228: Why Attending Industry Events is Profitable with Michele Williams How many of you go to an industry conference at least once a year? On our podcast today, I am just returning from the International Window Coverings Expo. And I'm going to share with you 10 things that really stood out to me while I was there. Topics Mentioned: Industry Events Learning Travel Key Thoughts: Not everyone is looking for the same thing. Authentic connection requires you to block out the noise in the room to ask q...
Apr 30, 2023•20 min•Season 5Ep. 228
227: Using Your Past to Create Your Story with Ericka Saurit Joining me on the podcast today is Ericka Saurit. She is the founder of Saurit Creative, which is a boutique brand marketing agency. This is really going to be such a fun discussion. We’re going to talk about story, leaning into your story and inviting people in. Ericka has such an honest and curious approach. I love that. I really think you're going to learn a lot not only about your brand and marketing, but about being able to invite...
Apr 23, 2023•1 hr•Season 5Ep. 227
226: Using Strategy to Inform Your Marketing with Brooke Chapman Joining me today is Brooke Chapman. She's the executive director of Three by 3 and Nine Boxes. Brooke has a proven track record in helping small businesses really create a strategy around their marketing. Today we're going to be talking about strategy versus tactics in your business with regard to marketing. Brooke uses a phrase that made me laugh, she calls it random acts of marketing. That's when we're just doing tactical work in...
Apr 16, 2023•38 min•Season 5Ep. 226
225: How to Determine When to Raise Rates and When to Absorb Costs WITH MICHELE WILLIAMS As a business owner, one of the biggest challenges you face is managing your pricing strategy in response to fluctuating costs. Pricing is a crucial element that can determine the success or failure of a company. On the podcast today we will explore how to manage this in your business. Topics Mentioned: Cost management Brand promise Pricing structure Strategy Key Thoughts: Setting the right price for product...
Apr 02, 2023•7 min•Season 5Ep. 225
224: Delegating to Free Your Time with Dominique Deraiche Joining me today on the podcast is Dominique Deraiche, with Designer Elite. She is a co-founder of Designer Elite, which provides Operations and Support for interior designers. Dom and I are going to have an awesome conversation on how to get help, how to determine when we're in overwhelm, and how to ask for support and delegate without dumping. Enjoy. Topics Mentioned: Delegate Virtual assistant Overwhelm Key Thoughts: It's very hard to ...
Mar 26, 2023•28 min•Season 5Ep. 224
223: Functional Fitness for the Health of your Body and Business with Barbi Burris Joining us on the podcast today is Barbi Burris. Barbi is the owner of Full Well fitness and has a signature program the Well Stretched Life. She is a Christ follower, a flight attendant, a certified fitness instructor - she does all the things. She knows what it's like to have a very busy life and to try to work in being fit at the same time. And you know, that's the life that many of us have, we're really, reall...
Mar 19, 2023•57 min•Season 5Ep. 223
222: Quiet Quitting in the Workplace WITH MICHELE WILLIAMS Have you heard of quiet quitting? Maybe you have seen or felt it in your business or when speaking with a colleague. Quiet quitting is defined as an emotional quitting instead of physically doing so. On the podcast today we are exploring quiet quitting. What it is, how it occurs, how to spot it and hopefully stop it before it escalates. Topics Mentioned: Disengaged Lack of motivation Employee health Connected workplace Key Thoughts: Quie...
Mar 05, 2023•11 min•Season 5Ep. 222
221: Niching in Your Design Business From the Start with Kaitlin Brophy Joining me on the podcast today is Kaitlin Brophy with Brook and Elm. What I love about the conversation that we're about to have is that it's going to be focused on creating a niche company from the very beginning, using skill sets from a prior career, and also just building a business with intentionality. So I hope you enjoy the podcast. Topics Mentioned: Niche Outdoor design intentionality Building in a season Key Thought...
Feb 26, 2023•47 min•Season 5Ep. 221
220: Selling Authentically in Your Design Business with Nikki Rausch Joining me on the podcast today is Nikki Rausch. She is a sales coach and trainer and author and a speaker. And she talks about authentically moving people through a sales process. I'm so excited to have her on. She has her own podcast, The Sales Maven. So make sure you check that out and welcome to the podcast. Topics Mentioned: Creating a sales progression Create curiosity Closing the loop Power of silence in the sales proces...
