Creative Genius Podcast

Do you dream of seeing your interior design projects in top-tier publications? Are you confused about the difference between PR and marketing, or unsure how to craft a compelling pitch that grabs an editor’s attention? If so, this episode is a must-listen!

On this episode of The Creative Genius Podcast, Erin Weir sits down with PR and marketing expert Dawn Brinson to explore the ins and outs of publicity for interior designers. With years of experience helping creatives build their brands and gain recognition, Dawn shares invaluable insights on how to navigate the world of PR, from crafting the perfect pitch to handling media inquiries like a pro. Dawn is currently the CEO of A New Day Creative Communications and Marketing, an agency which she founded.

Dawn breaks down the fundamental differences between PR and marketing and how the two work together to elevate a designer’s visibility. She explains that PR is all about shaping public perception and influencing action, whether through media features, industry awards, events, or speaking engagements. But, as she notes, “Marketing is the overarching discipline…PR is one of the tactics that we put under marketing typically.”

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How to research and target the right editors and journalists for your work

What makes a pitch stand out (hint: it’s all about being concise, clear, and unique!)

Why it’s crucial to have high-resolution images, project details, and headshots ready before reaching out to media outlets

The biggest mistakes designers make when pitching their work and how to avoid them

What to do if you get rejected or don’t hear back from an editor

Dawn also shares why it’s essential to be patient when pursuing media coverage. PR isn’t an overnight success story. It’s a long-term investment that requires strategy and persistence. She recounts a story of a client who waited nearly a year for their project to be featured, showcasing that sometimes the best opportunities take time.

As the media landscape continues to evolve, Dawn provides practical advice on leveraging digital platforms, social media, and owned content (like blogs and newsletters) to attract press and build an audience. Instead of waiting for an editor’s approval, you can “create so much dynamic demand in what you are doing on your own sites that editors and journalists and freelancers and others come to you and say, would you give us some of this?”

Whether you’re new to PR or looking to refine your publicity strategy, this episode is packed with actionable tips to help you gain recognition and build a lasting brand.

To keep up with what Dawn is doing, follow her on Instagram.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s13e3-shownotes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhZ-Mq4D2KU

Episode Transcript

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Well, Dawn, I'm so excited to have you, my good friend Dawn Brinson on the Creative Genius podcast today. Thanks for joining me.

Thanks so much for having me.

the area and I really do appreciate it.

Yeah, well, let's go ahead and get started and just share a little bit about yourself and what you do.

Sure, sure. My company is called A New Day. It's creative communications and marketing. I work with all sorts of creative entrepreneurs that are your designers, furniture manufacturers, product manufacturers, anyone who has a creative bend to their business and themselves. On public relations and marketing, brand strategy, brand visioning,

into the designer.

product designers.

work on public

executive consultation, had the great good fortune to have Pearl Collective as a client for a number of years now and it's been a terrific relationship for me. And I'm based in High Point, North Carolina, but serve clients all over the world.

I love that. I love that. Well, it's always nice to know that you are feet on the ground and high point. You always know what's moving and shaking.

especially when this herd of people come to High Point twice a year and gather together for market. So let's go ahead and dive in. So most people use marketing and PR interchangeably, and they are different, but they're interconnected disciplines. And so can you help us understand some of the differences and similarities between the two?

Absolutely.

valuable to those who work on this side of the business.I think a lot of the time. Marketing is the all-encompassing discipline of putting together a strategic plan for your business, for where you are now versus where you want to be, and then how to get there. PR is one of the tactics that we put marketing technically, number of others, and to us, PR is public relations.

under market.

Some people use.

as a shorthand for press release and that's fine. Public Relations covers an entire gamut of services and you can use separately from all of the other marketing tactics and tools and ideas. I like to look at it as integrated part of a holistic marketing effort.

perfectly.

Use it.

the dialogies.

the whole way through marketing.

Okay, well, I think that that's probably a helpful definition for a lot of people because a lot of people want to get published, but I think sometimes they get into what is a marketing tactic versus what's getting published versus there's so many different terms out there. So I'm glad that we started with that just so that we're all on the same page. Okay, so let's talk about some specific things that fall under the PR category and which ones designers can really

use well and probably should be using.

Some of the things that designers can use in terms of PR. Public relations covers a lot more than just getting published or being recognized in some sort of location or digital platform. Public relations is all about creating a particular perspective, a particular perception of you and your business and then using that to influence

Public digital.

brand.

people to take a certain kind of action for you. That's what public relations is all about. So we may use the press to do a lot of that for us, whether it be having a project published or an interview for you as an executive, but it can also be thinking about winning an award or getting some other sort of accolade. We also throw

or not that would

you

like.

events like podcasts and those sorts of things into the public relations, big pot of things that are happening. So there are many ways to leverage public relations in a way that is.

that in getting press, also other sports of elements of notoriety, again, how us as PR professionals or you as designer to change the perception about your company and to persuade people to do something specific.

that allow

the design.

Okay, so when it comes to pitching to editors in the interior design space, what do you see as some of the common mistakes that designers make and how can they refine their pitches to really stand out in that crowded inbox of that editor?

Absolutely. The first thing that we need to recognize is that the publication landscape, whether or not we're talking print publications or digital platforms has changed so dramatically just in the last five years that you pitch when you pitch and how you pitch has changed. The policies around it haven't changed, but what you can expect from it and how often you can do

there.

the way

around it.

really have.

altered. So for example, you have to be incredibly brief in any kind of pitch that you want. We as creatives want to tell a story. my goodness, do you see this

around everything. want to tell you all the details.

This piece of marble that's over my shoulder came from India, and I want to

may, etc. Regular and smart, savvy pitch is really simple and to the point to an editor. It has to be something that will capture his or her attention very quickly. If that's not the case in the first, let's say, 25 words, then you're probably going to get pushed to one side because these editors are even busier than they've been.

of

incredibly busy.

in years past. If there is something that is unique about your project that you want to see, need to say that upfront again and very quickly. No longer do we have the pleasure of publishing really beautiful environments. Everybody's environments that pitching are really pretty and exceptional work.

or about something to speak about.

and are generally, they're really.

be something unique. needs to be something

something sometimes a little controversial about it or a little different in order for it to find space in a publication. You also want to know what it is that that particular publication likes to publish. are you looking for? Don't send a beautiful country estate to a publication that

about it.

Mm-hmm.

they looking for.

only does modern townhouses. Don't send them something blue and white if they've done five things that are blue and white that you've seen in the last year. That's just wasting everybody's time. So, you know, let's kind of get serious about it. So what you really want to have in a quick, simple pit, your contact information, clear, upfront, straightforward, how to get in touch

with you.

If you're doing a project.

pitching a project.

They'll want to know where it is, what's special about it, what did you do? They love looking at the entire project, even if you didn't do all of it, because that gives them context. Tell them again why it's unique and different, and tell them that you will follow up with them in a short period of time. Also let them know that resolution images are available. Please do not inundate them with a ton of imagery.

send them two or three really great photos, maybe five.

beyond that.

Either give them a link,...

Are you running your interior design business, or is it running you? Between managing clients, tracking expenses, handling purchasing, and keeping up with tax filings, the financial side of an interior design firm can be overwhelming. But what if you could streamline your processes and free up time to focus on what you do best: designing beautiful spaces?

In this episode of the Creative Genius Podcast, host Erin Weir sits down with Corey Greenburg, Director of Sales and Marketing at DesignerAdvantage, to discuss the essential financial systems that interior designers need to succeed. With over a decade of experience helping designers optimize their bookkeeping, purchasing, and business operations, Corey shares valuable insights into how designers can run a more profitable and efficient business.

Corey shared a wealth of knowledge about running your business, including bookkeeping. “The key is to have a system, and that system may look different for every designer out there, but you need to establish that strong system and stick to it.” Corey emphasizes that whether you use QuickBooks, Studio Designer, or another software, consistency is crucial. From falling behind on bank reconciliations to neglecting sales tax filings, Corey outlines the most common financial missteps and how to avoid them.

Corey also discussed:

How to make time tracking work for you: Whether you bill hourly or use flat fees, tracking your time effectively can help you identify inefficiencies, improve profitability, and scale your business. Corey suggests tools like Harvest and time-blocking strategies to make the process easier.

The power of outsourcing: “A designer’s hours are precious,” Corey explains. He shares how outsourcing administrative tasks like bookkeeping, purchasing, and even social media can free up time for designers to focus on higher-value activities.

How to build strong vendor relationships: Interior designers rely heavily on vendors, and Corey explains why treating them as partners rather than just suppliers can lead to better pricing, improved service, and a more seamless design process.

Scaling your business the right way: Corey shares a real-world success story of a designer who went from $300,000 in annual revenue to over $10 million by streamlining her operations and leveraging outsourcing to scale her firm.

