LuAnn Nigara

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

In today's world being a talented interior designer isn't enough to ensure that you have a profitable and successful business. Design school curricula doesn't always equip you with the business skills to have your interior design business be everything you imagined it would be! A Well-Designed Business® is here to fill in the gaps and give you real live business skills from some of the top interior designers. Your host, LuAnn Nigara shares her 40 years of success in the interior design industry, and she finds the most successful guests to share their interior design business best practices. Th...

Author

LuAnn Nigara

Category

Business

Podcast website

luannnigara.com

Latest episode

Jul 10, 2026

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Episodes

659: Power Talk Friday: Michelle Butt: A Unique Idea to Improve Your Sales 16.04.2021

    Today with Michelle Butt Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. By now, we all know that sales isn’t about convincing someone to buy what they don’t need or want. You care about your clients and their happiness. You want to make a sale that gives you the profits you want and provides your clients with something that will bring them happiness. Today, I’m talking with Michelle Butt, Master Coach a...

658: Genevieve Trousdale: Genevieve Trousdale: Running Your Interior Design Business On Your Own Terms 13.04.2021

Today with Genevieve Trousdale: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. This week, I’m joined by Genevieve Trousdale. After coming from working in two large firms, Genevieve launched her own firm. She grew her business to serve luxury clients and tackle high-income projects. But unlike most other designers on her level, Genevieve chooses to keep some things simple, running her business on her own an...

657: Power Talk Friday: Dolores Hirschmann: Unlock Your Message, Unlock Your Business 09.04.2021

Today with Dolores Hirschmann Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. When someone asks you what you do, how clear are you? Are you able to communicate what you do, the value you bring to the table, who you help, and what sets you apart? Or do you struggle to define what message you’re trying to put out with your business? The truth is that so many of us have trouble getting clear on our message, ou...

656: April Jensen: How to Establish Client Expectations for Successful Projects 06.04.2021

  Today with April Jensen Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. April Jensen of St. Louis-based ADJ Interiors was in business for 25 years before she created an onboarding doc for her high-end interior design business. April and LuAnn walk step-by-step through her onboarding doc as April lets us in on how it has helped her handle client expectations and sticky situations. Pick it apart: [16:13] Apr...

655: Power Talk Friday: Theresa Gresham: Asking for Help in Parenthood and Your Interior Design Business 02.04.2021

Today with Theresa Gresham Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Single mom to a toddler and suddenly laid off when Covid started, Theresa Gresham moved into a 200ft studio to save on rent. Theresa shares her journey of building a Virtual Design Assistant business from scratch and learning the importance of self-care and hiring help. Pick it apart: [14:30] Theresa shares her story about starting he...

654: Jenny Madden: Navigating Maternity Leave in Your Interior Design Business 30.03.2021

Today with Jenny Madden Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. As business owners, we face many difficult situations, including how to balance personal life with business ownership. Maternity leave is one of those situations that can change the course of your business. But my guest today, Jenny Madden, has navigated the difficult territory of maternity leave five separate times, both in her own leav...

653: Window Treatment Friday: Rising from the Ashes 26.03.2021

    Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On today’s WTF— Window Treatment Friday, Vita and I are talking about rising from the ashes of the fire that destroyed her workroom. It's every business owners nightmare. Fortunately for Vita's diligent dedication to the processes and systems within her business, Vita was able to literally rise from the ashes over night, and continu...

652: Stacy Garcia: Transitioning Your Interior Design Business When Times Get Tough 23.03.2021

Today with Stacy Garcia Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. We spend a lot of time talking about starting your business, growing your business, and implementing the basics that lead you to success. Today, we’re talking about what happens when that success is threatened. Recessions, disasters, and unforeseeable circumstances can threaten your business. But the way you respond to those situations...

651: Power Talk Friday: Rachael Bozsik: Gaining Credibility in Interior Design 20.03.2021

Today with Rachael Bozsik: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Rachael is an international keynote speaker and thought leadership coach helping female entrepreneurs in the lifestyle space build personal brands. She joins LuAnn to share a practical plan for positioning your brand, honing your activities, and attracting your ideal client. Pick it apart: [17:05] Rachael tell about how she started h...

650: Sara Barney: The Power of SEO and Business Acumen in Interior Design 16.03.2021

Today with Sara Barney Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Design is a second career for Sara Malek Barney. Sara was an executive in the entertainment and sports industries before she became the Founder and Principal Designer of Bandd Interiors in Austin, Texas. With plenty of business savvy under her belt, when she launched her design firm, Sara knew to concentrate on two tactics to create and...

649: Power Talk Friday: Brad Leavitt: Understanding Design-Build from the Builder's Perspective 12.03.2021

Today with Brad Leavitt: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, I welcome Brad Leavitt back for his fifth time on the show! Brad is here once again to share share his expert insight to help you better understand and navigate the design-build process. In today’s show Brad tells us what the process is like through the eyes of the builder. When you understand the builder's perspective, you will...

648: Marie Flanigan: Leveraging Relationships and Making Decisions in Interior Design 09.03.2021

Today with Marie Flanigan: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Today, I’m thrilled to have Marie Flanigan back on the show. Marie has more than a decade of experience as a thriving designer, one whose list of accolades goes on for days. In today’s episode, Marie is answering questions from listeners about how to make big decisions in your business— how to attract the clients and projects you tru...

