1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,100
Hello and welcome to episode 10 
of design. 

2
00:00:03,100 --> 00:00:07,300
Curious podcast. 
Today on the show, I have Liz 

3
00:00:07,300 --> 00:00:11,000
Toombs who is a designer with a 
very interesting. 

4
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:16,200
Need she designs for the Greek 
life, she does primarily 

5
00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:18,600
sorority houses and you'll hear 
all about that in our 

6
00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,700
conversation. 
How she got into that and how 

7
00:00:22,700 --> 00:00:27,500
she uses her Niche to Market and
connect with people all over the

8
00:00:27,500 --> 00:00:29,700
country. 
Let me tell you a little bit 

9
00:00:29,700 --> 00:00:34,300
about Is she is known as The 
go-to Decorator for sorority 

10
00:00:34,300 --> 00:00:38,900
Interiors on college campuses, 
the work of tombs and the PDR 

11
00:00:38,900 --> 00:00:43,300
Interiors team can be seen on 
over 80 campuses spread across 

12
00:00:43,300 --> 00:00:46,900
22 plus States. 
A leader in the decorating 

13
00:00:46,900 --> 00:00:50,300
industry for nearly two decades.
Tooms is a graduate of the 

14
00:00:50,300 --> 00:00:55,200
University of Kentucky and an 
alumna of Alpha, Gamma, Delta 

15
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,700
mentoring women is a keystone of
PDR something tombs learned. 

16
00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:04,200
To Value through her fraternity 
experience, helping to preserve 

17
00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:06,000
that experience for current and 
future. 

18
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,600
Members of women's organizations
is what drives tombs to focus on

19
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:14,600
sorority housing projects, in 
addition to pdrs vast work in 

20
00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:17,000
Greek housing. 
The Firm also offers 

21
00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,100
comprehensive services for 
private residences. 

22
00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:24,100
A trusted media Source terms is 
quoted in notable Outlets, 

23
00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:27,400
including the Huffington Post, 
the associate press and 

24
00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,400
realtor.com she. 
And the company were Done 

25
00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,300
msnbc's. 
You are business in a profile 

26
00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:37,300
about the Brand's business 
Acumen tombs resides in 

27
00:01:37,300 --> 00:01:40,700
Lexington Kentucky where she is 
very involved in giving back to 

28
00:01:40,700 --> 00:01:43,000
the community Through the Junior
League and other local 

29
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,200
charities. 
She created the Mary SS Memorial

30
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,800
Scholarship in honor of her 
mother who passed away from 

31
00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,800
cancer in 2012. 
The scholarship is awarded 

32
00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,500
annually to a University of 
Kentucky College of Agriculture 

33
00:01:55,500 --> 00:01:57,800
food and environmental. 
Steward n't who has lost a 

34
00:01:57,808 --> 00:02:02,300
parent from cancer tombs and 
Joy's exercising spending time 

35
00:02:02,300 --> 00:02:05,700
on Lake Cumberland and almost 
always has a book in her hands. 

36
00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,100
She shares her home with her 
husband Billy and they're 

37
00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:11,800
frequently instagrammed dog 
Bartlett. 

38
00:02:12,300 --> 00:02:16,400
So let's talk with Liz about her
Niche and how she got into 

39
00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:23,200
interior design. 
You're now listening to design, 

40
00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,300
curious a place where you 
creative one are here to learn 

41
00:02:27,300 --> 00:02:30,400
about what it really is. 
Like, to be an interior designer

42
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:35,000
and I'm your host and Mentor 
Rebecca, Ward, if you're worried

43
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,800
about how to succeed in a 
creative career, if you're ready

44
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,800
to learn your next steps to 
become an Interior Designer. 

45
00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:46,100
And if you want the satisfaction
of doing something you love 

46
00:02:46,100 --> 00:02:49,100
every day, You are in the right 
place. 

47
00:02:49,300 --> 00:02:52,800
Grab a coffee, a notebook. 
And let's dig into today's 

48
00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,500
episode. 
I'll is welcome to design, 

49
00:02:56,500 --> 00:02:58,100
curious. 
Thanks for being here. 

50
00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:02,500
Well, thanks for having me. 
Yeah, I've been looking forward 

51
00:03:02,500 --> 00:03:04,000
to this. 
I'm really curious about your 

52
00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,200
story and I want to hear all 
about it. 

53
00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,900
So why don't you start by 
telling our listeners the name 

54
00:03:09,900 --> 00:03:12,400
of your company and where you're
designing out of? 

55
00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,100
Yeah, sure. 
So the name of my company is PDR

56
00:03:16,100 --> 00:03:18,900
Interiors. 
We Based in Kentucky. 

57
00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:21,600
So we've got an office in 
Lexington and Louisville. 

58
00:03:21,700 --> 00:03:26,100
I have a small team but we do 
sorority house designs. 

59
00:03:26,100 --> 00:03:29,000
And we do those on college 
campuses across the country. 

60
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,900
Wow, that is such a specific 
Niche. 

61
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,200
Hello that. 
How did you get into that? 

62
00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:36,500
Oh gosh. 
That's always like the 

63
00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:38,000
million-dollar question, isn't 
it? 

64
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:41,900
So the short version is through 
a business. 

65
00:03:41,900 --> 00:03:46,300
Contact of my husband's, I was 
asked to do a fraternity house 

66
00:03:46,300 --> 00:03:49,800
to help them with a space. 
The update and then Word of 

67
00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,200
Mouth from there. 
Another organization, a women's 

68
00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,000
organization on the same campus 
which was the University of 

69
00:03:56,008 --> 00:03:59,300
Kentucky, they heard about me. 
So they called and asked for my 

70
00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:01,800
help. 
And then from there, I have just

71
00:04:01,900 --> 00:04:06,000
built relationships at local and
National levels and parlayed it 

72
00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,700
into a niche market. 
That I really love because I was

73
00:04:09,700 --> 00:04:14,100
Greek in college, and so I can 
see the benefits and understand 

74
00:04:14,100 --> 00:04:17,600
the value of housing supporting 
that college experience. 

