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Hello and welcome to episode 146
of Design Curious Podcast. 

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I'm your host and mentor, 
Rebecca Ward. 

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Today on the podcast, I have 
guest Ranisha Rivera. 

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We have a very fun conversation.
Let me tell you a little bit 

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more about her. 
Ranisha is founder and CEO of 

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Vetted by Design. 
Her passion for VBD stems from 

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her own challenges as an 
interior designer. 

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After years in the industry, she
grew frustrated with endlessly 

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searching through Facebook 
groups and Google just to find 

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the right professionals to hire.
She knew there had to be a 

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better way, a centralized 
platform where designers could 

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easily connect with vetted 
businesses that cater to our 

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industry. 
And that's exactly why Vetted by

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Design was created. 
Ranisha believes that Bedded by 

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Design can help any designer at 
any stage of their business. 

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And so it was a lot of fun to 
learn about this program. 

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I think it's going to be very 
advantageous for many people 

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starting out or even with 
established businesses to be 

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able to use this platform to 
find the right people for their 

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team. 
So let's get into our 

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conversation with Ronisha. 
You're now listening to Design 

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Curious, the place where you, 
Creative One, are here to learn 

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about what it really is like to 
be an interior designer, and I'm

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your host and mentor, Rebecca 
Ward. 

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If you're worried about how to 
succeed in a creative career, if

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you're ready to learn your next 
steps to become an interior 

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designer, and if you want the 
satisfaction of doing something 

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you love every day, you are in 
the right place. 

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Grab a coffee, a notebook, and 
let's dig into today's episode. 

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Hi Manisha, welcome to Design 
Curious. 

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Podcast. 
Hi, thank you for having me. 

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Yeah, it's great to have you on.
I love what we're going to be 

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talking about today. 
You are an interior designer and

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you have a business now called 
Vetted by Design. 

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Let's first of all talk about 
what took you into the career of

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interior design. 
Like a lot of designers, from a 

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young age, I was designing my 
room and I didn't even really 

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know what interior design was. 
I always knew architecture. 

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I hadn't heard of interior 
designers. 

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And I went to high school, took 
a class in high school that was 

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architectural drafting and I 
loved it, but I didn't like 

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architecture. 
I was like how can I continue to

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be creative and do the drafting 
side that I love. 

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I don't know how I found out 
about interior design but 

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somehow someway I found out 
about interior design and I 

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ended up going to school for it.
I got my A, A and my BA in 

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interior design and the rest is 
history. 

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I graduated from college and 
started working for a small 

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boutique firm. 
I worked for an architecture 

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firm for a little while and then
after a couple years of that I 

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was ready to start my business. 
Well, we have almost exactly the

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same about not even knowing 
there was a career for interior 

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design when you're young just 
thinking it's architecture. 

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But yeah, that's very much my 
story as well. 

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OK, so you started your own 
business as an interior 

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designer. 
How long ago was that? 

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That was four years ago. 
It seems like a long time, but 

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it also seems like no time. 
At all, right, Yes. 

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And still very much So what they
would call like a baby designer.

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So learning and still making 
mistakes. 

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And that's kind of where I'm at,
yeah. 

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What kind of design do you love 
to do? 

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I do a lot of destination 
design, so second homes, 

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cottages, cabins, lodges, 
anything that's in the 

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mountains. 
So that's how I've been focusing

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on it. 
I've been having a lot of. 

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Fun with it. 
Nice. 

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Where are you located? 
Is it in mountain area? 

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I'm trying to see. 
Washington and Idaho. 

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Oh, OK, yes, so there's a lot of
mountains over there. 

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Plenty of mountains. 
No shortage of mountains, yeah. 

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Awesome. 
That sounds like a lot of fun. 

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OK, so how about this first four
years? 

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I'm sure you've made some 
mistakes. 

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What about in hiring people for 
your business? 

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Tell us about. 
Yes. 

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The first, like I want to say 
year of my business, I very 

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quickly realized that I wanted 
to hire somebody to do the 

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bookkeeping because when I 
wasn't having very many projects

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I was managing, I was like kind 
of figuring it out. 

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But then I signed some larger 
projects and I didn't want to do

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the books anymore. 
So I need to find a bookkeeper. 

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And I was searching high and 
low. 

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And I did my due diligence too. 
Like I interviewed probably like

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two or three bookkeepers. 
I ended up going with a 

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bookkeeper. 
She had never really heard of 

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interior design. 
She heard of it, but like never 

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had an interior designer that 
she had done services for. 

