1 00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:05,100 Hello and welcome to episode 38 of design, curious podcast, I am 2 00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:07,300 your host and Mentor. Rebecca Ward. 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:13,600 Today, on the podcast, I have Erika storied who is a fabulous 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,900 designer, turned brand marketing, professional, and 5 00:00:17,900 --> 00:00:22,100 I'll tell you all about her in a minute here, by wanted to remind 6 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:25,200 you about those downloads. I have you can find the links 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:28,100 for them in the show notes, but that is the three things. 8 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:29,900 I wish I had known before I start a career. 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,700 We're in interior design and the roadmap to become an Interior 10 00:00:33,700 --> 00:00:36,600 Designer. So if you're interested in the 11 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,100 career and want to learn a little bit more, you can get 12 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:42,600 those downloads and we'll put you on the mailing list. 13 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:47,300 So you can always receive the podcast episodes to your inbox. 14 00:00:47,300 --> 00:00:49,200 Each week, as well as bonus content. 15 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,000 That I might be putting out. And more information about my 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,000 design Mentor, which is my membership group for mentoring 17 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,600 people who are starting out in the career of interior. 18 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,900 So you can find all that information in the show notes 19 00:01:03,100 --> 00:01:07,300 and now let me tell you a little bit more about Erica Erica, SRI 20 00:01:07,300 --> 00:01:12,900 leverages a 23 plus year Global career in design and marketing 21 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:17,100 to transform brands in the home industry with a process centered 22 00:01:17,100 --> 00:01:20,300 on strategy, storytelling and insight. 23 00:01:20,700 --> 00:01:24,000 She began her career as an interior designer working with 24 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:29,800 ESI and BBJ in York and Ralph. Appelbaum Associates in Beijing. 25 00:01:29,900 --> 00:01:33,400 Ten-Four numerous cultural and Hospitality clients including 26 00:01:33,700 --> 00:01:40,000 the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 Shanghai Expo, Shanghai Natural 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,800 History Museum General Electric and Procter & Gamble, so that is 28 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:48,500 quite a lot. It's very Global and diversified 29 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:52,100 in 2011, she transitioned to a career in brand marketing for 30 00:01:52,100 --> 00:01:56,000 the design industry, continuing her studies in marketing and 31 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,800 business strategy. At the University of 32 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,900 california-berkeley. A former An educator. 33 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,900 She also holds a master's degree in interior, architecture and 34 00:02:04,900 --> 00:02:07,800 certifications in brand, storytelling from IDE. 35 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:11,800 Oh, brand strategy and social media marketing, as a global 36 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,500 brand marketing leader, she has LED digital product development 37 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:19,700 and brand strategy at Airbnb in San Francisco, creative 38 00:02:19,700 --> 00:02:23,900 immersive physical and virtual brand experiences for tag her 39 00:02:23,900 --> 00:02:28,400 and Estee Lauder and worked with top home lifestyle brands in US, 40 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:32,000 Europe and Asia to Develop award-winning brand messaging 41 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,600 and engagement campaigns. Erica is an inspiring and 42 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:37,700 motivating public speaker frequently. 43 00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:41,000 Invited to lead industry discussions on marketing brand 44 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,100 strategy, and storytelling, for trade events, and design, 45 00:02:44,100 --> 00:02:48,000 conferences around the world, a southerner at heart and traveler 46 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,600 by trade. She maintains residents in both 47 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,700 North Carolina and the south of France, which is where she was 48 00:02:54,700 --> 00:02:57,900 when I was interviewing her and Asbury jealous because I did 49 00:02:57,900 --> 00:02:59,800 live in the south of France for a year. 50 00:02:59,900 --> 00:03:03,800 We're doing my college studies, and I really want to go back. 51 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:09,500 So so I am jealous of her situation, but hopefully I will 52 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:13,900 get over there soon. So, without further Ado, let's 53 00:03:13,900 --> 00:03:18,400 welcome Erica to the show and you'll see that we just really 54 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:20,500 hit it off. She's just had so much great 55 00:03:20,500 --> 00:03:22,300 information. I think we could have talked for 56 00:03:22,300 --> 00:03:26,700 hours and hours and as it is a very long interview, but I think 57 00:03:26,700 --> 00:03:34,500 you'll find it very interesting. You're now listening to design, 58 00:03:34,500 --> 00:03:38,600 curious a place where you creative one are here to learn 59 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,700 about what it really is. Like, to be an interior designer 60 00:03:42,100 --> 00:03:46,300 and I'm your host and Mentor Rebecca, Ward, if you're worried 61 00:03:46,300 --> 00:03:50,100 about how to succeed in a creative career, if you're ready 62 00:03:50,100 --> 00:03:53,100 to learn your next steps to become an Interior Designer. 63 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,300 And if you want the satisfaction of doing something you love 64 00:03:57,300 --> 00:04:00,300 every day, You are in the right place. 65 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,900 Grab a coffee, a notebook, and let's dig into today's episode. 66 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,500 Hey Erica. Thank you for coming on design 67 00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:09,600 curious. Today. 68 00:04:10,100 --> 00:04:11,900 Thank you so much for having me Rebecca. 69 00:04:11,900 --> 00:04:14,100 I'm really excited to be here and talk to you. 70 00:04:14,500 --> 00:04:17,000 Yeah, I'm really excited to hear your story. 71 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,300 I've been really interested in how you got to where you're at. 72 00:04:21,300 --> 00:04:24,800 So first once you start out, you were an interior designer or, 73 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,000 alright? I think once you have been, you 74 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,100 always will be. But tell us about your path into 75 00:04:31,100 --> 00:04:34,200 interior design and what what brought you to become an 76 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:38,300 Interior Designer initially Yeah, so I grew up in High Point 77 00:04:38,300 --> 00:04:41,600 North Carolina. And it felt like, well, not 78 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,100 interior design directly was around me, but I was always 79 00:04:45,100 --> 00:04:49,800 surrounded by the Home industry and almost everyone I knew from 80 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:54,600 relatives to family, friends to kids, I went to school with 81 00:04:54,600 --> 00:04:57,800 their friends and their parents. Everyone was involved in some 82 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,600 way in the, in the industry, which was really cool to begin 83 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,800 with because what that showed me wasn't just about the showroom. 84 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,400 It wasn't just about the Product of, like, I mean, obviously, 85 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,200 there's furniture manufacturing specifically in High Point. 86 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,700 But there's so many other parts and pieces to that industry, 87 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,000 that have to become part of what goes into making a so far. 88 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,300 Chair a table or lamp, you know, obviously there's an 89 00:05:22,300 --> 00:05:25,500 infrastructure for distribution. There's a transportation 90 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:29,100 Network, High Point was named because it was the highest point 91 00:05:29,100 --> 00:05:32,000 on the railroad, which was shipping things from, obviously, 92 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,900 from one Coast to the mountains of North Carolina. 93 00:05:34,900 --> 00:05:37,400 But then, of course it went, Across the country as well. 94 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,400 The Home Furnishing industry. In High Point started at the 95 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,000 turn of the century. Like the 1900. 96 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:43,400 It's been around for a very long time. 97 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:45,600 Yeah. So there was this, you know, 98 00:05:45,608 --> 00:05:50,300 manufacturing part which started from having availability to Wood 99 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:53,300 and then cotton because there's a lot of textiles growing. 100 00:05:53,300 --> 00:05:55,900 They are cotton growing and creating a textile industry as 101 00:05:55,900 --> 00:05:57,500 well. So like kind of all of this 102 00:05:57,500 --> 00:06:00,500 parts and pieces wasn't specifically about the design or 103 00:06:00,500 --> 00:06:03,500 the button again, the furniture. So it was about all these parts 104 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:05,300 and pieces and I got to see that really young. 105 00:06:05,300 --> 00:06:08,100 It didn't mean anything. Anything to me until much later. 