75
00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:20,500
Right. 
So do you reach back to your 

76
00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:22,700
college times? 
And you're thinking about your 

77
00:04:22,700 --> 00:04:26,600
whole experience as you went 
through that the Greek housing 

78
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:29,900
and everything like that, the 
maybe frustrations that you ran 

79
00:04:29,900 --> 00:04:34,700
into, or what was it like for 
you at that time, I loved the 

80
00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:38,500
house I thought it was amazing 
to have this big house where I 

81
00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:41,600
can hang out with all of my 
friends and I could go once a 

82
00:04:41,608 --> 00:04:44,200
week for dinner when I wasn't 
living in the house and then I 

83
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:46,300
could go for lunch and dinner 
every day. 

84
00:04:46,300 --> 00:04:49,200
When I was living in the house, 
And that was awesome for me. 

85
00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,500
And then, you know, we'd have 
the TV room where we would all 

86
00:04:51,500 --> 00:04:55,900
pile into watch TV shows. 
Now, all the women get in there 

87
00:04:55,900 --> 00:04:58,500
and they watch The Bachelor at 
the time, it was more, like, 

88
00:04:58,500 --> 00:05:00,500
Trading Spaces, like those. 
Yeah. 

89
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,800
Run. 
And actually, that was part of 

90
00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,100
the inspiration of my story is, 
I was watching. 

91
00:05:07,100 --> 00:05:08,900
Do you remember Vernie upon the 
show? 

92
00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:11,800
Yeah, I think it was burnt. 
I may remember that part wrong, 

93
00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,500
but either way, somebody did a 
sorority house on one of the 

94
00:05:15,500 --> 00:05:17,600
episodes and I was like there is
no way. 

95
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,200
The people get paid to do 
sorority houses like no way and 

96
00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,700
then anyway, it just obviously 
planted the seed for me and here

97
00:05:25,700 --> 00:05:27,700
we are all these years later. 
Wow. 

98
00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:31,300
That's so how do you get paid? 
Like, is there a budget? 

99
00:05:31,300 --> 00:05:35,300
That's rorty houses have that 
they can plan for updating the 

100
00:05:35,300 --> 00:05:39,600
house each year or every couple 
of years or how do you work with

101
00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:41,300
that on the business side for 
you? 

102
00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:46,200
Yes, that is a good question. 
So yes, there is a budget and 

103
00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,200
how often a house gets Dated 
really varies on what size that 

104
00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,500
budget is and kind of what kind 
of level of quality can go in 

105
00:05:54,700 --> 00:05:58,900
but yes they they look at it as 
a business and they figure out 

106
00:05:58,900 --> 00:06:01,300
how often they need to be 
replacing things to stay 

107
00:06:01,300 --> 00:06:05,000
competitive on campus 
recruitment but also to serve 

108
00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:08,100
the needs of their members 
because those needs change, 

109
00:06:08,100 --> 00:06:12,300
things change over time how the 
women use the space changes, you

110
00:06:12,300 --> 00:06:15,800
know, you obviously have to have
sleep study, eat spaces you want

111
00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:19,800
hangout spaces, so yeah. 
So anyway, that budget is all 

112
00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,200
brought to me and my team and we
figure out how to allocate it to

113
00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,600
the best possible uses. 
So it is a residential house. 

114
00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:30,500
But do you at all? 
Look at it as though it's a semi

115
00:06:30,500 --> 00:06:33,100
commercial space because so many
people are coming through and 

116
00:06:33,100 --> 00:06:34,900
using it. 
Do you have higher quality 

117
00:06:35,100 --> 00:06:37,200
fabrics and Furniture because of
that? 

118
00:06:37,500 --> 00:06:40,800
Hmm, totally so it definitely 
has to look like a home and feel

119
00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,500
like a home but it has to 
perform on a commercial level. 

120
00:06:43,500 --> 00:06:46,600
Just like you're saying but it 
doesn't necessarily they don't 

121
00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:49,000
want it to look like a Hotel, if
you will. 

122
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:52,200
So we have to figure out some 
ways to kind of get the 

123
00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:56,700
commercial durability in and get
all that high quality, but then 

124
00:06:56,700 --> 00:06:59,400
also make it feel as comfortable
as if you were going home to see

125
00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,800
your parents for the weekend, 
right? 

126
00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,400
Yeah. 
So when you are in the sorority 

127
00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:08,400
house yourself, and you're 
watching Trading Spaces and 

128
00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,200
you're like, no, no way anyone 
gets paid for that, was that 

129
00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:15,100
like a, planting a seed for you 
of, like, I would love to do 

130
00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:17,600
that if someone could get paid 
well to do that. 

131
00:07:18,100 --> 00:07:20,800
Yeah, absolutely. 
And to me that was like a moment

132
00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,000
of thinking, I could be a 
personal shopper, right? 

133
00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,400
Like people get paid to shop for
right, right. 

134
00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:29,100
That was my own personal moment 
of, oh my gosh, like that does 

135
00:07:29,100 --> 00:07:33,800
not exist except on TV but it 
does in a there is a need for it

136
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:38,100
and there is you know a good 
group of us out there that do 

137
00:07:38,100 --> 00:07:41,800
this kind of work solely and a 
lot of designers have done one 

138
00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,800
or two here or there, but that 
is about 90% of what my team 

139
00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,200
does. 
And so it's a focus and We 

140
00:07:48,300 --> 00:07:50,900
decided Focus that we have we 
have chosen. 

141
00:07:51,300 --> 00:07:56,000
Okay, so before you fell into 
this Niche, how did you come 

142
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,500
about with PDR and develop your 
business and what was your 

143
00:07:59,500 --> 00:08:01,400
education and everything? 
Okay. 

