Trade Tales

Latest Episodes:

“Trust the process” is right there in Courtney McCleod’s onboarding letter Sep 13, 2023

Show notes

Courtney McLeod's early encounter with a take-charge client left her project in ruins—and almost derailed her firm’s growth. The story of her rebound is a masterclass in taking steps to secure your clients’ trust before it’s too late. On this episode of the podcast, she shares how her first showhouse experience provided her business with an unexpected lifeline, why she always asks clients to define what a successful project means to them, and how she’s finding purpose in creating opportunities for the industry’s underrepresented groups.

This episode was sponsored by Universal Furniture and High Point Market.

LINKS
Courtney McLeod
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Miranda Cullen found a way to turn a profit on time billing. Now, she’s ready to franchise Aug 30, 2023

Show notes

Miranda Cullen felt like she cracked the code to no longer leaving money on the table when she created a new business model that could make a profit on time billing alone, which meant that her firm wouldn’t have to turn away inquiries for small jobs. Then, she realized the concept had that potential to expand far beyond her firm. On this episode of the podcast, she shares how separating from her business partner has taught her to trust her intuition, why she’s looking to franchise her firm’s unique micro-design concept, and why she’s already envisioning her company’s exit strategy.

This episode was sponsored by Universal Furniture and Maison et Objet.

LINKS
Miranda Cullen
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Dane Austin on leading his firm with love Aug 16, 2023

Show notes

At a certain point in his firm's journey, Dane Austin decided to abandon the pressure for perfection and instead tell clients the truth about the design process—the good, the bad and the ugly. By restructuring his business around a radically transparent approach, he’s transformed the design process for his clients, his employees and finally, himself.

This episode was sponsored by Universal Furniture and Maison et Objet.

LINKS
Dane Austin
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Why Regan Baker hired three former clients Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

Regan Baker has a unique claim to fame: she’s hired three of her former clients as employees. On this episode of the podcast, she explains why they all wanted to work for her once their projects wrapped, and how they each brought invaluable insights from other industries that turbocharged the business’s growth. She also shared what it feels like to step away from the work you love in order to expand your team, and which roles to hire first if you want to get growth right.
This episode was sponsored by Universal Furniture and Maison et Objet.

LINKS
Regan Baker
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Kevin Isbell on finding success with a small firm [Rebroadcast] Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

For years, Kevin Isbell was the right-hand man for top interior designers from coast to coast. Eventually, it came time to take what he’d learned and embark on a new journey at the helm of his own firm—a sink-or-swim moment that revealed just how daunting the route to design leader can be. In this episode, he shares how he found his footing as design principal and enlisted a support system to help him stay afloat.
LINKS
Kevin Isbell
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

How Noz Nozawa learned to invest in herself [Rebroadcast] Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

When Noz Nozawa left her 9-to-5 marketing job to start her design business, she took a major gamble with her career. It was in that precarious state that the San Francisco designer grabbed hold of what she could control, namely by tightening her purse strings. The firm’s slow, incremental growth worked to a point—until suddenly, Nozawa switched gears. In this episode of the podcast, she tells host Kaitlin Petersen about abandoning that scarcity-focused mindset, investing in her team’s wellbeing, and envisioning a future in which the industry starts to disclose its pricing.

LINKS
Noz Nozawa
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Why Bria Hammel wants designers to embrace their sales side Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

In the earliest days of Bria Hammel’s design business, landing a partnership with a construction firm offered her what every fresh designer dreams of: the chance to build a business with the certainty of a steady stream of projects coming down the pipeline. Of course, the firm eventually reached a point where letting go of that safety net was the only way to vet and choose a more specific clientele—and in doing so, craft an identity for the business that would take it to the next level.

This episode was sponsored by The Savannah College of Art and Design.

LINKS
Bria Hammel
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Katie Vance on the secret to synching up a design/build firm Jun 07, 2023

Show notes

Katie Vance kicked off the current phase of her career a decade ago, as the sole interior designer at an architecture firm. Since then, a lot has changed—largely thanks to Vance’s efforts to oversee the practice’s transformation into a thriving design-build studio. In this episode, she explains how that shift fostered an affinity for risk-taking that carries through to this day.

This episode was sponsored by The Savannah College of Art and Design.

LINKS
Ahmad AbouZanat
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Ahmad AbouZanat on the power of treating clients like guests May 24, 2023

Show notes

Ahmad AbouZanat’s early design gigs took him from Beirut to Houston and back again, before he finally settled in New York to launch his own firm. When a series of setbacks knocked his business off track, he almost folded the venture. Instead, he decided to double time his operational efforts and find new ways to put his firm on the map.

This episode was sponsored by The Savannah College of Art and Design.

LINKS
Ahmad AbouZanat
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

Kelly Collier-Clark on paring down her offerings to give her business room to grow May 10, 2023

Show notes

Kelly Collier-Clark scaled up her business quickly, tackling full service projects, e-design, real estate services and podcasting in short order, all while juggling a full-time job. Then the pace began to pick up—and suddenly, her business began to feel like a many-headed monster. As she reckoned with how to move forward, she realized she would have to reconsider the reason she launched her business in the first place in order to find meaningful growth.

This episode was sponsored by The Savannah College of Art and Design.

LINKS
Kelly Collier-Clark
Kaitlin Petersen
Business of Home

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