Trade Tales: Ask Us Anything — Live With Heather Fujikawa, Jean Stoffer & Grace Start

Podcast: Trade Tales, Business of Home
Host: Kaitlin Petersen
Guests: Jean Stoffer & Grace Start (Jean Stoffer Design and Stoffer Home), Heather Fujikawa (House Sprucing)
Date: November 26, 2025
Episode Theme: Nurturing creativity, building a collaborative firm culture, finding financial stability, setting meaningful goals, and defining personal success in interior design — all addressed in a candid, audience-driven live Q&A.

Episode Overview

Recorded live in Austin, Texas, this special “Ask Us Anything” episode brings together three top designers to field questions about the realities of running and growing a design business today. With honesty and humor, Jean Stoffer, her daughter Grace Start, and Heather Fujikawa tackle everything from building a healthy team culture to handling tricky conversations about money and navigating interstate projects. Audience questions prompt practical, actionable advice, making this a treasure trove for designers at every stage.

Fostering Collaboration & Healthy Team Culture

The Hiring Dilemma: How to Build a Collaborative Team

(02:23–16:33)

• Issue: Recruiting post-Covid is tough, especially finding team members interested in true collaboration, not just office attendance.

Key Insights

• Kindness & Company Culture (Heather):
  "They can be the most talented person in the world. But those long term players, team players are kind, they're just kind-hearted people." – Heather Fujikawa (04:18)

  • Multiple interviews and team-wide approval are required; candidates are asked to agree to a team mantra centered on proactivity and kindness.
  • Gut feeling plays a role in the final hiring decision.

• No Gossip, Model Positivity (Jean):
  "We’ve had to have a couple huddles where this is how we talk about people. These are our clients... We respect them, and it makes a huge difference." – Jean Stoffer (06:27)

  • Senior designers must redirect negative conversations, fostering respect for clients and vendors alike.

• Trust, Empowerment & Collaboration in Practice (Grace):
  "The trust goes a long way... Sometimes it’s hard when your name is on the brand to hand that off. But the trust goes a long way." – Grace Start (07:49)

  • Everyday collaboration is modeled from the top, with leaders actively seeking input on design decisions.

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Letting Team Members Fly (Heather):
  "Sometimes 80% of what you would do is enough. You've got to trust them... If you are too much editing on them, they're just not. It's going to stifle their creativity." – Heather Fujikawa (08:57)

  • Allowing space for designers’ individuality grows both the team and the firm's aesthetic.

• Providing Affirmation (Grace):
  "Words of affirmation... really go a long way to telling the people that work with you that you appreciate them so much." – Grace Start (11:23)

Effective Hiring Strategies

• Always be recruiting, even if not actively hiring — talent often appears before the exact role exists. (Heather, 12:15)
• Best results come from promoting internally or team referrals, not public job postings. (Jean, 13:33)
• Tapping personal and extended networks, not just industry contacts, leads to higher-quality hires. (Grace, 15:19)

Navigating Money Conversations With Clients

Handling Price Changes & Sensitive Financial Talks

(16:33–26:29)

• Big Challenge: How to address rapidly rising costs, set expectations, and remove emotion from financial discussions.

Key Insights

• Price Quotes & Contracts:

  • Strictly limit price guarantees (typically 30 days or set a specific expiration date).
  • Communicate price changes early, often, and across multiple channels. (Jean, 17:37)
  • Add a percentage cushion to account for market fluctuations. (Grace, 18:46)

• Setting the Tone:

  • Maintain an analytical, not emotional, stance.
    "If we bring emotion into it, they're going to receive emotion. If we bring analysis... [it] stays at that level." – Jean Stoffer (23:54)
  • Never project your own financial values on the client's purchases. (Heather, 24:18)

• Empowering Clients:

  • Encourage decisiveness to avoid price increases and design fatigue.
    "We're trying to be decisive as quick as possible... if we're drawing these decisions out, we're giving them decision fatigue." – Heather Fujikawa (20:11)

• Budgeting Conversations:

  • Avoid quoting fixed costs early.
  • Provide ballpark ranges based on historical data and project categories, but transparently note their limitations.
    "We never answer that question. We do not know." – Grace Start (21:50)