144
00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:05,300
Oh so what I did was a little 
bit less of the traditional 

145
00:08:05,300 --> 00:08:08,300
route. 
So I majored in merchandising 

146
00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:13,900
apparel and textiles, I was very
clear when I went into college 

147
00:08:13,900 --> 00:08:16,400
and I went to meet with my 
advisor, the things that 

148
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,200
interested me. 
Interior design was great. 

149
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,800
I loved it. 
I love fashion but I just wasn't

150
00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:23,300
sure what I wanted to do with 
all of it. 

151
00:08:23,300 --> 00:08:26,600
So she suggested I take a class 
in this at the time, we called 

152
00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,400
it, Matt for merchandising 
apparel, and textiles and I 

153
00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,299
loved it. 
It was all about, we had, you 

154
00:08:33,299 --> 00:08:36,200
know, fiber content classes. 
We really got in there and 

155
00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,100
learned about Fabrics. 
There obviously was a retail 

156
00:08:39,100 --> 00:08:41,799
component with that 
merchandising part of things. 

157
00:08:42,100 --> 00:08:45,600
And so I just I enjoyed that and
I went that route the interior 

158
00:08:45,600 --> 00:08:47,500
design program being a little 
bit more. 

159
00:08:47,700 --> 00:08:52,500
Or architecture focused was not 
my personal Forte and not what I

160
00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:56,600
wanted to get into, that's why I
went the route I did. 

161
00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,800
And then once I graduated, I 
worked in sales for a little 

162
00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:04,400
bit, for a countertop company 
and got my feet. 

163
00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,200
Wet on the sales, side of 
things, which I know so many 

164
00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,200
people are just really averse to
selling, right? 

165
00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:14,000
It makes them nervous. 
They feel like it sleazy. 

166
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:19,200
It's not a promise you, you can 
make it In any possible way. 

167
00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,300
Yeah, so yeah. 
So I did that and I lot of my 

168
00:09:22,300 --> 00:09:25,200
customers were design firms and 
they were contractors. 

169
00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,600
And so I started to see that 
side of the business and really 

170
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,500
take an interest in it. 
And so I went to work for one of

171
00:09:31,500 --> 00:09:34,100
my customers. 
That had a design franchise here

172
00:09:34,100 --> 00:09:38,900
in Lexington, and did a 
certified interior decorators 

173
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,500
course, with that program, or 
that company. 

174
00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,400
And I still keep that 
certification up today but that 

175
00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,000
was my past. 
Earth to getting here, right. 

176
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,500
And then in 09 that company 
closed. 

177
00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:55,500
You know, we had the recession 
right luxury business is weren't

178
00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:59,000
always doing really well so that
I closed up and I went out of my

179
00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:00,400
own. 
Okay. 

180
00:10:00,500 --> 00:10:02,700
Wow. 
So then how did you grow your 

181
00:10:02,700 --> 00:10:05,700
business over that time because 
you started in the recession? 

182
00:10:05,700 --> 00:10:07,600
Basically, I mean I did the same
thing. 

183
00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,400
So how did you start getting 
clients? 

184
00:10:10,800 --> 00:10:14,400
Well, the only way to go after a
recession is up in my opinion. 

185
00:10:14,500 --> 00:10:17,500
Yeah, exactly. 
I don't think so. 

186
00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:21,200
I chose to start without I 
didn't want any investors? 

187
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,000
I didn't want to take out a 
loan. 

188
00:10:23,100 --> 00:10:26,600
Some what I did was I obviously 
was known in the profession 

189
00:10:26,600 --> 00:10:30,200
already, just under a different 
company name and I was doing a 

190
00:10:30,208 --> 00:10:33,700
lot of networking locally. 
I was a part of be and I 

191
00:10:33,700 --> 00:10:35,300
business Network having a 
national. 

192
00:10:35,300 --> 00:10:36,900
Are you familiar with that? 
I am? 

193
00:10:36,900 --> 00:10:37,700
Yeah. 
Okay. 

194
00:10:38,100 --> 00:10:41,700
So I was involved in that at the
time and so I just started, you 

195
00:10:41,708 --> 00:10:45,000
know, to ask for referrals or 
what I wanted with my own 

196
00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,000
business and started to get them
and then I would take my money 

197
00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,200
from projects, invest it back 
and more marketing and 

198
00:10:51,208 --> 00:10:54,200
networking and pay myself a 
little bit and just let it 

199
00:10:54,200 --> 00:10:57,500
snowball from there. 
It was slow growth, but it was 

200
00:10:57,500 --> 00:11:00,200
growth that I was proud of and 
that I was comfortable with 

201
00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:05,300
because I wasn't putting me and 
my husband too much at risk by 

202
00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:07,400
getting us into a ton of debt 
instead. 

203
00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,200
I was just working with what 
money was coming in at the time.

204
00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:11,700
Hmm. 
Yeah. 

205
00:11:11,800 --> 00:11:15,200
So, have you tried anything in 
your business that hasn't worked

206
00:11:15,300 --> 00:11:19,400
well as you been growing? 
Yeah, I'm sure that I have and 

207
00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,900
now, I have to think about what 
it is because I tend to be 

208
00:11:21,900 --> 00:11:24,600
harder on myself than somebody 
else would be. 

209
00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:28,400
So there were things that I've 
done, like, whatever the latest 

210
00:11:28,400 --> 00:11:31,100
thing is, and I'll be like, oh, 
I could do that or I'll try 

211
00:11:31,100 --> 00:11:34,500
that, you know, then you end up 
bouncing around a lot and just 

212
00:11:34,500 --> 00:11:37,800
staying in your lane owning what
you're good at, and focusing on 

213
00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,100
that. 
And I think that is something as

214
00:11:41,300 --> 00:11:44,200
business owners. 
Especially new business owners, 

215
00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:47,500
we tend to want to grab at 
anything that we can get jobs. 

