The Kate Show

Have your leads slowed down in 2024? As the economy recovers from inflation, sometimes it feels worse even while it’s getting better. I say this not to discourage you, but to let you know that you're not alone. If your business lacks leads when you previously had plenty, it might not be “all your fault.” It could just be the ebb and flow of business. That said, control what you can control. If you want to ensure you’re doing everything you can to nurture the growth of your business in the home industry, you need to remain proactive. If nothing else, put your extra downtime to good use by drilling down on your marketing and making it worth every penny. On the other hand, if you continue to experience a steady number of quality leads coming into your business, don’t let yourself become apathetic toward marketing. Savvy entrepreneurs who understand the requirements of building long-term success will market their businesses non-stop, though the method will vary from season to season. If you want your business to stay in its growth season, this is the episode for you.

I once thought I could have it all — run a business, be a supportive spouse, keep my kids with me 24/7 until they started preschool, and still (somehow) squeeze in enough self-care to help me remember who I was apart from all those roles. Ha! Needless to say, I was incredibly naive. For the first few years of becoming a mom, having already established the business, I thought I could work while the kids took a nap or played. I thought I didn’t need to “waste time” on doing things for myself out of pure enjoyment and frivolity. I thought I could be a great wife, mom, and CEO all at the same time. It was a lofty goal and, as I eventually — begrudgingly — had to admit, it was not a realistic goal to have. In February 2023, I had reached a complete state of utter burnout after nearly four years of trying to do it all by myself, as though I were trying to earn a badge of honor for requesting and accepting the least amount of help possible. I was a natural at doing things the hard way, and I turned myself into a martyr. I kept a secret scoreboard of who was actually doing more around the house — me or my husband — and I felt the overwhelming desire to insert myself into every situation. I didn’t know it then, but I was incredibly controlling. It almost cost me my marriage, and it certainly didn’t make me a good mom or role model for my son and daughter. I knew there had to be a better way to live, but I didn’t think I had the time or ability to slow down and figure it all out. How could I fix it when I wasn’t sure what the problem was? “It shouldn’t be this hard!” and “I have no time!” and “I’m just trying to help!” were a few things I constantly said to myself between moments of lucidity and chronic exhaustion. After all, I had (and still have) a tremendous number of blessings: My family, their health, my health, a beautiful home, a successful business. Complaining about anything sounded very pretentious and entitled, so I tried not to say much. I just became a quietly bitter, stressed-out human being. If you feel pulled in too many directions and if you constantly berate yourself for struggling so hard, or if you keep a personal scoreboard between you and your spouse (and frequently find them to be lacking) this episode is for you. The year 2023 was transformative for me, and I’m so excited to share with you what I learned in the hope that you will be able to avoid some stress and heartache.

Bad marketing advice is the reason I am developing frown lines. You should see me sitting at my desk, squinting at my laptop screen and doing a double-take. “They’re telling designers to do WHAT?” I’m pretty protective of you guys. I want your businesses to succeed. But when I first started, I fell for (and probably promoted) marketing advice that didn’t fit the home industry, too. You might have realized in the course of running your own business that design firms, home staging companies, and pro organizing businesses aren’t like other companies. You’re offering, most often, an in-person service that is tailored to each situation and further customized to each person in that situation. Some of you are literally sorting through your clients’ underwear drawers (love you, organizers!). Marketing such an intimate, high-ticket business means that general marketing tips might not be as effective for your business as they might be for the bookstore or restaurant down the street. If you’re wondering which marketing tactics you can avoid, this episode of The Kate Show is for you. Today, I’m reading through and reacting to some really poor marketing advice. And I’m providing alternative advice for every bad piece of advice that I address.

“Marketing feels gross,” I used to think. In the early years of business, I didn’t know how to communicate my brand message…and I didn’t even know what a brand message was anyway. I felt so overwhelmed and drained by one steady thought: “How do I know if I’m doing any of this correctly when I can’t see the results yet? Am I just wasting my time and money on marketing?” Ruminating on those negative thoughts felt awful, as you might have also experienced, and I knew there had to be a simpler way to find and convert clients that I actually liked working with. Fast forward a decade (yes, it took that long), and I finally had answers. After providing countless marketing consultations, marketing plans, and strategies for interior designers, home stagers, professional organizers, and window treatment specialists, I was able to lay out a framework of marketing laws that can help nearly any home industry business make marketing easier. If you’re ready to apply these laws to your own business, let’s dive right in.