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I was a little bit weary about 
it, but she was the bookkeeper 

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of a contractor I worked with, 
so I figured the businesses 

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would be similar enough that it 
wouldn't be a problem. 

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I take full accountability for 
my portion of this story. 

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I was a little bit behind on 
sales tax, and I didn't 

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understand how to remit it and 
how to get caught up. 

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Yeah. 
So when I hired her, I told her 

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that I needed help with that. 
I needed help figuring out how 

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to get up to date on my sales 
tax. 

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I had all of my sales tax set 
aside in a bank account. 

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I just needed to get current. 
And she was fine with that. 

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And she's like, OK, we'll figure
it out. 

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And, and she actually ultimately
ended up filing my sales tax 

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incorrectly. 
That ended up me and me getting 

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like a ton of fines and ton of 
penalties. 

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And it ended up costing my 
business thousands of dollars. 

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Yeah. 
And I was only like a year into 

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the business, maybe 2 years into
business. 

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So having that kind of hit to my
company was really not great, 

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almost devastating and almost 
took me out because I didn't 

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have a ton of reserves in the 
bank accounts. 

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So that's when it really was 
very obvious to me. 

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That who you? 
Hire in your business, whether 

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it's an interior design 
business, whether it's any kind 

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of business, who you hire can 
have a very big impacts on your 

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business. 
I had the hard way. 

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Yes, you did. 
OK, so now you're helping people

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to not have to do what you did 
right? 

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Learning the hard way and making
it a little bit easier for them.

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So that's what prompted you to 
start Vetted by Design. 

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Is that, Yeah, that's where all 
the passion comes from, is just 

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my own mistakes. 
And there was other things that 

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I had to hire for in the first 
couple of years that kind of bit

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me in the butt as well. 
So I just kept feeling like 

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there should be one place that 
designers can go to find people 

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that they can trust to hire. 
It's 2025. 

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I do not know why we do not have
something like this. 

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I probably did what every 
designer does who's in those 

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like first couple of years of 
business, anytime I needed to 

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hire for something, I would go 
to Facebook groups and I would 

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try to search and search and 
search, or I would create my own

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post looking for someone. 
And sometimes I would get no 

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replies. 
Or if I did get a reply, it 

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wasn't from somebody that I felt
like I could trust. 

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And quite frankly, all of that 
was very time consuming for me, 

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searching for my team 
essentially. 

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And I was just like, we have to 
create this. 

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There has to be a place that's 
not just a simple directory of 

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people and it be people who have
been vetted and who are experts 

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in their industry. 
Yeah. 

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OK. 
So that is what Vetted by Design

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is, is that kind of where we can
go to find all of this? 

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Yes, that is the whole mission 
of Vetted by Design is to be a 

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centralized platform for 
interior designers to be able to

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go to and find their team, find 
their online team. 

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And it's so robust, there's no 
stone unturned. 

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We have pretty much all kinds of
pros on there all the way from 

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3D rendering to lawyers who can 
help you review your contract. 

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Pretty robust platform, yeah. 
So how did you go about putting 

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all this together? 
Did you have someone assisting 

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you with it? 
Like did you have to hire 

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someone else and help you hire 
people? 

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This has been a dream and it's 
been in the making for two 

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years. 
I did have a maternity leave 

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within that two years. 
So that kind of was a whole 

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aspect of it. 
But the platform originally 

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started with a Co founder. 
So I was building it with a Co 

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founder and ultimately he 
decided that he was like, you 

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know what, You're way more 
passionate about this platform. 

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I think you should just take it 
and run with it. 

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And I was like, yes. 
And so it's been many years in 

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the making, and I'm very excited
that it's finally launched. 

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And I just can't wait to share 
it with everyone. 

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Yeah. 
OK, well, let's talk more about 

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it. 
So how do interior designers get

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on this platform? 
Does it cost money to join or 

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what's it all about? 
Since the whole platform is 

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geared towards interior 
designers, it's completely feat 

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free for interior designers. 
And it will always be. 

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I want it to always be a free 
resource for them. 

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There's no paywall, you don't 
have to make an account or 

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anything. 
You can just go and start 

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searching. 
And I really wanted to do that 

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because I feel like as an 
interior designer myself, my 

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business moves very fast. 
So if I need somebody to help me

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with outsourcing drafting or 
rendering, typically it's on a 

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time crunch, even if there's 
like due dates that's 

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associated. 
So I wanted designers to be able

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to go on the platform and have 
access right away. 