216
00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,500
Lies and that's okay to an 
extent because you have to 

217
00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:54,500
experience certain clients or 
certain projects to know that 

218
00:11:54,500 --> 00:11:58,400
that's not really what you want 
to get into but you can't keep 

219
00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,600
that up forever and so as soon 
as I learned that lesson of you 

220
00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:06,100
know I just need to let it go. 
I want to lean into the sorority

221
00:12:06,100 --> 00:12:07,600
work. 
We still have our great 

222
00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:09,600
residential clients. 
We work with but I'm not 

223
00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:13,100
necessarily out there trying to 
take anyone and everyone as a 

224
00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:17,500
client that was good like I 
learned from my mistakes there. 

225
00:12:19,100 --> 00:12:21,500
Something else I did was I was 
like I want to write a book 

226
00:12:21,500 --> 00:12:24,000
because I'm an Avid Reader and, 
you know, I wanted to share all 

227
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:27,100
my knowledge and different 
things and I just I couldn't get

228
00:12:27,100 --> 00:12:29,100
it right? 
Rebecca like I just I wasn't 

229
00:12:29,100 --> 00:12:31,700
happy with what I was putting 
out and I still have the 

230
00:12:31,700 --> 00:12:34,000
manuscript and it's still there 
and I think one day I'll come 

231
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:35,200
back to it. 
Yeah. 

232
00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,700
But I just for whatever reason, 
it wasn't the right time. 

233
00:12:38,700 --> 00:12:41,400
So I don't know if you count 
that as something I've done 

234
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,100
wrong, her steak, I kind of do. 
But then, I also try to give 

235
00:12:45,100 --> 00:12:48,300
myself some Grace and say, like,
it just, it was The timing. 

236
00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:52,300
Yeah, before the call, we are 
talking about how you have a 

237
00:12:52,300 --> 00:12:53,900
person helping you out right 
now. 

238
00:12:53,900 --> 00:12:57,100
Are you mentoring this 
individual in your firm right 

239
00:12:57,100 --> 00:12:58,900
now? 
Yes, we actually have two 

240
00:12:58,900 --> 00:13:01,600
student workers. 
Okay, so typically what happens 

241
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:05,100
is we offer like a summer 
internship for somebody in the 

242
00:13:05,100 --> 00:13:08,100
interior design program. 
Historically, they've come from 

243
00:13:08,100 --> 00:13:11,300
the University of Kentucky but 
it's open to any University, any

244
00:13:11,300 --> 00:13:15,600
school and they work with us for
the summer and if that goes well

245
00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,800
then they have the opportunity 
to start working This part time 

246
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:23,200
in the fall and that role is 
called project assistant. 

247
00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:25,700
Because what I try to do is to 
give them the opportunity to 

248
00:13:25,700 --> 00:13:28,700
move up and be promoted within 
the company, because they're not

249
00:13:28,700 --> 00:13:30,200
getting a lot of work 
experience. 

250
00:13:30,200 --> 00:13:32,700
Otherwise, and I think that's 
really valuable in their resume 

251
00:13:32,700 --> 00:13:36,200
to show that, they made an 
increase during and I'm here. 

252
00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,600
Oh, that's really smart. 
Yeah, yes. 

253
00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:42,200
So long story short, I have a 
student that just started today.

254
00:13:42,200 --> 00:13:44,300
She is a freshman. 
This is the first time I've ever

255
00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:46,900
brought a freshman on, but I 
think she's going to be a really

256
00:13:46,900 --> 00:13:47,800
great addition. 
Mission. 

257
00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,300
And so she's interning. 
And then our intern from this 

258
00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:54,500
past summer, she is moved into 
the project assistant role. 

259
00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:57,300
So she's here in the office 
today, doing some drawings and 

260
00:13:57,300 --> 00:14:02,100
pulling some things together, 
how big is your firm, then it is

261
00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:03,800
so small. 
It's that's okay. 

262
00:14:03,900 --> 00:14:07,600
I just mentioned and then I have
one other designer who is in the

263
00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,800
Louisville area. 
So okay, if it's small on 

264
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,100
purpose it's a little more 
manageable that way. 

265
00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:15,500
Yeah. 
So how long then do you keep 

266
00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:19,300
these project assistance? 
If you on the job, like it's not

267
00:14:19,300 --> 00:14:23,300
a never-ending position, right? 
So right, yeah. 

268
00:14:23,300 --> 00:14:26,800
So it depends on where they are 
in their college career. 

269
00:14:26,900 --> 00:14:30,400
Personally, I enjoy bringing in 
interns in their sophomore year,

270
00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:33,500
right for their sophomore year 
because that gives us some more 

271
00:14:33,508 --> 00:14:37,700
time together if it goes, well, 
is the last project assistant I 

272
00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:40,900
had she started as an intern. 
She was with us two and a half 

273
00:14:40,900 --> 00:14:45,300
years because I am early and so 
that was so great because I 

274
00:14:45,300 --> 00:14:48,100
think the reason a lot of firms 
shy away from A from getting 

275
00:14:48,100 --> 00:14:50,800
interns is because you feel like
by the time you get them up to 

276
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:53,500
speed with your processes, 
they're leaving. 

277
00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:55,900
They're already going on to 
something else and if you're not

278
00:14:55,900 --> 00:14:58,900
in a position that you want or 
need to hire them full time, 

279
00:14:59,100 --> 00:15:01,200
you're just kind of stuck. 
And so you feel like you've put 

280
00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,800
all this time in and you're not 
really, you know, getting much 

281
00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:06,300
from it or you feel like you're 
too busy. 

282
00:15:06,300 --> 00:15:09,900
And so this is kind of my way of
combating that if that makes 

283
00:15:09,900 --> 00:15:11,800
sense. 
Yeah, that's great. 