Mindset shifts for financial success: Many designers are comfortable with the creative side of their business but hesitant about the numbers. Corey explains why viewing financial management as a tool for growth (rather than a dreaded task) is a game-changer for long-term success. "If you run the business right, interior design can be extremely profitable.”

To book a call with Corey, you'll find his calendar link here.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s13e2-shownotes

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Studio Designer, QuickBooks, Harvest: Software tools for financial tracking and time management

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy: A book on productivity and prioritization

Financial Masterclass at Pearl Collective: A quarterly workshop to help designers master their finances. Check out our events page to see if we're hosting one soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sj7hvbZrBp8&pp=ygUYcGVhcmwgY29sbGVjdGl2ZSBwb2RjYXN0

Episode Transcript

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Well, Cory, thank you so much for being with us today. Welcome to the Creative Genius Podcast.

That's my pleasure to be here. Thanks so much, Aaron.

Yeah, so why don't we just get started with you just telling a little bit about yourself and your company and what you guys do for interior designers.

Yeah, I'd be happy to. And it's such an honor to be with you guys today. I think there's a lot of need in the industry for designers to get more data and just best practices. So I love what you guys are doing and it's great to be with you. I am the Director of Sales and Marketing at Designer Advantage. I've been with the company for 10 and a half years and our mission is to really help designers run a great business. We understand.

how difficult the interior design industry is and how difficult of a business it is to run. So, you we provide bookkeeping and purchasing services for designers and we've been doing it for 25 years. So Mark Malinsky is our founder and CEO. He has a CPA, his mother is a really talented artist and that's how he got into the industry. had some connections through his mom and, you know, just kind of realized, like I said, how difficult the business is to run. it's, as you know, it's kind of a,

perfect storm with creative thinkers trying to run really difficult businesses. So that's where we come in. We work with a few hundred designers across the country, but we're based out of Boston. And that's where I live and where I grew up as well.

Awesome. Well, I'm jealous of the Boston situation. I'd like to be there a little bit more often.

Yeah, don't.

Don't be too jealous in the winter, it gets-

So Cory, interior designers often juggle multiple projects at once. There's thousands of details in every single project that we are working on. How do, how can they maintain clear and organized financial records without getting overwhelmed with all of the other details that they're dealing with? I think sometimes the books might be not the main focus.

Yeah.

It's such a good point and a great question. think, I mean, the key is to have a system and that system may look different for every designer out there, but you need to establish that strong system and stick to it. And if you trust that process, it's going to work for you. There are a lot of different softwares out there that designers can use to help stay organized. mean, Studio Designer, House Pro.

QuickBooks, we have our own software called Designer Link, but having a software, having a system that you and your team members are comfortably using is so, important. And then, know, some specifics too, just to help stay organized. There are things that we see, you know, by managing the books for designers, there are things that we see that designers sometimes forget to do. And, you know, one of the biggest things is making sure that every single expense that you have is linked to a project.

So you should be enter everything that you enter, everything that you enter into your system that is project related. You need to tag it to that specific project to help stay organized. But, you know, just having that standard system, that standard process really helps designers stay on on tax. Because like I said before, it's so complicated, this business. You know, you're essentially running a furniture store with all the purchasing and then you're also a consultant with your design expertise. So, you know, there's a lot of moving pieces.

Yeah, you know, I guess as I think about, I know there's so many different systems and software is that you can use and as I always think about it's like kind of how I think about spaces is walking through a floor plan. I basically grew up on studio designer and Gail's residential interior design business. We actually had a designer and desktop at the time. And so that is how I think about it. I know there's other ways to do it as well. But yeah.

Yeah, I mean, I totally agree. There's a lot of options. I think sometimes I talk with a designer who usually smaller firms and they're trying to manage everything just in Excel or just using Word docs for their proposals and purchase orders. And I just want to pull my hair out because I know there's a better way to do it and people get stuck in their ways. And I understand that. It's you get used to your own way of doing things. You don't want to change it.

There are better ways to do it and the most successful designers have that system, that software that they're operating.

Well, I mean, we were not even in a process webinar yesterday and designers were talking about, mean, not everybody uses an Asano or a click up, you know, they're still using their spreadsheets and don't get me wrong, I have a lot of different spreadsheets that I use in business too, but it was just these you could see these light bulbs popping up of like, gosh, I could get this out of a spreadsheet and into a system. And so, yeah, it would be great to do that with your books as well.

Yeah, without a doubt. mean, we've been doing this for a long time and we used to work out of Google Docs. Like there has to be a way for a designer to transfer their item specifications, their details onto a proposal and how we used to work, it was a very manual labor intensive process. And I think there are still a lot of designers operating that way. But when we created our software and when Studio Designer has really taken

Advancements. It's those systems. Those softwares have helped designers streamline the process and reduce time spent on administrative tasks. That's what the softwares really are there to do.

Awesome. Okay, well, so let's get back over to interior designers and bookkeeping mistakes. What are some of the most common bookkeeping mistakes that you see interior designers making and how can they avoid them to ensure smoother financial operations inside of their business?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, you know, bookkeeping is scary to a lot of designers. And so, you know, the number one mistake that we see is getting behind on the bookkeeping. know, once you're a month behind on your bank and credit card reconciliations, it's almost like, I'm behind, I don't even want to think about it. I get nervous thinking about it. And then you're two months behind and then you're three months behind. And it's really dangerous if you fall behind on your bank and credit card reconciliations because

...

Why do some teams thrive while others struggle despite having talented individuals? The answer is often team culture. A strong, well-defined culture can make or break an organization, affecting not just performance but also employee engagement, accountability, and overall job satisfaction. But how do you create that kind of culture in your own business, and leverage it for business success?

In this episode of the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby talks with team-building expert and leadership coach Sean Glaze. Sean shares his insights on what it takes to cultivate a winning culture, drawing from his experience as a basketball coach and now as a speaker and consultant. His practical, no-nonsense approach helps leaders build environments where their teams can thrive.

Sean Glaze started this path as a basketball coach, using culture to lead several programs to new heights of success. With two decades of experience creating stronger cultures in locker rooms, Sean is now a team-building speaker and works with organizations to solve their team issues. He earned his Bachelors Degree in English at Georgia Southern University then a Masters and Specialist Degrees from Jacksonville State University. He has written several books, some of which are linked in the resources below.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

The Five Pillars of a GREAT Team Culture – Sean explains his "GREAT" acronym, which breaks down the essential components of a strong workplace culture: Goals, Relationships, Expectations, Accountability, and Thankfulness.

Why Talent Alone Isn’t Enough – Strategy and skills matter, but without the right cultural foundation, even the best employees will struggle to perform at their highest level.

The Role of Leadership in Shaping Culture – Leaders set the tone, and Sean dives into how you behavior, communication, and decision-making can either strengthen or weaken your culture.

How to Hold Your Team Accountable Without Conflict – Many leaders struggle with enforcing accountability. Sean provides a framework for setting expectations and maintaining high standards in a way that fosters trust and respect.

Common Hiring Mistakes That Hurt Culture – Learn how to identify candidates who align with your company’s values and why hiring for culture fit is just as important as technical skills.

How to Engage and Retain Your Best Employees – Employee loyalty isn’t just about paychecks. Sean shares the key "loyalty anchors" that keep top talent committed to your organization.

Sean also discusses why founders and business owners need to reflect on their leadership style and ask themselves, “What part of my leadership led to that response or that behavior?” This question that can be a game-changer for those looking to improve team dynamics and performance.

If you're a business owner, manager, or team leader looking to create a more engaged, high-performing workplace, this episode is packed with actionable insights you won’t want to miss.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s13e1-shownotes

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Sean Glaze’s Books:

Rapid Teamwork – A guide to building a more cohesive and productive team.

Staying Coachable – A roadmap for personal and professional growth through continuous learning and adaptability.

Sean Glaze’s Website: Great Results Team Building

For more leadership tips and strategies, follow Sean on LinkedIn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jamdqS_S4I4

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the Creative Genius Podcast, Shawn. I just wanted to thank you again. came and spent a really wonderful session with our boardroom clients in September, and it was phenomenal. We really loved it. Everybody loved your session and walked away with lots of ah-hahs. So thank you for being here and being a part of it.

am absolutely thrilled to be back and to share with your audience and listeners. And hopefully I do make this a valuable experience for those who are joining us, whether it's watching or listening.

Well, I have no doubt about that. So let's just dive right in. And I want to talk about culture because this is a topic that I have lots of conversations with my clients about all the time. How important is that today to all businesses?

You know, and, as you know, and the people that were there at the amazing boardroom retreat that you guys put together, my background is as a basketball coach. so a lot of what I do now in working with organizations, whether it's in, the industry where it's, you know, kind of you design or whether it's with medical or whether it's with finance, ultimately teams or teams and people or people in the same issues we had in our locker room, people having with their teams.

