A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today With Gage Edward:

In this sponsored episode of A Well-Designed Business, LuAnn sits down with entrepreneur and former Flipping Out star Gage Edward to talk about a challenge every designer knows well: coming home from market with hundreds of photos… and no clear way to organize or use them.

After more than a decade leading business development for a nationally recognized design firm, Gage saw firsthand how inefficient the product discovery process can be. Designers walk miles of showrooms at High Point or Las Vegas Market, snap endless photos of tags and products, and return home to a camera roll that is nearly impossible to sort through.

That frustration led him to co-found Discover Market, an app designed to help designers capture and organize product information in real time while they’re walking market.

In this conversation, LuAnn and Gage break down:


Why sourcing at market often creates more chaos than clarity


The hidden cost of leaving market without an organized system


How scanning product tags can instantly capture pricing, vendor info, and availability


Why efficiency at market directly impacts profitability back in your studio


The bigger opportunity for designers to streamline product sourcing and project workflow

If you’ve ever returned from market with hundreds of photos and no idea where that perfect chair came from, this episode will hit home.

Because here’s the thing.

Market is an investment. Your time, your travel, your energy.

And if you don’t have a system to capture what you discover, you’re leaving value on the table.

More About Gage Edward:

Gage Edward is an entrepreneur and business development leader with more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of interior design, product development, and strategic partnerships.

For ten years, he led business development for a nationally recognized design firm, overseeing client intake, managing interior design projects and construction builds, and developing creative partnerships with brands including Living Spaces, Walter E. Smithe, and Alder & Tweed Furniture.

During that time, he structured and negotiated national licensing programs across multiple product categories — including doors with Masonite, tile with Jeffrey Court, and paint with Dunn-Edwards and Vista Paint — all sold in partnership with The Home Depot, a retail relationship he helped cultivate and expand.  

Much of this work was documented over seven seasons and more than 70 episodes of Bravo’s Flipping Out, where he appeared as himself while building and operating the business behind the scenes.

After a decade in leadership, Gage left to pursue independent development projects, including overseeing the design of the Pelican Golf Club and its restaurants in Belleair, Florida. 

Drawing from his own challenges sourcing, discovering, and organizing vendors Gage later co-founded SideDoor and the Discover Market app — platforms built from more than 15 years of firsthand experience navigating trade shows and the product marketplace.

Connect with Discover.Market:

Discover.Market Instagram

Discover.Market Website

Gage's Instagram

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today With John McClain:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined for the second time by John McClain. John is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, and author of The Designer Within. In this episode, he shares a bit about his back story with us—from crisis to conquest.

John is here to help you understand that you can learn and grow from your mistakes, and success can be born out of failure. John shares his dark night of the soul story with us, but it didn’t end there. He turned that rough patch into a catalyst to organize his business for the better. Since then he has implemented a “How We Work” document, detailed client contracts, flat fees, and non-negotiables because his business is worth it. He is worth it. And you are worth it.

LuAnn Nigara and John McClain’s Ah-Ha Moments:

“Until you’ve been through a serious business crisis, it’s hard to know how it really cuts you in your gut.” – LuAnn Nigara

“I don’t care if you’re a solopreneur or if you have 25 people working for you. Your company policy is your company policy. And that is what you have to stand by.” – John McClain

“A lot of people don’t take the time to sit down and come up with the rules [of their business]. ” – John McClain

“You do have to take time—really getting clear with who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and your non-negotiables.” – LuAnn Nigara

“I want to be an advocate for other designers and out in the world, to really stand up for themselves. And to have a company philosophy, have a company vision have a company backbone that they can stand behind.” – John McClain

More About John McClain:

John McClain is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, speaker, on-air contributor, and writer who has turned his lifetime passion for interior design into an opportunity to do the same for others through his book, The Designer Within (available now at thedesignerwithin.co). John McClain Design has offices in Central Florida and Los Angeles, CA. His projects have received numerous awards and have appeared in many publications including Traditional Home and Elle Décor. John’s design advice can also be seen regularly in print, television appearances, and online in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Us Weekly, and many more.

Connect with John McClain

Website

Instagram

Book and Designer Courses

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Shows Mentioned:

#472: John McClain: Running His Firm from Two Coasts Makes Systems and Tools Critical

#145: Sandra Funk of House of Funk: Why and How She Re-Branded her 10 Year old Firm

#801: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: How Mistakes and Obstacles Led to Growth & Transformation

#842: Joshua Smith: Sell the Experiences, Not the Commodity

Today With Kandrac & Kole:

What does it actually take to stay in business with someone for more than two decades?

In this episode, Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole of Kandrac & Kole Interior Design share what has sustained their 21-year business partnership. And no, it’s not just friendship.

We talk about defined roles, decision-making authority, handling disagreement without ego, and the operational discipline that supports long-term success. This is not a conversation about “getting along.” It’s about structure.

If you’re in a partnership, considering one, or leading a growing team, this episode will challenge you to examine how clearly roles are defined, how conflict is handled, and whether your leadership habits are protecting your business or quietly limiting it.

Partnership is not chemistry. It’s clarity, accountability, and shared standards.

