Why should you add webinars to your portfolio? Is the ROI worth the time and investment that you put into it? Darla is a huge fan of webinars—and so is today’s guest, Genevieve Trousdale. She launched a webinar series earlier this year and has seen nothing but positive results from her effort. To hear WHY it’s such a good move for your business, listen to this episode now!

Genevieve is the owner of Circa Genevieve, an interior design company that embraces southern tradition and french style. Each webinar Genevieve has hosted is a teaser for the launch of Circaphiles which is a members-only platform for professional designers to share resources set to launch October 2020. 

• [0:55] Webinars are extremely fruitful

• Circaphiles

• RESA Webinar on Sept. 2nd

When the Coronavirus led to quarantines across the US, it led to sourcing challenges for designers. Vendors struggled because designers couldn’t see their product(s). So Genevieve launched a 1-hour webinar series geared toward sourcing during COVID-19. 

Over the course of 8–10 episodes suppliers in lighting, fabric, hardware, paint, and other specialties could connect with designers. Suppliers could put together lookbooks or PowerPoint presentations to showcase their work and explain product costs. 

Providing webinars for the design community positioned Genevieve as a source of strength and trust in the industry. It gave everyone a feeling of comfort when they were scrambling to find their way. Genevieve was overwhelmed and humbled by the response from the design community. 

While Genevieve was laying a foundation for a larger venture, there are plenty of opportunities for designers to position themselves as an expert in the field or hone in on one niche of the industry. Webinars can be one advantageous way to bridge the gap.

So how much time should you set aside to create a webinar? How did Genevieve market them? Listen to find out!

Genevieve’s webinars allowed her to build a more connected network and she realized they’d be a wonderful segue into the launch of her newest venture—Circaphiles. She reached far more people with her webinars than she could have flying around the world. She also points out that a webinar is an efficient way to provide value for your customers. 

Genevieve has amassed a large network of resources—and unconsciously been creating Circaphiles—over the 15+ years of her career. So what is Circaphiles? It will be a platform for professional designers to share resources. It is an invitation-only network for designers and design students to access a directory of resources on a global scale. You’ll be able to chat with design peers around the world and collaborate on projects. 

The site will be packed with how-to guides, webinars, master-classes, and downloadable workflow templates. It’s giving the emerging designer a leg up. It helps you understand the practical day-to-day logistics of running a design business. Genevieve notes that it’s more important than ever for the community to lean into each other. Learn all about it in this episode!

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