221: Niching in Your Design Business From the Start with Kaitlin Brophy Joining me on the podcast today is Kaitlin Brophy with Brook and Elm. What I love about the conversation that we're about to have is that it's going to be focused on creating a niche company from the very beginning, using skill sets from a prior career, and also just building a business with intentionality. So I hope you enjoy the podcast. Topics Mentioned:   Niche    Outdoor design    intentionality    Building in a season    Key Thoughts:     I learned from listening to a podcast that there is a real benefit and importance to niching in your business for setting yourself apart. Kaitlin Brophy (6:03)      I wanted to be able to be kind of a whole person in that I needed to have some type of outlet to express my creativity and my desires. But I also wanted to be that mom and I wanted to be a wife and I wanted to be able to go pick them up at preschool or do whatever I needed to do. Michele (9:35)      One of the things that was easy for me to translate into the businesses that I've created are those operations and procedures all the way back from building software. Michele (14:07)      I think the pandemic taught everyone how important is to have outdoor spaces that they want to spend time in and really make fun and functional. Kaitlin Brophy (22:47)      Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   Contact Kaitlin:   Email: kaitlin@brookandelm.com   Website: Brook and Elm   Instagram: @brookandelm   References and Resources:   Work with Me   Metrique Solutions   Profit First by Mike Michalowicz   E-Myth by Michael Gerber  

Niching in Your Design Business From the Start

Owning every choice in your business is not for the faint of heart. Each Monday, join Michele Williams, strategic profitability coach for the interior design industry as she interviews guests who are taking control of their business one decision at a time to increase their profits. If you are an entrepreneur who wants to make money while working in your passion, this is the podcast for you.

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259: The Power of Feasibility  Robyn Thomas is joining us today on the podcast. Robyn has an architecture degree from Auburn, and she has merged that education with her love of design to provide a one-stop architecture offer specializing in design completion and optimization. She calls it the master of done. I love that so much. Today we're going to delve into feasibility, what it is, why it's needed, and when is the right time for the conversation around it. Enjoy the podcast. Topics Mentioned:   Metrics   Processes   Project Management   Teamwork        Key Thoughts:    We sometimes get so enamored with the result that we don't look at the result and then backpedal our way through it to get to the beginning   Robyn Thomas      I'm all about feasibility... It's really saying, what are the resources available and how can we best use them?  Michele Williams      There are indicators and metrics that we can pull into our discovery call, or consultation process that we want to introduce early, way before we get into what color are the walls.    Robyn Thomas      I think that in feasibility, sometimes people again have the idea that they're fighting against you to get something done, even though it's not you, it's what you're bringing up, the budget, the timeline. You're the representation of those things.   Michele Williams    Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   Contact Robyn:   Website: www.robynstudios.com    Facebook: rs.homeguidestudio   Instagram: @rs.homeguidestudio   Email: robyn@robynstudios.com    Pinterest: robynstudiosga/    References and Resources:   CFO2GO   Work with Me   Metrique Solutions      

The Power of Feasibility

258: 4 Strategies to Stop Being Underpaid  I am so excited to be talking to you today. I'm actually so excited that I didn't wait and get all dolled up to be on the video part of the podcast. I decided in the middle of my work session just to stop and go ahead and share this message. So, I hope you are excited as I am, because we are going to talk about four strategies that will stop you from being underpaid. Do you know what it means to be underpaid? It means a high tolerance for low pay. I think that it is a problem, especially for creatives and certainly in the interior design industry. Now, some of you may be listening to this podcast and you may be thinking, hey, no problem here, I get paid all the time. But my question would be, do you take the money out of the company with ease, without feeling stressed? Some of you may be listening to the podcast and thinking, oh yeah, I have a high tolerance for low pay. Instead, I'm a people pleaser and I want to do great things for other people. Stay tuned because we're going to talk about the four strategies that will help you not be underpaid, but to be paid fairly and to be able to have a profitable company - at the same time  Topics Mentioned:   Value   Worth   Pricing strategy   Career path    Key Thoughts:    People are paying you for what you know, or they're paying you for what you have the ability to learn and to know. Michele Williams     People are willing to pay you for what you know.  Michele Williams     Time is a currency that we spend in our calendar, and people will pay us for the time that we have available to devote to their project. Michele Williams     We're all looking at what we can hand off to somebody else's task list. Stress relief is a big deal. Michele Williams     Understanding pricing and understanding your attitude around it is really going to allow you to move forward with confidence and not cockiness. Michele Williams     Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   References and Resources:   Work with Me   CFO2Go   Metrique Solutions  

