The BEST Residential Interior Design Podcasts - Episode 238

We’ve got THIRTEEN terrific interior design business podcasts episodes today from hosts Terri Taylor, Michele Williams, Darla Powell, Rick Campos, Michelle Lynne, Melissa Galt, Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan, Kate Greunke, Laura Thornton, Dennis Scully, Rebecca Ward, Beth Bieske and Rhiannon Lee.

Today’s podcast guests are Kelcee Sparks, Sydney Hill, Peter and Alex Spalding, Sarah Lyon, Andrea Liebross, Beata Heuman, John Finlay and Kate Nixon.

If you’re looking to make your interior design business even better than it is today, I guarantee that you will find something in today’s podcasts that will help you level up. Enjoy.

• Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - Pricing Challenges Part 2 - 19 min

• Profit Is A Choice - Michele Williams - Creating Good Financial Systems - 28 min

• Designed by Wingnut Social - Darla Powell - Mini News : Getting to Know Your Ideal Client - 9 min

• Design Biz Survival Guide - Rick Campos - Peter & Alex Spalding - Purchasing for Profit - 50 min

• Designed for the Creative Mind - Michelle Lynne - Project Pitching 101 with Sarah Lyon - 40 min

• The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - What to Release for More Revenue - 42 min

• Damn Good Interior Design - Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan - You are not a personal shopper - 46 min

• The Kate Show - Kate Greunke - How to Think Big and Become the Bold CEO that Your Business Needs - 54 min

• The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk About End of Project Product and Finishes Care Instruction Document for Clients - 29 min

• Business of Home Podcast - Dennis Scully - Beata Heuman's secret ingredient is mischief - 1 hr, 1 min

• Design Curious - Rebecca Ward - My Design Mentor: Career & Business Mentorship for Aspiring Interior Designers - 15 min

• Design Dialogues - Beth Bieske - A Dialogue with Kate Nixon - 44 min

• Designing Success - Rhiannon Lee - The Tell-All Episode - Answering FAQ Interior Design Questions with a Twist - 36 min

Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - Pricing Challenges Part 2 - 19 min

What is getting in the way of being paid what you’re worth?

In Part 1 of this series, host Terri Taylor shared her belief that the main reason designers don’t get paid what they’re worth is that they aren’t comfortable talking about money. Terri talked about how to fix this pricing challenge, but there’s more to be said, so she’s back with Part 2.

In this episode, Terri is taking a look at the support you need from yourself and from the people surrounding you in order to feel comfortable charging more. Once you get comfortable talking about money, you also have to get comfortable charging large sums for your work, and that’s really difficult at first!

Topics covered in this episode include:

• How to improve your self-worth

• The value of getting the support you need

• Identifying attitudes that are holding you back

• Why you have to believe that you deserve money

Profit Is A Choice - Michele Williams - Creating Good Financial Systems - 28 min

Joining host Michele Williams in today’s episode is Kelcee Sparks with Elite Ops., Michele and Kelcee are talking about financials…one of Michele’s favorite topics to talk about, and she’s excited to see and to hear the questions that she has for us.

Topics Mentioned:

• Basic financial concepts

• Understanding your financials

• Strategic planning

• Profit First

Key Thoughts:

• The first is I think every business owner should understand their major anchor points, especially from a P&L. What does that mean? It means I think they need to understand revenue, and how money comes into their business. Michele

• Knowing our financials gives us the ability to know when we are going to do a task, how much more it's going to cost us or save us, and then it also gives us the ability to know if I say yes over here, then I need to say no over here. Michele

• One I would say really is about creating some type some type of Profit First strategy, which means, first and foremost, watching the money, looking at the money, knowing when the money comes in, knowing how much we need to pay out every month kind of tells me how much I need to be bringing in every month to satisfy that particular need of the company. Michele

• It's about having a good accounting system, having a time tracking system, and then having a system like Metrique that pulls it all together to be able to look at it. Michele

Designed by Wingnut Social - Darla Powell - Mini News : Getting to Know Your Ideal Client - 9 min

If you're an interior designer looking for tips on how to market yourself on social media, you're in the right place! Today, Social Media Manager Sydney Hill provides some great insight on getting to know your ideal client through your social media accounts.

