The T.E.A. with Albie Knows

LuAnn Nigara is the co-owner of Window Works in Livingston, NJ, the author of The Making of A Well-Designed Business™ and the engaging host of the 5-star rated podcast A Well-Designed Business™.

The podcast, A Well-Designed Business™ is the definitive resource for interior design professionals interested in operating a profitable and productive business. Known for asking questions that get to the heart of the subject, her show is down to earth and actionable. In our conversation we talk about how hard it is to run a systemized, profitable business, noting that it is not something done lightly but with commitment and intention, the rewards are far more reaching than financial.

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“Decide to be excellent because make no mistake about it, excellence is a decision” — LUANN NIGARA, THE MAKING OF A WELL-DESIGNED BUSINESS™

This episode is jam packed with gems but some of the biggest takeaways are:

• Some are attempted and some are accomplished…and that’s okay.

• The basic formula to success is having confidence, understanding the obstacles, and implementing a plan & strategy.

• In the beginning, you need to be vigilante about assigning yourself manageable and accountable tasks.

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FIND LUANN ONLINE:

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Facebook Group

READ LUANN’S BOOKS:

The Making of A Well-Designed Business™

The Things I Learned From A Well-Designed Business™, The Power Talk Friday Experts

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THIS EPISODE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE INFLUENCE DIRECTORY.

The Influence Directory is an index of courses designed to help you maximize your expertise and influence. From software to strategy, tools to tactics, I have pooled my knowledge and resources to help you learn, connect, and thrive on your designpreneur journey.

Niki is a Raleigh, NC native and has  been working in the interior design industry for nearly 10 years. After being fired unexpectedly at the beginning of 2018, she decided to build her own design company, SingleBubblePop Design Studio. In less than a year, she’s grossed well over 6 figures and already starting to build our her team. When we decide to start our own businesses, for most of us, it’s a lot of trial and error. We can only hope that in those errors, we learn and continue to be better with each new attempt. That’s what Niki did. From starting her blog a decade ago to using previous design experiences to build her own business, nothing is lost in the trenches. Her design company has been profitable from day one because she applied business  principles to her design services, creating systems that maximize her profitability. She’s an entrepreneur first & designer second!

As something of a “visibility whisperer”, I got to discuss "Visibility Management" (as opposed to time management) with Rachel Moriarty. We talk all about what it’s like navigating visibility opportunities while remaining on brand & in alignment, with some examples from recent collaborations.

Rachel Moriarty wears many hats — from being a leading home style expert to best selling author to product designer. With more than 13 years of experience in design, her work as a photo stylist has also been published in home furnishing catalogs and industry magazines. Besides home makeovers, Rachel's current projects include a new tile line with Elegant Mosaics and renovations for a new HGTV series scheduled to launch this year.

As an expert in using her platform to fill her pipeline & build partnerships, I just know you guys are gonna love our conversation.

Today we dig deep into how getting uncomfortable propelled her business in ways that she hasn’t even expected. We talk about things she’s done in her business, the strategies she’s used, to get herself seen and booked.

Find Rachel Online:

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Elegant Mosaics Tile Collection

With an unwavering faith & charming southern style, designer Cheryl Luckett has built a brand that is hard to miss & even harder not to love. Southern Home describes Cheryl’s  style as “opulence in reach” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. In 2012, she launched Dwell by Cheryl Interiors on a mission to transform her clients’ houses into homes that are not only pleasing to the eye but that provide a sense of well-being both inside and out. 

For more than 15 years Cheryl worked at a Fortune 500 company in Charlotte, North Carolina as a Registered Dietitian and later a human resources professional in diversity and inclusion. After much prayer and consideration, she realized that design wasn’t just her passion, it was her purpose and decided to take on interior design full-time.Cheryl has been able to parlay her passions into a design brand — a brand with accolades that include being named one of the 15 Best Designers in Charlotte by Build Direct™, serving as Brand Ambassador for NC based Revolution Performance Fabrics, be one of the featured designers participating in Southern Home Magazine’s Julian Price Home Showhouse (Greensboro, NC), and launching the Belle by Cheryl Collection for Sylvester Alexander. 

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As children we’re asked what we want to be when we grow up. I think this is actually still a thing, where adults, unwittingly, tell kids figure out your life early and figure it out fast. While I do believe it’s never too early to start planting the seeds of the future, I know that what I wanted to be at 5 isn’t what I wanted to be at 7… at 14… at 19… or at 25. And now that I’m in my 30s, what I am and what I want to be is none of those previous things. 

A lot of us pivot for a myriad of other reasons. The power in pivoting is finding the purpose in it…controlling your pivots instead of being controlled by them. So in this episode, we’re going to be talking about the shifts that you may be experiencing, avoiding, or even regretting as you navigate your designpreneur journey, and how you can do so with passion and purpose. 

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TODAY’S EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GATHER.