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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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33 episodes
weekly
Avg 52 min
English

Episodes 33

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#195
Wednesday · 59 min
James Dolenc and Tom Riker on creating a firm that’s built to last
James Dolenc and Tom Riker on their secrets to long-term employee retention, the benefits of a four-day workweek and why collaboration and separation play equal roles in their partnership.
#194
October 28 · 38 min
Ask Us Anything: Sarah Goesling on using storytelling to connect with future clients
Sarah Goesling on cultivating a diversified approach to lead generation, the right language to use when networking and the hidden value in maintaining transparency and building connections with industry partners.
#193
October 21 · 1 hr 17 min
How Laura Lubin helps clients make project budgets rooted in reality
Laura Lubin on how hiring a director of design transformed her firm, why she launched a construction arm to deliver a luxury service and how sales can be a tool to teach clients to have confidence in the design process.
#192
October 14 · 34 min
Ask Us Anything: Zuni Madera on elevating a firm’s art sourcing
Zuni Madera on setting a room-by-room budget from a project’s outset, where a consultant can help with price education, and how to gauge a client’s desire for art discovery.
#191
October 7 · 1 hr 6 min
How Hattie Sparks Collins regained creative control of her firm
Hattie Sparks Collins on the value in hiring for help with procurement, the systems’ approach that accelerated her firm’s growth, and raising her project standards to invest in her firm’s future.
#190
September 30 · 1 hr 14 min
Ask Us Anything: Live with Evan Millard, Melissa Oholendt and Audrey Scheck
Designers Evan Millard, Melissa Oholendt and Audrey Scheck joined host Kaitlin Petersen for a live episode of the show to dish out advice on attracting more qualified leads, investing in photography,understanding profit margins and more.
#189
September 23 · 1 hr 6 min
Jay Jeffers on protecting your firm from a pipeline in flux
Jay Jeffers on how he’s protecting his firm from pipeline volatility, the value in creating a workplace that attracts senior talent, and what he learned from the process of opening his own hotel.
#188
September 16 · 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.

Showing 1–20 of 33 episodes