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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179 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes179

Newest first

Feb 28, 2024 · 52 min
How Wesley Moon said goodbye to hustle culture
Wesley Moon on the realization that expanding his team was the key to boosting revenue, why understanding his employees’ strengths and weaknesses guides his approach to building a team; and the changes he made as he reckoned with the fact that his firm’s success had come at the cost of his social life.
Feb 14, 2024 · 1 hr 1 min
How Amy Storm shifted her team structure in pursuit of healthy growth
Amy Storm on why she decided to forgo remodels and focus solely on new construction, and how she locks in a project’s FF&E budget before ever breaking ground.
Jan 31, 2024 · 42 min
How Antonio DeLoatch earns clients' trust with real talk about their finances
Antonio DeLoatch on uprooting his firm and starting over in New York, the showhouse that changed everything for his business, and how he earns his clients’ trust with his frank money talk.
Jan 17, 2024 · 45 min
How Amy Sklar overcame the fear of charging for her services [Rebroadcast]
After nearly a decade at the helm of her own design firm, Amy Sklar came to a realization: if she wasn’t profiting from her business, it was simply a hobby. The epiphany led to a transformation in the way she structured her firm’s finances, and prompted her to build a new confidence when it came to communicating that process to clients.
Jan 4, 2024 · 43 min
Why Clara Jung is cultivating personal freedom and employee growth [Rebroadcast]
When Clara Jung left her first career in law, she gave herself one year to get her design business off the ground, all on her own. Today, she’s infusing her firm with that same small and scrappy ethos, and attracting team members who share her all-hands-on-deck attitude.
Dec 20, 2023 · 49 min
Marieanne Khoury-Vogt spent two decades building an entire town. Here's what she learned
Marieanne Khoury-Vogt on her experiences developing a town that sustains its residents over a lifetime and how she strengthens relationships within her firm, her community and the industry at large.
Dec 6, 2023 · 34 min
How Caren Rideau found new opportunities within a design niche
Caren Rideau on using social media to attract clients and employees, the benefits of being a kitchen specialist in an industry filled with full service designers, and how combining design with her other passions has allowed an entirely new brand to emerge.
Nov 22, 2023 · 49 min
Why Matthew Tenzin’s firm includes a holistic design consultancy
Matthew Tenzin on why the industry needs to pay attention to the health impact of design decisions and why what he calls “affluent consciousness” is so important in his client relationships.
Nov 8, 2023 · 51 min
Why Blair Moore brought receiving in-house
Blair Moore on why her quest for excellence required launching her own receiving operation, how she’s striving to reduce waste in the design process and why maximizing profit isn’t her firm’s biggest focus.
Oct 25, 2023 · 55 min
How philanthropy transformed Amy Kartheiser’s firm
Amy Kartheiser on the policy that helps her firm cultivate stellar client relationships, how she’s protecting her business in case of an industry slowdown.
Oct 11, 2023 · 43 min
How Leslie Murchie Cascino defines success on her own terms
Leslie Murchie Cascino on why she’s now offering consulting services for small-scale projects, and how she escaped burnout by focusing only on the projects she found most fulfilling.
Sep 27, 2023 · 48 min
Why Zoe Feldman doesn't believe in complete transparency
Zoe Feldman on the surprising piece of advice that prompted her to rethink her firm’s team size, and why she insists that clients don’t really want full transparency.
Sep 13, 2023 · 52 min
“Trust the process” is right there in Courtney McCleod’s onboarding letter
Courtney McLeod on the nightmare client that overran her firm's processes in the early days of her design career, and how she learned to secure her clients' trust in order to unlock greater creative freedom.
Aug 30, 2023 · 56 min
Miranda Cullen found a way to turn a profit on time billing. Now, she’s ready to franchise
Littleton, Colorado–based designer Miranda Cullen on creating a new kind of business model that converts small projects into big profits—in a system that benefits employees at every level of the firm.
Aug 16, 2023 · 47 min
Dane Austin on leading his firm with love
Boston-based interior designer Dane Austin on constructing his firm around a client-centered approach.
Aug 2, 2023 · 49 min
Why Regan Baker hired three former clients
San Francisco-based interior designer Regan Baker on the clients-turned-employees who each helped shape her firm's structure today.
Jul 19, 2023 · 44 min
Kevin Isbell on finding success with a small firm [Rebroadcast]
As a young designer, Kevin Isbell reveled in the on-the-job portion of his design education, which he spent working for established firms and top designers. Now, he’s treating his current role of design principal the same way—and learning what leadership means as he lives it.
Jul 5, 2023 · 1 hr 11 min
How Noz Nozawa learned to invest in herself [Rebroadcast]
When San Francisco–based designer Noz Nozawa pivoted from a marketing career to running her own design firm, she intentionally kept her business lean. Now, she's spending to grow.
Jun 21, 2023 · 53 min
Why Bria Hammel wants designers to embrace their sales side
Bria Hammel always envisioned herself as a design principal, though that day seemed far off during one of her very first gigs as a retail designer. In the end, the position proved to be a masterclass in salesmanship that’s carried through her career and taught her how to achieve a vision without sidelining her clients taste and styles—or stepping over their boundaries.
Jun 7, 2023 · 42 min
Katie Vance on the secret to synching up a design/build firm
When she joined an architecture firm as its sole designer, Katie Vance’s focus was on creating a place for interiors within the studio. Before long, the practice began eyeing a transition into a design/build studio—and suddenly, the new question became: How can interiors become a cornerstone of this business?

Trade Tales

How Wesley Moon said goodbye to hustle culture

How Amy Storm shifted her team structure in pursuit of healthy growth

How Antonio DeLoatch earns clients' trust with real talk about their finances

How Amy Sklar overcame the fear of charging for her services [Rebroadcast]

Why Clara Jung is cultivating personal freedom and employee growth [Rebroadcast]

Marieanne Khoury-Vogt spent two decades building an entire town. Here's what she learned

How Caren Rideau found new opportunities within a design niche

Why Matthew Tenzin’s firm includes a holistic design consultancy

Why Blair Moore brought receiving in-house

How philanthropy transformed Amy Kartheiser’s firm

How Leslie Murchie Cascino defines success on her own terms

Why Zoe Feldman doesn't believe in complete transparency

“Trust the process” is right there in Courtney McCleod’s onboarding letter

Miranda Cullen found a way to turn a profit on time billing. Now, she’s ready to franchise

Dane Austin on leading his firm with love

Why Regan Baker hired three former clients

Kevin Isbell on finding success with a small firm [Rebroadcast]

How Noz Nozawa learned to invest in herself [Rebroadcast]

Why Bria Hammel wants designers to embrace their sales side

Katie Vance on the secret to synching up a design/build firm