The DesignDash Podcast

Episode 96: Your Pipeline Is Full. The Project Is Perfect. Pick One.

Capacity is a ceiling most designers never expect to hit. Until they do. The inquiry is perfect. The scope is substantial. The client is exactly who you've been optimizing your portfolio to attract. And your studio is already running at full stretch. This is the paradox of a well-run firm, success creates its own bottleneck. And how you navigate that bottleneck determines whether you scale intentionally or just survive the season. Laura and Melissa have been here before. They're here right now. And in this episode they break down the exact decision tree they use when the answer can't simply be no — waitlisting with real commitment behind it, the referral strategy that protects relationships without sacrificing opportunity, and the calculated risk of taking on work that doesn't yet have a home on your team. If your calendar is full and your ambition isn't, this episode will hit different. Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ [https://designdash.com/] Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ [https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/] https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher [https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher] https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher [https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher]

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. Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ [https://designdash.com/] Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ [https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/] https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher [https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher] https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher [https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher]

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! Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ [https://designdash.com/] Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ [https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/] https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher [https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher] https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher [https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher]

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. Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ [https://designdash.com/] Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ [https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/] https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher [https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher] https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher [https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher]

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! Check out our website too: https://designdash.com/ [https://designdash.com/] Follow us on socials: https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/ [https://www.instagram.com/designdasher/] https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher [https://www.tiktok.com/@designdasher] https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher [https://www.facebook.com/DesignDasher]