Only Girl On The Jobsite – Details, episodes & analysis

Today, we are talking all things numbers, and I know that may make some of you cringe a little bit, but I have invited my friend Michele Williams on to share on how to unlock profitability in your business and how to master your financials.

Michele Williams is the dynamic owner of Scarlet Thread Consulting and Metrique Solutions, two companies focused on empowering creative professionals to own the financials of their business. With an eye for detail and a passion for innovation, Michele has carved a niche in providing strategic business coaching and financial analytics to help business owners navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship.

 At Scarlet Thread Consulting, Michele utilizes her extensive experience in finance and business management to offer tailored coaching and mentoring services. She is dedicated to helping her clients achieve financial clarity and operational efficiency, enabling them to make informed decisions that drive their businesses forward.

 Through Metrique Solutions, Michele offers a unique blend of technology and consultancy, providing cutting-edge software solutions designed specifically for the owners of small business. Her expertise in financial metrics and data analysis empowers her clients to optimize their pricing strategies and enhance profitability.

 Michele's commitment to excellence and her unwavering support for her clients have established her as a trusted advisor and thought leader in the design community. Her work not only transforms businesses but also inspires creativity and growth, making her an invaluable asset to the industry.

I am honored that Michele is here to talk with us about the finances that we need to get a hold of in order to establish, maintain, and grow our profitability. Without that, we are stuck in a hobby and not in a business. And while it can be anxiety producing to look at our numbers, listening today will not only help you understand how to look at them but also how to take charge of them!

 

Free download: 

Use Coupon code WomanJS for one month free of Metrique Solutions 

Grab Michele’s free quiz where you can get a financial health check-up here:  https://www.scarletthreadconsulting.com/financial-quiz-landing-page

Find out more about Michele and follow her on social media here:

Instagram: @Scarletthreadatl, & @Metriquesolutions  

Facebook: @Scarlet Thread Consulting & @Metrique Solutions

 

Please join me for my free Webinar, Unlocking Profitability: Pricing Strategies for Interior Designers, on September 12th & 13th at 12:30pm EST >>>https://www.reneedevignierdesign.com/pricing-webinar<<< 

 

Find the full shownotes at: https://devignierdesign.com/master-your-financials 

 

We’ve all been in these client meetings where you’ve hopefully asked the client, “Do you have a budget in mind for this project?” Hopefully, they have given this some thought. But here’s the tricky part….

You have no idea what they’re basing that number on or if it’s all they can spend. 

A course member reached out to me asking about this issue. She said time and again she is going into these meetings, has bid the whole project out, and then the client starts adding scope of work to the project, and she, rightfully so, is saying, “Whoa, you’re going to blow your budget.” And they say, “Oh, I know. But it’s ok. I want to do more.”

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. The opposite is also true. You build out to their budget, and they say, “Oh my gosh, no, I cannot spend this kind of money.” And then, you and your team have to start value-engineering the designs that you’ve completed. 

Neither of these scenarios would set you up to move forward smoothly with the project or complete the design you created. 

Today, I want to share my thoughts on handling these situations and how you can avoid them entirely by educating them on the front end.

 

Find the full shownotes at: https://devignierdesign.com/avoid-client-budget-changes 

 

I often say it takes more than a dozen people for any of my projects to be successful, and occasionally someone on that team goes rogue. That can be very disruptive to not only the process and the flow of the project, but potentially to your bottom line. So today, I want to talk about what that can look like, how you can remedy it, and, most importantly, how you can avoid it altogether.

 

Find the full shownotes at: https://devignierdesign.com/avoid-vendors-going-rogue 

Designers, if you are ready to tackle the last quarter of the year without overcommitting and feeling overwhelmed, make decisions that support your business AND the lifestyle you want to live, and finally step into the CEO role in your business, then this episode is for you!!

Desi Creswell is a Certified Life and Business Coach who helps interior designers stop feeling overwhelmed so they can intentionally build profitable, fulfilling businesses that enrich and support their lives as a whole. 

