A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today With Zach Keenan and Zach Perez:

Are you spending more time checking boxes in your project management software than you are actually designing? We all love the idea of technology making our lives easier, but even with tools and systems, we still end up taking a lot of time out of our day to make them work for us. But what if you could fully and seamlessly automate your most annoying, time-consuming tasks…like searching for a specific receipt in a cluttered drive, manually logging site-visit hours, or moving data from one platform to another? 

My guests today, Zach Perez and Zach Keenan, co-founders of Aupra, join the show to talk about the power of agentic AI. They specialize in building custom automation solutions that go well beyond basic chatbots to create internal systems that act on your behalf.

More About Zach Keenan and Zach Perez:

Zach Keenan and Zach Perez are childhood best friends turned co-founders. After two distinct personal journeys, they reconnected over a shared interest in business in 2025. Recognizing the growing opportunity within AI, they went on to launch Aupra in August of that year. 

Aupra is an AI Automation company that specifically focuses on the design + build industry. They use AI to automate the most-time consuming work design studios have to deal with. 

AI is so much more than just ChatGPT. Creating internal systems is truly where the magic can happen for businesses. 

As young entrepreneurs they are excited to reveal the opportunity AI automation presents to the design industry.

Ah Ha Moments with Zach Keenan and Zach Perez:

"When it goes from AI to agentic in an agentic system, you give AI the capability to take action by giving it tools and giving AI the ability to use tools... allowing AI to now act on your behalf, but not only act by using those tools, but also remember what it did and then do it again and again and again." -Zach Perez

"Ideally, if we can, you know, reduce the amount of time spent doing tedious tasks, you can focus on the things you actually enjoy doing or that make the business more money." -Zach Keenan

"If I am out there and I’m using multiple things and they’re all working for me, but I am still the managing the human person, moving things from place to place, you might be able to replace that activity for me. I think that’s really the bottom line on this, isn’t it?" -LuAnn

Connect with Zach Keenan and Zach Perez:

Website

Youtube

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

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 Shows Mentioned:

AWDB #1171 Jenna Gaidusek: AI Ethics for Interior Designers: Protecting Your Clients and Brand

Today With LuAnn Nigara:

What happens when you have the opportunity to buy an established interior design business?

And more importantly…

How do you honor someone’s legacy while still protecting yourself financially?

In this episode, LuAnn answers a thoughtful listener question from Hannah Textor, a newer designer navigating a potential transition with a long-time designer nearing retirement.

She explains the questions to ask before acquiring a design business:


What actually gives a business transferable value?


What financials should you review?


How do you evaluate client retention risk?


What happens if everything lives in the owner’s head?


And how do you structure a deal that is fair, realistic, and sustainable?

This conversation goes far beyond valuations and contracts. It’s about understanding the difference between a busy business and a profitable one, recognizing hidden liabilities, and learning why trust is often the most valuable asset being transferred.

If you’ve ever considered buying a design firm, selling one, or transitioning a legacy business, this episode will help you ask smarter questions before making a major decision.

Have a Question for WWLD?

Head to: 👉 ⁠luannigara.com/WWLD⁠

Submit your question and it might be featured in an upcoming episode.

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:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! In this episode, LuAnn chats with Jaclyn Lankiewicz, the woman behind the Instagram handle, Jaclynmari_.

She is the principle of Jaclyn Marie Interiors based in Long Island, NY.

Her journey into interior design, like many, has not been a direct line. Basically, Jaclyn created an Instagram page that was getting so much attention that it prompted person after person to ask her if she would design their space. As you will hear today, her response was, “I finally said to myself, ok, let me do this”.

Jaclyn created an Instagram that has created a design business, and since you already have a design business and want to create more clients through Instagram, perhaps you’ll find her tips to be very helpful.

Listen in to see what we can learn about how to attract clients through Instagram!

Show Highlights:

Keep your feed neutral, bright, and uncluttered.

Edit your pictures properly, paying close attention to wood tones.

Be strategic about what and where you’re posting.

Keep an eye on your nine squares.

A picture of herself, a zoomed-in picture of styling, and a larger picture, such as a whole living room or whole kitchen is another tactic that Jaclyn likes to use.

Sharing a little of her personal life through Instagram helps people feel connected to her.

Another tip that Jaclyn offers is tagging retail vendors because they re-post a lot.

Jaclyn likes to share designers on her story (but not on her feed), and details the reasoning behind this.

Answering every message and comment from followers is a great way of engaging with them and inspiring trust.

How to identify someone whose work you’d like to share, and how to reach out.

Understanding your “why” and saying no to those you don’t wish to collaborate with.

Posting new content every day shows your followers that you’re reliable.

Jaclyn mentions apps that she finds helpful: Videoshop, Unfold, rewardStyle, VSCO, Snapseed, Retouch, and Planoly.

Resources: 

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Podcast – Please SUBSCRIBE, Rate & Review!

Purchase LuAnn’s Book!

