Michelle Lynne 0:00
Music. 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 while 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 Woo, woo, 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, you
Michelle Lynne 0:48
Hey, hey, hey everybody, welcome back. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to introduce you to our guest today, and I hope you're having a wonderful, wonderful day, wherever you're listening from. I want to introduce you today to Hilary Cohen with over 15 years of experience, Hillary has worked alongside top ad 100 and l decor A listers. At this juncture, she cultivated her own design point of view and extensive pedigree before founding her own firm, Hillary has contributed to a variety of projects, from boutique hotels to catering to high caliber celebrity clients across the country. She's been featured in a variety of media outlets, including, but not limited to veranda Homes and Gardens, The Washington Post and NJ home, New Jersey Home, amongst others. So Hillary, quite the background. Thanks for being here.
Hillary Cohen 1:42
Thank you so much for having me. Michelle. I'm excited to be here absolutely.
Michelle Lynne 1:45
Well, I know that our audience is going to just eat up what you have to say, because, you know who, who wouldn't want to work with high caliber celebrity clients across the country and alongside top 100 elder core A listers. So this is, this is, I think, a lot of people's dreams. Let's, let's just kind of dig in and start with, how did you get involved in this industry? Like, how did you get started?
Hillary Cohen 2:12
I had an inkling from very early on that this is what I wanted to do. Even when I was a child, I would move furniture around constantly in my room, like I was always playing with different things, you know, creating little mood boards before Pinterest was a thing on my walls in my childhood bedroom. Um, I didn't really know at that time that it could be a career. I had no clue that that was something I could do as a living. That's not something that my parents do. It was not something I was really aware that was an option. So when I went to college and I started to try to figure out majors, I, you know, went through about three different majors, and then lived in interior design, and said, Oh, this actually seems like fun. This is something I really do and enjoy, and these make money on. Yeah, I didn't even know. So I was like, I'm gonna try this and see if it's something that I could really build a career out of, because it sounded exciting.
Michelle Lynne 3:07
That's so fun, and I think that I'd like, I can completely relate to rearranging furniture at a young age. I used to recruit my brother to do that after school on a regular basis. I bet you a lot of people listening are like, Oh yeah, there was a, there was a hint back in the day, yeah?
Hillary Cohen 3:24
And to this day. I mean, if there's a day that goes by if I'm not moving something around in my living room, it's a miracle. So
Michelle Lynne 3:31
this for those furniture sliders, right? Yes, exactly. Oh, that's awesome. Yeah, my husband will come home from business trips on occasion and find things rearranged. I'm like, just don't walk in in the middle of the night, honey. Just turn all the lights on. You might trip and die. Oh, that's funny. So being that you've had some really extensive experience, you know, with with different people that you've worked for and alongside and different clients, what type of projects would you say are the most creativity, creatively satisfying for you?
Hillary Cohen 4:09
I'm a little torn. I love my first love is residential design. I to me, that is the most fun, I think, to actually get into people's homes and their spaces and really affect the way they live their everyday life and their mood when they wake up in the morning. To me, that is creative. It's exciting. I love it. I also love though, the hotel, the hospitality design, you know, doing restaurants and things like that, because of the creativity, where you don't where you really they're kind of looking for more your point of view versus what works for for their specific taste level. So that, to me, is really fun. Also
Michelle Lynne 4:47
that makes sense, because you don't have to necessarily translate their their wishes and their taste preferences, right, per se, when it is more of the commercial, the commercial side, What? What? What would you say is your favorite aspect of the work that you do?
Hillary Cohen 5:06
To me when I'm working on a project, I think that the most exciting thing is when we have a combination of something that looks incredibly beautiful but also is super functional, when they when a client tells me that they've got an issue in their house, whether they are trying to find a spot for homework for their kids, that is, can be used as, like a daily dining area, or something like that. And then we come up with a beautiful banquet design when we kind of marry the beautiful function with the inspirational, you know, really things that look beautiful, that's when I get really excited and proud. Hillary, it's
Michelle Lynne 5:40
like, a good shoe, right? It's like, it's really comfortable, but it's really sexy, because those are hard to combine
Hillary Cohen 5:47
Exactly. So when it's that perfect marriage to me, I'm just like, on cloud nine. It's yes moment.