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So it's free Frontier designers,
yeah. 

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Wow. 
OK. 

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And so these are all people that
are working virtually and then 

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they might be working for 
multiple designers at the same 

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time too. 
Yes, yes. 

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So it's all virtually in the 
future. 

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I think it would be amazing if I
could implement some sort of job

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board, so if a designer wanted 
to hire in person, you could go 

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and look by state and kind of 
find jobs. 

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But that's in the future. 
Yeah. 

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So do you have multiple virtual 
people for each position like 3D

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renderers or CAD drafters? 
Or what about the the drafting 

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platforms themselves? 
So I know a lot of designers use

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different ones so. 
Yes, yes. 

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And so there is currently 16 or 
17 categories in per category. 

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We're going to have about 15 
pros. 

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There are some categories that 
are. 

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State faced. 
So like lawyers are kind of 

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state based, so we will have 
more pros in those types of 

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categories, but I really 
envision it to be a curated 

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group of pros. 
So I don't want it to be like, 

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it's a bad word for me, but 
fiber or anything. 

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Oh yeah. 
And there's just like way too 

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many pros that are on that 
platform be curated. 

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And I want it to be intentional.
And every single pro that will 

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be on the platform, I'm going to
have a close relationship with. 

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I'm going to be constantly 
checking in, constantly 

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connecting with them and 
supporting them well. 

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My job not only is to support 
the interior designers because I

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am an interior designer, but I 
also want to support the pros 

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that are on the platform as 
well. 

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So it's all goes together, but 
about 15 pros per category and 

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then I'm constantly adding 
categories because I think of. 

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Things right, Yeah. 
Or someone might ask you like, 

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oh, do you have someone for 
this? 

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Because I wanted. 
I wanted to be like a one stop 

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shop so I do add drafting 
platforms like Revit and 

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SketchUp and yeah. 
Chief Architect and. 

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There's there's. 
AutoCAD, yeah. 

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There's a lot. 
Yeah, yeah, for sure. 

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So how do you vet the people 
that you're interested in adding

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to your platform? 
So our vetting process is pretty

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in depth. 
I don't share the whole entire 

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process just because it's very 
lengthy and very wordy. 

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But essentially if a Pro is 
interested in joining the 

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platform, they can apply on the 
website. 

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There's like a form that they 
fill out and we take all the 

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forms, we review them and based 
off of basically a couple 

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components on that form, people 
will either move on to the next 

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step or we might ask them to 
reapply in six months. 

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For any creative prose that's 
going to be your Vdas, 3D 

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rendering artists, even 
drafters, we will ask that you 

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submit a portfolio of your work.
And then the non creative 

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categories like lawyers, they 
don't need to submit a 

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portfolio. 
We review your portfolio. 

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There's a creative board, we sit
down on a Zoom call and we rate 

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the portfolio off of a ton of 
different aspects. 

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And when based on that rating, 
you'll either move on to the 

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next step, which is going to be 
reference reviews. 

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So we asked that pro submit a 
number of references. 

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And so we just check in with 
those references. 

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And then if you go on to the 
next step, you have an interview

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with me, the founder. 
And that interview really is 

241
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just to get really in depth 
about why you run your business,

242
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why you want to be on the 
platform, Why do you want to 

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work with interior designers? 
It's very conversational. 

244
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It's very, we're going to become
close friends. 

245
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I really just want to get to 
know every single pro that's on 

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the platform. 
And then from there, if you move

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on to the next step, it's being 
accepted onto the platform. 

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Even once a pro has been 
accepted onto the platform, we 

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are constantly still vetting, 
we're still monitoring all pros,

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checking back in in six months 
and seeing how we can support 

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them and just how their business
is doing. 

252
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It's pretty in depth. 
But I think it's important and I

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think that that really is where 
the trust comes into play. 

254
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For interior designers to hire 
his people just mean that 

255
00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,200
they've been vetted and then 
they're continuing to be vetted.

256
00:14:59,560 --> 00:15:00,560
I think it's. 
Important. 

257
00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:05,440
Yeah, that is, yeah. 
And so is this maybe an option 

258
00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:10,160
also for designers who are 
looking to supplement their 

259
00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:13,400
income, like maybe they're been 
in business a year or two and 

260
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,920
they're still looking to get 
more work and so they could be 

261
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hired out as a virtual design 
assistant. 

262
00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:22,560
How did they get a part of that 
program? 

