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.

Starting a home staging business is flat-out overwhelming, whether it's your second career or your first. If you wish someone could give you a sneak peek into what you should do when you're just getting started, or if you feel stuck after trying to grow your staging business for several years, you need to hear today's episode.Today, I have successful home stager, former realtor, and hyper-focused business coach Marianne Cherico on the podcast to dispel the myths and help you navigate the hurdles of running and growing your home staging business.

I don't normally interview other marketers on my podcast, but sometimes the opportunity is just too good to pass up. If you feel confused about SEO and wish there was an SEO expert who specializes in the design-build industry, today is your day! My guest on The Kate Show today is Daniela Furtado of Findable Digital Marketing. When I did my research on her agency, I felt like I'd found my “marketing sister from another mister.” She is a highly focused, niche-specific specialist who leads a team of other women. (Sound familiar?) Plus, she has the same no-nonsense approach to search engine optimization that I rant about often on this show. Get ready to have your burning SEO questions answered, explained, and expounded.

I love it when technology and design mesh in a way that makes sense, helps businesses grow, and brings happiness to design clients. If you feel the same way, you'd better stop what you're doing and listen to this interview. If your clients struggle to visualize the design ideas you present to them, despite your great presentation and beautiful mood boards, you know this is a sticking point in your workflow that has the potential to result in smaller sales or slower projects, namely and largely due to client indecision. What if there was a way to walk them through the end result of their designed space — but before any labor had begun? Thanks to today's guest, now you can. Stream The Kate Show wherever you get your podcasts.

You might be familiar with the term “glow up” when it comes to personal appearance and lifestyle. But have you ever applied that same concept to your business? At the heart of it, glowing up involves taking small, definitive actions that improve your overall quality of life, appearance, and presence. While this episode isn't about adding a “hot girl walk” into your morning routine, though the viral 4-mile walk probably wouldn't hurt any of us, it is about self-care from the standpoint of entrepreneurship. As business owners, we tend to think of ourselves and our businesses last. Our businesses get any leftover energy we have after working with clients. Our businesses take the brunt of our experiments, and after a while, things tend to start looking a little haphazard and neglected. Are you ready to refresh your business and renew the excitement you have for it while giving your professional confidence a little boost? Let's do it!

Interior designers, home stagers, and organizers, if you're overwhelmed with work in your business — client work or internal work — you might not need to hire another person. Perhaps you just need better processes and some automation. Perhaps you're spending too much time doing things that don't even need to be done. (At all. By anyone.)Or, it's also possible that the tasks you're doing really do need to be done, but would be better done by someone else so that you can stay in your zone of genius, doing what only you can do.Yet another possibility is that your current team dynamic isn't working. Perhaps your design assistant isn't as capable as he or she needs to be. Maybe you spend too much time babysitting your assistant instead of delegating to them.Maybe you would love to hire another person (or your first person) but you aren't sure which position to hire first, how much to pay them, where to find them, or how to train them. Meanwhile, you run around like a headless chicken in your business, trying to wear all the hats and be all things to all people…and it's slowly killing you. Wouldn't you love to know where to find the next person your business needs in order to grow? And wouldn't you be even more relieved to know that your hiring needs could be satisfied just by adopting better systems and processes? If you are concerned that a lack of processes or people is holding back your business from the success you know it can achieve, you won't want to miss this episode. I'm talking with Jessica Harling of Behind the Design about all things people and processes.

You've heard about SideDoor — the completely unprecedented online tool that lets you sell trade-only products through your website. You might have an account with them. Perhaps you've even made a few sales from your curated collections, but how can you truly make it a viable income stream and put all of its features to good use? Today I'm speaking with Chad Smith, Director of SideDoor. He shares valuable insights into how the most successful interior designers and stagers are using SideDoor and the new features SideDoor offers that you might not know about yet.I'm honored to continue Socialite's media partnership with SideDoor, and I would be using their platform without a doubt if I ran an interior design firm. As it is, I run a mere marketing agency instead and have to admire them from afar. Home stagers and interior designers, you should give this platform serious consideration. This interview will have you racing to your computer to create a new SideDoor collection.