106 00:06:08,300 --> 00:06:11,600 But I don't know how I look back and I think, okay, you know, get 107 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,200 it. And, you know, I get what goes 108 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,900 into, not just the design industry, but into kind of 109 00:06:16,900 --> 00:06:19,500 making and creating things so growing up, I was super 110 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:22,400 creative. I love drawing and art and 111 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,000 making things. So I originally went to art 112 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:30,300 school for my first degree and I have a studio art degree 113 00:06:30,700 --> 00:06:32,400 undergraduate Bachelor of Fine Arts. 114 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,800 And while I was in art school, I also took a couple of courses. 115 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:37,600 And interior designs. What about the end? 116 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,100 You know, when you have only left over like just thinking 117 00:06:41,100 --> 00:06:44,400 like exactly like I, you know, I've always certainly been 118 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,900 interested, I grew up, you know, rearranging furniture and you 119 00:06:47,900 --> 00:06:50,200 know designing other people's houses, whether they liked it or 120 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:58,700 not a symptom. So I took interior design 121 00:06:58,700 --> 00:07:01,100 classes, I don't know if schools are organized like this anymore, 122 00:07:01,100 --> 00:07:03,600 but they were in the school of human environmental science. 123 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:05,700 So it was not in the art school. It wasn't enough. 124 00:07:05,900 --> 00:07:08,200 Design school at all. It was in a totally different 125 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,800 place, you know? So the curriculum was about, 126 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,100 like how does interior design? You know, a lot of it was about 127 00:07:14,100 --> 00:07:18,400 theory about how, you know, the environment changes are, it can 128 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:20,800 change our lives, it continually review, it can change, you know, 129 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:22,900 our health and well-being. I thought that was all really 130 00:07:22,900 --> 00:07:23,900 cool. But you know what? 131 00:07:23,900 --> 00:07:27,400 I was really there for was like you know let's design something 132 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:32,400 that's like yeah, definitely. So okay I was like, great. 133 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:33,700 Okay, this is what interior design is. 134 00:07:33,700 --> 00:07:35,800 This is cool after graduation I moved. 135 00:07:35,900 --> 00:07:40,100 To New Orleans to kind of become an artist and live, you know, 136 00:07:41,100 --> 00:07:45,500 your life is it. And I'm so, you know, obviously 137 00:07:45,500 --> 00:07:49,000 that didn't go so well. So I got a job like, a real job 138 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:51,300 to pay the bills and I ended up working in a landscape 139 00:07:51,300 --> 00:07:55,400 Architecture Firm and I thought, whoa, wait a second. 140 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,500 This is like, you know, the thinking and the making and the 141 00:07:58,508 --> 00:08:02,400 creating and obviously I'm like very much into plants but I was 142 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:05,700 like blown away. I had not ever occurred to me or 143 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,700 I've never been introduced to the idea that, you know, artists 144 00:08:08,700 --> 00:08:12,000 and designers come from the same place, like we speak the same 145 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,200 language. And so I worked there for a 146 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:16,500 while and I thought, okay, I'm going to. 147 00:08:16,900 --> 00:08:19,700 I feel like this is calling me, like, design is calling me. 148 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,400 And I, of course, the principles of the firm were like, yeah, 149 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,400 there's many things interior design is if that's what you 150 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,200 want to do, you know? Look at that going back to 151 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,300 school. So I went back to school, 152 00:08:28,300 --> 00:08:31,500 graduate school for Interior Design, interior architecture 153 00:08:32,500 --> 00:08:36,400 and it changed my life. I was able to take I fine art 154 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,000 background. My interest in museums are in 155 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,500 calories and really start to apply that to my graduate work, 156 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:49,200 which was, yeah, it was about exhibition design in museums and 157 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:52,800 so after graduate school I started working. 158 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,300 I taught at the University level for a while. 159 00:08:55,300 --> 00:08:59,300 I taught visual communication get to use that drawing and kind 160 00:08:59,300 --> 00:09:03,000 of presentation skills, which I was learning, which I found to 161 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:06,200 be really, really important just from observing NG what was 162 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:08,300 happening in this design office, as I was working there, 163 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,400 internships through graduate school and then throughout my 164 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:15,600 like, I was doing, I was a TA in, you know, Communications 165 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:18,100 courses. And what I was learning then was 166 00:09:18,100 --> 00:09:24,000 that it doesn't matter how great your design is our, how really 167 00:09:24,100 --> 00:09:27,500 incredible your ideas are about a project or, you know what, 168 00:09:27,500 --> 00:09:31,000 you're trying to get out. If you can't present it, if you 169 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,700 can, you know, wrap it into a really kind of interesting. 170 00:09:35,900 --> 00:09:40,000 Or attractive or provocative way, if you can't get people's 171 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,900 attention right away and that's not just your professor like in 172 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:45,200 design school. But like your peers, you want to 173 00:09:45,208 --> 00:09:49,600 get buy-in from your clients. Essentially, if you can't do 174 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,500 that, you really are going to have a hard time in the design 175 00:09:53,500 --> 00:09:58,000 world, because it's really is about taking very complex ideas 176 00:09:58,300 --> 00:10:00,900 about, you know, psychology and space. 177 00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:03,800 And, you know, when I could sense in architecture and even 178 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,200 all of, again, the pieces of A project I have to come together 179 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:10,100 and creating a very understandable. 180 00:10:10,100 --> 00:10:14,200 Clear concise message around that you're in trouble. 181 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:16,300 Yeah, yeah. Yeah. 182 00:10:16,300 --> 00:10:22,100 The visual communication that you or studying, and teaching 183 00:10:22,200 --> 00:10:25,000 definitely comes into play as designers do their 184 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:27,900 presentations. They have to communicate these 185 00:10:27,900 --> 00:10:30,200 complex ideas. Like you're saying and really 186 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,400 sell it to the client. You can't sell something. 187 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:34,900 If it doesn't look attractive. He's been to the client. 188 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,200 Yeah, and if you can't clearly communicate the idea, right? 189 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,000 And again, there's a little bit of psychology around that. 190 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,900 To you have to understand, like, what they really care about. 191 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:48,800 You know, are you answering their questions are you? 192 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,100 You know really meeting the need that they have. 193 00:10:52,100 --> 00:10:53,400 Right? If you design something, that's 194 00:10:53,400 --> 00:10:55,200 crazy. And I'll Off the Wall, that's 195 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,000 great. If you're able to communicate 196 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:01,100 why it's going to be relevant and worth spending money and 197 00:11:01,100 --> 00:11:04,900 time on then you'll get the project but if you can't do that 198 00:11:04,900 --> 00:11:07,400 then you know All those great ideas and all that hard work. 199 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:12,900 Doesn't really mean anything and so that kind of learning stayed 200 00:11:12,900 --> 00:11:17,000 with me through school into my practice into my, you know, 201 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:21,100 working years. And I spent about 10 more years 202 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:25,900 working in mostly hospitality and Commercial and exhibition, 203 00:11:26,100 --> 00:11:28,600 source of cultural work that I did that all over the world, I 204 00:11:28,608 --> 00:11:31,500 had the opportunity to travel and spend a lot of time in 205 00:11:31,500 --> 00:11:33,900 China. And at a time, when China was 206 00:11:33,900 --> 00:11:37,800 really booming, and You know, it was the recession here in the 207 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:43,000 u.s. around 2008 2009 and a lot of my friends were losing jobs 208 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,200 or they were, you know, and firms where that didn't have a 209 00:11:45,208 --> 00:11:49,600 lot of work coming in and I was in China, like, it was crazy. 210 00:11:49,900 --> 00:11:53,500 You know, our clients are like, there's no budget is like yeah, 211 00:11:53,500 --> 00:11:55,500 crazy budget. We want you to do things that 212 00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:58,800 the world has never seen before. So we were like having a ball 213 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:01,400 with design, a lot of work, of course, but it was such an 214 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,800 exciting time and what happened then was I started getting 215 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,900 pulled into Into, I mean, I became like the pitch girl. 216 00:12:07,900 --> 00:12:12,100 I got mold into a lot of presentation creation, a lot of 217 00:12:12,100 --> 00:12:14,800 new business development. A lot of like, fronting on 218 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:18,500 behalf of the agency, like what our ideas were and what, you 219 00:12:18,500 --> 00:12:21,300 know, what our capabilities were, and what the potential of 220 00:12:21,300 --> 00:12:23,600 the project might be. And so what again, I Learned 221 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:26,700 was, it's really about the story. 