1. Intro

As you know from listening to our podcast over the last three years, you know that we run a very successful interior design firm in Atlanta that is now over 15 years old. We have invested a substantial amount of time and money to continue our education over the years to keep improving our operations, sharpening our design skills and expanding our design knowledge as it pertains to trends, products and resources. We love to share our expertise and we are finally formalizing this effort which is what we are going to talk about today!

2. Sponsor

Before we dig in, we want to let you know that this podcast is sponsored by our friends at Helser Brothers Hardware. Helser Brothers. Helser Brothers is a fully custom manufacturer of drapery hardware sold to the trade that was started with two brothers in their mid 20’s 24 years ago.  Their customer service agents (called The Rod Squad) are trained to help designers and drapery workroom work out solution to difficult window configurations. They are made up of retired interior designers and drapery workroom owners with decades of experience.  All orders over $100 ship free so be sure to check them out at helserbrothers.com. 

3. Our investment

If you’re not learning you’re not growing – right? We sat down and really thought about the amount of coaching we have invested in, the amount of industry conferences we attended – both locally, nationally and internationally, the amount of random industry events we’ve signed up for – all in an effort to gain another nugget of inspiration, knowledge and insight. 

Can you guess how many hours this has added up to? We can honestly say it is in the thousands of hours and an investment over $100,000. 

4. So what now?

If there are any blessings in this topsy turvy year it has been the space to think outside the box in regards to our business.  Not just how to be flexible working from home, how to master the zoom call, how to make our clients feel safe and comfortable but how to meet the demand when it comes to our services. 

We have decided to meet a demand that has quietly been knocking on our door for years but we’ve been too busy growing in other directions to give it any formal attention. That demand comes from our industry – from our designer friends and peers who are new but also seasoned interior designers.  

Inquiring minds have often reached out to us asking for a few moments or hours of our time to discuss our finely tuned operation techniques, how we close the sale, how we outsource to make time for design, how we qualify our clients, what our contracts look like and above all – how in the world we have mastered the art of a happy and successful partnership. i. Barefoot Dreams 

5. Check out our website

When you are done listening to this episode, please go to our website kandrac-kole.com.  Under SERVICES, you will see a new category called PICK OUR BRAIN. This is your opportunity whether you are an interior design student, a sole proprietor looking to grow or a seasoned designer who just needs a pep talk to consult with us on any matter of your choosing.  As we have found out personally MANY TIMES, learning from others is a shortcut to success. There’s probably nothing you could ask us that we haven’t experienced and we aren’t afraid to tell you how we’ve learned from our own mistakes and stumbling blocks.  

Once you land on the PICK OUR BRAIN service, you can press the link to our shop page where you can purchase personal time with us (via phone or zoom – whatever your preference) in increments of 30 minutes. Even though you all know us very well from this podcast, if you’d like to hear a little bit more of what a PICK OUR BRAIN session could look like, you will want to listen to the very latest episode of Luann Nigara’s podcast – A Well Designed Business where we were her guests on November 24th.  LINK HERE:  https://luannnigara.com/616-joann-kandrac-and-kelly-kole-onboarding-new-interior-design-clients/

We hope you’ll reach out to us if you are needing knowledge, inspiration or just a good ol’ fashioned women in business pep talk.