How acquiring another design firm helped Dwayne Bergmann get back in touch with his creativity

Summary

Trade Tales: How Acquiring Another Design Firm Helped Duane Bergman Get Back in Touch with His Creativity

Episode Release Date: August 13, 2025
Host: Kaitlin Petersen, Editor-in-Chief of Business of Home

In this insightful episode of Trade Tales, Kaitlin Petersen delves into the transformative journey of Duane Bergman, an interior designer whose strategic acquisition of another design firm reignited his creative passion and streamlined his business operations. This comprehensive summary captures the essence of Duane’s experiences, strategies, and the lessons he imparted on nurturing creativity while sustaining business growth.

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1. Duane Bergman's Journey: From Equestrian to Entrepreneur

Duane Bergman begins by sharing his unique background in the competitive equestrian world, highlighting the skills and mindset that laid the foundation for his entrepreneurial success.

[00:02] Duane Bergman:
"If you can spend 90% of your productive time doing things that really align with who you are, what you love to do, and what makes you intrinsically happy, then I've always found that the teams are much more successful. And that means your group is much more successful and your business is much more successful."

Duane recounts his transition from a professional equestrian to the design industry, emphasizing how his early experiences shaped his approach to business and leadership.

[03:49] Duane Bergman:
"I decided, you know what, I want a little bit of a different lifestyle than being a professional equestrian for the rest of my life."

2. Founding Duane Bergman Interiors (DBI): Turning Passion into Profession

The turning point in Duane’s career came after flipping a home that garnered attention in Gulf Shore Life magazine, leading him to explore interior design professionally.

[04:05] Duane Bergman:
"... when the article came out, I started getting phone calls for design. My partner at the time encouraged me to just take a client on. He's like, you know, you've had all these phone calls, why don't you pick one and see if you can do it in your spare time."

By 2013, Duane had left his corporate role at Home Depot to launch DBI, embarking on a path that would soon see rapid growth and the need for strategic team building.

3. Building the Team: Hiring for Strengths and Specializations

Duane emphasizes the importance of focusing on individual strengths within his team to foster both personal satisfaction and collective success.

[09:24] Duane Bergman:
"So that's one of the gifts that I would say I learned through my business education as well as working in corporate America was to understand what your strengths are."

Duane details his initial hires, focusing on complementary skills such as soft goods specialization and CAD drafting, ensuring each team member contributed uniquely to the firm's capabilities.

4. The Creative Shift: Returning to Passionate Design Work

As DBI expanded, Duane found himself increasingly managing rather than creating, leading to a period of dissatisfaction with his supervisory role.

[14:12] Duane Bergman:
"Absolutely."

This introspection prompted Duane to seek ways to reclaim his creative focus, ultimately leading to the strategic acquisition that would redefine his professional landscape.

5. Strategic Acquisition: Integrating Freestyle Interiors

In January 2023, Duane announced the acquisition of Freestyle Interiors, a move that allowed him to bifurcate his business operations and focus more intensely on creative endeavors.

[22:17] Duane Bergman:
"So the strategy was, was very clear for me. I wanted to have two brands that served the market."

The acquisition facilitated a clear division where Freestyle handled the bulk of operational tasks, enabling Duane to concentrate on high-level design projects under the DBI brand.

6. Operational Excellence: Structuring DBI and Freestyle

Duane outlines the organizational structure post-acquisition, highlighting how both firms operate synergistically while maintaining distinct brand identities.

[24:05] Duane Bergman:
"So I have two interior designers that have architectural and drafting backgrounds. So they work very closely with me on the construction and background side."

By sharing operational teams, DBI and Freestyle benefit from streamlined processes and enhanced efficiency, allowing each brand to thrive independently while supporting each other.

7. Flexible Billing Models: Tailoring to Project Needs

Duane discusses the importance of adaptable billing strategies to accommodate different project types, ensuring transparency and client satisfaction.

[36:44] Duane Bergman:
"So we experimented with multiple ways of presenting our value to clients, and over time, we settled in on with a new construction client."

DBI employs a combination of fixed fees for new construction, hourly billing for remodels, and proposal-based pricing for smaller projects, each tailored to the specific demands and uncertainties inherent in different types of work.

8. Enhancing Client Communication: The Power of 3D Renderings

A pivotal aspect of DBI’s client engagement strategy is the use of photorealistic 3D renderings, which revolutionize how design concepts are presented and approved.

[32:00] Duane Bergman:
"So we brought our 3D rendering specialist on board. Goodness. I think 2019. He's been with us for several years."

These renderings have significantly improved client understanding and approval rates, reducing the time and resources spent on redesigns and fostering smoother project executions.

9. Expanding Horizons: Duane’s Business Ventures Beyond DBI

Duane has strategically diversified his business portfolio to include ventures like Unique Slabs and Barrett Bergman Home, ensuring vertical integration and unique product offerings.

[52:40] Duane Bergman:
"As my business developed, I quickly identified some vertical opportunities within the business."

These ventures not only support DBI’s core operations but also position Duane as a multifaceted leader in the design industry, addressing market gaps and enhancing the firm’s competitive edge.

10. Advice for Aspiring Designers: Navigating Product Development

Duane offers valuable insights for designers looking to bring new products to market, emphasizing the importance of resource allocation and realistic expectations.

[58:24] Duane Bergman:
"There is a lot more to it than, you know, this whole sexy idea of. Hey, oh, oh. I've got this amazing idea to combine these, you know, ingredients to make this scent."

He underscores the necessity of thorough planning, legal compliance, and sustained dedication to successfully launch and maintain new product lines.

11. Future Directions: Focus on Execution and Excellence

Looking ahead, Duane envisions a future where DBI and its affiliates continue to execute at the highest levels, prioritizing quality, efficiency, and client satisfaction over expansion.

[60:01] Duane Bergman:
"So as I review 2025 and go into 2026, the future from my perspective is rewarding."

He plans to concentrate on refining existing operations, enhancing product offerings, and fostering strong client and trade relationships, setting the stage for sustained success and industry influence.

12. Defining Success: Beyond Financial Metrics

For Duane, success transcends financial achievements, encompassing the quality of delivered products, team satisfaction, and the firm’s reputation within the industry.

[64:27] Duane Bergman:
"For me, it's really about the product that we're able to deliver, the people that are involved delivering that product, and the reputation that we're still trying to build within, within the industry."

He emphasizes the intrinsic rewards of creating meaningful designs, building a cohesive team, and contributing positively to the design community.

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Conclusion

Duane Bergman’s story, as shared on Trade Tales, is a testament to the power of strategic decision-making and the importance of aligning business operations with personal passions. By acquiring Freestyle Interiors, Duane not only streamlined his business but also reclaimed his creative essence, setting a powerful example for interior designers and entrepreneurs alike. His holistic approach to team building, client communication, and business diversification offers valuable lessons for those navigating the complexities of growing a design firm.