Knowing what to say in your marketing is only half the battle. What about the words, phrases, or ideas you should completely avoid? Today on The Kate Show, I’m talking about the two key phrases you shouldn’t include on your website, your blog posts, your email marketing, or your print advertising. I’m also sharing exact verbiage you can use to market your business in other ways, beyond everything you might already be doing online or in print. So, today, I’m laying it all out there…no fluff, just tough love and action steps that will benefit you and your business long-term. Ready for some real talk?! Here it is…

Have you made a monthly blog part of your marketing strategy yet? I could tell you all day long why you should, but until you see the results play out in real-time, you might wonder if you’re wasting time or you might question whether you're even doing it correctly. I get it! With the majority of Google search results being blog posts, it is safe to say that blogging is still a relevant and smart way to get more of the right traffic to your website. But…blogging can also feel like one of the most tedious marketing tasks to check off the list. Today’s episode aims to show you a better way to blog. Do you know why you should blog, how frequently you should publish a post, what to say, and how to make sure you are talking to your ideal client versus just producing content? Whew — lots of questions and, on today’s episode, we have a lot of answers. Long-time listeners of The Kate Show might recognize today’s interview from a couple of years ago. I wanted to re-air this episode because the tips that my guest, Jaquilyn Edwards of Ochre & Beige, provides are still relevant today and they are things that every home pro should know. You’ll hear Jaquilyn share helpful insights on topics such as why a massive readership of your blog should not be your goal, how long it takes for a single blog post to gain traction, and (this one is still a very hot topic today) what to do with a blog post after you publish it.

I’ve had the honor of working with home industry professionals across the globe, and what I’ve recognized is this: Whether you are an interior designer in Dubai or a home stager right here in Wisconsin, you (we?) all have similar challenges to overcome. Often, our biggest challenge is ourselves. While this should be the easiest to fix, it’s often the most difficult because, first, we have to be self-aware enough to accept that perhaps we are the bottleneck, the sticking point, or even the saboteur of our own businesses. In today’s episode of The Kate Show, I’m sharing the eight key phrases that people will say to me on discovery calls that help me predict whether their business is headed for success or failure. It is especially gratifying to work with these clients when they are open to self-reflection and committed to changing their mindset. If you hear yourself in any of the eight phrases I’m sharing today, don’t lose hope.

Marketing shouldn’t be hard. You don’t have to continue being swept away in a tidal wave of confusion and dollar signs when you think about your marketing plan. The amazing part about owning a business in the home industry is that, aside from making spaces beautiful and functional, your marketing is largely based on personal relationships. That is so much easier than trying to market a business with overtly negative connotations, such as a dentist’s office or a law firm. You and your business are instantly and automatically associated with beauty and personalization — and especially in recent years — overall wellness. But marketing might still feel like a drag. If that describes your situation, this episode of The Kate Show is for you. With this being my 250th episode, I thought it would be cool (and oh-so-telling) to re-release my very first podcast episode. I had to screen it first, because who knows what I said back in those days… Sheesh. I hope you enjoy this episode and that it reminds you that we all have to start somewhere.

How many new clients do you get from referrals? I would guess that over 90% of your new business comes from this classic, solid, beautiful marketing strategy. It’s quite simple: Do a good job, and people will tell their friends about you. But for some reason, we’ve been conditioned to believe that we should be getting clients from other sources, such as social media or search engines. If that describes you, I ask you to reconsider. The ironic thing about word-of-mouth referrals is that they will come at you from every angle, often disguised as coming from a different source. Consider this scenario: A lead finds you because someone in a Facebook group recommended you. Was that a social media lead or a word-of-mouth referral? It was a referral! That lead didn’t find you based on what you posted on social media, but instead because someone in that group recommended you. And consider this scenario: A lead contacts you via direct message on Instagram, stating that they’ve been following you for a while and their friend highly recommended you. Is that a social media lead or a referral lead? Bingo — referral again! They were following you forever, but they weren’t motivated to hire you until their friend made the recommendation. If you are getting clients by word-of-mouth referral, you likely have a healthy business and solid brand recognition. Let’s capitalize on that, shall we?

Have you ever talked about something that made you sweaty? I both love and hate doing it. When I shared at the beginning of 2024 how I had (finally) stopped worrying about my business and boldly shared my faith, the response was — and still is — so encouraging. I was nervous to share something so personal, but I’ve received so many positive DMs and emails about that episode that I’ve decided to continue. My tentative plan is to dedicate one episode per month to a more personal topic, with today’s episode being no exception. This episode of The Kate Show is not like the others: Getting canceled, being a woman, being glad I’m not “enough,” and revealing some of the grossest marketing tactics currently being used in Western culture…those are just a few topics I’m covering.