263
00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:26,320
So when a pros looking to join. 
That's tricky. 

264
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:32,280
And that's something that I have
spent so much time and really 

265
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,840
just returning to my peers and 
having the ongoing conversation 

266
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because I think even for me 
having my business for four 

267
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years, there's so much ebb and 
flow. 

268
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There's seasons, we're not 
getting a ton of projects, and 

269
00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:49,880
then there's seasons where you 
get a ton of, you know, And so I

270
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,160
really want to figure out how I 
can support interior designers 

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00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:57,840
if they're like, Oh, well, I can
offer 3D renderings when I'm low

272
00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,080
on projects and it's hard 
because there is a limited 

273
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:04,200
amount of people that can even 
be on the platform. 

274
00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,560
So I think that it's a balance 
I'm still navigating. 

275
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:10,680
Yeah, I'm still navigating. 
But if there is an interior 

276
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:14,400
designer out there who wants to 
be on the platform and offer 

277
00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:19,920
services, I'm 1000% e-mail me 
and we can get the conversation 

278
00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:21,680
started. 
OK, great. 

279
00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:27,280
So for designers who maybe want 
to utilize this platform and 

280
00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:32,440
they do need help, they fill out
a form probably right to to see 

281
00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:35,800
what it is that they need and 
then they work with you to do 

282
00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:39,000
they meet several people or do 
you just kind of matchmaker? 

283
00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,720
Have a match. 
If somebody reaches out to me, 

284
00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,120
they can explain what they're 
looking for or you can go 

285
00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:50,320
directly to whatever category 
you're looking at or meeting and

286
00:16:50,320 --> 00:16:52,400
look and see what pros are in 
there. 

287
00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:56,160
And haven't ruled out with it 
yet, but I am planning on 

288
00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:59,440
creating a podcast where I 
interview all of the pros. 

289
00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:03,000
And so if you're torn between, 
oh, I like this company, but I 

290
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,680
also feel like I align with this
company, you can actually listen

291
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:12,400
to a 30 minute podcast on each 
company and a little bit behind 

292
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,160
the scenes, pull back the 
curtain on that pro, which would

293
00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,000
help you make a decision. 
So it's a little bit of bulls, 

294
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,920
it's a little bit of like the 
matchmaking and kind of seeing 

295
00:17:23,920 --> 00:17:27,960
who's a fit for who. 
But also designers can just go 

296
00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:31,840
on there and do a deep dive and 
look at all the profiles and see

297
00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:33,920
what they resonate with. 
Fax. 

298
00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,240
Yeah. 
So are the pros that are on 

299
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,120
there, they have their own 
companies and then they're just 

300
00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:45,760
adding this on as like a virtual
arm of their their business? 

301
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,480
Yes, yes. 
So all pros on there have their 

302
00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,320
own companies. 
Most of the pros on there have 

303
00:17:53,320 --> 00:17:55,040
some sort of interior design 
background. 

304
00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,200
So either they were previously 
an interior designer and made a 

305
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:04,240
career switch or they only work 
with interior designers or they 

306
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,600
have extensive knowledge in 
interior design. 

307
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:10,680
That's the whole point of the 
platform is to hire people that 

308
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:16,320
know your business and what know
the jargon and how it runs, so 

309
00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,800
everybody on there has some sort
of design background. 

310
00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,000
Yeah. 
So I imagine bookkeeping 

311
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:24,760
services would be one of the 
main ones, and that's one of 

312
00:18:24,760 --> 00:18:26,560
your pain points when you're 
starting out. 

313
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:31,000
And as we know, there's a lot of
platforms for bookkeeping as 

314
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,680
well for designers. 
I mean, there's of course 

315
00:18:33,680 --> 00:18:37,400
QuickBooks a lot of people use, 
but then there's studio designer

316
00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:39,800
and design manager. 
Do you have people for all of 

317
00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,200
those different types of 
platforms? 

318
00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:46,520
I'm working on because there's 
certain categories that 

319
00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,800
specialize in certain project 
management software. 

320
00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:54,240
So you might have Avda who works
closely in studio designer and 

321
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,880
works closely in my DOMA, which 
we're kind of navigating that 

322
00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:02,400
all of the pros that are on 
there currently have been hand 

323
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,920
selected by myself. 
And So what kind of navigating 

324
00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:10,840
like I want to have a variety. 
So I don't want all of the Vdas 

325
00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,920
to only be in my DOMA or all of 
the Vdas to only be in the 

326
00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,640
software. 
I really want a variety of 

327
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,880
people who work in a variety of 
different kinds of software. 