Mind control — the moment you read those words, you likely had a negative reaction in the pit of your stomach. But here's the funny thing about it: If you can control your own mind, you become the hero of your own story and a legacy for thousands of others, but if you try to control someone else's mind, you are the villain in a hundred stories.The concept of mind control, or controlling what we think about, has been painted in a bad, mad-scientist light. Its counterpart, mindfulness, usually gets all the praise as a trendy buzzword. Don't get me wrong, mindfulness is great. But…You need to have full control over your own thoughts if you want to have great marketing. Someone with poor control over their thoughts will struggle to make decisions, will lack confidence, and will be easily swayed by what everyone else is doing. They will find it difficult to stay true to their ideal clients' needs. They will run full force at marketing without a strategy or a reason behind what they are doing. They will burn themselves out.And that's why, friends, today on The Kate Show we are talking about the 5 mindset shifts you need to make if you want to stop stressing about your marketing and start growing your business instead.This episode is politically incorrect, non-sugarcoated, and might be exactly the kick in the pants you need to become what I've always known you could be.

If you've been running a business in the home industry for more than two years, you've likely run into some nuanced marketing questions, such as…“Which blog post topics will resonate most with high-end clients versus the DIYers that I don't want to attract?”“Which marketing tools do I actually need? I'd rather not be working with 15 different platforms.”“My pipeline dried up after years of getting business primarily from referrals. What now?!”If you'd like to hear the answers to these questions, and more, you won't want to miss today's episode of The Kate Show.

Do you have a burning marketing question? Today is your day. In this episode of The Kate Show, I'm answering 10 of the most-asked questions I get from all of you. I'm covering things like, “How can I quickly get my next client?” to “How can I get more contacts on my mailing list?” as well as some hard-won marketing tips from other home professionals who've created their own success.This was supposed to be a rapid-fire Q&A, but…I went on a few rants and there will be a follow-up episode with 10 more not-so-rapid-fire Q&As.Enjoy!

One of the most frequent requests I get from interior designers, home stagers, organizers, and window professionals is this: “Can you create a marketing plan for me?”The short of it is, yes, I spend a lot of time doing this on private consulting calls with my Vault members. The longer version of it is… Why don't I just pull back the curtain on my easy, six-step strategy process so you can do it yourself? Even if you choose to have me do it for you, you'll be able to come to our private calls feeling prepared and empowered rather than overwhelmed. Getting rid of the overwhelm is essential if you're going to move anything forward in your business and become profitable.Today on The Kate Show, I'm detailing the exact steps you need to take to get your business from rudderless and feeling lost at sea to actually sailing toward your target with a compass that points true north.If goal-setting feels confusing, obscure, or even scary, you need to hear this episode. If marketing makes you cringe because you have no idea what you're doing and you're overloaded with too many ideas and conflicting information, this episode will bring you clarity. Let's dive into it.

I never thought I'd be talking about robots and artificial intelligence on this podcast. But, here I go. If you've heard of ChatGPT-4 (for the sake of brevity, I'll just call it ChatGPT going forward), you've likely also heard that some businesses are attempting to let this AI create all their marketing content. If you think that sounds amazing (and who wouldn't?), you might also wonder if it's too good to be true (a sign that you're a smart human).Because ChatGPT is still quite new, I decided to interview the bot itself on all things marketing. Primarily, I wanted to know whether it was smart to allow ChatGPT to do time-consuming marketing tasks, such as writing entire blog posts.Secondarily, I was curious. As a techy person, I've largely considered technology to be my friend, but ChatGPT had me feeling a little apprehensive - because if a robot could create free marketing content in seconds, would that content even be effective? Was there a right and a wrong way to use AI in marketing?ChatGPT was refreshingly transparent when answering my questions. By the end of the interview, I found myself saying niceties such as “please” and “thank you” and got weird satisfaction from watching it type answers to my questions at a scintillating rate. Here are the results of that interview. Enjoy!