And whether that's hybrid, remote leadership and teams are still kind of based upon the same principles. And so culture is, what I completely neglected the first year that I had the opportunity to really be a leader. And I'd focused so much Gale on strategy. And obviously you need good people. You need to have talent. Talent's essential, but it's never sufficient. You got to have a good scheme. You got to have strategy. That's what your people want to do. And what I learned that first year was that, you know, without culture,

to support your talent and your scheme. Ultimately, that talent and scheme gets sabotaged when you're neglecting things that would have actually helped to support them. so culture, I'll share, and obviously you've heard this once or twice before, culture is nothing more than the behaviors that are allowed and repeated in your organization, on your team. And it's your job as a leader to realize there's really five major areas of culture that you need to give attention to.

in order to make sure that you create an environment where those people and that strategy can really thrive and give yourself an opportunity to not just have success, but hopefully sustain success and the ability to scale as well.

Mm hmm. So the the five areas of culture, do you want to dive into that a little bit?

Yeah, I'll go ahead and share that and that'll maybe be the foundation of some of the rest of our conversation. I use the unbelievably simple and silly and cheesy acronym of great. If you want a great team, you need to focus upon the five vital areas of culture. The first is goals. You need to make sure that people understand why they're there. You need to have that mission statement very, very clear of what it is you're seeking to accomplish each day and where you're going and who you're serving.

The next is, you build relationships within your organization on your team? So you appreciate not just the people and the backgrounds and the personalities and the challenges and the desires of the people you're working with, but do they feel that you actually have their best interest in mind that again, you're always going to as a leader, you're going to work harder than anybody else in your organization, but do they feel that you care about them and their path as well? so building relationships, what do you need to know about your people to get the best out of?

because not everybody's gonna be the same, you're not gonna treat everybody the same. The next is expectations. And I think that's where, for the leaders that almost always do a pretty good job of identifying goals, and this is why we're here, these are our metrics, this is what success is gonna look like. And then they will oftentimes, you know, at least give some attention or intentional time and resources to try and to build some connection and do some team building of some kind.

But oftentimes I see where a lot of leaders sometimes drop the ball is in that area of expectations. And do you really take time to clarify your values and the standards and the commitments that your team is going to operate under? And then after you establish those expectations, the A portion of that kind of great acronym is accountability, because it's not a question of if, but when something happens that you need to address. And how do you do that effectively so that it's not the defensiveness

or the kind of reactionary revolt that you don't want that conversation to have when you are hopefully helping somebody to stay coachable. And then finally, do you take the time to really be intentional about thanking your people and making sure that they feel recognized for the effort that they've given. So those are kind of the five areas. And many leaders do a really good job with at least one or two or three.

But I found in the coaching conversations I've had and working even in conference settings that people come up, hey, I'm really good at X, Y, and Z, but I really needed to be reminded of blank because that's an area that I've neglected. And I think that that sometimes is a key catalyst to seeing your team improve is realizing which of those five areas maybe hasn't gotten the attention that it needs.

Well, there's a good one here that I'd like to dive into a little bit deeper, which is accountability. And accountability is something that I hear a lot in the coaching that I do with clients, that they're finding it hard to hold their people accountable and have them not just accountable for deadlines, but for accuracy and maybe their ability to provide great client service. So how do you get people to be accountable and how do you address the issue when they're not?

I think that everything follows first the goal and then the relationship. And again, I used to make fun of the Tony the Tiger because you really need to focus on the grr before you get to the eight. Because if you haven't really nailed home and really spent time and been intentional about clarifying goals and mission and roles and really being

Not that long ago, interior designers who wanted to get their projects or profiles published had just a few options—mainly newspapers and magazines. Today, the digital revolution has created a plethora of new media hungry for content. How to decide where and what to publish with whom?

In this episode, Gail talks with publishing and public relations expert Kelly Peterson. Kelly has over 40 years of experience in advertising sales and marketing initiatives. Among other publications, she worked at Meredith Publishing on Better Homes and Gardens. Having retired from the Hearst Corporation after 22 years, she now serves as a consultant and public speaker.

Gail asked Kelly which is better for interior designers, to get published in print or in digital media. Kelly said it depended on what goals the designer had for their business and for getting published. Digital media are very effective for building brand awareness and engaging with prospective clients. Print media is where you want to be to show off your design talents and expertise, as well as to gain prestige as a top designer.

Kelly provided a step-by-step approach to getting published, in whatever medium.

Decide the audience you want to target and what your business goals are in targeting them.

Do your research to find out which are the publications or media outlets that serve that audience. Which are likely to be the best fit for your purposes and your designs?

Determine what you want to include in your pitch, such as a project, a story, advice, product review, images, etc.

Choose 3 to 5 outlets to pursue. Review their media kit, if they have one. Find out who to contact regarding submitting materials. Start following them to see what kind of content they are looking for.

Decide how you are going to engage with them. Develop a relationship over a period of time. Contact them multiple times, at least five or more, periodically. Don’t be discouraged if you get no response right away or have your pitches rejected at first. Persistence pays off.

Kelly also shared her insights into what editors want from a pitch, how to submit, and when it is worthwhile for a designer or design firm to hire a publicist. For all the details, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e10-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

If you would like to connect with Kelly, you will find her on LinkedIn, or you can send her an email at [email protected].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZTsHa-d7Lg

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the Creative Genius Podcast, Kelly. So great to have you.

Thank you, Gail. It's delightful to be here. I really appreciate it.

Well, I'm looking forward to our conversation. Everybody talks to me about PR all the time. And before we do that, let's talk about how you got into the industry and how long you've been doing all of this.

You know, I got into the industry actually kind of out of a habit stance in that as a child, I'm severely dyslexic and was actually back in the sixties when you were dyslexic, you were put with mentally retarded children and then had to work my way out of that back into mainstream school. And when I was in high school, I started selling ad space for the choir directory.

And I happened to live next door to a gentleman who ran an ad agency. And he said to me, after two years of me walking up to his door and selling him ads in this choir directory, he was like, you know, Kelly, you would be very good at advertising sales. And I said, well, what is that? And he goes, exactly what you're doing, only for magazines, newspapers, television or radio at the time. And I said, well, you know, that's something I could pass in college. Cause I knew where my strengths and weaknesses were.

with education and I really wanted a business degree, but I couldn't pass the economics and some of the more detailed accounting classes because of my dyslexia. And I could major in journalism and advertising sales and minor in business and understand marketing. So that is where that came from. My first semester, I actually started selling ad space for the Iowa Daily Press Association or the Iowa State Daily Newspaper.

and to make sure that I liked ad sales at the very beginning. And past my first semester called my parents and they were absolutely ecstatic because the doctors had told my parents I'd never go to college and I would never become really anything. So they were absolutely thrilled. I'd passed a semester, I'd figured out how to go to classes and be successful in my own right.

which I credit them for never telling me what the doctors had actually told them.

Thank goodness for that because then you would have had a wrong impression because obviously you've been very successful at what you've done. Yes.

So then my dream job was to become an ad salesperson for Better Homes and Gardens magazine, which was, went to Iowa State, which is only 45 minutes from the Meredith Corporation at the time, and ended up being hired at Meredith for a experimental training program in advertising sales. They never hired college graduates. And I trained for a year in all the aspects of publishing, circulation, marketing, editing.

I went on the road with advertising salespeople across the corporation. And then at the end of my year, I had a choice between to work on Better Homes and Gardens, my dream job, between San Francisco and New York City. Chose San Francisco and I was the first female hired ever to sell advertising space for Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Ew. Yeah. So it was really cool. It was a very interesting time.

Good night.

for women in business in 1982, 83, and there weren't very many of us. And now the advertising industry is actually predominantly women. But it's been a wonderful career and a really fascinating ride of understanding and seeing all the differences that has happened in the industry from the 80s to now.

Well, now I know we have a lot of other things we can talk about, how did I not know you were in Iowa?

I don't know. I don't think we ever talked about it. I was only there for the four years. My parents, I went to high school in Jacksonville, Florida. My parents had a deal that they would only pay for school in the state that they lived. And two weeks after I graduated from high school, they moved to Des Moines for my dad's job. So I reapplied. I was going to the University of Florida, all set to be a Gator. And that didn't happen. I went to Iowa State.

I don't think so

Isn't that funny? Well, I was born in Iowa and lived there till I was seven. My parents were from there. I have, I'm a true Midwestern girl, just transplanted to the South against my will. But you know, you do what you do. luckily I made lifetime friends as a result of that. So it's all good. We all have good things that we have that come out of everything that is a challenge for us. Right.

It was very interesting. didn't know that the temperature went below zero. I did not know that ice formed on the inside of car windows as well as the outside. It was very educational for a little girl from the South. But it was good.

All bad. All bad.

