We’ve got 6 kick-butt lessons for the business side of your interior design business in today’s collection of interior design business podcasts.

Today’s lessons come from podcast hosts Terri Taylor, Michele Williams, LuAnn Nigara, Melissa Galt, Laura Thornton and Kate Greunke. Their guest lecturers include Stacy Hernandez, the principal and CEO of Elegant Avenue Interiors and Rachel Krull, designer & owner of Monday Morning Interiors

School’s in session. Let’s put those thinking caps on:

• Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - How to Find Clients - 22 min

• Profit is a Choice - Michele Williams - 5 Financial Mistakes Made at Year End - 14 min

• Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - Stacy Hernandez: You Cannot Neglect the Backend of the Business - 1 hr, 9 min

• The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - Mastering the Art of Hiring and Onboarding in Creative Businesses - 35 min

• The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk about Incorporating Renderings into your Design Presentations with Rachel Krull of Monday Morning Interiors - 25 min

• The Kate Show - Kate “the Socialite” Greunke - Bold Ways to Grow Your Mailing List that You've Probably Never Heard - 33 min

Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - Money and You - 19 min

It’s all well and good to know how to turn a lead into a profitable client, but how do you get a lead in the first place?

In this episode, host Terri Taylor talks about how to find clients. This is something that a lot of people are missing from their business plans because they don’t think they have the time or money for marketing. Don’t let that be you. Terri outlines how to get started with your marketing no matter how busy you are or how small your budget is. Spoiler alert: marketing doesn’t have to cost anything. 

Topics covered in this episode include:

• How to start marketing your interior design business

• Getting the most value out of the time you have 

• The difference between marketing and advertising

Profit is a Choice - Michele Williams - 5 Financial Mistakes Made at Year End - 14 min

In today’s episode, host Michele Williams preaches about the five mistakes that way too many business owners make at the end of the year. We all should listen in and see if we are finding yourself falling into any of these traps so that we still have time to do something different.

Topics Mentioned:

• Cash flow

• Budgets

• Debt 

Key Thoughts:

• I would say nine times out of ten, we're more likely to overspend a budget than to underspend a budget if we're not watching it and being accountable to that budget. Michele

• If you find yourself in a cash flow negative situation, remember, that you always have to get cash flow neutral before you can go cash flow positive. Michele

• Lifestyle creep is where every time you make a little more money, your lifestyle raises, and then you need more money, and then your lifestyle raises versus keeping your lifestyle where it is and letting the money be made and then letting it be saved. Michele

• Businesses that get themselves in trouble don't manage that money properly, which means that they don't have a strong cash reserve. Michele

Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - Stacy Hernandez: You Cannot Neglect the Backend of the Business - 1 hr, 9 min

In today’s episode, host Luann Nigara chats with Stacy Hernandez, the principal and CEO of Elegant Avenue Interiors. Like so many of us, Stacy has had her fair share of ups and downs in the business and has learned many lessons. Today, Stacy shares some of those valuable insights, including one that is near and dear to this podcast—the importance of the backend of the business.

Pick It Apart

• [3:20] Stacy shares her early struggles as a business owner and her pivot into furnishings.

• [7:50] LuAnn and Stacy discuss the empowerment of understanding the backend of the business.

• [17:21] LuAnn shares a story that shows just how important the numbers are in determining where to spend your time and effort.

• [27:29] Stacy talks about the importance of focusing on what you do well instead of being a “short-order cook.”

• [37:24] Stacy lays out the steps she took to strengthen her business.

LuAnn and Stacy Hernandez's Ah-Ha Moments

• “After many hard lessons, I have forced myself to learn what my husband told me 20 years ago. And that is, the backend of the business is just as important as the front. If you don't like it or you don't understand it, then find someone who does and hire them. Then meet with them regularly and watch them like a hawk.” -Stacy

• “All the little decisions are based on the business model, and that business model is shaped by the numbers.” -Stacy

• Why are you in business for yourself if you don’t like it? What’s the point of all that risk and overhead if you’re not living your life the way you want? I love all of this because it is the combination of where are the revenue generators in our business, and looking at them legitimately as opposed to imagingin what they are.” -LuAnn

The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - Mastering the Art of Hiring and Onboarding in Creative Businesses - 35 min

When holding interviews for potential employees, it's common to feel as if you're the one being interviewed. Sometimes our nerves get the best of us, and we talk more than we listen, or we don't allow ourselves to see the candidate for the person they are presenting themselves to be. In this podcast episode, host Melissa Galt is diving into some of her best interviewing and onboarding tips and tricks.

In last week's episode, she discussed how to hire local assistants correctly the first time. Today's episode builds on that theme, with my interviewing tips and tricks for hiring that sticks. Hiring and team building are such broad topics with so much to dig into, so I've divided them into smaller chunks that you can focus and take action on.

In this episode, you will hear:

• Unexpected question suggestions for strategic and insightful interviews

• How to get a feel for a candidate’s skills and experience during the interview process

• Things to keep in mind during a new hire’s onboarding process

• Tips on structuring a thorough employment agreement 

The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk about Incorporating Renderings into your Design Presentations with Rachel Krull of Monday Morning Interiors - 25 min

This whole topic may be rendered moot in a few years if AI-powered virtual reality tech becomes mainstream - as renderings are superior to 2D floor plans, a virtual design concept is superior to a rendering - but for now, if you’re not using renderings in your residential interior design biz, you definitely need to listen to this podcast.

Host Laura Thorton interviews Rachel Krull - the owner of Monday Morning Interiors. Rachel is a designer who offers her rendering skillz to other interior designers to elevate their presentation packages for clients.

The Kate Show - Kate “the Socialite” Greunke - Bold Ways to Grow Your Mailing List that You've Probably Never Heard - 33 min

I know that email marketing isn’t as fun & sexy as social media AND doesn’t have the deep connection of client referrals, BUT - when done right - it is extremely efficient, inexpensive and effective.

In this episode, host Kate Greunke interviews one of her agency clients about email marketing. Worth a listen.