The DesignDash Podcast

Episode 95: How to Hire, Onboard and Actually Utilize a Summer Intern

We hired two interns this summer. Here's what most firms get completely wrong.
There's a version of the summer intern that costs you time, energy, and patience. And there's a version that quietly transforms your studio, generates revenue, and hands you back your bandwidth.
The difference isn't the intern. It's the structure.
In this episode, we're getting into everything, how we source, how we screen, how we onboard, and how we've built a system where interns aren't just helpful, they're billable. We talk about the industry knowledge gap that's widening every year and why the designers who actually last in this field all have something in common that no university program is teaching anymore.
There's a reason the best hires we've ever made started as interns. And there's a reason most internships feel like a waste of everyone's time.
We know the difference. And this week, we're talking about it.
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Episode 94: The Back Half Blueprint for Design Firm Owners

It's May. And I need you to do the math with me for a second.
Seven months until December 31st. Seven months to actually make this the year you said it was going to be back in January.
Most design firm owners will hit December the exact same way they hit January, overwhelmed, underpriced, and wondering where the year went. This episode is about making sure that doesn't happen to you.
Laura and Melissa get into the real stuff this week. The decisions that feel small in May but completely change what your business looks like by December. The ones you keep saying you'll get to. The ones that are either going to cost you another year or finally make this one count.
If you've been doing good work and still feel like something isn't adding up tune in!
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Episode 93: How to Know When to Hire Your Right-Hand Person

Most interior designers know they need help running their business. What they don't know is what that person is called, what they actually do, or how to find them without hiring the wrong one and starting over. Laura Umansky and COO Melissa Grove have lived both sides of this, and in this episode they get into all of it.
If you've ever searched "when should I hire help for my business," "how to scale an interior design firm," or just sat at your desk wondering why running a successful business still feels this exhausting, this episode answers exactly that.
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Episode 92: Should You Get Political On Social Media Even If It Costs You A Client?

At some point, every designer running a serious business has to answer this: how much of who you are belongs on your brand?
You've built something. A reputation. A clientele. A body of work that speaks for itself. And now, in a world where staying silent reads as a stance and speaking up can cost you a room you've spent years earning a seat in, you're being asked to decide, over and over again, where you stand.
Do you keep your brand neutral and protect what you've built? Or do you show up fully; values, voice, and all, and trust that the right clients will find you because of it, not in spite of it?
And the harder question underneath all of it: are you willing to lose a client over it?
This is the conversation we have in this episode. We talk about the real calculus behind what we post and what we don't. What happens when someone on your team posts something that makes the rest of your staff uncomfortable. Whether you'd walk away from a client because of something you saw about them. And how neutral is neutral, really, when everything feels political these days, even a holiday post.
Tune in for the full conversation!
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Episode 91: As a Designer, Is There a Big Benefit to Opening a Storefront?

As a designer, is there a big benefit to opening a storefront?
Okay, we're just going to say it, we get this question constantly. And honestly? It deserves a real answer. Not the romanticized version. The actual one.
Because here's the thing. There is something undeniably exciting about the idea of having a space that's completely yours. Your aesthetic. Your curation. Your little corner of the world that says this is what I'm about. We get it. We've been there.
But we've also seen what happens when designers open a storefront for the wrong reasons. Or without asking the right questions first. Or because it looked really good on someone else's Instagram.
Laura opened her first retail store over 20 years ago in Houston with zero clients, a small loan, and absolutely no guarantee it was going to work. It lost money. Every single month. And it was one of the best decisions she ever made, but not for the reasons you'd expect.
So what actually makes a retail store worth it for a designer? Is it the vendor relationships? The marketing? The walk-in clients? The events? Or is it just a really beautiful, expensive distraction from the business you're actually trying to build?
We're getting into all of it. The real numbers. The real time commitment. The questions you need to ask yourself before you do anything else.
And if you've been sitting on this idea, this episode is going to help you figure out whether to run toward it or run the other way.
Check out our website too:
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Episode 90: Is Your New Hire the Problem — Or Is It You?