284
00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:16,000
I love seeing other designers, 
give to the new generation 

285
00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,200
coming through and Seen on all 
the things that you're learning 

286
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:22,200
and kind of help fast-track 
their careers which is great 

287
00:15:22,500 --> 00:15:24,900
opportunity. 
Yeah that's what's great about 

288
00:15:24,900 --> 00:15:28,400
you doing this podcast is 
helping anybody at whatever 

289
00:15:28,400 --> 00:15:31,400
point in their life to learn 
about the profession and learn 

290
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,000
about the different facets of 
it. 

291
00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:35,100
I shared with you before we 
recorded. 

292
00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:37,900
It's now part of my intern 
orientation that they have to 

293
00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:42,200
listen to your design 
internship, do's and don'ts 

294
00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:45,600
because I thought you had some 
really valuable advice in there.

295
00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:49,400
And I couple that with the Book.
Great on the job. 

296
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:51,600
Who? 
I had heard that author Jody, 

297
00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:55,400
Glickman speak on a different 
podcast and I am obsessed with 

298
00:15:55,400 --> 00:15:57,700
this book. 
Like everything in it is so 

299
00:15:57,700 --> 00:15:59,900
valuable. 
I used to teach a soft skills 

300
00:15:59,900 --> 00:16:01,900
class at the University of 
Kentucky. 

301
00:16:02,100 --> 00:16:05,200
And it's just all of those 
things college is great for 

302
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:08,000
teaching, you your craft, but 
they're not great at teaching, 

303
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,100
you those soft skills and this 
book. 

304
00:16:10,100 --> 00:16:12,900
And then, I think your podcast 
are so valuable to go 

305
00:16:12,900 --> 00:16:15,600
hand-in-hand for the interns 
that come through my company. 

306
00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,300
That is very, I'm gonna go check
That book right after we get off

307
00:16:19,300 --> 00:16:21,000
this call, I highly recommend 
it. 

308
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,800
I bought a whole box of them to 
give away because I'm so 

309
00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,900
obsessed. 
That's great. 

310
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,600
I want to touch on. 
You just said that you hot soft 

311
00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,800
skills at the college. 
Can you explain what that term 

312
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:35,100
is? 
And what kind of skills you were

313
00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:37,300
actually teaching? 
Yes, absolutely. 

314
00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,500
I realized, when I say that, 
it's not always clear. 

315
00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:43,200
So some of the very specific 
things that we talked about was 

316
00:16:43,500 --> 00:16:46,400
networking. 
So the students would pick a 

317
00:16:46,408 --> 00:16:50,000
profession that they were 
interested in and find someone 

318
00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,700
locally that they could sit down
and have coffee with or 

319
00:16:52,700 --> 00:16:55,100
interview. 
And I had a lot of great 

320
00:16:55,100 --> 00:16:58,500
contacts from my network that 
stepped up and they said, hey, 

321
00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,100
we will meet with these kids and
they came away with so much 

322
00:17:02,100 --> 00:17:06,000
valuable information about 
understanding their career or 

323
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:09,000
their desired career. 
I should say we talked about 

324
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:12,200
that, we talked about 
appropriate, workplace, attire, 

325
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,700
and how it's not 
one-size-fits-all and there 

326
00:17:16,700 --> 00:17:20,400
still are Some rules that do 
apply to everything. 

327
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:23,900
So we tried to kind of give them
preparation for that. 

328
00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,599
We talked about when it's 
appropriate to make a phone call

329
00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,600
versus an email versus texting 
someone in the business world, 

330
00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:33,900
that's really good. 
Yeah, uh-huh. 

331
00:17:33,900 --> 00:17:37,800
Yeah, it's an age bracket of 
people that I think want to just

332
00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:42,100
automatically go to text but you
lose tone of voice and you lose 

333
00:17:42,100 --> 00:17:44,700
some context there and they're 
going to be a lot of confusion 

334
00:17:44,700 --> 00:17:47,400
between text and email. 
Where if you pick up the phone 

335
00:17:47,500 --> 00:17:51,100
phone you you can really solve 
things a lot quicker. 

336
00:17:51,100 --> 00:17:53,200
Yeah. 
But yeah, it was those types of 

337
00:17:53,200 --> 00:17:55,800
things that we went over. 
We even had a speaker come in 

338
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,800
and talk about how to have 
difficult conversations in the 

339
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,700
workplace and we had some 
scenarios just to try to prep 

340
00:18:01,700 --> 00:18:04,100
these students. 
For sometimes you have to have 

341
00:18:04,100 --> 00:18:07,300
uncomfortable conversations and 
these are some of the best ways 

342
00:18:07,300 --> 00:18:10,000
you could approach those. 
Yeah, yeah, guaranteed. 

343
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:13,600
You will have uncomfortable 
conversations and yeah, with 

344
00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,400
clients and vendors with 
coworkers, is it? 

345
00:18:16,400 --> 00:18:17,400
Alright. 
Yeah. 

346
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000
Wow, what a really great class. 
I wish every student had to take

347
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,700
that. 
Thank you. 

348
00:18:23,700 --> 00:18:27,900
Yeah, to its that's stuff. 
I needed to know getting out and

349
00:18:27,900 --> 00:18:31,300
I learned over time and so I 
just wanted to try to get it 

350
00:18:31,300 --> 00:18:34,700
back into school. 
Yeah, wonderful. 

351
00:18:35,100 --> 00:18:38,500
So, over the last couple of 
years, the industry's been 

352
00:18:38,500 --> 00:18:42,000
changing, you know, with the 
pandemic and all those things, 

353
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,700
how has it changed for you? 
Has your Niche with the 

354
00:18:44,700 --> 00:18:49,600
sororities been affected at all.
All, yes, it's definitely been 

355
00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,700
affected. 
I think where I saw it the most 

356
00:18:52,700 --> 00:18:56,600
was early on the concerns that 
there was because just like you 

357
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,400
said, there is a budget 
associated with these houses. 