For more insights and stories like Duane’s, subscribe to Trade Tales and stay connected with the latest in the design industry through Business of Home.

Transcript

[Duane Bergman]

If you can spend 90% of your productive time doing things that really align with who you are, what you love to do, and what makes you intrinsically happy, then I've always found that the teams are much more successful. And that means your group is much more successful and your business is much more successful.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Hi, I'm Caitlin Peterson, the editor in chief of Business of Home. Welcome to Trade Tale, where I'll be talking to interior designers about the challenges, pivots, and perspective shifts that come with growing a design firm.

[Unnamed Designer]

My hope is that you hear your.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Own why echoed in these stories, or.

[Unnamed Designer]

An idea, or a way of doing.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Business that sparks your own breakthrough. I hope it helps you realize that even when entrepreneurship feels lonely, you're not alone. My guest today is a designer whose multifaceted approach to business growth has included everything from repping cabinet lines and co founding a slab importing company to acquiring another Florida designers firm.

[Unnamed Designer]

He shares how, despite his passion for.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Expansion, he now finds himself more in the weeds than ever when it comes to creative work.

[Unnamed Designer]

I can't wait to share it with.

[Caitlin Peterson]

You, but first, a quick word from our sponsor. This podcast is sponsored by June Laloy. You likely already know Laloy, a prominent name in the design world known for rugs. Now meet its sister brand, June Laloy, a total home furnishings destination that expands on Laloy's expertise, adding furniture, lighting, decor, and of course, more rugs. If you know Laloy, you know their collection leads with quality, craft and great design, and June Laloy follows suit. With June Laloy's trade program, designers receive exclusive pricing priority, customer support, and a seamless online sourcing experience. Visit June Malloy today to explore the collection and sign up for a trade account. That's J-O-O-N L O L O I.com.

[Duane Bergman]

I grew up in an extremely small town called Paris, Missouri. I was so focused on riding horses and pushing the competitive side of the equine world. I started writing when I was 2, I started 4H when I was probably 9, 10, 11. But I really started more regionally competing when I was 14, 15. I turned pro after I turned 18, before I turned 19. At that point I was riding nationally. I was showing all over the country from 19 till 2122.

[Caitlin Peterson]

That's Duane Bergman. What he learned in the equestrian world would set him up for success even as his dreams for the future began to take a different shape.

[Duane Bergman]

It was really my first exposure to okay, there's a lot of very interesting people coming from various walks of life, but I found it fascinating And I, you know, I spoke to a lot of people. I found out where they came from, what they did, how they got to, where they were. I think that did shape a lot of my initial ideas and concepts for being an entrepreneur and having that drive and focus that's required to be successful. But after the initial excitement wore off, I started to look around and didn't love what I saw as far as, you know, longevity within the industry. I decided, you know what, I want a little bit of a different lifestyle than being a professional equestrian for the rest of my life.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Duane had moved to Florida to ride and he stayed there as he went on to earn his business degree and then take a corporate role at Home Depot. Before long, he began flipping homes as a hobby and eventually took on a fixer upper that would transform his career.

[Duane Bergman]

In 2009, I bought a 4400, 4500 square foot property and started about a 12 month renovation. I mean, this house had pink carpet, a sunken round tub in the middle of a mirrored closet bathroom. So it was just the whole house was really bad. I turned that property around into this sort of relaxed, industrial, modern. We were involved in several charity organizations at that point and we hosted an event and the individual who owned Gulf Shore Life at the time attended as a guest with someone we had invited to the charity event. A day or two later, I got a phone call and said, you know, we're launching a new magazine called At Home. It's an annual edition. We would love to feature your house. When the article came out, I started getting phone calls for design. My partner at the time encouraged me to just take a client on. He's like, you know, you've had all these phone calls, why don't you pick one and see if you can do it in your spare time. So I did. I had a client kind of set myself up for if I could handle this and make it a success, then maybe I could do this as a profession.

[Caitlin Peterson]

In 2013, Dwayne left his corporate role for good and launched his firm with a healthy pipeline of future projects.

[Unnamed Designer]

I wanted to talk to him about.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Why his firm uses different billing models depending on the project type, how opening a storefront took his business to the next level, and why he doesn't ever discuss markups with clients.

[Unnamed Designer]

So you launched the firm, you have all these projects lined up. What was your initial vision for the business at that time?

[Duane Bergman]

It's like, if I can work out of my loft and make money, a little bit of money, like, you know, life will be good. Because I had a huge corporate job, was very, very, very stressful.

[Unnamed Designer]

This felt like taking your foot off the gas.

[Duane Bergman]

Then it did. It felt like, okay, you know what? This could, you really could enjoy this. So it was more about, you know, pure enjoyment. And my vision was, this could be fun. If it's ever more than myself and someone helping me, great. That will be all it needs to be.

[Unnamed Designer]

How long did that last and what kind of team do you have today?

[Duane Bergman]

It didn't even last six months.

[Unnamed Designer]

Okay.

[Duane Bergman]

So I hired my first associate. She was a design professional. She had worked with one of the furniture companies here and was my contact when I was buying furniture for these, you know, for these other projects. And I just really, I loved her feedback and her promptness and timeliness and she was just fantastic. So I took her out to lunch and said, hey, wild idea. I have no idea what I'm doing. I know you've got a secure job and you've been doing this for a while, but would you like to take a gamble and come to work for me? And she said yes. So we had an amazing ride together. She retired from my firm a year ago. So I started off with. Her name was Mary. Mary. And I started off hired number the second employee probably in August.

[Unnamed Designer]

Wow, you were ramping up fast.

[Duane Bergman]

Well, you know What? Because those eight projects turned into like 12. And then by 2014, so Julie, who is my current chief operating officer, started working with me at night. She was running a title, a title company in a real estate office. And she's like, I only have time to help you in the evening. So she would come and help me with my bookkeeping and my client communication and contracts and POs and all those things in the evenings. And we would work from 7:30, 8 o' clock at night till 1 o' clock in the morning.

[Unnamed Designer]

Oh my God.

[Duane Bergman]

Then she would, she would leave, go home and you know, I would get back up at 5:30 to be ready for, you know, job sites and meeting with contractors at 6:30 in the morning. So we, at that point though, when she came on board, we had. There were six of us, so five other people and myself. So we had a team of six as early as February of 2014, which I also have to throw in. My twins were born February 22nd of 2014. Starting date was I think February 25th of 2014.

[Unnamed Designer]

Did you like, when did you kind of like look up and think, like, what have I done?

