Design Business Freedom

Latest Episodes:

032: Is Your Marketing Working? May 01, 2023

Show notes

Are you marketing?

Often, when I ask designers this question, many tell me they have acquired a full practice by being word-of-mouth only. And while that is impressive, it can also leave you in a lurch. In our ever-changing economy, there are going to be times when that word of mouth goes silent–they could be right around the corner, and we'll never know! If you don't have other engines for marketing ignited and running in your business, such uncertain times are going to be especially stressful for you.

The kind of marketing that I'm going to share with you today is measurable and trackable. You can apply metrics to it to keep on top of it and make sure it is continually working to your benefit. I also have a very simple scorecard that you can use as a strategic tool to help you to track the number of leads that you gain from each marketing strategy used. There are so many lead sources that I have lined up for you–we're talking social media, lifestyle referrals, profit partners, and more. I'm here today to walk you through each so you can be sure you are getting the most out of the platforms and strategies that you are using in your marketing to keep your business profitable and your creativity flowing.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why relying on word-of-mouth marketing only can be risky
How to use my scorecard method to track and rate your lead sources
Which lead sources will be most beneficial for you to sink your teeth into
How to tell if your marketing is not working

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Supporting Resources:

Designer Score Card & Success Guides
Google My Business Optimization Plan
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Emerald City Productions. They helped me grow and produce the podcast you are listening to right now. Find out more at https://emeraldcitypro.com Let them know we sent you.

031: How To Reclaim Your Productivity & Profit From Procrastination Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

If you are anything like how I was as a young creative, you may view procrastination as a productivity tool. I pretended that waiting until the 11th hour to do something meant that I would get it done better, faster, and stronger. Instead, I got it done with a ton of unnecessary stress put on both myself and my teammates.

There's a reason I don't recommend that approach, and I can say that I've learned a lot since those days. That's why today, I want to share with you the rules and tips that I've mastered over the years to help with reclaiming your productivity.

There are plenty of important tasks that many designers and creatives tend to procrastinate on–I'm looking at you, invoicing! But I've got a few tricks up my sleeve to help you reclaim your focus on those daunting tasks, reset your mind frame, and learn to prioritize productivity over perfectionism.

In this episode, you will hear:

My two rules and twelve tips for reclaiming your productivity
The best way to make yourself a lasting and impactful list of incompletions
Creative ways to hold yourself accountable for finishing up those incompletions
How sometimes sprucing up your working environment can also make the task at hand more enjoyable

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Supporting Resources:

For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

030: Designer Tips to Maximize High Point Market Experience Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

We're quickly approaching the eve of this spring's High Point Market so on today's episode, I'm diving in with some tips on how to maximize your High Point Market experience. High Point is the world's largest furniture market with 12 million square feet of showrooms. Whether you've been before or you're a complete newbie planning your very first visit, it is going to be an epic experience–but you always need to go in with a plan.

I want your experience at High Point to be stress-free so you can experience all that it has to offer you as a creative person. High Point is one of those rare places where you really can connect with designers at every level of the market and from anywhere in the world. When you are around your people you can let your guard down, share your expertise, and learn from others. It's an amazing place to refresh and just see what is out there. My goal is to prepare you for the experience and lend you some of my expert tips for getting around, planning your visit, and making the most of your time there, so that you can enjoy all the excitement of High Point and none of the stress. There are a bunch of resources linked in the show notes for you to take advantage of throughout your visit. I am also sharing where you can find me at High Point because I've got some cool stuff going on that you probably want in on!

In this episode, you will hear:

Where to find me and the exciting opportunities I'm offering throughout the weekend
Recommendations for my personal favorite showrooms, social experiences, and more
Guides to follow to maximize your experience at High Point
The importance of expanding your vendors and getting a head start by planning before heading into High Point

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Supporting Resources:

Friday, April 21, 9-4 +(BONUS destination with celebration)

VIP HPMKT Tour with Melissa (Vendors You Didn't Know Existed and Now Can't Live Without)
Just 1 SEAT LEFT! + SWAG BAGS

Saturday, April 22, 10-11am Training + 11am-Noon Meetup

How to Set Flat Rates to Earn More with Less Stress, UNIVERSAL FURNITURE

Sunday, April 23, 10-11am Training

The Ultimate Sourcing System to Save Time & Get the Best Product, CODARUS, Broad Hall