Yeah, in Jacksonville, that's a, I've only been there once. It's a lovely area. we have a great client there. Actually, we have a few clients in that area, so that's, that's great.

Yeah, it's a beautiful city. love going back and visiting. I still have friends there, so it's really nice. That's how I fell in love with the coast and actually how I ended up in Charleston.

I see. Yeah. Well, I love the coast and anytime I can go see an ocean, I'm a happy girl. Well, tell me about the changes you've seen in the publishing industry over the last several years.

you know, it's, it's been dramatic. you know, starting out in the eighties there, you know, there was no voicemail back then. There was, you got a little pink slip of paper when you got a message and we had just gotten Selectric typewriters and the fax machine had just started with the waxy paper. Then we moved into, you know, computers and, car phones and cell phones and email. Yes, the big bricks and email and.

You know, the business as a whole, when I started out in it, it was really five industries. had newspaper, magazines, television. There was no actual cable at the time that hadn't even started yet. And then you had outdoor and radio. And those were the key areas where advertising took place. Now, if you look across the board, the pie, as I refer to it, has grown exponentially. The interesting thing

that has occurred across all of advertising, not just in the publishing space, is that the budgets and the large budgets as well as the small budgets have remained pretty stagnant over the past, say five to even 10 years. They'd go up a percentage, go down a couple percentage points, that kind of thing. But your proliferation of choice of where to put that money has grown exponentially.

So all of the mediums actually get smaller percentages of the pie. So it's a very different way of looking at where does the ad budget go. And you really have to be more precise about what it is you're planning to do, how you're planning to do it, and which mediums aren't necessarily your favorite, but which mediums work for the clientele you're trying to go after. Because it doesn't matter what you like. What it matters is what the people you're trying to reach and make an impact on.

as to reaching them in the correct medium that they are taking advantage of. So that's been a significant, before you could look at kind of like, okay, let's do a television ad and we'll do a print ad and we'll put out an outdoor billboard, split it up three ways,...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is still in its infancy. But already its impact is being seen in how people work, create content, search for information, and interact online. Only a fraction of the interior design industry is currently using AI on a regular basis. In the not-too-distant future, however, AI will be integrated into almost everything designers and their clients do.

In this episode, Gail talks with Douglas Robb, creator of Interior DesignHer and founder and editor of Interior Design Toronto. Douglas also assists his wife Nicole with her interior design business, Robb and Company, based in Toronto, Ontario. He is the host of the podcast The Interior DesignHer Podcast.

Gail, who uses an AI tool called Granola almost daily, was interested in how Douglas was using AI in his and his wife’s businesses. Douglas said he is still learning how to use AI and how to get the best results from it. At present he mostly uses it for searching information, content creation (text and visual), and to work out ideas.

Douglas mentioned several AI-driven online tools he currently uses on a regular basis: Chat GBT, Claude, Dall-E (an image-generator program), Perplexity, Gemini, and a third iteration of Google’s image generator called Imagen 3. They are all free and fairly easy to use for those who want to begin exploring what AI can do for them.

In order to help interior designers more quickly become accustomed to using AI, Douglas has created a guide on how to prompt an AI program on design-related topics. He recommends for beginners to spend some time having a conversation with the AI interface, playing with images and image generation, and creating some basic content, perhaps for a blog. Gradually, he said, you will learn to fine tune your prompts to get better quality results.

Gail asked Douglas how he envisioned AI being used in the interior design industry in the future. On the business side, he said, it will allow designers to operate faster, cheaper, better and more efficiently. On the design side, it will enhance designers’ ability to present design concepts, generate images and plans, and present their design ideas to clients with more visual impact.

He added that what AI won’t do is replace creativity, the relationships designers develop with their clients and suppliers, and the level of caring that goes into their projects.

“Creatives are positioned to succeed fantastically with AI,” he said. Designers who want to stay competitive need to become comfortable with using AI in their businesses and design work.

Gail and Douglas also talked about the benefits of podcasting. For that and more, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e9-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

To learn more about Interior DesignHer, which aims to help interior designers build better businesses, and the many resources it offers, including The Interior DesignHer podcast, go to the firm’s website at www.interiordesignher.com.

For additional resources and advice on improving your interior design business, check out Interior Design Toronto at www.interiordesign.to. The site includes a directory of recommended interior design products.

For information about Robb and Company, which specializes in residential design and decoration, go to the firm’s website at www.robbandcompany.com.

Douglas mentioned several AI-driven programs he currently uses:

ChatGPT

Claude

Dall-E

Perplexity

Gemini

Imagen

Click here to read Douglas’ guide to AI prompts.

Gail mentioned a program she uses for transcribing and editing meeting notes, called Granola.ai.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dNFEnNvj84&pp=ygUYcGVhcmwgY29sbGVjdGl2ZSBwb2RjYXN0

Episode Transcript

Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors.

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Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Doug. I'd love for you to just tell us a little bit about yourself and your business. Thanks, Gail. Interior Design Her. It really came about during like the darkest days of COVID when we were all locked up at home and I was helping to homeschool my kindergartener and realizing how amazing teachers are. But what happened was,

About six months before then, I had sold the second of my fitness businesses. I'd had a real life and an online. And I'd sold the second one. I was kind of at loose ends. I'd been working since I'd been 14. This is the first time I'd been without a job of some sort. And other than, like I said, homeschooling my daughter, I got to watch a lot of Netflix and listen to my wife run her residential design business.

from home on the phone. And going back to selling my businesses, the only reason I was ever able to do that was because I had systems set up that at that point, I was irrelevant to the business. People or automations or software did everything. you know, I stuck around for three months when I sold the business to the new owner.

just to kind of help ease them into it. But I really wasn't necessary. And I realized that my wife, with her design business, she will never be able to sell it. It won't happen because she's everything. She's the creative, she's human resources, she's everything. So because I love being married to my wife, I very gently suggested that maybe we could look at pulling those processes out of her brain.

and putting them down on paper and then eventually building that up into something more self-sufficient. And that's what we did. And that led to us talking to other friends of hers, other designer friends of hers and helping them with that. And then that led to why don't we do this on kind of a broader scale? And it's not that I'm an expert on systems by any means.

or running a business by any means, I've bought and sold a couple of companies. But I understand that.

designers do a lot. They wear a lot of hats beyond the design side of it. It's the business side of it. And design school never taught anyone how to run a business. I mean, I guess that's why you exist, right? Exactly. You fill that gap in the industry and help designers create a better business. So that was my idea for interior designer to create a low cost or no cost business education resource.

for residential interior designers with a soft spot for solo designers and like tiny micro team designers. So that's where interior designer came from. I got it. Well, that's great. And of course, isn't that all is the case every time you build a business is because you see a need in the market or something that's missing in your own life or your own business. And it just leads you to the direction of developing something that hopefully other people will want to buy. Yeah.

So you're also a podcaster. So what led you to starting your podcasts? It wasn't a natural thing. It came about because of Interior Designer, but part of how I started putting my website together and the concept for Interior Designer was listening to podcasts, listening to interior design business podcasts like yours, like Luanne Negara's and…

You know, I found out pretty quickly that some were amazing and some were less than amazing. And it was the less than amazing ones that gave me the confidence to say, okay, I think I could do it at least that good or bad. So I dove in. are your goals for the podcast? to, to educate. Right.

across the board. that's fantastic. If anybody gets something from it, I'm happy. But if I can also redirect them back to the website and to all the other content that we're building out on interiordesigner.com and improve their business. And that could be stuff that we're building. I'm building different kind of low cost barrier to entry tools, but I also want to…

kind of create a hub where designers can feel comfortable knowing that they can come to the site, find things that they need. And if I can't provide it, then I can direct them to somebody who can. And that could be a business coach. That could be someone who creates, I did a podcast. It just came out the other day with a lawyer who designs templates for interior designers exclusively.

And I know there's a lot of templates out there already, but not many of them are created by someone like this who is a lawyer and focuses exclusively on this aspect of the law, contract law for designers. I'm like, you know, instead of using some DIY thing or asking chat GPT, you know, what should I put in my, in my contracts? You go to, to a lawyer who does this every day and is constantly updating.

her templates because she's working with other designers and they're finding new ways to make your company bulletproof from a litigious homeowner. Good luck on that. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. It's kind of funny because we teach contract sessions to our team or to our clients. And what I find is that no matter how much you think you can prevent

some of those problems, you're always going to have something else that pops up that you just didn't anticipate. Yeah. Yeah. So it's constant. So just out of curiosity, do you think designers should have podcasts? And if so, why? Oh, 100%. And nothing like what you do or what I do or Luanne does. What they should do without a doubt is start up a hyper local

interior design podcast about their town, their town, their city, their neighborhood, wherever. Like, I mean, if you live in New York City and there's 10 million people, then maybe you make it even more local to like your borough of the town. Interior design is such a local business, right? Like to the point of almost for some designers, it being like the neighborhood they live in, right?

