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A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design  Business Podcast

183: Power Talk Friday: Ranya Barrett- All About Interns for Your Interior Design Business

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

LuAnn Nigara

Arts, Design, Business

4.9810 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2017

⏱️ 66 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Do you realize how hard it can be to create a really successful experience for an intern in your business? LuAnn certainly does and this is one of the reasons that she asked Ranya Barrett to come onto the show today, to talk about the terrific Intern Program that she's set up at The House Of Funk. This program has both helped and developed the House Of Funk in the last year and the interns there have really benefited from the winning experience that Ranya has created for them. Listen in to find out more about Ranya's awesome Intern Program. For nearly a full year now, LuAnn has admired the enormous change and that Ranya, as a single individual, has brought to Sandra Funk's business. LuAnn has watched an extreme uplevel of their message, branding, marketing and focus since Ranya joined their firm in the Spring of 2016. Prior to that, Ranya was a Content Director, Writer, Editor and a Branding Consultant, with more than thirteen years in the industry. She's written and edited for Glamour Magazine, Glamour.com, Highlights Magazine and Scholastic Books.  Ranya has a B.FA in Theatre, from New York University Tisch School Of The Arts and before taking up her current position as the Development Director at The House Of Funk, she was the Content Director at CA Creative, a New York-based Digital Media Agency. Listen in now, to find out more about Ranya and her really creative ways with interns.   Today, Ranya talks to LuAnn about: That her Internship Program is an unpaid program, for school credit, so they cannot hire Interns if they're not getting school credit. Some creative ways to go about looking for the right Interns. Meeting the necessary criteria for the different colleges, when it comes to the credit requirements for the Interns. That The House of Funk have taken it upon themselves to have a Close Out Program with their Interns, where they write a letter of recommendation, highlighting the Intern's particular skills, of which they both keep a copy and send one to the Intern, to be used later, as a reference. The kinds of things that an Interior design Intern would need to turn into their school, at the end of a semester. The kinds of interns that The House Of Funk has had. The kinds tasks that Ranya has the Interns do. What prompted her to initiate her Internship Program in Sandra Funk's business and how those interns are a real benefit to the business. Tapping the skill sets of Graphic Design, Editorial or Video Interns, to your mutual benefit, in your business. That it's not really necessary to plan ahead, in order to have a productive workflow for the Interns in your business. How she manages situations where the Intern does not quite operate to the standard of quality that is required by the business. Using your instinct with Interns. Although you cannot expect to necessarily hire your awesome Intern, however, you might well be able to do that. How much time the Interns spend working in the business. Systems that she uses for monitoring the work of the Interns. The amount of time and guidance that's necessary for the Interns. That there will always be things that Interns can help you with, that will save you time and benefit them. The Six Points Of Law, regarding unpaid Internships. That Ranya takes in Interns for each semester. The number of applicants that usually apply for Internship and Ranya's advice for interviewing and vetting Interns, to find the right fit. That there will always be someone on your team, who could benefit from the assistance of an Intern.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Have you heard about the exciting new exhibit by the Black Artists and Designers Guild,

0:05.6

which was commissioned by the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City?

0:11.1

Big news, right?

0:12.6

The Cooper Hewitt's exhibition is called Making Home, Smithsonian Design Triennial.

0:18.2

Now, the batch designers exhibit is titled the Underground Library,

0:23.8

inspired by the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is the clandestine network

0:28.6

established in the early 19th century through which many enslaved African Americans

0:33.6

traveled in search of freedom. This library installation represents a 21st century sanctuary surrounded by art, objects,

0:43.5

artifacts, and books of black legacy.

0:46.9

In reimagining and repurposing the Andrew Carnegie Personal Library,

0:52.7

badge invites you to examine the power of home libraries

0:56.1

and the significance of literacy, remembering that African Americans were denied the right to read

1:02.3

under slavery. I'm honored to share that Window Works in Livingston was asked by badge to create

1:08.7

the flat panels for the windows. We used a custom design fabric

1:12.5

by badge members, and the fabric was fabricated by Stacey Garcia's team at Libatex. So please make a

1:20.0

point to visit this inspired space the next time you are in New York City. The exhibition runs

1:25.5

from November 24 all the way through August 10th,

1:30.0

2025. So you have plenty of time to get this on your calendar. We will put links in the show notes.

1:40.0

Welcome to a well-designed business with your host, Luann Nigara.

1:48.0

Luan has a lifetime of experience building a multi-million dollar business with her husband and cousin,

1:53.3

and she knows the challenges you face in your interior design business.

1:57.3

Luan brings you real-life answers to your most pressing problems,

...

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