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Today with Emily King: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. What money story are you’re playing in your head? Does it open you up to opportunities and building a successful business or does it hold you back from making your dreams a reality? Emily King, of The Rich Woman, walks through how to discover our money personality and detox ourselves from negative money talk so we can start living a life of abundance and opportunity. Pick it apart: [16:10] Emily explains what money mindset is.   [25:20] Emily shares how her money mindset was shaped by her childhood.   [34:11] Emily explains the money personality archetypes.   [47:14] Emily shares some things you can do on your own to recognize and overcome your money blocks.   [51:07] LuAnn tells how she prepared her daughters to be able to support themselves no matter what. LuAnn and Emily King’s Ah-Ha moments: “We get to rewrite our money story to a more empowering one.” - Emily King More About Emily King: Emily King is a wealth & abundance coach for

Today with Melinda Marquardt: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I’m joined by Melinda Marquardt of the Vale London, a line of exquisite textiles and wallpapers for the luxury interiors market. Melinda struck out on her own after years in the corporate world, determined to lean on her creativity and passion to fuel her business. She buckled down, learned the business side, and figured out how to thrive. Today, she’s sharing what she believes entrepreneurs need to remember to succeed! Pick it apart: [2:17] Melinda shares her story and discusses why believing in yourself is a staple in running your own business. [16:28] Melinda talks about the difficulties in learning the business side of things and figuring out how to make a profit from what you love.  [25:09] LuAnn and Melinda discuss the importance of finding your values and sticking to them.  [31:44] LuAnn and Melinda talk about imposter syndrome and risk when starting a business.  [42:46] Melinda shares what it means to never stop being in

Today with Patricia Lohan: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Feng Shui expert, Patricia Lohan shares how you can clear your home and office of subconscious obstructions so you can provide space for opportunities and prosperity to flow. Learn how to intentionally filter your environment, analyze your art and position your desk for success. Pick it apart: [28:32] Patricia shares her perception of Feng Shui in comparison to an iceberg    [32:02] Patricia explains the importance of the art you choose for your spaces   [41:12] LuAnn and Patricia talk about what to do with objects in your space that you don’t love   [46:20] Patricia explains how she assesses the energy of a house LuAnn and  Patricia Lohan's Ah-Ha moments: “Feng Shui is acupuncture for your home.” - Patricia Lohan   “I love the idea of making your home become a vision board of where you are going.” - Patricia Lohan More About Patricia Lohan: Patricia Lohan is the creator of Feng Shui Mastery and Author of Th

Today with Demetrius Robinson: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Demetrius Robinson, full-service luxury interior designer and lifestyle brand pro behind At Home With Savvy, shares his secret sauce for Instagram success. Demetrius chats about why he recently rebranded, how he approaches his online community, and how he hacks the occasional lack of motivation. Pick it apart: [9:58] Demetrius gives an overview of how he selects brands he represents   [22:30] Demetrius explains how he meshes his DIY community and his luxury clients   [30:10] LuAnn and Demetrius discuss the importance of tone and language choice on social and with clients   [36:12] Demetrius talks about why and how he rebranded   [49:17] Demetrius shares his process for creating content   LuAnn and Demetrius Robinson’s Ah-Ha moments: “It’s about not just being present, it’s about being sure of what you’re there to do.” - Demetrius Robinson   “Our reputation is all we have.” - Demetrius Robinson   “I lean on discipline rather

On Today’s Flashback Friday Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On this week’s Flashback Friday, we’re taking a look back at episode 314 with Kristen Thomas of Studio Thomas.  Like many designers, Kristen started her business taking on any work that came her way. But four years in, she wanted to gain clarity on the experience she wanted to create, the clients she wanted to work with, and the philosophy she wanted to connect with as she approached projects. She made the decision to niche down and gain clarity. The results spoke for themselves. Pick it apart: [6:16] Kristen shares how she transitioned out of taking every job that came her way by focusing on her work and her reputation.  [16:07] Kristen and LuAnn discuss the importance of creating the right culture through your staff and hiring process. [25:19] Kristen discusses the revamp in her business and the results that it brought. [38:22] Kristen shares her process for rebranding and how it influenced every decision she made in her business. LuAn

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode! Today’s listener question comes to us from a designer struggling with where to find the funds to invest in their business. I say it all the time, we all have our superpowers. Today, I lean into this idea in the sense that running a business takes a village. You are not going to be the best at everything. To run our business, it takes a dream team. Start to assemble yours. What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Windowworksnj.com Shop38east.com Comfortex.com Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

  Today with Ethan Beute: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Ethan Beute, Chief Evangelist at BombBomb shares how a simple video tool can be used to differentiate yourself and showcase the best sales asset you have - yourself! Learn the framework for creating a video response to web inquiries and walk with Ethan as he shares how you can use video in the place of email and text. Pick it apart: [18:49] Ethan reviews when one would send video vs. email/text.   [26:05] LuAnn summarized where interior designers can use BombBomb in their business   [31:25] Ethan addresses common objections to using video for web-lead follow up   [48:20] LuAnn recaps how BombBomb is different from highly produced marketing videos LuAnn and Ethan Beute’s Ah-Ha moments: “We can build this psychological proximity to people. It’s the same reason that for decades people felt close to the television news anchor.” - Ethan Beute   “People will feel closer to you when you are in front of them.” - Ethan Beute   “All any

