A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

Today With Aga Artka and Jenny Rebholz:

When you hear the phrase "personal brand," do you immediately think of your color palette and your website layout? What if we are getting so caught up in the visual pieces that we are forgetting what a brand really is, and why it has to reflect who we are as humans? 

My guests today, Aga Artka and Jenny Rebholz, authors of The Brand of You, join the show to discuss what a personal brand really means, why your "why" is the ultimate survival tool for your business, and the importance of human connection. 

More About Aga Artka and Jenny Rebholz:

Aga Artka 

Aga is known for bringing creative energy, analytical thinking, hard work, and heart to all that she does. From her work as Owner & Creative Director of Aga Artka Interior Design to her role as a mentor and community activist, she uses her creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to challenge the status quo, reimagine possibilities and influence positive change. She seeks knowledge, expands her perspective and gains inspiration from the world around her. Aga’s fearless approach to her career journey exemplifies that if you have the will, then there is a way.

 

Jenny Rebholz

Jenny is known for her compassion, positive energy, sense of responsibility and wordsmithing. As Principal of PushPoint Marketing, she focuses her creativity and communication skills on elevating others, helping professionals shine and businesses thrive. She’s the ultimate connector—whether teaching, consulting, or collaborating, Jenny prioritizes building relationships. She defines her own success by leveraging her strengths, seeking and creating opportunities. Jenny’s commitment to building impactful content and meaningful connections has forged a fulfilling career path, demonstrating that words matter and who you know is just as important as what you know.

Ah Ha Moments with Aga Artka and Jenny Rebholz:

“You may choose to say whatever it is that you want to be known for. But when you're not in the conversation or when you're not in the room, if people say something different about you, then that promise that you just shared with the world—it didn't stick.” -Aga

“When you start to connect with who you are as a designer, what your values are, what your purpose is…when you hit the hard moments, you know you can cry a minute, you you can scream, whatever you need to do, but when you know who you are and are clear on your brand and what you bring to the table, you're ready to figure out the next step.” -Jenny

"If you don’t start with mission, vision, values, like, I’m sorry, you are going to get your teeth kicked in and you’re not gonna know how to stand up." -Luann

Connect with Aga Artka and Jenny Rebholz:

Website

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Aga Artka

LinkedIn Jenny Rebholz

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

http://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Resources Mentioned:

This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here!

AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project

AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design

Other Shows Mentioned:

#174 Power Talk Friday- Fred Berns- Own Your “Only” Word & Tips to Discover Yours

#466 Power Talk Friday: Nicole Heymer: You’ve Defined Your Brand…Now What?

#1136 David Neagle: Three Powerful Choices That Will Change Everything in Your Interior Design Business

Today With Gage Edward:

In this sponsored episode of A Well-Designed Business, LuAnn sits down with entrepreneur and former Flipping Out star Gage Edward to talk about a challenge every designer knows well: coming home from market with hundreds of photos… and no clear way to organize or use them.

After more than a decade leading business development for a nationally recognized design firm, Gage saw firsthand how inefficient the product discovery process can be. Designers walk miles of showrooms at High Point or Las Vegas Market, snap endless photos of tags and products, and return home to a camera roll that is nearly impossible to sort through.

That frustration led him to co-found Discover Market, an app designed to help designers capture and organize product information in real time while they’re walking market.

In this conversation, LuAnn and Gage break down:


Why sourcing at market often creates more chaos than clarity


The hidden cost of leaving market without an organized system


How scanning product tags can instantly capture pricing, vendor info, and availability


Why efficiency at market directly impacts profitability back in your studio


The bigger opportunity for designers to streamline product sourcing and project workflow

If you’ve ever returned from market with hundreds of photos and no idea where that perfect chair came from, this episode will hit home.

Because here’s the thing.

Market is an investment. Your time, your travel, your energy.

And if you don’t have a system to capture what you discover, you’re leaving value on the table.

More About Gage Edward:

Gage Edward is an entrepreneur and business development leader with more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of interior design, product development, and strategic partnerships.