Are you frustrated by a lack of results in your marketing, especially when you feel like you've been doing everything right? Or perhaps you don't know if you're doing anything right but since you're trying so many different things, one of them is bound to work…right? Not quite. Today on The Kate Show, I'm breaking down the things that you should be doing to market your business in the home industry, as well as a few reasons why these great marketing strategies might not be working for you and what you can do about it. Additionally, I'm also going to explain the difference between marketing and advertising because thinking those two are synonymous causes a lot of confusion. I had no idea that advertising and marketing were different things when I first started my business in 2014. Back then, I often aired on the side of “advertising” and wondered why my business wasn't growing.

If you've been struggling to get your first client or if your ultimate goal is to attract the high net worth client but all your online marketing methods are falling flat, you need to meet today's guest on The Kate Show Podcast. Self-made international entrepreneur, interior designer, and architect Nina Parvaresh pulls back the curtain on how she broke into the ultra-wealthy demographic (think: Dubai, Milan, and locations in Saudi Arabia) without any initial connections. Nina also generously shares her current marketing strategy, the reason designers should be confident BEFORE they are successful, and so many other pieces of advice that I know you're going to love.

Guys, the marketing landscape is shifting. I started to feel it personally in late 2022 when I all but stopped using social media for my business. After that, my own business continued to grow by way of new clients, opportunities, and brand sponsorships all without social media. It felt weird and it was honestly just a test. (In case you're wondering, I now only post an old-fashioned image and caption on Facebook and Instagram once or twice per week.) My test, which I affectionately dubbed "I'm tired of posting," was effective and the results are in: Even though I run a completely online business and have a target client (you!) who regularly uses social media to make buying decisions, it turns out that I don't need social media to grow my revenue. This fact was further verified when I looked at where my leads were coming from: firstly, this podcast; secondly, word-of-mouth (by way of Facebook groups, industry associations, and client referrals). On today's episode of The Kate Show, I'm sharing both the expected — and the shocking — information about email marketing that will directly impact how you get new clients in 2023 and beyond. (I would also like to note that the data I provided in this episode was sent to me personally by a contact at Tidio. They aren't paying me to talk about them, but I want to give them all the credit for putting together comprehensive information about email marketing that is actually EASY to understand. Kudos, Tidio!)

"I need more website traffic," is a common statement that hits my inbox from interior designers, home stagers, and organizers who want more clients. However, many business owners aren't aware of their existing website traffic stats. This presents a problem: Unless you know where you are, you can't know where you need to go. "I look at my website analytics, but I can't make sense of them." Relatable much? If either of these situations describes you, prepare to be enlightened. Today on The Kate Show, I'm breaking down the website traffic and analytics mystery. You'll learn where to find your website data, what parts you should focus on, and how to improve them overall so that you can get more of the right leads coming to your website.

Do you ever feel like growing your business is an insurmountable task? Maybe you have young kids and no extra time. Maybe you're working out of your garage. Maybe you don't "come from money" or you have very few connections. If you are feeling discouraged or intimidated by your lofty business goals, you need to hear the wisdom shared by today's guest. Today I'm talking with Taylor Angel of Angel's Linings. Not only is Taylor the third generation in her family-run, multi-million dollar business, but she's also the vice president of a brand that eats five-star reviews for lunch. When you've been in business as long as Angel's Linings (a whopping 45 years), you learn a thing or two about what does and doesn't work. If you want your startup business to become the legacy company that fuels generations to come, or if you need to breathe new life into an older business, this episode of The Kate Show is for you.

Do overthinking, stress, and worry describe your day-to-day while running your business? Do you feel the need to clone yourself just to keep everything together? If so, today's episode of The Kate Show is for you....and for me. I'm not sure if I've ever had a podcast guest pinpoint SO WELL the exact issue that so many of us female entrepreneurs face: Overthinking, which leads to stress, which leads to stalling, with leads to nothing getting accomplished except poor decisions or chronic indecision.

