Profit Is A Choice

At some point we all need to consider hiring. But have you considered hiring for the weaknesses in your firm? In this episode we will look at how to identify the weaknesses of your firm, how to use the StrengthsFinder 2.0 assessment tool to gain clarity on what is missing, and how to choose between two weak areas to determine which position to hire for first.

• Hiring

• StrengthsFinder

• Decision making

• The more stress put on an object, the more the weak areas present. And the same holds true in business. Michele (1:48) 

   

• Knowing my weaknesses, has really helped me in hiring people who had a natural ability that I did not, and then create processes and systems to assist me in meeting the needs of my clients and my business for the areas that do not come as naturally to me. Michele (5:49) 

   

• Hiring when you're overwhelmed where you can't fully train or onboard could lead to disaster. Make sure that you have a training plan created in advance before bringing on your next team member. Michele (9:44) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• 7-Figure Case Study

• Play to Your Strengths - EP 35 with Darren Virassammy

• Who Should I Hire First: Admin Assistance or Junior Designer? by Michele Williams

• StrengthsFinder Assessment

Catrina Maxwell from Cat Max Photography is joining me on the podcast today to talk all about how to create a successful brand and lifestyle photo shoot. Cat and I recently worked together to create my new photos and her process was top-notch. I loved crafting the story lines, then taking the pictures to tell the story. Listen in as Cat shares her journey in photography and how we can take photos that allow us to make human connections.

• Story

• Pre-planning

• Human connection

• Joy

• Sometimes those yeses that seem a little bit off the beaten path can sometimes become the path later. Michele (10:38) 

   

• Highlighting women entrepreneurs and helping them to be successful in telling their story through those editorial pieces, just kind of lit a fire in me. Catrina Maxwell (11:59) 

   

• It's not just your interiors, you have a headshot, you have lifestyle, you have behind the scenes, you have personality that's going to go with all of this. And it tells your whole story. Catrina Maxwell (13:57) 

   

• Sometimes, some things that we do, we almost take for granted that either everybody knows we do it, or that it maybe doesn't hold the level of importance. Michele (45:11) 

   

• I think it's amazing how God doesn't waste anything. Michele (1:01:02)  

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• Website: Cat Max Photography

• Instagram: @catmaxphoto

• Facebook: CatMaxPhotography

• LinkedIn: Cat Max Photography

• Email: [email protected]

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• 7 Figure Case Study - Download here

Each firm needs a CEO. A Chief Executive Officer. Perhaps, the position does not use that label – but the work of the CEO is still needed. On the podcast today we are going to look at the role of the CEO, why it is needed, and how to protect it no matter the size of your firm.

• CEO

• Job responsibilities

• Ownership

• We need to recognize that the role and the position of CEO in your company exists. Michele (4:53) 

• You need to set aside time to consider the future, work on guiding your firm and your team and building up your leadership skill set. Most of this work starts with how you think and the mindset you have towards leadership. Michele (5:18) 

• We want to identify the responsibilities of CEO in your firm, we may not all do it the same. Michele (6:05) 

• It takes more than doing the work of the day to day to be successful. It takes oversight, management, planning and making a path forward for everyone. Michele (7:44) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• 7 Figure Case Study - Download here

• The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber

• Traction by Gino Wickman

• Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz

• The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack

• 3 Reasons to Take Your Business on Vacation - EP 142 with Michele Williams

With me today is Lesley Myrick of Lesley Myrick Interiors. Lesley is fun and has a super cool style. She is going to share with us on today the challenges of moving 3 times in 5 years and constantly restarting her business. There are some lessons learned and insight gained from these moves that can assist us all, no matter where we are in business. Listen in as Lesley shares how simplifying her offerings has been freeing and more profitable in her business, and as she shares the one big thing that helped launch her business in a new state.

• Vulnerability and putting yourself out there 

• Moving to a new state 

• Simplifying your offerings 

• Coaching 

• We talk about profitability in more than one way. Meaning we're not looking at just money, but the profitability of doing what we love and the profitability of relationships and the profitability of communication and all the other aspects of business and life where profitability matters. Michele (2:22) 

   

• I recommend to any designer who is new in the city or just trying to get more local exposure is reach out to your local magazines, they're always looking for content if you can come to them with great projects to photograph or photos, and a story idea. Lesley Myrick (11:18) 

   

• I want to encourage all of us the profitability of taking the step even when you're afraid like there is sometimes doesn't always work out. Michele (19:30) 

   

• When I have been open to adventure when I have been open to what God has next for us what opportunities come up, it has been way more fun. It's been terrifying, and horrible and awful and difficult too. Don't get me wrong. But it has been way more exciting and gratifying. Lesley Myrick (26:36) 

   

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• Website: LesleyMyrick.com

• Instagram: @lesleymyrick

• Facebook: Lesley Myrick Interior Design

• YouTube: Lesley Myrick

• Email: [email protected]

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

Here we are, midway through the year. And the question becomes, are you on track to meet your goals? I believe that July is a great time to renew your energy and also to renew your goals with a goal setting session. Listen in as we chat about the 3 reasons to set new goals in July.

