A Well-Designed Business®

By LuAnn Nigara

Arts Business Design

What's A Well-Designed Business® about?

In today's world being a talent interior designer isn't enough to ensure that you have a profitable and successful business. Design school curricula doesn't always equip you with the business skills to have your interior design business be everything you imagined it would be! A Well Designed Business is here to fill in the gaps and give you real live business skills from some of the top interior designers. Your host, LuAnn Nigara shares her 35 years of success in the interior design industry, and she finds the most successful guests to share their interior design business best practices.

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712: Power Talk Friday: Mol...

10.15.2021

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, publicist Molly Schoneveld is going to share with us how you structure your career to strategically build up your persona and work toward that celebrity status.

A Well-Designed Business® episodes:

10.15.2021 712: Power Talk Friday: Molly Schoneveld: Leveling Up Your Interior Design Business to Celebrity Status Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, publicist Molly Schoneveld is going to share with us how you structure your career to strategically build up your persona and work toward that celebrity status.
10.12.2021 711: Christine Platt: The Afrominimalist Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Christine Platt, the author of The Afrominimalists Guide to Living with Less offers a fresh take on minimalism, why it’s not just a one-day throw-out marathon, and what it takes to get to the core ...
10.08.2021 710: Power Talk Friday: Terri Taylor: Get Paid What You are Worth. Sponsored by Interior Design Business Academy Summit 2021 Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s Power Talk Friday! Today’s Power Talk Friday is sponsored by Interior Design Business Academy and specifically the Interior Design Business Academy 2021 Summit, which is happening Wednesday, November 3rd through to Friday, November 5, ...
10.05.2021 709: Jenny and Ben Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors:The Stages and Decisions to Grow Your Design Business Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Jenny and Ben Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors share the growing pains of their luxury design firm, how they run their team, and how they fill the gaps in expertise. Jenny also details what her ...
10.01.2021 708: Window Treatment Friday: Scaling for Growth with a Digital Project Management System Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Ever wonder how Vita Vygovska of Vitalia Inc. Window Treatments & Awnings has been able to scale her business and maintain a family life at the same time? Her passion for spreadsheets has helped her ...
09.28.2021 707: Rachel Moriarty: Authenticity and Visibility in Your Interior Design Business Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about visibility and authenticity. So many of us are bought into the idea that niching is the right way to go. But when we go to sit down and think about what ...
09.24.2021 706: Power Talk Friday: Bethany Wrede Peterson: Unlocking Your Voice as an Interior Designer Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m talking with Bethany Wrede Peterson, an interior designer, host of Arrived podcast, and business coach who specializes in helping designers find their unique voice. Bethany and I are talking today about a topic ...
09.21.2021 705: Jessica Mann-Amato: Visualization Technology for Your Interior Design Business Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Jessica Mann-Amato of Mancini Duffy, a New York architectural firm specializing in commercial and hospitality projects shares the innovative design software her firm uses to help clients visualize their project, iterate in real-time, and confidently ...
09.17.2021 704: Power Talk Friday: George Oliphant: George to the Rescue Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! George Oliphant from NBC’s George to the Rescue shares how the show (now in the 12th season) came about, how he chooses designers to help him, and why relationships matter. New ...
09.14.2021 703: Leyden Lewis: The Road to AD100 and Elle Decor Top 125 Requires Innovation and Authentic Creativity Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about the root of design—creativity. Bringing creativity and innovation to your design not only establishes you as a designer, it also levels up the value you bring to your clients. My guest ...
09.10.2021 702: Window Treatment Friday: How to Get & Stay Organized in Your Window Treatment Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Vita Vygovska of Vitalia Inc. is back for Window Treatment Friday and this time we’re talking digitizing your systems. Why go digital? Go paperless to take back your time and alleviate that frustrating back and ...
09.07.2021 701: Kristen Rivoli: New Brand, New Year: How Rebranding Can Work for Interior Designers Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Many designers are interested in expanding their business. My guest today, Kristen Rivoli, brings interesting insight into this idea. She recently rebranded and added a passive income stream to her business, built on selling curated ...
09.03.2021 700: Power Talk Friday: Mickie Kennedy: Increasing Visibility & Credibility Using Press Releases Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. For Power Talk Friday, small business PR pro Mickie Kennedy joins us to share a unique angle we can use to help get the attention of publications. Learn how to reverse engineer an effective press ...
08.31.2021 699: Lane McNab: Broaden Your Interior Design Business with a Furniture Line Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I’m joined by Lane McNab. Lane runs a successful interior design business, Lane McNab Interiors, but, like so many of you, she found herself wanting to diversify. That desire eventually led to the birth ...