358
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:04,200
And when you had to shut down 
schools and send everyone home 

359
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,300
from campus, has suddenly the 
funds that you're relying upon 

360
00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:11,600
to come in for students, paying 
for that housing and then you 

361
00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:13,100
use that money to keep up the 
house. 

362
00:19:13,100 --> 00:19:17,000
Those funds stop for a minute 
and we were all very unsure when

363
00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,400
that was going. 
Come back and start flowing 

364
00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:23,000
again. 
So we saw a little bit there but

365
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:28,100
fortunately I've seen that the 
Greek system hasn't slowed down 

366
00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:31,500
since then because now people 
are really clamoring for 

367
00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:37,000
camaraderie and together and 
Gathering and they want that 

368
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:41,100
place to belong even more so 
than they did pre-coated, right?

369
00:19:41,100 --> 00:19:45,100
So in that regard things are 
going really well. 

370
00:19:45,100 --> 00:19:49,400
And were you Greek in college? 
Do you have But I had some 

371
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,900
friends who are yeah. 
Okay, so you maybe know a little

372
00:19:51,900 --> 00:19:56,200
bit about it but so recruitment 
usually is the end-all be-all as

373
00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,600
far as you want the house in 
Tip-Top shape because you're 

374
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,800
going to have these potential 
new members coming through. 

375
00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:05,000
So you want to show it off that 
over the years, has changed some

376
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,100
on different campuses. 
They try to level the playing 

377
00:20:07,100 --> 00:20:10,000
field by removing some of the 
decorative items. 

378
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,900
So that it's really more about 
the members and the people in 

379
00:20:12,900 --> 00:20:14,900
it. 
But for the campuses that 

380
00:20:14,900 --> 00:20:18,300
everything does stay in the 
house, it's usually You want to 

381
00:20:18,300 --> 00:20:22,200
sparkling and looking amazing 
and something that covid did do 

382
00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:27,300
was it cause people to slow down
with all of these supply chain 

383
00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:30,800
issues and these delays, 
everyone involved in these 

384
00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:34,000
housing projects, realized we're
going to get it when we're going

385
00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:35,500
to get it. 
Yeah, we're going to have to 

386
00:20:35,500 --> 00:20:38,200
figure out how to recruit 
without, you know, it just. 

387
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:41,200
It can't be about the house, it 
can't be about this stuff and 

388
00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,600
we're going to be okay. 
You know a lot of worse things 

389
00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:46,000
have happened and we're going to
be fine. 

390
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,200
And so I really She ate that 
level of patience that has come 

391
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,200
out of it and now whereas 
usually the summer would be the 

392
00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,000
only time we would be installing
these projects because the 

393
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,600
students would be out of school 
now, we have them trickle more 

394
00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,100
throughout the year and 
selfishly from a scheduling 

395
00:21:02,100 --> 00:21:04,400
standpoint. 
It's lovely because I'm able to 

396
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,700
spread out my travel similar. 
Right. 

397
00:21:06,700 --> 00:21:10,300
Yeah, that's good. 
Are you doing primarily 

398
00:21:10,300 --> 00:21:13,600
Furnishings or do you do any 
remodels of like the bathrooms 

399
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,500
and kitchens and things like, 
all of that. 

400
00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,900
So don't tend to get into the 
kitchens because They are more 

401
00:21:17,900 --> 00:21:22,200
commercial kitchens and I don't 
say too much in that regard. 

402
00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,000
Yeah, people do like the night 
kitchens or, you know, the 

403
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:26,800
little server, he's things like 
that. 

404
00:21:26,900 --> 00:21:29,900
But yes, the bathrooms new 
construction, any kind of 

405
00:21:29,900 --> 00:21:34,300
renovation and addition, as well
as just updating furnishings and

406
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,000
soft goods. 
Yeah. 

407
00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:39,000
And has that taking you outside 
of your region? 

408
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,800
Do I've been designing all over 
the country or are you guess or 

409
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,000
Internet? 
We have a map that we keep in 

410
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,800
our office just to keep Keep 
you. 

411
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,100
It's just a fun little reminder.
So we have done projects on 

412
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:55,300
campus, has over 90 campuses and
likeness 25 plus States. 

413
00:21:55,300 --> 00:21:58,300
So, about your way in 
California, we've been up to New

414
00:21:58,300 --> 00:22:01,000
York down to Florida, and 
everywhere in between. 

415
00:22:01,100 --> 00:22:04,300
Wow, that's great. 
And then you you travel to each 

416
00:22:04,300 --> 00:22:07,400
of these locations, I mean, I'm 
sure you can do a lot remotely, 

417
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,200
but yes, you see the finished 
product for sure. 

418
00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:13,900
Yes, in most instances we do. 
So we usually try to go on two 

419
00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:15,300
trips. 
We try to go out for what we 

420
00:22:15,300 --> 00:22:19,300
call our scoping trip where we 
get All the information we need 

421
00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:21,300
and measurements and meet with 
people. 

422
00:22:21,500 --> 00:22:23,300
And then, everything else is 
done remotely all of our 

423
00:22:23,300 --> 00:22:26,800
meetings, all of our design work
and then we go back to oversee, 

424
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,500
the installation and just to 
make sure everything that we 

425
00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:33,100
envisioned in the client wanted 
is, what is happening? 

426
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,000
Hmm. 
Do you see your company growing 

427
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,800
more than what you're doing now,
like having more employees or do

428
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,000
you think you're at it? 
Sweet spot. 

429
00:22:41,100 --> 00:22:43,000
You know, I feel like I'm going 
to Sweet Spot. 

430
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,200
We have had more people before 
and it's fine. 

