Profit Is A Choice

Is Your Workplace Toxic?

213: Is Your Workplace Toxic? with Michele Williams Do you know how to define a toxic workplace? Are you the one bringing the discord into the office or is someone else? Maybe you are looking for a job and want to know what to steer clear from. Today, we are going to talk about what makes a workplace feel yuk – and how to spot areas for improvement. Topics Mentioned:  Bullying Belittling Anxiety Fear Key Thoughts: It is possible for even the healthiest of companies to have some d...

Tax Deferral and Risk Management for your Company

Tax Deferral and Risk Management for your Company with Ed Bryan It is not often that I get to dive into a topic that is totally foreign to me when we start the podcast. Usually, I have heard something about the topic and have a little knowledge. The 831(b) plan was a new thing – and Ed Bryan joins me to help us understand this tax deferral and risk management opportunity. Topics Mentioned: Insurance Tax deferral Risk management Plan Key Thoughts:   It's like traditional insuran...

Creating an Accounting Foundation for your Design Business

Creating an Accounting Foundation for your Design Business with Erin McGhee Today I am welcoming Erin McGhee to the podcast. Erin describes herself as an Accounting Manager for service-based businesses. Her big goal – to put you in charge of your money. As you can tell, we have a lot in common. Listen in as we discuss what is needed to have you in the driver’s seat of your business vehicle and what it takes to keep you there. Topics Mentioned: Organize Implement Maintain Financial ...

Building a Community of Support

Building a Community of Support with Michele Williams Lately I have been thinking about the value in building a community of support for your business. We really are not in business alone. In this podcast I am going to share some of my community, how I chose it, how it supports me – and how you can do the same. Topics Mentioned: Community Needs Alignment Key Thoughts: Early on in my career, and probably life, I thought that I had to find the one best friend or the one resource, or...

Metrique Solutions is Your Financial Partner in Business

209: Metrique Solutions is Your Financial Partner in Business with Jack Tompkins Joining me again on the podcast today is Jack Tompkins of Pineapple Consulting. Jack and I, along with a whole team of people, work on Metrique Solutions, a financial dashboard developed to support creative entrepreneurs – like you! Today we are talking about how Metrique Solutions is a financial partner in your business. It is not a replacement for your accounting or project management software, but an adju...

How to Use Niching and Systems to Grow Your Business

208: How to Use Niching and Systems to Grow Your Business with Carolyn Boldt Today on the podcast we have Carolyn Boldt. Carolyn is passionate about holistic health and wellness and has crafted a business that focuses on designing in these industries. There are so many good takeaways in this podcast and Carolyn really has a heart to share and teach. Listen in as she shares the journey to focus on a niche that she loved and how it has prompted a different way to scale. Topics Mentioned:...

Developing Perseverance in Your Firm

207: Developing Perseverance in Your Firm WITH MICHELE WILLIAMS Can we just talk about perseverance? Perseverance is defined as doing something despite the difficulty or delay in achieving success. With all the things happening in our world and industry over the last two years, I would say that most of us are living in this space right now. Listen in to today’s episode where we discuss how we can keep going, even when the road seems long ahead of us. Topics Mentioned: Failure Risk G...

Seeing is Believing in Your Design Firm

Joining me on the podcast today is Jack Tompkins of Pineapple Consulting. Jack and I met back in 2020. And we shared the love of numbers and metrics instantly. Jack and I began working together early in 2021 to bring visuals to my clients and now we have joined forces to create Metrique Solutions, a software application for business owners, and to give you the ability to see your KPIs in a quick visual dashboard. And so today on this show, we are going to talk specifically about the power of...

Creating a Brand with a Story for Your Design Firm

On the podcast with me today is Jill Palleschi of Jula Paper Co. Jill created Jula Paper Co out of a passion for design and a love of celebrations, both big and small. Jill believes that branding should be accessible to everyone and she supports business owners at all levels as they create brands representative of their business. Listen in as we discuss the story of our brand, how to not be trendy but to create a long-lasting brand, and what to do if you cannot afford a custom brand when fir...

Lessons in Taxes, Processes and Relationships

And just like that we are beginning year 5 of the podcast. Thank you to everyone who has listened, contributed, provided feedback and been part of this podcasting journey in any way. Cheers to wrapping up year 4 and to beginning year 5. The best gift you could give me would be to leave a review of the podcast on your favorite listening platform. Now, let’s recap a year of learning!

