A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today With Ebony Looney, Deb Mitchell, and Nicole Heymer We all know that a website is important. It’s your calling card, your portfolio, the place where clients go to make sure you’re a legitimate designer who does what you say you do.  But so many designers are still going wrong with their websites. And the problem with doing it yourself is that there are so many pieces involved, layout, the des...

Today with Jessica Nelson and Stephanie Lindsey Today on A Well Designed Business, Nicole Heymer returns to discuss the massive shift happening in online search that’s changing how potential clients find interior designers. We’re living through a pivotal moment where traditional Google searches are being replaced by AI-powered recommendations from ChatGPT, Google’s AI mode, and other large languag...

Today with Thom Filicia Today, I’m joined by one of the most recognizable names in design, Thom Filicia. From his early days at Parrish-Hadley to his breakout role on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, to building a thriving design firm, product collections, a retail brand, and countless collaborations, Thom has continually expanded what it means to be a designer. In this conversation, Thom shares wh...

Today with Jen Davidson Today on A Well Designed Business, Jen Davidson shares the pivotal conversation that transformed her five-year-old interior design firm from successful but struggling to truly thriving. After meeting Jude Charles at a design retreat, Jen realized she'd been "living as an interior designer" instead of "living as a business owner and boss." This insight sparked a year-long tr...

Today with Katie McFarlan: Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. The client experience is something we all think about. How do we elevate the experience for our clients so that they feel like we truly care about them without making ourselves crazy by bending over backwards for each client? The answer just might lie in your processes. Today, I’m joined by Katie M...

Today with Barclay Butera Sometimes on the show we are fortunate enough to speak with true icons of our day. And today, I am excited to chat with one of those designers—the legendary Barclay Butera. Today Barclay is back on the show to talk about the big picture, from the story of his first big break at a celebrity show house, the lessons he learned from scaling his business up to over 100 employe...

Today with Reed Humphrey of Dezign Assist Is your team maxed out, or are you stuck doing $10-an-hour tasks when you should be focused on leading your business? In today’s sponsored episode, I’m talking with Reed Humphrey, CEO of Alder & Tweed Interior Design and founder of Dezign Assist, a remote staffing company built specifically for interior designers. Reed created Dezign Assist after solving a...

Today with Nicole Heymer Today on A Well Designed Business, Nicole Heymer returns to discuss the massive shift happening in online search that's changing how potential clients find interior designers. We're living through a pivotal moment where traditional Google searches are being replaced by AI-powered recommendations from ChatGPT, Google's AI mode, and other large language models. Nicole explai...

Today with Kimberly Horton Welcome! Today we’re talking about how to turn client frustrations into actionable change. Kimberly shares the simple but powerful tool she uses — the Frustration Tracker — to capture issues in real time, identify patterns, and make smart adjustments to her processes. From tightening contracts to setting clearer boundaries, Kimberly shows how documenting frustrations can...

Today With Megan Molten: Welcome! Today we are really excited to have Megan Molten on the show with us. Megan reached out to LuAnn in an email a while ago, telling her that she learned everything she knows about the business of interior design from this show, and it’s changed her life. She went on to explain that after twelve years of being in health-care sales and having listened to the podcast e...

Today with Ali Faulkner Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. We’ve talked before about conducting an autopsy of a project—looking back and figuring out exactly what went right, what went wrong, and where to improve.  But what about conducting an autopsy of projects that you didn’t win? My guest today, Ali Faulkner of AEF Interiors, lost several bids in a row, and decided to make a big change; she...

Today With Chelsea Viau: Today with Chelsea Viau of Chelsea Lane & Company, we’re talking about the numbers behind your wallpaper—and why they matter more than you might think. Chelsea shares what every designer needs to know before sourcing wallcoverings, including the costly mistakes that can derail your budget, timeline, and client trust. We also dig into vendor relationships, client education,...

Today With Cheryl Luckett: What does it take to leave behind the security of a corporate job and build a thriving design business? For Cheryl Luckett, principal of Dwell by Cheryl, it took vision, courage, and a commitment to excellence. In this conversation, Cheryl shares how she transitioned from her career as a registered dietitian and HR professional at a Fortune 500 company to becoming one of...