[Duane Bergman]

When I found out we were going to have twins? Yeah, okay, what the heck am I going to do because I left my, you know, my regular, I was again air quoting here, regular job and I've started this new career and it's super exciting and now we're having babies and I moved into a different house that I was presented an offer that I couldn't refuse. And again, I wasn't planning on having kids at that point. So it was a lot of moving parts and pieces the first year. I wouldn't recommend it. I was giving someone coaching. I would not recommend that. You have all of these life changing events all in the first year of your new business.

[Unnamed Designer]

What were you hiring for at the time and how did you think about who you needed and what skills you needed to surround yourself with to be successful at the beginning?

[Duane Bergman]

So that's one of the gifts that I would say I learned through my business education as well as working in corporate America was to understand what your strengths are. And at that point I had been through so much leadership training and analysis. Like I could go back and pull those files, but I mean, like I've been tested every way imaginable. So I knew what I was good at and I knew what I wasn't good at. I also knew what I liked to do and what I didn't like to do. So as a previous leader, when I was working with teams and I had some very large teams and very high level individuals I worked with, I always focused on what are your strengths? If you can do 90% of your time is focused on your strengths, you're always going to be happy then. I've always found that the teams are much more successful and that means your group is much more successful than your business is much more successful. So I knew what I didn't either like to do or I didn't have the skill set or the knowledge to do. So that's why my first hire really was Mary. Mary's whole specialty was in soft goods and window treatments, not construction. I knew construction, I knew construction materials, but I had no idea how to draw a window treatment or how to make those things work at the time. I was like, oh my goodness, how do we get this window treatment design to, you know, the workroom and getting it fabricated properly and get it hung the way we want it. So that was her specialty. So I immediately knew, okay, I need to hire, I need to hire someone who was totally focused on soft goods, which was, was Mary. The second person I hired was a draftsman. I, you know, wasn't trained in autocad. I could sketch, but you know, trying to sketch for three or four projects is one thing. Trying to sketch concepts for 12 projects or 13 projects is a whole different animal. So, you know, I quickly knew that I. Okay, I'm going to need. I'm going to need a CAD draftsman, a CAD CAD designer. So hired just a general assistant. We needed someone that could process POS and do general order tracking and order placement. And then Julie, when she came, well, I needed someone who was very operationally focused because I didn't that I have to spend all of my time doing the behind the scenes work necessary to keep a business organized and clients very happy with. Okay, your bills are all very well presented and you have all the documentation and we're timely with our work orders and things of that nature. So that's where Julie came on board. But long answer to, to your question, the simple answer is I hired all the skill sets that I knew I wasn't great at or didn't have the time or energy to focus on during those first two years. I didn't hire anyone with a duplicate.

[Unnamed Designer]

Skill set at the time. What was that 90% for you? You said if you can spend 90% of your time doing the stuff that you love, that you're good at that zone of genius kind of. What area did you carve out for yourself in the beginning?

[Duane Bergman]

I mean, the official role now would be. I think most people would recognize it as being a creative director and a visionary. I mean, that's what I love. I love being able to go in either whether it's new construction or remodel work. And the majority of my work at the time was in remodel environments. But to go in and to be able to see walls, like just walk through a project and be able to see walls removed or changed or floor plans changed and just what something could look like. I always called it I reimagine the space and I would go through and reimagine the space and work out those details in my mind first and then, you know, create the tools necessary to present those concepts to the clients.

[Unnamed Designer]

How different is your focus today? How has that evolved today?

[Duane Bergman]

I'm very happy to say I'm right back in where the majority of my time is spent on the creative side. I did, I would say there's probably a period of five to six years in our business growth where I became a creative director looking at everybody else's work, not actually doing the creative work myself. I was providing direction and making tweaks and adjustments versus creating the concept and the vision myself and then asking others to follow through with that execution.

[Unnamed Designer]

Did you find at a certain point that you were sort of dissatisfied with that supervising role?

[Duane Bergman]

Absolutely.

[Unnamed Designer]

How did you get there? Did you think that was something you wanted and what made you realize that you needed to make a change?

[Duane Bergman]

So it organically occurred once I hired my first senior interior designer that had a similar skill set to what I had. So we got. It got to the point where I couldn't take on any more projects and we had demand for, for additional work. So I started hiring professional designers and we didn't go out and recruit for them. And that was the other thing. That's why I say it was organic. I haven't spent very much time, effort and energy on job placements and going out and recruiting talent. We were very blessed that all of the design talent that came in until probably 2022. I think 2022 is the first time I said, you know what, I want to put a large search out to see what additional talent is out there. But up until that point, every single person that came on board had reached out to us directly saying, hey, we've seen your work. Either we're relocating or we're in southwest Florida and we would love to work with your firm. So as I would be presented with someone that I thought was qualified, even if I didn't have, you know, five projects lined up to hand over to them, I would bring someone on board. And that's why they sort of organically grew. And then because of just wanting to make sure I understood what they were doing and the designs that were going out and the interactions with clients, it also slowly evolved where I could spend less and less time working on projects versus being in the meetings presenting to clients with the senior designers and then behind the scenes providing that direction and advice on the concepts that they were creating. So it just sort of looked up and then it was probably two or three years into that going, wow, I've really sketched three things this year. And I can't believe I've been this whole year and I've three rooms that I've actually sketched out. And that's where I started to just take a little bit of a high level review of my business and what I really enjoyed, what I didn't enjoy and said, okay, you know, we have one or two things that we can do. We either need to get really, really big or figure out a different approach. So that was probably one of the pivotal, you know, the pivotal moments that started that occurred in kind of 20 was as post Covid so 2021, that timeframe, 2021 into 2022.

[Unnamed Designer]

Well, I know in 2023 you made an acquisition. Was that related to that sort of soul searching about what you wanted your role to be?

[Duane Bergman]

Yes, absolutely. So the acquisition was announced in January of 2023, closed on the acquisition in December of 20, like the end of the 2022. So there was a whole year of prep. The conversations actually started in 2021. All of 2022 was spent doing the due diligence and the back and forth and, you know, making sure that the details were going to work out.

[Unnamed Designer]

I want to set the stage before we kind of talk about what that acquisition meant for your firm. Can you sort of paint a picture of what your business looked like in 2021?

[Duane Bergman]

Sure. So in 2021, 2022, I had, I'd say roughly 25 employees. We managed to, at the time we had 75 projects. And the challenge of having a firm named after yourself or a firm in your own name is that all 75 of those clients want some of your attention. They want to know that you're involved, that you know the details. And it's just extremely difficult to do at that level.

[Unnamed Designer]

How had you been thinking about growth up until 2021? 2022?