4 Strategies to Stop Being Underpaid

257: Design the Life You Want Nicole Comis is a life and mindset coach, and she's passionate about helping driven professionals achieve their career goals without sacrificing their personal lives. She's certified by the International Coaching Federation and she's also a neurolinguistics programming master coach. Nicole's goal is for those that she works with to recognize that success comes from living a happy, healthy, and balanced life, whatever that might look like for them. If you're feeling tired or overwhelmed or not sure what to do next, this is the podcast for you.  Topics Mentioned:   Health   Success   Balance   Mindset    Key Thoughts:    The reason why we burn ourselves out and the reason why we work our butts off is because it's our programming. Whether it's a fear or a limiting belief or that's what dad did, that's what mom did. We are programmed to think that that's what we need to do, whether it's, I need to prove myself, I need to prove I'm worthy or not, that's just what is done, or you've got to work your butt off to make money. Nicole Comis      That makes me think of what grace has been bestowed upon me and upon my life and upon those I love or those I'm watching. Seeing the grace that we get every day, that is what makes me joyful. Michele Williams      The more that you can identify your fears and your limiting beliefs and understand where those come from, the more aligned you feel, and I do tell my clients, too, to really practice making decisions based on your vision and your values. Nicole Comis      When other people's ideas and influence get like that, we have to turn it off, and then we've got to be intentional about the influences of the people that we let speak into us. Michele Williams    Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   Contact Nicole:   Website: https://www.nicolecomis.com   Facebook: NicoleComisCoaching   Instagram: @nicolecomis   Email: nicole@nicolecomis.com   LinkedIn: nicolecomis Tic Tock: @nicolecomis   References and Resources:   CFO2GO   Work with Me   Metrique Solutions   Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud    Life Fulfillment Exercise   Sew Much More Podcast   Podcast with Jennifer Looney: Creating a Board of Directors that Support You   

Design the Life You Want

256: One Size Does Not Fit All One size does not fit all. Okay, I just said it. I know that's going to be hard for some of you. But in our haste to get things done, to keep moving, to provide a service, often we're looking for that shortcut to success. We're looking to ride the elevator to the top instead of taking the stairs. Today, we will explore how to choose the right offer for our company and ultimately, for our customers.  Topics Mentioned:   Templates    Metrics    Problem Solving    Business Solutions      Key Thoughts:   I've used templates. I have templates. I think they're awesome, but they're only as good as they know how to be used and how to be tweaked.  Michele Williams     Simply purchasing a template without a complete understanding of the problem that it's solving is just going to create more busy work for your team, leave you lacking in the outcome desired, and it's honestly going to cause frustration.  Michele Williams     Our goal here is to help you truly understand the challenge that you have and the problem that you're solving.  Michele Williams     What we are dedicated to is empowering you to know how to read the signs, know how to determine what's needed, and knowing how to adjust your systems, whether they're purchased systems or created systems so that they can grow with your company.  Michele Williams     Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   References and Resources:   Work with Me   CFO2Go   Metrique Solutions  

One Size Does Not Fit All

255: Ignite Your Passion in Your Business With me on the podcast today is Jacqueline Green of Behind the Design company. Jacqueline is a coach, and she helps people move from a hobby into the business that they want that can be profitable. We're going to have a very robust conversation today on how to identify areas that we're passionate about and how to give ourselves the freedom to move from one direction to another, not to stay stuck. I hope you enjoy the podcast.  Topics Mentioned:   Passion   Pivot,   Growth   Mindset      Key Thoughts:    As you build wisdom, as you build your knowledge base, what was important to me in my 20s versus what's important to me in my 50s is completely different. That's what's so unique and fun, is really seeing what could this really be. And getting out of whatever mindset that we were kind of stuck in from our past. Jacqueline Green      Giving ourselves the freedom to even go through that discovery process, I think is really what you're inviting us to here, is to not feel that we have to be stuck, no matter how far we're in business, no matter where we are. Michele Williams      It's giving yourself permission to put yourself first on occasion to really look at what you really want in life and how you are going to get there. Jaqueline Green      I see one thousand opportunities within this industry to build a business, doing the parts that we always have, parts we don't love, but focusing on what you love. Michele Williams    Contact Michele:   Email: Team@ScarletThreadConsulting.com   Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting   Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL   Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com   LinkedIn: Michele Williams   Contact Jaqueline:   Website: www.behindthedesignco.com    Facebook: behindthedesignco   Instagram: @behindthedesignco/   Email: jgreen@behindthedesignco.com    LinkedIn: behind-the-design/ LinkedIn: jacquelinereed/   References and Resources:   CFO2GO   Work with Me   Metrique Solutions   Financial Courses with Michele Williams including “Understanding Your Financials”, “Master Your Profit”, and “Pricing Without Emotion”   Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck   Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud   

Niching in Your Design Business From the Start

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