844: John McClain: Turn Failure into Success
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Release Date: 01/17/2023
883: Power Talk Friday: Aubre Fox: Increase Your Profit and Create Your Own Flooring Collection With Revel Woods
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Aubre Fox: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today with Aubre Fox we answer everything you’ve ever wondered about working with Revel Woods. As the first point of contact and an interior designer herself, Aubre takes us through all of the steps and benefits to getting your flooring through Revel Woods. She also talks about their new showroom packages, which she is very passionate about. Pick It Apart [1:24] Aubre starts us off talking a little about herself and how she got into Revel Woods. [6:10] What is the process when a designer wants to work with Revel Woods?...
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882: Bria Hammel: Doing Fewer Interior Design Projects and Increasing Your Profitability
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Bria Hammel: Today on A Well-Designed Business I am welcoming back Bria Hammel. Bria is the Creative Director and CEO of Bria Hammel Interiors and Brooke & Lou. Bria was on before giving tips on how to scale your interior design business. And let me say, she is still a #smartlady. Bria has perfected her process for her out of state clients, as well as her team, to make the experience as easy and seamless as possible. Today she is sharing how, and the changes that her businesses have experienced since her last visit. Pick It Apart [1:35] Bria shares what she and her business,...
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881: Power Talk Friday: Katie McDonald: Self-Care is Key to a Thriving, Well-Designed Business
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Katie McDonald: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I'm joined by Katie McDonald, certified holistic health coach, raw food chef and instructor at b.nourished. Katie’s motto is self-care is not fluff and it isn’t selfish. That is exactly what she helps her clients through so they can both take care of their business and take care of themselves. Katie has worked with several interior designers over the years and has discovered that in service to their clients and their craft, they ignore their own wellbeing, dismissing their needs, and even their own spaces. If this sounds...
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880: Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum: Adventures in Business with the Brownstone Boys
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum: Today on A Well-Designed Business I am joined by Barry Bordelon and Jordan Slocum, AKA the Brownstone Boys. Barry and Jordan are designers, DIY-ers, renovators, and restorers who followed their passions and serendipitously fell into a flourishing business together. In 2018, Jordan and Barry bought a brownstone in Brooklyn and started The Brownstone Boys blog the day they closed on the house, and that’s just the beginning of their adventure. Today they are renovating their way across Brooklyn and New York City, one brownstone at a time. In...
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879: Power Talk Friday: Sarah Daniele: Mydoma Studio and the Business of Change as the Interior Design Industry Enters a Digital Transformation
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Sarah Daniele: Today on A Well-Designed Business I am joined by software designer Sarah Daniele. Sarah is the CEO and co-founder of Mydoma Studio, an all-in-one project management solution for interior designers. Sarah is a professionally educated interior designer, and she is passionate about building tools and technology that help other designers grow their businesses. Through Mydoma, Sarah has a unique, top-level perspective on industry trends, and she is here to help us interpret those insights and share her predictions for what’s to come. We talk about task management...
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878: Throwback Tuesday: Brad Leavitt: A Builder’s Perspective on the Design Build Process
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Brad Leavitt: Today we’re doing a Throwback Tuesday with Brad Leavitt! Brad is the President and Founder of “A Finer Touch Construction” - a Scottsdale based luxury residential and commercial builder. He’s also one of the speakers at LuAnn Live 2023, which is why we couldn’t miss the chance to bring one of his shows back. In today’s episode, we’ll learn what is his perspective on working alongside interior designers for his project and how this has made his life easier! More About Brad Leavitt Brad Leavitt is President and Founder of “A Finer Touch...
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877: Power Talk Friday: Jisun Sunny Fisher: Your Brain is Your Blueprint for Success
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Jisun Sunny Fisher: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. I often talk about the power of mindset. Limiting beliefs are tied to almost every issue you can have in your business, and in all of my years of coaching and helping other business owners, I can say that almost every single time, the key came down to mindset. Today, I’m joined by psychologist and happiness coach Jisun Sunny Fisher. She works at the intersection of spirituality and science, helping courageous leaders remember their true north and re-discover what makes them fall in love with life again. Jisun is sharing with...
