JoAnne Lenart-Weary is the owner of the JLW Company, a decorator, home stager, instructor and so much more. She has had a career in the interior design industry for over 40 years. She founded the Decorating and Staging Academy and continues to provide assistance in building curriculum and growth strategies for the academy. JoAnne can be found at many conferences and online, sharing her vast knowledge.

Amy Flurry operates an independent communication studio that assists companies in developing and implementing focused communication strategies that position them for the next stage of growth. She draws on her experience in the fashion and home furnishings industry. Also, she applies trend direction to product development and an expanding market strategies to connect businesses to the interior design trade. Amy is the author of Recipe for Press, which has two editions.

Marie Kurmin is the owner of Kurmin Kreations. Marie graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in Fashion Merchandising and Marketing. She opened Kurmin Kreations to allow her to be home with her kids and pursue her passion. Marie offers design, fabrication and installation of custom window treatments to interior designers and retail clients in the New England area.

Darren Virassammy is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of 34 Strong - a new breed of consultancy that believes everyone deserves a great place to work and that any workplace can be great. A leading expert in the global Employee Engagement Community, the 34 Strong team leverages the Gallup Strengths Finder Assessment and the Q12 Employee Engagement Survey to create massive shifts within organizations - both culturally and on the bottom line.

Darren is a nationally acclaimed keynote speaker and facilitator on the topic of strength leadership and employee engagement.

Scott Beebe is the founder and head coach of My Business on Purpose and he's the host of the My Business on Purpose podcast. He loves to liberate small business owners from the chaos of working in their business and helps to get their lives back by assisting them in articulating and implementing intentional vision mission values, systems and processes.

Tracie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Apparel Engineering and a Master’s degree in Quality Assurance Technology from Southern Polytechnic State University. She worked in the apparel and the consumer products industries for 12 years.  Tracie opened  Custom Creations in 1996, fabricating custom window treatments and accessories .

Tracie will share her journey to good money management using Profit First and the Master Your Profit course.

Natalie Reddell, also known as the ‘COMMANDER in CHIC®’, is a Richmond, Virginia based interior designer who has earned a reputation for her passionate approach to creating elegant interiors that feature layered styles, textures, colors and patterns. Specializing in luxury residential interiors, Reddell translates her love of travel, fashion and art into vibrant, tailored spaces that reflect the personalities of the people that reside in them. Over the past eighteen years Reddell has designed homes nationally and internationally, including modern beachfront properties, classic mountain retreats, updated-traditional farm estates, eclectic city apartments and warm, inviting family-friendly homes. Reddell’s strength lies in her ability to pair classic style with custom details and functionality tailored to each client.

Susan Woodcock owns Home Dec Gal, a how-to sewing resource and custom workroom in Western North Carolina, and is a Bluprint (formerly Craftsy) instructor and international speaker.  Susan’s publishing credits include Singer® Sewing Custom Curtains, Shades and Top Treatments.  Together with her husband, Rodger Walker, Susan co-produces the Custom Workroom Conference, an annual educational event and trade show.  In 2017, Susan and Rodger founded Custom Workroom Technical Center or “Workroom Tech”, a hands-on training facility dedicated to the workroom industry. She credits her mother with teaching her to sew and inspiring her career of creativity. 

Annette Faber is the owner of Kaylees Creations in Greenville, SC. She is a to-the-trade workroom focused on high end fabrication and dress maker details. Annette strives to add value to her design teams by working hard, being trustworthy, collaborating and living the core values of her business - integrity, transparency, excellence, dependability, and leaving a positive fingerprint on each person she interacts with.

Annette shares with us her financial journey before, during and after the implementation of Profit First.

Jaquilyn Edwards is a writer, artist and the founder of Ochre & Beige, the blogging studio responsible for ghostwriting 150+ blog posts and several websites in the interior design industry last year.

Michele Seekings is the owner of SPIRE Art Services in Charleston, South Carolina.    After  26 years in the medical/pharmaceutical industry,  Michele founded SPIRE to pursue her passion for art. Michele is an avid art collector and supporter of local art initiatives including curating INTRO, an annual pop-up show featuring the area’s top 10 emerging artists.   She actively serves on the Board of Directors for the Gibbes Museum of Art as the Chair of the Visiting Artist Program.  Michele is also involved with local organizations such as Historic Charleston Foundation, the Preservation Society, and Spoleto USA.   

Nicole Heymer is the founder of Curio Electro, a boutique creative agency specializing in intuitive branding, compelling design and actionable strategy. Since 2011, Curio Electro has worked with a wide variety of clients at every stage in their development, from nationally known interior design firms to local craft breweries.

Peter Lang, CPA, is an accountant who specializes in the unique accounting challenges faced by artistic professionals. Designers and other artistic professionals may find that ordinary CPAs are simply unequipped for their needs, but with 16 years of tax and accounting experience under his belt, Peter is a proven expert in helping interior designers do their taxes and all the other financial duties that art school didn’t teach them.

Stacey Brown Randall is a member of the business failure club, a contrarian on how to generate referrals and a supporter of the entrepreneurial dream. Through her programs, she provides a roadmap to take control of your business. 

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.