An award-winning interior designer, Desi worked for world-renowned design and architecture firms prior to establishing her own design practice. After experiencing burnout from an endless to-do list and the competing interests of work and home, she was disheartened by the feeling that she wasn’t showing up as her best in any area of life. Desi sought to find solutions within the industry for time-management, work-life balance, and creating success that is truly self-defined.

In her quest to find a better way and get her big questions about work and life answered, Desi became committed to personal development and growth. This led Desi to blend mindset with strategy to transform her own experience and thus realize that there was a need for this type of support within the design community. Her training as a life coach, paired with her industry-specific expertise, helps her to empower clients to thrive both personally and professionally.  

Find out more about Desi and the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/end-overwhelm-desi-creswell 

Email me a screenshot of your rating and review to renee@devignierdesign.com to receive a FREE 20-minute consultation with me!

Today’s episode is coming from designers listening, and a frequent question I’ve been receiving is, “What is the difference between a GC (General Contractor) and a Project Manager?” They may seem like the same thing, but there are important differences you need to know!

Today I am going to answer your question so you can understand the difference between these two roles!

Find the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/gc-vs-project-manager 

What do I really do for a living? Most people assume I play with fabric and paint swatches all day and that it must be really fun. Today I want to talk to designers who struggle to define what they do for a living beyond what seems obvious to the average consumer. In today’s episode, I’m sharing some examples where I have been able to help impact the quality of my client's lives and help you understand the value of the work that interior designers do! 

Find the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/designers-improve-quality-of-clients-lives 

Today’s episode stemmed from Episode 82, where I discussed the three ways I utilized photography on all of my projects. That episode got a lot of interest and many questions! So I reached out to my friend Linda Holt and asked her to come on to share her wealth of knowledge of the photography world so that each of us can learn how to improve our skills and how to take the best photos on our own. 

Linda Holt is a former professional photographer specializing in headshots for celebrities, actors, and models in the Bostom area. She pivoted her career into the interior design field and took her skills and implemented them into our field. Over the past few years, she has put aside her heavy cameras and now shoots exclusively with her iPhones and her Samsung phones. She has become an expert in Smart Phone Photography and photo editing. 

You will love our conversation today! You will walk away with so much value! Enjoy!

Find out more about Linda, and the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/photography-using-your-iphone-linda-holt 

Today’s episode is based on all of the feedback I received from designers after listening to Episode 86: How to Build Experience in Renovation Management

Designers shared with me their experiences of bumps, trials, and tribulations that they have gone through while building their experience in renovation management. Today I want to break out some of the common themes I heard from so many of the designers so that you can hopefully learn from their mistakes just as you learn from mine! 

Find the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/negative-experiences-designers-went-through 

How can you add renovation management services to your firm? This is an exciting opportunity to broaden your scope for your clients, become a one-stop shop, and in my opinion, add a really fun element to our business! Whether you are new to the industry itself, whether you are trying to build a second career in life, or are a seasoned designer that has just customarily been doing decorating work - there are ways that each of you can be implementing steps to build the knowledge and confidence that you will need to add this service! My hope for designers listening is that they won’t fear the unknowns on a job site. There are opportunities discussed in this episode for you to build that knowledge, as well as my course, Renovation Management for Interior Designers, that takes you from start to finish by utilizing actionable steps and following the roadmap that I use on every project that I manage.

Find the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/build-experience-in-renovation-management  

One important element of any home renovation project is the emotional journey traveled from start to finish of the project. And one that I have watched over and over again and to the point where I can discern four different stages of this emotional journey. Today, I want to go over each of these stages and break it down so that you can appreciate and understand what emotions will be coming up throughout a project, how to foresee them in advance, how to manage them when they are there and how to avoid some at all costs. 

Find the full show notes at: https://devignierdesign.com/podcast/four-emotional-stages-renovation-project