Resilient by Design with Rebecca Hay

In this episode, I share how you can prepare your clients for photoshoot day.   I walk through the document I send my clients to set their expectations and get them ready for us when it comes time for photoshoot day.   Managing client exceptions is especially important for service-based businesses. It is your job as the professional to educate your client on the process so that they understand wha...

This episode is all about how you can bring quick money into your business!  When the economy is unpredictable and there's a possibility of a recession, it's time to think outside of the box of new and creative strategies that you can use to bring in a quick infusion of cash to your business. Getting creative and pivoting is an essential skill now more than ever. So this episode covers a few creat...

In this episode, we talk about something that I love… MARKETING! I sat down with, interior designer and business coach, Pamela Durkin to chat about magnetic marketing that can attract the best clients to you and help you grow your business. About Pamela Durkin Design is powerful and Pamela wants designers to step into that power. After 30 years in the high-end design business, she is now helping o...

Designers, if you have styling questions, this episode is for you! In this episode, I talk all about styling and how you can ensure you actually get to style your clients' spaces. For many designers, towards the end of the project, the client is spent and does not want to spend more money.   As much as they like us, they may want a break from having us in their home. So how do you approach the sub...

The Know Your Numbers Series is back with Part 3! I brought my Operations Manager Merilee Wright back in to talk all about forecasting and how you can forecast for your business. & YES, you CAN forecast for an interior design business! ABOUT MERILEE WRIGHT Merilee is a former client of Rebecca's and an accomplished business professional with a passion for coaching people and business owners to ach...

This episode is all about you can manage to take a worry-free vacation from your business (every entrepreneur and business owner needs this)! I'm sharing my tips on how you can take a vacation (and really turn off), AND how you can get back to work after being away on holiday without skipping a beat. -- Join our Designer Meet-up Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/386543625374544

Today's episode is brought out by some personal experiences and questions from the community. This episode is all about dealing with a client who has bad taste in design! Navigating client wants and likes can be tough enough if a client wants to be very hands-on, but what do you do when a client has really bad taste in design and they constantly insist on something you completely disagree with as...

In this episode, I sit down with Katie Raffetto to talk about all billing. Billing clients can be a stressor for many designers, in this conversation Katie and I share how we've billed our clients, and she shares the billing practice that transformed her business!  About Katie Raffetto Since 2007, San Francisco's Katie Raffetto Interior Design has infused joy and delight to their interior design p...

There are 2 types of designers in this world - one you want to be & one you don't.  In this episode, I'm going to talk about what it means to be a business owner and what it means to be a hobbyist.  You can be either one. There is no judgment, but this is a question every entrepreneur needs to ask themselves: Is it a side hustle or hobby OR is it a profitable business I want to live off of. Throug...

In this episode, we are back with Merilee Wright for Part 2 of the Know your numbers series where we talk all about expenses and what it actually costs to run your business.  About Merilee Wright Merilee is a former client of Rebecca's and an accomplished business professional with a passion for coaching people and business owners to achieve their goals. Skilled in reaching business objectives thr...

Grab a pen and paper before you press play for this episode because it's full of good tips and takeaways. I had the opportunity to chat with Etel Igreda from Blossom CPA. Etelvina Igreda , aka Etel, is the Founder and Director of  Blossom CPA  in Toronto, Ontario. After working in corporate environments for some time, she started her own firm to grow professional happiness for herself and create p...

In this episode, I had the opportunity to have a candid conversation about mindset, boundaries, and processes with the talented and ever-resilient designer Jami Sparling. About Jami Sparling Jami Sparling is the Principal Designer and Creative Director of BryCo. Interiors She officially turned her lifelong passion for interior design and decorating into a career when she founded BryCo. Interiors i...

In this episode, I share my Dos and Don'ts when it comes to sourcing (one of the most fun but often frustrating parts of being a designer)! Through the episode, I share what I've learned about sourcing through the years. Over my design career, I've gone sourcing countless times and I've had both good, bad, and ugly experiences doing it. As you know I believe that sharing my experiences along with...

Photography is SO important to a designer's business. It is how you show off what you can do, not only 1 on 1 to clients or on your website but also to the world via magazines and other online publications. It is worth the time and money that you invest to get yourself professional photos of your best projects!   This is why today we're bringing back Episode 83 with interiors photographer Mike Cha...

In this episode, I'm sharing my 5 tips for getting your clients to sign off on your designs! I'll also share a bonus nugget which is basically how we do it in my own design firm. Once you establish a way of doing things inside your business, it gives you more confidence to sell your services and designs and inspires clients to have confidence in you. But I totally understand that getting clients t...

In this episode, I sit down with Natalie Norcross to talk about PR and getting published as a designer. We touch upon the top publications, strategy, and how you can repurpose content. About Natalie Norcross Natalie Norcross is an innovative and driven entrepreneur who knows the public relations world inside and out. Bringing over 20 years of experience with Interior Designers, Lifestyle Brands, a...

In episode 103, I had the opportunity to interview another amazing designer and beloved POP Alumnus, Laurie Sprague. Laurie's story is really unique in that she shares her experience moving from Newfoundland and leaving her established design business behind to starting over from scratch in a new city! Laurie has a really great perspective - instead of seeing her move as a setback, she saw it as a...

In this episode, I wanted to really talk about the importance of investing in your business and doing things like establishing systems and processes!  So, what gives? Why bother doing it? Sometimes business is trucking along and it's good enough. You don't love it and some parts actually give you major stress and frustration, but you feel like you can handle it.  Well, taking the leap and creating...

In this bonus episode, I sit down and chat with a star member of our community and super talented Connecticut designer, Jocelyn Polce. We talk about how implementing a process in her business has led to the biggest business transformation within the last 12 months. About Jocelyn Polce Jocelyn is the owner and Principal Designer of August Oliver Interiors (A|O), a Connecticut-based interior design...

WOW WOW WOW! I can't believe this is the 100th Episode of the Resilient by Design podcast!  Before I started Resilient by Design, I wanted to start a podcast for a really long time and had a few failed attempts. Finally got this one off the ground, and I remember... In those early stages, I watched a video or heard a podcast by Gary Vaynerchuk where someone had asked him to be on their podcast and...

In this episode, we bring back a familiar voice from season 2 of the podcast, Steve Ryan! Steve is not only a designer, stager, and POP alumni, but he is also a vocal contributor in our designer meet-up community on Facebook, jumping in to provide feedback and helping other designers in our community which just warms my heart! About Steve Ryan Steve Ryan of Steve Ryan Designs.  I'm a Toronto-based...

This topic comes from a direct request from one of our listeners inside our Designer Meet-up Facebook group! In this episode, I talk about how Covid-19 has really impacted the cost of items across the board, caused stock delays, and how to communicate all this to your clients. I dive in by explaining the importance of onboarding your clients, what I do to set my clients' expectations early and oft...

This Bonus episode is of a very interesting conversation I had with the talented and intelligent Adriana Pietropaolo. In the episode, she shares how she made the choice of going from experienced corporate designer to entrepreneur and residential designer, the imposter syndrome that accompanied the switch, as well as her experience in my signature course Power of Process . About Adriana Pietropaolo...

This is the first episode in our multi-part Know Your Numbers series. My own Operations Manager, Merilee Wright, and I are teaming up to help you learn the numbers in your business so that you can develop a proper business growth strategy. In this first part, we're starting with all things Project Profitability. We break down exactly how you can calculate your own project profitability, define ter...