168 – High Point Market: Passion Sucks! It’s All About the Money

High Point Market: Passion Sucks. It's All About the Money! Today in the Lounge, we have a live recording of Nick's panel "Passion Sucks. It’s all about the Money!" at Universal Furniture's event room during High Point Market. Nick hosted this panel with superstars Kelli Ellis, Chad James, Steven Favreau, and Nina Magon. Also on the episode, Nick talks with Jill Erwin of Jill Erwin Interiors. Jill talks about her how she transitioned from fashion into interior design, how she runs her business and all about her killer marketing tactics. Passion Sucks. It's All About the Money! All of us in the interior design industry are passionate about interior design, but that doesn’t mean all of us are successful. Passion can only take us so far, so what differentiates those that are successful, from those that are trying to become successful? Nick talks to industry-leading design firms from across the country, to learn how they’ve broken out of mediocre to build stand-out design firms. Learn not only how to get press coverage but also how to make REAL dollars. Panel Summary Kelli Ellis is an interior designer, licensing LLC, author, business coach and TV personality. While design is her passion, it’s also her business. Nina Magon was an economics and finance major turned interior design. She was on American Dream Builders with Nate Berkus in 2013 as a semi-finalist. Nina just completed her project on 51fifteen Cuisine and Cocktails with Sax Fifth Avenue in Houston, Texas and does both residential and commercial design. Before Steven Favreau became an interior designer, he was a professional dancer and singer. Based out of Boston, Steven is opening up the Favreau’s Factory, which is an 11,000 square foot think tank for himself, architects, high tech web people and photographers. It will launch January of 2018. Chad James is based out of Nashville, Tennessee but he has a plethora of clients all over the World including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Cayman Islands. He originally studied Architecture at Auburn University and five years into his career he decided to start designing the interiors his buildings. His company does Architecture Consulting and 75% of their projects are residential, the rest are Commercial. Steven relays that one of the things you learn in becoming a successful designer is to always be looking for clients with large budgets. If you are able to do what you'd like without limitation, you will be better at your job and be able to show this off. For Steven, it’s all about how you present yourself to clients. If he is put up against other designers for a job, he always makes the client feel comfortable that’s he is the right choice because he is going to get it done right. Steven believes social media is where it’s at but, networking, such as going High Point, is also important. Nina has been called the number one contemporary designer in Texas. To make her firm stand out, she has a no-nonsense policy. This policy means that they don’t fool around with clients or their money and they deliver the best customer service. She only hires people who believe in her brand and who are modern and forward thinking. Four staff members out of her 12-person firm were educated in Columbia. They are able to bring new and innovative ideas to her company which help set her apart. Nina receives new clients by making all her previous clients very happy. Word of mouth goes a long way. For every project, Nina shoots to make 35%. Her firm charges $250 an hour with $20,000 minimum. Nina is involved in every aspect of the project and everyone she works with is an extension of herself. Nina prefers working on full houses and high profile projects which help get her name out there.  The first time Kelli started to feel successful in her career was when she started getting knocked off. She doesn’t see this as a negative because she broadcasts so much of what s...