08.27.2021 698: Power Talk Friday: Desi Creswell: Tactics to Beat Burnout and Overwhelm Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Desi Creswell, interior design coach and mindset guru shares the common signs of overwhelm and what can be done to combat the overwork that quietly sneaks into our lives when we take our eyes off ...
08.24.2021 697: Barry Lantz: Advice from a Seasoned Interior Designer Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. In his twenties, Barry Lantz worked retail before starting his own full-service interior design business. Then, instead of retiring, he switched gears to begin a successful encore career in art. Learn what advice this seasoned ...
08.20.2021 696: Power Talk Friday: Lisa Princic: Uncovering the Value Proposition in Your Interior Design Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. We talk a lot about niching on the show. But today we’re talking about a different aspect of getting clear on what you do—your value proposition. Don’t let the marketing jargon fool you: your value ...
08.17.2021 695: Kate Rasmussen: Breaking into New Interior Design Projects Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about how to take on new projects—specifically projects that you don’t have experience or expertise in. It can seem almost impossible to break into new avenues in your business. But with the ...
08.13.2021 694: Flashback Friday: Christine Lin: Success Starts with Your Goals Welcome to a Well-Designed Business! Flashback Friday is back and we dug up another favorite from the podcast archives. Christine Lin of San Francisco’s Form and Field walks through how she went from working for a designer part-time to starting ...
08.10.2021 693: Amy Lynn Allard: Tactics for Team and Project Management Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Looking for advice on systems to turbo-charge your business? Amy Lynn Allard of Boston’s Amy Lynn Interiors learned to thrive using well-crafted, meticulous systems. She is big on time blocking, but that’s not all. Amy ...
08.06.2021 692: Power Talk Friday: Fiona Mostyn: Leveraging Your Blog to Bolster Your Interior Design Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Many designers know that a blog can be a valuable marketing tool. But are you using your blog to its fullest potential? Or are you making the mistake that many designers make of not beginning ...
08.03.2021 691: What Would Lu Do?: My Vendor Left me High and Dry Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today’s listener question comes to us from a designer whose vendor left them high and dry. Join me today and I break down this listener's dilemma from start to finish.
07.30.2021 690: Power Talk Friday: Emily King: Rewriting Your Money Mindset Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. What money story are you’re playing in your head? Does it open you up to opportunities and building a successful business or does it hold you back from making your dreams a reality? Emily King, ...
07.27.2021 689: Melinda Marquardt: The Ideals You Need to Thrive in Your Interior Design Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m joined by Melinda Marquardt of the Vale London, a line of exquisite textiles and wallpapers for the luxury interiors market. Melinda struck out on her own after years in the corporate world, determined ...
07.23.2021 688: Power Talk Friday: Patricia Lohan: Feng Shui’s Power to Propel You Forward Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Feng Shui expert, Patricia Lohan shares how you can clear your home and office of subconscious obstructions so you can provide space for opportunities and prosperity to flow. Learn how to ...
07.20.2021 687: Demetrius Robinson: Show Up & Do The Work Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Demetrius Robinson, full-service luxury interior designer and lifestyle brand pro behind At Home With Savvy, shares his secret sauce for Instagram success. Demetrius chats about why he recently rebranded, how he approaches his online community, ...
07.16.2021 686: Flashback Friday: Studio Thomas: Finding Clarity on the Brand and Culture of Her Interior Design Firm Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On this week’s Flashback Friday, we’re taking a look back at episode 314 with Kristen Thomas of Studio Thomas. Like many designers, Kristen started her business taking on any work that came her way. But ...
07.13.2021 685: WWLD? Finding the Funds to Invest in my Interior Design Business. Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today’s listener question comes to us from a designer struggling with where to find the funds to invest in their business. I say it all the time, we all have our superpowers. ...
07.09.2021 684: Power Talk Friday: Ethan Beute of BombBomb: Using Video to Share Your Amazing Self Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Ethan Beute, Chief Evangelist at BombBomb shares how a simple video tool can be used to differentiate yourself and showcase the best sales asset you have - yourself! Learn the framework for creating a video ...
07.06.2021 683: Jessica Matteson: The Client Experience Is #1 in Design 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 ...
07.02.2021 682: Flashback Friday: Laura & Cliff Muller: Four Point Design Build Firm Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today we’re taking you back in time for another Flashback Friday, where we revisit some of our can’t-miss episodes from our archives. Today’s flashback episode is Episode 441: Laura & Cliff Muller: Four Point Design ...
06.29.2021 681: Paul Dashevsky: A Proven Process for Vetting Contractors Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Joining me today is Paul Dashevsky. Paul along with Jon Grishpul, are the co-founders of GreatBuildz. Between the two, they have decades of experience in the real estate and construction industries. They’ve seen enough renovation ...
06.25.2021 680: Power Talk Friday: LuAnn University, Even When You’re Slammed. June 2021 Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Business for 90% of us is absolutely bonkers right now, isn’t it? Why is it when we are busy, we so easily throw aside the time to work on our business? ...