647: Power Talk Friday: Giving Yourself Grace in Life and Business 05.03.2021

  Today on A Well-Designed Business: Today's show is a different kind of episode. This week, I had several meaningful conversations with friends, family, and colleagues, that made me take a few steps back, put the regularly scheduled programming on hold, and have a good old fashion sit down.    In life, and business, it is important to utilize our strengths and identify our weaknesses. Everyone ha...

646: Aymee Kuhlman and Molly Kidd: Building a Friendship and An Interior Design Partnership 02.03.2021

  Today with Aymee Kuhlman and Molly Kidd: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Aymee and Molly of Light and Dwell, an Oregon based full service and virtual design firm were friends before they were business partners. They’re sharing what they’ve learned about themselves, about each other, and about how to mesh opposites together to grow a business from nothing to something amazing in just five s...

645: Window Treatment Friday: Scaling to Your First Million Dollar Year 26.02.2021

  Today with Vita Vygovska Welcome to a Well-Designed Business®. On today’s WTF— Window Treatment Friday, Vita and I are talking about scaling to your first million-dollar year. As most of you probably know, scaling is not an easy task. It takes hard work and lots of blood, sweat, and tears. But when you can learn from someone who has already done it, it cuts the time and effort down and makes sca...

644: Kat Anderson: Design Build and Bookkeeping Classes for Interior Designers 23.02.2021

Today with Kathleen Anderson: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Kat Anderson of Material Design, an interior design business specializing in design-build projects, shares her experience as a recently-graduated interior design student struggling to find her way in the design world. You’ll hear Kat tell how she succeeded by growing her skillset in more than just design. Kat also walks through th...

643: Nathan Brookshire and Paul Davidge: Design More, Manage Less: Agency Representation for Your Design Firm 19.02.2021

  Today with Nathan Brookshire and Paul Davidge: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Nathan Brookshire and Paul Davidge of Design: Agency & Management share how they help creatives develop a financially sound path to achieve their goals and run their business in such a way that they have the freedom to focus on their zone of genius. Pick it apart: [12:51] LuAnn and guests discuss the criteria to...

642: Thom Sweeney: Sage Advice About Salesmanship And The Upside of Failure in Interior Design 16.02.2021

Today with Thom Sweeney: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Thom Sweeney’s unconventional path to interior design started after a 30-year career in advertising. Thom shares what brought him to design and how he lost his design business before rising again to build something even greater. He also has great advice on salesmanship and how to build meaningful relationships with clients. Pick it apa...

641: Celebrating 5 Years: Reflecting on the Bigger Picture 15.02.2021

Today with LuAnn: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Today, we are celebrating the show's 5th Birthday! It is hard to believe that there have been five years of outstanding guests, infinite ah-ha moments, and countless businesses changed. Thank you for coming along for the ride. As a way to show my gratitude, this episode is all about reflecting on the bigger picture, and ways we can give back,...

640: Power Talk Friday: Ashley Connell, Founder of Prowess: Helping You Find Your Next Hire 12.02.2021

Today with Ashley Connell:  Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Today we’re going to talk about one of those key things you have to do in your business if you want to grow—outsourcing. We all know we need to do it, but finding the right fit is a major challenge. Ashley Connell of Prowess runs a business that matches you with your perfect fit business manager or employee. She’s sharing with us ho...

639: Mina Duque: Starting an Interior Design Firm in a Foreign Melting Pot 09.02.2021

Today with Mina Duque: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business®. Can you imagine starting your firm in a foreign city—one where you have no connections, no network, and where you haven’t even visited? That’s exactly what Mina Duque ended up doing. Today, she’s sharing her story of how she started her business in Tulum, the unique challenges presented by working in a major melting pot, and how she grew...

638: What Would Lu Do?: Processes and Contracts: They Aren't Made to Be Broken 05.02.2021

Today with LuAnn: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business, it’s time for another riveting episode of “What Would Lu Do?”, where you ask the difficult questions and LuAnn gives the expert answers you’ve been wanting. Today, LuAnn gives her expert advise on what to do when a client won't pay. Is there something more you can do to protect yourself?  What’s new with LuAnn Nigara http://www.luannnigara.com...

637: Carley Page Summers: Lift Others As You Climb to Success. 02.02.2021

Today with Carley Page Summers:  Carley Page Summers shares her journey to interior design that began only after she first built a robust photography business catering to the design trade. 184k Instagram followers strong, Carley chronicles how just nine years ago, she pulled herself out of a dark place, found hope, and is now on a mission to inspire hope in others. Pick it apart: [2:49] Carley sha...

636: Window Treatment Friday Ep. 13: On-Air Coaching with Vita 29.01.2021

Today with Vita Vygovska For Window Treatment Friday, LuAnn and Vita conduct a live coaching session around a big issue that so many businesses encounter when they scale—clients wanting you on their project, not your staff. Listen to see how LuAnn advises Vita and prepares her to eliminate her problem with confidence and some carefully chosen words.  LuAnn and Vita's Aha-Moments “Having the combin...

635: Beth Diana Smith: Refining Process in Your Interior Design Business 26.01.2021

Today with Beth Diana Smith Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, we welcome Beth Diana Smith back to the show! Beth was last on the show over a year ago, and since then she’s made some major changes to her processes and her business. She’s going to take us through those changes, the way she revamped her processes, and what she’s looking to do in the future. We’re also diving into diversity...

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