Michelle Lynne 5:53
My legs look really good in these shoes. And I can, I can stand in them for a while, exactly. And we use that analogy with our clients sometimes, because it's so true that it can look really good, but if it doesn't function, you're not going touse it Right exactly. So
Michelle Lynne 6:09
over your course of years with various clients, have Have you found that there is, like, a single biggest challenge with the clients, or a common denominator. So
Hillary Cohen 6:25
I think my perspective on that has changed as I've gotten older and more experienced in this business. When I was younger and working for other people, I thought that there, oh, there were just some really difficult clients that, you know, were really worked up about the whole decorating process and had a lot of stress in their lives, and would be, you know, stressful on calls and things like that, as I've gotten more experience working, you know, really taking this responsibility on of working with these people, I think, to me, the biggest challenge is making them feel comfortable with you, so that you can get them to a place where they trust you, and they're not going back and saying, Are you sure about this, or starting to you know, my pet peeve is the sending of the links, the text messages of different links late at night. You know, it's not something any designer wants to see when you have a vision for how you think the space should should look right?
Michelle Lynne 7:21
And I think that what you're saying about setting, you know, just like setting the pace and having your boundaries and navigating it as a professional allow, I think that, in my experience, is that professionals hire professionals. So as we've all gotten more sophisticated in our business practices. I think for me, I can say specifically, we've gotten more sophisticated clients as we've gotten more sophisticated.
Hillary Cohen 7:49
It's so true. And I feel like now I'm in a spot where I a client will sign on, and it's throughout the whole process. Sometimes I'm like, pinch me, because this person really is trusting. They're excited about the process. They you know, when things come up, as they do for any project, there's going to be little hiccups. And I say to them, Hey, this is happening. Here's what we're going to do to fix it. And they're like, Okay, great. That, to me, is a wonderful feeling. And I didn't always understand earlier in my career that that was really about knowing the person that you're working with and getting them to a comfort and a trust level where they, you know, Don't get worked up when something goes wrong,
Michelle Lynne 8:28
absolutely that you've already got it handled. It's not a huge surprise to you, and that you're just informing them they don't actually have to solve the problem.
Hillary Cohen 8:36
Yes, exactly. And you know, there are always clients that come up that that sometimes you'll hire and then you say, you know, I think maybe this I saw a few red flags that I should have listened to. But, you know, as you get older and as you get more experience, you learn and you grow from those so well, and
Michelle Lynne 8:53
you try and you trust your instinct. Because when, when I call it my little birdie, like, in my gut, there's like a little birdie that talks and says, Okay, here's that little red flag when you start listening to your gut and then recognizing that it was right. I think that you can trust yourself more in the future, right?
Hillary Cohen 9:12
That's exactly true. So I think it's all about trust, trusting the client, trusting yourself and getting them to be comfortable, because it's such a personal experience also, I mean, you're you're talking to them about what their habits are, you know, in their bedrooms and and in their gift tables. I mean, you have to really get to know them. So they have to get to know you a little bit too, so they feel comfortable talking to you and and getting those concerns impressed
Michelle Lynne 9:38
and even telling you no. Like, I think sometimes our clients at ml interiors group have more difficulty saying no, they don't like something because they're afraid of hurting our feelings, right? I was just like, No, my feelings aren't hurt. This is your house,
Hillary Cohen 9:55
right? And I think that they they come in with a preconception that maybe we're. Personally attached to every light fixture we're showing them. And, you know, I say there's, there's going to be 10 different light fixtures that could work for your space. It's about finding the right one that works, that we think is going to look beautiful in your room, and that you're going to love and be comfortable with.
Michelle Lynne 10:14
Yeah, because they have to look at it every day. I can. I'm not going to see it after this. Yeah. So going back to, let's just say, managing expectations. How do you manage expectations? And this is a big one. I'm sure our listeners are going to love hearing about when it comes to construction schedules and different issues that come up, like, how do you have a process or something that's worked well for you,
Hillary Cohen 10:40
for me, especially when it comes to construction, it is the communication is the only way to manage the expectations. Because I think when the client starts to feel like things are out of control, or you're not on top of things, that's when they start to get nervous and things can get difficult. So for me, I like to have a, you know, on our construction projects. I have a weekly, at least a weekly construction meeting where I go there, I meet with the contractor, I walk through everything, and then our client, if they would like to, they don't have to, but they are. They come towards the end of that meeting, so that we can, we've already gone over all the problems, and we're not just trying to figure it out on the spot. We already have a solution kind of thought of or we know what direction we're going to move forward to get something resolved. And then, even with decorative projects, too, we, you know, every week we like to send, or bi weekly, we send an update to the client, even if there's not much to report, if we're just waiting for pieces to come in, just so they know we're still here. We're still working on your project. We're still on top of all of these details. Hillary, I've
Michelle Lynne 11:45
got to just say that when we implemented that, when it's like weekly Wednesday follow ups or Friday follow ups or whatever works best for my designers, that was such a game changer. And it's so easy to do. And isn't it funny? It's like, it's like, it's so apparent, like, why weren't we always doing this, right? And that has been just, even when it's redundant, like nothing is happening this week, we're just waiting on such and such, right? I think the client really appreciates it.
Hillary Cohen 12:15
Yeah, I try to, you know, it's, it's ever changing. So I think I try to kind of picture myself as a client. If I was hiring someone and spending all this money and time with this person, what would I want to make me feel comfortable? What are the things that would make me nervous or concerned? And try to address those.
Michelle Lynne 12:34
And I think that that makes a difference. I've learned a lot from my husband, because I joke that he's not he's not high maintenance. He just has strong opinions. So as we've gone through our marriage and we've had projects done at the house and so forth, I always listen to what he's griping about. I'm like, Okay, we're not doing that.
Hillary Cohen 12:52
My husband's a lawyer, so I joke with him too, like he he is, for sure, one of my most difficult clients, not because he's a difficult person, but because his profession, he is taught to look for any little issue that might come up like that's what he's trained to do. So it's great training for me to have him, you know, poking
Michelle Lynne 13:11
holes in your ideas. Yes, as long as he doesn't send you an invoice, no. So what would you be doing if you weren't designing?
Hillary Cohen 13:25
It's a really good question. If I wasn't designing, I love organization in general, you know, project management, home organization. So I think anything where maybe Home Organizing would be a good answer for me, because anything where there seems like there's a mess and it doesn't seem like things make sense. I like to come in there and kind of make sense out of it.
Michelle Lynne 13:47
Oh my gosh, it's so true. I actually started my business doing some home organization, Home Organizing, home staging, things along that line. And let me just tell you, design is so much more fun.
Hillary Cohen 13:59
I'm sure it is the mess of actually getting into people's homes and like going through their actual things might be a little bit difficult for me, but organizing is like so I like structure. I like things to be on a regular basis.
Michelle Lynne 14:14
Amen to that. Amen to that. Do you have a team or is it just you?
Hillary Cohen 14:18
I do? I have one person that works with me now. And then I have a lot of people that I kind of bring in at like, on an as needed basis. So I have somebody who does really great 3d renderings, because that's not something I'm particularly skilled at. So we bring in help where we need it. But I have one person that's with me full time that's ideal.
Michelle Lynne 14:37
And so when you're working with your boutique hotels, high caliber celebrity clients and stuff like that across the country. How often are you traveling?
Hillary Cohen 14:47
I would say that I would probably I'm traveling maybe once a month. I try to really, kind of, you know, reduce the amount of time I have young children, so I try to keep it local as much as I can. And. And if I am traveling to make sure I'm making, you know, the biggest impact I can on that trip. They're usually very packed trips.
Michelle Lynne 15:07
That makes sense. Yeah, it's i Same thing. If I have a client that's going to take me away from my family, it needs to be a productive meeting, a productive phone call, whatever that looks like, just to make sure that priorities stay straight. How are people finding you? I
Hillary Cohen 15:23
would say I'm mostly word of mouth. One of the biggest marketing things that have been really successful for us, though, is mom boards, Facebook groups or private discussion groups. I get a ton of recommendations through that, which I think really started, I do have young children, so it really started a lot from my network of of, I was working with people with other young children, and that kind of became a little bit of a niche for us.