Today With Ron Henderson & Kevin Plumb: Today on A Well Designed Business, Ron Henderson from Varaluz and Kevin Plumb from Ciana Lighting share the story behind their recent acquisition—and what it means for designers. This isn't your typical corporate takeover. When their planned 30-minute meeting turned into four and a half hours because they instantly felt like "family," you knew something spec...

Today With LuAnn Nigara: Right now, the economy feels shaky. Projects are slowing down. And if you're like a lot of business owners, you're wondering: Is it just me? Is something wrong? Should I be doing something—or should I be bracing for impact? In this WWLD episode, LuAnn walks you through what truly separates business owners who ride out uncertainty with strength—and those who quietly slide i...

Today With Jamie Gasparovic: Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. What comes to mind for you when you think of investing in yourself for the benefit of your business? It’s something we talk about a lot on the show—it’s no secret that I believe every designer, every business owner period, needs to be investing in themselves as soon as possible. But too often, even when business owners do invest in...

Today With Joshua Smith: Joshua Smith’s journey from interior designer to high-performance coach is one packed with lessons every business owner needs to hear. In this episode, Joshua pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to design a life and business you love—one that’s profitable, sustainable, and in alignment with your values. We talk mindset, boundaries, and the courage to make big ch...

Today With Juliana Ewer: Today with Juliana Ewer, president of the Houston IDS chapter and owner of J Squared Home Designs, we explore how strategic volunteerism and intentional networking can become your most powerful business-building tools - without spending a dime on marketing budgets. LuAnn Nigara and Juliana Ewer’s Ah-Ha Moments: "If you're gonna go to something, don't be a tourist, jump in,...

Today With Laurence Carr: Laurence Carr may have launched her interior design business less than two years before we recorded this conversation, but you’d never know it from the way she runs her firm—with vision, clarity, and purpose. In this episode, Laurence shares how she built a strong business foundation from day one, the intentional strategies she uses to keep her pipeline full, and how her...

Today With Brad Leavitt (A Finer Touch Construction Podcast): Join me for a special re-airing of my conversation with Brad Leavitt on the AFT Construction Podcast! We dive deep into the world of entrepreneurship, sharing insights on building strong relationships, setting expectations, and the importance of systems in business. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, this episode is pac...

Today With Jamie Young Jeter: Today with Jamie Young Jeter, founder and president of Jamie Young Company, we dive deep into what it takes to build a creative business that thrives on "strategic creativity." From selling cement pots out of her truck while pregnant to running a multi-million-dollar home furnishings company, Jamie's 28-year entrepreneurial journey is packed with lessons every designe...

Today With Claire Staszak: LuAnn really loves the process of how these designers create blogs to serve as a marketing arm for their business and a lead generator for their design firm. Listen in today to get some really great, actionable tips that you can duplicate. Today we're bringing back Claire Staszak's episode. She won the award at the Conference for the best blog writing of 2017. She is a C...

Today With Dr Colleen Mullen (Coaching Through Chaos Podcast): I’m so excited to re-share this incredible conversation I had with Dr. Colleen Mullen on her podcast, Coaching Through Chaos. Colleen and I dive deep into the journey behind Window Works, what it really takes to build a business that lasts, and the mindset that’s helped me through over 40 years of entrepreneurship. This isn’t just for...

Today With Jenna Gaidusek: The world of AI is moving at lightning speed, and it's easy to feel left behind. But what if you could ignore the noise and focus on a few core tools that could fundamentally change your workflow for the better? This week on the podcast, I invited AI expert and industry guide Jenna Gaidusek back to the show to do just that. She walks us through the foundational AI strate...

Today With Courtney McLeod: I’m thrilled to re-air this gem of a conversation with Courtney McLeod, the powerhouse behind Right Meets Left Interior Design. If you’ve ever thought, “Can I really pivot from another career into design?” Courtney is living proof that not only can you—but you can do it brilliantly. Courtney left a successful 15-year career in finance, took her Wharton-honed business sk...