You’ve heard dozens (or thousands?) of times about what you SHOULD be doing to market your interior design, staging, organizing, or window treatment business. But what about the pitfalls that can wreck your marketing momentum faster than a stick shoved through the spokes of your bike? (Ouch.) Today on The Kate Show, we’re talking about the five common and completely avoidable mistakes that home industry entrepreneurs make in their marketing. Annnnd spoiler alert: This isn’t another episode in which I rail against social media. No, the pitfalls I’m sharing today are much more serious and more detrimental to your business than whether you should post another photo because a successful marketing strategy is about so much more than whether you choose to post pictures on the internet. If marketing makes you nervous, if you tend to overthink it, if you constantly feel overwhelmed by it, this episode is for you.

Do you know the real reason why designers, stagers, and other home professionals avoid creating a marketing plan? They over-complicate it. If you’ve ever thought that creating a marketing plan for your business meant that you had to know exactly which blog post topics, social media content, and email marketing subjects would be released each week over the next quarter — take a deep breath — you’re overthinking it. Your marketing plan should be written in pencil, not permanent marker. You should be committed to that plan evolving, even while you’re implementing it. A marketing plan creates a big boundary surrounding and protecting all the things you CAN do while blocking out the “shiny object marketing ideas” that will only distract you. Want to create daily TikToks for your business? Nope, that isn’t supported by the marketing plan because your ideal client doesn’t use that platform, nor is there any data to support that social media helps sell high-end home services. Want to blog about your recent project reveal? Yes, that’s allowed by the marketing plan. Been offered an ad placement in a local magazine? No, your marketing plan forbids you from competing with everyone else’s ad, especially since you wouldn’t be able to track that ad’s effectiveness. Want to send a last minute email newsletter about a new service or product that you are offering, even though that wasn’t the topic you had planned for this month? Yes, your marketing plan supports the fact that you can change topics mid-stride as long as all topics relate to your business and your ideal client. If you’re ready to create a flexible, practical marketing plan for your home industry business, today is the perfect time. In this episode of The Kate Show, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do it. As with most things in marketing, it’s actually far less complicated than most people would think. Let’s do it!

I’m convinced that the worst part about marketing is just thinking about marketing. When I actually sit down and do it with a plan in mind, I feel great. And when it’s done, I feel fantastic. You might not feel this positive about your marketing, and that’s okay. You don’t have to like something in order to do it. But…I do have five specific ways I address my own marketing that have made it far more enjoyable, successful, and most importantly, ensure that it gets done. Today on the podcast, I’m sharing those five things with you — and as a heads-up — I don’t view them as optional or as just “good ideas.” If I didn’t do these five things, not only would I fail at marketing my own business, but I’d also fail at helping my clients market theirs. These five actions I take to make sure my marketing gets done well and done consistently are pretty darn important, and you’ll want to take notes. Let’s get into them.

Do you ever worry that the economy is going to take down your business? Take heart. Some of today’s most successful businesses were started during the crash of 2008. While the economy might try to push your business off course, you get to push back. Today on the podcast, my fearless, no-filter guest is going to show you how to ride the waves of an ever-changing economy without being flooded with fear and uncertainty. While her specialty is helping owners of organizing businesses, her bold wisdom and insight are also helpful for interior designers, stagers, and window treatment professionals. Hold on to your hats, your hair extensions, and any other personal belongings, ladies! This is one heck of an episode.

If your New Year’s resolution is to revamp or uplevel your business in the home industry, I want you to pause for a moment. You don’t have to reinvent your business just because the calendar has turned to January. Instead, you should look at your business objectively and focus on three key areas that might need adjustments rather than overhauls: Your motive, message, and method. Before you can update your website with new branding or write another blog post or send another email newsletter, you need to assess whether what you want for your business is in alignment with what you’re saying and whether you’re saying it in a way that makes sense for the ideal client that you want to reach. Today on The Kate Show, I’m going to walk you through a simple, three-step process that will help you know whether your business is set up for marketing success this year — and what to do if it isn’t.