Grow Your Design Firm with Podcasting

203: Grow Your Design Firm with Podcasting WITH Andrew Allemann   With me on the podcast today is Andrew Allemann. Andrew is a podcasting expert and founder of PodcastGuests.com. This is a service used by over 30,000 people to find guests for podcasts and for experts to get booked on podcasts. Today we will talk about the profitability of other people’s traffic which is increased by being on a podcast.     Topics Mentioned: One-sheet Education Connection Preparation Key Though...

Tax Strategies for Your Design Business

202: Tax Strategies for Your Design Business WITH Wendy Barlin   Wendy Barlin is on the podcast with me today. Wendy has worked with business owners for over 25 years to guide them with business development, tax and cash flow strategies. Her direct and clear communication style, helps business owners understand a topic that often brings much fear and trepidation. So – let's talk taxes.    Topics Mentioned: Keep your receipts Risk management Ordinary and necessary Reasonable sal...

How to Rethink Your Business

201: How to Rethink Your Business WITH MICHELE WILLIAMS Today we are airing an episode that we launched in 2020. Many of us are seeing changes in buying patterns, budgets, and selections. While the details are different from where we were in early 2020, the rethinking our business part is the same. In this podcast we will examine how to dissect our businesses so that we can analyze them and perhaps put them back together again in a different way. Really knowing the pieces and parts, as w...

Problem Solving as a Sales Process

200: Problem Solving as a Sales Process WITH Jeremy Miner   With us on the podcast today is Jeremy Miner. Jeremy is the Chairman of 7th Level, a Global Sales Training company. Jeremy shares that “The single most effective way to sell anything to anyone in 2022, is to be a problem finder and a problem solver... NOT a product pusher.” We will discuss this and why the old ways of selling no longer work well.    Topics Mentioned: Emotion vs logic Selling is change Change is uncomfor...

SEO and Messaging for Your Design Business

199: SEO and Messaging for Your Design Business WITH Erin Ollila   With me today is Erin Ollila. Erin is a copy coach and conversion copyrighter and so much more. Erin believes in the power of words and how a message can inform – and even transform – its intended audience. Today we will be talking about the intersection of SEO, messaging and copyrighting for your marketing materials. Get ready to take notes!    Topics Mentioned: Messaging Customer Journey Audience Voice of Cust...

Rest, Recharge and Reset You and Your Business

198: Rest, Recharge and Reset You and Your Business with Michele Williams Let’s talk more about burnout. Last month we looked at being burned out and looking for inspiration in different ways. But this month, I want to talk about being exhausted – in all the ways: mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually. And – what we can do about it. Enjoy the podcast. Topics Mentioned:  Exhaustion Sleep Rest Key Thoughts: Exhaustion can happen even when we are doing what we love....

197: Creating Systems that Work for Your Design Business

197: Creating Systems that Work for Your Design Business WITH Adi Klevit   Adi Klevit, Founder and CEO of Business Success Consulting Group is with me today sharing from her twenty-five years of knowledge and experience as a trained Industrial Engineer, management consultant and business executive to bring order and efficiency to organizations. We will discuss how processes improve efficiency and performance. Listen in for insight on bringing order to the chaos in your life and busines...

196: Creating and Documenting the Procedures in your Design Firm

196: Creating and Documenting the Procedures in your Design Firm WITH Owen McGab Enaohwo   With me on the podcast today is Owen McNab Enaohwo. Owen is the CEO and Co-founder of SweetProcess, an easy-to-use software that enables company executives and their employees to collaborate together to quickly document and/or improve their standard operating procedures, processes, and policies. We will dig in to where to start, how to monitor and improve processes and how to engage your team in ...

195: Looking for Inspiration for Your Creative Business

195: Looking for Inspiration for Your Creative Business with Michele Williams Today, we are going to just put it on the table. Burnout, frustration, lack of inspiration, need of support. Do these words and phrases resonate at all? If so, hang around as each of these elements are discussed on the podcast today. Topics Mentioned:  Inspiration Excitement Color Joy Key Thoughts: We all go through times of feeling like we are working in and with the mundane. But often joy and inspirat...