• Value Engineering & Options:

  • Present both premium and cost-saving alternatives; letting clients choose strengthens trust.
    "Show them what might have been the first choice, but a second choice that's so good, that's so much less." – Jean Stoffer (25:31)

Memorable Quotes

• "A lot of clients... ask, 'How much do you think this is going to cost?' And we never answer that question. We do not know." – Grace Start (21:50)
• "There’s no such thing as a design emergency." – Grace Start (43:12)

Successfully Managing Out-of-State Projects

Growing Beyond Your Local Market

(27:39–38:12)

• The Challenge: Scaling design across multiple states while maintaining quality and client satisfaction.

Key Insights

• Realistic Expectations:

  • Out-of-state projects are possible but require meticulous organization and come with sacrifices (photographing finished work can be challenging, travel is time-consuming). (Grace, 28:44)
  • Weekly Zooms, detailed spreadsheets, and documentation are essential. (Jean & Grace, 29:44–30:28)

• The Right Local Partners:

  • Success hinges on clients and contractors being proactive, communicative, and hands-on.
  • Don't hesitate to hire local help for specific tasks (e.g., window treatments) and tap into the design community for vendor recommendations. (Heather, 33:41)

• Set Expectations Upfront:

  • Contracts must state availability via video and remote communication; clarify what is—and is not—included in your travel.
    "We say in our contract that we're available via FaceTime, email, Zoom, and if necessary on site." – Jean Stoffer (37:13)
  • Encourage clients to visit your showroom for major decisions if logistics allow. (Heather, 37:28)

• Cultural & Personal Fit:

  • Consider your life stage and firm values—frequent travel may not align with all teams. (Heather, 32:12)

Pro Tips

• "First time you ever go physically and meet the contractor, dress like you're going to a job site, not an event." – Jean Stoffer (35:29)
• Label remote work as "virtual clients" to help set boundaries and expectations. (Heather, 36:53)

Audience Q&A: Handling the Unexpected and Firm Foundations

Managing Uncontrollables & Client Expectations

(41:11–45:46)

• Proactively Addressing Delays & Problems:
  • Frame “things that could go wrong” within a broader “How We Work” document, emphasizing process, communication, and solutions over just risks. (Moderator & Heather, 43:59–44:53)
  • In-person walkthroughs of contracts and welcome packets foster rapport and trust. (Jean & Grace, 45:07–45:19)
  • Comprehensive client questionnaires as part of onboarding signal care and thoroughness. (Grace, 45:19)

Building a Family Business

(38:24–41:11)

• Grace joined Jean’s business as a career-changer, adding new skills and perspective, which enhanced design offerings and firm growth.
  • "She kind of helped bring my design a little bit more modernity, and I would bring to her the... traditional aspects of design... it has been really wonderful working with her." – Jean Stoffer (40:30)

Final Pieces of Advice

(46:38–48:08)

• Heather Fujikawa:
  "Find joy in the journey... there’s so much joy in chaos and trial and beauty and happy moments." (46:38)

• Jean Stoffer:
  "Never pursue something unless you could absorb its total loss and still be okay... it makes pursuing things a lot less stressful." (47:04)

• Grace Start:
  "The golden rule. Treat others how you want to be treated... If everybody followed the golden rule... that goes into work too." (47:47)

Notable Timestamps

• 02:23 – Advice for hiring and building collaboration post-Covid
• 04:02–06:27 – Key qualities to look for in team members; the centrality of kindness
• 13:33 – Best and worst hiring strategies for a design firm
• 17:01 – Addressing price increases and contracts with clients
• 23:54 – Dealing with money talks professionally, not emotionally
• 28:02 – Preparing to scale out-of-state design work
• 29:44 – The logistics and documentation for remote projects
• 32:12 – Balancing travel with life and work
• 43:12 – No such thing as a design emergency
• 46:38 – Parting wisdom and guiding principles

The tone throughout is candid, supportive, and practical—with plenty of humor and real-world details. The episode offers designers a deep bench of actionable advice on firm culture, money, hiring, and the growing pains of expansion.