• New information 

• Monitoring 

• Energize your team 

• Goal setting   

• When we are creating strategic plans and doing our best to manage to them over time, what we really uncover is that the closer we get to the end point we are measuring to – the more we know. Michele (1:38) 

• Review the prior goal setting exercise you did. Regardless of whether you did it in November of the past year or January or March of this year. Pull it out and look at it. Michele (2:35) 

• New information brings new decisions. Hopefully if you have been monitoring to the goals you set before, you can see the changes that are now coming about with intentionality. Michele (4:29) 

• When we set goals at the beginning of the year, and then never look at them until December they can almost become meaningless to the team. By doing quarterly check-ins and opening up our goal setting in July for any necessary revisions, we are indicating to our team that we are serious about creating a roadmap for our success. Michele (7:56)  

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• 7 Figure Case Study - Download here

• 5 Reasons Successful Interior Designers Use a Strategic Plan - EP 129 with Michele Williams

• How to Easily Create a Strategic Plan for Your Design Firm - EP 131 with Michele Williams

• Reasons to Take Your Design Business on Vacation - EP 142 with Michele Williams

• Ways to Make Your Interior Design Business More Fun- EP 149 with Michele Williams

With me today is Michelle O’Connor of O’Connor Insurance Associates located in Charlotte, NC. Michelle and I are going to talk about what insurance is, and why we need it, discuss the different types of insurance available, when to get insurance, and when to make a claim against it. There are so many different types of insurance and knowing what serves our company best will allow us to make the best decisions to protect the business we are building.

• Liability

• Workers’ Compensation

• Auto

• Employer Practices Liability

• The more that your company grows, almost the more it's really about taking care of your people, and your people will take care of your clients. Michele (04:50) 

   

• The goal of insurance is to make you whole again, specifically when you had a covered insurance claim, which is the magic word there, is that it has to be something that is covered. Michelle O’Connor (12:24) 

   

• You do have to know your state guidelines when it comes to workers comp, but I will tell you, regardless of what your state guidelines are, when you hire the first employee, you really need workers compensation. Michelle O’Connor (34:49) 

   

• It takes a second, I mean if anybody's ever had a toddler you know, it takes a second for anything to happen with them. Same thing in your business. Michele (39:01) 

   

• Flood policies are separate policies. So they are not built into your business owner policy. They're not built into your homeowners’ policy. They are separate policies. So unless you have purchased and paid a premium for a flood policy, you don't have it. Michelle O’Connor (41:32) 

   

• The cost of having the insurance is negligible compared to the cost of the claim. Michele (46:44) 

   

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• Website: oianc.com

• LinkedIn: O'Connor Insurance Associates, Inc.

• Michelle LinkedIn: Michelle O’Connor

• Instagram: @oconnorinsuranceassociates

• Facebook: O’Connor Insurance

• Twitter: O’Connor Insurance

• YouTube: O'Connor Insurance Pinterest: O'Connor Insurance

• Email: [email protected]

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

Years ago, employee reviews were done yearly, and they were so very formal that most people entered with some form of fear. Even those who were high performers. Why? Because you never knew how they were going to go – and the sentiment was that the reviews were always done in favor of the company. 

Listen in as I break down how to do a mid-year review with each of your team members, why this is important, and how to balance the scales between what the company needs and what the employee needs. 

• Plan 

• Ask questions 

• Actively listen 

• Close feedback loop  

• As we dive into doing reviews of any type, whether mid-year or end of year, let’s do it with the focus of coaching, leading and educating our employees so that they grow and thrive which ultimately benefits our clients. This focus will create great advantage for the company as a whole. Michele (0:50) 

   

• Be clear with yourself and your team on the importance and role of the mid-year review. Michele (1:58) 

   

• Create questions to gather the information you need and send to the employee in advance so that they can give it their time and attention. Michele (3:15) 

   

• Actively listen. I know that each of us form opinions of people and processes and situations. We are made to do that. But when you come into these meetings, try to put yourself in the shoes of your employee and see things from their position. Michele (5:28) 

   

• Create an action plan from the meeting. If goals need to be reset, reset them. If processes are broken, create a timeline and an action item to dissect the problem and correct it. Michele (7:26) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• 7 Figure Case Study - Download here

• 4 Year-End Steps to Prepare Your Interior Design Business - EP 118 with Michele Williams

With me on the podcast, today is Stacey Brown Randall. Stacey is an award-winning author of Generating Referrals Without Asking, which we talked about on episode 27 of my podcast back in 2019, and she is the host of the popular podcast, Roadmap to Grow Your Business. 