[Duane Bergman]

I think the biggest thing that happened was in 2015 we knew that we needed a showroom, a larger space to work out of. And so I, I initially leased the suite one where of the building that we're in currently and we, we launched our little showroom here in 2016. So I knew that that was going to change the trajectory of our business.

[Unnamed Designer]

Just like being on the street, being more visible or.

[Duane Bergman]

Yes. And having, you know, having our own brick and mortar building. We, we had been involved in kitchen and bath design prior to that as well. And we put in some really beautiful kitchen displays. We, we were cinematic wood mode and art craft dealers. So we, we put in some really beautiful kitchen displays. And, and, and honestly that did change the trajectory because prior to then, you know, working out of either a shared space and previous to that, I mean I was working out of my. We had transitioned a garage into an air conditioned space. So I always look back, we laugh. There were seven of us that worked in my air conditioned garage for. But it's very difficult to say or I found it difficult for someone to have the confidence to hand over a 3 or 4 or $500,000 check for a kitchen down payment to someone who's working in their garage. So we would just do business a little Bit differently once we moved into this space and our showroom. Initially it was really beautiful for Fort Myers. It's not a New York or Chicago showroom, but it was nice and fresh for this market and things changed immediately. I mean, there was no hesitation for someone to like, oh wow, this is what you guys look like. This is what your product looks like. You know, I would request, you know, a deposit instead of maybe 50% for 70% of the time for a kitchen and nobody even blinked an eye. So I think having the brick and mortar just facilitated one, a level of confidence and two, just this ease of working, you know, working with us from our clients, we were able to show them much, much more of our product as real scaled up size, you know, demos. And it really helped, it helped us grow. And I mean from 2016 to 2022, I mean we just experienced amazing growth.

[Unnamed Designer]

I wanted to go back to go back to 2021. You realize you haven't sketched anything or you've sketched three things that year. How did that soul searching prompt some of your next moves and conversations?

[Duane Bergman]

So I definitely realized having my firm as a named firm, that I had to make a decision to either bring someone else into the firm to manage the designers. Ultimately what happened was this acquisition or to, to move in a different direction with a non named design firm or three, just to scale back entirely. So it was in that kind of crossroads process when I was looking, I reached out, I was looking at an acquisition on the east coast of Florida and the owner of Freestyle Interiors contacted me and just struck up a conversation. And one of the questions was, you know, have you ever thought about expanding? And I was like, you know, well, believe it or not, I'm in the middle of thinking about that right now. And that's really what led to the strategic change that occurred in 2022, 2023.

[Unnamed Designer]

What was the goal with that acquisition? What did acquiring a Freestyle mean for Dwayne Bergman Interiors?

[Duane Bergman]

So the, the strategy was, was very clear for me. I wanted to have two brands that served the market. The Freestyle brand would allow a designer base to be created. So we have really talented designers and now they're all allowed to work under the Freestyle brand as, you know, their own independent designer. And they get to, to reap the benefit of having our entire logistics and operations and buying power behind them, but yet they have the direct interaction with the client. They create their design concepts and then they have faith in myself to just lean on for additional support and, you know, help drive the business. That enabled on The Duane Bergman side to, for me to move over the designers that I had from my staff into the Freestyle environment. It also allowed us to refer a significant amount of project inquiries that came through our firm to the Freestyle organization. And now I am solely focused on just the specific level and type of project that, you know, I believe is aligned with the Duane Bergman brand. And so I'm now fully engaged on the creative side. I work directly with my clients and back into that very passionate mode where I'm extremely involved with developing concepts, picking out the exact finishes that end up in the project, the furnishings, lighting, art, accessories, the entire scope for a project. And I love it.

[Unnamed Designer]

What does your support staff look like at DBI today?

[Duane Bergman]

So I have two, two interior designers that have architectural and drafting backgrounds. So they work very closely with me on the construction and background side. And all of our drawings we create in house. And then I have a full time 3D renderer that takes all of our concepts and makes those into photorealistic renderings that we present to our clients for approvals and changes. And then we have a project manager who does all of our inputs and helps build the PowerPoints and selections and specification sheets and. And kind of the day to day work that needs to be done. And then I do have a cabinet design team as well. We're still very involved in kitchen and bath design. So have three individuals that are solely dedicated to millwork and cabinetry.

[Unnamed Designer]

And then is the bookkeeping, logistics, like accounting. All of that is shared with Freestyle.

[Duane Bergman]

Correct. So the operations team is completely shared now.

[Caitlin Peterson]

And can you tell me about the Freestyle business?

[Unnamed Designer]

How big is that and what is, what are the. What does the team look like? There's.

[Duane Bergman]

So we have 26, I believe 26 employees on the Freestyle side, not including the shared or accountants and operational teams.

[Unnamed Designer]

But like the design team is 26.

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah, we have. So we have 26 individuals focused on just design and customer care for. For that. For that team. And we have between 75 and 100 active projects going on at a time with that firm. And you know, and I am peripheral at this point, that will ultimately change over time. But right now with the plan that we had put into place after the acquisition is working exactly as planned and they are doing a fantastic job and I love being a part of it. At the same time, I love the fact that, you know, they're continuing a business as planned when I acquire them.

[Unnamed Designer]

You know, you said you have these 15 jobs now that you can be really intimately involved in. What were you looking for as you said yes to those projects, like what makes for the right client or the right project for you today?

[Duane Bergman]

Sure. So they, they really have to fit kind of a small checklist. So there needs to be a scale to the, to the project. I certainly can do, you know, small baths and you know, dining room or bedroom. But the way that we like to get into the details, it's just more aligned for a larger scale renovation or new construction. And that I think is where I love to spend my time. So I love, you know, again, if it's a remodel to reimagine the entire space and not just one area. And then certainly on new construction, you know, getting involved with the floor plan review and making modifications with the architects before, you know, anything is going into the permitting stage and then coming up with all of the design concepts that are going to, to be envisioned throughout the house. So I want to, I want to scale. So first off, the size and scale of the project is important. Second, it's honestly chemistry. Do I really think the clients and myself will have a meaningful relationship? Because the majority of our projects go from 24 to 48 months. So we're in a long term relationship. So chemistry is extremely important. And then third is, it's an extension of the chemistry side, but it's. What are they looking for in terms of, of their design professional. Is this more of a. I have all the ideas that I've saved in Pinterest and I just want you to make them a reality. Or you know, we're, we, we know what we like stylistically or we want you to help us understand stylistically, but we really want to lean on you for the creative vision. And the latter is, is the project that I will take if someone is walking in and they, they have a hundred photos already in their, on Pinterest, Instagram house, whatever format they're using and they're like, this is exactly what I want here, here and here and just, you know, kind of just make it happen. We usually refer those and push those on to our Freestyle team. And, and I just, you know, I just know that that's not the right client for, for dbi.