For ten years, he led business development for a nationally recognized design firm, overseeing client intake, managing interior design projects and construction builds, and developing creative partnerships with brands including Living Spaces, Walter E. Smithe, and Alder & Tweed Furniture.

During that time, he structured and negotiated national licensing programs across multiple product categories — including doors with Masonite, tile with Jeffrey Court, and paint with Dunn-Edwards and Vista Paint — all sold in partnership with The Home Depot, a retail relationship he helped cultivate and expand.  

Much of this work was documented over seven seasons and more than 70 episodes of Bravo’s Flipping Out, where he appeared as himself while building and operating the business behind the scenes.

After a decade in leadership, Gage left to pursue independent development projects, including overseeing the design of the Pelican Golf Club and its restaurants in Belleair, Florida. 

Drawing from his own challenges sourcing, discovering, and organizing vendors Gage later co-founded SideDoor and the Discover Market app — platforms built from more than 15 years of firsthand experience navigating trade shows and the product marketplace.

Connect with Discover.Market:

Discover.Market Instagram

Discover.Market Website

Gage's Instagram

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Today With John McClain:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today I am joined for the second time by John McClain. John is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, and author of The Designer Within. In this episode, he shares a bit about his back story with us—from crisis to conquest.

John is here to help you understand that you can learn and grow from your mistakes, and success can be born out of failure. John shares his dark night of the soul story with us, but it didn’t end there. He turned that rough patch into a catalyst to organize his business for the better. Since then he has implemented a “How We Work” document, detailed client contracts, flat fees, and non-negotiables because his business is worth it. He is worth it. And you are worth it.

LuAnn Nigara and John McClain’s Ah-Ha Moments:

“Until you’ve been through a serious business crisis, it’s hard to know how it really cuts you in your gut.” – LuAnn Nigara

“I don’t care if you’re a solopreneur or if you have 25 people working for you. Your company policy is your company policy. And that is what you have to stand by.” – John McClain

“A lot of people don’t take the time to sit down and come up with the rules [of their business]. ” – John McClain

“You do have to take time—really getting clear with who you are, what you do, how you do it, why you do it, and your non-negotiables.” – LuAnn Nigara

“I want to be an advocate for other designers and out in the world, to really stand up for themselves. And to have a company philosophy, have a company vision have a company backbone that they can stand behind.” – John McClain

More About John McClain:

John McClain is an accomplished interior designer, business coach, speaker, on-air contributor, and writer who has turned his lifetime passion for interior design into an opportunity to do the same for others through his book, The Designer Within (available now at thedesignerwithin.co). John McClain Design has offices in Central Florida and Los Angeles, CA. His projects have received numerous awards and have appeared in many publications including Traditional Home and Elle Décor. John’s design advice can also be seen regularly in print, television appearances, and online in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Us Weekly, and many more.

Connect with John McClain

Website

Instagram

Book and Designer Courses

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara

luannuniversity.com

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Pre-Order Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Shows Mentioned:

#472: John McClain: Running His Firm from Two Coasts Makes Systems and Tools Critical

#145: Sandra Funk of House of Funk: Why and How She Re-Branded her 10 Year old Firm

#801: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: How Mistakes and Obstacles Led to Growth & Transformation

#842: Joshua Smith: Sell the Experiences, Not the Commodity

Today With Kandrac & Kole:

What does it actually take to stay in business with someone for more than two decades?

In this episode, Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole of Kandrac & Kole Interior Design share what has sustained their 21-year business partnership. And no, it’s not just friendship.

We talk about defined roles, decision-making authority, handling disagreement without ego, and the operational discipline that supports long-term success. This is not a conversation about “getting along.” It’s about structure.

If you’re in a partnership, considering one, or leading a growing team, this episode will challenge you to examine how clearly roles are defined, how conflict is handled, and whether your leadership habits are protecting your business or quietly limiting it.

Partnership is not chemistry. It’s clarity, accountability, and shared standards.

Listen in and decide how you want to lead.