222 00:12:26,700 --> 00:12:29,700 You're selling to the client, you really? 223 00:12:29,700 --> 00:12:32,500 I mean, art form had tremendous Integrity. 224 00:12:32,500 --> 00:12:35,200 Of course, there's all of this was behind the project, but 225 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,300 right, it's Really about making sure that, you know, you are 226 00:12:38,300 --> 00:12:41,700 able to communicate your capabilities, what makes you 227 00:12:41,700 --> 00:12:43,900 interesting and different and what's going to make? 228 00:12:43,900 --> 00:12:47,800 You really kind of excel at being the best partner. 229 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:50,500 So once I started doing that, I kind of thought I really love 230 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:54,500 this because I really love this. It's feeding my creativity. 231 00:12:54,500 --> 00:12:56,100 It's feeding kind of this, right? 232 00:12:56,100 --> 00:12:58,000 And left. Brain side of me. 233 00:12:58,100 --> 00:13:02,100 I'm learning from the marketing team that I'm working with on, 234 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:05,600 you know, how were measuring the success of certain types of 235 00:13:05,700 --> 00:13:08,100 roaches. And I thought, okay, well 236 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,500 marketing is very creative. Feel like I grew up kind of 237 00:13:10,500 --> 00:13:13,900 naive in a very naive way thinking like things just, you 238 00:13:13,908 --> 00:13:16,300 know, interior design was one thing art was one thing. 239 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,100 Yeah. Everything they didn't sort of 240 00:13:18,700 --> 00:13:21,200 bucket. Yeah, they actually a rollup. 241 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,700 Yeah, totally. But again, you know, many people 242 00:13:25,700 --> 00:13:28,400 go on this journey where you make your own discoveries. 243 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:32,200 So I had mine and it just so happened that I was able to 244 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:37,200 transition into marketing roles out of Correct design like out 245 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,000 of drawing, wall, sections, and do we had and kind of doing 246 00:13:41,200 --> 00:13:44,500 plans and sketches. And like I said, I didn't and I 247 00:13:44,500 --> 00:13:47,400 kind of never looked back. How come yeah. 248 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:51,300 After that, I went to, I, you know, I was learning from some 249 00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:53,500 of the best, you know, marketing mentors. 250 00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:56,700 I could find. And I'm eager to understand 251 00:13:56,700 --> 00:14:00,200 everything, but I also went back to school, and kind of learned a 252 00:14:00,208 --> 00:14:03,800 little bit more formally, more principles of marketing, and 253 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:07,800 digital marketing specifically, Because I kind of saw that has 254 00:14:07,900 --> 00:14:12,800 the future but now I started my own business after over 10 years 255 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:16,000 of doing this kind of hybrid marketing design role 256 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:20,100 specifically, for either design firms, people who do work in the 257 00:14:20,100 --> 00:14:22,300 built environments with commercial and residential 258 00:14:22,300 --> 00:14:24,400 firms. I've also worked with Home 259 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:28,000 Furnishings manufacturers specifically in North Carolina 260 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:32,100 and my passion. Yeah, I saw on your website. 261 00:14:32,100 --> 00:14:36,200 You, I don't work with Vera-Ellen which I recently, We 262 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,400 got to visit their showroom, and I already had loved All The 263 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,000 Branding by Mikey. You're the one behind all of 264 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,700 that. So that is why don't I know they 265 00:14:45,700 --> 00:14:48,400 have such. I mean some Brands, it's not so 266 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:49,500 hard to sell. Yeah. 267 00:14:49,500 --> 00:14:53,700 Because obviously the products are amazing R and the experience 268 00:14:53,700 --> 00:14:56,800 is already there. The owners are really committed 269 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:00,600 to creating a Vibe and they own it and they put all the 270 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:02,500 resources toward doing that, and yeah. 271 00:15:02,500 --> 00:15:05,400 So it's not so hard. Yeah, they had a lot Clarity 272 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:06,900 around. And what their message is going 273 00:15:06,900 --> 00:15:07,700 to be. So I'm sure. 274 00:15:07,700 --> 00:15:12,700 Yeah, just Amplified it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 275 00:15:12,700 --> 00:15:17,600 So that's what I do now, I started my own business in covid 276 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,000 in 2020. Okay. 277 00:15:19,100 --> 00:15:21,800 I mean, why not like everything else in the world is true? 278 00:15:21,800 --> 00:15:26,900 So why not start a business? But I had always been kind of 279 00:15:26,900 --> 00:15:32,000 driven to be my own boss, to be an entrepreneur, kind of runs in 280 00:15:32,008 --> 00:15:34,400 my family ever does. Okay, yeah, yeah. 281 00:15:35,900 --> 00:15:39,300 My sister, runs our family's, third generation business. 282 00:15:39,700 --> 00:15:43,100 And yeah, and so I had always, you know, no one ever complained 283 00:15:43,100 --> 00:15:47,600 about their boss in at the dinner table because they kind 284 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:50,800 of wear them off, right? When you own your own company, 285 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,500 you don't you don't bring, you know, that kind of stuff home 286 00:15:53,500 --> 00:15:55,800 you bring other things. But yeah, yeah. 287 00:15:55,800 --> 00:15:59,200 So I'd sort of seen the just had been part of my life to sort of 288 00:15:59,200 --> 00:16:01,500 working for yourself and making it work. 289 00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:03,100 You know. It seems a lot of work. 290 00:16:03,100 --> 00:16:05,500 It's as you know, it's it's complex. 291 00:16:05,700 --> 00:16:08,300 And it's also land, it requires a lot of, you know, wearing a 292 00:16:08,308 --> 00:16:10,600 lot of hats and figuring a lot of things out. 293 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:12,600 I love that. Like, what is it? 294 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,100 Building the plane while you're flying it. 295 00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:17,300 Oh, yeah. But now, there's so many great 296 00:16:17,300 --> 00:16:20,200 resources, obviously for intrapreneurs and especially for 297 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,300 entrepreneurs in our industry, like your podcast, of course. 298 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,900 And so we're not we're not alone and obviously the world changed 299 00:16:27,900 --> 00:16:30,700 in such a magical way. Is something that really was 300 00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:33,500 great. That came out of the last few 301 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:37,400 years was that, you know, we are We may be bound at home, we may 302 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,900 be without an office, or without a kind of physical place to go 303 00:16:40,900 --> 00:16:43,200 back to. But this sense of community, the 304 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,500 sense of like digital Community finding people, you can reach 305 00:16:47,500 --> 00:16:52,700 out to became so much easier. And now, I feel like our mindset 306 00:16:52,700 --> 00:16:54,700 has changed, obviously are working habits and patterns have 307 00:16:54,700 --> 00:16:56,900 changed, but I really appreciate that. 308 00:16:56,900 --> 00:17:00,700 As a result, you have, you know what, we've all in toward? 309 00:17:01,200 --> 00:17:04,800 Yeah, I hope that many people started businesses as a result, 310 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,400 or we're given. That opportunity, right? 311 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:09,200 And yeah. And as a result, I think it also 312 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,599 kind of helps to fast-track some of our businesses as well, 313 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,800 because we have so much access now to that resource. 314 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,800 And it's right, so many mentors right at our fingertips that we 315 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,400 can just jump ahead, five years for I'm going to take so much 316 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:26,400 longer before, so that's great. I'm glad that I really good 317 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:31,900 point. Yeah actually yeah can warp 318 00:17:31,900 --> 00:17:35,200 speed exactly. Yeah, I mean just skip the 319 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,700 initial Just because you're learning from so many people and 320 00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:40,300 then you, yeah, you're on your way, so fast. 321 00:17:40,300 --> 00:17:43,700 Okay, so then you started in during covid. 322 00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:47,100 And so, how has that been for you now that you've been working 323 00:17:47,100 --> 00:17:50,800 on your own for yourself and never go back? 324 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:56,200 Never go back. Okay, no, truly it's for me. 325 00:17:56,200 --> 00:17:59,600 One of my values is Independence, obviously, I, it's 326 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,700 important for me to be able to provide for myself, you know, to 327 00:18:03,700 --> 00:18:08,200 rely on myself and And I show myself that every day and it's I 328 00:18:08,200 --> 00:18:10,700 have such a sense of Pride around that, but it drives all 329 00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:13,400 my decision making, right? If this is going to be a 330 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,600 decision that leaves me without a certain amount of Independence 331 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:20,000 either financially or with my time, then I know the answer. 