[Unnamed Designer]

What does that flow of projects from DBI to Freestyle look like?

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah, it's really smooth. So. And kind of as I was explaining it sounds a little bit more elaborate. Like we've spent a significant amount of time we, we know within the first hour of, of speaking with them over the phone how we're going to present the opportunity to work with us. So we never presented as you know, okay, you're going to meet with Dwayne and you know, the DBI team and then after a meeting we go, well, we think you're a better fit for Freestyle. It really is in that initial phone call within 30 minutes or 45 minutes and if, if the individual that's communicating with them has any maybe a little like, I'm not sure on the fence if this is a DVI or Freestyle, they'll come and grab me and they'll just let the client know. Before we get back with you on scheduling, you know, a consultation, I just need to meet with Dwayne and get some direction from him and go over with me the details and I'll say, oh yes, I want to go on that consult or no, we'll send, we'll send this to the Freestyle team and vice versa. They do the same thing because they'll have project in Koorhees where they're, they'll go, oh, this is definitely more of a, of a Dwayne project just in.

[Unnamed Designer]

Terms of sort of the, the, the in depth nature of it or the complexity of it or.

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah. One of the most interesting things when we did our, our acquisition, one of the first things we looked at was our vendor list and where, you know, where were, which vendors were utilizing the most. And you know, we wanted to do an optimization of, of our purchasing power. And the most interesting was our top 10 vendors were all custom workrooms, not furniture or places that you could buy products directly from and vice versa. The Freestyle organization, you know, has what you would expect as your, you know, Your, your top 10 to 20 vendors, you know, with, with the large showrooms and workroom or large showrooms and furniture organizations and things of that nature. So we just have little, you know, it's a little different approach and that's why it works so well for us. We, we really never competed for business, so we're very complimentary in that regard.

[Caitlin Peterson]

We are taking a quick break to talk more about June Laloy. As a sister brand to Laloy, June Laloi maintains the same design acumen, high standards of quality and value, offering furniture, rugs, lighting and decor. For today's home, the June Laloy trade program is designed to make doing business a breeze, offering exclusive benefits to designers that include special pricing priority, customer support and a seamless sourcing experience. Visit joonlaloy.com today to explore the collection and sign up for a trade account. That's J o o N L O L o y.

[Unnamed Designer]

You were talking about kind of the team you have at dbi and you mentioned that you've got someone who renders everything. Can you talk a little bit about how you work with clients today and how you're communicating your vision in the early phases of the project?

[Duane Bergman]

So we brought our 3D rendering specialist on board. Goodness. I think 2019. He's been with us for several years. Because so much of our design concepts are custom, what we found was just black and white sketches and certainly regular CAD drawings. Clients just sort of glazed over it. So we found that initially we were using some nice but on the more basic rendering levels and that worked. But there still might be some additional questions or confusion or just like, I'm not sure if I want to spend that much for this detail. And we knew if they really understood the detail, there wouldn't be an issue at all. So once we started the photorealistic side, the grasp of concept and the ability for us to gain approvals and move forward through the process just, I mean it became so much more efficient. So that's why we really lean on this process. And I just attended a meeting with a general contractor that's a newer GC partner for, for us. We're doing our first very in depth project with them currently. And they had an initial contract with the client when we were hired. We did all of our design concepts and submitted our ID drawings and all of our specifications and they did an updated budget and they were a little nervous because where they started and where we ended up with the client's input and our creativity, there were certainly differences and variances. You know, this was, this was a multimillion dollar build and we added a few million to the project. And that obviously doesn't work for every client, but we submitted all of our IDs and all of our renders. And so when they went through their budgeting meeting with them, they had all of these photos and they could go through and say, you know, this is the variance. You know, original, you know, your original budget didn't have any. Like in some areas they had none of this detail. So it's like this is completely new. You were going to get a blank wall you could put furniture on. And now you're getting this built in with this application and this integrated lighting, this dropdown and those things. So it was their first approach with a design firm that provided as many photorealistic renderings for all of the areas where we added so much detail. And they said the client signed off on everything. Like we thought this was going to be an all day meeting and we finished in an hour.

[Unnamed Designer]

That's amazing.

[Duane Bergman]

The change orders and like. So the guy that presented, he's, he's been in this business for, for 35 plus years. He said this is such an amazing way to present information. He's like, I was sweating going into this meeting going, how am I, what are we going to end up changing?

[Unnamed Designer]

How am I going to tap dance my way out of this?

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah, right. Well, and how, you know, how are we, are we going to slow down the project? Because now they really don't want to spend this much money. So we've got to go back and redesign and redraw. So the 3D renderings are an amazing tool. Doesn't mean that you need to have a full time person on staff depending on again, your size and scale, but you do really need to be able to present your concepts very thoroughly.

[Unnamed Designer]

You know, at this phase, you're presenting really just the surfaces, the architecture, the shell of the room. Are you going back and rendering the furnishings as well?

[Duane Bergman]

So in our, typically, even when we're doing our background renders, we'll go ahead and drop some basic pieces and some initial painting concepts that we'll have so they can see scale of furniture. Most of the time though, we will then go back once we made furniture selections and update all the renderings with the soft goods as well.

[Caitlin Peterson]

Is there anything you don't render or.

[Unnamed Designer]

Is it just kind of baked into the cost of working with your firm and sort of an essential part of the way you do business?

[Duane Bergman]

It's an essential part and we bake it all into our fees. So the clients aren't seeing a specific fee for renders, it just is. Yeah, well, I've just found it so much more efficient. So if, especially if on new construction, we work off of a fixed fee, typically. And if I can get a proof of concept approved in one meeting versus going back and forth for, you know, four or five, six meetings and have to redesign and redesign, it's well worth our time.

[Caitlin Peterson]

That's interesting.

[Unnamed Designer]

Can you talk about the way you bill for work in general and the way you talk to clients about the.

[Duane Bergman]

Cost of the work so we do on new construction, we experimented enough over the years to be able to provide a fixed fee based off of square footage for new construction projects that are over 3,500 square feet. We found below 3,500 square feet, our price per square foot doesn't typically work. But once we get over 3,500 to 4,000 square feet, it typically allows us enough of a Price per square foot to cover the overall cost to complete the projects. Remodels we do solely by the hour, though we never do a fixed fee for any remodel work. And then we'll have some projects we do by proposal where we'll take a small design retainer. And then we're essentially, though, just saying, okay, we're just. We're going to provide furnishings and decor, and it'll be by proposal only.

[Unnamed Designer]

How do you make three different ways of charging work for the firm or work logistically for your business?