Break Up With Debt

194: Break Up With Debt WITH Melanie Lockert   Joining me today is Melanie Lockert. Melanie is the author of the book, Dear Debt, based on her long-standing blog. She is also the podcast host of Mental Health and Wealth. Melanie was successful in paying off $81,000 in student loan debt and she has chronicled her journey on her blog and in her book. Today our focus will be all about debt and how to manage it. Topics Mentioned: Stages of debt Money mindset Self-worth vs. Net-worth ...

Leveraging Your Network to Build Your Design Business

193: Leveraging Your Network to Build Your Design Firm WITH Pamela Durkin   Joining me today is Pamela Durkin. Pamela has spent over 30 years in the high-end design business serving both residential and commercial clients. She continues to practice design and also teaches other designers how to be magnetic and attract the best clients through her In Demand Designer Program. We are talking today about networking, ideal clients, and how to make an impression from the beginning.    To...

Cultivating Leadership in Your Design Firm

192: Cultivating Leadership in Your Design Firm with Michele Williams Today we are going to talk about leadership. As many of us are growing our teams, we should consider how our role, and perhaps that of some of our team, is shifting into more of a leadership focus and not simply executing details. Topics Mentioned:  Leadership Influence Intention Key Thoughts: We all have the ability to influence someone–but what makes great leadership great is the ability to influence others fo...

Seeing What is Possible in Your Design Business

191: Seeing What is Possible in Your Design Business WITH Katie Menon   Joining me today is Katie Menon of Stephenson House in Edmonton, Canada. Katie has had impressive growth and has been willing to take some risks to do things, perhaps, before their time. Listen in as she shares her business trajectory.    Topics Mentioned: Risk Growth Team Business Journey Key Thoughts: It's more common nowadays that people are coming to career paths in multiple ways. Starting a business ...

5 Website Essentials for Interior Designers

190: 5 Website Essentials for Interior Designers WITH Katie O’Brien   On the podcast today is Katie O’Brien. Katie is a brand and website designer for the interior design industry. We are going to talk about the 5 website essentials that are needed, how to tell if you have outgrown your website, and the most common portfolio mistakes that people make. Enjoy!    Topics Mentioned: Strategy  Flow  Ease  Photography  Key Thoughts: I love Katie, how you created the life that you w...

Reviewing Your Profit First Strategy

Have you created a Profit First strategy and implemented it – then left it alone? Are you still confident in the percentages you have allocated? Is your system and process growing with the evolving financials and needs of your company? If you are not sure, then this is the podcast for you. Let’s talk about how to review your profit first strategy and how to tweak it to make it work for your business today.

Building Heroism in Business

188: Building Heroism in Business WITH Scott BeeBe Scott Beebe is the founder and head coach of My Business on Purpose and he's the host of the My Business on Purpose podcast. He loves to liberate small business owners from the chaos of working in their business and helps to get their lives back by assisting them in articulating and implementing intentional vision mission values, systems and processes.  Topics Mentioned: Preparation Vision Direction Key Thoughts: Monday is my favo...

Introducing Metrique Solutions

For years I have been asked to write a book. And while I have co-authored a book and enjoyed that process, I felt like there was something else I was supposed to put out into the world. Today I want to introduce you to Metrique Solutions. A software application that will help you make financial decisions in your business in just minutes a month. On this episode I will share with you the origin of Metrique Solutions along with the problems it solves. I am excited – so let’s get to it.

Preparing Your Business to Step Away

As owners, we build and build and work and work on our business. But what happens when we need to step away for a time? Can the business move on without us? What if we are out for a hot minute and someone needs to step in on our behalf, have we established a company that they can move into? On the podcast today, we will look at the areas we need to consider for continuity of service if we, the owner, need to take a sabbatical.

Backwards Financials for the Win

185: Backwards Financials for the Win with Tracie Tayl0r Today I'm bringing you a replay of a podcast that we launched in the first few months of our podcast back in 2018. This particular podcast was in response to a question that Tracy Taylor emailed and asked me about how she could figure out her financials backwards. I work with my clients to create a top-down and a bottom-up model of their financials. And on this episode, you will hear Tracy and I work through her numbers, I want you...

How to Build a Design Business that Fits Your Strengths

184: How to Build a Design Business that Fits Your Strengths with Carol Lang I am so excited to have Carol Lang, of Carol Lang Interiors in NJ, on the podcast with me today. Carol is an excellent designer who has really learned to create her own path forward in this industry. We will be sharing her journey of discovery to clarify what she wants out of her business, and how that work is iterative and ongoing. I hope you enjoy! Topics Mentioned: Strategy Flexibility Decision criteria ...

