A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today with Reed Humphrey of Dezign Assist Is your team maxed out, or are you stuck doing $10-an-hour tasks when you should be focused on leading your business? In today’s sponsored episode, I’m talking with Reed Humphrey, CEO of Alder & Tweed Interior Design and founder of Dezign Assist, a remote staffing company built specifically for interior designers. Reed created Dezign Assist after solving a bottleneck in his own firm. When his team couldn’t keep up with project demands, he built a scalable system using experienced remote designers. The result? More capacity, less burnout, and happier clients. If you’re a larger firm looking to support your in-house team or a solo designer ready to stop doing it all yourself, this episode will challenge how you think about delegation and show you how to buy back your time without sacrificing quality. Connect with Reed Humphrey Website Instagram Book A Discovery Call! ⁠What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: ⁠RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT⁠ ⁠⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free ⁠here⁠. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠ Audiobook: ⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠ Book 2: ⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠ Book 3: ⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara LuAnn’s ⁠Website⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠Blog⁠ ⁠Power Talk Friday⁠ Like Us: ⁠Facebook⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠Twitter⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠Instagram⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠Podcast⁠ Other Resources Mentioned: This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here! AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design Other Shows Mentioned: AWDB #194 Reed Humphrey Alder and Tweed

Today with Melanie Zaelich: You invested in your website. You took SEO seriously. You may even have professionals managing your SEO and Google PPC, and people regularly tell you, “I found you online.” That’s good. Keep doing it. But the way potential clients search is changing, and strong SEO is no longer the whole conversation. In this episode of A Well-Designed Business®, LuAnn Nigara sits down with interior designer, branding strategist, and SEO educator Melanie Zaelich to unpack SEO, AEO, GEO, and what AI-driven search means for interior designers and other established business owners. Melanie explains why SEO remains the essential foundation, while Answer Engine Optimization and Generative Engine Optimization add new considerations for how your website communicates your expertise. It is no longer enough to think only about whether Google can find your website and understand what services you offer. As consumers increasingly use AI to ask questions, solve problems, and find businesses, your online content also needs to answer the questions they are asking and demonstrate what your company genuinely knows. Melanie and LuAnn discuss how customer search behavior is changing, why asking ChatGPT about your own company is not the same as testing whether a potential client can discover you, and how years of experience, proprietary processes, frequently asked questions, and professional judgment can become valuable online content. They also explore the connection between AI search and intellectual property, including why businesses should clearly identify and establish the processes, systems, and expertise they want to be known for. The baseline for being found online is evolving. If you were the business owner who understood early that having a website wasn't enough, and later understood that investing in SEO mattered, this episode asks an important question: Are you still paying attention to what comes next? More About Melanie Zaelich: Melanie Zaelich is an award-winning interior designer, branding strategist, and SEO educator with more than 30 years of experience in advertising, branding, and marketing. From big agencies to her own interior design business. She is the founder of Happy Place Interiors, The Designer’s Blueprint, and Modern Search Studio, and creator of the Modern Search Factors™ Framework. After using SEO to grow her own interior design business, Melanie began teaching creative entrepreneurs how to become more visible, credible, and relevant online. Today, she is especially passionate about the rapidly changing world of AI and helping business owners understand how tools like ChatGPT are interpreting, recommending, and talking about their brands. In addition to continuing to scale her interior design firm, she is also focused on teaching AI visibility, SEO, digital reputation, and helping business owners proactively protect their brand, messaging, and intellectual property as search moves into the AI era. Connect with Melanie Zaelich: Happy Place Interiors Website The Designer's Blueprint Website Modern Search Studio Website Connect with LuAnn Nigara: LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Talk Friday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: ⁠RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT⁠ ⁠⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠ Other Shows Mentioned: Episode 1039Melanie Zaelich: Consultation-Only Interior Design: How to Set Boundaries and Avoid Scope Creep

