Michelle Lynne 0:02
Welcome to design for the creative mind, a podcast for interior designers and creative entrepreneurs to run their business with purpose, efficiency and passion. Because, well, every design is different, the process should remain the same. Prepare yourself for some good conversations with amazing guests, a dash of Jesus and a touch of the woowoo. And probably a swear word or two. If you're ready to stop trading your time for money and enjoy your interior design business. You are in the right place. I'm your host, Michelle Lynn.
Oh, right. Hello. Welcome back to the podcast, everybody. Today I have a wonderful guest. I'm super excited to introduce to you today we have Rene de VA theory. Did I pronounce that right?
Renee Biery 0:57
You did that was perfect.
Michelle Lynne 1:01
So Renee is an interior designer with over 25 years of experience, although I have her on screen right now, as we're recording this and I think you must have been about 15. I wish Renee has been formally trained in practical interior architecture, with advanced technical and rendering proficiency. Her credentials include the NCI DQ board licensing as a professional member of the ASI D, which is the design industry's highest certification. And holy cow. That's a lot of testing.
Renee Biery 1:32
It's a lot of testing. God bless you for getting through
Michelle Lynne 1:36
that. In 2000, Renee established her own firm, which is Davinia design, Incorporated. She's working in restoration as well as new construction. And you guys are gonna love this on top of running a successful interior design business and managing multiple renovation projects one at a time. Or at one time, she is also a wife, a mom of two, a dog parent, and has recently launched a course called only girl on the job site. This is a course for consumers and a membership for interior designers. So you guys know that I love the collaboration or the community over competition. And Renee just embodies that because she's taken what she's learned and applies it because you guys know you are the only girl on the jobsite most of the time. So welcome, Renee. That's that was a that was a mouthful, I think,
Renee Biery 2:28
yes, it tends to you, you hire a copywriter, and then you don't quite recognize yourself in all of the words that they create for you. But
Michelle Lynne 2:37
it's also really cool, because oftentimes, we don't toot our own horns, and we don't spell it all out as much because you just take it for granted. You're a badass, you've got all sorts of all sorts of experience all sorts of ways to help elevate our industry. So thank you for being here.
Renee Biery 2:56
And I think I found that being in the construction world hanging with those industries, the architects, the contractors, some of those accreditations are helpful, right, they sort of level the playing field a little bit, I find it at least sparks a conversation. And that I think is why I have leaned more towards, you know, the NCI, DQ, the ASI, D, all of those, those actually have meaning and value in the architecture world. Whereas my decorating clients, it has less meaning to them if they know anything about them at all. I'm
Michelle Lynne 3:34
so glad you say that because I have so many people come to me and they feel quote unquote, less than because they don't have a degree, they don't have the licensing and all of that sort of jazz. And I've told them in my experience, the last, however, 10 1315 years decorating clients never ask, like, no, they don't. But you're right, because when you are sitting there and you're talking to an architect, and you're you're dealing with a lot of the professionals that are in our industries, and even sometimes the GCS, or the builders, it just kind of reminds them that you're not just here to fluff pillows and pick paint colors that you've got your shoes is all together.
Renee Biery 4:12
Correct. And this wasn't necessarily intentionally, I went into the New York School of interior design right out of college. And it was spoken about kind of like week one, the ncid, the NCI DQ exam, how they would prepare you for it, the steps you had to put in place. And so we all sort of assumed we would go on and take it. Now I've got lots of friends after all these years in the industry, and either their schools didn't discuss it or they didn't go to schools at all. And obviously their careers are just as fulfilling and thriving as mine. So I think it was just my circumstances by and the time that I was at the New York School of interior design. It was run by architects, which I don't believe it is right now. But like the Dean of School was an Arca. tacked at the time. And so we had this really heavy bend towards architecture and construction. And I think that's just sort of put me on this path that without even knowing I was on it.