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876: Natasa Jones: Making Bold Moves to Achieve Big Results
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Natasa Jones: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I’m joined by my good friend, Natasa Jones. She is the CEO and Principal Designer of Natasa Jones Interiors. European architecture and fashion are rooted in her design style. Today she’s back on the show to tell us how she has been scaling her business the last few years. LuAnn Nigara and Natasa Jones' Ah-Ha Moments “I’m never afraid to ask, what’s the worst thing that can happen?” - Natasa Jones “There is no such thing as competition in this industry” - Natasa Jones “If I wanted that luxury client, I wanted...
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875: Window Treatment Friday: Vita Vygovska: The Straight Talk About Unstable Fabrics
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Vita Vygovska: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. It’s Window Treatment Friday, which means I am joined by Vita Vygovska. Vita is the founder of Vitalia Inc. and a regular here on the podcasts. She is an expert in all things window treatments, and today Vita will share her knowledge of unstable fabrics to help us better understand the qualities of these linens, wools, open weaves, and anything viscose. Window treatment professionals can’t guarantee the results when working with these fabrics, so neither should you as the designer. But don’t worry, Vita is here to...
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874: Zane and Emily Williams: Leading Clients Through the Design
A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast
Today With Zane and Emily Williams: Hi, welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I’m joined by a power couple, Zane and Emily Williams from Z Properties. They have established a reputation for evocative design and quality construction, materials, and furnishings. Zane and Emily have worked with every type of client and strongly know how to best navigate relationships for creative freedom on their end and a happy customer on the other, and today they share with us how they do it! LuAnn Nigara and Zane and Emily Williams' Ah-Ha Moments “Never back away from what you love and what you...
info_outlineToday With John McClain:
Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined for the second time by John McClain. John is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, and author of The Designer Within. In this episode, he shares a bit about his back story with us—from crisis to conquest.
John is here to help you understand that you can learn and grow from your mistakes, and success can be born out of failure. John shares his dark night of the soul story with us, but it didn’t end there. He turned that rough patch into a catalyst to organize his business for the better. Since then he has implemented a “How We Work” document, detailed client contracts, flat fees, and non-negotiables because his business is worth it. He is worth it. And you are worth it.
Pick It Apart
[6:38] John shares his dark night of the soul story involving client credit cards, attorneys, a factory fire, and armed guards.
[20:35] John discusses the importance of knowing your company policies and non-negotiables, for example, he does not take credit card payments.
[31:40] John and LuAnn discuss the importance of formal agreements and transparency with clients.
[35:41] LuAnn and John pick apart his pricing structure and flat fees, including his creative fee and project fulfillment fees.[57:29] John talks about the online courses for designers he offers, as well as his new book The Designer Within and the online course for homeowners that goes along with it.
LuAnn Nigara and John McClain's Ah-Ha Moments
“Until you've been through a serious business crisis, it's hard to know how it really cuts you in your gut.” – LuAnn Nigara
“I don't care if you're a solopreneur or if you have 25 people working for you. Your company policy is your company policy. And that is what you have to stand by.” – John McClain
“A lot of people don't take the time to sit down and come up with the rules [of their business]. ” – John McClain
“You do have to take time—really getting clear with who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and your non-negotiables.” – LuAnn Nigara
“I want to be an advocate for other designers and out in the world, to really stand up for themselves. And to have a company philosophy, have a company vision have a company backbone that they can stand behind.” - John McClain
More About John McClain:
John McClain is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, speaker, on-air contributor, and writer who has turned his lifetime passion for interior design into an opportunity to do the same for others through his book, The Designer Within (available now at thedesignerwithin.co). John McClain Design has offices in Central Florida and Los Angeles, CA. His projects have received numerous awards and have appeared in many publications including Traditional Home and Elle Décor. John's design advice can also be seen regularly in print, television appearances, and online in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Us Weekly, and many more.
Connect with John McClain
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Other Shows Mentioned:
#472: John McClain: Running His Firm from Two Coasts Makes Systems and Tools Critical
#145: Sandra Funk of House of Funk: Why and How She Re-Branded her 10 Year old Firm
#801: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: How Mistakes and Obstacles Led to Growth & Transformation
#842: Joshua Smith: Sell the Experiences, Not the Commodity