Today with Chana-Rivka Thierman & Faigy Chaskelson: Are you attending industry events by wandering the expo floor, visiting the same vendors you already know, collecting business cards, and hoping something valuable comes from the day? There’s a more intentional way to do it. Today, I’m joined by commercial interior designer Faigy Chaskelson and architect Chana-Rivka Thierman to talk about how they use industry events to build relationships, discover resources, meet peers, and connect with professionals outside their immediate circles. And Faigy truly practices what she preaches. Years ago, she drove more than an hour each way to attend a Window Works Lunch and Learn because she wanted to meet me. That introduction grew into a relationship, and ultimately Faigy was the person who suggested I speak at the Design X Architecture Summit, DXAS. That relationship is also part of the reason the three of us are having this conversation today. We talk about going into an event with a plan, being selective about whom you want to meet, approaching conversations with genuine curiosity, and following up afterward so a promising introduction has the opportunity to become a real relationship. We also talk about why your relationships with other designers, architects, vendors, builders, and industry professionals can become an important resource for your business. And, of course, we talk about DXAS, happening December 1st at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. I attended last year, I’ll be speaking this year, and I genuinely enjoyed the environment they created for learning, sourcing, and actually spending time with people. If you’re investing a day away from your business to attend a conference, market, or trade show, this conversation will help you make that day count. The first 100 A Well-Designed Business listeners can attend DXAS for $24.99 with code LUANN26. More about Chana-Rivka Thierman & Faigy Chaskelson CHANA-RIVKA THIERMAN Founder & CEO, THIERMAN Design & Consulting Chana-Rivka Thierman is a French-registered architect and founder of THIERMAN Design & Consulting, an interior design studio based in the USA. She has international experience across France, Russia, and the United States, with a career spanning architecture, design, workplace strategy, BIM, and construction. In France, she worked within Bouygues, one of the country’s largest construction groups, including on the construction of the Paris Courthouse designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Working within a large-scale construction environment shaped her understanding of how design connects to execution, coordination, decision-making, and the broader business of building. Today, she brings that cross-disciplinary perspective to her own design practice and to her involvement in helping shape the programming for DXAS 2026, bringing together perspectives across design, architecture, development, construction, technology, and industry. —- Faigy Chaskelson is an entrepreneur, commercial interior designer, and co-founder of The Artify Group, where she leads business development and builds strategic relationships across the design and architecture community. She is also the founder and CEO of Styles Design Interiors, a commercial interior design and procurement firm serving senior living, healthcare, multifamily, and public-sector projects. With experience on both the design and business-development sides of the industry, Faigy has built her career around connecting people, resources, and opportunities. She believes some of the strongest business growth happens when professionals stop simply networking and start intentionally building relationships that create value for everyone at the table. Connect with Chana-Rivka Thierman & Faigy Chaskelson: DXAS 2026 - Register here! Chana’s Website Faigy’s Website Chana’s Instagram  Faigy’s Intagram  Chana’s LinkedIn Faigy’s LinkedIn Aha Moments with Chana-Rivka Thierman & Faigy Chaskelson: "I can guarantee that seventy-five percent of the people feel the way you feel. Even if you're in the room with people that you know in the industry, most of the people are afraid... you just have to go over and say hi." -Faigy "Imagine you're at the event and you're standing by yourself and someone walks up and says, Hi, I'm Luann. Are you a designer too? Do you think any person is gonna be like, How dare you walk up to me at a networking event and say hello to me?" -LuAnn "You need to be smart also because you won't be able to meet everyone. So you really also need to be selective at the beginning and then things can happen." -Chana "You should come with a plan. Who do you want to meet? How many of those type of people you want to meet? Because you know there's architects... vendors, if you need a specific source, most likely there's going to be a person in that room for you." -Faigy Connect with LuAnn Nigara: LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Talk Friday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: ⁠⁠⁠⁠RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠⁠ Other Shows Mentioned⁠ Episode 1097: NEW SHOW: Margalit Lankry: Designers with Intention. A Community with a Collaborative, Abundance Mindset

Today With LuAnn Nigara: AI can hallucinate. It can give you information that is flat-out wrong. But what happens when AI gives you a really good answer? In this What Would Lu Do episode, LuAnn Nigara explores a more subtle risk of using AI in your interior design business: getting an accurate, intelligent, well-researched answer to a question that wasn't the right question to begin with. Through examples from her own work with AI, including a lesson involving designer Megan Moulton, a real Chairman of the Board client evaluating a significant marketing investment, and an AI-generated answer about interior design profitability, LuAnn shows where experience and business judgment still matter. You'll hear why more information isn't the same as more experience, how AI can move from observation to diagnosis without enough evidence, and why a mathematically attractive ROI doesn't necessarily make an investment a smart business decision. LuAnn also explains what to do when you don't yet have the experience to recognize what you're missing, including when it makes sense to borrow the expertise of someone who does. AI can research, organize, compare, analyze, and help you move faster. But somebody still has to sit in the CEO chair. That somebody is you. Connect with LuAnn Nigara: LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Power Talk Friday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: ⁠⁠⁠RSVP to the 10th Birthday Party for A Well-Designed Business Podcast in HPMKT⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠ Other Shows Mentioned Episode 455: Megan Molten: Another Side Hustle Success Story Episode 677: Megan Molten: To Succeed, Focus on Your Why Episode 1230: What Would Lu Do?: Are You Disqualifying Leads Too Soon?