431
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:50,300
Fine. 
But I find that then I get 

432
00:22:50,300 --> 00:22:53,700
pulled a little bit thin because
I'm not able to do as much 

433
00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:57,400
design work as I enjoy doing and
having to manage people more. 

434
00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:59,800
And that is something that you 
really have to think about when 

435
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,900
you're running a business, is 
why are you running this 

436
00:23:02,900 --> 00:23:04,600
business? 
Is it because you just want to 

437
00:23:04,608 --> 00:23:09,000
be like Visionary, top-level 
management that type of stuff? 

438
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,800
Is it that you want to get in 
there and do the nitty-gritty 

439
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,400
work all the time? 
Because there is a difference 

440
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,800
between those two things. 
And my husband and Talk about 

441
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:21,500
this a lot that it's weird to us
that in. 

442
00:23:21,500 --> 00:23:24,000
I don't know if it's American 
culture if it's just business 

443
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,400
culture in general. 
But when somebody's good at 

444
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,500
their job, the way that you are 
rewarding them is by making them

445
00:23:31,500 --> 00:23:35,000
manage other people doing the 
job and that's not necessarily 

446
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,500
what they're good at. 
And so I think we have to know 

447
00:23:37,500 --> 00:23:41,600
yourself as a professional and 
just as a general person and 

448
00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,300
know what you want to get out of
that. 

449
00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:48,300
Yeah, so good because he think 
about going up the The ladder in

450
00:23:48,300 --> 00:23:52,900
a company, it takes you out of 
the craft and that might be what

451
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:54,700
I mean. 
Some people will find that they 

452
00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:58,000
do enjoy that management that 
upper level management and 

453
00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,400
things like that. 
Yeah. 

454
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,900
But initially there in there 
because of the craft and they 

455
00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:05,500
take that away, maybe they lose 
the passion for the job. 

456
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,500
Yeah, you're exactly right. 
And nobody can answer that for 

457
00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:10,200
you. 
You have to know what you want 

458
00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,700
out of that. 
So I've learned over the years, 

459
00:24:12,700 --> 00:24:14,800
I like a relatively smaller 
team. 

460
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,500
I want us to all be there to be 
able to Hope each other but it 

461
00:24:18,500 --> 00:24:21,700
doesn't need to be massive and I
think we've had a good point 

462
00:24:21,700 --> 00:24:22,900
right now. 
Good. 

463
00:24:23,100 --> 00:24:26,600
Do you know of other designers 
who have the same Niche that you

464
00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:29,700
could refer people to if you, 
like we're overstretched or had 

465
00:24:29,700 --> 00:24:31,900
too many projects on the 
inquiry? 

466
00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:36,200
Know, that's a good question. 
So, there are a few of us that 

467
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,500
do this Pocus and the situation 
has not come up where we've had 

468
00:24:40,500 --> 00:24:43,600
to refer to each other. 
Most of the clients are actually

469
00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,200
aware of us, but I'm not 
opposed. 

470
00:24:47,300 --> 00:24:49,200
To it. 
I do that with my residential 

471
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:51,200
work. 
If we're stretched too thin, we 

472
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:54,400
have some good people locally 
that we happily refer to and the

473
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:58,200
clients are thrilled for the 
recommendation because if they 

474
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,400
come to us it's usually by 
referral. 

475
00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:03,800
And so then they trust our 
opinion and I really value that 

476
00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,300
I appreciate you asking that 
because not everyone in this 

477
00:25:06,300 --> 00:25:10,700
industry is so generous that 
they would want to refer to past

478
00:25:10,700 --> 00:25:13,600
business to someone else. 
Oh yeah, yeah for sure. 

479
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:17,200
I always loved having a resource
that designers I can refer 

480
00:25:17,500 --> 00:25:21,100
Clients or potential clients to 
if I'm just like I can't I'm at 

481
00:25:21,100 --> 00:25:24,300
capacity right now but I had no 
another great designer and you 

482
00:25:24,308 --> 00:25:27,200
know, we're all there's enough 
for everybody, we're all in this

483
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,800
together. 
So it's just like this chair. 

484
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:33,200
I agree with you. 
And then in the end, you're 

485
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,100
still looking out for the 
clients best interest. 

486
00:25:35,100 --> 00:25:37,700
Because it's not about you and 
you just telling them no and 

487
00:25:37,700 --> 00:25:40,900
walking away, you're helping 
them get connected to someone 

488
00:25:40,900 --> 00:25:43,100
who can assist them. 
Exactly. 

489
00:25:43,300 --> 00:25:44,900
Yeah. 
And I even learned that as I 

490
00:25:44,900 --> 00:25:47,800
was, you know, starting out 
definitely a Generalist. 

491
00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,700
Like doing all the things 
commercial residential, and then

492
00:25:50,700 --> 00:25:53,700
eventually I was like, I'm not 
great, like it's not my 

493
00:25:53,700 --> 00:25:56,300
wheelhouse to do the commercial 
design. 

494
00:25:56,300 --> 00:25:59,400
So, I started getting a group of
designers that I could refer 

495
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,500
that out too, because I'm like, 
I'm not doing the client a 

496
00:26:01,508 --> 00:26:04,900
service. 
If I give them mediocre design, 

497
00:26:04,900 --> 00:26:07,600
working commercial where it's, 
you know, they're going to do 

498
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,500
better with some who specializes
in it. 

499
00:26:09,500 --> 00:26:13,200
So, you are exactly right. 
And I totally believe in what 

500
00:26:13,200 --> 00:26:16,600
goes around comes around and 
like you said, there is plenty 

501
00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,800
of work for All of us. 
And so there's no need to act 

502
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,700
out of a mentality of scarcity. 
Exactly, hundred percent. 

503
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,000
Okay, good. 
Any other advice you have for 

504
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,500
people starting out on their own
with a small business or just 

505
00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,200
into the career? 
Oh gosh. 