You did everything right. You hired someone. You showed them the ropes. And yet things keep going wrong.
Deadlines missed. Mistakes repeated. Instructions ignored. And the frustration is building.
Before you have that conversation with your employee or worse, let them go. There's one question you need to ask yourself first. It's uncomfortable. Most business owners skip it entirely. And it's costing them great talent, wasted time, and real money.
We have been on both sides of this. And in this episode, we're getting brutally honest about what's really going on when a hire isn't working out and who's actually responsible.
The answer might surprise you.
You'll want to listen if:
You're growing from solopreneur to a team and hitting walls you didn't expect
You keep having the same frustrating conversations with your employee
You're not sure whether to push through or cut your losses
Something feels off but you can't quite put your finger on what it is
This is the conversation your business bestie should be having with you. Tune in!
Check out our website too:
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Episode 89: Why Marketing Feels So Hard for Design Business Owners (And How to Fix It)

Why does marketing feel so hard… even for creative people who run successful design businesses?
If you’ve ever stared at Instagram wondering what to post… questioned whether marketing is even working… or felt like you’re supposed to know how to do it all yourself… this episode is for you.
In this episode, we're digging into a question we hear constantly inside the Design Dash community: Why does marketing feel like such a challenge for designers?
And the answer might surprise you.
Marketing isn’t difficult because designers aren’t creative enough.It’s difficult because most people misunderstand what marketing actually is.
In this episode, we break down the real reasons marketing feels overwhelming for interior designers and small business owners. From the pressure to “do everything” to the confusion between strategy and aesthetics, we unpack the hidden assumptions that make marketing feel harder than it needs to be.
You’ll hear practical insights about what marketing actually requires, why posting beautiful photos isn’t a strategy, and why knowing who you are and who you serve is the single most important thing you can do as a business owner.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re spinning your wheels trying to grow your design business, this conversation will help you reset your perspective and focus on what really matters.
Check out our website too:
https://designdash.com/
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Episode 88: Will Hiring More Designers Actually Increase My Profit? The Truth About Growing Your Design Firm

Hiring more designers should mean more profit… right?
That’s what most firm owners assume.More people, more projects, more revenue.Simple math.
Except it’s not simple.And if you’ve ever made a hire thinking it would solve your workload, only to feel like your margins got tighter instead of bigger… you know exactly what we're talking about.
In this episode, we're unpacking one question that keeps coming up in conversations with designers, in our community, and behind the scenes at events.Will hiring more designers actually increase your profit?
The answer isn’t as obvious as people think.Because profitability isn’t just about how many people you have.It’s about how they spend their time, what kind of work they’re doing, what your role becomes as the firm grows, and whether the structure of your business can even support the growth you’re chasing.
We get into the difference between billable and non-billable time, why some roles look expensive but make your business stronger, and why others look productive but can quietly eat into your profit without you realizing it.
We also talk about something that most designers skip completely when they start hiring.Not who to hire… but what kind of firm you’re actually trying to build.
Because if you don’t know that first, every hire becomes a guess.And guessing with payroll is a dangerous game.
This is one of those conversations that might make you rethink how you grow, how you price, and how you decide when it’s actually the right time to bring someone onto your team.
If hiring has ever felt exciting and terrifying at the same time…you’re going to want to listen to this one.
Check out our website too:
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Episode 87: Are You Charging Enough for Design Time? Pricing Mistakes Designers Make

Most designers don’t realize they’re undercharging… until the business starts feeling heavier than it should.
In this episode, we ask a simple but uncomfortable question:Are you charging enough for your design time?
What started as a quick discussion turned into a deeper conversation about pricing, confidence, positioning, and why so many designers stay busy but still feel like the numbers never quite work.
We talk about what happens when you lower your rates to get the job, why pricing affects how clients see you, and why the way you think about your time might be costing you more than you realize.
We also get into the situations every designer faces but nobody really explains —what to do when you're just starting, when you don’t have a big portfolio yet, or when you feel like you can’t charge what other firms charge.
If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re charging enough…or felt like you’re working harder than you should be for what you’re making,this episode will make you think differently about your numbers.
Check out our website too:
https://designdash.com/
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Episode 86: Do You Want to Be Profitable… or Just Be Liked?

Do you actually want to run a profitable business… or do you just want to be liked?
It’s a tough question.And if you’re a creative business owner, it might hit a little closer to home than you’d like.
Because somewhere along the way, many of us start believing that being a “good” designer means saying yes… cutting our time… absorbing costs… or bending our process so clients stay happy.
But what happens when that habit quietly erodes the health of your business?
In this episode we dig into the uncomfortable tension between profitability and people-pleasing. And if you’ve ever struggled to hold a boundary with a client, this episode is going to feel very familiar.
One of the biggest ideas we unpack is this: sometimes what looks like “doing something for the client” is actually about controlling how we’re perceived.
And once you see that… it changes how you run your business.
Because the truth is, a healthy studio needs boundaries.Your team needs profitability.And hard conversations are part of running a real business.
The good news?
Being profitable and being respected by your clients aren’t actually opposites.
But getting there requires a level of honesty with yourself that most creative entrepreneurs avoid.
If you’ve ever struggled with undercharging, over-delivering, or saying yes when you knew you should say no, this episode will give you a new lens for how to think about it.
Check out our website too:
https://designdash.com/
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