332 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,600 So, but also, one of my values is have fun and work with people 333 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,100 whose value systems are aligned with mine. 334 00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:33,200 Who also you know really respect interior design and its power to 335 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:35,300 change people's lives. That's really important. 336 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:38,800 Most of my clients are interior designers or home Brands, so 337 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,100 okay. Why don't one or the other? 338 00:18:40,100 --> 00:18:43,900 Yeah, Architects. The people who, who make the 339 00:18:43,900 --> 00:18:46,700 built environment. Yeah, people who bring that to 340 00:18:46,700 --> 00:18:50,000 life and in all kinds of ways. But if I get a sense, you know, 341 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,600 either from, you know, talking to them, it, you know, that our 342 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,500 values don't align, then it's for me, that's, that's a strong. 343 00:18:55,500 --> 00:18:59,300 No, because I'm going to come at an angle in my work, which is 344 00:18:59,700 --> 00:19:03,800 marketing, branding messaging where I'm going to kind of want 345 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,500 to draw things out of people. And if that That you know, if 346 00:19:06,500 --> 00:19:08,500 that substance not there, it's going to be very difficult for 347 00:19:08,500 --> 00:19:13,500 me to provide the best solution. So it's going really well, just 348 00:19:13,500 --> 00:19:17,200 simply because I'm committed to my values and I'm committed to 349 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:22,100 making sure that I'm the one in charge of this, the growth and 350 00:19:22,100 --> 00:19:24,400 the trajectory a success of this company. 351 00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,500 And I have two incredible partners that I work with who 352 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:30,700 helped me and we share the same value. 353 00:19:30,700 --> 00:19:33,900 So I say that's yeah, it's going really well. 354 00:19:33,900 --> 00:19:37,400 But it's simply a result of Being very clear on what yeah 355 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,200 what's important to me when I'm sure that's what you help your 356 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,800 clients with as well. So your yes showing by example 357 00:19:43,900 --> 00:19:46,400 I'll say in attracting the client that you want because of 358 00:19:46,400 --> 00:19:48,000 your values. And then telling those clients 359 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:51,200 that this works for me. And this is what you need to do. 360 00:19:51,300 --> 00:19:54,800 Don't bring you satisfaction. Yeah, what would it take to 361 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,200 become a brand in the industry. So we talked about how easy it 362 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:00,400 is to start your business because there's so much out 363 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,900 there available to you, but then that also creates a lot of noise 364 00:20:03,900 --> 00:20:08,200 and I think that it is also Harder now than ever to become a 365 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,500 brand in an industry? Would you say that? 366 00:20:10,500 --> 00:20:15,200 Like yes, okay, yes. Well, I think it's important for 367 00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:18,800 people to be really clear about what that means and to really 368 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,600 understand Brands a complex thing, you know, it's not a 369 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,300 logo, it's more than a logo. It's more than, you know, your 370 00:20:26,300 --> 00:20:28,700 commitment to saying. I'm a brand more than what you 371 00:20:28,700 --> 00:20:32,600 post on Instagram. It's a feeling and it again this 372 00:20:32,600 --> 00:20:37,600 gets sticky for some people but brand Literally what the story 373 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:42,100 and the feeling you have inside of you about a product or even a 374 00:20:42,100 --> 00:20:46,300 service. So, everything we have around us 375 00:20:46,300 --> 00:20:48,900 from the headphones to. The microphone were speaking 376 00:20:48,900 --> 00:20:52,900 into to the clothing were wearing to the homes, were in 377 00:20:52,900 --> 00:20:55,100 the cars. We drive you know the toothpaste 378 00:20:55,100 --> 00:20:59,900 we use every single thing we've made a decision to purchase or 379 00:20:59,900 --> 00:21:05,000 acquire is based on brand and brand is like I said it's a 380 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,500 feeling and A story and an emotion you have about about 381 00:21:09,500 --> 00:21:11,400 that thing. That's going to drive you to 382 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,700 choose it over something else, right? 383 00:21:13,700 --> 00:21:17,200 So, in the case of interior design nerves becoming a brand, 384 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,700 the idea is that you're always going to be like, you're going 385 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:24,200 to Benchmark yourself against other designers who you want to 386 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,600 be seen as competing with on projects. 387 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:30,200 And there's a reality to that that may or may not be true. 388 00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,900 And, you know, and you can have this aspiration to, you know, 389 00:21:33,900 --> 00:21:35,600 benchmark against certain designers. 390 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,400 It's great and that's what you build your, you know, your 391 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,300 building constantly the storytelling, The Narrative, the 392 00:21:42,300 --> 00:21:46,000 messaging, the images away, you know, even the way you style 393 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,200 your work has to have, you know, a strategy and a purpose to it. 394 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,300 That's what I help clients to do is to kind of figure out, I call 395 00:21:54,300 --> 00:21:58,600 it getting your story straight. Really digging into, you know, 396 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,400 who you are as a business, so that you can switch from a 397 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,200 business mindset to a brand mindset and in I'm saying all 398 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:08,200 that. I mean obviously, just like 399 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,500 anything in marketing. There's no quick fix. 400 00:22:10,900 --> 00:22:15,000 There's no fast track to becoming kind of a seller brand 401 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,800 even though some Brands seem to rise faster than others, you 402 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,300 know, and there's certain circumstances and conditions 403 00:22:21,300 --> 00:22:25,000 that they invest in to make that possible, you know, it's not 404 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,400 always just money time, it's not working. 405 00:22:27,700 --> 00:22:31,000 So, you know, brand has a long. It has a long tail, has a long 406 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:34,500 path, but your investment in that is what is going to help 407 00:22:34,500 --> 00:22:39,300 you kind of, right? Is eventually over the I don't 408 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:43,000 like this a competition but to rise over and stand out amongst 409 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:47,200 other brands that are other designers, that your clients may 410 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:51,100 be considering either in your area or online in a, depending 411 00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:53,300 on what your service offerings are. 412 00:22:53,700 --> 00:22:57,400 And that's what I help designers to unpack is to figure out 413 00:22:57,600 --> 00:22:58,900 first. How do we get there? 414 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,400 And second like, what's the most important part? 415 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,800 If I am investing in this, over a certain amount of time? 416 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:07,700 Where do I start? Art and it's cool work. 417 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:10,700 It's my life's work. It's what I've been to do. 418 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,200 Yeah. And and definitely because you 419 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,900 have a history of being a designer and you worked in the 420 00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:17,300 industry. It really helps. 421 00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,700 You understand your clients as you're working with them? 422 00:23:20,700 --> 00:23:22,100 Yeah. The struggles that they're going 423 00:23:22,100 --> 00:23:25,200 through or the things that they might Overlook that are special 424 00:23:25,700 --> 00:23:29,400 or differentiate them from other people that they just take for 425 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:31,800 granted. So I feel like that is all the 426 00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:33,500 time. Yeah, I feel like it so 427 00:23:33,500 --> 00:23:35,600 comments, like I need someone else to tell me. 428 00:23:35,900 --> 00:23:39,100 What my story is because I like, I hear it all the time. 429 00:23:39,100 --> 00:23:43,300 I see myself all the time. My story is just there, but 430 00:23:43,300 --> 00:23:46,300 someone else will tell me like, oh, no, actually you're a great 431 00:23:46,300 --> 00:23:49,500 listener and like that. I really felt heard when you met 432 00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:52,900 together and so getting feedback like that is so helpful. 433 00:23:52,900 --> 00:23:56,400 But it's I think it's really difficult to on your own. 434 00:23:56,700 --> 00:23:59,400 Come up with that story about yourself and what? 435 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,100 Yeah, you're too close to it. Yeah, exactly. 