[Duane Bergman]

So we experimented with multiple ways of presenting our value to clients, and over time, we settled in on with a new construction client. They are usually presented with much more detailed and elaborate budgets, as well as they're also facing. They're typically facing tighter or more specific timelines to make their selections and their specifications. And on the third piece, they have so many decisions to make, and then they're kind of presented with change orders and things along the way. We found when they were also getting purely hourly bills, that it created a lot of anxiety during the selections and design process. I didn't like that. I didn't like the fact that if we wanted to spend a whole day talking about a design concept for that we thought was really, really cool, that a client would say, I don't really like that. And you spent 25 hours on it. And I don't want to pay for that 25 hours of time because, you know, it's really creative, but it's just not something that I like at all. And then it just sets a different tone for your relationship with that client. And I typically felt like on a new construction is really when you have more of a clean slate to present, you know, some ideas that they might never have thought of because they can still be incorporated. Like, you know, okay, the trusses aren't even built yet, so if I want to do some spiral inlay ceiling, I can do it because we can tell the trust manufacturer to, you know, to. To make this area available for us to utilize. That doesn't happen in a remodel situation. So that's. That was one of the big reasons we. We just didn't like the possibilities of. Of different reactions to our hourly billing and new construction because I felt like it limited some of the creative concepts and concept presentations. So that's ultimately why we landed on a fixed fee. It did take us a couple of years to get to the point where we weren't losing money on our fixed fee. So we. We tracked all of our Hours spent versus the fixed fee amount across multiple projects. And then finally, we finally got to a point after about 24 months where, okay, this is really where the sweet spot is. And it doesn't always relate that you're making your exact hourly rate on a contract. You do better on some and you do worse on others. But we decided we like the relationship side of that much better for new construction. Remodels completely different story. There are so many unknowns in a remodel. There are also a lot of limitations. There are things that you might have never, ever been able to remotely identify as something you address in a remodel. So we just made the, you know, we never change from hourly services for our remodel work. And then the buy proposal only is a very, very, very small percentage of our business. But we do, you know, we will have more. Mostly it's repeat clients that we work.

[Unnamed Designer]

Is it people you know already?

[Duane Bergman]

Typically, yes. And, you know, they're, they're, you know, we did their work six, five, six, seven years ago, and they like, oh, we'd really just like a refresh on, you know, all of our bedding and our window treatments in, you know, this room or that room. Or, you know, we want to change out our dining table. Or, you know, we, we thought we wanted a sectional. We really would like four chairs. So it's a, it's a smaller scope. And that's why the buy proposal works, you know, for that. And every now and then, it's also a referral from a previous client to someone that, you know, wants to do a new dining, you know, this new dining furniture or whatever. And we'll, we'll do that because it's a relationship building process, but it certainly is not a core part of our, you know, our business.

[Unnamed Designer]

Currently, the first thing you said when I asked you about money was you pivoted back to this idea of your firm's value. How do you talk about that with clients? Or how does that shape the way that you approach client relationships and client management?

[Duane Bergman]

So we always talk about value. We never talk about markup. Because if you're focused on the exact percentage that my profit could possibly be, then immediately we know that you're, you're not our client because really, the focus is on what, what is the value that the design team is bringing to the table? Like, why are you hiring us again? Are you hiring us just to process orders and to get trade discounts? Or are you hiring us to create concepts and vision and then use all of our knowledge and Experience to execute those, to also have your back as you go through this process. I mean, we've, you know, we're. We work with multiple general contractors and multiple subcontractors in all of these projects, and we're aware of when things are going the way they should and when they're not going the way that they should. And, you know, if something feels right or doesn't feel right, I mean, we can certainly act as a sounding board for our clients as well. So we always focus on that side. Like, this is what we bring to the table. This is a level of experience and knowledge we bring to the table. And, you know, we're going to help you from making some serious and very expensive mistakes along the process as well. But hiring us doesn't mean you're getting the deepest trade discounts throughout the industry. It doesn't mean that, you know, we're just going to take what you want and rubber stamp it and, you know, make the drawings and communicate it to the gc. And we really usually delineate, if that's what you're looking for, then, you know, our value proposition probably doesn't align with what you're looking for.

[Unnamed Designer]

That's awesome. How do you explain billing and markup? You know, how much is that just in the contract? They can read it versus how much is that? Sort of an upfront conversation at the beginning of the process.

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah, so our, the, the level of detail is really related to the way our contract is established, which just says all items that are purchased through our firm will be done by proposal and you will have the ability to review the proposal, acknowledge, approve or not approve the proposal. And then when they, when I am asked about, well, what's your markup? I said, look, markups vary from vendor to vendor, and that's not the business we're in. Our business is to provide, you know, provide you with the, the best design for the best value that, that we can. And typically, if you were to go out and source those products on your own, you'll find if you do a research on the majority of our products that were somewhere between 10 to 15 to 20% below retail. It's like that. That doesn't apply to everything. There are certain things that you're going to pay retail for just because, you know, there is little to no trade discounts available. And then with, you know, custom work that we create, there is a value that we believe is applied to that piece. And it's going to depend on the materials and the time and the complexity. And again, you'll have to decide if, you know, if this piece is, you know, the value is worth it to you or not. So I'll get questions specifically. Sometimes I mark up and my, my rebuttal is, you know, when you walk into a restaurant, did you ask the chef how much that cost before you order it? Do you know the last car that you purchased? Did you ask to see the PO from the dealership to the manufacturer for that car? Like, it's just not the way the world works. So usually that's enough of a dialogue for our clients to make the decision. We do a budget for our clients right after we've gone through and agreed on a furniture, floor plan and layout. So before we start specifying pieces, we create a budget and we call them level one, level two, level three, not a good, better, best, but it really is a level one, level two, level three. And clients then can then see what we are proposing for the various product types, an actual dollar amount and an overall budget. And they'll usually give us direction and say, you know, this guest, this guest bedroom is never going to get used. We want to do level one. This is going to be our VIP guest. We want to do level two. This is our primary. We want to do level three, so we want their direction. And then when we're looking at pieces, what we'll say is, you know, we. We know you wanted to be level two. This piece really, you know, we're going to be below budget on this. We think it's a great piece and it's good quality and we don't need to spend that much money or vice versa. You know, there's one piece in here that we think you should splurge on.

[Unnamed Designer]

Or kind of step out.

[Duane Bergman]

Exactly. Step outside of the budget on this one. And, you know, here's where we're going to try to make it up, or it's just, you know, you're going to be over budget by this much if we go with that piece. But by having this sort of level one, level two, level three guidance before we start specifying, it's very helpful. And we do the same thing on the background piece. We ask the contractors to provide us with budget guidance with what they've put as allowances. So at least we have some idea of where we are so we can tell them, I know you love this floor. Your contractor budgeted $15 a square foot, and we're looking at $30 a square foot. So keep that in mind as you're loving this. We're not aligned with the allowance that your contractor has given you, what does.