Stacey and I met when we were both working together as co-authors of the book, “The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts” Volume 1.  

Today, Stacey and I are going to look at our referral strategy through a layering approach. There are 6 layers, and after today you will think of planting referral seeds for your business with intention. Topics Mentioned:

• Transfer of trust 

• Relationship 

• Referral Seeds 

• Plan 

• Referrals are definitely the holy grail of how people should be focused on growing their business. Stacey Brown Randall ((04:44) 

• When we are looking at a referral strategy through this layering lens, we're talking about a referral as we've defined it, which means there's a personal connection and a need has been identified. Michele (12:08) 

• Create a plan with the right language and the right kind of consistency. Stacey Brown Randall (14:37) 

• One aspect of that, that I just want to kind of draw a line under and maybe put a little virtual highlight on, is we don't want to do this with just any of our clients, we want to do those, do this with our clients or with those people where we want to repeat it. And we know that the leads, and the referrals are quality, and that they fit our ideal client. Michele (26:31) 

• We always need to be cultivating that relationship with our existing referral sources, or potential referral sources. Stacey Brown Randall (30:53) 

• We need to make sure that we can easily articulate who our ideal client is, or the ideal business that or need that we have. Michele (50:01) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• Website: StaceyBrownRandall.com

• LinkedIn: StaceyBRandall

• Instagram: @staceybrownrandall

• Email: [email protected] 

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Vol. 1 by LuAnn Nigara

• Referrals Without Asking For A Full Pipeline- EP: 27 with Stacey Brown Randall

The last year and a half have been taxing for businesses, and for business owners. The time we used to take to create a great team culture and to do things together was changed to how do we all do things apart from each other. On today’s podcast we are going to dig in to why it is important to have fun in the workplace and how to do that in a multitude of ways. I hope you can take away a few new ideas for your team to build fun again.

• Fun 

• Celebrations 

• Outings 

• Appreciation in the workplace 

• I really want to encourage you to take a step back and look critically at your teams and ask yourself, even though they may be great at what they do, are they loving their job? Do they want to come to work every day? Michele (3:19) 

• Evaluate your environment, do you feel free to laugh and to smile and greet one another and to encourage your teammates. Even if you're still meeting by Zoom or online, make sure to take a moment to connect with people before diving into the serious part. Michele (5:35) 

• Another thing that you might want to consider is how your team members feel individually about being appreciated. Michele (13:10) 

• It’s never too late to begin. You don't have to wait until the New Year. Just make sure whatever you put into practice that you are consistent in the application. Michele (14:16) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People by Gary Chapman

With me today on the podcast is Desi Creswell. Desi is a coach focused on helping Interior Designers get out of the overwhelm and learning to live with more freedom and fulfillment. Desi is a co-author in the second edition of The Power Talk Friday Experts book produced by LuAnn Nigara and A Well-Designed Business. 

Desi and I will be talking about finding focus in your business, not only in the day to day, but in the longer term as well. Stay tuned for a great conversation. 

• Focus

• Ease

• Constraint

• Distraction

• Although I was busy, I didn't necessarily feel focused on where I was headed and also felt like I wasn't as effective as I could have been both personally and professionally. Desi Creswell (2:44) 

• When I started looking at the cost of some of my add ons, I started realizing, truthfully, I could do it. But did I want to pay the price to get it? Michele (5:29) 

• I think part of the problem that we run into as women and mothers is that we don't define what have it all actually means to us. Desi Creswell (6:43) 

• I can't live my life on the Peloton in business. Because at some point, I'm tired, and I've got to get off, I've got to have rest, I've got to give my body my mind. Michele (16:12) 

• What I teach really is a process for kind of reining in and collecting those ideas, breaking them down into really small, doable tasks, so that you're really going to see that project or initiative, or system that you're putting in place through to completion. Desi Creswell (20:28) 

• I just want to encourage our listeners, just start with asking yourself what you want and what you need in your home and in your family. Michele (38:28) 

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

• Website: ScarletThreadConsulting.com

• LinkedIn: Michele Williams

• Website: desicreswell.com

• Daily Planner: DesiCresswell.com/daily planner

• Instagram: @desicreswell

• Email: [email protected]

• AIM Masterclass - Watch now

• Atomic Habits by James Clear

• Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

• Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden

• A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Vol. 1 by LuAnn Nigara

• A Well-Designed Business - The Power Talk Friday Experts Vol. 2 by LuAnn Nigara

• Managing Business Growth Expectations for Interior Designers - EP: 115 with Jeremy and Chandler Quarles

• Married to an Entrepreneur - EP 64 with Michele and Joel Williams