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Trade Tales

Business of Home, Kaitlin Petersen

Business of Home's editor in chief Kaitlin Petersen talks to interior designers about nurturing creativity, finding a firm’s financial footing, setting goals and discovering their own version of success as a result.

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26 episodes
weekly
Avg 50 min
English

Episodes 26

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#188
Wednesday · 48 min
Ask Us Anything: Dan Rak on improving your profit margins
Dan Rak on why the right sourcing strategy is crucial to improving profit margins, levelling up through a designer-friendly accounting software, and the importance of regularly examining your firm’s cost structure.
#187
September 9 · 1 hr 15 min
Ali Faulkner on building a team that’s passionate about the client experience
Ali Faulkner on the outsourcing efforts that helped her firm grow, the value in hiring employees whose experience outweighs your own, and how being her authentic self helps capture ideal clients.
#186
September 2 · 54 min
Ask Us Anything: How Shaun Crha presents product pricing to clients
Interior designer Shaun Crha of Long Beach, California–based firm Wrenstead Interiors offers advice on using a budgeting guide to prepare clients for prospective room costs, an alternative approach to fully itemized pricing, and why some information always remains internal to his firm.
#185
August 26 · 1 hr 2 min
How Kelly Finley is building a firm that brings her joy
Kelly Finley of Oakland, California, and Atlanta, Georgia–based design firm Joy Street Design on creating a custom database for her firm’s backend, using AI to catch ordering mistakes and why she decided to launch a nonprofit that operates alongside her design firm.
#184
August 19 · 49 min
Ask Us Anything: Erica Vassalotti’s guide to photo rights
Interior designer Erica Vassalotti of Philadelphia-based design firm Bergman Vass shares tips on the value in teaming up with your photographer to strategize about media coverage, how usage rights are akin to art commissions, and why it's important to also represent clients in a photo shoot.
#183
August 12 · 59 min
Why Molly Torres Portnof hands every prospective client an investment guide
Molly Torres Portnof on the value of publicity in a changing media landscape, why she sends an investment guide to every prospective client, and the process she swears by to find the most qualified leads.
#182
August 5 · 39 min
Ask Us Anything: Tina Ramchandani on attracting your ideal client
New York-based interior designer Tina Ramchandani on finding the messaging that authentically conveys your firm’s value, tactics for filtering out unqualified leads, and the annual reset that helps crystallize her ideal client.
#181
July 29 · 58 min
Erica McLain on bridging the gap between science and design
Erica McLain on the “design potential report” she prepares for prospective clients, her firm’s unique B2B offering, and the toolkit she is developing to analyze a home’s impact on clients.
#180
July 22 · 47 min
Ask Us Anything: Dane Austin on taking design presentations to the next level [Rebroadcast]
Dane Austin on bringing a theatrical edge to big-picture design planning, a strategy for physically packaging ideas that invokes the world of luxury shopping, and the value of refining the decision-making process through three levels of presentations.
#179
July 15 · 59 min
Why Mandy Cheng won't delegate her firm's finances [Rebroadcast]
Mandy Cheng on why she’s not delegating the firm’s finances, the best methods for decoding a client’s taste, and the client education document that’s transformed the way she vets potential new projects.
#178
July 8 · 40 min
Ask Us Anything: Melissa Oholendt’s go-to interview questions for new hires [Rebroadcast]
Melissa Oholendt of Minnesota- and Colorado-based firm Oho Interiors on how to reveal a candidate’s true ambitions, evaluating skillset through a key question, and knowing when to call for backup.
#177
July 1 · 53 min
Why Ali Budd wants to do design TV differently [Rebroadcast]
Ali Budd on how she sets her firm apart in the competition for clients, what it takes to create a safe space for employees and finding the sweet spot where she can play a role in every project.
#176
June 24 · 29 min
Ask Us Anything: Blair Moore on protecting your firm from shipping issues
New York and Rhode Island-based interior designer Blair Moore on reckoning with a decline in shipping quality, how thorough channels of communication can help catch issues before they arise, and—when all else fails—establishing your own in-house receiving operation.
#175
June 17 · 59 min
How Angela Harris put wellness front and center in her business
Angela Harris on what it takes to fully inhabit the role of design visionary, how overhauling her firm’s infrastructure helped the team claw back creative time, why she’s pursuing a PhD centered on the concept of design as an ethical imperative.
#174
June 10 · 24 min
Ask Us Anything: Lucy O’Brien on designing around order minimums
Philadelphia-based interior designer Lucy O’Brien of Tartan & Toile on finding a second life for extra material, the value in troubleshooting with sales reps, and being transparent with clients about unexpected fees during the procurement process.
#173
June 3 · 48 min
Rayana Schmitz on tapping outside experts to transform her firm
Rayana Schmitz on the showhouse experience that pushed her creative boundaries, how a fractional CFO saved her firm’s finances and why she maintains strict hours of communication with clients.
#172
May 27 · 51 min
Ask Us Anything: Lauren Caron’s process-driven approach to far-away projects
Seattle-based interior designer Lauren Caron on billing clients for travel time, how she maximizes site visits before the transition to remote work, and the value in an exhaustive scope of work document.
#171
May 20 · 1 hr 4 min
How Audrey Scheck established her firm’s C-suite
Audrey Scheck on her growth mindset as she expanded her team, how a bandwidth tracker helps the firm determine whether it's time to take on new business, and the questions that help clients step outside their comfort zone.
#170
May 13 · 37 min
Ask Us Anything: Zoë Feldman on how to measure an employee’s design skills
Washington, D.C.–based Zoë Feldman on how to hire for aesthetic alignment, the metrics she uses to measure an employee’s progress at the firm, and how a team member with their own style can sometimes save the firm from adopting a formulaic look.
#169
May 6 · 57 min
How Hema Persad built ‘the smallest, most efficient’ team
Los Angeles–based designer Hema Persad on how managing a team shifted her perspective on business growth, why she’s been a fast adopter of AI tools, and what to expect from celebrity clients.

Showing 1–20 of 26 episodes