The New York Times has called Peter Shankman "a rockstar who knows everything about social media and then some." He is a 5x best selling author, entrepreneur and corporate keynote speaker, focusing on customer service and the new and emerging customer economy. He is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about the customer experience, social media, PR, marketing, advertising, and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.)

Rachel Moriarty is a leading home style expert, best-selling author, speaker, brand ambassador, product designer and cohost of the popular Design+Style podcast. Recently, named one of "2018 Most Influential People" in Real Estate Staging, Rachel is also an award-winning designer with more than 13 years of experience redesigning the houses, vacation and investment homes of successful professionals in and around San Diego County and nationwide via her online services. Her work both as a designer and stylist has been published in home furnishing catalogs and industry and shelter magazines. A treasure huntress since the age of 12, her specialty is elevating spaces by incorporating her client’s family heirlooms and is known for her use of playful patterns, bold strokes of color and serious style. Rachel's current projects include a new tile line with Elegant Mosaics, the design and launch of The Design Network’s new eDesign platform, a new podcast called 'Visibility with Rachel' and the renovation of three homes for a new HGTV series focused on short term rentals scheduled to launch in early 2019.

Cynthia Bleskachek has been doing upholstery professionally since 2001 – before that, she grew up making buttons and pulling staples in her mom’s home upholstery shop. Her journey has cultivated a deep love, and appreciation for the character, and quality of older furniture – in a market overwhelmed by disposable options, re-upholstery provides a viable alternative.

The Funky Little Chair began as a Facebook blog of sorts, providing bits of education from whatever project was on the “horses” in the upholstery shop. In 2016, Cynthia opened The Funky Little Chair in order to focus on hands-on education for hobbyists and aspiring professionals.

On our podcast today we are really discussing the upholstery industry, the struggles they face, the future of the craft, and what can be done to keep this industry viable in our current economy.

Matt Malouf is a passionate business coach, entrepreneur, speaker, author, and podcast host on a mission to help entrepreneurs around the world break the shackles of mediocrity and reach new levels of personal and business success. On the podcast today we focus on the mindsets that keep us stuck and unable to delegate and work in our zone of genius. Matt has lots to share on this topic and it is so important for us to consider as we are business building.

Lindsey Cheek is the owner, principal designer, and creative director for Gathered Group located in Wilmington, North Carolina. Lindsey’s work has been featured in Southern Living, HGTV magazine, Martha Stewart Magazine, The Huffington Post and many more. Lindsey shares with us how her business took off quickly after using photos of her personal home renovation and how this meant diving into the deep end of business quickly!

Diane Preston, Owner of Diane’s Interior Creations, has over 23 years of experience creating custom window treatments and soft home furnishings. She values customer service and educating her designers to be successful in the workroom and with their clients. Preston lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and enjoys having her son and daughter in the business with her. Diane shares with us the possibilities for success in a workroom that she did not know were even reasonable when she started.

Jennifer is joining us again on the podcast to talk about goal setting. As the creator of The Best Planner Ever, Jennifer specializes in productivity, strategy and mindset surrounding goals and planning and moving business forward. Enjoy this freeing conversation and then go set some goals!

Ceil DiGuglielmo of The Sew Much More Podcast and I join forces (and podcasts) to review our year, share our strategies, look forward, and create space to understand our businesses in a new light. Listen in and maybe create your own action plan for review and forward dreaming and planning.

Heather Gillette is the Founder and CEO of Designer Inc. and has over 25+ years in online start ups. Heather previously worked at YouTube as the Founder and Head of Content Review, Copyright Enforcement, Abuse & User Support Teams as well as localized YouTube operations in 13 countries. A fun fact about Heather is if you Google ‘Heather Gillette YouTube’ you can find interesting case studies and articles about the work she did at YouTube. Her expertise is in building teams, automation and scale, localization and leveraging user community. She loves solving the impossible challenges and we learn in this episode what happened when she turned her attention to the interior design industry.