328
00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:23,400
So I don't know if that answers 
the question. 

329
00:19:23,400 --> 00:19:25,640
Yeah. 
No, that that it does, yeah. 

330
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:30,080
So that there should be someone 
out there for you regardless of 

331
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,840
what platforms or softwares that
you're using, right? 

332
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,320
Because there's a lot of 
different design software. 

333
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,720
Do you ever make recommendations
for people who maybe are like, I

334
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,880
need to create some systems in 
my business? 

335
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,080
I don't, I'm not using the 
software. 

336
00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,160
Would you meet with them and 
kind of be like, oh, I think 

337
00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,480
that like this platform would 
work well for you and here's the

338
00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:54,040
person who can help implement 
it. 

339
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,920
Is that also something you could
do? 

340
00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:01,000
Yes, and I do plan on having a 
bunch of resources for designers

341
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,600
that explain the different types
of software. 

342
00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:05,880
I have used so many different 
software. 

343
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,560
I have a little bit of knowledge
in pretty much all of them. 

344
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,040
So I definitely want to work 
with designers on software for 

345
00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,080
like managing clients, managing 
your business, but also software

346
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:22,280
about drafting and just getting 
the knowledge out to designers. 

347
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,680
I think more often than not in 
this day and age. 

348
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,840
Interior designers are coming 
from all walks of life, so some 

349
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:34,480
are coming from the education 
pathway and some are coming into

350
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,280
the career as a second or third 
career. 

351
00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:41,280
And so knowledge is key. 
And just getting that knowledge 

352
00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,480
in front of designers who are 
coming from second or third 

353
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,040
careers, I think is going to be 
really important. 

354
00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,200
That's going to be an ongoing 
machine for me, is just the 

355
00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:55,840
educational standpoint and 
bringing in people who know more

356
00:20:55,840 --> 00:21:00,720
than me and who are experts on 
different software, yeah. 

357
00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:03,480
Yeah. 
And I think one of the most 

358
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,760
common things I hear designers 
telling me that they might want 

359
00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:12,560
to hire up for is like social 
media newsletter, things like 

360
00:21:12,560 --> 00:21:17,280
that where it is helpful to have
an industry specific or someone 

361
00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:19,760
not knowledge about that 
interior design industry, not 

362
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,560
just having some general 
marketing person who can do your

363
00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,800
social media for you. 
So do you have that as well and.

364
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:32,800
We have social media managers 
who will also do like if you 

365
00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:36,600
want to do Pinterest, whatever 
the platform is, they can help 

366
00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,120
you navigate that. 
And I think you are so correct. 

367
00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:44,480
Social media management is just 
like a growing category. 

368
00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,560
It's definitely, we have social 
media managers, we have PR 

369
00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,120
agents. 
Of course, we have branding and 

370
00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:53,440
marketing. 
Yeah, good, good. 

371
00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:55,360
OK. 
So like even setting up like an 

372
00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:59,680
e-mail workflow and things like 
that, that would be good. 

373
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,400
PR is interesting as well. 
So if someone was looking maybe 

374
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,120
to get a lot of their projects 
published, you have APR 

375
00:22:07,160 --> 00:22:11,760
specialist who can or publicist 
who could help connect them or 

376
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,920
help them work on getting that. 
And they specialize in interior 

377
00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:18,640
design, so they know all of the 
publications, they have the 

378
00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:22,600
connections already set up. 
So PR is one of that I'm really 

379
00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:25,080
excited about. 
And then in my own personal 

380
00:22:25,080 --> 00:22:28,760
business, I'm starting to think,
oh, I kind of want like a 

381
00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:34,480
workflow set up on my pricing. 
Over the years I've gone hourly,

382
00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,400
I've gone flat fee. 
I've never done square footage, 

383
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:41,120
but I need just like a more 
streamlined process for bidding 

384
00:22:41,120 --> 00:22:44,160
my projects. 
And that's my own thought that 

385
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,960
I've been having. 
And then I'm like, that needs to

386
00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,320
be on the platform out there who
want someone to come into their 

387
00:22:51,320 --> 00:22:54,880
business and help them create a 
pricing model. 

388
00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,000
And so now I'm looking for that 
to answer. 

389
00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:58,720
Yeah. 
No, that's great. 