The Power Talk Friday Tour

LuAnn Live

Connect with Jaclyn!

Jaclyn’s Website

Jaclyn’shouzz

Jaclyn’s Instagram

Wingnut Social

East End Interiors Trade

Thank You to These Podcast Sponsors:

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Kirsch

Open Your Trade Account with ARTICLE.com Here!

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Other guests mentioned from previous episodes:

Sara Lynn Brennan #’s: 463, 514

Darla Powell #’s: 203, 330

Kim Merlitti #’s: 361, 442

Sandra Funk #’s: 2, 145

Welcome to the show! We have Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto, the founders of Park and Oak Interior Design Studio, located in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with us today. These ladies work on new construction, renovation, and furnishing projects across the US, and you may even know them from their Instagram, with 130 000 followers. The way that they handle themselves and speak about their firm really conveys the confidence that they have in what they’re doing. And the success they’ve had in their first three years in business is not at all typical. In today’s episode, Renee and Christina pull back the curtain and boldly share with us their experiences and the lessons they have learned over the last three years. Listen in today, to find out what they have to share.

Christina Samatas and Renee DiSanto founded the Park & Oak interior design studio in 2015. They are known for creating homes that are visually stunning, yet functional and comfortable. Their work, rooted in the art of timeless style, is driven by the belief that design can be used to create feelings of comfort and happiness. It combines the best of their individual aesthetics for a unique look. Christina and Renee have a creative energy that is engaging to work with. Using beautiful and unexpected sources of inspiration, they work collaboratively with clients to create spaces that thoughtfully honor the spirit and traditions of their owner. Tune in now for more!

Show Highlights:

Renee and Christina talk about what each of them brought to the table when they started out, and about what attracted them to each other, as business partners.

Some of the one-year and five-year goals that they established when first starting out.

Renee and Christina’s approach to the individual roles that they have in the business.

Renee describes the really special way that she and Christina work together.

From a park bench to a studio.

The first person that they hired was a bookkeeper.

What kept them powering through in the beginning, when they were sacrificing a lot and there were many challenges to face.

Struggling with balancing family life and business.

It took some time to bring their really awesome team together.

In year two, they experienced a turning point in the business.

They use a finite system to prevent problems and execute their projects efficiently.

Learning from their mistakes and gaining the courage to stand up for themselves.

Creating the right systems, in order to protect themselves.

There’s really a lot going on behind the scenes too.

How they find the time to keep their systems in order and their projects running smoothly.

Renee is behind their really impressive Instagram following.

Links:

Park And Oak

Facebook: Park And Oak Design

Twitter: Park And Oak

Instagram: Park And Oak Design

Pinterest: Park And Oak

Today With Josh Cooperman:

Josh Cooperman and I have been crossing paths at trade events for years — waving at each other across the hall, meaning to sit down, never quite making it happen. We finally did, live at KBIS in the KB podcast studio, and this conversation was worth every year of waiting.

Josh is the host and publisher of Convo by Design, a platform dedicated to exploring what he calls sublime design and the creatives who make extraordinary spaces a reality. His background is anything but conventional — degrees in journalism and social sciences from Washington State University, followed by a career that ran through CBS Radio's motorsports division in Dallas, music promotion at KDGE-FM, and a stint as General Manager and Program Director of Playboy Radio. Yes, really. He started Convo by Design in 2013 because he wanted to do what he always wanted to do when he grew up, tell stories about the things he loves. Sound familiar?

What makes this conversation different is that Josh and I are both long-timers in this space. We started our shows within a year of each other, when most people didn't know what a podcast was. We've watched this medium grow, get crowded, get noisy, and get commoditized. And we have a lot of opinions about what that means for anyone thinking about entering it now.

We also get honest about what we're each building next and why the next chapter looks nothing like the last one.

In this episode, we talk about:


Why most designers who want a podcast should pause and answer one question before they do anything else


What your "why" has to be — and why lead gen from an industry-only audience is not a strategy


The real reason 90% of podcasts die before episode 10, and what separates the ones that don't


Why "award-winning" and "luxury" have lost their power as positioning language — and what to say instead


The editorial calendar mistake LuAnn made for seven years (and what she finally did about it)


Why the trade publications seeded thought leadership to podcasters — and what that opened up for all of us


The MBA format: what it is, why it's coming, and what it means for how you use this show going forward


Josh's new venture, Shelter Republic — a closed-end, invitation-only community for designers who want peer connection, thought leadership development, and real conversation outside of the once-a-year trade event circuit


Why the best idea Josh has had in years came from his son — a computer engineer with zero background in design who spotted a gap the industry couldn't see from the inside

If you've been listening to this show for a while, this one will feel like a conversation between two people who have been doing this work long enough to tell you the truth about it. And if you're newer here, welcome. This is a good one to start with.

Connect with Josh: Convo by Design: convobydesign.com Shelter Republic inquiries: [email protected]

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.

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

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