436 00:24:02,100 --> 00:24:03,700 Yeah. So is that one of the ways that 437 00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:07,000 you help your clients to kind of Work through their story and 438 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,000 yep. So I think that you think are 439 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,300 special. Yeah, it's one of my I do this 440 00:24:12,300 --> 00:24:15,100 again to not to Brand it but to give people something to 441 00:24:15,100 --> 00:24:18,300 remember when they think about like, you know what, this 442 00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:21,400 process looks like. It's very strategic, you know, 443 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:25,200 just like any other part of your marketing, you have to have a 444 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,200 plan. You know, a lot of people say, 445 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,300 well, I've been trying this and I've been trying that, and I 446 00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:32,000 even tried to talk and, and I'm like, okay, well, show me. 447 00:24:32,300 --> 00:24:34,100 Where is all this coming from, like, why are you doing all 448 00:24:34,108 --> 00:24:35,400 this? Well, they don't have a plan 449 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,500 there. Yeah, doing what other people 450 00:24:37,500 --> 00:24:39,900 are doing, just because everyone else is doing it. 451 00:24:39,900 --> 00:24:42,100 So I should be doing it too. But they don't have any real 452 00:24:42,100 --> 00:24:45,200 kind of solid strategy or reason to be doing it. 453 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,900 And in the end, sometimes I might get like a little bit of 454 00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:51,400 success but it's not sustainable. 455 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,900 And they haven't really thought through exactly like what either 456 00:24:54,900 --> 00:24:57,200 to follow up with or how to continue to maintain it. 457 00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:00,600 So I always start with strategy and I like I said this, there's 458 00:25:00,600 --> 00:25:05,500 a three-part strategy that I use, I call it the E3 America. 459 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:09,500 And each of these were starts with an E, so it's okay. 460 00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:11,100 Quite easy to remember. Yeah. 461 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:15,300 So I start with what makes you extraordinary and that's that 462 00:25:15,300 --> 00:25:19,100 really exciting conversation where we get into, maybe your 463 00:25:19,100 --> 00:25:22,000 background isn't in interior design, maybe you come from 464 00:25:22,300 --> 00:25:25,700 another field or another you know whatever another career 465 00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:28,600 even I see this all the time people wanting to enter into 466 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,700 your design it's not always just one thing it's many things in 467 00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:35,500 fact but what is the thing that's going to make? 468 00:25:35,700 --> 00:25:38,400 You again when people are looking, you know, most 469 00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,000 typically at style as benchmarks, you know, you have 470 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,000 to be able to talk about substance instead of just style. 471 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,500 Like what is that thing? That's going to make you more. 472 00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:50,000 Extraordinary and stand out through really spend a lot of 473 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,500 time. Defining, what that is? 474 00:25:51,500 --> 00:25:55,800 That's your differentiator. That word seems scary to a lot 475 00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:00,600 of people so I prefer. What makes you extraordinary? 476 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,500 Yeah. The second thing is really, 477 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:05,500 really. Also, they're all important. 478 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,000 But the second thing is super super important. 479 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,400 It's what is the emotional connection that you are bringing 480 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,300 to, you know, from your work as a service provider as a maker of 481 00:26:15,300 --> 00:26:18,000 things? How are you going to create that 482 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:21,800 emotional connection with your ideal client? 483 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,300 Or, you know, whoever it is that you're really trying to, to 484 00:26:25,300 --> 00:26:28,700 serve and do you understand that? 485 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,400 There, I can multiple things that go through our mind. 486 00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:33,800 If you think about that purchase decision. 487 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:36,800 And when I was saying, like, if you look Everything has been 488 00:26:37,300 --> 00:26:40,200 decided on something because of an emotional connection or a 489 00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:44,100 story that resonated with you that was relevant to you. 490 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:48,200 And so, how are you going to make yourself relevant to your 491 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:51,200 particular ideal? However, you want to call it, 492 00:26:51,208 --> 00:26:54,200 your target, whatever your client that you're really trying 493 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,100 to attract, and you have to understand those emotional 494 00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:01,200 drivers. Those core motivations behind 495 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,400 that purchase decision. Now, the purchase decision to 496 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,800 hire an interior designer because it It's usually it's 497 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,600 expensive. It's going to take a long time, 498 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,300 it can create some disruption in your life, you have to move out 499 00:27:11,300 --> 00:27:14,700 of your house or your, you know there's it's a longer period, 500 00:27:14,700 --> 00:27:16,200 right? Then the purchase decision to 501 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:18,500 buy toothpaste for example, right? 502 00:27:19,100 --> 00:27:23,700 You really have to think about how long that will take and how 503 00:27:23,700 --> 00:27:27,000 will you nurture a relationship to build trust to? 504 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,900 Again make yourself relevant at but all through doing that, you 505 00:27:30,900 --> 00:27:33,800 come to that with the understanding about what their 506 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:37,900 true motivation is and Interior designers, know that, you know, 507 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:44,000 the decision to renovate or to redo a space is not exactly what 508 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:46,500 people say. There's always always always 509 00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:49,800 something deeper. It's always a, you know, an 510 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:52,200 emotional reason. And that's what we spend a lot 511 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,500 of time on to when it comes to brand, is to say, is there a key 512 00:27:56,500 --> 00:27:59,800 driver behind what most of your clients are coming to you for, 513 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,800 or if you're a new designer and you're just starting to plan 514 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,400 your brand, you know, what is the core emotion? 515 00:28:05,600 --> 00:28:07,100 Of the clients you want to attract, right? 516 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:10,000 What do they really looking for? Is it a sense of belonging is 517 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:14,500 it, you know, to leave a legacy and I have five of them that I 518 00:28:14,500 --> 00:28:18,400 have found over the years, really specifically apply to our 519 00:28:18,400 --> 00:28:20,500 industry and so we. Yeah. 520 00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:24,600 So we dig into those and unpack those and create a series of 521 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,800 languages around that and that's where the heart of the messaging 522 00:28:28,900 --> 00:28:31,300 begins. And then the third one, third 523 00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:37,500 e-330 is experience. So, I don't know how exposed 524 00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:41,400 your listeners are to the marketing funnel, marketing 525 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:43,700 funnel, yes. Some people use a wheel where 526 00:28:43,700 --> 00:28:46,600 it's a circle bent, and I'm, we don't have video, but the idea 527 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,000 is like, you know, a funnel has very broad at the top and it's 528 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,800 narrow in the bottom. And how you think about the 529 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,300 experience from the top of the funnel, which would be how 530 00:28:56,300 --> 00:29:00,100 people just become aware of you. Usually that happens, Instagram 531 00:29:00,100 --> 00:29:03,600 or word of mouth or email or they can meet you at an event 532 00:29:03,600 --> 00:29:06,500 or, you know, there's many ways to create a awareness for your 533 00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,200 brand. But what's the message you're 534 00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,900 telling at the awareness part at the very beginning, when they 535 00:29:11,900 --> 00:29:15,200 very first encounter you in the aisle of the grocery store for 536 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:18,100 today, is different like all, you know, on TV or they, you 537 00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:19,800 know, are at a friend's house or whatever. 538 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:21,800 Yeah. How are how is your interior 539 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,700 design, brand and service? How are people are? 540 00:29:24,700 --> 00:29:27,400 Encountering. It and is the message consistent 541 00:29:27,500 --> 00:29:31,200 like are they seeing the same thing over and over again about 542 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,400 you that you want them to understand? 