Today with Jessica Matteson: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Jessica Matteson started her business with lots of experience but little time and money to invest in getting Jessica Matteson Landscape Architecture off the ground. Jessica shares her journey from starting with just $35 in advertising postcards to running a successful luxury landscape architecture business. Pick it apart: 14:28 Jessica shares her onboarding process in detail 18:12 Jessica gives a tip on how to handle a client introducing new wants in the middle of a project 22:78 Jessica shares how she broadens the scope of projects to include additional products 26:20 Jessica shares how she used to do her discovery process and the benefits of conducting it with her new method 34:28 Jessica tells the story about how she invented her one-day service concept 41:20 Jessica shares her simple marketing strategy she’s used since day one 52:30 Jessica tells about her early years and the mantra that got her through LuAnn and Jessica Matteson’s

On Today’s Flashback Friday Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Today we’re taking you back in time for another Flashback Friday, where we revisit some of our can’t-miss episodes from our archives.  Today’s flashback episode is Episode 441: Laura & Cliff Muller: Four Point Design Build Firm.  Laura and Cliff have extensive experience in the design build industry. They know what it takes to create exquisite design build projects, the intricate details, legalities, and liabilities you have to face when you work in design build, and how best to launch your design build career.  Let’s revisit the episode and find out what it really takes to make it in design build. Pick it apart: [6:50] Laura and Cliff share the personal side of their business and how they celebrate all of their partners at the end of a successful project.  [16:36] Laura and Cliff dive into their four step process and how that leads to strong projects.  [19:19] LuAnn asks Laura and Cliff what advice they would give to new designers inte

Today with Paul Dashevsky: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Joining me today is Paul Dashevsky. Paul along with Jon Grishpul, are the co-founders of GreatBuildz. Between the two, they have decades of experience in the real estate and construction industries. They’ve seen enough renovation nightmares that they decided it was enough, and they knew there had to be a better way. Today, Great Buildz is revolutionizing the industry and making life so much easier for designers, homeowners, and contractors all over Southern California where they are based. Paul is here to give us his best practices that you can use as you vet and interview contractors for your projects.  Get those notebooks out, smart ladies and gents! This is a pen and paper show! More About GreatBuildz: GreatBuildz is a completely free service that simplifies the home renovation and remodeling search by matching and connecting homeowners with reliable, thoroughly screened general contractors throughout Los Angeles and Ventura County. Founded b

Today on A Well-Designed Business Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It's Power Talk Friday! Business for 90% of us is absolutely bonkers right now, isn’t it? Why is it when we are busy, we so easily throw aside the time to work on our business? Today, I want to talk about the importance of working on your business always, not just when it’s convenient. On today's show, I am letting the LuAnn University instructors tell you about their amazing courses, and why now, more than ever, it is critical that we focus on our businesses.  LuAnn University Summer 2021: 5 Departments offering 8 courses for targetted instruction for profit and growth: Process Leads to Profit Department How to Build Systems Into Your Services, taught by Sara Lynn Brennan Design-Build 201, taught by Kathleen Anderson Profit is in the Numbers Department Project Profitability 101, taught by Kimberly Merlitti Online Bookkeeping 101, taught by Kathleen Anderson Online Bookkeeping 201, taught by Peter Lang Window Treatments for

Today with John Robert Wiltgen:   Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. My guest today is John Wiltgen. John has, for the most part, retired, from his 40+ year career as the principal of John Robert Wiltgen Design Inc., based in the Chicago area. John and I touch on many topics today, (I mean, after such a long and successful career, there s a lot of ground to cover!) We start by talking about how to manage client expectations when you are faced with delays, missed deadlines, disappointed clients, all the way to attracting luxury clients, servicing luxury clients as well as raising your prices when you have returning clients. John had a lot of wisdom to pass on to us and it is no wonder, so tune in for a jam-packed episode!   More About John Robert Wilgen: The integration of art, architecture and design is fundamental at John Robert Wiltgen Design, Inc. This inclusive approach applies to a residence being designed from the ground up, the ingenious restyling and updating of an existing home and the selecti

 Today with Katie McFarlan: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. The client experience is something we all think about. How do we elevate the experience for our clients so that they feel like we truly care about them without making ourselves crazy by bending over backwards for each client? The answer just might lie in your processes. Today, I’m joined by Katie McFarlan of Dakota Design Company. Katie works with designers to build a strong client experience through streamlined processes, smooth operations, and clear expectations. She’s sharing with us how defined processes lead to a luxury client experience that helps you and your clients. More About Katie McFarlan: As a former wedding and event planner with 16 years of experience in operations and project management, I love using both my creative and analytical sides to come up with solutions that work for my clients. With my intimate knowledge of project management and the entrepreneurial mindset, I know what it takes to