Design Biz Survival Guide - Rick Campos - Peter & Alex Spalding - Purchasing for Profit - 50 min

In today’s episode, host Rick Campos is chatting with Peter and Alex Spalding – brothers and co-founders of Daniel House Club, a to-the-trade purchasing platform for interior design professionals. In this episode, Rick speaks to Peter and Alex about the development of their own design firm, the challenges they experienced, and their response to the most common pain point in the business of design – profit margin. They uncover the hidden discount layer that is typically unavailable to interior designers, and they break down their business model and how it supports the purchasing volume and vendor relationships necessary to extend their buying power and better profit margins to the design community.

Their advice on how to shop like a designer and increase profitability is invaluable. So tune in and get ready to be inspired by Peter and Alex Spalding's story and the remarkable Daniel House Club.

Show Highlights:

• The need for designers to focus on widening their profit margins and the challenges of receiving, inspecting, and installing orders.

• The Daniel House Club platform, including the benefits of different membership tiers and the simplification of the return policy.

• How to shop like a designer and tips on boosting profitability were highlighted.

• Creating systems for business, developing a product database, and finding the balance between profitability and creativity.

Designed for the Creative Mind - Michelle Lynne - Project Pitching 101 with Sarah Lyon - 40 min

In this episode, host Michelle Lynne introduces us to Sarah Lyon, a full-time freelance writer for publications such as Architectural Digest, Apartment Therapy, The Spruce, Washington Post, and more. We're thrilled to have her here to share her insights and experiences.

We delve into Sarah's journey into the world of freelance interiors writing and how her passion for writing and journalism led her down this path, even without a dedicated journalism major at her liberal arts college. Sarah's background as an editor for her student newspaper laid the foundation for her career, honing her technical skills and ethics involved in journalism. After graduating, she moved to New York City and embarked on an exciting career in the world of print magazines.

We learn from Sarah how she transitioned into freelancing while working her full-time job and how she was able to balance the unknown of going full time in her business, with the practical things she wanted to make sure she had in place when she finally took the leap. Her transition was gradual and cautious, which allowed her to make an informed decision about going full-time as a freelance writer.

You will learn about how to pitch your projects effectively to publications. Sarah recommends introducing yourself, providing context about your projects, sharing your background, and creating a compelling story around your work. She emphasizes the importance of following up on pitches but advises doing so strategically. Remember, it's all about building a professional relationship with editors.

The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - What to Release for More Revenue - 42 min

In today’s episode, host Melissa Galt is tapping into the power of “releasing” to invite more freedom, peace, and profit into your business. It's about letting go of the past, being fully present, and looking forward to the possibilities of the future. Melissa walks us through the 10 things you need to release, starting with the fallacy that more revenue requires more work. It's time to release what no longer serves you, reclaim what needs to be reclaimed, and set your sights on a prosperous future. Join Melissa in this exciting journey of personal growth, business transformation, and strategic decisions.

In this episode, you will hear:

• 10 things to let go of in your business, including the myth that increased revenue always equals more work

• How powerful the concept of “release” can be for your happiness and success in business

• The value of a well-matched team and my tips on managing underperformers

• The importance of restructuring your business, challenging limiting beliefs, and overhauling ineffective systems when they just aren’t working for you

Damn Good Interior Design - Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan - You are not a personal shopper - 46 min

If your goal is to become a full-service design firm, it's important to embrace innovative design and challenge your clients to do the same. You must push yourself beyond your comfort zone to persuade clients to explore unfamiliar territory. You're not merely a personal shopper but a designer who brings ideas to life, overseeing a project from inception to completion.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [00:00] Liz talks about catalog decorating

• [04:26] Cheryl comments that once they have the initial intake, the design team takes the wheel until back into design direction meetings

• [08:17] Breaking the mold and diversity in your portfolio 

• [18:21] Cheryl talks about not limiting yourself to completing someone else’s project

• [25:11] Cheryl says they don’t “pick” anything–professional designers watch their choice of words and use select. They envision a space fully developed, selecting the materials

• [36:06] Cheryl refers to the art of design and wonders if design schools are failing new designers 

• [46:34] Cheryl’s damn good truth

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• When engaging her firm to design, Cheryl asks her clients to have a willing suspension of disbelief. A great designer creates something out of nothing.

• The big question is, “If you want your home to look like HGTV or a design show, why hire a designer?” People don’t know what they don’t know and haven’t seen. Show your client your creativity.