How do you market your business if you've relocated? There's nothing worse than getting to a new location and having the stress of moving and unpacking, only to realize that you have no projects lined up and not so much as a warm lead in your inbox. But there is good news! This discouraging situation is highly preventable. If you've already moved and haven't done any of the marketing preparation I am sharing today, don't worry. You can play catch-up. However, I do hope you're reading (or listening to) this 3-12 months prior to moving. The action plan and timeline I'm going to give you in this episode are intended to help you make sure you have one or two clients already lined up. If you are about to relocate your business, you need to read (or hear) this.

Are you feeling uneasy about whether you are doing everything you can to market your design, staging, organizing, or window treatment business? If so, it's time to refocus. Don't let yourself get stuck in a rut, doing the same marketing tasks over and over without ensuring that one flows into the next and that you can track the appropriate results. Spoiler alert: Not every marketing activity should result in new clients. For example, pinning on Pinterest will not directly bring you more clients, but pinning your blog posts will increase your website traffic, which is crucial for getting those coveted clients. If you are feeling frustrated and confused by the lack of results in your marketing, consider today's episode the pause button. Let's assess what you should be doing and how it should all work together to grow your business.

Today's episode of The Kate Show isn't a tutorial on how to be a great mompreneur — because I actually have no idea how to do that. Instead, I'm sharing a few of the struggles, solutions, and boundaries I've uncovered thus far in my journey. If you run a business and have kids or plan to in the near future, it's time to listen up. It's about to get real.

Have you ever wished you could hire someone to help with your interior design firm without having to spend weeks training them or months holding their hand? If so, it's time to consider skipping your next intern and jumping straight to a true, experienced professional. Today's guest on The Kate Show is easily seen as the fairy godmother of interior design businesses. She's experienced, she adapts to your business, and she will make your business more efficient while helping you stress less.

If I could go back to 2014 and give myself some words of wisdom as a new business owner, I'd have a lot to say. I'd give myself a heads-up on every mistake the "older" me would make and share how the "younger" me could avoid those pitfalls. The thing is... Those experiences, especially the bad ones, brought me something incredibly valuable as an entrepreneur: Wisdom. My friend, today's episode of The Kate Show is for the newbies. If you recently started your journey in the home industry, as in, you launched your business less than two years ago, you'll want to listen closely. I'm not dropping any wisdom that is new to the face of the earth, but if you can take a nugget of something with you to make your journey easier, then my job will be complete and I'll shut down my podcast. Just kidding, I have a lot more podcasting to do.

Do you use Linktree in your Instagram bio? While it's popular and seems like a great idea, Linktree is actually taking all the traffic that should be going directly to your website. This is no fault of Linktree; it's just how technology works. Rather than using a third-party tool like this to redirect your social media fans to wherever they need to go, and thus lose the website traffic, you should instead be using a page on your own website for this exact purpose. Today on The Kate Show, I'm showing you exactly how to set up your own version of Linktree and why pit really, really does matter.

In the interior design world, delays and backorders happen, even on a regular day. Add into the mix both economic and political global upheaval — with a dash of supply chain issues — and you've got yourself a cocktail that isn't all that easy to swallow. How do you keep track of which products or materials are ordered, en route, delayed, or delivered? You might have to hire a team member for that position or somehow squeeze it into your already-full schedule. Or...you might want to work with a specialized company. Interior designers, meet MaterLog, your single contact to track all of your deliveries and help you troubleshoot issues as soon as they arise. Today I'm speaking with MaterLog founder, Mariah Samost, on how their system works, why they created it, and how many hours per week it saves the stressed-out interior designer.

"I need an email sequence, but I'm not sure what it should say." If you've ever thought about this, you aren't alone. Unfortunately, there are many coaches and online course creators who will try to convince you that your home industry business needs a long, complex email sequence in order to generate leads. While this might be true of other industries, it's not an effective strategy for interior design, window treatment, home staging, or organizing businesses. Not only does that advice result in a massive amount of work for you, but it also annoys the heck out of the unfortunate souls on your email list. Annoyed people won't hire you. If you want to stop sabotaging your leads and putting a big, heavy roadblock in your sales funnel, you need to hear this episode of The Kate Show. Today I'm sharing the three-part email sequence your home industry business should be using. Email newsletters and email marketing in general are powerful tools, but they can't be used in the exact same way across all industries. The home industry is cultivated by relationships and referrals. Waves of marketing emails will quickly wipe out what you've built, but a steady and reasonable trickle will promote long-lasting business growth.

