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A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design  Business Podcast

1188: In Good Company: CEO Conversations with Kate O’Hara: Scaling Your Design Firm Part 1: The Three Paths Forward

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

LuAnn Nigara

Design, Business, Arts

4.9810 Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2026

⏱️ 57 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Today With Kate O’Hara: As you grow your business, you inevitably hit a point where you just can’t force more projects into your pipeline. So…what happens next? Do you bring on another designer? Are there other options? Do you have to let go of creative control if you do bring on another designer? How do you make sure it’s a successful process?  In Part 1 of this two-part episode, Kate O’Hara shares the answers to all of these questions. She breaks down the three options you have in terms of growing or scaling your business, and how to make sure that each one sets you up for success.  (Then in Part 2, she highlights how to take the space you create as you scale to diversify your income and create more revenue opportunities.) LuAnn Nigara and Kate O'Hara's Ah-Ha Moments “Now you’re letting go of what happens to those clients when they’re in the hands of your other designers. So you have to have a strong team and people that you really trust to the moon and back.” -Kate “It’s all of the little, tiny little touch points that are coming out on your website, that are coming out in social, that are coming out in the magazine opportunities, the publication opportunities that you have, where you are literally saying we, us, not just the words we us, but all the different ways that it actually is we, us.” -LuAnn “I think we sometimes we forget in our efforts to create really strong company culture and to be this type of firm people want to work for, it doesn't mean we have to be the type of firm that everyone and anyone can work for.” -Kate More About Kate O’Hara Kate O’Hara grew up in the world of design. After a decade with the company, she stepped into the role of CEO + Creative Director, expanding the family design firm into new regions of the U.S. When she isn’t traveling between our Minnesota and Texas offices, you can find Kate speaking at conferences, working with our design team, and connecting with new clients and furniture lines. Connect with Kate O’Hara ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Pinterest⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Houzz⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ 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. To Get on LuAnn’s Email List, text the word designbiz to 444999!

Transcript

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0:00.0

My DOMA Studio is your complete designer toolkit.

0:04.7

You know this, right?

0:05.9

My DOMA makes it easy to streamline your processes, track your projects, communicate with clients, and just get organized.

0:12.5

It is created by designers for designers, specifically to address what you need as a design business owner.

0:20.1

My DOMA is now together with Studio Designer,

0:22.5

and they are the industry leading solution. With 20,000 plus users, more designers choose their

0:30.0

platform than any other. Are you ready to reach the next level of profitability and efficiency?

0:36.9

Book a demo with My DOMoma Studio today by going to

0:40.4

mydoma studio.com forward slash Luan. That's mydomostudio.com forward slash Luan.

0:48.6

Thank you. Welcome to a well-designed business.

1:02.3

My name is Luann Nygaara, and I'm so glad you found this podcast.

1:06.1

Together with my husband, Vince, and our partner, Bill, we have grown our company Window Works from the

1:11.2

ground up. So I know and I understand the challenges you face in running your interior design

1:17.2

business. I also know that your talent alone isn't enough to ensure your success. So on this

1:23.9

podcast, we talk about strategies and practical steps to help you grow your business.

1:29.3

But make no mistake about it, we have our share of fun here too, mixed in with those aha

1:34.6

moments that I love so much.

1:36.8

This isn't fluff.

1:37.8

Nobody has time for that.

1:39.5

Whether you are a new interior designer or a season designer, I am here to help you create and to manage the

1:46.0

kind of interior design firm that you dream of. It's straight talk and it's action. Are you ready?

1:52.0

Let's get started. Hi, welcome to a well-designed business. Today, I'm so excited to have my good

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