And if you become that person, they hear your voice, right? And you're interviewing trades, you're interviewing contractors, you're interviewing other designers, you're interviewing retail establishments. They keep hearing your name. Well, geez....

What are you struggling with at the moment? A business issue? A design issue? A personal issue? Whatever the matter, rather than struggle alone, seek out advice from someone who can help you resolve it. You will learn something new, gain a new perspective, and be able to return to a more balanced, productive state of mind.

In this episode, Gail talks with Mike Agugliaro, founder of FuDog Group, an online firm focused on accelerating personal growth and mind growth. After starting, growing and selling several businesses, Mike decided to draw upon his own life and growth experiences to pursue his aim of helping others to remove suffering and to have life, business and wealth by design.

A self-made entrepreneur, Mike told Gail that he discovered early on that the way to resolve issues he was confronting, either personal or in his business, was to formulate a question about that issue and then ask it of someone smarter about the subject than he was. Be persistent and seek out the best experts you can find. Don’t let yourself get distracted by other matters until you get the issue resolved.

“If you ask the right question of the right people, the life that you desire is not that far away,” he said. Learn from someone else and get back to happiness as quickly as possible.

Gail asked Mike what his definition of success was. He replied that for him success is not what you achieve or acquire, rather it is a mental state. “Success is getting to the point of no matter what you want or what you desire, you can sit in a state of grace and be excited to be alive.”

From his years of experience coaching people, Mike said he has found two major reasons why people are struggling needlessly. Often, most of their pain and suffering is either old trauma, guilt and shame that they are still living with. They need to work toward letting go and living in the present. Also, a lot of people are struggling in their mind because they see only the downside when things go wrong. They should consider the upside of the downside. What is the opportunity being presented to them?

During the wide-ranging conversation, Mike and Gail also talked about the difference between knowledge and wisdom, what to consider when selling a business, and the importance of maintaining balance in your life in all things. For those insights and more, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e8-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

To learn more about Mike and the services offered by the FuDog Group, go to the firm’s website at fudoggroup.com.

Mike mentioned his book, Mind Power: The 17 Secrets Of Using Your Thoughts To Powerfully Accelerate Every Area Of Life. It’s available from online booksellers.

Mike also recommended two books: Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! Think and Grow Rich by Sharon L. Lechter and Greg S. Reid. Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell. Both are available from online booksellers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R1HM5dE1xc

Episode Transcript

Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors.

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Mike, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast. I've been looking to our conversation for quite a while and you are up on the East Coast and hopefully safe from all the hurricane issues that are going on. Yeah, very safe and excited to be here, Gail. Well, it's our pleasure. So thanks for being here. I was thinking back, you and I met, my gosh, 2015. I know it was in a mastermind group. It's been a while. And I was just thinking about how

when I met you, you were just so quiet. You're very intent, you're thoughtful. That's the memory of my meeting with you. And what I've come to find out is how brilliant you are at business. And I'd love for you to share a little bit about your journey and how you got into doing what you're doing. And we'll get into your current business, but I'd like to start way back at the beginning. Well, it's interesting. I don't hear anybody really tell me Mike is, was so quiet and stuff, but I guess.

As a, I am a natural introvert. So now thinking back, I don't like big rooms, a lot of people, and I normally sit and observe. But yeah, look, I've been on my own since I'm 15 years old. I always say I'm a survivor of a really tough parent divorce. And I ended up in a vocational school because back then it's like you're either.

fit for college or they're like, just felt like I was going down a conveyor belt and it was like college, no, you might, you're probably a plumber or an electrician. And so I went to a trade school and I became an electrician by trade. And then I ended up in the world, you know, I had a mortgage by time I was 19 years old. That was, think it was, you know, it's funny about interest rates today. talk about back then in 1989,

I had a mortgage, it was 18 % interest. And I'm thinking people are freaking out over seven, 8%. I'm like, I was 18 % in nine years. I think I paid off $1,000 on this thing. And I started working for people. And I thought my boss was an idiot. And I figured I could do better than him. I'll just start my own electrical company to find out.

I was an idiot just like my boss. You think you know, but you don't know any better. And I struggled. So everybody listening, I understand struggle. I struggled for about 10, 12 years. I couldn't hire people. I didn't understand customers. Seems like nobody had money and everybody complained about the price. And one day I had a couple turning points, Gail. One was my son was being born. He's 25 now, so this goes back.

ago and I remember going home my wife was at the hospital with my son and I remember putting together one of those rocking like gliding chairs so my wife could do the breastfeeding thing and stuff and I remember probably about 11 o'clock at night gal I sat in it and I built it I just broke down crying I was like I'm gonna be just like my dad I'm gonna work myself I'm never gonna be around for anything

And that was one of my big turning points that something had to change. And I don't know how it came about, but the enlightenment was there must be somebody that figured it out. Just like there must be someone that figured it out and I have to go pay them and learn from it. So to give people a faster track here, the next 10 years of my life, I built a

plumbing HVAC electrical company in New Jersey from under a million dollars to $32 million in a 10 year period. I had 200 employees, 165 trucks fixing people's stuff. I sold that in 2017. And then in 2014, I wanted to make a stand. I wanted to change the world. And all my friends were struggling and there's nothing worse than getting around family or friends, gal.

And they're like, how's everything going? And I'm like, oh, I'm great. I'm making a lot of money and I don't have a mortgage. And I'm like, how about you? And they're like, horrible. Life stinks. And I was like, I gotta change this. So in 2014, I built a coaching company called CEO Warrior. I started, I coached over a thousand business owners. I had over 20,000 trades people come through my training.

And I sold that company in 2020. So that gives you a little bit, not where we are today, but that gives you a little bit of background for people. I understand growing, I understand struggles, I understand lawsuits, I understand the economy recession of 2008 and Y2K and pandemics. I get all of this. So in all of these situations, here you are, you've struggled, you've gone through all these difficult challenges.

And obviously, you were smart enough to get coaching, smart enough to get help, and then you started your own coaching business and of course built that to a very successful and profitable business as well. I think it's really interesting because you have walked the walk, you've done all the things that you teach, which is awesome. And I remember recently, and I can't remember the whole story, but you had posted something not too long ago, which I picked up.

I it was so humorous about how somebody asked if you were certified as a coach and then you proceeded to tell them, well, yeah, I've built a company, I had the company of 200 and I don't know exactly how you said it, but it was so funny. And I was thinking to myself, oh my gosh, you know, here's the perfect example of someone who has learned, who has gone out and has sought the resources and has changed his way of doing things so that he can succeed.

What do you think is different about your approach versus a lot of people's approach? I'll give you two things that I think are very, and it's funny to say that about the story because the other story I was in Wells Fargo years ago and the woman like first, she's just like, I'm bothering her. This tattoo guy needs something, right? Like, you know, the world is so quick to judge and she starts typing on the computer and then looks at the bank account, looks at me, looks at the computer. What do you do?

And I told her and she goes, what college did you go to? And I said, the college of common sense. And the woman still couldn't even get me by time I was done. But I learned two big things. one, how do you get an answer to what you're struggling on? You create a question. So what is the question you're dealing with? Number two, ask somebody way smarter than you the question and

You know, I was sharing with my brother about a year ago, even the last two years alone, Gail, between my wife, my son, my team, we've invested over $300,000 a year in our own education. And my brother said to me, he goes, you build and sold two big companies. Don't you know everything? And I said, you know what? I know everything and I know nothing all in the same day.

And I said, the day I think I know everything is the day it's over. It's going to start to unwind....

When builders and interior designers work together, magic happens. A well-built and well-designed home is a win-win for the builder and the homeowner. If you've never worked on a new construction project, you may be wondering how to tap into the high-end luxury home market. Start by educating yourself about what a builder needs and the value you bring as a designer.

In this episode, Gail talks with Brad Leavitt, president of AFT Construction in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 2013, AFT Construction specializes in custom luxury homes. A key selling point for their properties is their meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of the home.

Given that some designers have found some high-end luxury clients have become more demanding and more difficult to work with post-pandemic, Gail asked Brad what his experience has been with this type of client. Brad said that by and large their clients tend to be collaborative, but there are some who are very demanding and want to be in control of the project. He attributed some of that to the fact that projects nowadays take longer to complete and at a higher cost. Clients want to be sure the end result lives up to their expectations.

Gail asked Brad if his firm works with interior designers. Brad replied absolutely. “I won’t do a project unless there’s an interior designer,” he said. “There’s a value the designer brings to the look of the home, to the feel of the home.” Usually it is the client who hires the designer, but Brad said his company has also sought out designers to work on projects.

For designers who are interested in working on new construction projects, Brad said they should start by building a relationship with the builder over a period of time. This could involve some face-to-face meetings and sharing some tips or industry information as a way of demonstrating your value. Get to know what the builder’s pain points are and how you can alleviate them.