Preparing for an OPs Resource in Your Design Firm

183: Preparing for an OPs Resource in Your Design Firm with Kelcee Sparks On the podcast today with me, again is Kelcee Sparks. And she is the Director of Operations and Success for Scarlet Thread Consulting. You might remember that Kelcee and I did Episode 168, together on how to hire an operations person for your design firm. And in that episode, if you haven't listened you may want to go check it out. We discussed operations, building trust, working within your zone of genius and proc...

Managing to a Budget in Your Design Firm

182: Managing to a Budget in Your Design Firm with Michele Williams Do you currently create a budget for your new year and then manage to it? If so, you are going to enjoy this podcast. If not, I ask that you listen with an open mind and perhaps are swayed to begin this process of financial management. Either way – let’s talk about budgets and how to manage to them effectively in your firm. Topics Mentioned:  Create a budget Anchor points Review Plan Key Thoughts: Creating a budg...

Working With a Recruiting Agency for Your Design Firm

181: Working With a Recruiting Agency for Your Design Firm with Paige Risley and Beth Moffatt Joining me on the podcast today are Paige Risley and Beth Moffatt of We Recruit Well, both of these women have worked in the online space, both in positions of being virtual assistants. And now they have pulled together their resources and created a company, We Recruit Well, where they help place online resources for your company. And so we're going to talk today about what that process looks li...

Financial Management and Oversight in Your Design Firm

180: Financial Management and Oversight in Your Design Firm with Peter Lang Joining me on the podcast today is Peter Lang, owner of the designer CPA, Peter and I both have a heart for supporting this industry with good financial practices and understanding. And today we're going to talk about what we see as kind of the lifecycle, if you will, of bookkeeping and bookkeeping needs and the overwhelming hole and desire in the industry to have better bookkeeping practices. So I hope you enjoy...

Setting and Revising Your Financial Goals

179: Setting and Revising Your Financial Goals with Michele Williams Each year we go through a process of setting our financial goals for the following year, or at least we should. And I don’t use the “should” word without consideration. Many of us hate to be told what to do, so my hope is that in this podcast you understand the why behind it and you decide for yourself that you ‘should’ create financial goals. Topics Mentioned:  Metrics Financial goals Top-down Bottom-up Key Thou...

Creating a Niche, Authority and Visibility Strategy for Your Design Firm

178: Creating a Niche, Authority and Visibility Strategy for Your Design Firm with Rachael Bozsik With me today is Rachael Bozsik, an international speaker and the “go-to” elite personal branding coach for high achieving interior designers. Rachael has been featured in Forbes, Glamour, at Harvard Business School, Oprah’s Leadership Academy and more. Our conversation today will focus on building out your niche, your authority and your visibility to attract your ideal client and keep your ...

Measuring What Matters in Your Design Firm

177: Measuring What Matters in Your Design Firm with Michele Williams Welcome to 2022! This year we are going to focus on metrics in our companies. Identifying what metrics are, what we need, and how to go about monitoring them. Last year it was all about strategy – and this year all about how to make the strategy work. Listen in for tips and tricks that will help you determine if you are still on task or not. Topics Mentioned:  Metrics Focus Analysis Standards Key Thoughts: One ...

Building a Mindset of Resilience in Your Business

176: Building a Mindset of Resilience in Your Business with Ceil DiGuglielmo I am so excited to welcome Ceil DiGuglielmo of the Sew Much More podcast back to share the podcast with me continuing a 4-year tradition of reviewing our year and preparing for the next. Ceil is the owner of the custom drapery workroom, Sew Much More, a podcast by the same name, the owner of the Curtains and Soft Furnishings Resource Library, and the publisher of the Drapery & Design Digital Digest. Enjoy listen...

Ending the Year Well for Your Design Business

175: Ending the Year Well for Your Design Business with Michele Williams Can we just talk for a few minutes about what it means to end the year well? Does it mean to have every job go our way? Does it mean to make more money than ever? Does it mean to barely get through it but still be standing? On today’s podcast we are going to chat about ending the year well – defining that – and using the little time we have left to do it. Topics Mentioned:  Define well for your company Plan in a...

