Welcome to today's episode of A Well-Designed Business! We have Laura Buchner and Kirsten McCoy with us on the show and today we are going to be talking to them about how their interior design firm was founded in 1982 by Penny Steele, and how they purchased it from her in 2005 when she retired. Listen in as we pick apart their motivation for buying an existing business from someone else rather than starting their own business from scratch.

Laura and Kirsten are the principals of Meadowbank Designs, which is located in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania area. Meadowbank Designs has completed a wide range of projects throughout the country, for generations of clients, from historic preservation to vacation homes and also additions and renovations. They are best known for residential design which combines traditional motifs with a modern sensibility, and also for providing the highest quality of design excellence and personal service. Listen in today to find out about Laura and Kirsten's decision to buy their business, and how they went about acquiring it.

Show highlights:

• Kirsten and Laura discuss their decision to buy the business.
• The confidence that they felt about their relationships with the existing clients.
• The really awesome way that Penny, the previous owner of the business, worked to create a great relationship between Laura, Kirsten and the existing clients.
• What made them decide to buy an existing business, rather than starting up one of their own.
• The organic process of how they came to decide to buy the business from the previous owner.
• How the previous owner arrived at the value of the business.
• The time that it took for the business to be fully paid off and for Kirsten and Laura to begin making a profit.
• How they worked their finances, in order to get the business paid off as quickly as possible.
• Using professional systems, in order to run a business the right way.
• How they overcame the difficulties that they experienced during the recession in 2008.
• The importance of their constant and clear communication.
• The number of clients that they typically handle during any given quarter.
• The roles that Laura and Kirsten each play for their projects.
• The really mature way that they handle conflict when it comes up.
• The different, yet complimentary things that Laura and Kirsten each bring to the business.
• Some things worth considering, when thinking about buying an existing business.

Previous episodes mentioned on the show:

Fred Berns: Episodes #22, #48, #96, #174, #226 and #289

Links:

Meadowbank designs can be found at:

Meadowbank Designs

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Fred Bern's website: https://interiordesignbusiness.net