Brad also talked about some of the technology he has introduced into his firm to streamline processes, improve document control, and facilitate coordination between the builder, designer and architect working on a project. He has found QR codes to be especially effective.

Wrapping up, Brad offered three pieces of advice he received when he was younger and which have guided him throughout his career:

Generosity precedes prosperity.

Chase experience, not money.

Leave things better because you were there.

For more details and insights, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e7-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

For more information about Brad and ATF Construction, go to the firm’s website at www.aftconstruction.com.

Brad mentioned a construction management software his firm uses, called Buildertrend. Among other functions, the software can produce the QR codes his firm uses for document control.

Another construction management software Brad mentioned is Bluebeam. Bluebeam helps construction teams connect office and field through an easily accessible single source of information that can be updated on the fly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK9PqNg-6UE

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Brad. I am so excited to have this conversation with you today. And I'd love for you to start by telling us how you became a builder. That's a really good question. I originally grew up in San Diego. My dad and uncles were all electricians. My grandfather, when he retired from the Navy, started electrical companies. So, you know, I grew up blue collar working in the trades through high school. And, you know, I definitely hated it when I was a teenager and kid. Like it just

You know, it's really hard work, you know, being at school and then over the summers working, although San Diego is not a bad place to be doing construction, that's for sure. But I realized how much I loved it as I got older, you know, 18, 19, I realized I loved it, went to college, studied construction management and moved to Arizona in 2005 and worked for a, you know, production build at first, always wanted two luxury projects and shortly thereafter worked for a luxury builder and…

you know, was with them five, five and a half years and, uh, you know, really grew the appreciation for the industry a lot at that time. And that was, you know, pre-starting AFT and the company I have now. So. Okay. Well, and I think this kind of ties in, but I know you said that one of your biggest challenges you might want to share with us what you had to overcome to get where you are today. Yeah. I think there's a lot. I mean, the reality is.

Being young, mean, one thing I'll start is being young in construction. When I first started, there's something to be said about gray hair and being open. mean, not to jump too fast, Gail, but we work with designers on every project. And I know the design perspective is like we're in a male-dominated industry. I'm female. So they have that roadblock. Even from the male side, being young male as you're in a management position and PM running a project, that's incredibly challenging.

There's just, you know, it's, I don't want to say ego industry, but there definitely is, it's more technical than people realize, and it's very challenging, and there's a lot of things to manage. And so there has to be a tremendous amount of coordination. There has to be a tremendous amount of education. And the more that I understand of everyone who's involved in the building process and their scope of work and what it takes for them to complete and, you know, the predecessors' success for those who follow them and coordinating that, you know, it's going to bring value to me, just like our designers, which I know you speak to, Gail, that…

you know, the more they can become familiar with the builder side of things, like the more successful they'll be in their career path. And so there's, you know, it's a very tricky industry and customer service is challenging and clients can be challenging. And, you know, you're just battling, you know, so many different angles. Well, yes, absolutely. I think people probably under us made a lot of industries, interior design as well, because it is, is so detail oriented. It takes so much to do.

a really great job of it. having worked with a lot of builders over the years, I can honestly say that there have been a handful that are really, really good at it. And then there are some that are, they just shouldn't be doing it. That is true. And I could tell you from a general contractor side, I mean, it's no different than some of our subcontractors. Some of them are phenomenal. mean, very, very talented. They understand they're great communicators. And then we have some that are just not great.

know, communication is such a key part of really any business, any relationship, but you know, in construction, it's a big separator. mean, there's something about construction that really brings out some of the poor communicators out there and it can be really challenging. Well, tell us a little bit about what types of projects you build. Yeah. So we, it's interesting how that pendulum has changed. I mean, I've, I started AFT with a business partner of mine back in 2013.

so we started 11 years ago and you know, early on we were heavy commercial. did a lot of commercial that was, I did a lot of commercial, my background and had a lot of relationships in that industry. And of course we were doing residential, you know, remodels and powder bathrooms. And I always wanted to get into the luxury custom homes, but going back to kind of the origin of this conversation, Gail, I mean, being fairly young when I started my company,

no one's just going to hand over the keys to a $10 million build, right? To some young kid who doesn't have a long resume. So there has to be this path of projects and success and thought leadership and quality and everything that goes with building a business, that credibility. So over the years, that pendulum would change. It was less commercial, more residential. We were known for a few high-end projects that were nationally published. really put us on the map and social media kind of.

played a role in that as well as with the growth. And now, as you asked me the question today, I mean, as it stands right now, 100 % of our projects are high-end luxury residential, projects that range from $3 million to $25 million per project and range in square footage up to 35,000 square feet. So I mean, it's definitely on the high-end residential, and it's not that we're opposed to commercials, just as of today, it's all residential. Well, and I'm sure part of that is economically driven.

there are so many people that have been affected in the commercial market lately that some of those projects are just not coming through just because of funding. Yeah, you make a good point, Gail, because as interest rates change, which they did a couple of years ago, it makes a big impact because the reality is in the commercial world. And I've done a lot of development in the past. I I still partially dabble in development, even though if I'm not building it at AFT, I've invested in other real estate here in the Phoenix market.

The problem is with cost high, labor high, material high, and then interest rates high, there's only so much you can charge for land leases, for rent, for selling a pad that's developed to a big national retailer. so it does limit that commercial footprint. mean, if you're building a multifamily project, they can really limit that back end. there's so much risk that, it's definitely slowed down, not across the board. mean, there's still a lot of commercial activity.

depends on what industry you're in....

You don’t last 20-plus years in the interior design industry without learning a few valuable lessons along the way. While every interior design firm is unique, the principles of sound business management and marketing still apply. You can learn them the hard way, or you can learn them from others who’ve learned the hard way. The latter path is less of a steep and bumpy road to long-term growth and success.

In this episode, Gail talks with Katie Decker-Erickson, principal with Color Works Design, a company she founded in 2007. Although she started out focused solely on designing with color, clients kept asking her to include an ever-increasing number of interior design services. After working in residential design for several years, she came to realize she preferred commercial projects. Today, with a team of between 15 and 20, her firm specializes in hospitality, senior living, university facilities and housing, and multifamily housing.

Gail asked Katie what are some of the lessons she’s learned over the years about how to operate and market her business. Katie said first and foremost, you have to let go and be comfortable delegating work to others. To grow, she said, you need a vision and a team to execute on that vision. “It’s all about letting go to the right person for the right reason. You can’t do it all on your own.”

Furthermore, she said, “Figure out who is your target market and go hard. If you’re trying to be everything to everyone, you’re nothing to no one.” Take care of the clients you have, she added. They can become clients for life. Also, take care of your team and they will stay with you over the years.

Your business should not become a burden. “Your business should work for you, not you work for it.” Do some self-introspection, she advised. Figure out where is your happy place—i.e., what fulfills you and gives you joy—and pursue that. Let others do the other stuff. 

Over the years, Katie and her firm have experienced some good times and some not-so-good times. Just accept that these are normal business cycles. “Don’t be afraid to let your business expand and contract,” she said.

Gail and Katie also talked about how AI might impact the interior design industry and how Katie is using it now in her firm. They also discussed the importance of curating your firm’s culture. For those insights and more, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e6-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

For more information about Katie and her firm, go the website at colorworks.coach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogr-1u_8e8I

Episode Transcript

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Welcome to the podcast, Katie. I have a special guest today, Katie Decker Erickson, and I am so excited to have a conversation with you today. You and I had a good chat not too long ago and you've been doing interior design for a while now and I'd love to know about how you got into it.

That's so kind of you, Gail. I'm so honored to be here. And yeah, I don't know a while that's like a kind way of saying someone is seasoned, right? Which is code for old. And we're now at the age where we're giving back in our industry. Yeah. You know, it's funny. My journey to design was very unique. it wasn't traditional. Like I woke up my junior year of high school and decided I should do interior design. And that is what I love. And I'm going to go pursue that in college. I actually didn't come to interior design until I was in. Gosh, early twenties.

It was after I had my master's degree in business administration that I went I want to start a business and I love creating and I need to use the left and right side of my brains or my brain to feel like satisfied at the end of the day and It was funny. I was actually fixing and flipping houses at the time or condos and I was so frustrated that I couldn't find somebody who just did color I just only wanted someone to do color. I didn't need a full design experience and everyone wanted

to sell me on the whole package and I just thought, heaven help, there's gotta be a better answer. So I reached out to, I started doing some Google research and found the International Association of Color Consultants and said, I wanna reach out, wanna figure out how does this whole thing work? What do we do? And went and got certified and then started helping others. And really that's how Colorworks was born back in 2007. It was just out of the desire to focus on color. it was for someone who hadn't,

gone through a four-year formal program. It was the perfect gateway because I wasn't focusing on every aspect of design. I was focusing on a singular aspect. And that was so lovely because it just gave me a really nice way to dip my toe in the pond. And then as our clients kept coming to us wanting more things, which I'm sure so many people can relate to on your show, you just keep adding to your services until you get where you need to be and what satisfies them.