"Live and learn," has been the most cliché and yet the most accurate theme of my life, and I know that I'm not alone in this. Today on The Kate Show, I'm getting personal with you and sharing some of my top regrets — and top wins — since starting my business eight and a half years ago. Why talk about my regrets? Because those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it (another cliché that I firmly believe). If I said I wouldn't do anything in the past differently, I would risk bringing the same old baggage into my future. On the other side of that argument, however, are the things I would do again — the things I am proud of — the things that I didn't think I could do until I did them. If you've made mistakes despite your best intentions, or if you've made great choices without even realizing it, this episode is for you. It is my hope that you will feel seen, heard, and encouraged to keep moving forward in your business.

As someone who runs a marketing agency, I often work with home professionals who are trying to sell a digital product. I KNOW it can be difficult, especially when you are first getting started. Unfortunately, selling digital products isn't as simple as creating a PDF and setting a price on your website. Today on The Kate Show, I'm walking you through how to create, set up, market, and sell your first digital product. I'll be sharing a list of tools I recommend for creating and delivering your product, as well as how to get more eyes on the product itself. If you've dreamed of selling digitally but didn't know where to start, or you've tried and felt stuck, this episode is for you.

Does your interior design, organizing, or home staging business seem to get clients from Instagram? While we don't see this very often in my agency (nor do my colleagues in the marketing industry) we do come across the occasional home pro who gets good clients and projects from Instagram. By the way, this episode is a continuation of popular episode #164 entitled, "3 Reasons Luxury Interior Designers Don't Get Clients from Instagram." While some of the data in that episode will be repeated here, this episode has been updated to reflect 2022 and include additional information.

Many moons ago, I had my friend and business partner Jaquilyn Edwards on the podcast to discuss our venture together. Years later, that venture is thriving (and growing our members' businesses!), plus, we are always looking to take it up a notch. Today on The Kate Show, Jaquilyn and I will be discussing blogging for the home industry in more depth than you might have heard before. While our last interview on the podcast was about blogging basics, today's conversation is at the next level. Our discussion ranges from learning the benefits of using our blog post builders to going fully custom with your blogging, the actual purpose of a blog post, what to do after you publish one, and so much more. Get ready to take some notes — and stick around for a special promo code at the end. Jaq and I would love to work with you for the betterment of your business marketing.

Nearly every interior designer, stager, window specialist, and organizer has a Google Business Listing. If you don't, you need to set one up immediately. Not only does your business get placed on the map when people are looking for your specific set of services in their local area, but it's also a place to collect client reviews and share photos, events, and blog posts. Having a completely filled-out Google listing for your business enhances your credibility. However, most people don't take full advantage of their Google Business Listing. Today on The Kate Show, I'm sharing eight ways you can optimize your listing for the specific goal of increasing your website traffic. Once those leads are on your website, it is your website's job to convert them (so you'd better have a good one!). But let's start at the very beginning. You have the unique opportunity to tell the biggest search engine on earth how to help new leads find you. Let's take advantage of this top the max, shall we?

No one is an overnight success, yet some people have had their success brewing steadily on the back burner for years before really cranking up the heat and stepping into the spotlight. Interior designer Sara Lynn Brennan is no exception. I might be biased, as my agency has had the honor of working with Sara off and on throughout the years, but I do think she is a stellar example of what you can accomplish when you take ownership of your own success, ignore the naysayers, and let your passion fuel you. Today, I'll be asking Sara in-depth questions regarding the story behind her success, her ideal client, and her systems and processes. If you are just getting started in your interior design business or you feel stuck in a rut with your business of several years, this episode of The Kate Show is for you.