More About Kandrac & Kole:

Voted among Atlanta’s Top 20 Residential Interior Designers by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Kandrac & Kole has gained national recognition on HGTV and in publications including The New York Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Home Magazine, and Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. Kandrac & Kole are known for their friendly, energetic personalities, their unique use of color and pattern, and their bespoke designs. 

Joann and Kelly, experts in residential and commercial design, share engaging stories about their design projects, travels, and personal experiences on their podcast Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole, as well as through their popular blog and national speaking engagements. Their passion for interior design extends to their charity work in the U.S. and Guatemala.

Connect with Kandrac & Kole:

Website

Blog

Inside Design with Kandrac & Kole Podcast

Instagram 

Facebook 

Pinterest

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

http://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!
For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Audiobook: The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action

Book 2: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts

Book 3: A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Resources Mentioned:

This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here!

AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project

AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design

Other Shows Mentioned:

Episode 616 Joann Kandrac and Kelly Kole: Onboarding New Interior Design Clients

Today With Bri Ussery:

Today with Bri Ussery, we’re talking about a topic most of us think we’ve mastered but probably haven’t: communication as operational infrastructure. Bri, a strategist and fractional COO for interior design firms, explains why even the most well-built systems fall apart without clear, intentional language supporting them. From weekly update emails to onboarding decks to meeting notes, she shows how the words you use either reinforce your authority and stabilize your projects or quietly create ambiguity, scope creep, and timeline wobble.

If you’ve ever said, “But it was in the contract,” or felt frustrated that clients aren’t responding the way you expected, this episode is for you. Bri walks us through her four pillars, how language signals expertise, how communication sets the pace, why documentation holds the truth, and how structure shapes client behavior. This conversation will challenge you to look at your processes through a new lens and strengthen the thread that runs through every client interaction.

More About Bri Ussery:

Bri Ussery is a strategist and fractional COO who works alongside interior design principals to build the operational architecture that sustains exceptional creative work.

Her work focuses on strengthening the clarity, structure, and rhythm beneath a studio—how projects move, how decisions are made, how communication flows, and how the business measures its own health—so that vision can be executed with consistency, integrity, and financial steadiness.

Bri began her career in design and understands the pace, pressure, and precision required to run a studio with a full slate of projects and a team to lead. She also saw how quickly strong work can fracture when the structure behind it isn’t steady : when timelines stretch, expectations drift, and studios are forced to reinvent the wheel with every project.

She believes that the caliber of the work is magnified by the architecture that holds it and that good structure doesn’t constrain creativity, it protects it.

Ah Ha Moments with Bri Ussery:

“Clarity is kindness.” - Bri

“Documentation holds the truth.” - Bri

“There is a difference between being warm and being vague.” - LuAnn

Connect with Bri Ussery:

Website

Architecture of Communication Deck

Instagram

What’s new with LuAnn Nigara:

The Power Talk Friday Tour

Watch the Docuseries!

https://www.luannnigara.com/cob

Get The Goodies!

For checklists, resources, and extra goodies from A Well-Designed Business sign up for free here.

To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Purchase LuAnn’s Books Here:

Book 1: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠

Audiobook: ⁠⁠The Making of A Well – Designed Business: Turn Inspiration into Action⁠⁠

Book 2: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts⁠⁠

Book 3: ⁠⁠A Well-Designed Business – The Power Talk Friday Experts Volume 2

Connect with LuAnn Nigara:

LuAnn’s Website

LuAnn’s Blog

Power Talk Friday

Like Us: Facebook | Tweet Us: Twitter | Follow Us: Instagram | Listen Here: Podcast

Other Resources Mentioned:

This podcast supports the Savvy Giving Design Coalition. Learn more about it here!

AWDB #717 Susan Wintersteen: Interior design firm standards in a nonprofit passion project

AWDB #164: Susan Wintersteen- Savvy Giving by Design

Architecture of Communication Deck

Other Shows Mentioned:

AWDB #986: Power Talk Friday: Sandra Funk: Boundaries and Expectations are a Few of My Favorite Things

AWDB #831: Flashback Friday: Nate Berkus: The Importance of Creating An Exceptional Client Experience