Michelle Lynne 15:52
Oh, nice. That makes sense, yeah? Because, you
Hillary Cohen 15:54
know, there's, it's a challenge. When you have young kids, you want your house to look beautiful, but you also don't want, you know, paint splattered over your $10,000 sofa. So it's a balance of finding really durable items, making sure everything's super functional, lots of hidden toy storage so you can clean up easily at the end of the day. But it's, it's been a great revenue for us, those clientele.
Michelle Lynne 16:18
That makes perfect sense. I have a six year old, and it's the same thing. It's like, I don't want your toys all over my living room. You know, here's a couple spots you can put them
Hillary Cohen 16:27
exactly at the end of the day when you've had a long day and the kids are finally asleep you that's not what you want to be looking at the first chance you get to relax. That's so funny story.
Michelle Lynne 16:39
So whenever you guys are listening, whenever the audience is listening to this. This, we're in the middle of November, and I just put up our Christmas trees in the house yesterday. And my daughter, so we have, she has a tree in her room, and this sounds just like so high maintenance, but she has a tree in her room. We have a family tree, and then we have the pretty tree, right so she can touch the family tree. But I was sitting up this I was I got up this morning. I was sitting on the couch drinking my coffee in our sitting room, which is where the family tree is, and I was looking at it because she, like, undecorated it. Redecorated it, like she was playing with everything. And I'm just like, I told her she could do whatever she wanted, like, if she wanted to move something on that tree, she could move something on that tree. And I'm just like, oh, I need to put oh, I need to put it back. I need to I need to rearrange it. So sitting there looking at the child's mess is it's in a different form, but, yeah, it's like in the back of my head niggling me. I know.
Hillary Cohen 17:32
So for me, when I'm designing those kinds of spaces, I want to make sure there's a spot for them to be super creative, and there is a paint area or something that's super functional for them, so that they're drawn there and not to my to my coffee spot for my morning. Exactly, exactly.
Michelle Lynne 17:49
I might have to rethink our family tree, but it was funny. It was funny. Are you undecorating My tree, child? So what has been a risk in your career that has really paid off
Hillary Cohen 18:06
for me. I think going out on my own was obviously a huge risk, but I think continuing once I went out on my own, I think continuing to reinvest into my business is something that feels very risky to me. And I'm not the type of person that you know spends a ton of money on on on things that for myself, usually for other people, I can do it easily, but for myself, it's where I, you know, get very nervous and scared to kind of branch out and make that kind of investment in myself. So I think, you know, one of the bigger risks that I did was, when I first started, I was in my apartment, you know, I was really kind of, I was still living in New York at the time. I was really doing my business on a shoestring budget. And then I realized I need to operate if I want higher level clientele, I need to operate at a higher level. I invested in an office space. I got some part time help to help me. I really invested in my website a little bit. And I think just any time I put money back into my business where it feels like, Oh, this is scary. Am I really going to see the money back from this? It usually pans out very successfully. So it's kind of finding that confidence in myself to invest. I
Michelle Lynne 19:24
love that. I love hearing that because it's true. It's easy to tell other people what to do with their money, or whatever the case may be, but when it comes to spending our own money, it's a different, a different type of fear, right?
Hillary Cohen 19:39
And I think even, you know, investing a little money into my office space, we we moved into the space that we're currently in in 2020, so it was, it was post COVID, but it was, for us, it was such a busy, hectic time, because people going on vacation, they weren't spending money at restaurants, and they started to really invest in their. Home. So that's when we got really, very busy. And so we got a small office space in a great little town in New Jersey called Basking Ridge. We're at a little downtown here, and we did a little renovation to the office where I was, you know, that was something that I was like, Oh, I don't know if I should renovate just my office space. That's not worth it. But then I was like, You know what? Yes, it is like, this is a spot I can bring clients. This is a spot where I'm going to be doing this creative thinking. It's got to be an atmosphere where I feel comfortable and inspired and all of
Michelle Lynne 20:29
that, yeah, not working out of a warehouse, yeah, yeah,
Hillary Cohen 20:33
or at my home, which I thought would be great, but really, for me, was not,
Michelle Lynne 20:37
yeah, I can appreciate that. There are days that I'm really grateful to have a place to drive to imagine trying to bake a cake without a recipe. You kind of know what the ingredients are, but you don't know how to put it all together. After lots of hard work and trying different combinations, all you are left with is a sticky situation and a stomach ache. Babe running an interior design business can feel exactly that same way. That is why I created the interior design business bakery. This is a program that teaches you how to bake your interior design business cake and eat it too, if you don't want to figure out the hard way and you want guidance to follow a recipe that has already been vetted, someone that has already been there and done it, and will help you do it too, then check out the year long mentorship and coaching program, the interior design Business bakery, if your interior design business revenue is below 300,000 or if you're struggling to make a profit and keep your sanity, this is the only program for you. You can find that information at designed for the creative mind.com. Forward, slash business, dash, bakery, check it out. You won't regret it.
Michelle Lynne 22:09
What do you do for inspiration? Do you set aside time to go, I don't know, for a massage, or go out to nature like how do you find your inspiration?
Hillary Cohen 22:20
I do have to set aside time for this, because I think it's as a business owner, you have a laundry list every single day of the 800 things you need to tackle that day and inspiration, because it's fun and exciting. A lot of times for me, gets put at the bottom of the list where I'm like, No, that doesn't have to happen today. I could push that off till tomorrow, but then you continue to push it off. So for me, I schedule a day. It's usually on a Friday, I would say every other week, where I don't come into my office, I go out, I go shopping at different stores, or if I am feeling really stressed out, I will do a little self care. I'll get a massage. I'll stay at home with tons of design magazines, just kind of reading things and looking around and getting inspiration. So it's just about building in that time for myself that whatever I need to do that day to feel inspired and to feel rejuvenated, that's what I do.
Michelle Lynne 23:18
I think that that is so important when I first started, I made sure that I had my CEO days so that I could do my planning and just strategic thought and so forth. And then I don't know what I was reading, but they were talking about how you just needed the same thing. You need a day where you're strategically thinking, but then there's a day where you just need to kind of recharge, and whether that is looking through design magazines or scrolling on Instagram, you know, until your eyes start watering, or if it is simply taking yourself out to lunch and maybe a nap, that that's just as important for the to recharge,
Hillary Cohen 23:59
yeah, I would say my best days, those types of creative days, are when I've got, like, a list of stores that I've never been to, or different antique shops that I haven't checked out before, and then I grab a nice lunch in between, even if I'm by myself, and, you know, just sit down and really have that time to get out in the world. I think it changes my it changes the rest of the month for me. I
Michelle Lynne 24:19
absolutely agree, and those are my favorite. I love lunches by myself. Let me sit at the bar, give me a glass of wine, a good meal, and then I can just roll with that, because I don't have to talk to
Hillary Cohen 24:33
anybody. It's very true. And being a mom and a business owner, it's it's very rare that I get time to myself. So, you know, my husband will joke sometimes like, Oh, you went out to lunch by yourself. And I'm like, Yes, I needed it. Like, I needed a little date, date day with myself. Yes, I'm a really good date
Michelle Lynne 24:51
and a very intelligent conversation. That's right. So, so with that, what would you want to spend? More time doing,
Hillary Cohen 25:02
I think for me, I really want to, as my business keeps growing and changing, to really spend a little more time actually training people more in depth to work with me so that I could continue to grow my team would be ideal for me, because I think, you know, I really do love I, you know, was joking before. I like to make organized organization out of a mess. And I think to talk with people that are interested in design, or that have a design background and that want to work with me to really kind of train them on the systems that we've developed and you know, refined over the years to make a project go smoothly. There's an art to it, almost, I would say, with dealing with clients and getting that kind of getting a project timeline to move smoothly. So to help teach other people that, to me, is really fun, actually. So
Michelle Lynne 25:59
I think that makes sense. So like people working for you, like employees or coaches or designers,
Hillary Cohen 26:05
I think starting off, I would love to just stick with my own employees and and kind of, you know, to have these great conversations about what works and if something goes wrong on a project, we have a good, you know, download after and say, Okay, what happened today? What could we have done better in the future where it's, it's not, you know, trying to point the finger at anybody, but really trying to figure out, how could we have made our day gone a little bit smoother and better for everybody?
Michelle Lynne 26:32
I love that, and that's um, so we run ml interiors group. We call it the 16 steps of sanity. And it is, it's literally 16 steps. And as a coach, that's what I teach other designers on, and that has been such a game changer. And it is when you have those those practices solidified, bringing your team in and teaching them the nuances of it, and literally just every project is different, but the process needs to be the same, right? And having them buy into it and understand it, girl, it's a total game changer. It
Hillary Cohen 27:09
really is. And I think too, people have brought in things to me, and they said, Oh, you know what, the last place I worked, we used to do X, Y and Z. I I would say, Oh, well, I don't love all that, but I love that aspect of it. Let's bring, you, know, part of that into our flow here. So absolutely, there's, there's
Michelle Lynne 27:24
always something. And it does. It goes back to that organizing aspect. And that's, I also think that when you're hiring somebody, or when you're training them, a lot of individuals are not great problem solvers, yes. So if you have here you, here's, here's some bumper rails. You need to work within these, these boundaries make such a difference because then it allows them to mature in their decision making, right?
Hillary Cohen 27:55
And exactly, and you want them to as they're with you for a longer period of time, to grow in their roles, right? You want them to keep evolving as well. So the more structure you can give them, I think the more helpful it is, but also allow them to kind of shift a little bit and you just shift along with them. It's not always so easy, but it's so rewarding when it happens. How
Michelle Lynne 28:17
do you feel about delegating? Like, are you good at that? Oh no,
Hillary Cohen 28:21
not. You know, I try to be I I'm really good about delegating things I don't want to do. Dealing with vendors when there's delays or a mistake was made on something, I'm happy to delegate that stuff. But when it comes to the esthetic decisions, it's tricky for me. But every time I have where it's a person that I really trust and that I respect their opinion on things, I think it makes me a lot better when I do delegate and I listen to them, because they might bring a new perspective to the table, and they add a nice layer of thought that I didn't have before, you know, because I can't possibly think of everything, so it's
Michelle Lynne 29:01
we so I have two designers on my team, and then myself, and we always laugh at like, I have no idea how you can be a like, a total solopreneur.
Hillary Cohen 29:12
It's impossible. Yeah. And
Michelle Lynne 29:15
then, as a business owner, like you said, you have 800 things on your laundry list every day, plus all of the decisions that go into making a design effective for a client and not just thrown together, I
Hillary Cohen 29:28
think it's about balancing what you're delegating to. So I do delegate some of the esthetic decisions, but I also delegate things that that free up my time so I can be really involved in the creative, really involved in the direction and the shopping of the sourcing of a project. And I'm not so bogged down with orders and timelines and things like that. I think that's helpful
Michelle Lynne 29:51
outsource all that shit. Yeah, get that off. Well, it's true. Because you make money designing, you don't make money doing the. Procurement, you don't make money. Problem Solving. When something shows up, broken,
Hillary Cohen 30:03
right? That makes out, yeah, oh, that's
Michelle Lynne 30:07
fun. That is very fun. It's so true. What piece of advice would you give your younger self if you could go back to like, right when you were ready to jump off into your own business. Yes,
Hillary Cohen 30:24
I would say to myself, don't be afraid to invest in your business, in the structure of your business. Don't wait a few years. Because I kind of waited, I, you know, for the first five years, I would say, of my business, I did things kind of slowly and I didn't really, you know, take the steps to to get a full time accountant, so I'm not dealing with that to get an office space. You know, there's, there's those things that really make a big difference when that weight is lifted off your shoulder. So I would tell myself, don't be afraid to really go for it, because it's gonna, if it's gonna, you know, pop off and it's going to be successful. It could either do it in five years when you have made the decision to invest, or it could happen now. So don't wait. I love
Michelle Lynne 31:09
that. I absolutely love that. And I think when you're weighing your spend and trying to determine whether or not it's a good decision. I always weigh it against, is it going to make me money? Is it an expense, or is it an investment? Right?
Hillary Cohen 31:29
Yes. And I think every time it's an investment, it will pay you back, as long as it's, you know, thought out, and it's really, you've done your research about what you're investing in, and you you feel comfortable with the option you're moving forward with, it will pay back your business.
Michelle Lynne 31:43
Did you ever get, or do you have maybe? Did you ever get is not the right term. But do you have the shiny object syndrome?
Hillary Cohen 31:53
What is the shiny object syndrome? Yeah, yeah.
Michelle Lynne 31:55
You can't read my mind. Can do along the lines of like, when I was, let's say, researching different software programs. There's so many that you can use to manage your invoicing and your your proposals, your invoicing, your your selections, your procurement, like those, I was always like looking to see what's next. Like, I'd invest in one and then I want another, because it was prettier. It was a shiny object. Something new would come out, or whatever, or even, like, office space. Oh, look at this. Is really pretty. But what if I move here when my lease is done? Like, no, just stay where you are, you know, like the sunny object syndrome. Do you suffer from that? In in the business aspect,
Hillary Cohen 32:39
I think in the business aspect, I'm almost the opposite. I'm too cautious at times when I should be, like, it's okay to go for that shiny object. It's really pretty. You want it, you You deserve it. It's okay. Like, give yourself that little pep talk. And that's where I think those we're joking about, those lunches, but with yourself. But like, those are the times when you start to pull back a little bit and realize, like, oh, you could take more risk. It's okay, like you can do it for your business. It's
Michelle Lynne 33:06
worth it. So my younger self and your younger self would have balanced each other out really well.
Hillary Cohen 33:12
And also, when you find people to work with you, I think finding someone who balances you in that way, I think that's super helpful as well.
Michelle Lynne 33:19
Absolutely, absolutely. I've been very blessed with my with my team, and not necessarily needing to have a business partner, because they they have a they have a safe space to give their opinion, right? Yeah. So when do you think about your business strategy? Do you have a day or is it like when you're in the shower? Like, how do you work it into your strategy? I would
Hillary Cohen 33:44
say the time for me is when I can sit down with like, a calm mind so it's the beginning of the day before I get into anything else that is, like my emails or any little things that I need to respond to quickly. I have to have a few minutes to myself to really sit down calmly, because if I'm stressed out or worried about something, I won't be able to, like, look at the big picture. So a lot of times I wake up before my kids get up, which is not always easy, because sometimes that's real early, but yeah, we'll have, even if it's 20 minutes downstairs, having a cup of coffee by myself with my notebook, just kind of writing down different ideas or different things to look into. That's my kind of golden time.
Michelle Lynne 34:29
Amen to that. Give me a cup of coffee and a blank notebook, and I can.
Hillary Cohen 34:37
I like to say that to my clients too. We're going to design a space where you can have a cup of coffee and a blank notebook, and it will change every day. It will change your experience of the day. Yes,
Michelle Lynne 34:46
I and funny, I get a lot of things thought through when I'm putting my makeup on, so I have a notebook at my vanity, like just down in one of my drawers, just a little one to get ideas out of my head. Because. Sure as anything, I'm sitting there, you know, putting my mascara on, have a genius idea, and then I don't remember it when I'm done brushing my teeth,
Hillary Cohen 35:07
right? That little bit of distraction when you're doing something else sometimes helps, because something will be simmering in your subconscious, and it will come to the forefront when you're when you're not thinking about it. Yes,
Michelle Lynne 35:18
we were just talking about that this morning, I was trying to remember the name of something, and it something, and it literally woke me up. It was time to wake up. My dogs are ready to go out, but I was like, marinating on it while I was still sleeping just at the edge of sleep. And then I didn't look it up. I was just like, oh, I don't have to figure that out right now. I got to the office today and I was sitting in front of my computer, I was like, that's what it is. So it's so true. Just let go of it, and your mind will will bring it back
Hillary Cohen 35:46
up. Yes, I love that.
Michelle Lynne 35:50
Okay, so here's one of my favorite questions. Is, what book do you recommend reading this year? It could be business, it can be fiction. It could be like, whatever. Do you have, something that you would recommend? Well, that
Hillary Cohen 36:03
is a great, great question. I actually just read this book, and I'm gonna, I don't remember the woman's name the author, but the title of the book is called wintering, and it was so interesting. It was about this woman who went through some different mental health struggles and how, like, during the winter in like, these Scandinavian countries, you have to really, like, hunker down. You don't leave your house because it's so cold and like, but that's okay. Like, you need that time to, like, hunker down and take a minute and kind of rethink your life a little bit and really address where you are and what you want to change and what you what you're happy with. And like, how, like it was, like wintering as a concept was so important for her, and I just loved it. I thought it was so fascinating. Oh, that
Michelle Lynne 36:53
sounds good. And it sounds similar to, you know, just our simple lunches alone. Yes,
Hillary Cohen 36:57
exactly. This is one of the reasons these lunches have, have have happened more, because I got inspiration from that. And I was like, that is so wonderful.
Michelle Lynne 37:06
I have been aiming, and I'm going to test it this month. I've been aiming to try to really take off the month of December, okay, and so that'll be my little win. I'm in Texas, so we don't have much winter that might be my version of it. I'll still be working this year, but next year, I really hope to just completely check out and have my team handle anything that needs to be handled, and
Hillary Cohen 37:30
that's wintering. That's exactly what it is that's
Michelle Lynne 37:33
that's how, in a sense, that's how my coaching business came to fruition. Is because we left to go adopt my now daughter, and I was gone for an entire month, and my team handled everything while I was gone. Now, granted, I was just up in Michigan. It's not like I was across, you know, the globe or anything, but it was really nice. And that goes back to those processes and procedures,
Hillary Cohen 37:58
right? You realize what worked right and that you could step away, yeah,
Michelle Lynne 38:03
yeah. So, God willing, this will be a slow December for my brain.
Hillary Cohen 38:09
I like that. Goals, goals,
Michelle Lynne 38:11
goals, goals, goals, and perfect world I would do June or July as well as December.
Hillary Cohen 38:16
So I always have the dream of August being off for the whole month, and being down at the beach or something for the month. And I've done it sometimes where I take a week and a half, that's as close as I've gotten, but 10 days,
Michelle Lynne 38:29
yeah, exactly, that's all right, you said earlier that you want to go back and train people. So right? That can be your why it's like kids on the beach Exactly,
Hillary Cohen 38:39
exactly. That's so true.
Michelle Lynne 38:41
All right. So Hillary, I am sure that everybody has loved hearing everything that you've had to say. Now they're probably wondering, well, I want to see some of her designs now. So how can they connect with you? Okay,
Hillary Cohen 38:56
so our website is www, dot h co interiors.com, dot com, and our Instagram is H, C O, underscore interiors. So those are the best ways to kind of reach out to us.
Michelle Lynne 39:11
Yeah, y'all go look at her portfolio. It's beautiful, by the way. Hillary checked it out before I before I connected with you. And girl, you have got some serious press.
Hillary Cohen 39:23
You know what that is? Then another thing we're investing and really trying to get our name out there. Because, you know, I really, I love what I do, and I want to do it for as many people as I can. Do it for so and
Michelle Lynne 39:34
I love the fact that you have the like, say, the Magazine Cover displayed instead, because, like all I have is a bunch of logos, and I love the layout, but I'm too lazy to go back and find everything. I
Hillary Cohen 39:46
just changed that, and I just having someone help us with our website. So nicely
Michelle Lynne 39:53
done. It's beautiful. Well, I will make sure that your website and your. Instagram handle is in the in the show notes, so that the audience can reference that. So y'all, if you're driving along, please don't be trying to write these things down. I got you back, sister and y'all that are listening, if you want a, oh, let's call it a business bestie, who will send business tips, encouraging words, event updates and so forth directly to your fingertips. You can test text the word bestie to 855-784-8299, again, this will be in the show nine. Show Notes, 855-784-8299, and you'll hear from me on the regular, and I promise there's no spam, like I hate spam, so I'm not going to be sending that to you. So thank you, Hillary for being here. This has been thank you so much, Michelle.
Hillary Cohen 40:45
I really enjoyed our conversation. It was great Absolutely. And
Michelle Lynne 40:49
for those of you listening, choose to be great today and every day, and we'll see you again soon. 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 pad. 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 you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