06.22.2021 679: John Robert Wiltgen:Hard Conversation, Marketing and Luxury Clients Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. My guest today is John Wiltgen. John has, for the most part, retired, from his 40+ year career as the principal of John Robert Wiltgen Design Inc., based in the Chicago area. John and I ...
06.18.2021 678: Power Talk Friday: Katie McFarlan: The Client Experience Starts with Processes Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m joined by Katie McFarlan of Dakota Design Company. Katie works with designers to build a strong client experience through streamlined processes, smooth operations, and clear expectations. She’s sharing ...
06.15.2021 677: Megan Molten: To Succeed, Focus on Your Why Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Megan Molten is back on the show today! Megan is the principal Megan Molten and interior design firm located and Charleston NC. Megan and I discuss how she achieved huge successes so quickly. For outsiders ...
06.11.2021 676: Window Treatment Friday: Navigating the craziness of post-covid era in 2021 Welcome to Window Treatment Friday! As business owners, the pandemic was scary, to say the least! Every single day was unpredictable and a new scenario we have never faced before. Now, over a year later, we are starting to see ...
06.08.2021 675: Mark Lavender: Standing By Your Interior Design Process Today with Mark Lavender: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. In his 25 years working in institutional medical design, Mark Lavender learned a few things about sticking to processes, creating estimates, and getting over the fear of asking for payment. In ...
06.04.2021 674: Power Talk Friday: LuAnn University: What You Need to Know! Welcome to a Well-Designed Business®. Today, I am telling you all about LuAnn University. We are getting ready to launch our Summer Session of courses on July 6th, 2021, and I can't wait for you to learn more about our ...
06.01.2021 673: What Would Lu Do? Marketing for Client Acquisition: Where do you start? Today is a What Would Lu Do episode where I answer listener questions, and….you guessed it, tell you what I would do! Today’s listener question comes to us from a designer struggling with marketing for client acquisition. So where do ...
05.28.2021 672: Flash Back Friday: Tiffannie White, The Nappy Bohemian: Your “Only” and Lessons From a New Interior Design Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I am introducing a new kind of episode to the show! Welcome to Flash Back Friday, where I revisit old episodes of the podcast. After so many successful years of interviews, there was a ...
05.25.2021 671: Kate Bendewald: High End Commercial Design to Motherhood and Entrepreneurship. Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Sometimes, we start our own business because we always knew that’s what we were meant for. We want to be our own bosses, have flexibility in our work, and take charge of our lives. Other ...
05.21.2021 670: Power Talk Friday: Susan Inglis: Sustainable Furnishings Council, What You Need to Know. Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today, Susan Inglis, Executive Director of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, is sharing with us why sustainable furnishings matter, the power that designers hold when it comes to the future, and how you can embrace these ...
05.18.2021 669: Kelly Collier: Managing Expectations Through Clear Messaging Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m joined by a guest who knows all about balance in her business—Kelly Collier of Plot Twist Design in Philadelphia. Like many designers, Kelly started her business on the side, while working a full-time ...
05.14.2021 668: Power Talk Friday: Marlo Thomas: Leading with Conviction and Preparing for Success Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Marlo Thomas of the hit show, That Girl, shares the story of how her father’s diligence shaped her path to success and how her mother’s graciousness inspired her own product line with Williams Sonoma. She ...
05.11.2021 667: Mark Weaver: Tips for Elevating Your Interior Design Career Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Mark Weaver, an industry veteran launched his full-service LA-based design firm, Mark Weaver & Associates over thirty years ago. He’s a design expert, travel lover, and also a lecturer in the business of design at ...
05.07.2021 666: Power Talk Friday: What Would Lu Do? When Your Client Goes Off the Rails Today is a What Would Lu Do Show where I bring you listener questions, and....you guessed it, tell you what I would do! Today's listener question comes to us from a designer who is in a difficult spot with a ...
05.04.2021 665: Cathy Maready: Listen and Observe Your Client to Unlock Your Interior Design Inspiration Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Cathy Maready shares a special piece of relationship-building wisdom she’s gained from running her North Carolina interior design business called Elephant Ears, since 1990. She also has a clever way to take the ick-factor out ...
04.30.2021 664: Power Talk Friday: Michael Schneider: Virtual Matchmaker for the Interior Design Industry Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Michael Schneider founded BDNY and now he’s in the business of connecting interior designers and suppliers in a whole new way with Next Virtual Meetings. Using the speed dating concept, Michael offers designers an easy ...
04.27.2021 663: Andrea Hysmith: Structure and Flexibility, Keys to Reaching Goals in Your Interior Design Business Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Goal-setting isn’t always easy. All too often, unexpected situations derail our goals entirely. My guest today, Andrea Hysmith, has found the balance between flexibility and structure that allows her to pivot when the unexpected happens, ...

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