Michelle Lynne 5:11
Interesting. Yeah. But it's, it's served you? Well,
Renee Biery 5:14
it has. And I come from engineers. And so I think that, you know, exercise is both sides of my brain, right? It exercises, the decorating does the creative side, and the construction does the engineering side, and I just sort of find a blend of it.
Michelle Lynne 5:30
I love the fact that you say exercises, the different sides of the brain, because my brains are arguing. Always nice to each other,
Renee Biery 5:38
you're not always nice to each other.
Michelle Lynne 5:41
So, like, there's so much to cover, there's so much to cover, like my brain is going in a million directions. But let's just start with the only girl on the job site. Like I love that. So let's let's go down that path before we go down some of your experiences and insight and so forth, just because if we can get the word out if somebody's listening to this podcast and finds that this would be a benefit that serves them. Well. So tell us a little bit about this course, who it serves in regards to the design industry, and why you started it.
Renee Biery 6:15
Sure. Yeah. These are the No, this is a great question. And, and honestly, it started during the pandemic, I live in Delaware and Delaware, construction was deemed necessary. So by some irony, me as an interior designer was a necessary, it was an essential worker, and much to most of my friends, delight, right? They thought this was kind of humorous, but our construction projects never stopped. But the way we worked with clients, and I'm sure everybody experienced this was different, right? We went from seeing people in person to not seeing people in person, but the work still had to get done. So we had to get creative, we all got on to FaceTime. And we'd be standing at job sites with our phones in really weird angles, trying to show them a plumbing situation you were desperately trying to explain to get an answer for and, and I was really skeptical. I am very kind of old school as far as my techniques with design, construction and decorating. And I didn't think it would work. And I was proven wrong over and over and over again. And I thought, you know, this one client in particular, was in a different state. And so I couldn't get to her it was just too complicated. And she would I would walk her through things. And she finally said to me, Renee, I just wish you would create a manual that I could use on my own. And I thought, actually, I could do that, you know, I have done construction for 28 years. And well, of course construction. And the thing I love most about it is each project is different. There are a lot of very similar qualities from start to middle to end on a construction project that I can do, you know, without thinking about them anymore. And so I started on this process of well, how do I do this? And wait a minute, I can show people the steps that I would do, even if I'm not there. So in the beginning, it was geared towards homeowners, right? I mean, I know the designers listening will go to any event outside of work. And the minute someone hears what we do for a living, they tell you the hellacious stories that they suffered through right, no one ever tells us the great job they had, right? They tell you the horror stories, and you have to smile and nod and it's awful, right? Because somehow you're caught up in it even though you've never met this person before. Certainly never helped with the project.
Michelle Lynne 8:40
Yeah. When they go to the dentist or the doctor, exactly,
Renee Biery 8:44
oh, I'm constantly thinking in my head going well, there's a lawyer over there, you're gonna go ask him for free advice. But they never do. But you know, so the problem was, anytime I hear these stories in my head, I'm thinking, Oh, that was avoidable. Oh, shoot, she missed her that that moment. And, and that's where I started thinking I could I could be of help of service to homeowners anywhere. And sort of it was this pandemic with FaceTime and zooms. And then this woman asking me for for, you know, basically a manual. And I thought I will put it all together. So I built this course, only girl on the job site for homeowners. And the funny thing about it, and then I really instill a little surprise is designers kept showing up, I'd have a webinar and half of the people would be designers, and I'm thinking, What are you doing here? You know, what do you need? And it became really apparent. I mean, I think, you know, one of the things I talk about the most is how many designers either work alone or in extremely small settings, and you get so in your moment, you don't quite realize what's going on around you. And I didn't realize how many designers were on these construction sites, but didn't feel comfortable but didn't feel confident in their skills and their knowledge to either hang on or promote themselves for more work. And so the designers kept showing up asking me all of these questions about how to be a designer on these projects. And so the only girl on the job site, consumer course, basically got a twin and the twin is built for designers. And that is amazing. Yeah. And it really was exciting to take all of the, the, you know, the highs and the lows that I've learned over the last 28 years, and condense it into something that people could learn from, I
Michelle Lynne 10:39
think that is so needed in this market. So needed, because like you said, we're all operating on such an island. Yes. And oftentimes designers are so hush hush about helping other designers learn. And I, in my opinion, I think it's because half of us don't know what the hell we're doing. So when somebody asks for help, if you don't know what you're doing, but you seem like you do, then you're not going to help. But then it keeps things closed in our industry, versus saying everyone
Renee Biery 11:10
is sure that their job, their next job is going to be stolen from them. And again, trust me, I've had those fears. We're all human. But what I have learned is when that Job has been stolen from me, it was better or I was better off for it. And now having seen that a number of times when I don't get a job, I think, well, by the grace wasn't
Michelle Lynne 11:32
enough to begin with exactly how I say that about some of my ex boyfriends that I thought I was gonna marry. Thank God that didn't work out.