Listen in and decide how you want to lead.

More About Kandrac & Kole:

Voted among Atlanta’s Top 20 Residential Interior Designers by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Kandrac & Kole has gained national recognition on HGTV and in publications including The New York Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Home Magazine, and Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. Kandrac & Kole are known for their friendly, energetic personalities, their unique use of color and pattern, and their bespoke designs. 

Joann and Kelly, experts in residential and commercial design, share engaging stories about their design projects, travels, and personal experiences on their podcast Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole, as well as through their popular blog and national speaking engagements. Their passion for interior design extends to their charity work in the U.S. and Guatemala.

Connect with Kandrac & Kole:

Website

Blog

Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole Podcast

Instagram 

Facebook 

Pinterest

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

http://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!
For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Resources Mentioned:

This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here!

AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project

AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design

Other Shows Mentioned:

Episode 616 Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole: Onboarding New Interior Design Clients

Today With Bri Ussery:

Today with Bri Ussery, we’re talking about a topic most of us think we’ve mastered but probably haven’t: communication as operational infrastructure. Bri, a strategist and fractional COO for interior design firms, explains why even the most well-built systems fall apart without clear, intentional language supporting them. From weekly update emails to onboarding decks to meeting notes, she shows how the words you use either reinforce your authority and stabilize your projects or quietly create ambiguity, scope creep, and timeline wobble.

If you’ve ever said, “But it was in the contract,” or felt frustrated that clients aren’t responding the way you expected, this episode is for you. Bri walks us through her four pillars, how language signals expertise, how communication sets the pace, why documentation holds the truth, and how structure shapes client behavior. This conversation will challenge you to look at your processes through a new lens and strengthen the thread that runs through every client interaction.

More About Bri Ussery:

Bri Ussery is a strategist and fractional COO who works alongside interior design principals to build the operational architecture that sustains exceptional creative work.

Her work focuses on strengthening the clarity, structure, and rhythm beneath a studio—how projects move, how decisions are made, how communication flows, and how the business measures its own health—so that vision can be executed with consistency, integrity, and financial steadiness.

Bri began her career in design and understands the pace, pressure, and precision required to run a studio with a full slate of projects and a team to lead. She also saw how quickly strong work can fracture when the structure behind it isn’t steady : when timelines stretch, expectations drift, and studios are forced to reinvent the wheel with every project.

She believes that the caliber of the work is magnified by the architecture that holds it and that good structure doesn’t constrain creativity, it protects it.

Ah Ha Moments with Bri Ussery:

“Clarity is kindness.” - Bri

“Documentation holds the truth.” - Bri

“There is a difference between being warm and being vague.” - LuAnn

Connect with Bri Ussery:

Website

Architecture of Communication Deck

Instagram

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠

Audiobook: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠

Book 2: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠

Book 3: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Resources Mentioned:

This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here!

AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project

AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design

Architecture of Communication Deck

Other Shows Mentioned:

AWDB #986: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: Boundaries and Expectations are a Few of My Favorite Things

AWDB #831: Flashback Friday: Nate Berkus: The Importance of Creating An Exceptional Client Experience

Today with Jessica Matteson:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Jessica Matteson started her business with lots of experience but little time and money to invest in getting Jessica Matteson Landscape Architecture off the ground. Jessica shares her journey from starting with just $35 in advertising postcards to running a successful luxury landscape architecture business.

Pick it apart:

[14:28] Jessica shares her onboarding process in detail

[18:12] Jessica gives a tip on how to handle a client introducing new wants in the middle of a project

[22:78] Jessica shares how she broadens the scope of projects to include additional products

[26:20] Jessica shares how she used to do her discovery process and the benefits of conducting it with her new method

[34:28] Jessica tells the story about how she invented her one-day service concept

[41:20] Jessica shares her simple marketing strategy she’s used since day one

[52:30] Jessica tells about her early years and the mantra that got her through

LuAnn and Jessica Matteson’s Ah-Ha moments:

“I’ve stopped converting people. I just look for people who are open to the message.” – Jessica Matteson

“Just do one thing. Don’t ever let yourself do nothing. Because the difference between something and nothing is everything.” – Jessica Matteson

“Just get ready for when the opportunity is fully available.” – Jessica Matteson

“You can’t work out hard enough in one day to achieve the body you want.” -LuAnn (paraphrasing Jessica’s statement)

More About Jessica Matteson:
Jessica Matteson is a landscape architect that believes in the great joys of life. She works with residential and select commercial clients to design landscapes and distinctive outdoor experiences. Using her signature discovery process, she identifies the special magic of each property and combines it with each clients’ unique identity to create something one-of-a-kind and exceptional. By harnessing the nuances of light, sound, air movement, and perspective, as well as the subconscious psychology of plantings and materials, she tells an original story of a place and its inhabitants.

Jessica’s work is influenced by travel to more than 20 countries to study all genre of landscapes and wild places. She has a Masters of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of science in horticulture, both from Cornell University. Before opening MLA, she worked for highly respected firms in both the south and northeast as well as an organic design-build company in New York State.

Connect with Jessica Matteson:

Website

Instagram

LinkedIn

Pinterest

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast