Podcast
Creative Genius Podcast
Hosted by Gail Doby & Erin Weir · EN
Gail Doby and Erin Weir interview influential people in the interior design industry, business, and entrepreneurs
20episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why are Women so Hard on Each Other? (Ann Feldstein)
Feb 300:45:14Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Gail Doby welcomes Ann Feldstein, a 25-year industry veteran and the force behind Moxie Marketing. Ann reflects on her journey from working on the De Beers “Diamonds are Forever” campaign to serving as Vice President of Communications at Kravet before launching her own agency ten years ago. The heart of the discussion focuses on Ann’s keynote research into why women often harbor judgment toward one another. They explore internalized misogyny—the unconscious adoption of sexist attitudes—and how it manifests in everything from holiday clean-up expectations to judgments about makeup and parenting. Ann also breaks down the “fairy tale complex,” explaining how classic stories like Cinderella taught young girls to view other women primarily as competition for male attention. Tune in for this conversation that is always relevant, but perhaps even more so in the female-dominated industry of interior design. In this episode, you’ll hear about: The Evolution of a Career: Ann’s 15-year tenure at Kravet and her transition to founding Moxie Marketing, which exclusively serves the interior design space. The “Karen” Label: How modern slang is used to silence women who speak up when they are unhappy or mistreated. Double Standards in Society: The contrast between how society shames young girls for their pop star fandom while celebrating men for their passion for sports teams. The Perfectionism Trap: Why women are often hesitant to take risks because they haven’t been taught that it is okay to fail or make mistakes. The Power of Succession: Ann’s observation that many women build thriving businesses but fail to create a succession plan, missing out on passive revenue and a lasting legacy. The Highlights of the Design Industry: How Gail’s experience with design clients has been primarily positive, building communities of women who are happy to collaborate instead of compete. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e10-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7w6Ze2vOavk Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript And it’s so exciting to have you on the Creative Genius podcast and I am really happy to have you here today. Well, thank you so much for inviting me to be on. I’m a huge fan of The Pearl Collective and your podcast, and I’m so honored to be on. Well, thank you for being here. Well, I want to talk to you a little bit about your background and how you got into the industry to begin with. Great. This month is actually 25 years for me in the industry. I started my career at JWT and I worked on the De Beers Diamonds campaign and that was an interesting time. And then I went to a smaller boutique firm and I worked on other luxury brands. And then I met someone and fell in love and didn’t want to work agency hours. And I saw that Cravet was looking for a marketing person and I applied and I hit it off with the team and I really liked the family and they offered me a position. And it was such an interesting time for me because it was a real learning curve. And here I thought I was like sort of set in my career and I had this new learning experience. And I fully admit as a marketing person, it probably took me a good year or two to fully understand the industry works and how best to serve the interior designers. I was at Kravat for 15 years and in 2015 I stepped down as the vice president of communications and I opened Moxie Marketing and we just celebrated 10 years. Yes, 10 years. Time really does fly. At Moxie we work with brands and interior designers, anyone in the interior design space. We do only take on clients in the interior design space because that is really where my experience is. And I work with brands on marketing and sales. I work with designers on communications plans, of course, PR, events, social media, everything to help designers and brands grow their business. Hmm, how exciting. Well, and I know you’re working with some people that I happen to know and love well. So that’s really exciting. And I’m really happy to know you because I think in this industry, it’s really important to have people that grasp what we do and understand the complexities of this business because it is not a normal animal. No. It is not. It isn’t. And I think that one of the things that’s so hard is trying to find somebody who can adapt to the changing industry. And I think you have done that really well. Thank you. I’ve worked really hard at that and trying to understand the nuances of everyone’s business, not just the brands, not just the interior designers. I believe we all play an important part in the ecosystem of interior design. I also think it’s such a special industry. That’s one of the things that I did notice right away when I started 25 years ago. People were so willing to help each other. And it really touched me in that regard. And then at Cravet, I got to work on the Ronald McDonald House project. And it was just wonderful to see all of my colleagues come together, competitors, other designers. Everyone came together for this really special cause. And I think designers and the industry in general are just incredibly giving. Mm-hmm. I love that part of the industry too. Well, let’s talk about you a little bit. I’d love to know what your guilty pleasure is. what is my guilty pleasure? I probably have a few. I love a day just sitting on the sofa with my dogs and the fire going and some good food and good Netflix and cozy pajamas and maybe a nice cocktail or reading a good book. That’s definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. I’m a huge foodie. So I don’t know if I would say that’s a guilty pleasure. To me, food is life. Yeah, I do enjoy my food and I love trying new food and cooking and all the things related to food. I even like grocery shopping. that’s, that’s alien to me. I haven’t been in a grocery store in years. My husband does all the grocery. I do love it, not at the holidays. And I like to be there as soon as they open first thing in the morning, but I do enjoy grocery shopping. is so interesting. I’ve never heard anybody say that. There’s something wrong with you, I know I don’t love regular shopping unless I’m traveling but grocery shopping it’s my happy place my gosh, that’s so funny. I don’t even cook anymore, so I don’t relate at all. All right, well, who would you take with you to a desert island, say you’re stranded? Well, I definitely would bring my dogs. And then, you know, I think there’s a few different people. My best friend, because we could talk about anything till the cows come home. I’d love it if it was my mom, but she’s not with us anymore. You know, someone that’s interesting and then someone that would help me not go stir crazy as someone with ADHD who’s always on the move, even though I’m sure I love my relaxing time, someone that could keep me sane. I love that. Well, let’s talk about one of your favorite topics. you had come to us a while back and had mentioned that you’d love to be speaking on this topic. And at the time, we weren’t ready to have a conversation yet because we we already had everything booked for the podcast. But I think it’s such an important topic. And I think that today, let’s talk about why women are so hard on women. And I’m so curious, what prompted your passion for this topic? So it was really interesting. A couple of years ago, I was having dinner with one of my girlfriends and she’s a mentor to me. She’s older than I am. She is also in marketing. And since I met her, ironically through a crab, it when I first started, we just clicked and she has been a terrific mentor to me and a dear friend. And she comes over on Christmas Eve. She spends Christmas Eve with my family. And a couple of years ago, we were celebrating her birthday at dinner and another friend of hers had come by for drinks. And I just kind of casually mentioned that I think women are really hard on other women. And the two of them did not take it well. And the other woman, the friend, was actually in the process of being let go from her job. And she was putting it all on a woman and the reason she was being fired. And their reaction was so strong and took me by such surprise. I really, it kind of just gave me pause and I started looking into it. I just started doing research. As I mentioned, I do have ADHD. So, you know, my brain gets something and it just keeps going. And then about six months later, I was talking to a friend of mine, Sarah Kravitz actually, and I told her about what had happened. And she was the one that said to me, you know, and you’re really passionate about this. Like, I think there’s something you could do with it. A couple of months later then she...
Transcribe →Elite Assistance for Creative Geniuses (Danae Branson)
Jan 2700:35:01Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius podcast, Gail Doby sits down with Danae Branson, founder of Elite Design Assistants, to discuss the transformative power of virtual support for interior design firms. Danae shares how she transitioned from the financial sector to design and eventually recognized a massive gap in the market for high-quality, specialized virtual assistance. With a team of approximately 110 assistants—primarily based in the U.S.—Elite Design Assistants provides everything from 3D renderings and CAD drafting to administrative support and senior design roles. Danae and Gail discuss the logistics of hiring remote senior-level talent, the common pitfalls of poor communication, and the “help me, help you” mindset required to make outsourcing a profitable success. In this episode, you’ll hear about: Specialized Outsourcing: Why firms are increasingly looking for virtual senior designers and how to manage that role without “boots on the ground”. Common Mistakes: The “Lack of Communication” trap and the “Flipping the Script” error—expecting a CAD specialist to suddenly handle invoicing. The Cost of Flexibility: A breakdown of current hourly rates for virtual assistants, and what advantages freelancers have over full-time employees for certain roles. Onboarding Success: How to treat virtual assistants as true members of the team, including firm email addresses and inclusion in weekly check-ins. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e9-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMy2E3KEU4 Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Danae. And I love referring you all the time and we do this a lot. Your company is called Elite Design Assistance. So I’d really love to know your background. How did you get started in the interior design business? Yeah, so I actually started years ago, like in the early 2000s. And I just was self started kind of interior design. My husband was a contractor, but I kind of paid the bills in the financial industry. So it was, I don’t know, 2006, I actually started a virtual agency in the financial industry. By 2017, I wanted to get back into design and just to networking with different designers. that I was talking about, this is how, like my day job, so to speak. They were just curious why I did not create a virtual agency for interior designers. And so I decided I could probably do that. And when I started doing it, I had no idea it would blow up as big as it did, but that became my full-time job. And I no longer was in the financial industry and I no longer was an actual interior designer. So. I just run Elite Design Assistance and I love it. It’s super fun. I love helping interior designers, but I guess I just had a unique set of skills that kind of got me to where I am today. Well, tell us a little bit about your firm and what kind of services you provide and what is a typical thing for someone to come to you for. Sure. So we provide all sorts of services, basically anything that can be done virtually. So designers, we like to match them with virtual design assistants who have the experience, expertise that they need. So we do a lot of outsourcing with CAD drafting, 3D renders, admin sourcing, even senior designer position is becoming very popular right now. Like I said, basically anything that can be done virtually, we want to be able to help the designers. Well, absolutely. I know that I bet I’ve given you 30 referrals so far. I kind of lost count at this point, but a lot of people. And in fact, I was talking to somebody today about you. yeah. Thank you. Yeah, I really appreciate it. And I love your clients. They are so great to work with. I love helping them. Yes. They are. Well, how many are on your team? We have right around 110 right now. Wow. Yeah, so located across the US. I always tell people 99.9 % of them are US based. I have a couple over in Europe, you know, just due to either military spouse or you know some other reason they’re over there temporarily. They usually are back, but occasionally people are OK with that time difference. We have worked with one of your graphics people that I is in Spain. Yes, yes you have, yeah. And she’s great. So we’ve had really good success with that. So we know because we actually use your services too. Yep, absolutely. Yeah, so you said that the common requests are a lot of CAD and you said a lot more senior designers. So why do you think that is the case? You know, I don’t know, it does ebb and flow. We kind of notice, you know, throughout the year and throughout the years, it’s certain services. I think right now everyone’s just getting super busy with projects. And those are the easiest things maybe to outsource right now is let’s get this CAD drafting going. Let’s get the 3D render going. Admin, a lot of people right now are coming to us for presentations, proposals, invoicing. And I think it’s just everyone is so busy. And for those designers in particular, I think those were the easiest things for them to outsource immediately. Yeah, and I think one thing though that I think is a little confusing and I have talked to some of the people that I’ve referred to you and hiring a senior, they are struggling with how to do that remotely. What are some tips that you could share, especially in a key role like that? Yes. Right. So absolutely. we actually are creating, I wonder if I even have it up still, we are actually creating a document right now about the steps and how to outsource to a senior designer and like some of the best things to do. Like, obviously they can offer anything from the space planning CAD documentation, the FFNE sourcing specifications, all of that. But some of the things we say is, you know, you really need to have that good communication in place. whether it’s a weekly video call or whatever that may be. But we are actually creating a document as we speak today. In fact, I was going back and forth with one of my seniors about making sure that it’s very clear so that when someone comes to us now wanting to hire a senior designer, we’re going to give them this document first so that they can look through it and know exactly how they’re going to work with the senior designer so that when they’re interviewing that person, They can spend more time on the actual interviewing of the person and their skill set instead of asking them, how are we going to work together? But basically it’s just, you know, those video calls, staying in communication, looping your senior designer in on your processes. And then they’re going to be able just to kind of lead the way as far as how they’re going to be able to help those designers and what they can. Obviously they can do everything virtually. But so that’s something we’re working on as we speak right now. So we should have that done fairly quickly. Yeah, well, and especially that’s an important role and you want somebody who can hit the ground running. However, they’re not going to hit the ground in your city. Right? Because they aren’t there. So you’re have to have processes to make sure that if there are jobsite visits, somebody internally is gonna have to do that. Yep, absolutely. Yep. Well, what are some of the things that people should know as a firm owner about outsourcing? What are the top tips on how to have a great relationship with your VA? Sure. The number one thing I do tell people is you do have to have some sort of organization around it. Occasionally we will get a request from somebody and they’re a little bit all over the place and I understand that because they’re overwhelmed and I get that. So we try to get them to just get a little bit more organized with the tasks they’re looking to outsource, maybe even prioritize those tasks. Because a lot of the people on our team do obviously, unless you’re hiring a senior designer, people tend to niche down. into the area of the industry they excel in the most. So if you’re needing CAD drafting and you’re needing admin and studio designer, that could look like two separate individuals. But we also just let them know that, you know, the most important thing is to just, you know, have that idea of what it is that you’re wanting to outsource a priority and then we can help you from there. So like we can get you started with one person if you need another person down the road for additional services. That’s how we’re helping people build their teams virtually right now. And so, you know, that’s been working out really well. What are some of the common mistakes that you see people make that outsource? Right. I would say again, that lack of communication, they maybe hire someone, throw everything their way, and then all of a sudde...
Transcribe →Doubling Down on a Design Legacy (Mike Ufferman and Catrina Cooper)
Jan 2000:55:00Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius podcast, Gail Doby welcomes Mike Ufferman and Catrina Cooper, the principals of Loczi Design. Mike and Catrina detail their professional pivot from the restaurant and auction house operations fields into the design world, and how they eventually came together to lead a high-growth firm in San Francisco. The conversation explores the complexities of “internal sales,” specifically how they navigated the process of buying the company from the original founder, Paige, after years of working as her leadership team. They share the raw, “brothers and sisters” dynamic of their leadership style and how professional coaching helped them move past emotional friction to achieve true operational alignment. Hear about the strategic “miracle” team of advisors—from valuation experts to business attorneys—that allowed them to complete a full company transfer in under six months. Mike and Catrina also discuss the “unreasonable” client service strategies they’ve implemented to drive their current record profits and why they are already planning their own exit strategies. Key discussion points in this episode: The Pandemic Pivot: How the team managed the dual upheaval of a global pandemic and the founder moving across the country in 2020. Alignment over Accuracy: Why learning to work as a leadership team was a bigger achievement than simply mastering markups and financial data. Buying the Legacy: The emotional weight and “healthy scramble” of New Year’s Eve signatures to officially take over the founder’s “baby”. The Non-Negotiable Paperwork: Why you must discuss the “no-fun” topics—like buy-sell agreements and key person insurance—while you are still in the honeymoon phase of partnership. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e8-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqVzTVu0bks Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Mike and Kat. I am so happy to see you. It’s been a while and it has been an interesting journey for you two and I can’t wait to dive into that today. First, I want to start with how did you two get into design and start working together and just tell us a little bit. I’ll start with you, Katrina. Okay. First off, thanks for having us. We’re excited to be here with you. It’s our first podcast, so we’ll do our best. Yeah, holy, you’re virgins. So how did I get into design? as you already know, Gail, I was in the restaurant business for a very, long time before I started doing this. And at some point just realized I didn’t want to do that forever. And a good friend of mine said, you know, you’re kind of a natural designer. Why don’t you go to design school? So I took that advice and went to school for a few years and then just started working and, you know, have kind of built my career from there. So it, yeah, I mean, it kind of happened nice and organically, but a little later in life maybe than other people. Okay, yeah, well I didn’t go back to school till I was 35 for design so yeah. That’s about how old I was too, yeah. And I graduated, I think, two years later. yeah, it was good to go back. I think everybody needs to decide what it is that they’re called to do. Yeah. Right, right. Yeah, yeah, it’s nice to have a second career and have some to do it later in life to it was more intentional. I mean, I was able to do a lot better than I think I probably would have right out of high school. sure. This is such a different industry anyway. And of course, you’ve gone from being an employee to owning the firm. We’re going to talk about that in a couple of minutes. But Mike, about you, how did you get into design? boy, that’s a long journey for me. I grew up in Ohio in Cincinnati in this small town and went to school for business at the University of Cincinnati and worked my way through college working at a hospital there and was sure that I was gonna go on to medical school and I really wanted to work in labor and delivery. That was the field. I got accepted there and studied a little bit and just decided it wasn’t really for me. Did a couple things and ended up out in California and I was working operations for an auction house out here. At the time it was called Butterfields, it was a very famous auction house in California. Another company bought them and I was running a lot of operations. I was seeing art every day. I was just getting a master’s degree in art education every day I came to work. I fell in love with design from that. And I had… You know, a change in life happened there and a friend of mine called me while I was literally vacationing on a beach in Mexico and said, Hey, I’m starting an interior design firm, get in your car and come back up here. Uh, and I did, and I turned around and I went back up and I ran his business with him for seven years and, um, he owns a building downtown and Paige, the previous owner of the company here was doing a photo shoot with Katrina and some others there. And I showed up and we talked and we ended up working together and. A couple of years ago, I went back to Berkeley and studied a design there and we’re here now. It is so crazy. Yeah, I think it really makes a difference if you have a business background too or some other experience coming into this and for you Katrina just having that hospitality background is perfect for interior design. Tell me a little bit about your firm who’s on the team, what the roles are, the responsibilities. I know both of you are the principals and the owners now, but what about the rest of your team? Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we’ve got six people in our San Francisco office. Of course, Mike and I work there and Ava is our senior designer handling some of the larger projects. We’ve got Diana and Jennifer who are both working as associate designers and then Eric is our staff designer. Samantha is hand in hand working with Mike. She runs our whole office and his whole life. And we also have Olga, who doesn’t work in the office with us. She’s our controller. She’s a big part of what we do at LOXIE. Well, that’s a good size team too. Yeah. I’m sure you’re feeling a little bit stretched because it sounds like you’re busy right now. Sure are, yeah. And we are having that conversation right now too about hiring a couple staff members, maybe another senior designer and also another staff designer. That’s great news. like hearing that. What was going on in your business? When you reached out a few years ago, we determined there was probably somewhere in the range of five to seven years ago when you reached out. And at that point, you weren’t the owners of the business. So what was going on that caused you to do that? I’m sorry. Yeah, there was a lot. We were growing quite a bit and there were three of us that were leading the firm. We knew what we wanted to do, but we were going in different directions with it. We all wanted to grow, but we were growing differently. We were having a hard time sort of coming together with what our plan looked like. And it was really sort of important for us to reach out to you at that point, just to to save the company really, to really figure out what we were gonna do next with the company, where we were gonna go with it. And that’s how we got to you. Yeah, and you said it was a friend of yours and I don’t even know who it was that you knew, but… Yeah, that friend of mine said, mean, going back to that, my friend, we were looking for a business coach and a friend of mine knew you or knew of you somehow, suggested that we reach out to you. And he said to me, you need to talk to her. She is the inter-design coach of the stars. We knew right then that you were who we needed to speak to and we never looked back after that. my gosh, that’s so funny. I have no idea why anybody would say that, but okay. Yeah, my little secret is that I try really hard to not work with the celebrity designers. They, it is a no-go for me. for. You Hmm, interesting. I hear more about that someday. Yeah. Yeah, that’s another story all by itself. Some stories I can’t really say, so I’ll just leave it at that. But anyway, so you had a lot of chaos going on and let’s talk about that crazy day that we had. So I flew out there and met with three of you and I remember meeting or waiting for you all at the office. I was there on time and everybody was a little bit late and I was standing outside and all these guys were out there. Brutal pruning in front of the office. Yeah, we had a plumbing issue, I guess, that day and they were trying to break into the plumbing line and they had jackhammers outside and they were really making a mess of it. So it was a no-g...
Transcribe →Grounded Success (L.A. DeRiggi)
Jan 1300:49:24Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby welcomes L.A. DeRiggi, founder of Hudson Park Design, to discuss his meteoric rise from a design student to a successful firm owner. L.A. reflects on his unique background in marketing and promotions, explaining how he intentionally used an unpaid internship to validate his passion before committing to a Master’s program in Interior Architecture. The conversation dives into L.A.’s transition from being a Design Director to becoming the owner of his own firm after his previous employer retired. He candidly discusses the challenges of building a team, managing expectations, and the “static” that often interferes with a leader’s instincts. L.A. also shares a powerful metaphor for business growth through his experiences solo hiking the vortexes of Sedona, Arizona, where he learned the value of “choosing your hard”. In this podcast, you’ll hear about: The Intentional Pivot: How L.A. moved from business management and promotion to interior design, using his past experience to fuel his current firm’s rapid growth. A Growth Mindset in Action: How Hudson Park Design grew over five times in size by focusing on values, culture, and deep emotional connections with clients. Luxury as Emotion: Why L.A. believes true luxury is defined by a sense of ease and belonging rather than just a price point. AI vs. Human Intuition: Why the personal element and innate human connection will always give designers an advantage over automated rendering tools. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e7-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7reRy5-9Zvc Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Welcome to the Creative Genius Podcast LA and so glad to have you here. Thank you so much, it’s so great to be here. Well, I am so excited for everyone to hear from you today because you’ve had a little bit of an interesting journey and we only have a few clients that have done this where they’ve worked for somebody else and then all of sudden they either were they bought the business or they started a new business and you have just taken off like a rocket. So I’m really proud of you. I think that’s phenomenal. Thank you. Yeah, so let’s talk about first how did you get into design? So. I’ve always had this love and passion for design and moving things around and appreciating the flow of space and where things are and having nice things growing up. then I think we did in the sixth grade, we had to fill out, where do you see yourself in 20 years? And it was interior. I put interior designer. I just really felt like that was the right answer. in, gosh, who knows what year that was. At that time, a male interior designer wasn’t like the top choice for a sixth grader. It was a lawyer, a professional basketball player, a police officer. So I erased it and I wrote architect. But still, you know, in the same field with maybe just more of a different tone to it. But then I kind of put that aside for a little bit. And then I really fell in love with the business side of things. So my first degree. I went to school for business, business management and marketing. And then I worked for a few years afterwards. And I was doing a lot of really exciting jobs and I was working for a promotions company. And so that time right out of school, it was, was a lot of fun. I was doing different events at clubs and really trying to promote mixed martial arts, which is when that kind of first came. big in the scene and then worked in sales, worked in business development and just really didn’t feel full at the end of the day. so I had heard about a design company, I’m from Pittsburgh originally, and there was a company in Shadyside, which is a nice area, and I just walked into the firm and basically asked for an unpaid internship. And I was like, Hi, I’m here, I’d like to work here. And they’re like, well, what do you know? And I’m nothing. I don’t know anything. I’m happy to sweep the floors, go grab the coffee, do whatever you need me to do, but just want to be in this environment, kind of experience this industry, and see if it’s a go before I decide to go back to school for it. So I worked there, quit my jobs, worked there for three months, unpaid internship. And then I enrolled in school in the fall in a master’s program, which I loved the program because it was a master of interior architecture. So it was really the next step. It was a two year program. I was really looking for obviously a better degree and the fastest path to get me to where I wanted to be. Wow. Who knew? And look how well that served you because having that business development experience and the marketing and promotion and all of those different things, you had to be in business for yourself because really you have both sides that you’re able to use, Yeah. Well, so how did you end up getting to us? How did this all come about? for sure. So I had, so Fast Track, Pittsburgh School, graduated, moved to Florida. I worked for two firms and the firm I was working for previously to starting my own, was summer of 2021. after, it was the first High Point Market after everything really reopened and my previous boss and I were at High Point and we were, you know, it’s always it’s always exciting to see the new furniture and visit the showrooms and things but we had never really been to any talks or speaker series. And so we got, you know, I think it was the first day we got there, we had we got the brochure and we saw your name on there and we didn’t know you. We didn’t know anything about you. We just we really liked the topic. And we thought, hey, let’s check this out. And we were working with a business coach at the time. But it was more of a it was a business coach that was generalized. So they really kind of helped all industries. And it was one of those moments where we sat in your presentation. And it was like the stars aligned, like we just we were like, she knows what she’s talking about. And we and she can help us. And that was that was it. And then you sat you came and sat with us. You were swarmed with people. It was really like a celebrity, I felt like there were paparazzi and all these people around you, like you were leaving this event and you immediately came up to us and were so welcoming to us and we sat with you for lunch and there were so many people like, Gail, Gail, and you’re just like, hold on, I’m having a conversation and you gave us all the attention that we needed and you know, just, was, we were like, she’s our girl, she’s gonna help us. Well, and it was really interesting. and one of the things that I love is working with a leadership team and the three of you at that time were basically the leadership team for that company. And, it just really was, I don’t know. I think I just knew that I needed to help you all. And I think you had some really big challenges and for sure you did and you helped, helped her. Yeah. really get through a lot of those, let’s talk about some of those. What were some of the biggest ones she had in her business? I think because we were a small firm at the time, but then we were growing so rapidly with the amount of projects that we were taking on. I think just from the start, it was really like organizational leadership and growing, you know, my experience coming from the business world and kind of working with structure and organizational charts and, and then going to a small design firm where there’s three people doing everything. we’re all having to wear all the hats, regardless of, you know, position and who’s who. And then we start building the team and we went from like three people to 10 people overnight and like 10 projects to 42 projects. And so I think building kind of stepping back, looking at the vision for the company, her vision, and being able to relay the foundation, the foundation was already there. I mean, she was in business for 25 or 30 years and had built a really successful business. But I think just being able to kind of step back, lay another layer of foundation on everything and build from there to be able to create more success for her and more of what she was looking for with her company. Well, and I think one of the things that was really interesting is watching you grow in your role there because you grew into, we talked about you being design director. So that meant you took on a lot more responsibilities and managing people and managing the projects as well. And just really getting into what it would take to run the company. You were starting to get a good feel for that with that position. So talk about that a little bit. Yeah, it was definitely a because I think at that point I had only been there for three years. I started off as really kind of like an interior. mean, I was a licensed interior designer at t...
Transcribe →Billing Your Worth in a Stagnant Market (Elissa Grayer)
Jan 600:45:50Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius podcast, Gail Doby welcomes Elissa Grayer, the founder of Elissa Grayer Interior Design, for a deep dive into her 25-year journey from educational administration to luxury interior design. Elissa shares how she “made it up as she went along” before finding the professional community and coaching that transformed her firm from a seat-of-the-pants operation into a highly profitable, well-oiled machine. Listen in as Elissa discusses the evolution of her firm’s structure and the “transition mode” she is currently navigating as she looks toward the next decade of her career. She defines the critical importance of financial transparency, revealing how her business achieved a dramatic bottom-line shift by gaining the confidence to charge her true worth and track every billable hour. The conversation also explores the unique challenges of serving ultra-high-net-worth clients who may be demanding or entitled, and how Elissa maintains boundaries while delivering an outstanding, sophisticated experience. Plus, Elissa shares her perspective on the current “stagnated” real estate market in the New York suburbs and why she is looking toward hospitality and senior living as exciting new frontiers for her firm. In this podcast, you’ll hear about: The Volvo Project: How Elissa’s career began by managing a major renovation for her former husband, earning her a resale certificate and her first referrals. The $800,000 Realization: A candid look at the financial impact of “making up” design fees before learning professional billing and forecasting methods. Succession and the Next 10 Years: The special attitude required for a second-in-command to become a potential successor and the shift toward in-house design leadership. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e6-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwHUiEthyuA Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Alisa. I want to talk with your personal story and start there and tell us how did you get into design? Well, it actually, I’m one of the ones who came to it very organically. I had been in education, had been teaching, and then was working on charter schools and decided, my then husband and I decided that we were going to combine two apartments on Riverside Drive in New York City. And so I was, taken some time off from work. I just had my second child and I decided to take on the project and I did. It was a total gut renovation. There was a lot of work. took about a year. I was very involved in the design, the layout, everything, and getting the job done, which as you know is really most of the job. And at the end of it, we had a beautiful apartment, and it just felt really good and comfortable and warm and welcoming, and everybody loved it. I loved it. Shortly after, I got divorced. which was a very mutual thing. So we both were in a really good place about it with each other. We are still great friends. And he asked me if I would design and manage the joining of two apartments for him, for him and the girls who were my girls. So of course I said, yes, this would be a great thing. I’d love to make a wonderful home for them and for him. And he said, okay, I’ll buy you Volvo. And I said, okay, done. I did. I designed and project managed and filled that apartment with beautiful things and it came out really, really well. And I had to get a resale certificate number to start buying things, so I had a resale number. And then the electrician on the job said to me, I have a client who’s down in the village and she can’t make up her mind about something, would you come and help her? someone else said, I heard you might be doing interior design, would you come and help me? And it just sort of snowballed like that. So I had no idea what I was doing, but I just knew I loved what I was doing. And then I decided to go to school to see if that would help. So I went to Parsons for a certificate in interior design. I already had a couple of master’s degrees. I didn’t want any more. And I just… just was working. started working and I never stopped and that was 24 years ago. It be 25 years in February. So what were your other degrees? I didn’t know that. Well, I had a degree in administration planning and social policy from the Harvard Ed School. Then I had a degree in elementary education and master’s from Leslie College, Graduate School of Education. And then I was ABD, which means everything but the dissertation at Columbia. I was getting a degree in educational administration at Columbia Teachers College. So that was… A lot of schooling, I’m a big believer in school, but I just didn’t want to do anymore. So there’s a lot of stuff I did not learn and a lot of stuff you can only learn on the job. So it’s kind of a toss up. I miss not having worked for someone. I know that that’s an amazing experience and I always lamented the fact that I never had a role model or anyone to just look at and say, that’s how you do things. So I just kind of made it up as I went along. I hate to say it, but one of the people would probably not be good role models on running the business. Yeah. So it’s in some ways, I think it’s better to figure it out for yourself, but. That’s true. Yeah, true. Maybe if you have a background in business, which as you know very well, I do not. I’m a liberal arts person through and through. So I know we’re going to get to this, but it really wasn’t until I met you that I started understanding the business part of the business. Before that, I was just flying by the seat of my pants. There was no internet world back then to go to. mean, now you can basically buy a business plan. on the internet for a couple hundred dollars and sign up for a coaching group. It just feels a lot more open and accessible than it did back then. When I would go to the market days at the New York Design Center and basically listen for crumbs of wisdom from one of the famous designers who were speaking and I’d try and figure out what they were doing. yeah, just had to figure it out. Well, tell us about your firm right now. Who’s on your team? What are their responsibilities? Well, we are in a transitioning mode. The ideal team is, and it’s not ideal right now, so that’s why I’m starting with the ideal. The ideal situation is to have a leadership team that is myself, my design director, who’s my number two, and then have an operations person as a third arm in the group. We do not have that person anymore. We had to make some staffing changes. So I now no longer have a real operations person. And what we have done is we have brought in a fractional CFO from outside to be kind of our financial advisory arm. We have brought in a bookkeeper, CPA, and we have an office admin right now. Mm-hmm. We’ve also brought in an outside marketing kind of AI focused consultant to help us with marketing and especially as it relates to the new changes with what AI is doing to our market and our SEOs. I’ve also got a consultant who’s working on our website and I have an outside tech support person. because the operations person that I previously had did a lot of those things, some better than others, but was really kind of responsible for a lot of that. So I have now created a team of different people to kind of partially, almost all the way make up for that third person. I also have a full-time designer in the office. I have a part-time designer who is in Boston who works remotely. We have an office admin person. And then I have two very fabulous interns who are coming in a couple days a week who do all those things like, you know, drop off this sample, pick up this product, know, do, you know, open the door for this vendor. So we have a lot of hands in the mix right Yeah, it sounds like quite a few. Yeah, it’s quite a crew, but it’s working. We’re making it work. We do need another designer, but we are we’ll get there. We’re just not. It’s hard to find a good person, as you know. Yeah, you have to your time with that and definitely wait for that right person. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, we are. So let’s go back to the past and this has been quite a while, probably seven, eight years ago that you started working with us somewhere in that neighborhood. What was going on with your business at that time? Why did you come or reach out to us? Yes. Uh-huh. Well, I had actually been following you from afar from, I don’t know, it must have been, when did you start doing those podcasts where people could call in? Was that like 20 years ago? I just got 18 years ago. Yeah. Uh-huh. Sure. I was at home. Actually, I think, probably don’t remember this, but I actually asked a question on one of those things and you said to me some...
Transcribe →Selling Luxury with Empathy (Jeffrey Shaw)
Dec 1601:04:27Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby welcomes master photographer and luxury sales consultant Jeffrey Shaw to share the insider knowledge he gained from spending over 40 years serving the most affluent families in the US. Jeffrey shares that everything he teaches comes from intimate conversations with this clientele, where he noticed a division between what luxury brands market and what clients actually say. Listen in as Jeffrey reveals what truly prevents designers from stepping into the high-end market: their own fear of being uncomfortable or feeling like an imposter. He shares his personal journey of transitioning from an outsider studying high-end stores like Bergdorf Goodman to becoming a customer there. Jeffrey emphasizes that the worst mistake you can make is trying to be a fake version of yourself because affluent buyers will “smell that a million miles away”. Jeffrey offers a masterclass on the psychology of luxury buying: he explains why they are not only looking for skill and integrity but are also highly intuitive and perceptive—a trait necessary for their success. He reveals the one thing they expect but will never ask for: that you stay a few steps ahead of them, doing their thinking on their behalf. Finally, Jeffrey provides practical advice on up-leveling your ideal client profile, removing friction from your process, and motivating clients in turbulent economic times. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: The Power of Belonging: Jeffrey’s personal mantra that belonging in any room is your individual choice, regardless of your background or socioeconomic status. The Silver Lining Audience: Why you must never fall into the mindset that nobody is spending money, and how to tap into the segment that is always doing well . Understanding Their Lingo: Why you must understand the language, visuals, and messaging of the clientele you want to attract before you build or change your brand. The Fear of Disappointment: How heightened emotions in uncertain times create an increased fear of disappointment, motivating clients to seek assuredness and consistency in their service providers. The Duality of the Affluent: Why the misconception that they are formal and stiff is wrong; they are often much more “real” and casual than expected. Why Referrals Stop: The surprising reasons affluent clients stop referring, including the fear that you will make a mistake for their friend or the reluctance to share their trusted resource. Removing Friction: Jeffrey shares his trick for using technology to make life easy for busy clients—even tracking client payment times to understand their lifestyle (the most common time they paid may surprise you!). Your Diamond Edge: The mistake of not being clear on why you chose this clientele beyond the money, and how finding your “diamond edge” provides the conviction needed to endure. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e5-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBjCCXdSuno Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Jeffrey. I’m so glad to have you here and spend time with you again. And by the way, I have to share you are one of our favorite speakers that are one of our recent boardroom retreats. And I just really valued that time that you shared with our people and they loved, loved, loved what you had to say. So we’re going to talk about your book and it’s Sell to the Rich, which is so appropriate for our industry. Thank you. It is, is. Thank you. I had such a great time with your group too and honestly I said probably that day and I’ve said many times since, hanging out with designers is such a complete joy to me because who doesn’t love hanging out with hardworking people who have good taste? Well, you have good taste. Yes, and you are in very much the visual business anyway, or at least you were serving people as a photographer. But I want to talk about how you started with this and how you learned so much about the luxury market. Sure. Yeah, a really crazy journey, right? I mean, the fact that I had the opportunity as a family portrait photographer for many of the most affluent families in the US for more than 40 years, just crazy. I didn’t come from that background at all, but I was very, very clear after a few years of struggle, it was very clear to me that these are the people I was meant to serve. And that’s such an inner feeling, right? I mean, how you get to that point of realizing that, you know, who you’re meant to serve and… to realize it wasn’t a world I knew. So, I mean, I am forever grateful for the fact I was able to break into this very challenging market and then spend 40 years literally hanging out in their closets, right? So everything I teach today, talk about, write about, is always going back to those intimate conversations with an affluent clientele that I often found. how luxury brands were marketing, how they were speaking, how they were showing up in the lives of these clients was very different than what I was hearing from the clients. And that was, that’s the valuable contrast because I was getting, felt the real them, which really on their mind and realizing the division between when you’re affluent, you’re such a target of marketing and your experience, those moments in the closet, their real lives were very different. And so everything I know today about luxury came from those moments of intimacy and getting to hear, you know, really being embedded and nothing is more personal to people than their children. So, you the lives I had in photographing their kids and their families really opened up very intimate conversations. And I felt like I got to see an inside perspective that quite frankly, most people in the luxury business do not. That’s amazing. What do you think keeps people from approaching and serving the luxury market and maybe feeling like they are not imposters, that they should be able to serve these people? And what I love about that question, Gail, is that actually I really woke up to that at your event at Pearl Collective because I doubt you recall, but there were a number of questions from the audience right in the moment, as well as people that came up to me afterwards and a very common question, so much so that I ended up writing a newsletter about it. And the question was to me, how did you get comfortable working with a clientele in a world you didn’t grow up in? Mm-hmm. So I realized what’s keeping most people from stepping into the world of self-serving a high-end client is probably their own fear of being comfortable. Their belief that they won’t be comfortable because they didn’t come from that world. But here’s a newsflash. 99.9 % of people serving luxury buyers didn’t come up and grow up in that world, right? If you did, you’re probably not a sales associate at Dior, right? I mean, it’s just the reality of it. who are serving this clientele. And that’s not to say that, and hopefully it’s true, that in the years of serving this clientele that we actually step into that market. You one of my favorite stories to tell, which is very foundational to my work, is that as a startup photographer in my 20s, and not knowing this clientele before, in the process of rebranding who I would become to serve this clientele. I spent a lot of time at high end stores in New York City and my favorite one was Bergdorf Goodman. I felt like a fish out of water going to Bergdorf Goodman. I knew it wasn’t the world I was from, but I went there to understand the world of the people I was going to serve. I can say today, I mean, without, you know, just to make the point and not to brag at all, but you know, to see your life transition from being an outsider going to Bergdorf Goodman to learn. to years later and not that many years later becoming a customer of Bergdorf Goodman and now decades later I’m an ongoing customer of Bergdorf Goodman and have a personal shopper there. So that transition to me is not to brag but it’s to represent the journey. So no, wasn’t, I think what holds most people back is they believe they’re not comfortable or going to be comfortable serving this clientele. You just have to be yourself. Mm-hmm. The worst thing you can do is being an imposter. The worst thing you can do is put on a facade, because they will smell that a million miles away. They’re not interested in a fake version of you. I never tried to hide where I came from. It was irrelevant. I was there to do a job, and I was there to do it well. And to me, comfortable is about belonging. And belonging is your individual choice. Mm. I believe we all should decide that we belong by birth by birthright we belong in any room we choose to be with re...
Transcribe →Maximizing Return On Decision (Kiri-Maree Moore)
Dec 900:59:48Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby sits down with global advisor and strategist Kiri-Maree Moore, Founder and CEO of Decision Velocity Global. Kiri-Maree shares her powerful journey from initially resisting the label of “leader” to realizing the responsibility of leading others. She defines her mission: curating spaces where humans have a greater voice and helping leaders align their decisions with long-term success. Listen in as Kiri-Maree discusses the biggest mistakes leaders make, often by failing to set a strong “GPS” or exhibiting a lack of ownership. She recounts the life-changing lesson she learned from Sir Richard Branson—whom she sees as a mentor—about thinking bigger and understanding the value of surrounding yourself with the right people. Kiri-Maree introduces her concept of Return on Decision—measuring decisions to ensure they are moving the business toward its goals, not away from them. The conversation dives deep into the difference between management (dictatorship within a broken, static construct) and leadership (mentoring and empowering others to shine their light). Kiri-Maree also explains her fascination with patterns and the crucial need to exercise the muscle of human intelligence to achieve peak performance, accelerate cultural impact, and gain a measurable ROD. Plus, hear the following discussions: Embrace New Approaches: We must adopt new approaches to leadership to change ineffective patterns and create new pathways to success. Exercise the Muscle of Human Intelligence (HI): Learning to exercise this muscle—gaining certainty in your truths and making smarter decisions—is the key to increasing peak performance and cultural impact. Demand a Measurable Return on Decision: Every decision, big or small, must be tracked to ensure it is adding to the mission, driving speed, curating capacity, and optimizing time and energy. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full show notes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e4-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KryM5LUpLo&pp=0gcJCSgKAYcqIYzv Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Keri Marie. It is so great to have you here. I’ve only known you for 11 years when I met your husband. I met you at a retreat out in California, which was just wonderful. And actually back in the corral again with you all. But I am very excited to talk to you about leadership today. what a great topic. Let’s get into it. And I’m so excited to be here. So thank you, Gail. It’s our pleasure. So I think leadership starts, quite frankly, when you are a mom, don’t you think? think anytime you make a decision and you’ve got people following you, I think that’s where leadership starts. And if you’re a mom, then that’s definitely a place in which it can start. I think for me, I mean, way before I was a mom, I was a leader in leading other people and taking them on a journey. And when did you start realizing that that’s what you were, a leader? Here’s the funny thing, and I think this is always funny when we talk about leadership. For a long time I did not want to think about leadership and being my name sort of being put into that pot as well. And the reason being is that I realized I didn’t really like leadership as a thought, as being a leader. What is a leader and what does that need to look like? It didn’t really look like a lot of fun and it definitely didn’t look like lots of good things happening there. I just served other humans and I just did that and people would go, you’re such a great leader. I can see leadership on your life. And it sort of always was this word that followed with me rather than I went, I see myself as a leader. I just love serving other humans and helping to see that together we bring change. And I think there was never ever a moment that I went, I’m a leader. There was a moment I walked away from leadership and said I don’t want to be involved in leadership and I had to come back and really own my place in leadership. But I don’t remember ever a moment saying, hey, all of a sudden I’m a leader. Was there some sort of a shift or something that happened that all of a sudden you said, my gosh, I am just fascinated with this topic. Yeah, I think what happened was, and you know me in the business world, I have always been fascinated with growth in the business world, but the thing that I saw that was not happening in the business world was leadership within it. I saw people wanting to build businesses, wanting to build companies, organizations, but they were ignoring this big thing called leadership. And I realized that was something that I was very passionate about. to see that we do way better and more effectively. And it was that that I went, am I gonna take up that mentor and go, yes, I’m gonna walk in and really own in the leadership space, am I seat at the table or am I just gonna complain that I don’t like where leadership is going? And I felt there was a responsibility once I had that moment to go, I’m gonna own this. I’m gonna really see what it is I don’t like, see what it is I love, and do more of that. Well, you’re the founder and CEO of Decision Velocity Global, and I’d love to know a little bit more about your mission and your vision of that. Thank you. I think the interesting part of it was I built originally what it looked like just like everyone else and meaning that it was a nice little business and kind of consulting in that way and realized that there was something else that I was doing but I wasn’t bringing it in my organization. And so I went back to the drawing board and we have evolved a lot in the last little while and I’m so excited at what we’re bringing out and what that looks like. But really it went back to, like you said, what is the mission? What is the drive behind it? And reality was, I created what I did because I wanted to see how can we help curate spaces in which humans really can have a greater voice. I was one of those kids that grew up that didn’t have a voice. I was in leadership. or under leadership that used it in the wrong way. I’ve been that person that has not had the seat at the table, pushed away, not looked like everyone else. And I realized that I wanted to curate spaces that everyone has the permission to be at the table. But how can we do that better? And what is that value that we bring? And if I can help people through looking at decisions. and looking at the way in which we make them and do that more aligned with actually the long-term success of where you want to go, then that’s been a great day and that’s what we do in all that we look at, we work through and we create in Decision Velocity Global. Great. Well, what are some of the things that you have seen as maybe the biggest mistakes that people make in trying to become a leader? my gosh, where do we start with that? Right? And I think, you know, it’s funny because it’s like, what is that mission? And I think, you know, with anything, it’s like, if you think about that, you asked me that with the decision velocity global, and there’s so many pieces to what I do and how I do it. literally we could spend hours and hours on what the mission is. And I think that’s the difference between someone that knows that this is where we are heading. And I always talk about setting your GPS to where you wanna go. And for me, that’s your global platform shift, right? Like what is that that you wanna stand for? What is that that you wanna head towards? What is that that you will get up every day and build whatever that is that you’re doing to be able to create, you know, curate the spaces to serve other humans and do it well. And I think that is one thing that I don’t see well done in leadership is people setting that GPS. You see, depending what the economic landscape’s doing, it changes, or depending what the next trend is, or, my goodness, now everyone is canceling us, we better not say this, let’s change that. That direction of what people are setting keeps shifting and it gets diluted, it goes into chaos and… I think that’s one of the biggest issues is that we are not setting it to where we know that’s what, and everyone’s individual to what that is and how you wanna play in that way, but we’re not standing strong on what that is. And then when we are setting it, we’re not in leadership, we’re not standing strong on what that is that you’re willing to stand strong no matter what. We need leadership to take ownership. And I’m seeing this less and less and less. And I get it. It’s a scary world sometimes. It’s hard. You have to, you know, I don’t know how kosher you are here, but like grow some balls is what I would say. Like you literally have to sometimes get back up and have this resilience that others don’t realize. it takes to stand strong tod...
Transcribe →Gut Instinct and Generational Growth (Margaret Donaldson & Courtney Heffron)
Dec 200:55:06Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby sits down with Margaret Donaldson, founder of Margaret Donaldson Interiors (MDI), and Courtney Heffron, MDI’s CFO, for an incredibly candid conversation. Margaret shares the story of starting her business 36 years ago and how, after running it “from the gut” for decades, she realized the firm’s growth—especially during COVID—had made the business bigger than her. Listen in as Margaret opens up about the difficult, but necessary, journey of shifting her mindset from boss to leader. She shares what prompted her to seek coaching—the need for an exit strategy and a desire to ensure MDI’s legacy and protect her employees. Courtney provides expert insight on when a design firm should hire a CFO and the strategic value that high-level financial expertise brings to decision-making. Margaret and Courtney reveal how embracing a leadership team and committing to a cultural pivot—moving from a control culture to a collaborative culture—required making hard choices, but resulted in massive growth, including a doubling of their net profit. This episode is a must-listen for any firm owner looking to build an A-plus team, invest in intentional growth, and create a “well-oiled machine” that can thrive beyond its founder. In this episode, you’ll learn: Margaret’s “divorce” from her original family business partnership that pushed her to start MDI. How a chance meeting (and a retiring bookkeeper) brought Courtney, with her public accounting and auditing background, into the role of MDI’s CFO. The surprising, quick results they achieved once Margaret stopped resisting and fully committed to the coaching process. The challenges of emotionally separating the business entity from Margaret’s personal identity to enhance business development. Margaret’s new skill of pausing and listening more before speaking, including a funny example of changing the “hit by the bus” scenario. Margaret’s creative business development secret: chasing every lead and following up with past satisfied clients—even if it means a surprise flight. Courtney’s perspective on overcoming imposter syndrome and the necessity of trial-and-error in business growth. Their strategy for building an A-plus team using the “ideal team player” framework, focusing on candidates who are humble, hungry, and smart. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e3-shownotes Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Welcome to the created genius podcast, Margaret and Courtney. It’s always a pleasure to work with you too. And I’m just excited to have you on the podcast today. You are absolutely one of my favorite clients because you are so coachable and is one of the things that has made it such a delight to work with you all and to see you progress over this last year and a half. And it’s hard to believe it’s just been a year and a half, but let’s start with how you got into business. Margaret, what was your goal when you started? Sure. Well, thank you for having us. It’s quite an honor. I appreciate that. So the goal when I started my business, it just sort of happened. was in design school in college. And then when I got out of college, I worked for an established designer for a few years. And then I formed a partnership with my aunt and she had a successful furniture store. And after several years there, I felt the need to break free of the restraints of her business model so that my design work could expand. And unfortunately, we kind of had a divorce, which was very hard since it was family. And it was the right thing to do, though. I was a little bit in a box where I was. And I officially started my business three weeks before my first child was born. And that’s when I started Margaret Donaldson interiors. Gosh, and you’ve been in business for how long now? think it’s 36 years, 36 years as Margaret Donaldson interiors. you know, I had I worked for someone else and then with my aunt for several years before that. I don’t want people to know how old I am. So wow. They don’t have to know. No problem. Well, it’s so interesting and it’s so interesting also that, and I’m going to go a little bit off of some of the questions I had for you, but I was thinking about for you to come to me at the point of your business that you did, it was really an interesting time to choose to do that because you’ve been running your business for a very, very long time. Right. But the business really got it got bigger than me and I realized I needed help. So I found Pearl at just the right time. It’s been great. Well, let’s start with also with how you two started working together and Courtney, share what you do with MDI. Yeah, so before joining MDI, I worked in public accounting as an auditor for several years, which gave me a good foundation and exposure to a lot of different businesses. And I actually got connected to Margaret through her son’s friend who I used to work with. this was around COVID and I was wanting a career change. And when I heard about the opportunity, I felt like it would be the perfect fit. It was honestly like a dream job for me. I’ve always loved interior design. even wanted to be a designer when I was younger, but I quickly realized that I don’t have that creative side and my strengths are definitely better suited on the business and financial side. So this role gave me really the best of both worlds where I get to be part of the creative industry that I genuinely love while focusing on the financial and operational side that I’m passionate about. I was initially hired as the controller and then that developed into the CFO role that I’m currently in. When I first joined MDI, we had a really smaller bookkeeping setup. And so my goal was to modernize and streamline things. During that time, we transitioned from QuickBooks to Studio Designer, moved everything digital, and that has really completely transformed how we manage the business. And so now today, my role touches on a little bit of everything from strategic planning, decision making, financial management and forecasting to client relations, new business opportunities. And then I also oversee the accounting, course, payroll, employee benefits, taxes, and et cetera. Essentially just helping ensure the business runs smoothly and continues to grow. She has a really big job. This is very big job. You’re a big company in our industry. And so for the level of work that you do, and maybe we should throw in here how many people you have on your team. Maybe you check. You do. But Courtney and I’ve been sort of back and forth on this, but we have decided that we have including myself. We are at 19 employees, full time employees. And then we have four 1099 contractors that we use in various capacities. So I guess we’re. Somewhere around 23. Sometimes it’s clearer than you think, and especially since it grew so organically for you. It’s interesting how all of a sudden you end up running a big team and you never anticipated that you’re going to do that. Exactly, it just happened and that’s when I knew I needed help. It was kind of like the perfect storm when COVID happened, business was booming actually for the interior design industry. And that’s around the time that I came on. And I felt like the growth really did happen very organically. And we just, as business was coming in, we made it work, hired more and improved the business as much as we could. And so it was actually during COVID that brought me to Courtney because we stayed home for six weeks. And then when I called everyone back to the office at that point, my bookkeeper, who had been with me for 22 years, decided that she didn’t want to come back and it was time for her to retire. So that very Friday, I was sitting on my dock with my son. and his friend, and I was just lamenting the fact that I don’t have a bookkeeper anymore, she’s leaving. And this is when my son’s friend was like, I might know somebody, and he starts texting, and that’s how it all came to be. So things happen for a reason. They do happen for a reason. I believe that. In fact, every time I’ve wanted to hire somebody, I just think about it and I start talking about it and I put a job description together and the person shows up. It’s so funny that it works that way. So I’m not surprised that worked for you. So I guess a question I have for you, Courtney, is when does it make sense to add somebody with your level of knowledge? Because not all firms hire a CFO. Yeah. And of course you’re a larger firm, so to me that makes sense, but is there a particular time or a particular incident? I think it really depends on a few factors, mainly the size and complexity of the business, especially as your firm grows, you have more projects, more employees, there’s more moving parts. I like the accounting side naturally becomes more involved at that point. And so that’s ...
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Scaling Success (Stephanie Kraus)
Nov 2500:34:01Tap to summarizeRunning a thriving design firm is often described as one of the hardest jobs out there. If that’s true, how does a successful designer not only manage the chaos but scale a business to attract the top one percent of clients and win industry awards? This week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby welcomes Stephanie Kraus, founder of Stephanie Kraus Designs, to share her remarkable story of transforming from a national magazine publisher to the head of an award-winning interior design firm. Stephanie reveals how she leveraged her original career’s organizational expertise to build a design business with consistent waitlists, making it one of the hardest—yet most rewarding—jobs she’s ever undertaken. Listen in as Stephanie discusses the evolution of her firm, which shifted its focus to handling full home gut renovations and custom homes while navigating the unpredictable challenges of the industry. She defines what it means to be a “fierce” but caring businesswoman, and explains how her philosophy of being a fast action taker ensures her employees feel protected and the business runs smoothly enough to scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: The key strategies Stephanie uses to attract and retain the top one percent of clients, often leading to multiple projects from the same high-level families. How her firm strategically uses AI tools like Midjourney to improve client visualization. Why her flexible, hybrid studio model is key to attracting top design talent. Three powerful, actionable takeaways for designers looking to grow their firms and achieve success. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14e2-shownotes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTaUo9OzC98 Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Stephanie. First, I’d love to start with your personal story. How did you get into design? Well, thank you, Gail. It’s great to be here. Great to see you again and hear your voice. Okay, I started my business about 13 years ago. And prior to that, I was a publisher for a magazine and in the medical field. So absolutely nothing to do with design at the time, but I’ve always loved design, fashion, style. I think it’s just in my DNA. So back in 2013, I don’t know if you remember this, but design blogs were the thing. And I devoured them while I was at home with my kids when my children were little. Because when I had my first child, I actually had to stop working as a publisher. Because when you’re a publisher for a magazine that’s national, you need to travel. So I had to take a break from that. because both myself and my husband were traveling nonstop and something had to give. So it’s sad to give up that part of my career, but it actually opened the door to another part of my life and a new career. When the kids were little, I did always know I wanted to go back to work and wanted to run my own business. publishing, believe it or not, was like running your own many company so i learned a lot about leadership and operations and i did want to open something for myself i felt like i definitely had that entrepreneurial bug and i combined that with my love and passion for design and i started my own company stephanie cross designs into the thousand thirteen specifically focusing on you know small projects and residential design And how I started was I started decorating my own home and started writing my own design blog, obviously with publishing as a background. I really liked to write and I thought I was pretty talented in that area. So I wrote my design blog, did my own house, and then things just took off. My first clients were friends and family, and then word of mouth spread and I haven’t stopped since. Busy and have had wait lists since the day we opened. That is amazing. So what was your original vision for the business? In the beginning, before I had any grand plans, I just wanted to run an organized company that had processes and procedures in place, just as when I was a publisher, we had a very organized process. And what I wanted to bring into it was more of the creative side and a creative aspect that helps people live beautifully and comfortably. I never imagined it would grow into what it is now, but I feel like doing consistently good work, caring deeply for my clients, being an ambassador for them, and actually a translator for them among the team that they work with when they’re building a house and designing a house for acting as a translator between the builders and architects and trades so that the client’s vision can be translated into their dream home with the whole team behind them. And has your vision changed? 12 years is not a terribly long period of time, but I have a feeling things have changed because obviously you got into this business coming from the publishing world and then you start this and it’s been very successful. So what has changed over time? When I first started the projects were a little smaller. Sometimes it was just furniture and other times it was a small gut renovation or you know kitchen renovation, bath renovation and the vision of the company now is we are focused mainly on full home, full home gut renovations and our whole focus is our clients working with clients who are family centered to create custom homes from concept to completion. And we feel like we’re really lucky to collaborate with incredibly talented architects and builders who help us translate each client’s dream into reality. Again, my vision for the company today is really concept to completion, helping a client. reach their dream home through not only beautiful aesthetics, but how they circulate and work through their home and flow through their home now and many years from now. We always like to take into consideration what stage they’re in in life. No small kids. How does that translate from small children to teenage years, to college years, to when they have grandkids and also encompass all of the family events that take place in these homes and create a beautiful backdrop for our clients. That’s great. Well, what are some of the biggest surprises along the way in running a design business? Because it’s totally different than publishing, I would think. designing, running an interior design firm and being an interior designer is probably the hardest job I’ve ever had. I think it’s the most detailed job and there are so many things that are out of our control. So I’ve worked in the publishing and the medical field and this is by far the hardest. The only thing we do control is our creativity and how we show up. So it took years to build a reliable team of vendors and trades, but once you have them, it’s gold. But it’s really hard not controlling the timing of the furniture, the damages that come with the furniture, the kitchen cabinetry that we designed, but we didn’t create, we didn’t fabricate. All of the things that encompass an interior design project that we rely on other people to fabricate, make, install to give the final product. And not having control over every aspect of that is very difficult. But what I’ve learned over the years is it’s really important to work with trusted architects, trusted trades, and trusted builders. So we’ve been really lucky. That’s great. Well, and I would describe you as a fierce businesswoman. Have you always been that way? I think so. Once I’m comfortable in a role or in a space, yes, I think I just like to set a goal and meet it. And you can’t know everything. So if I’m uncomfortable in a role, if I don’t know anything, I just lean in, keep learning, stay transparent with our clients and just do my best. Fierce doesn’t mean loud. It just means consistent, fair, decisive, and caring. I think that’s a great definition for fears and I think fierce is a good thing to go for. So and it’s a great model that you have. One of the things I noticed when we were at boardroom retreat just a few weeks ago, I watched you do something really interesting and it tells me a little bit about your work style. We had everybody take an assessment for their business and it was pretty long. And during this time you were. you were answering the questions, but you were also executing actions. And you told me about this later. And I thought, wow, that’s really fascinating. Because who would have thought that somebody would just immediately say, OK, well, I need to get into action on this and start executing in the middle of doing an assessment. So that is talking about fast action taking. Is that how you work normally? Yes, and I think that’s instinctive for me. I think that just comes naturally. I’ve always taken action. Trust me, I do procrastinate with things like unpacking my suitcase and doing laundry. But for achieving a goal, making sure that my company, my team, my employees are taken care of, that I just do my best t...
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Serendipity and Scale (Dwayne Bergmann and Kyle Barrett)
Nov 1800:50:34Tap to summarizeThis week on the Creative Genius Podcast, Gail Doby sits down with design power couple Dwayne Bergmann and Kyle Barrett to share their incredible, serendipitous love story, their unconventional paths to success in the design industry, and how they’ve partnered to build multiple successful businesses and a unique product line. Dwayne, the founder of Dwayne Bergmann Interiors, and Kyle, who previously ran his own successful design firm and is a licensed realtor, discuss the unexpected way they met in New Orleans, their diverse backgrounds—from decorating cakes and selling eggs as kids on ranches—to running a multi-million dollar organization with nearly 50 employees. They also dive deep into the inspiration and unique offerings of their joint product venture, Barrett Bergmann Home. Dwayne and Kyle shared the story of how a change in Dwayne’s travel schedule led to their serendipitous meeting and first late-night conversation at a wedding reception in New Orleans. They detailed their separate, yet similarly organic, entries into the design world: Dwayne started by decorating cakes as a child, then renovating and selling his own homes, which led to a feature in Gulf Shore Life magazine and the founding of Dwayne Bergmann Interiors. The couple also discussed how their shared past of growing up on ranches has recently influenced Dwayne’s creative work. They highlighted their successful joint venture, Barrett Bergmann Home, which features a line of unique, story-driven products like luxury bedding, fragrances, and a vanity program that allows designers to co-brand. Finally, Dwayne explained his strategic decision to grow his design business by acquiring Freestyle Interiors, a move that doubled his firm’s size and created time for him to focus on product development. Gail, Dwayne, and Kyle also discussed: Dwayne’s first wedding cake design. Kyle’s many businesses that he had when he started his firm. Dwayne’s renovation of his largest personal project. Dwayne’s adventure pulling his own permits. The ups and downs of the acquisition process. If you’re listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s14-e1-shownotes https://youtu.be/nux9m79jzXE Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome to the Creative Genius podcast, Wayne and Kyle. I am so excited to have you here and we’ve gotten a chance to get to know each other over the last year or so. And you’ve told me this wonderful personal story about how you two met and I’d love for you to share that. Dwayne, I’ll you take the lead. Sure. So I do think there is something serendipitous about the way that we met. Neither of us were looking for, I think, a long term relationship. I had come out of a very difficult divorce and Kyle was at the end of a four five year relationship himself. maybe not the best of times when you were looking at it going, okay, I’m ready to meet the person that I wanna be with the rest of my life. So just kind of behind the scenes that was individually happening. But on the serendipitous part, I was working in a project in New Orleans that I had been, it was a two year project and I was in month 18. of the project and I literally flew in once a month on a Tuesday same flight in the afternoon would get in land go check the project out quickly work all day Wednesday and take an early evening flight out of things like a six six o’clock flight on Wednesday. I always stayed at the same hotel. It was just like clockwork we just did this every month so this particular trip. My operations manager said, I don’t know what is going on in New Orleans. I can’t get you in anywhere. I can’t get you on a flight. So you’re going to fly in on a Thursday evening. You’re going to work all day Friday. Like you’re going to get in really late Thursday. So you’re not going to go to the project Thursday. You’re going to work all day Friday and you’re going to fly back on a 6 a.m. flight on Saturday because I can’t get you out any other time. OK, I mean, it is what it is. like an oh by the way you’re staying at a completely different hotel on a different part of town because that’s completely was like thirty five hundred dollars a night or something it was ridiculous so okay it is what it is so I fly in wait Friday morning waiting for my car to arrive and I’m outside of this hotel and Kyle comes up and I was just starting to make small talk you know what brings you to New Orleans. Because no, I’ve been in New Orleans enough at this point. Like no one is, it’s very transient. No one is just there visiting. Usually they’re doing something and usually it’s a convention or whatever. But he said, oh, I’m here working. said, oh, me too. You know, what do you do? And he said, oh, I’m here for an event that I’m working on. And I said, well, I’m a designer. working. He’s like, oh, well, I have a design firm as well. And so we just chit chatted for a little bit and I handed him my card and said, If you’re around later and like to get a drink, if I get back, I don’t fly out until tomorrow morning. Would love to hear about a little bit more about what you do and where you’re from and all that good stuff. he said, well, the event is a wedding that I’m doing for a really good friend of mine. And the wedding is this evening. So I doubt that I can meet you. It’s going to be a busy day. But why don’t you text me? Here’s my number. Why don’t you text me or give me a call around 10 o’clock tonight and I’ll know, you know, what, what, you know, if I’m going to be, if I’m going to be back at the hotel and we can, you know, maybe be late, late at the bar. So I text him at 10 and he said, I’m still at the reception. Why don’t you come over? And I was like, hell no. I am not crashing a wedding, period. That is not my style. One, I’m not dressed for a wedding. Two, I can’t imagine crashing a wedding. And three, I know no one there and I don’t know you. Like the other part was like, this is a kind of a risk. I just met you on the street, literally, this morning. That’s true, that I want to go to a wedding venue. reception it wasn’t the actual wedding so that was reception. So he convinced me to go. I ubered over to this venue and walk in and we talked for just a few minutes and he introduced me to the people that he was working with and then he said, hey, let’s go. Why don’t we sit over there? There’s a quiet corner. And we literally went off to this corner at the reception and sat at this table. And this is probably 1045 at this point. And around, I mean, we just started talking like this just nonstop back and forth. no, think we both lost track of time. And one of his workers came over and just ask a couple of questions. And she came back and he said, my goodness, we we’ve got it. We’ve got to go. I’ve got to help them get all of this torn down. We had been talking so directly and were so just engrossed with each other and the conversation they had completely. torn down the entire reception, had everything packed and it was two o’clock in the morning. And she’s like, no, everything is done. We just need to tell you that it’s time to go. We all need to leave. Everything is packed up. So he drove me back to the hotel, said good night. He went on his way and kind of left it at, okay, you’re in Texas, I’m in Florida, kids, you have businesses, I have businesses. Let’s try to… You we’ll try to keep in touch, but it was one of the things it’s like you’re really cool. I don’t know how this would ever work. next morning. I did. So I had so I didn’t really sleep. I had to get up at four. So I was you know, I sort of like got my stuff together and the airport so on the on the flight I was like at six maybe he did sleep so I texted him you know it was really nice meeting you and safe travels on your way back to Texas today and he started texting and we never stopped. That’s so cool. And how many years ago was that? Going on, it’ll be four in literally seven days. Oh wow. Well, congratulations. Thank you. And I’m glad that you just reminded me that it will be, it’s four days. I just made a calendar mark on that. It’s crazy. It’s been with our work, but it is funny. Let me, let me tell you one thing, Gail, that you already know about Dwayne Bergman. When he ever says I wasn’t dressed for something, he’s not being honest. He looked like he had walked out of, as my grandmother would say, a Spiegel catalog. And, and when we met, had on, working this event, ...
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