543 00:29:33,700 --> 00:29:37,700 So that's where we start. Think like, okay, so top of the 544 00:29:37,700 --> 00:29:41,000 funnel, is this awareness? Middle of the funnel is middle 545 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,600 of the cycle is okay. Now they know who you are. 546 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:47,600 We're starting to understand what you offer them compared to 547 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,300 others, right? They're comparing you, they're 548 00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:53,400 making decisions about how relevant your services will be 549 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:56,000 in their life. And so your messages have to, 550 00:29:56,500 --> 00:30:00,200 you know, they have to be consistent with the that 551 00:30:00,200 --> 00:30:01,600 message. You're giving an awareness 552 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,800 phase, but then you have to go kind of a little bit further in 553 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,700 a little deeper or you're always working toward an idea of sort 554 00:30:08,700 --> 00:30:13,300 of authentic, obviously being authentically persuasive, you 555 00:30:13,300 --> 00:30:16,100 don't want to, you know, this is where people get kind of turned 556 00:30:16,100 --> 00:30:18,400 off by marketing. Like it feels kind of gross. 557 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,900 I don't ya, good selling myself but in a sense you really should 558 00:30:21,900 --> 00:30:23,300 never feel. Like you're selling yourself. 559 00:30:23,300 --> 00:30:26,500 You're offering something that you can provide that's going to 560 00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:28,000 really help people and change your life. 561 00:30:28,300 --> 00:30:32,100 And yeah, that authenticity comes when you're really in tune 562 00:30:32,100 --> 00:30:34,400 with and you're, you know, you really understand what makes you 563 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,600 extraordinary and It's relevant. And then again, looking at it, 564 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,900 across the experience of all your kind of marketing, touch 565 00:30:41,900 --> 00:30:44,500 points. So, the last part of that is the 566 00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:47,700 decision phase where they sign the contract and yeah, bring you 567 00:30:47,700 --> 00:30:51,000 into their life because, right after that very is, you know 568 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,600 what happens after how they are their story, how do they 569 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:59,100 communicate to their neighbors, or their friends, or or whomever 570 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:00,800 right? Are they still sharing that same 571 00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,700 message that you want to be candid about it? 572 00:31:03,700 --> 00:31:06,100 They be ambassadors. Now for your message. 573 00:31:06,100 --> 00:31:08,400 Did they get it? And that guy saying the same 574 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,500 thing to other people. Yeah, that's right. 575 00:31:10,500 --> 00:31:13,900 Yeah. And so we help with all of that. 576 00:31:13,900 --> 00:31:18,000 So we help with not just sort of defining that strategy 577 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,900 uncovering, you know, the three, he's uncovering like your 578 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:24,400 extraordinary part, your emotional connection and then 579 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:29,300 that experiential Journey than we helped create. 580 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:33,300 Obviously we do logo design, we do website design, we do email 581 00:31:33,300 --> 00:31:38,400 campaigns which I love great. Yeah, yeah, and social 582 00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,800 storytelling. So I was okay like know how do 583 00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:43,300 you share that message. So people don't get frustrated, 584 00:31:43,300 --> 00:31:46,500 many, many people come to me initially because of that, I'm 585 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:48,500 frustrated on social media. I don't know what to say. 586 00:31:48,500 --> 00:31:53,100 I don't know what to post blah. You know if you haven't heard 587 00:31:53,100 --> 00:31:56,800 that I'm sure yeah, yeah, yeah. All the feeling yourself. 588 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:03,300 I like what I say today. Okay, I wanted to touch back on 589 00:32:03,500 --> 00:32:07,900 the consistency part of your Sales funnel or your messaging 590 00:32:07,900 --> 00:32:11,500 funnel. And I feel like there is some 591 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:14,500 resistance when I talk to other designers especially ones who 592 00:32:14,508 --> 00:32:18,100 have been in the industry for a while and are now trying to get 593 00:32:18,100 --> 00:32:22,000 on the bandwagon of social media and things like that. 594 00:32:22,100 --> 00:32:24,700 Like they're like I have a website and I have my pretty 595 00:32:24,700 --> 00:32:26,800 pictures on there and that should be enough. 596 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:28,700 You know do you get resistance from? 597 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:31,100 I don't know if people will come to you who are resistant. 598 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:34,100 But like, have you found in the industry is that there are 599 00:32:34,100 --> 00:32:35,400 designers who are having trouble. 600 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:40,300 Being consistent with their marketing with from the website 601 00:32:40,300 --> 00:32:44,700 to their social media and then also with that analogy answer. 602 00:32:44,900 --> 00:32:48,200 But I was just thinking about how, like sometimes the 603 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,700 consistency is also Hardware. You are, you've got your 604 00:32:51,700 --> 00:32:55,600 professional like Instagram and you might pose a few personal 605 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,300 things. But then like on your Facebook 606 00:32:57,300 --> 00:33:00,900 personal page, you've got like, cat videos up the Wazoo and 607 00:33:00,900 --> 00:33:04,600 you're like, I like I loved, you know, but you're not marrying 608 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:06,000 those two things. Things together. 609 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:09,500 Is that an issue or should you like start putting cat videos on 610 00:33:09,500 --> 00:33:12,200 here work? You know, like how consistent do 611 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,900 you need to be our should you pivot your personal page? 612 00:33:15,500 --> 00:33:19,700 I'll start with the website question, I do get this a lot. 613 00:33:19,700 --> 00:33:22,900 People say, you know, oh, my website is full of gorgeous 614 00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:25,000 photos. I don't need any copy, you know, 615 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,100 I don't need to talk a lot about myself and I think, you know, 616 00:33:28,900 --> 00:33:33,400 that is not true. You need to meet people where 617 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:35,800 they are. A lot of people will see And 618 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:38,300 they will be blown away. And they will say, well, you 619 00:33:38,300 --> 00:33:40,100 know, this work is really good and they'll form your own 620 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:43,300 opinion again, because we're coming to this as individual 621 00:33:43,300 --> 00:33:44,700 people in different parts of our life. 622 00:33:45,100 --> 00:33:47,800 But the words actually, I mean, there are going to be people who 623 00:33:47,800 --> 00:33:51,300 don't understand space at all. Like a lot of times your clients 624 00:33:51,300 --> 00:33:54,500 come from backgrounds where they don't understand what it takes 625 00:33:54,500 --> 00:33:59,400 to build, not even like how long it takes to get to build out a 626 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,800 particular room that you're showing or a home or whatever it 627 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:07,300 is and Office restaurant. They don't Understand what 628 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,900 designers value is and as far as like they see something that 629 00:34:10,908 --> 00:34:13,500 looks great, they think okay. You know they may not understand 630 00:34:13,500 --> 00:34:17,300 at all, you don't have to over explain obviously but what you 631 00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:22,100 need to do on copy and what's important from my point of view 632 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:26,100 from the work that we do is to again answer people's questions 633 00:34:26,100 --> 00:34:30,300 about that relevancy. How is this going to resonate 634 00:34:30,300 --> 00:34:32,400 with the people? You want to be attracting, 635 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,100 right? Are you communicating how you 636 00:34:35,100 --> 00:34:37,400 solve the Problem for this client, right? 637 00:34:37,500 --> 00:34:39,600 If you're showing a picture of a kitchen and you're not talking 638 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:42,000 about like, I mean, maybe it was a full renovation, maybe you 639 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,800 just replaced, you know, maybe just a paint, your Refresh on 640 00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:48,800 the pan, you have to really kind of not give a full scope, but 641 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:52,600 you have to show and tell people with both pictures, and with 642 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:57,300 words, so that again, if someone comes and they're not, they're 643 00:34:57,300 --> 00:35:00,100 not visual right there, or they absorb information. 644 00:35:00,100 --> 00:35:03,000 By reading, you have to kind of meet them in both places. 645 00:35:04,400 --> 00:35:07,800 Yeah. And all So just technically the 646 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,600 copy helps your SEO, so it's going to help you. 647 00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:12,100 Yeah. It's going to help you from the 648 00:35:12,100 --> 00:35:14,600 technical side. Just be found easier and save 649 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:18,000 you money on ya. Great sending people to your 650 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,700 site. Yeah, that's a great Point. 651 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:22,500 Yep. And I think again, when people 652 00:35:22,500 --> 00:35:25,800 are in the decision phase, telling a story, creating a 653 00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:29,500 bigger greater picture about who you are, who your, maybe your 654 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:33,700 team are where you live, what's drawn, you and brought you to 655 00:35:33,700 --> 00:35:37,100 design and then talk. Specifically to again, back 656 00:35:37,100 --> 00:35:39,800 about how you solve problems for clients. 