506
00:26:33,300 --> 00:26:36,700
I think just you know, get to 
know people in the profession, 

507
00:26:36,700 --> 00:26:39,800
you know, just like you and I 
talking I learned so much from 

508
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,600
other folks in in the industry 
and you know, you and I met 

509
00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:48,000
through Toby fairley's coaching 
and it Zayn you. 

510
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,200
And now I'm doing some continued
stuff with her. 

511
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,700
And I do get so much value from 
hearing what other people are 

512
00:26:53,700 --> 00:26:55,900
doing. 
Not because I'm trying to copy 

513
00:26:55,900 --> 00:27:00,200
it, but because I realize I'm 
not alone in either my struggles

514
00:27:00,300 --> 00:27:03,500
or my questions or these ideas 
that I'm having. 

515
00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:07,400
And so I get some validation in 
that camaraderie and then I feel

516
00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,100
more empowered to go forward. 
So I would definitely encourage 

517
00:27:10,100 --> 00:27:13,900
people to feed off of other 
folks, they could just be other 

518
00:27:13,900 --> 00:27:16,200
creatives in general. 
It doesn't have to be someone in

519
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,100
your exact line of Or were you 
dragging competition? 

520
00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:20,500
You know. 
Yeah, yeah. 

521
00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:24,400
For sure, do I remember that? 
You had a podcast going to do 

522
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,100
you still do that? 
I do. 

523
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:30,300
Yes, I took a little bit of a 
break for the summer installs, 

524
00:27:30,300 --> 00:27:33,500
but yes, my podcast is called 
sorority chat and we'll be 

525
00:27:33,500 --> 00:27:37,200
coming back here in the fall. 
And we talked about its 

526
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:41,400
everything related to sorority 
housing decorating and Beyond. 

527
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,000
So I'm really big on leadership.
I love hearing about those 

528
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,300
topics and there's a lot of that
that ties Into sorority stuff. 

529
00:27:48,300 --> 00:27:51,000
So we we come back to that quite
a bit as well. 

530
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,000
So, yes, thank you for letting 
me talk about that. 

531
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,900
Oh, yeah, we'll definitely have 
a link in the show notes for 

532
00:27:55,900 --> 00:27:58,800
that. 
Is that then geared towards 

533
00:27:58,900 --> 00:28:01,900
Greek life? 
Or is it for designers or the 

534
00:28:01,908 --> 00:28:06,700
key to your towards Greek life? 
So anybody like students or 

535
00:28:06,700 --> 00:28:11,300
alumni or National Housing 
offices, anybody involved in 

536
00:28:11,500 --> 00:28:14,200
kind of the sorority housing 
side of things. 

537
00:28:14,300 --> 00:28:18,000
We also have a course called 
interior decorating. 101 

538
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,500
sorority Edition and that is 
geared towards like local how 

539
00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:25,100
scoreboards running a house. 
Although it has been suggested 

540
00:28:25,100 --> 00:28:27,500
that maybe I tweaked it a little
bit because there is some 

541
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:31,000
interest from other designers 
and wanting to get some 

542
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,900
knowledge of how to 
appropriately serve that market.

543
00:28:33,900 --> 00:28:37,300
So that's okay. 
Okay, really interesting and 

544
00:28:37,300 --> 00:28:38,800
well we can put a link to that 
too. 

545
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:42,900
And where's where can people 
find you on your website and 

546
00:28:42,900 --> 00:28:44,400
socials? 
Yeah. 

547
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:49,700
So the website is PDR Dash. 
Interiors.com and we are on 

548
00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:53,600
Facebook, Instagram and Tick 
Tock and it's at PDR Interiors. 

549
00:28:53,900 --> 00:28:56,400
Wonderful. 
Thank you so much Liz for coming

550
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,700
on and sharing your knowledge. 
And just loved hearing your 

551
00:28:58,700 --> 00:29:02,300
story and such a unique Niche to
discover. 

552
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:03,800
Yes. 
Well, thank you. 

553
00:29:03,800 --> 00:29:07,100
I always enjoy talking with you 
and I appreciate you making time

554
00:29:07,100 --> 00:29:09,100
for me. 
Yeah, talk to you later. 

555
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,800
So, I hope you found that as 
interesting as I did, it just 

556
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:24,300
goes to show you that you can 
use your own life experiences to

557
00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:27,400
really speak to your client, 
gives them confidence that you 

558
00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:29,800
understand where they're coming 
from and what they're going 

559
00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:33,600
through and each down into 
something that will really serve

560
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,200
them. 
And that you really enjoy, stay 

561
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:40,200
tuned for next week's episode of
design, curious podcast, as 

562
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,000
always, you can find the show 
notes and links to all the 

563
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,200
things that we've talked about. 
In the pot, especially the book 

564
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,300
She shared with us, I'll be 
going in purchasing that right 

565
00:29:49,300 --> 00:29:53,900
away and you will want to do all
those details can be found in 

566
00:29:53,900 --> 00:29:59,800
the show, notes at our war 
design.com for / podcast, and if

567
00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,500
you would like to be a guest on 
the show, go ahead and apply 

568
00:30:03,500 --> 00:30:07,900
their, we would love to hear 
your origin story and if you are

569
00:30:07,900 --> 00:30:11,100
a curious creative looking to 
discover, if interior design is 

570
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:13,900
the right career for you, then 
stay tuned for next week's 

571
00:30:13,900 --> 00:30:17,400
episode. 
Thanks for listening. 

572
00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:20,100
If you loved this episode, 
please leave a rating and a 

573
00:30:20,108 --> 00:30:22,000
review. 
This helps me reach other 

574
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:23,100
curious. 
Creatives. 

575
00:30:23,100 --> 00:30:26,700
Like you, if you have a topic 
request or would like to contact

576
00:30:26,700 --> 00:30:31,500
me, simply head over to my 
website, our Ward design.com or 

577
00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:35,500
email me at podcast at our war 
design.com,