Monday, April 24, 2-3pm Training + 3-4pm Book Signing "Marketing Luxury Design: Attracting Affluent Clients"
Playground for Profit: Marketing that Gets You, Clients, While You're Having Fun:

https://melissagalt.kartra.com/page/hpmkt-the-point

Tuesday, April 25, 10-11am Training

How to Build a Team and Avoid Burnout

High Point Market, Spring 2023 Events Guide
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

029: How to Sell the Design Dream Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

In this episode of The Affluent Creative, I'm sharing some fun tricks and tips for how to sell the design dream. In my experience, taking a new client from a prospect to a VIP is a process of courtship. It is all about the romance and the wooing that needs to take place for your client. And to navigate that place most successfully, you need to learn how to use the correct language to paint a picture of the transformation you're going to deliver for them.

You want to create that vision in a way that they can see it, smell it, taste it, feel it, and hear it. A lot of this comes down to using sensory language to make a journey of all five senses for your client throughout the whole design process.

Interior Design truly does encompass every sense. I want you to harness your creativity to turn your design brand and process into a multi-sensory experience. We're diving in today with methods to help you create that luxurious design journey for your clients.

In this episode, you will hear:

How using sensory language can elevate the entire design experience for your client Examples of creative phrases you can incorporate into your vocabulary to romance your designs The impact that experiencing high-end, luxury goods has on your ability to present them effectively.

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Supporting Resources:

For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

028: Are You Forgetting Your Clients? Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

It's so easy to geek out over the design process–it's what gets our creative juices going. But something that we always have to remember is that as designers, we would not have a place for those creative talents to flow if we didn't have clients. Even so, you'd be surprised how often I notice the client missing almost entirely from the focus of the design process.

There may be a space where you, too, are forgetting or ignoring your clients inside your design business. We're talking about that important space before you even begin to discuss the scope of work or dive into targeted expert design recommendations, when the focus needs to be all on the client.

So, in today's episode, I want to point these places out because they are costing you in many ways. Building that trust and creating those connections early on will only make the design process that much smoother for both yourself and your client. Awareness of all of the places where you need to leverage that fascination factor to get to know your clients will light the way for creatively rewarding, profitable, and potentially even lifelong partnerships with your most ideal clients.

In this episode, you will hear:

Places where you may be forgetting your clients within your design business
The importance of finding out more about your potential clients
Why you should be building client stories into your portfolio
Questions to ask your client to build your rapport and understanding of them in addition to their design needs

Follow and Review:

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode.
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

027: Overcoming Client Objections for Designers Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Receiving objections from clients can feel incredibly uncomfortable without the right frame of mind. It's so easy to fall into the trap of taking objections personally or resisting them outright. It can feel like your own worth is being rejected.

However, dealing with objections becomes much easier when you can learn to actually welcome them. They can instead become an opportunity to educate your client on the value of your design and the transformation that you are going to create for them.

In today's episode, we are tackling how to overcome those negative associations with objections. Instead of being afraid and resisting when clients push back, I want to help you embrace them. The goal is to reframe the potential for an objection to be viewed as an opportunity to build more trust, clarity, confidence, and comfort for your client.

In this episode, you will hear:

Ways to reframe your relationship with client objections
Why you should never reduce your fees
The importance of a thorough and vetted client agreement
How to distinguish between objections to overcome versus objections to honor

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love to welcome you to our creative community if you haven't yet subscribed.

We'd truly appreciate it if you drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select "Ratings and Reviews" and "Write a Review" then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and helps spread the word about the podcast.

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode:
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

026: The Fast Path to Revenue Referrals for Designers Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

As a creative, you may be terrified of networking. I get it–even if you were to throw me into a room of people without my cloak of expertise, I'd be heading for the closest comfortable wall to hide! I know that this makes sourcing client referrals feel overwhelming and uncomfortable at times, so I've put together my best advice on how to make networking work for you. Today, we're diving into the ways that you can build your own network of referrals and collaborative partners that you love and want to work with. This is what I call a Profit Posse for your revenue referrals. Instead of putting yourself into uncomfortable networking situations, I want you to draw on your individual talents to grow your business, specifically with fellow professionals who share your ideal clients but are not competitors.

In our conversation, I'll be sharing my tips on how to build your own private network for lucrative and ideal client referrals, how to identify who already serves your ideal clients, and is not a competitor, and how to build revenue relationships through research.