Today with Megan Molten: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Megan Molten is back on the show today! Megan is the principal Megan Molten and interior design firm located and Charleston NC. Megan and I discuss how she achieved huge successes so quickly. For outsiders looking into her business, Megan made it look easy! But, in today's episode, we take a peek behind the curtain at the dedication, sacrifice, hard decisions, and sleepless nights that paved the way for her success.  More About Megan Molten: Megan's love for all things interiors has been around for as long as she can remember and soon became a reality after she purchased her first home in Charleston, South Carolina and started the design process herself. She began sharing with the world her modern coastal spaces on social media and the world responded! It was this incredible response to Megan's designs that encouraged her to start helping friends, then friends of friends and eventually clients transform their spaces too. This exciting new "hobby" s

Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to Window Treatment Friday!  As business owners, the pandemic was scary, to say the least! Every single day was unpredictable and a new scenario we have never faced before. Now, over a year later, we are starting to see the world open up and see a light at the end of the tunnel. Today, LuAnn and Vita discuss how to navigate the future and the post covid world. More About Vita Vygovska Vitalia Vygovska (Vita for short), CWFP, MBA, is an award-winning window treatment specialist, author, speaker, mom, wife, and a ballroom dance enthusiast.  Her company, Vitalia, Inc, provides all-encompassing concierge-level, tech-driven fabrication, measurement, installation, and project management services exclusively for interior designers.  In business for over a decade, Vita and her team are experts in their narrow field, providing designers with superb quality product and excellent communication.  Most importantly, they take off the stress, save time, and give peace of mind in the job is

Today with Mark Lavender: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. In his 25 years working in institutional medical design, Mark Lavender learned a few things about sticking to processes, creating estimates, and getting over the fear of asking for payment. In business for himself for the past six years, Mark is an open book - he shares the details of his markup, when to think twice about signing a client, and how he keeps his clients coming back. Pick it apart: [14:11] Mark shares advice on always utilizing a contract  [19:29] Mark tells about warning signs with clients redlining his contract [20:31] LuAnn offers advice to designers who encounter clients who don’t agree with their contract or value them as professionals  [24:43] Mark shares how he explains his policy of final payment before the product is delivered  [32:00] LuAnn gives advice on pricing yourself properly  [41:00] Mark and LuAnn walk through how Mark operates his pricing structure including his hourly fee LuAnn and Mark Lavender’s Ah-Ha

Today on A Well-Designed Business® Welcome to a Well-Designed Business®. Today, I am telling you all about LuAnn University. We are getting ready to launch our Summer Session of courses on July 6th, 2021, and I can't wait for you to learn more about our extraordinary instructors and our growing list of value-packed courses!  LuAnn University Summer 2021: 5 Departments offering 8 courses for targetted instruction for profit and growth: Process Leads to Profit Department How to Build Systems Into Your Services, taught by Sara Lynn Brennan Design-Build 201, taught by Kathleen Anderson Profit is in the Numbers Department Project Profitability 101, taught by Kimberly Merlitti Online Bookkeeping 101, taught by Kathleen Anderson Online Bookkeeping 201, taught by Peter Lang Window Treatments for Profit The Proven 7-Step Sales Process, taught by Jessica Harling Marketing for Profit Visibility for Creatives, taught by Rachel Moriarty Video for Creatives, taught by Arianne Bellizaire Expand Yo

Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today is a What Would Lu Do episode where I answer listener questions, and….you guessed it, tell you what I would do! Today’s listener question comes to us from a designer struggling with marketing for client acquisition. So where do you start? I will tell you during today's episode! What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com http://www.luannnigara.com/cob Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999! Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2 Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s Website LuAnn’s Blog Power Talk Friday Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I am introducing a new kind of episode to the show! Welcome to Flash Back Friday, where I revisit old episodes of the podcast. After so many successful years of interviews, there was a need, for both new listeners and long-time listeners alike, to revisit the archives. For new listeners, it is an opportunity to be introduced to older shows they missed, and for long-time listeners, it's a chance to refresh the ah-ha moments of the past!    So here we go! Today, we are revisiting "Episode 423: Tiffannie White, ​The Nappy Bohemian: Your “Only” and Lessons From a New Interior Design Business". From the archives... On today’s show! We’re talking to Tiffannie White today, the creator of The Nappy Bohemian, located in Oakland, California. Tiffannie is a blogger, an interior stylist, and an e-designer and she also has a full-time position as a design consultant at  Fireclay Tile. After spending many years as a career sales professional, The Nappy Bohemian was born in 20

Today with Kate Bendewald: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Sometimes, we start our own business because we always knew that’s what we were meant for. We want to be our own bosses, have flexibility in our work, and take charge of our lives. Other times, we’re pushed into it due to changes in our circumstances. For my guest today, Kate Bendewald, the second category is true. After she had her first daughter, she left a prestigious job in a commercial design firm and struck out on her own. Her design experience didn’t prepare her for the business side of things—that, she had to learn on her own. Today, she’s sharing with us the lessons she learned and how she has stayed the course through it all.  Pick it apart: [7:16] Kate shares her journey from commercial designer to running her own firm.  [18:11] Kate discusses how she navigated the transition into business owner without any knowledge of business fundamentals. [22:00] Kate dives into how she figured things out along the way, including improving at s