Happy New Year! How stressed out are you about 2024? Has worrying about your business or life at large become your primary creative venture? You might be feeling just as I was: Exhausted. Drained. Frozen — and not in the “let it go” or “let’s build a snowman” kind of way. Like me, you might have climbed the mountain of self-helpism only to find that the view from the top was actually really cloudy and that you didn’t feel any more confident about your business or any less worried, either. In reality, we as American entrepreneurs don’t have a lot to complain about. We have the freedom to pursue our dreams, and with that comes all the personal baggage. There truly is no differentiation between personal and professional life, and the spillover from one to the other is real (and can be a struggle). Today on the podcast, I’m taking things in a very personal direction. You guys know I’m a follower of God, and you also know that I don’t keep quiet about it in my brand. This episode is about sharing my very personal, vulnerable story with how I *finally* stopped being a control freak and a worrier in regard to my business. I felt the need to share this because I speak with many of you who seem to have the same sense of anxiety over your own businesses. You overanalyze every marketing decision you make, fearing that one wrong move will halt the growth of your business. Or you worry, as I have, that the success you’ve worked so hard to achieve could disappear. It’s not a fun way to live, let me tell you! Until recently, I considered myself a professional worrier. I thought of nearly every possible bad scenario and came up with a solution for it even though those bad things never actually happened. However, something else was happening at the same time and it was causing needless turmoil and preventing me from the full experience of a great business and a great life. Ironically, the better things became in my business and life in general, the more I worried. I worried about losing it all by some uncontrollable calamity or by my own poor choices. Was I being a good enough mom, or will my kids end up in therapy? Am I making the right business decisions, or am I going to self-destruct? How do I know if I’m actually being my best self? I had the constant feeling of impending doom, like I was walking the edge of a cliff and was always one or two wrong moves away from slipping. Sounds dramatic, doesn’t it? But I’m pretty sure this sort of thing is what our culture would classify as “anxiety.” While anxiety can be worsened by chemical factors, poor diet, or a lack of proper rest, anxiety is also an illness of the soul, an illness that impacts every choice we make. And that’s why today we’re today about worry, the solution for it, and what to do in our businesses when we feel completely bewildered about what to do next. It has taken me almost a decade to realize all the things that I’m going to share with you today. If you are a worrier, take heart. If there is hope for me, there is hope for you. Thank God that every day is a new beginning because there are still days that I have to go all the way back to the basics and remember why I don’t have to choose worry or anxiety anymore. That’s why I’m creating this episode, for myself as much as for you.

Starting a brand new business brings up a lot of emotions for most women. We question our worth. We aren’t sure how our clients will ever take us seriously. We question our abilities. We aren’t sure how much to charge for our services. And yet, we are so excited to be doing the thing we feel called to be doing. We can almost taste the success. We can almost smell that delicious scent of victory. But…how do you bridge that gap? How do you go from clueless about running a business to curious about how many more amazing things you could accomplish if you moved forward with confidence instead of confusion or fear? Today’s guest on the podcast has not only grown her own thriving design business, but she also hosts a podcast for design newbies and offers resources tailored to their needs. If you are new to the design industry and looking for a roadmap that will show you how to set up your design business properly, this episode is for you.

Friends, this is a special episode for me. Not only do I get to interview another wonderful client of my agency, but I also get to rant with her about the importance of offline marketing (and how to do it correctly). Plus, she shares her emotion-free way of addressing leads who fuss about her prices — while she keeps her dignity and her confidence firmly intact. If you’ve struggled with confidence in your business, especially around “putting yourself out there” or charging for your services, this is the episode you need to hear.

Running a virtual agency means that I rarely get to meet my clients in person, but today’s podcast guest is both a client and a personal friend of mine. She’s someone I aspire to be when I grow up (despite my four-year-old reminding me that I’m “already a grown-up”). Today’s guest is the perfect example of how we’re never actually done growing as professionals and of how much potential we all have when we stop putting limitations on ourselves. Georgiana Schwandt is my valued friend and client. She and I have been on multiple coffee dates, discussing life and business and dreams for the future. Her granddaughter and my daughter performed in the same ballet recital last spring. And now that my family has settled into our new home in the land of pines, Georgi’s incredibly successful window treatment business, Incredible Windows, is outfitting my whole house with Hunter Douglas window coverings. I’m honored to do life and business alongside Georgi, and I’m often blown away by her poise and the elegant simplicity with which she runs her business. If you’ve been looking for a way to grow your window treatment business, consider her your muse. I’ll be asking her everything, from how she became a Hunter Douglas dealer after retirement to how she grew her small and mighty team. I’ll also be asking her about her best tips for scaling to multi-six figures while working part-time hours. You won’t want to miss this!

When I had life and business coach Andrea Liebross on my podcast in February 2023, I didn't know that I'd end up hiring her almost immediately after we were done recording her interview. Because, let’s face it, there are A LOT of coaches in the world, and many of them help their clients create amazing success. But Andrea was different because she really seemed to understand the dramatic plot of the modern female entrepreneur. She went straight for the heart of most of our problems as female entrepreneurs... Our thoughts! She was ruthless in that interview, and I encourage you to go back to Episode 221 and listen to it if you haven’t yet. Apparently I wasn’t the only one blown away by her incredible wisdom that day, because I keep hearing from more of you guys who have also started coaching with her. Six months later and halfway through my own coaching journey, I have become Kate 2.0 — I'm confident, I'm the CEO, I'm thinking bigger and with more clarity about my business and my personal life. I wish I could bottle the results I’ve gotten and inject them into your bloodstream like an IV, but since I can’t do that, I thought I’d just have Andrea on the show again. If you feel stuck in your life or business, you need to hear my second interview with Andrea.