A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today with Kelly Finley:

Kelly Finley built the firm you're told to want. Nine people. Two offices, one in California and one in Georgia. Major projects, press, a team that could run circles without her in the room. From the outside, she'd made it.

Then her husband's job moved the family to Georgia, and the model that got her there started costing her more than it gave back. The distance between offices. The team changes that came with distance. The quality control that got harder to hold onto from three time zones away. Kelly had to sit with a question a lot of designers avoid asking once they've already built something big: is this actually what I want, or is it just what I built?

Her answer wasn't dramatic. It was a decision, made in stages, to bring the firm back down to a lean, senior team, and to know her numbers well enough to trust the decision. She talks about what it costs to keep a firm open every month, why she used AI to reshape a six figure role instead of hiring someone new to do the same job the same old way

She also talks about Joy Street Initiative, the nonprofit she runs alongside her design firm, renovating spaces in women's and children's shelters with the same care she'd bring to a client's living room. This year marks 15 years in business, and she's launching a campaign called 15 Spaces to raise $150,000 for that work. To learn more about that go to joystreetinitiative.com

This is a conversation about what happens when you've already proven you can build the big version, and you decide better matters more than bigger. Listen in and hear how she's doing it.

More About Kelly Finley:

Kelly Finley is the founder of Joy Street Design, a nationally-acclaimed interior design firm, and Joy Street Initiative, a nonprofit transforming spaces for women and children in crisis. She also co-hosts Hustle Adjacent, a podcast about designing the life you actually want to live. Known for bold color, joyful spaces, and an unapologetic approach to living well, Kelly doesn’t just design beautiful rooms. She’s proof that you can build a life of purpose, success, and pleasure without compromise.

Connect with Kelly Finley:

Website

Joy Street Initiative

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

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

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT

⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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

Other Shows Mentioned:

Episode 1144: BEST OF: Marianna Zimmerman: It’s Never Too Late to Design Your Life

Episode 1203: Madelaine Mayer: The Interior Designer Who Spent 20 Years as an Architect Before Choosing Joy

Today on the show I have yet another fabulous business coach who specializes in our industry! Michele Williams is with me! Michele is the founder of Scarlet Thread and Consulting in Atlanta, Georgia. Today we will learn about Michele’s background which includes the financial software industry as well as a business in soft window treatment fabricator. She also has a BS in business administration, a diploma in Christian life coaching and she is one of the few certified profit first coaches in the United States. Michele was also the communication director and editor in chief of the Drapery and Designs Professional Magazine from 2009 to 2012. She is a member of The Design Collective in Atlanta, the Designers Work Club Council and the Window Covering Association of America. After talking to Michele I realized that there are so many things I could talk with her about but after we talk about her background a little bit we are going to pull apart work scheduling and chunking our day to have more productivity.

Show Notes:

What is her background in the financial software industry?

When did she decide to start her window treatment business?

Did she start with a business plan?

How did she start to make her business bigger?

What is the Design Collective in Atlanta?

What is a round table discussion and how is it helpful?

How is the Window Coverings Association helpful to Michele and her business?

What are some of things that you can expect Michele to talk about the expo IWCE in Charlotte?

Why is it important to listen to different people say the same things?

Why is important to be able to chunk your time for productivity?

Is it better to be proactive or reactive?

How should you plan your calendar?

Resources:

Website: Scarlet Thread Consulting

Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

Instagram: Scarlet Thread

LinkedIn: Michele Williams

Twitter: Michele Williams

Financial Health Checklist PDF: Scarlet Thread Consulting

Previous shows mentioned:

#104 Kate the Socialite

#94 Debi Pinelli (A& J Interiors)

#69,

#93 Stacey Brown Randall

#128 Grace McNamara

#125,

#317 Nicole Heymer

#141 Jim Riviello

Links:

WCAA

IWCE Vision

Window Fashion Vision

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

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT

⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Today with Eileen Hahn

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! Today, Luann and her guest, Eileen Hahn, dig into how to scale your design business from 2 million to 5 million. Going from 2 to 5 million is not easy, and it does not happen by accident. Intentional is the name of the game when scaling at this level. Who better to take us through that than Eileen? She’s the HR whisperer from LuAnn’s first Power Talk Friday Experts book. Eileen was with us all at LuAnn Live and she also has a chapter in LuAnn’s upcoming second Power Talk Friday Experts book, as well. Oh, and did you know that LuAnn and Eileen are COUSINS? Tune in to their conversation for expert advice on hiring, retaining, and scaling, and be amazed as Eileen takes

this overwhelming task of scaling and breaks it down into a simple (not easy, simple) to-do list!