657 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:42,900 When people have, again, our benchmarking between two 658 00:35:42,900 --> 00:35:46,400 different two, possibly three different options. 659 00:35:46,600 --> 00:35:50,000 This is going to help you again stand out because you're telling 660 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,000 that story about what makes you different and extraordinary, and 661 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,500 perhaps there's something that's, you know, relevant maybe 662 00:35:55,500 --> 00:35:58,100 have a shared interest in something or you have a shared 663 00:35:58,100 --> 00:36:00,300 kind of, you know, maybe come from the same place, I don't 664 00:36:00,300 --> 00:36:02,500 know. But, you know, I do, I never 665 00:36:02,500 --> 00:36:04,600 think. Yeah, there's a limit to 666 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:08,200 oversharing. But when it comes to two 667 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,800 websites, just to kind of wrap on this question II, definitely 668 00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,800 feel that you have to have, you know, just as much beautiful 669 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,300 written information copywriting on your site as images. 670 00:36:20,500 --> 00:36:23,100 And this can also help to for designers who are younger in 671 00:36:23,100 --> 00:36:26,900 their career, and don't have so many photos or they feel 672 00:36:26,900 --> 00:36:29,800 self-conscious about the photography that they have, you 673 00:36:29,808 --> 00:36:32,600 know, perhaps you bringing people into your story. 674 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:34,300 Not just with images, but with words. 675 00:36:34,500 --> 00:36:36,600 Yeah. That's a really good point. 676 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,900 Yeah, I think that's going to be a valuable key for up-and-coming 677 00:36:39,900 --> 00:36:42,500 designers to grasp onto and they're yelling desperate about 678 00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:44,300 their website. That doesn't have her many 679 00:36:44,300 --> 00:36:46,600 photos. So, that's a great thing to 680 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:52,500 point out for the social media p at, especially if you correlate 681 00:36:52,500 --> 00:36:56,800 your own interests with your professional side and I'm going 682 00:36:56,800 --> 00:36:59,700 to say something that will probably, I don't know. 683 00:36:59,900 --> 00:37:03,100 This seems to be a kind of polarizing point of view but for 684 00:37:03,100 --> 00:37:07,600 me, you know, Instagram and I'll say Instagram specifically first 685 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:10,500 I don't do a lot of work on Facebook but I think it's 686 00:37:10,500 --> 00:37:13,300 important to have a presence on Facebook. 687 00:37:13,500 --> 00:37:15,800 So I will speak specifically to Instagram. 688 00:37:16,300 --> 00:37:23,000 I think the way people are consuming content now is that 689 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,800 you have to be obviously you want to play, If You're 690 00:37:26,100 --> 00:37:29,500 motivated by growth, if you're interested in kind of growing 691 00:37:29,500 --> 00:37:33,100 the amount of people who are seeing and following you and 692 00:37:33,100 --> 00:37:36,600 really understanding who you are, and Going into your 693 00:37:36,900 --> 00:37:39,800 uniqueness and your your specific brand. 694 00:37:40,100 --> 00:37:43,500 Then you you do need to put the work in the Instagram, simply 695 00:37:43,500 --> 00:37:47,100 because it's a visual platform where a visual industry the 696 00:37:47,100 --> 00:37:50,100 algorithm now. And I think in it's not going to 697 00:37:50,100 --> 00:37:54,900 change in the future is going to prioritize video, moving content 698 00:37:54,900 --> 00:37:57,900 things that, you know, feel more entertainment. 699 00:37:57,900 --> 00:37:59,700 They have an entertainment value to them. 700 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:04,300 So anything you can do to kind of show who you are and if you 701 00:38:04,300 --> 00:38:08,600 want to be very Very personal about it just make sure that 702 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:13,000 it's aligned with your values and it's aligned with that thing 703 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:15,400 that makes you extraordinary. I mean great. 704 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:21,100 If your brand is about homes and Cat video for lying homes for 705 00:38:21,100 --> 00:38:24,900 cat people, you're doing the right thing. 706 00:38:24,900 --> 00:38:28,000 Yeah, cat videos. But again, if your ideal clients 707 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,000 are really into cats and like, that's the thing for them, it's 708 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,700 going to show a certain story about you which is great. 709 00:38:33,900 --> 00:38:37,700 But you know, check-in With that strategy and make sure that 710 00:38:37,700 --> 00:38:41,700 that's the Persona that you know, even if it is authentic to 711 00:38:41,700 --> 00:38:45,200 who you are perhaps there needs to be a little editing. 712 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:48,000 Yeah, like I said, this is where the polarizing part because some 713 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,400 people believe you should put everything out there and and I 714 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:55,900 think that's great for them. I tell my clients, your feed 715 00:38:55,900 --> 00:39:01,000 should be like your website, it should be very elegant. 716 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,000 It should show your, you know, your work that you know, either 717 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:06,800 you're inspired by and You're crediting back to other 718 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:11,000 designers or whatever travel, whatever those things are food. 719 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:14,500 Even all of this becomes part of, you know, the image of your 720 00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:18,600 brand and you want it to look, curate, it just like your work. 721 00:39:18,900 --> 00:39:21,900 You want it to look cohesive. You want it to share a 722 00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:26,600 consistent message and people, you know, it again, they're 723 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,800 hiring you initially. I think most of the time, people 724 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:33,200 are hiring an interior designer for their aesthetic, until they 725 00:39:33,200 --> 00:39:36,100 dig deeper and find out, you know, maybe it's About Wellness 726 00:39:36,100 --> 00:39:41,100 or maybe history or whatever. So your feed should reflect that 727 00:39:41,300 --> 00:39:43,200 I think. Now like I said with so much 728 00:39:43,300 --> 00:39:47,500 video and digital kind of like moving content, we have There's 729 00:39:47,500 --> 00:39:51,500 real Channel now you can direct people straight you know, in 730 00:39:51,500 --> 00:39:54,900 links to go straight to the reels part of your instead of 731 00:39:54,900 --> 00:39:57,200 going to your feed you can send them to your wheels. 732 00:39:57,300 --> 00:40:00,200 If that's important to you, I call it kind of interstitial 733 00:40:00,200 --> 00:40:02,000 content. This is the thing that's sort of 734 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000 happening in The Ether around us. 735 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:05,600 That's where stories. Go. 736 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:08,500 And you can archive story, our you can, you know send stories 737 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:11,900 to hash out to your highlights and use those kind of like 738 00:40:11,900 --> 00:40:15,300 browser tabs like more like tabs on your website, where you can 739 00:40:15,300 --> 00:40:17,700 kind of bucket content, but it takes it right out of the 740 00:40:17,700 --> 00:40:19,300 initial. Get to know. 741 00:40:19,300 --> 00:40:23,700 You don't put everything like out first like you would if you 742 00:40:23,700 --> 00:40:28,400 were posting, you know, daily updates on your gerbil or your 743 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,900 cat. This is my point of this is just 744 00:40:32,900 --> 00:40:37,200 my my opinion this is how Yes, dear clients, but I think 745 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:43,500 whatever you do, do it the best, you can do it with, you know. 746 00:40:43,500 --> 00:40:47,000 Do it with love, you know, do it with intention. 747 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,600 Yeah, so yeah. And it's something that you can 748 00:40:49,600 --> 00:40:52,600 stand behind and like you're totally, I am brings it up. 749 00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:55,600 You're like, oh my gosh, you saw that, not but not, you know, you 750 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:57,700 don't want that to happen. So you want to be like, you 751 00:40:57,700 --> 00:41:05,900 know, with the cats the other day or whatever, you know, Okay 752 00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:08,400 really get it right, okay? So anything else for an 753 00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:12,300 up-and-coming designer thinking about or something that coming 754 00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:17,300 interior designer, do they need to work with a brand strategy 755 00:41:17,300 --> 00:41:21,600 right away as they're building their company, their website or 756 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,700 what should they do? I think working with a brand 757 00:41:24,700 --> 00:41:29,300 strategist is requires a very specific intention for your 758 00:41:29,300 --> 00:41:31,200 company and it's and it's an investment. 759 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:35,200 Like I said in time, it's a long-term investment and I think 760 00:41:35,300 --> 00:41:39,600 A lot of times for people who are just entering our field and 761 00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,400 tearing as you know new designers you're thinking about 762 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,100 a million things. Oh my gosh. 763 00:41:44,100 --> 00:41:47,100 So yeah, there's anything it can be a little bit overwhelming. 764 00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:48,900 Yeah. What L say is the most 765 00:41:48,900 --> 00:41:53,200 important, you talked about this with an interview Bethenny. 766 00:41:53,600 --> 00:41:56,200 She was your podcasts coach. Yeah, you guys had a fantastic 767 00:41:56,200 --> 00:41:59,300 conversation where you talked about knowing and understanding 768 00:41:59,300 --> 00:42:02,500 your why? And I think again, before you 769 00:42:02,700 --> 00:42:06,200 wrap your brain around, like, rmii brand How do I become a 770 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:07,400 brand? Because you don't want to get 771 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,400 like to sideline by that that you, you know, lose track of all 772 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:13,600 the other 50 million things you have to be doing. 773 00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:17,300 But I will say, I highly recommend like listening to that 774 00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,900 that episode. But, you know, understanding and 775 00:42:19,900 --> 00:42:22,400 defining your values and understanding and defining, your 776 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:26,200 y will be probably the very first thing you should do. 777 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:29,100 Why are you doing this work? And who are you? 778 00:42:29,100 --> 00:42:32,700 Doing it for and making sure that you can check back in with 779 00:42:32,700 --> 00:42:37,600 that value frequently? As you grow and when your fate 780 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:42,600 to do a formal kind of, you know, strategic strategy plan 781 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,900 for your marketing for your business, then it's time to 782 00:42:45,900 --> 00:42:49,000 invest, you know, I think if you're in the place where you're 783 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,200 starting a business and you want to do that right away, then 784 00:42:51,200 --> 00:42:54,200 that's great. But a lot of times it takes time 785 00:42:54,200 --> 00:42:58,200 that people don't want to put into, you know, slowing down the 786 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:01,500 promotion or slowing down what they're doing to get. 787 00:43:01,500 --> 00:43:04,400 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think again, like I said, it 788 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,600 all goes back to To making sure you're doing things with 789 00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:10,600 intention and knowing why you're doing them is super, super 790 00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:12,400 important and I would say that's for everything. 791 00:43:12,400 --> 00:43:15,200 Like someone said to me, once the way you do one thing is the 792 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:17,400 way you do everything. Yeah. 793 00:43:17,400 --> 00:43:21,800 And I thought hmm that's really wise, you know like we you fold 794 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:26,100 shirts is the way you, you know, approach you know new business 795 00:43:26,100 --> 00:43:28,400 relationship. Just like you do it with 796 00:43:28,400 --> 00:43:29,900 intention. Do you do it? 797 00:43:29,900 --> 00:43:34,000 You know quickly to get it over with you think about the 798 00:43:34,000 --> 00:43:37,200 intention behind what you're Doing and yeah, own it. 799 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:43,700 Yeah, it's so easy to to slip back and just let things happen 800 00:43:43,700 --> 00:43:48,700 but to live in with intention and to live on purpose takes 801 00:43:48,700 --> 00:43:51,900 effort, and it's challenging, and that's why not everybody 802 00:43:51,900 --> 00:43:53,300 does. And that's why I have to be 803 00:43:53,300 --> 00:43:56,100 reminded to think about it, so such good advice. 804 00:43:56,100 --> 00:43:59,500 So really good and we'll link that episode with Bethenny as 805 00:43:59,500 --> 00:44:01,000 well. So people can go back and listen 806 00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,400 to that. But, thank you so much for 807 00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:05,900 coming on the park has such a great Conversation. 808 00:44:05,900 --> 00:44:08,900 I really enjoyed it and also to Rebecca's. 809 00:44:08,900 --> 00:44:09,700 Cool. Yeah. 810 00:44:09,700 --> 00:44:13,100 And just meeting a designer who pivoted into another career, 811 00:44:13,100 --> 00:44:16,900 just like Bethenny had to and it's great for our audience to 812 00:44:16,900 --> 00:44:19,300 hear that. There's things besides just the 813 00:44:19,300 --> 00:44:21,300 one on one design that they can do. 814 00:44:21,300 --> 00:44:25,700 They can Branch out into as they discover things about the 815 00:44:25,700 --> 00:44:28,500 industry and career. So, thank you so much for coming 816 00:44:28,500 --> 00:44:31,400 on today. Erica, thank you for your show. 817 00:44:31,700 --> 00:44:36,700 I wish that when I was going through, No design education 818 00:44:36,700 --> 00:44:40,700 that I had or starting as a designer that I had this kind of 819 00:44:40,700 --> 00:44:44,400 resource so I value you and your work and thank you. 820 00:44:44,700 --> 00:44:47,100 Yeah. And where can we find you on 821 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:48,300 Instagram? I'm sure. 822 00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:53,800 Yeah, Instagram I get in and I get out but I please. 823 00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:59,400 It's at sorry. It sa you RIT creative. 824 00:44:59,900 --> 00:45:03,400 I also have a website at www.csiro.au. 825 00:45:04,100 --> 00:45:07,500 Say, you are Righty creative.com. 826 00:45:07,800 --> 00:45:12,700 And if you want to kind of do a visual, a quick visual check on 827 00:45:12,700 --> 00:45:16,700 your brand messaging to make sure everything is consistent. 828 00:45:16,700 --> 00:45:19,600 I have a kind of template, it's free. 829 00:45:19,900 --> 00:45:22,700 It's called a brand audit to kind of. 830 00:45:22,700 --> 00:45:25,200 Yeah. Get you go through every channel 831 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:28,600 that you're on like LinkedIn or, you know, in Pinterest or 832 00:45:28,600 --> 00:45:32,400 Instagram, your website. There's a prompt to kind of like 833 00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:34,100 what are your clients saying about you? 834 00:45:34,300 --> 00:45:36,200 What are your employees? Saying, when they introduce 835 00:45:36,200 --> 00:45:38,300 themselves at a party. What do you say when you 836 00:45:38,300 --> 00:45:39,800 introduce yourself? Yeah. 837 00:45:40,900 --> 00:45:43,900 What shows up on your SEO? Like, when you search yourself 838 00:45:43,900 --> 00:45:45,700 on Google, like, what kind of shows up? 839 00:45:45,700 --> 00:45:50,700 So you want to make sure that story is my recommendation? 840 00:45:50,700 --> 00:45:53,600 Is that it says nearly exactly the same thing but this is not 841 00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:56,600 the place to get creative. Yeah, get creative with other 842 00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:58,800 parts of your copy. Because you know, no one's going 843 00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,800 to see every single one of those except for you when you do this 844 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:04,700 exercise, right? Yeah, you know, and if you've 845 00:46:04,700 --> 00:46:06,900 been in business, This for a little while or you know you 846 00:46:06,900 --> 00:46:09,500 haven't minded updating anything. 847 00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:12,100 Maybe you're you know scope is changed in your business or 848 00:46:12,300 --> 00:46:13,900 seeing things are changing any little tweak. 849 00:46:14,200 --> 00:46:16,400 That is a great resource and it's so right. 850 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:23,300 Creative SAU, RIT creative, .com/briowfc audit all one word 851 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:27,400 and yeah, you can jump in that and then reach out to me, if you 852 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,200 have any questions or want to schedule a discovery call, I do 853 00:46:31,300 --> 00:46:34,700 30-minute Discovery calls with lots and lots, and lots of 854 00:46:34,700 --> 00:46:36,500 designers. Has to talk about their 855 00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:39,600 messaging and marketing and I'd love to talk to you. 856 00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:43,200 Wonderful would include all of those links in the show notes 857 00:46:43,200 --> 00:46:46,100 and people can easily find you again. 858 00:46:46,100 --> 00:46:50,200 Yeah, it's just wonderful to have you on and we like our to 859 00:46:50,300 --> 00:46:51,500 to learning all those good things. 860 00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:53,100 I'm going to go check out that brand audit. 861 00:46:53,100 --> 00:46:57,400 I think that's going to be really helpful, so thank you. 862 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,300 Thank you very much, Erica. Take Care. 863 00:47:00,300 --> 00:47:09,200 Thank you. So don't you just love that 864 00:47:09,200 --> 00:47:13,900 interview with Erica? I really enjoy talking to people 865 00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:16,400 who used to be interior designers and now are doing 866 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:19,800 something else because I love being able to promote that 867 00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:22,900 perspective to you, that you can start an interior design and 868 00:47:22,900 --> 00:47:26,200 even move to something else, even though you might be moving 869 00:47:26,200 --> 00:47:28,400 to Interior Design from another career. 870 00:47:28,400 --> 00:47:31,500 So that doesn't mean that interior design is the end of 871 00:47:31,500 --> 00:47:33,800 the the line. It could definitely Branch out 872 00:47:33,800 --> 00:47:36,100 into something else. You might find a new passion 873 00:47:36,100 --> 00:47:39,300 for. Okay, so that is it for this 874 00:47:39,300 --> 00:47:41,400 week. I hope that you guys stick 875 00:47:41,400 --> 00:47:44,600 around for next week. I've got another great episode 876 00:47:44,700 --> 00:47:48,400 about a controversial topic, you'll hear next week. 877 00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:51,200 What that is. So, stay tuned. 878 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:53,600 And in the meantime, don't forget to leave me a five star 879 00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:56,700 rating and review. I'd love to hear from you on 880 00:47:56,700 --> 00:47:58,700 Instagram. If you want to slide into my 881 00:47:58,700 --> 00:48:01,700 DM's at our Ward design will talk to you next. 882 00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:04,100 Each week and until then stay creative. 883 00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:08,200 Thanks for listening. If you loved this episode, 884 00:48:08,200 --> 00:48:09,900 please leave a rating and a review. 885 00:48:10,100 --> 00:48:12,300 This helps me reach other curious creatives. 886 00:48:12,300 --> 00:48:16,000 Like you, if you have a topic request or would like to contact 887 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:20,800 me, simply head over to my website, our Ward design.com or 888 00:48:20,800 --> 00:48:24,700 email me at podcast at our war design.com,