And so you're now doing residential as well. Well, great question. So I lasted about three years in residential truthfully, Gail. And then I quit. my gosh. To all you residential designers out there, you have a job a billion times harder than I do. You know, it was really challenging for me because of my MBA. It's a blessing and a curse, right? But I approach it from a business perspective. And so there were so many wives that wanted a best friend to have.

with and talk about pillows. And I love being a girly girl, but not when I'm on the clock doing eight to five. Like I want to move projects and get things done and have decision makers and no budgets. And I was just like, I didn't have the emotional bandwidth for it. So to the residential designers in your audience that do, I humbly bow down because, and then you get the spousal component, right? And I'm just like, yeah, I can't do marital counseling.

I would have gone to school to get a degree in that if that's what I wanted to do. And like the fact that you're fighting over the sofa, I think we have bigger problems here. I mean, just a hunch, but it's just, so was funny. I actually started segueing into commercial about three years in, and then I just kept going down that road until eventually I was just full-time commercial and multifamily, which is what I love. And then that's now kind of what I coach too and helping other designers who are saying,

Gosh, I can relate to every part of that. And I love hospitality or I love, hotel motel or I love, just figuring out how do we get there and how do we get you into the space you want to play? Cause I think so many times we just think there's one space and design, right? Like I'm an interior designer. It's not like I'm a drafter. I'm a space planner. I'm a sorcerer. hear that those exists, but they're much less hurt. feel like, they're just as valid, know? Well, that's interesting. And so because you didn't have.

a design degree if I heard this correctly. A hundred percent. Okay. And so you have an MBA. Yep. And so obviously you're smart. that's all. No, I got really bored. I needed something to do and I hadn't met my husband yet. Let's not, let's be perfectly honest, Gail. Well, you don't do an MBA just because you're You're sweet. You're very kind.

Okay. So commercial design. that's a whole different animal and learning how to price that. did you learn how to price? Cause you didn't come from a design background. Yeah. It's a very fair question. was a lot of trial and error to be honest with you, but I also had some clients in the beginning who came to me and they're like, well, we have a quote for this, but we'd rather work with you. Can you make that work? And I'm like, sure. And then a couple of those come across your desk and then you start

talking to your trade partners about what can we do and what accounts can we set up and how do we make this work? And you just kind of navigate your way through it. I will say our model is pretty fluid though, because we're so economically based. Like right now, interest rates are high. It's been a hard year to make deals pencil straight up. And so one thing we did as an effort of goodwill to our clients, because we always joke that we love to acquire clients and not lose them. We collect clients.

But as part of goodwill and as part of marketing, we said, we're not going to raise our rates in 2024. And we did a whole marketing campaign around that and said, hey, we get it's a hard year for you guys. We get that you're having a hard time making it pencil. These transactions aren't going the way you want. The remittals you're wanting to do on as-builts aren't quite as advanced as maybe you want. We're going to work with you because we want to hang with you for the long haul. Things like that, I think, make a huge difference. And so we're constantly watching the market.

I'm super excited as of this recording, hopefully next week, I'm praying interest rates get cut because all that really does affect our market on the commercial sides. And I think it's a lot more quick than it is on the residential side. Like on the residential side, I think there's a trickle down component when it comes to working with rates and being in multimillion dollar spaces, it's pretty instantaneous. Cause if the asset isn't gonna pencil,

the buyer isn't going to buy and we're probably not going to do the value add to it that they initially envisioned. So you're doing multifamily. You're doing hospitality. Yep. And so between the two, which one do you like the best? I love multifamily. That's a great question. I love multifamily. And the reason why is because interest rates have stayed high now for, well,

what we consider high, we really got used to twos, know, the twos were a really nice spot....

Interior design is demanding work, involving thousands of detailed decisions, project challenges and competing personalities. That can give rise to a lot of friction and stress. While you can’t eliminate every stressor, you can minimize them by establishing good project management practices and cultivating mental fitness.

In this episode, Gail talks with mental fitness coach Janine Aurichio. A self-titled “Joy Master,” Janine offers an approach she calls Life Styling that trains interior designers to build the capacity to respond to life’s challenges with a positive mindset rather than getting stressed or upset for breakthrough results in their life and business. “I believe our true nature and essence is joy,” she says.

Gail asked Janine why she chose to focus on working with designers. She said that after working in the industry for twenty years she has come to admire what designers do and bring to the world. “What they do is part science and part magic,” she said, adding “beauty is my core value.”

Janine said that from what she’s seen in her practice the biggest challenges for many designers are twofold. They have an internal challenge of maintaining command over their mind and mindset, in part because they have many demands on themselves and many distractions. In addition, they have an external challenge because they lack or do not utilize a well-oiled process for managing their projects and other aspects of their business operations.

“Good project management leads to more and better projects, more profit and more peace of mind,” she explained. It should be core to every interior design business.

As well, Janine identified what she sees as the three biggest mistakes designers make when managing their projects. A major one is that they think of the client as the center of the project rather than of the project itself. They are afraid to communicate truth to the client for fear of being reprimanded or even fired. They don’t have a plan for executing the project, or they have one but don’t follow it.

Janine went on to talk about how designers can better deal with their internal challenges by learning to manage their mindset. She described a four-step process that she teaches to rewire negative ways of thinking in order to develop positive intelligence. The goal, she said, is to achieve mental fitness, which she defined as your capacity to handle life’s challenges with a positive response or mindset.

Gail and Janine also discussed why good project management is so crucial to the success of a design business, the major types of “saboteurs” that contribute to negative thinking, and the steps designers can take to improve their mental fitness and boost creative flow. Get all the details by listening to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e5-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

Download the Drama-Free Projects Guide PDF here: https://www.yes2yum.com/drama-free

You'll also find other resources that Janine mentioned on the podcast on her website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdo1KPg4GJw

Episode Transcript

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Today we have Janine Arricchio on our podcast and her superpower is managing design projects. And her zone of genius is the inside job of managing your mindset for peak performance, thriving relationships, and maximizing happiness. And today we're going to explore the outside in and inside out ways of creating drama-free projects. And wouldn't we all love that? Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Janine.

Thank you, Gail. It's great to be here with you and your listeners, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity. it's so great. I love your LinkedIn post or listing that says you're a joy master. So tell us about how you came up with that title. Yes. Well, my coaching teacher actually gave me that title because I was always so curious and asking people about what brought them joy.

And maybe you've heard the expression teach what you need to learn. Well, I am a joy seeker and a studier of joy because number one, for a while there, I forgot how to be joyful. And number two, because I've also seen this as the case for many other people, including designers and folks in our industry. And I believe our true nature and our essence is joy. And so I want to help others remember that too, while also giving them.

really effective tools to help their businesses run better and smoother. Well, anytime you can be a good project manager and have a good mindset, think things go a lot better, right? Yes, indeed they do. Well, how did you find this path for yourself? What inspired you? Well, Gail, I think it found me kind of, and isn't that just how things are a lot of the time? It certainly was not a direct path, but the short version is that I

had a very strong people pleaser or pleaser saboteur, especially as a younger person. And I made a lot of big, important decisions really to please my dad. And so that was as a young person. Fast forward several decades and many great experiences and also some not so great ones. Let's just say I was ready for a change. I was really unhappy in what I was doing. And it was clear to me that

personal and professional growth was what I was here to do at this time, both for myself and then to teach others. I love that. Well, why do you work with interior designers? two reasons. I'd say one is because what designers do is part science and part magic. And I just relate to that so much. That's also that's been kind of a thread in my life. And another is that

Beauty's been a threat in my life. Beauty's my number one core value, for sure. And I fell in love with the design community after going back to school and then working in the industry for 20 years. And you all are the beauty makers and I believe beauty can help heal the world. And so I want to help designers keep bringing beauty into the world. And I know firsthand how challenging this business can be and how it can dampen your joy at times.

So to be their best and their happiness and their happiest, I want to help designers sort of rediscover that joy and support them in that journey. Well, speaking of challenges, which ones are the ones that you think are the biggest ones facing designers right now? Yeah. Well, you know, this is a complex business. so I, I, you know, we could talk about that could be a whole nother podcast, right? But of the two.

Biggest ones that I've witnessed that kind of relate to this conversation. One is an internal challenge and one is an external challenge. And the internal one you referred to earlier, I you were called it the, I call it the inside job. And that is about, maintaining command of your mind and having a positive mindset, sort of responding versus reacting and doing that. when things are challenging and stressful.