In this episode, you will hear:

The importance of looking for referral resources at all levels of a project
How to select the best members for your profit posse
My suggestions for well-crafted email invites to send to potential partners
Tips for putting together an in-person launch meeting for your newly assembled posse

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love to welcome you to our creative community if you haven't yet subscribed.

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode:
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

025: Harness the Power of Instagram to Build Your Brand, Part 2: Hashtags and Who To Follow Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Today, we're continuing our two-parter series on the impact of Instagram on your business and how to harness its power to build your creative brand. In the last episode, we talked about why you should be using Instagram, what to post and when to post it, and a few other nuggets such as how to create your bio and design your grid. In today's episode, we are diving into how to make sure that you are seen on Instagram–because what good is it to spend your precious time on Instagram if it is not getting you that needed client traffic?

I wanted to focus an episode exclusively on hashtags and who to follow because simply posting without engaging or deploying hashtags in a strategic manner is going to be a big, hairy waste of your time. The point of using hashtags when you post is to get you found faster. And I've spent a lot of time geeking out over these hashtag tips to save you time in that trial and error stage and help you target exactly who you are looking for through the words they are using. These strategies will help you to approach your engagement in an efficient and targeted way so you're not just pulling at straws trying to get your clients to find your posts and interact with your content.

In this episode, you will hear:

What hashtags are and how to use them to your benefit through localized tags and project tags
How hashtag blocks can save you time when posting
Why it is so important to strike the perfect balance of low-use, mid-use, and high-use tags
Where to look for followers that will help to increase your client traffic

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love to welcome you to our creative community if you haven't yet subscribed.

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode: https://melissagalt.com/instagram

Check out my Instagram @MelissaGalt to see these tips in action

For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

024: Harness the Power of Instagram to Build Your Brand, Part 1 Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

I know learning a new social media platform can be uncomfortable, or something many designers don't want to bother with. In fact, I was apprehensive about Instagram myself when it first arrived on the scene. However, its staying power has persisted and it has continued to reshape the way that consumers interact with brands and businesses. At this point, you're only doing yourself a disservice if you are still avoiding it.

Today, we're starting a two-parter series on the impact of Instagram on your business and how to harness its power to build your creative brand. And, if you haven't already tuned in for my last episode about the 12 Principles of Social Media, I highly encourage you to go back and check that out as well. The principles I discuss in that episode apply across the board to all platforms, including Instagram, to give you a strong foundation for marketing with social media. Today, we are going to focus on tips specific to Instagram, which can be an incredibly valuable (and free!) tool, particularly for designers.

As creatives, everything we do is about the visual and tactile components, which is why Instagram can serve us so well. In our episode today, you'll learn how harnessing those visual and tactile components makes engaging with your clients beneficial to your brand but also how Instagram can be a fun and exciting method of inspiration for yourself and your own creativity. It does not have to be as overwhelming as you may think! It's all about your approach, which I am here to guide you on today.

In this episode, you will hear:

Strategies to follow to make engaging with Instagram fun
Why it's so important to blend business and personal when curating your content
What to include when crafting your bio
Tips for setting up a routine of impact that will gain you the most engagement

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love to welcome you to our creative community if you haven't yet subscribed.

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode:
Check out my Instagram @MelissaGalt to see these tips in action
Gain some inspiration from the Instagram feeds of @trimqueen and @HatCliffConstruction
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

023: The 12 Social Media Principles of Profit Feb 27, 2023

Show notes

Social media is an amazing tool that, when used correctly, can serve and support your business' success. It is not something that you need to dedicate gobs of time to either, as long as you can use it strategically. Selecting only certain feeds to follow, setting specific goals for engagement and activity, and not overwhelming yourself by managing too many accounts are just some of the strategies I'll be diving deeper into throughout today's episode.

Today, I'm sharing with you 12 specific principles to follow when using social media to increase your profit. With each principle, I will also leave you with a couple of action steps you can start trying immediately to help you move forward. We are all about taking action here, and these steps are smart, targeted strategies that you can implement on your creative journey to success.

In this episode, you will hear:

Why using social media strategically is so important for your business
What the 12 Social Media Principals of Profit are and how to implement them
Specific action steps for each principle for a clear and actionable way forward

Subscribe and Review

Have you subscribed to our podcast? We'd love to welcome you to our creative community if you haven't yet subscribed.

Supporting Resources:

See my resource guide to recap the information from today's episode:
For more information about The Affluent Creative, check out my website www.melissagalt.com
Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @MelissaGalt and TikTok @MelissaGaltBusinessCoach

Episode Credits

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