Renee Biery 11:42
Well, and I kept hearing designers say I was dragged on to the construction project by my client. And I don't really know what I'm doing. And I kept telling this one woman in particular, I said, well, obviously your client sees a skill set in you that you're not recognizing yet. But clearly, she has the confidence in you, you need to build your own confidence and, and I named it only girl on the job site, because that's how I refer my to myself. And actually, my kids were the one we were going back and forth about all these names. And my son was like, Mom, I don't understand you always tell people you're the only girl on the job site. And I was like, oh, light bulb moment? Of course I do. Because that adds an enormous level of intimidation. Even to me, even to this day. If I'm on a new job site with a whole new crew that I didn't put together. Yeah, it's like the first day of school, you're making sure you got the right outfit on, you're gonna make sure you talk to the right people and ask important questions. And it can be so intimidating, when you do have the knowledge when you do have the confidence. So when these designers are on these projects, feeling they don't know everything, I think it's just can be a Bermuda triangle, and you just get sunk into it. Yes.
Michelle Lynne 12:56
And also, we're a little bit older, in our engineers, respect, I can look back at myself in my 20s 30s, and even my 40s, part of my 40s where I didn't, like I felt like an imposter. And every once in a while Lord knows, we all still do. But it's like, you're supposed to be all things to all people. And you can't be but once you get past that it's so much more freeing, but you still go back into it every so often. So I would have loved to have had something like that. Hell, like even when I was back in the restaurant business,
Renee Biery 13:30
I would have loved to have had it too. I mean, it's kind of the funny thing about and and how I kind of created this specific, you know, lessons for designers and thinking what would have helped me I mean, I worked for women who did construction, I worked. I lived in worked in Manhattan for 10 years, and the women I worked with, they did this. And so I did have the chance to learn watching someone else, that the limit stake. But still, every site, every project brings its own challenges. And I think what designers really need to give themselves credit for is, while you're on a project with maybe a plumber and electrician and a carpenter, they only need to know their side of the business, right? They need to be an expert in those individual fields. You need to know enough about all three of them. And that is overwhelming. But once you learn that, you need to take pride in that right like, I am not a plumber, I know how it should be done. I can't do it myself. Right. And I think designers like you said I think it's some of it is age, where you know, we're also I was somewhat raised, you don't you know, fluff your own feathers. You just you know, you go about your business, you go do your job and then you you know, you then you leave and it's really hard. It's hard to be successful and not pat yourself on the back. And maybe you know I don't necessarily do it on a job site, but I made sure I pat myself on the back when I get in the car. And I say, you know, that was a hell of a meeting, and I rocked it. And but trust me, there are other days I get in the car and go, Okay, well, that was horrible. Let's not do that again.