Feb 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 5Ep. 220
219: Benchmarks for the Interior Design Industry WITH MICHELE WILLIAMS Here is a question I get repeatedly when someone shows me their financials, “Is this good?” While many may be good judges of great design – being a judge of great financials can be a bit more difficult if you don’t know what you are looking at or how to compare the numbers you are seeing. In this podcast I will share some benchmarks for financials in the Interior Design industry – and in healthy businesses in general. Topics ...
Feb 05, 2023•15 min•Season 5Ep. 219
218: Strategies for Hiring Well in Your Interior Design Firm with Jamie Van Cuyk Today we have Jamie Van Cuyk. Jamie is a hiring strategist, a podcast host, and a speaker. And today we are going to dive into all things hiring. I know that hiring a team has been very difficult for many of you, you've probably had some starts and stops along the way. You're wondering what the next right hire is, how to make sure you're choosing the right person. And that's the conversation that we're going to dig ...
Jan 22, 2023•57 min•Season 5Ep. 218
217: Aligning Your Values with Your Daily Actions with Sandra Halling Today we're going to be talking with Sandra Halling. And Sandra describes herself as a recovering corporate consultant turned anti-hustle, pro-equity, productivity coach. We're going to be discussing all about listening to ourselves, having an awareness, and then creating some opportunities to protect ourselves while we're also building our firms. And so it was just such an awesome fun conversation, but also one that helps you...
Jan 15, 2023•48 min•Season 5Ep. 217
216: Starting the Year Well with Michele Williams Usually, we talk about ending a year well. What could it look like to start the year well? Hang with me as we consider what could make our year begin well. Topics Mentioned: Intention Ease Profitable Key Thoughts: To be honest, sometimes I really get caught in the tension of wanting to start the new year, but at the same time, not really wanting it to come, usually, because I'm looking ahead, and I'm taking it all in. And all I can think about is...
Jan 02, 2023•12 min•Season 5Ep. 216
215: Hardship is a Great Teacher in Your Business with Ceil DiGuglielmo On the podcast for our yearly review and process session is Ceil DiGuglielmo of the Sew Much More podcast. This is a joint podcast that we love and look forward to each year. This year we seemed to really look at our personal lives and how they intermixed with our business lives a bit more. Also, listen in to hear the one thing that we both struggled with this year that we have enjoyed so much in the past. Topics Mentioned: ...
Dec 25, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 5Ep. 215
214: How to Easily Create a Strategic Plan for Your Design Firm with Michele Williams This week we're rerunning episode 131 of the Profit Is A Choice podcast, “How to easily create a strategic plan for your design firm.” This is an awesome topic that we processed through a couple of years ago. And I will say to you, it is still relevant and it's something that we work on and focus on in Scarlet Thread Consulting all the time. I want to encourage you as you wrap up this year, and get ready for ne...
Dec 18, 2022•23 min•Season 5Ep. 214
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 dysfunction, just ...
Dec 04, 2022•10 min•Season 5Ep. 213
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 insurance. But what you're ...
Nov 27, 2022•47 min•Season 5Ep. 212
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 Process Key Th...
Nov 20, 2022•49 min•Season 5Ep. 211
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 the one online...
Nov 06, 2022•9 min•Season 5Ep. 210
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 adjunct. Top...
Oct 24, 2022•41 min•Season 5Ep. 209
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: Niche Sys...
Oct 17, 2022•55 min•Season 5Ep. 208
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 Goals Continua...
Oct 03, 2022•10 min•Season 5Ep. 207
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 see...
Sep 25, 2022•37 min•Season 5Ep. 206
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 first s...
Sep 18, 2022•53 min•Season 5Ep. 205
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!
Sep 04, 2022•16 min•Season 5Ep. 204
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 Thoughts: I wanted to bring peo...
Aug 21, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 203
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 salary Key Thoughts: Most ...
Aug 14, 2022•48 min•Season 4Ep. 202
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 well as w...
Jul 31, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 201
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 uncomfortable Key Thoughts: If...
Jul 24, 2022•47 min•Season 4Ep. 200
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 Customer Research Key Thoug...
Jul 17, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 199