Renee Carman is the owner of Mandeville Canyon Designs. Their philosophy is to design in balance with nature. They carefully weave a refreshing collection of color into the five earth elements further reinforcing their unique style by using renewable resources and tapping into the wealth of local artistry. Since 2004 Renee and her team have specialized in interior and exterior design with a special emphasis on Biophilic design. The company also has a strong social conscience and looks for opportunities to volunteer in the local community and beyond.

Ann K. Johnson is the owner of Sew Easy Windows specializing in decorative soft goods such as panels and draperies, cushions and pillows, tablecloths and napkins and much more. Ann is also a speaker, author and instructor known for creating ways to be efficient in the workroom. She is the author of a two volume book series, The Professional Workroom Handbook of Swags. Listen in as she shares how her business accidentally started but how she moved towards intentionality to keep it going.

On the podcast today we have Jeanelle Dech. Jeanelle is president and co-founder of Adaptive Textiles, a textile printing company in West Chester, Pa. She’s known for her Fit-Like-a-Glove slipcovers, SPEED sewing method and workroom profitability training, and is the creative force behind The Workroom Channel and the Curtains & Soft Furnishings Resource Library. Jeanelle and I are accountability partners and we can dig into about any topic to discuss. Enjoy our conversation today on the topics of ideal client, our WHY, self-guided couples therapy and team work.

Sara Brennan is a nationally published interior and floral designer, calling her style “Romantic Transitional”. She is an award-winning entrepreneur, author and lover of collecting all things vintage. Sara has been published in Romantic Homes and Traditional Home magazines highlighting her romantic and fall looks for the home and outdoor spaces. Only one year in business, Sara shares what she has done and is working on to be where she is today.

Sarah Daniele is the CEO and co-founder of Mydoma Studio, providing interior design professionals with the tools to enhance their value, create a repeatable process and collaborate with clients in the industry. Sarah and her team are passionate about using systems and processes to help interior designers grow their design businesses. In this episode we hear how Sarah began her career in interiors and what led her to where she is today.

Lauren Davenport Imber is an Atlanta-based interior designer that works with clients to transform high-end residential and commercial spaces into livable, chic spaces. Lauren is known for her timeless style and attention to detail, creating projects for clients on time and within budget. Her work has been featured on multiple platforms including HGTV and was recently named as an emerging designer to watch by Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles. In this episode we look at the profitability of working on show houses.

Valerie Leonard is an award winning Financial Advisor receiving awards from Forbes, Investment News, Birmingham Business Journal and many more. Valerie’s mission is to help people be the best they can be by making the most of their financial resources and time. She is the co-founder of Grinkmeyer Leonard Financial in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Tracie Taylor  is a Certified Interior Decorator, wife to her husband of 18 years, and mom to two beautiful kiddos. They live on a small ranch in the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Her family loves spending time in the outdoors hunting, camping, and fishing.  

In 2003 she opened an Interior Decorating company that she ran for 4 years. After spending some time raising her children who are now teens, and running an apron design company, she launched Tracie Grace Designs in July of 2017. She asked for backwards financials - and so we are doing a live coaching call on the podcast to help her work through this exercise.

Nancy Ganzekaufer is a motivated business coach empowering creative entrepreneurs to build the life and business they have always wanted. Nancy guides her clients to clarity on their business identity, offerings and services. In addition to Business Coaching, Nancy is a National Board Member of the Interior Design Society (IDS) and the current and founding President of the IDS Virtual Chapter.

Cory and Anthea Click are owners of Fresh Perspectives in Nashville, Tennessee.  Cory brings his expertise of home building to the team along with Anthea’s career in selling real estate. Together, the couple have created a staging business for 11 years. Anthea has won numerous awards, including Best of Houzz in design and service, as well as “Most Livable” award in both the 2014 and 2015 Parade of Homes. They also received Fixr Top 200 Home Design Influencers of 2017. Anthea was a featured designer for Kirkland’s and appeared on the popular show, Designing Spaces, as a guest designer.

Richelle Plett is the owner of Haus and Home, specializing in custom upholstery for the Interior Design industry. Richelle’s story is one of hope and perseverance, taking the journey to find her passions and ultimately what makes her most proud of her work. She is a designer, educator, and supporter with a wicked sense of humor!