Michelle Lynne 15:10
I can, I can appreciate both sides of those and right. And you're right, so many of us as women have been raised. What did you say to not fluff your feathers? Yeah. And that's just a bullshit because men are out there fluffing feathers they don't even have correct all day long. And then they're, they're applauded for it. Let me interrupt myself to take a quick moment to thank satin off Insurance Agency for sponsoring this episode of The designed for the creative mind podcast, their support and understanding of the interior design, decorating and home staging industries is unrivaled. Satin off understands what our businesses do. And they provide insurance that lets me sleep at night. Yep, this is the firm that I use. And they will do the same for your sleep habits. And your business too. They're more than an insurance agency, they're an extension of my business. They take care of the worry, because they are the experts, which allows me and my team breathing room to do what we do best design beautiful spaces. You can find their contact information below in the show notes. Give him a call today. So when you're on a renovation project, what are some of the biggest issues that that you think we face? Or you face? Respect?
Renee Biery 16:25
Yeah, hands down respect. I, you know, at this point, I have teams that I've worked with for years, and there's the level playing field. But like I said, if I go on a new project that don't know me, I often get the sideway glance, or like, Why is she here? We don't need furniture yet. Or Oh, isn't this cute? You know, the client brought a friend. And I'm like, Well, I I am friendly. But no, we're not friends, you know, and to be our friend. Right? And I think that's really what designers need to understand is it's it's not necessarily you, they don't understand your role. And if you can separate the two, not trust me, some of them might think it's just, you know, what are you doing here? But most of it is the role. Well, what value can she add to that? And, and, you know, that's how the contractors I come across, they want to know, dollars and cents, what can you do to help me, and I guess that's normal, right? We all want to know what someone can do to help me. And so I think immediately establishing their value, a designer's value on a project is, is critical. And it's what I do on jobs where I don't know the crews, I immediately, I don't fluff my feathers, but I will bring up projects that I have already done. I will and trust me, if you're new in the business, I don't want people to make stories up. But but definitely make sure you tell all the details. And I think again, designers tend to overlook some of the really critical pieces that they help with, because they don't think much of it.
Michelle Lynne 18:03
It's because they we we take it for granted, because it's something we're good at. Correct. And that's I absolutely and I I can't stress that enough is that the things that we do, that we take for granted, bring such a value to individuals. I mean, we change we change lives, and the work that we do absolute, it's easy for so many of us that it doesn't get assigned the proper financial value, that doesn't give us the proper confidence value. But it's also separated because it's not you who's worth worthy. It's your cert, I mean, of course you're worthy, but separate it because your service is badass to
Renee Biery 18:47
correct. And if you explain it properly, I find that the architect enjoys having me there because I make him look good or her look good. The contractor likes me on the job because I help them enormously. And we can go over how this the plumbers or everybody gets sort of a level of relief. When I've established how I can add value to their specific roles, not just my clients. If I'm on the job site, I've already been hired by the client. I don't necessarily need to keep proving myself that just comes naturally along the way when they see things going smoothly. But when you need to unfortunately chip away at each different trade. treating them as a team member is is really critical. And I see designers trip themselves up because they want to be elevated in some way and I don't believe in that I don't go to job sites in a dress. I don't go to job sites in open toed shoes or sandals. Now I don't go and work boots. I wear really nice jeans. Probably more expensive than someone My dresses because I wear them enough. And and I wear a nice top, but I trust me, I'm wearing appropriate close toed shoes because I'm a team member.
Michelle Lynne 20:10
And that also gives you credibility for showing up and not being a prima donna. Correct. It's like a yeah, she's not going to show up and tiptoe through her in her stilettos and her miniskirt looking cute. She's gonna get there and walk through the job site.