[Unnamed Designer]

It take to kind of help people, like, move out of what their expectations were and into sort of a different level of spending or how did you come to sort of that. That clarity and simplicity around project budgets?

[Duane Bergman]

So, I mean, honestly, the 3D renderings really help. So when we know we're going to be asking someone to do something beyond their budget, will show up to that meeting with the product rendered in the, in. In the presentation with, here's the level two, that's in your budget. Here's the level three. That's our splurge. We're showing you and explaining to you why we think it's important to do so. Lighting fixtures are big ones where it's like, you know, just the scale of this piece. You know, 48 inches would be great. We found this one at 70, and believe it or not, while it might sound like on our plan, it looked too big. When you put this into the room, it just changes everything. But, you know, Instead of spending 3,000, you're going to spend 10, 10,000. You know, are, Are we okay with that or do we need to just. And, and I'll always leave it up to the client and not really pushing like, you have to do this, or we're, you know, I've, I've been in design meetings with some of my own designers who will tell a client, the room is just going to look terrible if you don't do this. And I'll pull them aside after and say, you know, put yourself in their position. You just did a whole pressure sell on that versus saying, you know, I understand this is outside of the original budget guidance that we, you know, that we discussed. I really feel like this could be a game changer for the space. However, if you want to stick with our original plan, it's still going to look amazing. And you and I will be the only two that know that. It could have, you know, it could have looked like this. Instead of having this whole attitude about it, it has to be this.

[Unnamed Designer]

This is the only option you have to buy this. You have to splurge. It's going to be terrible if you, you don't.

[Duane Bergman]

Right. So I think that's in the approach. And, you know, when you're, when, in my opinion and my experience, when you approach the business the way that you would like to be presented, clients usually respond, you know, over time, they'll. They're going to say yes to some things and no to some things, but they feel very comfortable in giving their True reactions versus feeling like, oh, my goodness, I'm going to really piss them off if I don't do what they want.

[Unnamed Designer]

Can you talk about your approach to client relationships in general and how you think about kind of shepherding them through this process or how you want them to feel throughout this process?

[Duane Bergman]

So I want them to be confident in me and the design firm first and foremost, because that is really going to impact how they feel when their project is starting to be presented to them. So when. When there are questions of confidence, like, I'm really unsure about how you guys are treating something or dealing with something, then I feel like it leads to so many unnecessary conversations and discussions over simple. What could be simple decisions. So confidence is big. So being prepared, having a vision. I think a lot of times we show clients too many options and too many variations. They're paying us to come up with a concept, and that means we shouldn't have to show them five sofas to understand what style they're going to like the best. This is a conversation I've had repeatedly, internally with our designers because it starts to become confusing for clients. It's like, well, you know, you're showing me five, six, seven different pieces for one selection. How. How are these all going to work together? Like, if I choose this, then will it go with the chairs that I liked? And I think that's where, you know, you just create maybe a lack of confidence that, you know, it's like, well, you're asking me to make all these decisions instead of you telling me after our intake and after our discussions, after looking through, you know, maybe a mood board of things and taking my feedback, you know, you're coming back with still so many options versus. I appreciate you just showing me two or three. And I have gone into plenty of meetings where I have one sofa, one set of chairs. This is what I. This is the sofa that I think would look the best in the room. And I don't think we need to show three, four, or five options. And then. And sometimes, though, it's like, okay, you know, I haven't been able to get you to agree to a style or a configuration, so I'm going to show you a few. But we have to make a decision in some direction today. So there are fewer of those clients that want to see more that work with us than want to see two or three. And we'll make a decision from just those limited number of options.

[Unnamed Designer]

I want to take a moment because one of the things we haven't talked about yet is sort of the business empire you've built outside of and adjacent to the actual core design businesses you're overseeing. I know that's opening a whole can of worms, but can you talk briefly about the other companies that you've established in this industry that really work with and next to Duane Bergman Interiors and Freestyle?

[Duane Bergman]

As my business developed, I quickly identified some vertical opportunities within the business. So the first that we attacked and really has become a major part of our business success is focusing on kitchen and bath design. So becoming a kitchen and bath dealer for some cabinetry companies early on, going through all of those trainings, hiring specialists that are strictly kitchen and bath designers or kitchen and bath architects was key to a lot of our business success. I did that because it was born out of frustration of taking our design drawings, handing them off to a general contractor who then handed them off to their kitchen and bath liaison or company that they were going to utilize. Asking the clients to go to those meetings and then only being brought into them, you know, for color selection and, and some minor layout changes. And then you go to the finished product or the install product and you're, you know, you butchered what I wanted from this space. So I just got really frustrated with that and decided that it made more sense for us to, to take that, that role on. That ultimately led to 2021, 2022, the launch of company called Luxe Millwork, which was a, and is a very high end custom millwork shop that builds cabinetry and custom millwork. I always think that, you know, as an entrepreneur, you again, you know what you do well and you know, you need to identify when something doesn't fit quite right for you. So I sold that business in March of 2024.

[Unnamed Designer]

It just didn't fit into the portfolio anymore.

[Duane Bergman]

The business would have fit. It just required a level of input, time and dedication that I didn't want to give to that business. So while it was a very profitable and you know, as a very good business from a business perspective, it didn't make me happy. I guess that's probably the best way to put it. And it's like if that part of, if that one component of the business is going to drag down my entire creative process and it's going to take this much time. And you know, in 2022 and 2023, I was working seven days a week, 20 hours a day, trying to fit in basic family time. And it just was not something that I enjoyed. And so I think it's, it's smart for someone to look and say okay, is this a failure or is this just something that I'm not enjoying? And, you know, I could have walked away, but instead of that, I found partner Neff Living, bought the so Neff Living out of Canada. They're an amazing company. That's a huge facility. They needed a North America location. We aligned and we work together currently on multiple projects. So kind of turned something in that I wasn't enjoying into a continued success. But it took. Look, it took time, effort, and energy to make that happen as well. But sitting here in 2025, I'm very happy that I made that decision in 2023 and was able to execute it in 2024. I do have a. I have a business partner with that I own a company with that's called Unique Slabs. We import marble slabs and that I definitely enjoy. We. We utilize it for our own projects and we provide the service to other design firms as well. That usually allows me to go on two or three buying trips a year to select the materials. We import them, bring them in, and then resell them here. And that allows us to have some unique types of marble and solid surfaces that are available for our projects and our clients. So that's another, I think, vertical integration that works well. And then the current. The new business that I referenced earlier, Barrett Bergman Home, is a vertical. We are to the trade only. So now we're now providing product that our own design firms need, and we're trying to fulfill areas that we found challenging in some spaces that we found challenging. And at the same time, we'll be offering and are offering all of those products to other design firms as well. So we're really behind the scenes, you know, kind of behind the curtain on that one. We're the side of showing at High Point Market and these other.

