Catch Up on Past Episodes

Collaboration requires time rather than money, yet it can result in significant money earned in the end. Regardless of how you approach a collaboration—one time gig or ongoing—it has the potential to grow both businesses and, most importantly, serve your mutual clients at a higher level.

Do you need a new website or logo? Ensure that your project turns out well by getting familiar with the design processes of both.

A year from now, you will look back on the first few months, or years, of your business and smile. You might cringe a little, too, and that's a good thing. You are going to learn so much about yourself and your industry from your first few years in business than any psychologist or MBA could possibly offer.

As an interior designer, home stager, or window treatment workroom, what you post on social media directly impacts the type of clients and projects you will receive.

If you've ever found yourself thinking, "I don't need a coach," or, "I can't afford a coach," you already have two crucial reasons for hiring one

Have you tried (and failed) at blogging for your interior design, staging, or window treatment business? Blogging can be difficult if you don't know how to structure each post, what to write about, or how often to post new articles. 

If you struggle with knowing what to say on your blog, website, or social channels, today's show is for you. I'm sharing my top three ways for blasting through the mental block that leaves even the most well-versed business owners speechless.

If you're ready to learn when, where and how to run a successful ad--and how to recognize when it's truly a waste of money--this episode is for you.

Do you overthink your decisions in business? I lean toward indecisiveness too, and I've found a four step process that helps me strategically navigate my options and make a decision that I can walk away feeling confident about.

How long has it been since you updated your professional bio or the About page on your website? (If your answer makes you cringe, you're in the right place.) Your bio can be a powerful part of your marketing, the piece that convinces clients to fall in love with what you do because of who you are. 

Here is the tale of a girl who came from nothing, who believed she was nothing, who felt unloved, unsuccessful, and trapped in an endless cycle of try-fail-repeat.

Spoiler alert: You'll love the ending. I made one "simple" mindset shift that redirected the trajectory of my business and, more importantly, forever changed how I view myself.

Get ready for some intense mindset work and a new (perhaps polarizing) perspective on the age-old problem of profits and imposters in business.

Do you avoid looking at your Quickbooks account? Do numbers make your cringe? Are you unable to pay yourself consistently as an interior designer, stager, or workroom? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you likely have negative money mindset, one that will continue to stunt the growth of your business until you choose to overcome it.

Are you trying to attract high end clients for your interior design or home staging firm? Your visual presence and client process matters. If you're still emailing client documents and designs, hold up right there. If you're still constantly updating your client on the status of his/her project and wishing you could find an easier way to stay organized, this episode of the Kate Show is for you.

I chatted with fellow lady boss Albie Buabeng of Albie Knows Design and founder of The E-Design Experience, a virtual seminar and society centered on helping interior designers launch and grow a profitable e-design business (or simply add e-design to their list of services).

Do you use Pinterest as part of your marketing strategy? You should be! Pinterest is a great way to send traffic to your website, increase your publicity, and get noticed by your ideal client / shelter magazines. In this episode, I share how you can grow your Pinterest profile to 100K hits per month, increase your web traffic, put your pinning on auto-pilot--and yes--give you a blueprint of exactly what you should be pinning and how often.

Do you ever wonder if your interior design or home staging website is working *for* you rather than against you? If you are planning to build a new website or make updates to your existing site, keep in mind these 11 rules for turning your website homepage into a sales machine that attracts, courts, and converts your ideal client.

Today we're on the podcast talking all about how interior designers can easily and affordably set up their virtual interior design services or full-fledged e-design business. In a cultural that lends itself toward the DIY'er and in a climate where designer pricing is being overturned by mega-corporations, Designfiles stands as a strong yet flexible tool that allows designers to leverage and grow.

Are you obsessed with getting more fans on social media? If not, do you wonder why other people seem to be chasing the status of "social media influencer" down a long, black hole? This race to some unknown finish has pressured some businesses to buy likes / followers, post polarizing content, and join Instagram pods--all for the sake of reaching that elusively high follower count.

Have you ever wanted to take all of your interior design or home staging knowledge and sell THAT instead of trading your hours for dollars? I'm not suggesting that you need to stop serving your clients one-on-one, but I am hinting at the idea of having more time for your family without taking a pay cut (and, honestly, making more money) and moving toward a new phase of life with a manageable, work-from-anywhere income stream.

This episode of The Kate Show is brought to you by TryInteract.com. When they reached out a few month ago and asked if I would join their influencer program, I was overjoyed. This amazing online quiz platform has the ability to grow any business owner's mailing list, and they already have template quizzes created for interior designers.

If you just started your interior design or home staging firm, you've realized a few things (and if you haven't yet...spoiler alert!). You are going to feel like you need to explain your reason for existing. You are going to feel uncomfortable and fake when you tell people what you do. You are going to feel judged. Period.

With the recent upheaval of Houzz and IvyMark, the interior design industry is #shook. Oh, and #woke, if you want to go with straight up Generation Z lingo.  Interior designers and their counterparts are on edge and scrambling to vet their vendors (perhaps a little too late) in an effort to protect their clients' information and their pricing structures.

If you are currently pouring hours of effort into crafting posts for your interior design or home staging blog, you know how important it is that people actually see what you create. Whether you're fired up with passion from the Design Bloggers Conference or you just want to increase your organic SEO so that your website can be found faster online, today's episode of The Kate Show will help you skyrocket your blog views for free.

Today I'm taking a break from hardcore marketing topics to get personal, real, and raw with you. I started my business four years go, and it has been quite a journey. In year one, I was a newly wed, a college grad, and I had four thousand dollars to my name. In year two, I rebranded, refocused, and basically started over. In year three, my husband was able to quit his day job in order to pursue his own dreams, and I was finally able to say adios to the many part-time jobs I had.

Now it's year four, and we are building our dream log home. How did I get here?

Have you noticed the plethora of marketing advice being thrown around on social media? Me too. Some of it is so smart and so brilliant that it makes me proud to count myself among the ranks of "marketer."

But not all advice is sound. In fact, I've seen and heard a few marketing tips lately that have been proven to do more harm than good. I know this because I've either tried these tips myself or because my clients have come running to me for help after trying them.

Let me be clear: Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I'm sure everyone has a reason for imparting specific pieces of advice. However, it is my job to warn you if I see you being (potentially) led astray by the latest and greatest marketing ploy.

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I attended a build, remodel and landscape show here in Wisconsin. Aside from being a huge production, the show was also full of dynamic booths--some really amazing ones and some really awful ones. We ended up spending five hours at the show (thanks to good beer and good friends), and I picked up some alarming do's and don'ts about expo and tradeshow marketing along the way.