Importance of Finance Management for Interior Designers

174: Importance of Finance Management for Interior Designers with Damari Gold With us today is Damari Gold, owner of The Gold Standard Accounting  & Tax firm. Damari is passionate about helping small business owners understand their money. So you can easily see why I am excited to have her on the podcast.   We will be talking about the yes and no items for tax deductions, the importance of CFO days in your firm, and why we need a tax plan. Enjoy the conversation! Topics Mentioned: D...

How to Cope When Being the Boss Sucks

173: How to Cope When Being the Boss Sucks with Michele Williams Today’s podcast is a request by more than one client of mine. You see, owning a business is not all roses and profits – it means owning the hard and sometimes yukky parts, too. Let’s dig in to learn some coping mechanisms and strategies for dealing with the parts of business that suck. Topics Mentioned:  5 E-Strategy Communication Intention Leadership Key Thoughts: The biggest area of difficulty as businesses grow i...

4 Areas to Build Processes in Your Design Firm

172: 4 Areas to Build Processes in Your Design Firm with Debra Scarpa and Ashley Blaesing Joining me on the podcast today are Debra Scarpa and Ashley Blaesing of Home Designer Marketing. We are going to talk systems and processes which you all know by now is a favorite topic of mine. We will look at the benefits of having systems, which areas of the company we need to create them in, and go over an idea of the types of systems that will make our work more efficient. Enjoy the podcast. ...

How to Create an Interior Design Business to Sell

171: How to Create an Interior Design Business to Sell with John Warrillow John Warrillow is the founder of The Value Builder System™, a simple software for building the value of a company used by thousands of businesses worldwide. He is the author of Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You, The Automatic Customer: Creating a Subscription Business in Any Industry, and The Art of Selling Your Business: Winning Strategies & Secret Hacks for Exiting on Top. John also ...

The Scarlet Thread Origin Story

170: The Scarlet Thread Origin Story with Michele Williams On the podcast today I’m going to share my origin story. Some of you have reached out to me and asked me to share more and that you want to hear more. And so I thought it would be a great thing to just put my story out there beginning to end. That's what I'm going to do today. I hope that there's something that you can take away from it and that it inspires you. Topics Mentioned:  Your Why Strengths Experiences Uniqueness ...

The Scarlet Thread Origin Story

170: The Scarlet Thread Origin Story with Michele Williams On the podcast today I’m going to share my origin story. Some of you have reached out to me and asked me to share more and that you want to hear more. And so I thought it would be a great thing to just put my story out there beginning to end. That's what I'm going to do today. I hope that there's something that you can take away from it and that it inspires you. Topics Mentioned:  Your Why Strengths Experiences Uniqueness ...

Growing Your Design Business With Your Spouse

169: Growing Your Design Business With Your Spouse with Ben and Jenny Slingerland Joining me on the podcast today are Jenny and Ben Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors. Jenny and Ben are clients of mine who have had tremendous growth over the last year. Today they are going to share their story of how they began working together in the company, how their business has morphed over the years, and how they each have their area of specialty that makes it all work. Topics Mentioned: Husband...

Growing Your Design Business With Your Spouse

169: Growing Your Design Business With Your Spouse with Ben and Jenny Slingerland Joining me on the podcast today are Jenny and Ben Slingerland of Black Ink Interiors. Jenny and Ben are clients of mine who have had tremendous growth over the last year. Today they are going to share their story of how they began working together in the company, how their business has morphed over the years, and how they each have their area of specialty that makes it all work. Topics Mentioned: Husband...

How to Hire an Ops Person for Your Design Firm

168: How to Hire an Ops Person for Your Design Firm with Michele Williams and Kelcee Sparks Joining me today on the podcast is Kelcee Sparks. Kelcee is the Director of Operations and Success for my company, and we've been together for almost a year. We're going to talk about what it's like to hire an operations person, why you need one, and actually how to hand off the work that sometimes can be very difficult to let go of. I hope you enjoy our conversation. Topics Mentioned:  Operati...

How to Build Trust In Marketing Your Design Firm

167: How to Build Trust In Marketing Your Design Firm with Andy Seely Joining us today is Andy Seeley, CEO and Co-Founder of Creatively Disruptive, a digital marketing agency built by a team of professional nerds that work together as the Small Business Champions. Andy is a Small Business Marketing Expert and he is committed to helping businesses keep up with all the latest algorithms to make sure they are getting their money’s worth for their online advertising. Topics Mentioned: Ema...

Have You Taken Your Design Business As Far As You Can Alone