Renee Biery 20:25
And I have seen designers get in their own way by doing that. Now there are times where I think I'll be at a meeting and I likely will have to drive by a job site, I'll throw boots in my car. And so I might not necessarily be in the total outfit. And I'll do is I'll make fun of it. I'll be like, Hey, guys, check me out, you know, and they appreciate it. They're like, What's going on over here? I'm like, Yeah, I basically I'm telling them, they're still important enough, that I'm gonna figure it out. And you know, protect myself. So no supervisors running around thinking I'm gonna get hurt, because that's what they're gonna think if I show up in pretty shoes. And then I'm realizing that I need to multitask today. And I don't have time to go back to my office and change appropriately. So, you know, there's just so many ways that to me, when I was building this course, seems so logical, I was fortunate enough to have a woman on my team who's never done a renovation project, it was by chance. And so I would write up these lessons. And she would literally, you know, highlight a word and say, I don't know what this means. And one of them was a sub. And I'm like, What do you mean, you don't know what a sub is? She's like, isn't that a sandwich? It was, there's so much knowledge that interior designers have that we take advantage of a review, sorry, we don't take advantage of it, we take it for granted. And by dialing it down by really distilling all of our information, we already have such advanced knowledge of a client that that really should be highlighted.
Michelle Lynne 21:59
I think that is amazing. And I love how you really stress that you value, the trades that you're going to meet enough to show up as an equal.
Renee Biery 22:09
Absolutely, absolutely. And I invest myself, I feel they're investing their selves in the job, I invest myself. We don't necessarily become best buds and pals for life. But we all live in a small enough community, I know I will come across them at some point. And chances are, hopefully we'll work together if it went really well. And so, of course, I have a vested interest in this relationship, both professionally and personally. I mean, I'm on jobs for two years, I have been on projects where you don't get along with everyone. They're no fun, no fun at all. And the job suffers because of it, because of course we're human, you're not necessarily going to check maybe that site every single day, you might go to every other because the guy's a jerk. And so those things happen. So it's really important for a designer to to sort of dig in quickly. And if designers are good at anything, it's reading a situation, managing people understanding the underlying vibe. That's what designers are incredibly good at, because every client is different. So we know how to deal with all these types of personalities. And I mean, they designers just don't use it enough to their advantage. Yes,
Michelle Lynne 23:29
I think that that is a really great insight on your part. It's a psychology that for whatever reason, it's a hindrance in art history. So, so tell our audience before we get to the next segment, tell our audience like so you offer the only girl on the job site course to both the end user consumer and to the designers, right? And then I will be asking how everybody can reach you at the end today. And I'm gonna have it in the in the show notes also. But tell us a little bit about the offer on you've got me my curiosity piqued, I think I might go, I might go download your course or whatever it is, too. So
Renee Biery 24:07
the reality is there are going to be more homeowners running their own project than hiring designers. That's true, probably just a numbers game at that point. And I think our entire industry is better off. If those projects go smoothly, right, they're likely to do another project. If the first one goes smoothly, maybe the another one will be bigger, and they'll want help. And so this consumer chorus is built so that a consumer can or homeowner can basically become one of the team members. Now of course their skill set is not going to be the same as an interior designer and nor does it have to be. But so often I see homeowners thinking of this as a service provided by the contractor so they say here's my money. I'll see you at the end. Along the way, right? They have no idea that all the decisions all of that. And they're just stunned when they all of a sudden, wait a minute, I have to pick out the toilet. Yes. Yes, you do. Yeah. So the consumer course was built with with that in mind, how do they manage a project from start, literally to finish, and then I created a private Facebook group so that there could be a community of people sharing their wins, their losses, their frustrations and kind of everything in between. And I'm in there, we do live calls, once a month. And then the designer edition, it is the entire consumer course. Because I think as you and I were discussing, there's a lot of designers who are really new to it. And it's the same steps that a consumer goes through. And then I created an entire vault of lessons specifically for the interior design trade, you know how to manage a client, it is a little more complicated than a decorating project. Because it's much more intense, right, a decorating project, you can schedule a meeting two weeks out, and you can be working independently in the two weeks in between, well, that doesn't work on a construction project, you need to be available every day the construction is going on, you may not be needed, but you have to be available. So it's a very different mindset I find for designers who've only done decorating, to transfer into the renovation, we
Michelle Lynne 26:26
could do a whole podcast on that my team and I did one that I think you could go into even more detail is how to navigate that gap between the client and the GC. Yes, or the builder or whatever. I'm writing that down, because we're going to record that later.