• Cheryl’s opinion- A comprehensive design vision is not a paint-by-numbers set sold at the crafts store. Paint by numbers is only good when you know how it will come out before you begin- and where is the creativity in that?

The Kate Show - Kate Greunke - How to Think Big and Become the Bold CEO that Your Business Needs - 54 min

When I had life and business coach Andrea Liebross on my podcast in February 2023, I didn't know that I'd end up hiring her almost immediately after we were done recording her interview. Because, let’s face it, there are A LOT of coaches in the world, and many of them help their clients create amazing success. 

But Andrea was different because she really seemed to understand the dramatic plot of the modern female entrepreneur. She went straight for the heart of most of our problems as female entrepreneurs... Our thoughts! She was ruthless in that interview, and I encourage you to go back to Episode 221 and listen to it if you haven’t yet.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one blown away by her incredible wisdom that day, because I keep hearing from more of you guys who have also started coaching with her.

Six months later and halfway through my own coaching journey, I have become Kate 2.0 — I'm confident, I'm the CEO, I'm thinking bigger and with more clarity about my business and my personal life.

I wish I could bottle the results I’ve gotten and inject them into your bloodstream like an IV, but since I can’t do that, I thought I’d just have Andrea on the show again. 

If you feel stuck in your life or business, you need to hear my second interview with Andrea.

Note: We interviewed Andrea Liebross for our first post about interior design business coaching. If you want to learn more about Andrea’s philosophy to business coaching, check it out here.

The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk About End of Project Product and Finishes Care Instruction Document for Clients - 29 min

In this episode of The Business of Beautiful Spaces, host Laura Thornton dives into a topic that's often overlooked but incredibly valuable for both designers and clients alike: the importance of creating an end-of-project binder or document but more specifically, the product care section.

You've selected high-quality materials, luxurious furniture, and exquisite fabrics. But to truly ensure the longevity and beauty of these investments, it's essential to provide your clients with the information they need to care for and maintain their new spaces. That's where the end-of-project binder comes into play.

Business of Home Podcast - Dennis Scully - Beata Heuman's secret ingredient is mischief - 1 hr, 1 min

Raised on a small farm in her native Sweden, Beata Heuman moved to London in her twenties and learned the trade working for celebrity designer Nicky Haslam. Once out on her own, she quickly became known for exuberant colors and a playful, nostalgic approach to design. After the product side of Beata’s business took off, her husband John Finlay left behind a corporate law career to help run the brand.

On this episode of the podcast, the two of them speak to host Dennis Scully about opening up a showroom in a historic London building, working together as a married couple, and why mischief is the secret ingredient in Beata’s work.

Design Curious - Rebecca Ward - My Design Mentor: Career & Business Mentorship for Aspiring Interior Designers - 15 min

In today's episode, host Rebecca Ward gives us an inside look at her My Design Mentor program, a 12-module mentorship program that will guide you from being a non-designer to a successful designer.

The My Design Mentor program covers topics like employee vs. entrepreneur decisions, managing finances and mindset, honing practical design skills, understanding client psychology, dealing with professional ethics, working with trades, specializing in niches, perfecting kitchen and bath design, specifying custom details, and mastering essential business practices.

Why you’ve got to check out today’s episode:

• Explore the My Design Mentor program and gain an understanding of its 12-module mentorship

• Learn the benefits of joining the My Design Mentor program

• Assess whether the 12-module mentorship can help you move forward in your design career and business

Design Dialogues - Beth Bieske - A Dialogue with Kate Nixon - 44 min

This week, host Beth Bieske is talking with Kate Nixon. Kate is a designer, stylist and editor. This dialogue with Kate is filled with so much - from her perspective of running a design studio and the systems she has in place to do this and the different challenges she has faced in the business. Kate also shares her insights from working as the interiors editor at House and Garden magazine on what to think about when you are approaching a magazine with a project.

Designing Success - Rhiannon Lee - The Tell-All Episode - Answering FAQ Interior Design Questions with a Twist - 36 min

Host Rhiannon Lee is trying out something new this week. She uploaded nine FAQ's to her phone, shuffled them and then read them out blind and answered them on the spot (picture in the style of celebrities reading out mean tweets, but a lot less mean girl vibes.)