390
00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:01,880
I think that's helpful that you 
are practicing designer because 

391
00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:04,760
then you can identify like OK, 
now I need this and now I need 

392
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,240
that and everyone else is going 
to want that as well, so. 

393
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,120
That's in a way I am my own 
target audio. 

394
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:15,040
Yeah, it's a lot of the people. 
Yeah. 

395
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,480
And it's nice because a lot of 
the pros that are currently on 

396
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:21,760
the platform, I've actually used
them in my own interior design 

397
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,320
business. 
So I already know their 

398
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,960
workflow, I already know their 
integrity, how they show up. 

399
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:32,080
So it was just a very nice, 
fluid way to start the platform.

400
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:34,680
Yeah. 
Well, you sound like you're very

401
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:39,080
busy if you have a kid and then 
you have two businesses that are

402
00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:42,360
also your kids, so. 
Yes, I stayed busy. 

403
00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,000
That was, yes. 
Yeah, I often say that my 

404
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,280
business is like another child, 
really, because it just requires

405
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,600
so much attention, you know? 
Yeah, yeah, my daughter goes 

406
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,800
just at 7 and I'm definitely on 
my laptop working. 

407
00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,440
So, yeah, OK, well, where can 
people find you? 

408
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,280
I'm sure they're going to want 
this service, so let's tell them

409
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,120
how to find you. 
Yes. 

410
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:10,560
So the platform is live and it's
vetted-bydesign.com on, on 

411
00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:15,360
social media, Instagram vetted 
by design, LinkedIn vetted by 

412
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,800
design, all things vetted by 
design. 

413
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:22,240
Currently. 
I did open up applications. 

414
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:25,280
And so if there's any pros out 
there that are interested in the

415
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:29,440
platform, even if you don't know
if you want to apply, you just 

416
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:33,040
want to have a conversation with
me, I would love that. 

417
00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,080
That'd be amazing. 
Great. 

418
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,760
OK. 
We'll put those links in the 

419
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:41,840
show notes so everybody can find
you and use the platform or even

420
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,240
maybe get hired to to be on 
there. 

421
00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:49,240
So, OK, well, thanks Renisha for
coming on today and sharing this

422
00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,600
great service with our audience.
Yes, yes. 

423
00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:55,480
Thank you for having me. 
It's fun because I've been a 

424
00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:59,560
long time listener and it was 
just like fun to be on the other

425
00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:01,840
side of it. 
Yeah, yeah, it's it's been 

426
00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,200
really fun. 
Oh well, thank you for listening

427
00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:06,720
of. 
Course, of course, I don't know 

428
00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:10,880
if it you've reached a lot of 
designers, so it's really cool 

429
00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:14,360
to finally talk with you and 
just say thank you for your 

430
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,640
podcast and how much help you're
putting out. 

431
00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,240
It's just amazing. 
Well, that's. 

432
00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,040
Great to hear because I don't 
always get that feedback. 

433
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,200
I know it's going out to people,
but they don't always take the 

434
00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,560
time to leave a review or just 
message me. 

435
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:30,640
And I, I love to hear it. 
So thank you for letting me 

436
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:32,080
know. 
All right. 

437
00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:33,960
Well, we'll talk soon. 
Awesome. 

438
00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:43,480
Thank you so much. 
All right, so if you are 

439
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:49,320
interested in growing your team 
and maybe are daunted by the 

440
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,640
fact that you have to hire 
someone, well, I think Vetted by

441
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,280
Design is going to be a great 
opportunity for you to do this 

442
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:00,480
so much more easily than doing 
it by yourself. 

443
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,320
So reach out to Ranisha. 
We've put her information in the

444
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:06,480
show notes. 
And while you're there, don't 

445
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:09,080
forget to look for all the other
goodies we have for you. 

446
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:14,160
Links for downloads and 
information on my design mentor.

447
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:18,520
If you're looking for a little 
more help in getting your career

448
00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:21,080
started, then you're going to 
want to get in there. 

449
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,000
So all that information is there
for you. 

450
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:27,960
I'd love to hear from you and 
that's all I have for you this 

451
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,480
week. 
So next week we'll have another 

452
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,640
great episode and until then, 
stay creative. 

453
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,240
Thanks for listening. 
If you love this episode, please

454
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:40,000
leave a rating and a review. 
This helps me reach other 

455
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,760
curious creatives like you. 
If you have a topic request or 

456
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would like to contact me, simply
head over to my website 

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awardesigncom or e-mail me at 
podcast at awardesigncom.