Renee Biery 26:42
In the frustrating and you know, I'm a little sick and twisted. But the exciting thing I find is that every project is different. So every client wants a different level of involvement. So that also can add another component that can drive some designers insane. But then so the designer course was really built for, for my industry, right? I mean, I have invested my entire career to interior design. This is not my second career. This is my only career. And, and my first job was in a senior in high school, I worked for a local interior designer. She was old school badass, I had no idea how lucky I was to have gotten that job, right. And so I literally, I think had two summer jobs outside of the industry. And I'm 51. So he tells you how long I've been in the business. And obviously, it's a love hate, trust me with the business, because it's a tough business. But obviously, I haven't left it because no one I hate it.
Michelle Lynne 27:38
i That's amazing. Because I'm 51 Also, and this is my third career, right? So that is that is so impressive. I know, it tells
Renee Biery 27:48
me how nuts I am right?
Michelle Lynne 27:52
Oh, that is too fun. The
Renee Biery 27:54
really cool thing about the designer course is the is the private Facebook group just for designers. And that is something that I didn't initially think about. But to your point that we live on and work in little islands. I work alone, I have support staff, but they are not their remote. So I do not see people during the day. And while my you know golden doodle would love to give me an opinion on something. It's really not the back and forth that designers and creatives really need. And so what I did and really didn't think about it is my three best friends from design school are scattered around the country, we're all doing the same type of work. And we have a text a group text that we use obsessively. And that the minute one day I was on it and I was venting trust me I needed someone to just let me vent because
Michelle Lynne 28:48
nobody understands like another designer, because nobody understands
Renee Biery 28:51
is crazy position that you're in on a project. And I thought, oh my god, this is what designers need. Now I know that there are Facebook groups and things like that, but this is solely about renovation and the crazy situations that people get themselves into. And it's also about advice. I mean, I had a plumbing question. And I took a picture of it. And I put it in the group chat. And I said, Has anyone seen this? And within three minutes, you know, my friend Elizabeth was like, yep, seen it before? This is what I think you should do. And I was like, look at that. I looked like a rockstar because I had the ability to reach out to someone who knew more than me. And I don't believe in keeping everything guarded I when I was in Manhattan, there was so much work I guess there was just so much still a
Michelle Lynne 29:39
ton of work. Like there is no need for competition. I
Renee Biery 29:43
know but Michelle when I moved back to Delaware I still don't know many designers in town there's no phone girl for us to get to eat. There's everybody's very guarded and, and it's bizarre. I'm thinking we could all actually learn a lot from each other and So rising tide lifts all tides. I agree. So I'm an open book. I know people will email me questions and apologize for asking. And I'm like, I'm perfectly fine giving you this answer. Because I needed that answer at some point.
Michelle Lynne 30:18
Y'all, this podcast episode was made possible in part by foyer, a lightning fast interior design software that creates photorealistic renderings. I'm not kidding, you can barely tell that it's not a real room. So why leave your beautiful designs up to the imagination of your client, when you can show them what their space is going to look like? You will sign more clients and get more approvals with the software. It's powered by artificial intelligence, and a whole vouch for its ease. Because if I can do it, anybody can. Because y'all know that my design team are the ones who do all the work, find them in the show notes. Now a you and I are cut from that same cloth, because that's where my interior design business bakery comes in. A friend of mine here in towns like you're going to teach them everything, like I share my exact pricing model. Yes. But they're in Dallas. I'm like, Yeah, but they're not me. People need for me, they're gonna hire them for them, they're gonna hire you for you. Correct? No matter if it's exactly the same. It's never exactly the same. But yes, I totally agree. And the Facebook group, I mean, what a game changer when you have somebody just to bounce ideas off of, and
Renee Biery 31:29
it's an I really want to make sure that it is truly designers in there. And I, that is, you know, obviously a challenge because the term without, without, you know, you can't always that it's very hard to police. But I believe that people, you know, come together for a reason. And you and I were speaking earlier about a student that had just graduated and is knee deep in projects that she has no business being in, quite frankly, because she has no idea what she's doing. So in my opinion, if I don't help her, she pulls the industry down, because that job will go south, fast. And they'll say get the job. And the carrier designers don't know what they're doing on job site. So, you know, to me, we all, you know, gain from this opportunity to share and grow and learn together. And plus, I think more girls need to be on job sites, quite frankly.
Michelle Lynne 32:23
Amen. We if anything, we just have a completely different perspective on the organizational skills that most women possess over men. And that's just a blanket statement. So don't email me and blah, blah, blah. But
Renee Biery 32:40
I've gotten some of those emails. Well, I had a female electrician. I know they do exist. But yeah, statistically speaking, unless my female client is standing next to me, I am the only girl on the job site. And obviously, there are exceptions to every rule. But I I think the the value that a female perspective from a professional skill set is invaluable on a project.
Michelle Lynne 33:08
But yeah, I can go down a bunny trail with that as well. But in the interest of time, yes, for our listeners, I love to talk all things business, but I'm not sure if you're aware of this. The next segment is going to be a q&a Rapid Fire format, just so the audience can get to know you a little bit better.
Renee Biery 33:30
Under Pressure, okay, well
Michelle Lynne 33:31
done. Okay, so nothing's off the table, and it's just rapid fire. So the first thing that comes to your head is what we're aiming for. Okay. Super easy. Any belly button or outie belly button in here. Chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies. Chocolate Chip all the way. There we go. Beach mountains. Tough one beach. left handed or right handed, right handed. Last time you laughed until you peed yourself.
Renee Biery 33:56
last high school reunion with the girls.
Michelle Lynne 34:00
What's your favorite color? Blue favorite books? Who?
Renee Biery 34:04
I really liked the Dutch house.
Michelle Lynne 34:07
Oh, I'm gonna write that down. I don't think
Renee Biery 34:09
mainly because I live near the main line of Philadelphia where it was based and it's about the one of the main characters is a house. And you gotta love that.
Michelle Lynne 34:17
Oh, that's cool. Okay, I've got it written down. When was the last time you took a nap?
Renee Biery 34:21
I don't know. Oh, maybe college.
Michelle Lynne 34:25
Whoa. That always amazes me. I don't
Renee Biery 34:29
because I don't wake up from naps. Well,
Michelle Lynne 34:31
oh, there goes my husband. introvert or extrovert. Oh, and cake or pie cake. From an interior design business bakery. I can appreciate that. We have a section in my course is called the frosting because my copywriter took all of my conversations and I'm always talking about food and recipes and stuff like that. And so she's the one who's spun that she's like, are you willing to You're just like, Yeah, let's give it a try. Yeah, something fun. All right. So last thing is if you could do anything other than what you're doing now, what would you be in a professional capacity?
Renee Biery 35:10
Oh, my gosh,
Michelle Lynne 35:12
I know, because you've been doing this for twice, something only
Renee Biery 35:15
done this.
Michelle Lynne 35:17
What are you going to be when you grow up?
Renee Biery 35:19
I'm trying to share what I would do in retirement. I can't even imagine having all that time on my hands. Oh, I love
Michelle Lynne 35:26
that, though. Let's you know what that means. You're exactly where you're supposed to be.
Renee Biery 35:30
Yes. And the joke in my house is it would take me two years to retire, at least, right, because projects run so long. So I would simply have to stop taking work, and then finish out all the jobs I'm on and it might take a good two years, that makes sense. I do. And my husband, who is a banker, and could say, I'm going to retire on August 31. And boom, y comes and walks away. I eat to be honest, I think I would still do what I do. I love what I do enough that I would stay in it.
