also be done for a 14 day content plan for a launch or specific focus etc.