[Unnamed Designer]

So you made a big splash in Interhaul Market in April.

[Duane Bergman]

We did. It was really exciting, and I'm very, very, very excited about. About this. This part of our business. I thoroughly enjoy it. So I can tell you, you know, we've been working on that product development for three years and, you know, launching it this year. And, you know, while we just launched in April, I feel like we've been in this launch timeframe for a year and being into this launch for a year versus with the Lux Millwork company, it's a completely different experience and feeling. And this one is great. I really, really enjoy being involved with Barrett Bergman Home.

[Unnamed Designer]

I talked to so many designers on this show and just in general who see gaps in the marketplace and that they wish were more readily available. What advice would you give for somebody who's got a great idea for a product about how to bring that to market?

[Duane Bergman]

Well, that's an amazing question, and I appreciate you having the confidence in me to answer that question. It was interesting. I got asked by a designer at market and we only showed a couple of our candles, and he's like, you know, I really want to develop a candle line. And I said, okay, great. I hope you're ready for the unexpected. Because, you know, we ended up spending almost $25,000 on a candle consultant just to get all of our legal, like, the legal requirements. There's a lot more to it than, you know, this whole sexy idea of. Hey, oh, oh. I've got this amazing idea to combine these, you know, ingredients to make this scent. So you, you know, you have to have the ability from a resource perspective to, you know, to draw, to go to meetings, to look at samples, to go through the prototyping phase, you know, to commit to timelines and timetables and know that this is something that you're going to reap the benefits much later. I don't think that was an awareness. It's like, oh, wow. You know, when you're under contract to design product, you're. No, you're. Most of the time, you're not getting paid up front to do that.

[Unnamed Designer]

You're going to get paid like years later.

[Duane Bergman]

Yeah, yeah.

[Unnamed Designer]

With all of the growth that you've experienced and now also sort of shifting DBI to be smaller and focusing some of the scaling efforts elsewhere, when you look at the scope of work you're overseeing now, how do you think about the evolution of all of your businesses moving forward?

[Duane Bergman]

So an amazing question. And. And 2025 is really the year of clarity. So my acquisition that I started in 2021, 2022, officially announced in 2023 of Freestyle, all of our strategic actions that needed to happen and with projects and moving business and designers, all of that occurred in 23 and 24. Likewise, the Lux business that I wanted to get out of that was all happening during that same time frame. While we were also developing product for vbh, I was also designing the collection for Rapid Henry. It was a lot From, I mean, 2022, 2023, 2024, those three years, I would look at building years to get me to this place in 2025 where I've had so much clarity and the ability to focus on the DBI side, my design and my design clients at the same time, really getting BBH launched and having the energy and focus to do that. So as I review 2025 and go into 2026, the future from my perspective is rewarding. And I look at this place of reward and not from a financial perspective as much as from an intrinsic, intrinsic perspective where when I tell you I've worked like a dog for the last 10 years, I have just put so much time, effort, energy and sacrifice into getting these businesses to a point where, you know, DBI is very strong, mature, Freestyle is very strong, mature, settled, unique slabs is, is working exactly the way it needs to, needs to, to work and operate. And you know, and we have Barrett Bergman Home launched and you know, this year in Barrett Bergman Home, it's, you know, now the products are out there, our supply chains are solid, you know, we're tuning so we're, we're saying, okay, this is, this is where we can have a standard operating procedures settled for this level of operation, for this level of warehousing, for this level of product development. So we're already aggressively moving into this stage with, with Barrett Bergman where we have stability and what we need to do to support that business, which allows us now to, to shift the focus on getting the word out and sales and marketing and starting to grow that business and support it. So when I look at the entire business portfolio and my collaboration with, with Abner Henry, I know I'm not launching any new businesses. That's not the plan. We will have a few extensions of what we're doing. I have one cool announcement that will happen in February of next year, but it's an extension of what we're already doing. Home will introduce a new style genre called Ranch, Range and Mountain in 2023. But other than that, I mean, we are, we are now focusing on executing at the highest level, at the most efficient ways and understanding, you know, across the board. How can we make the experience for ourselves and our clients, whether it's design clients or whether it's trade clients, other interior designers on the BBH side, you know, the highest level that they can be. And to be at this position right now after I've spent 10 years of building, building, building. I wrote a couple of emails this last week that took me back to my days when I was a leader, leading leaders and directing leaders and developing leaders. And I was like, wow, I haven't been able to sit down and write a five paragraph with multiple bullet points of here's the strategy, here's deliverables, here are the expectations, timelines, you know, things of that nature. And I'm very excited to be here, you know, and this really sets the stage for the next 10 years where the focus is not on building new but executing, like I said, at the highest levels.

[Unnamed Designer]

What does success look like for you today? Or what does that mean? What does success mean to you today?

[Duane Bergman]

So there are different indicators for me on success. I mean, for sure, I mean, I'm not going to deny there are financial key indicators that I think define some of, some of success. But for me, it's really about the product that we're able to deliver, the people that are involved delivering that product, and the reputation that we're still trying to build within, within the industry as well and hope to have a voice out there. Certainly, as you know, I continue to mature in this business. I, I want to be able to share my knowledge and experience with other people and hopefully some will find that useful and keep them from making some of the mistakes that I made along the way and help them benefit. And I do truly believe this. This is very interesting industry. There's no need for us to compete. There's more business than any of us can ever handle and we really are stronger with some more unified thought processes, you know, to get, to get our minds aligned. But it's still an extremely fragmented industry and so there's a lot of opportunity there for us to have more connection.

[Caitlin Peterson]

That's our show for today. Thank you so much for listening. If you'd like to keep up with the latest design industry news, check out new products or browse job openings, head on over to businessofhome.com and if you're.

[Unnamed Designer]

Enjoying Trade Tales, please leave a review.

[Caitlin Peterson]

On Apple Podcasts to help others discover the show. If you have a note for the show or a story of your own.

[Unnamed Designer]

To share, I'd love to hear from.

[Caitlin Peterson]

You and you can email [e-mail] Trade Tales is produced by me, Caitlin Peterson and Caroline Brown.

[Duane Bergman]

Work.

[Caitlin Peterson]

This episode was edited by Caroline Burke and Michael Castaneda. Our theme music is by Kyle Scott Wilson.

[Unnamed Designer]

Thanks again for listening and I'll see.

[Caitlin Peterson]

You back here next week.