And then the external one is having a well-oiled process, especially for managing projects. And I've seen many firms that don't even have a process. And if they do, sometimes they're not using it and both are problematic. And, you know, I love the, recent episode on policies, process and procedures. I can tell you're kind of a process nerd like I am. And it's not the sexy part of the business, but it's so important.

It really is. for a lot of people that you mentioned that there are many designers who really don't do that. They don't do project management per se. They just do what they think is part of it. And the thing that I think is so interesting is that our job is really that. That's what we do every single day is we have to manage projects. So if we don't have a system for it, then how do we run our business? I guess how do we

get them interested in it? How do we encourage them to really embrace project management? What's in it for them? Gosh, well, it impacts everything. It creates structure that sort of holds things together, right? And gives people, you know, your employees or team members guardrails and on what to do next. It impacts the many relationships that we have that you have as a designer.

whether it's your employees or team members or vendors, it impacts your peace of mind, your staff's motivation and buy-in and ownership of the process and ultimately the quality of your output, which impacts your reputation and your ability to get other projects. So I'd say those are some really important reasons to care. so what's in it for them is more and better projects, more profit and that peace of mind.

which I think we all want at the end of the day. Well, we do want that peace of mind. Sometimes we don't have that when we're up at two in the morning and thinking about all the things aren't going right on the project. Yes. So as far as that goes, what are the three biggest mistakes that designers make with project management? So, yeah, one I think is that, and this might be a little unconventional, but thinking of

the client as the center of the project instead of the project. And that leads to, and I can say more about that, but to me that leads to a second thing, which is I've seen a lot of people afraid to communicate the truth out of fear of either not being liked or maybe I won't get another project or the client will fire me. And when you put the product, when you think of the project as your client,

then it kind of takes that charge out of, you know, having to kind of tiptoe around the client and maybe not speak the truth. So those are two big things. And the third I'd say is not having a plan or having one and not following it. So I just like to say plan the work and work the plan. And it's not complicated, but it can be a hurdle to get over. So I'm going to add one.

for to do. this is one that I think is probably the people that do project management....

It seems like everyone nowadays has a podcast. So why not you? Although one might argue that there are far too many podcasts, they are extremely popular ways of consuming information. Like blogs and videos, different podcasts attract different audiences, offering something for everyone. That makes them a great medium for marketing and building brand awareness if you tap into the right niche.

In this episode, Gail talks with Nicole Lashae Ben, CEO and founder of Thrive in Design, a web-based firm that specializes in empowering exceptional design-focused brands to tell their stories through impactful product launches and podcasts. A seasoned expert in the interior design industry with over 17 years of experience working in firms and with manufacturers, Nicole found her true calling in helping interior design firms and product companies boost brand awareness and revenue by telling their unique stories.

Gail asked Nicole why interior designers might want to consider podcasting. She said, “You should be podcasting if you want to establish yourself as an expert and authority in whatever it is that you are doing.” Podcasts are an effective way of building brand awareness, broadening audience reach, and giving value to clients and prospective clients.

Before diving into podcasting, advised Nicole, think about who the audience is that you’re trying to attract and what your goal is in attracting them. “Your podcast is a marketing tool, a sales tool,” she said. “Think about what call to action you want people to take as result of listening to the podcast.”

Whether you choose a video or only an audio format, realize that producing a podcast takes a fair amount of time and resources. You have to develop topics or themes for your individual podcasts. You need to identify, invite and schedule time with guest participants. You have to record and edit the podcast. Once in its final form, you have to upload the podcast to the various platforms that distribute podcasts. Usually, this requires a team of support and technical folks to make it manageable. However, the results can be quite rewarding.

Nicole also talked about what kind of content to develop for your podcast, how to get the most from your investment by repurposing your content in various ways, and some of the tools she uses to prepare and distribute her podcast. For all that and more, listen to the entire podcast.

If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s12e4-shownotes

Mentioned in This Podcast

For more information about Nicole and Thrive in Design, go to the firm’s website at www.thriveindesign.co.

Gail and Nicole mentioned Zoom and several other software programs useful for podcasters:

Klap - This is an app used to create short videos from longer videos for use on TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms. More information at klap.app.

Riverside - This is an online studio for high-quality podcast and video recording and editing. You can use it for live video events as well as for editing text, audio and video. More information at riverside.fm.

Garage Band - This is Apple’s video editing app. It comes standard on Apple smartphones, tablets and computers.

Pod Bean - This is an app for recording, editing, publishing and distributing podcasts. More information at www.podbean.com.

Izotope - This is an audio mixing and mastering software. More information at www.izotope.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbX4CeNkQW8

Episode Transcript

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Welcome. Today we have Nicole Lachey-Benn. She is our guest on the Creative Genius podcast. Welcome, Nicole. Thank you So good to have you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited about this conversation today. it'll be so great. Well, tell us a little bit about your background in the interior design industry. Yeah. So I always think this question is so funny because my background really goes back to childhood. Like I did my first interior design project when I was five years old.

My mom and I moved into a new house and I was like, I want this wall purple and this wall pink and a ballerina border. So that's kind of where it all started. But fast forward, I ended up going to Syracuse University and getting my BFA in interior design and fell even more in love with the interior design process and design industry. Went on to get my master's in design management from Savannah College of Art and Design. So I've always worked in end.

gone to school in the interior design industry literally forever. I've worked at design firms for product manufacturers in that evolution of just loving design, loving the strategy behind the business side of design has led me to start my own business, which is called Thrive InDesign, to really focus on design focused brands that wanna amplify their stories in the design industry.

Tell me a little bit about what you're doing now because you've created this special niche for yourself and it's helping those brands through their stories, through podcasts and product launches. And here we are on a podcast today. So tell us a little bit more about that. Absolutely. So for me, I always knew that I wanted to start my own business and I had this very vague idea. like, I want to help brands increase their brand awareness and their revenue. So I ended up starting,

with actually virtual summits before the pandemic when everybody had to do virtual and started these business summits where I was bringing together experts, I was doing workshops and just helping people understand the strategies behind business and how to increase their brand awareness and revenue. And then that evolved and I learned a lot about my customers in different conversations and services that I was providing. And no matter the type of business,

They all were saying different things, but it came down to like the same problem. They were like, hey, Nicole, you know, I want more people to know about my brand. I want to make more money. I want to be known in this design segment. Or sometimes it was international brands. Hey, I want to be known in the U.S. But even though it sounded like all completely different things, really everybody was saying the same thing that they needed to tell their brand story effectively, whether it be online or offline.

So that really became my thing. And I niche down into that about three years ago, and especially for brands in the interior design industry. Like how do I help you tell your brand story online and offline? And I think especially in the last year and a half, that has become even more niche for podcasting and product launches, mainly because those are like, that's like my zone of genius. Like how to effectively tell your brand story on a podcast and attract that ideal audience.

convert them to a paying client. And then when it comes to product launches, whether you're a designer launching your own product line or you're a manufacturer, there's a certain strategy in our industry that is different from any other product industry out there, right? The way that Apple launches their products is very different from our industry and how somebody launches like a textile or a chair. So I really understand.

the brand story that needs to be told in those product launches and what needs to be done online and offline for those things. So it's been an evolution, but yeah, this is where I am now and the things that I love to do with my clients. That is so interesting. And we have a similar story in a way, because back in 2008, when we started our business in October was our first virtual summit. And we did it at that time without

Zoom, which today it's like, my God, it was on audio. we literally had separate, we had interviews, some were recorded, some were live and we did 14 people in three days. It was wild, but you know, I look back to those days. had no idea that anybody was really doing that kind of thing again. So good for you. That's awesome. That was so funny. Well,

Let's talk a little bit about why an interior design firm should consider podcasting. think you kind of touched on it a little bit, but for a lot of people, they're not sure that they want to go this direction. And they're not sure if it's worth the time and effort and money and all the things that they have to learn how to do in order to do podcasting to do that, because they're thinking social media. That's where most people are spending their time and effort and money.

today and maybe sometimes on SEO. So let's talk about why podcasting. the basics podcasting is actually something that I was not thinking of before, which is so funny. I was like, why would I do a podcast? Like who's going to listen to my podcast? It's my audience really listening.

But then a few things clicked in a conversation that I had with another woman who I was in a business accelerator with. And I'll share those things that I tell everybody now. I think everybody should be podcasting. But really, you should be podcasting if you want to establish yourself as an expert and authority in whatever it is that you're doing. If you want to build brand awareness, because podcasts can be video and audio or one or the other.

So that's a great tool to build brand awareness about who you are, what you do, and again, what your expertise is. If you want to engage a broader audience, right? A lot of the times with podcasts, you're able to reach an audience that might not have known you before, especially when you're doing like guest interviews, right? That guest is going to attract their audience. They're gonna be resharing your content and promoting your episodes. So you're getting in front of a whole new audience that had not known you before.

or might've known you, but now gets to know you in a different way through you