Michelle Lynne 36:04
That is just encouraging. Because all of the people that you're going to be helping with your course and so forth, don't want you to go anywhere. You
Renee Biery 36:11
know, and I think one of my goals is to encourage because obviously, our decorating side of the business has felt under fire, and a war waged on it for the last I don't know, 510 years. And I don't see that going away. But I do see renovation as a constant from now until the end of time. And and I would like to encourage designers to at least add this to their scope of services, because it will be a constant, you can't Restoration Hardware yourself through a project. Right. And so when no one can price you out, nobody can go to you know,
Michelle Lynne 36:57
furniture from overseas.com Can't
Renee Biery 36:59
happen that way, the advice, the support, and the creative ideas and challenges that you can solve for a client are really where the value of an interior designers trained mind is key. And I think it will be the key to the success of our industry going forward.
Michelle Lynne 37:18
I love that. Absolutely love that. So I know that our audiences loved everything you've had to say, how can they stay in touch with you? Like where can we find you and follow you and learn from you.
Renee Biery 37:31
So I'm on Instagram a lot. That's probably where people will see me, I'm on job sites. And I'll just snap photos and start talking about what I'm doing. And that's the VA design, and also on Facebook to being a design. And then my website is doing a design.com and that has all my contact information. My email is Renee at the VA design.com I was cursed at birth with a French middle name. And so I thought I would run with it. So it's hard to pronounce hard to spell. But once you get it, it's good.
Michelle Lynne 38:04
But yeah, and it'll be in the show notes. So
Renee Biery 38:07
there'll be no nights out for you. The show notes for
Michelle Lynne 38:10
y'all, so you can make sure that you follow her. Good. Well, um, thank you for being here it is oh, thank
Renee Biery 38:18
you for having me.
Michelle Lynne 38:19
This was fun. I wish I could go down 17 Bunny trails and spend another two hours with you. But we'll just have to schedule something else and grab a different top similar topic and have you back as a guest. So that would be
Renee Biery 38:32
great. Oh, I forgot to mention, my podcast is also only girl on the job site. And that's where I take deep dives into individual topics, you know, whether we're talking about marketing or yourself or whether you're talking about setting up projects, or whether you're talking about you know, whatever it is for that week. That's where I've been having a lot of fun, actually. There
Michelle Lynne 38:54
you go. So y'all as soon as you are done listening to this, you need to head on over to and are you on Spotify, Apple, all the big channels are okay, perfect. So wherever you're listening to this, you'll be able to exactly link it all on the job site as well and go listen to Rene. And you can also see how her name is spelled there too. So, for those of you who can benefit from even more resources surrounding the business of running your interior design business, you can hop on over to my growing community on Facebook, that's a private community as well. It's not specific to anything other than the business of interior design. Then you can also join Rene's Facebook group and talk about construction and renovations and so forth. Mine is the interior designers business Launchpad. And then as a shameless plug in November, we have the interior design business success summit here in Dallas, Texas on November 10 11th, and 12. You can find the information for that on the designed for the creative mind website. So thank you guys for being here. And don't forget to leave a review for the podcast. Thanks Renee
Renee Biery 39:59
and Michelle, this was great.
Michelle Lynne 40:03
Hey, y'all. If you love the show and find it useful, I would really appreciate it if you would share with your friends and followers. And if you like what you're hearing, want to put a face with a name, and get even more business advice, then join me in my Facebook group, the interior designers business launch pack. Yeah, I know it's Facebook, but just come on in for the training and then leave without scrolling your feet. It's fun. I promise you'll enjoy it. And finally, I hear it's good for business to get ratings on your podcast. So please drop yours on whatever platform you use to listen to this. We're all about community over competition. So let's work on elevating our industry, one designer at a time. See you next time.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
