686: Flashback Friday: Studio Thomas: Finding Clarity on the Brand and Culture of Her Interior Design Firm

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

LuAnn Nigara

Arts, Design, Business

4.9 • 810 Ratings

🗓️ 16 July 2021

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On Today’s Flashback Friday Welcome to a Well-Designed Business. On this week’s Flashback Friday, we’re taking a look back at episode 314 with Kristen Thomas of Studio Thomas. Like many designers, Kristen started her business taking on any work that came her way. But four years in, she wanted to gain clarity on the experience she wanted to create, the clients she wanted to work with, and the philosophy she wanted to connect with as she approached projects. She made the decision to niche down and gain clarity. The results spoke for themselves. Pick it apart: [6:16] Kristen shares how she transitioned out of taking every job that came her way by focusing on her work and her reputation. [16:07] Kristen and LuAnn discuss the importance of creating the right culture through your staff and hiring process. [25:19] Kristen discusses the revamp in her business and the results that it brought. [38:22] Kristen shares her process for rebranding and how it influenced every decision she made in her business. LuAnn and Kristen’s Ah-Ha moments: “It was a pure faith thing. We just said we have to believe in ourselves and work hard. For me, there was no option of failure. It just wasn’t even an option, because for me, I was going to work so hard and treat everybody so good, and get my reputation where I felt like it was strong enough where I could ride forward on that reputation and get better and better jobs.” -Kristen Thomas “When you look at Studio Thomas, when you look at your Instagram, when you look at your website, and you are a designer that maybe is in business one or two years, or maybe a designer that’s in business seven, eight, or 15 years, and you’re not doing that type of work, it’s very easy to be down on yourself and think ‘Oh my goodness, what am I doing wrong? How do I get there? Why don’t I know how to do that?’ But to hear how hard it was for you—that doesn’t come through on Instagram.” -LuAnn Nigara “I never planned on being a leader. I never planned on being a boss. Never. I was going to be an interior designer and I thought that’s what I was going to do. And the more people we got on our team, the more I thought, ‘I got to learn to be a leader.’” -Kristen Thomas “It’s like a tug-of-war. If you have a client who doesn’t think the same kind of things that you’re thinking, you literally feel like you’re going back and forth like a tug-of-war. It’s not flowing well. It’s not fun for them. It’s not fun for you, and you don’t want to do that. You want your highest contribution, and you want to be the very best at what you do.” -Kristen Thomas More About Kristen Thomas Kristen is the principal designer and owner of Studio Thomas. Her career started in real estate, where the world of home building eventually led her to study interior design. With nearly 20 years in the industry, her education pairs with experience to create a refined expertise in designing and building homes. Since founding her firm in 2013, Kristen has worked on a wide variety of projects, each unique in size, scope, and style. Her aesthetic is clean and modern, focusing on the power of architecture, simplicity, and texture. Her design method is one that elevates your own style, while adding value to your home and depth to its story. Connect with Kristen Thomas Website Instagram What’s new with LuAnn Nigara luannuniversity.com insidevoiceoutsidevoice.com 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! 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 A Big THANK YOU to Today’s Podcast Sponsor: Kirsch: Kirsch is the leader in drapery hardware. Their Briza Motorization, allowing your clients to control their draperies in an instant from anywhere. It’s simple to install, quiet, and easily integrates with third party systems. It’s even available on most of their most popular rods. Visit kirsch.com today to learn more! Other Shows Mentioned: #174 Power Talk Friday- Fred Berns- Own Your “Only” Word & Tips to Discover Yours #256 Nancy Ganzekaufer- A Powerful Strategy to Attract More Clients #291 Cheryl Luckett – From Side Hustle to Full Time Interior Design #606 Phoebe Oldrey: How a Niche Can Give New Life to Your Business

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, are you getting ready for Thanksgiving? Maybe you're hosting and you're busy getting all of your dishware organized and your menu organized. Or maybe you're like me. You're at the season where you just get to ring the doorbell with a pie in your hand, right? Either way, I hope you are planning to spend some quality time with friends and family, whether that means it's a big,
0:21.1	raucous crowd and lots of carrying on or downtime. Either way, I'm wishing you a happy
0:26.5	holiday season. And, you know, what happens after Thanksgiving, we have Black Friday.
0:31.6	And on Black Friday, Luann University is officially opening registration. And here's the thing. Because it's Black Friday,
0:39.2	we got some Black Friday deals for you. All right, first of all, let me explain this. Early Bird for
0:44.0	Luann University is open from November 29th through December 31st, 2024. So that is the entire early bird
0:52.4	period. And during the early bird period, you get two bonuses.
0:57.2	Number one, you get the early bird pricing.
0:58.8	But you also get, if you buy, whether you buy a five-week course or a three-hour intensive,
1:05.2	if you purchase and register during the early bird period, you are going to be enrolled in the workshop that
1:13.4	Amber DeLegarza and I are hosting together live. It's called Success by Design. Strategic
1:20.6	Goal Setting meets Time Mastery. Okay. So this is going to be a live workshop. It is going to happen in real time on january second
1:30.4	twenty twenty five and we're going to spend part of the time mapping out how do you set your goals
1:37.1	what do you do how do you decide if it's a legitimate goal if it's a reach goal if it's a too easy
1:43.2	of a goal what should your goals be?
1:45.5	And then Amber will take over and she will help us figure out how to carve that time in our
1:52.9	work life to work on our business. Okay. So it's managing the expectations of the hours
1:59.6	you have available so that you can get it all done.
2:02.3	So this is going to be a fantastic class that you are going to take real time and ask us real questions.
2:08.5	Okay, so those are two bonuses that you get if you sign up any time during the early bird period,
2:14.3	November 29th to December 31st.
2:16.4	But there is an extra bonus if you sign up during
	...

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