Eileen Hahn is a leadership consultant who works with firms like Anheuser-Busch, Ericson Worldwide, General Motors, Legoland, San Diego Padres, and interior design firms, as well as smaller entrepreneurial firms. She teaches leaders in these organizations how to hire and lead exceptional employees who bring fire and energy to their work, achieve high levels of performance, and generate financial results. Eileen’s work has improved productivity, profitability, and employee work passion. It has also brought the employees joy, peace, purpose, and prosperity.

Show Highlights:

Create a compelling vision statement that defines your firm. Make it something your team can get excited about and feel proud to be a part of.

Then take that vision and get real with it – set a monetary goal.

Now, back up that financial goal with a sales strategy. It’s human nature to just hope you’ll hit your goal. But just hoping isn’t going to get you where you want to go. To hit your dollar amount goal, you must dedicate considerable time to developing your sales strategy.

Dissect your business. Think about:

What has worked before?

Can this take us to the next level, or is this activity maxed out?

What am I going to do differently to scale?

Eileen breaks down the overwhelming task of scaling and breaks it down into these simple steps:

What do I like doing?

What am I good at doing?

What market segment do I enjoy working in?

Each year you should spend a minimum of 2-3 days of strategic analysis and planning for your business. Quarterly planning is even better!

The world is changing and so is business, so we must keep on eye on what is working and plan for new strategies.

Understand where you are as the business owner, what you need, and where you see yourself so that you can set yourself up for success with the right people.

Eileen shares hiring considerations and tips.

If you’re thinking about growth, recognize this time as the last opportunity you’ll have to assess whether each person on your team fits and is utilizing their strengths and skills.

Eileen has put in the work for you on preparing Interior Design Firm Hiring Toolkits for hiring Exceptional Designers, Design Assistants, Expediter/Purchasers, Bookkeepers, and Office Administrators. The investment is $297 for each role, or purchase the bundle for a discounted price!

Connect with Eileen!

Eileen’sWebsite

Eileen’s Instagram

Eileen’s LinkedIn

Eileen’s Interior Design Firm Hiring Toolkits

Eileen’s Email

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

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT

⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Other shows mentioned

#363 Eileen Hahn

#364 Janelle Photopoulos

#127, #388, #549 Corey Damen Jenkins

#130, #215 Kate O’Hara

#64, #492 Laura Umansky

Today With LuAnn Nigara:

When a potential client asks an AI search tool for an interior designer who solves the exact problem you solve, will your business show up?

LuAnn decided to test the question on her own business, and the results were eye-opening. AI understood a lot about LuAnn Nigara Inc., but it missed one of her newest offers and recommended a one-time coaching program from around 2017 that hasn't been available for years.

In this solo episode, LuAnn connects this discovery to lessons she's been teaching for nearly a decade, including Fred Berns' “Only,” Deb Mitchell's approach to specific website copy, Melissa Fields' lesson on connecting your differentiators to client benefits, and Robyn White's reminder that beautiful work is not enough.

You'll learn how to audit the public information about your own design firm, test the real questions your ideal clients may be asking, and identify where outdated, generic or incomplete information may be getting in the way.

The goal isn't to write your website for robots. It's to make sure the information about your business is current, specific and true, so the right clients can understand why you're the right fit.

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

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT

⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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

Today With Jennifer Tokatyan:

Today on A Well-Designed Business, I speak with Jennifer Tokatyan, leadership consultant and partner with Eileen B Hahn. With over 20 years of experience, Jennifer shares her proven 7-step framework for building strong company culture that drives team performance and business growth. Don’t miss information about her upcoming LuAnn University course, “Build an Exceptional Team that Gets Results,” starting January 2025.

LuAnn Nigara and Jennifer Tokatyan’s Ah-Ha Moments

“Culture matters the moment you have another human being you are interacting with because you are now interdependent on them to execute on the very things you are trying to deliver,” – Jennifer Tokatyan

“Once you clarify yourself as the leader and you exemplify that and are consistent, the whole team will follow. And the ones who don’t, you can show them the door,” – LuAnn Nigara

More About Jennifer Tokatyan

Jennifer Tokatyan is a leadership consultant and a consulting partner with Eileen B Hahn. Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in small and large organizations across multiple industries in public, private and nonprofit sectors. She has worked with and for Fortune 500 companies as well as fast-paced entrepreneurial start-ups and Founder-led companies including interior design, hospitality, real estate, apparel, retail, manufacturing, non-profit and more.

Jennifer provides leadership, talent optimization, organizational development, strategic HR consulting and coaching to organizations seeking to grow their people and business, deliver on their brand promise, create the culture and environment where its people flourish and achieve exceptional results. She has several active interior design clients across the United States and was on the expert panel at LuAnn Nigara’s Power Talk Friday at High Point Market in October, 2022.

Connect with Jennifer Tokatyan

Website

LinkedIn

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT

⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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

Other Shows:

AWDB #68: Chad James- “Think Forward” – Employee Management