Today with Kate O’Hara: Today with Kate O'Hara, we're digging into something every designer feels but doesn't always name: the client experience gap. Kate spent years running a luxury design firm, which means she's had a front-row seat to what actually keeps high-end clients coming back, and what quietly sends them somewhere else next time. In this conversation, we’re talking about the space between the experience you think you're delivering and the one your client is actually having. We’re discussing how expectations get set (or don't), what happens when you assume you know what a client means instead of asking, and why the most generous thing you do in month one can become the very thing that costs you a client down the road. Kate also shares a couple of real stories from her own firm, including one dream project that didn't end the way anyone hoped. If you've ever wondered why gorgeous design doesn't always translate into repeat business and referrals, this episode is going to give you a lot to think about. LuAnn and Kate's Aha Moments: "As great as your design is, as award-winning and nationally published as it might be, what actually runs your business is the experience that you deliver." — Kate O'Hara "Anything that you do early for your client is, to the client, that's normal. That is now your services. And the second you tell them that wasn't part of our services, you're not granting them anything special, you're taking something away." — Kate O'Hara "It's what we say, whether it's in personal relationships or business relationships — we teach people how to treat us. We teach them by the things we say and we do, and the things we allow and the things we don't allow, how they're gonna treat us." — LuAnn Nigara More About Kate O’Hara: Kate O'Hara is the founder of Lake House Group, an advisory practice that helps founder-led and second-generation businesses navigate growth, operational blind spots, and transitions. She previously served as the second-generation CEO and Creative Director of O'Hara Interiors before intentionally closing the prominent design firm to focus on advisory work and co-owning the Design Influencers Conference. [⁠1⁠,⁠ 2⁠,⁠ 3⁠] Connect with Kate O’Hara: ⁠O'Hara Interiors Website⁠ ⁠O'Hara Interiors Instagram⁠ ⁠Lake House Group Website ⁠ ⁠Design Influencers Conference Website⁠ ⁠Design Influencers Instagram⁠ ⁠Fay + Belle Website⁠ ⁠Fay + Belle Instagram⁠ What’s new with LuAnn Nigara: ⁠⁠Boardroom for Creatives⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Watch the Docuseries!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.luannnigara.com/cob⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Get The Goodies! For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here: Book 1: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠ Audiobook: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠ Book 2: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠ Book 3: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2⁠⁠ Connect with LuAnn Nigara: LuAnn’s ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ LuAnn’s ⁠⁠Blog⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Power Talk Friday⁠⁠ Like Us: ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠ | Tweet Us: ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠ | Follow Us: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | Listen Here: ⁠⁠Podcast⁠⁠ Other Shows Mentioned: ⁠Episode 1030⁠⁠: Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara: Insights and Strategies on Successful Scaling ⁠⁠Episode 1042⁠⁠: Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara: End-of-Year Business Strategies for Designers: Pipeline, Productivity, and Press ⁠⁠Episode 1148: ⁠⁠Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara: A Framework for Understanding Luxury Interior Design Clients ⁠⁠Episode 1157⁠⁠: Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara: Marketing to the Three Tiers of Luxury Clients and How to Attract Each One⁠⁠ Episode 1188⁠⁠: Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara: Scaling Your Design Firm Part 1: The Three Paths Forward⁠⁠ Episode 1202: ⁠⁠Ceo Conversations with Kate O’Hara:Is Your Next Idea a Revenue Driver or a PR Play? Part 2 Episode 1219: CEO Conversations with Kate O’Hara: Stop Defending Your Pricing to Your Clients Episode 986: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: Boundaries and Expectations are a Few of My Favorite Things