April 9, 2026 • 40 mins
If your design studio feels busy but the bank account never seems to agree, it’s time to zoom out and look at operations. We’re joined by Diane Welhouse of Wellhouse Consulting Services, a certified kitchen and bath remodeler and longtime remodeling professional, to talk about what actually makes a design or remodeling business durable in a tough marketplace.
We start with the unglamorous stuff that changes everything: replacing outdated, paper-based workflows with modern business systems, choosing scalable technology, and building processes your team can follow. Diane explains why “mainstream” tools like QuickBooks and supported project platforms often beat proprietary setups, especially if you want to grow, hire, or eventually sell.
Then we get into pricing strategy, budgeting, and cash flow. Diane breaks down how to use real numbers, not “industry standard markup,” to set rates and margins, track billable hours, and aim for true profit. A big takeaway is reserve planning in three buckets: operating reserves for downturns, capital reserves for future investments, and “human reserves” so you can hire without fear during that 60 to 90 day ramp-up window.
We also connect operations to marketing and PR: defining your mission, values, and ideal client profile, building trust through thought leadership on LinkedIn, working with local media, and using awards plus before-and-after photos as credibility and content. Hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more design pros can find it.
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Designer Discussions is a partnership of three experts: Jason Lockhart, CEO of KABMS; Maria Martin, founder of DesignAppy; and Mirjam Lippuner, founder of Get Ink DIY
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Episode Transcript
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Mirjam Lippuner (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Designer Discussions
with Jason and Miriam.
Today we have a special guest,and it's Diane Wellhouse from
Wellhouse Consulting Services.
And she's going to talk to usabout how to strategically
operate your business in today'schallenging marketplace.
(00:23):
Welcome to the DesignerDiscussions Podcast with Jason
and Miriam.
Tune in each week where we talkabout marketing PR and business
advice for designprofessionals.
Jason Lockhart (00:39):
How are you, Diane?
Diane Welhouse (00:40):
I am good.
How are you?
Jason Lockhart (00:43):
Doing good, doing good.
We had we had talked last week,and I was looking forward to
having this conversation becausewe talked about a lot of
information that our listenersneed to hear and that they want
to hear about as well.
So let's start by having youjust explain a little bit about
who you are for our audience.
Diane Welhouse (00:59):
Sure, absolutely.
So I'm uh Diane Wellhouse.
I'm a certified kitchen andbathroom modeler through the
National Association of theRemodeling Industry, Neri.
Um, I do have an interiordesign degree, and I've been in
the remodeling design space forthe past 18 years.
Um, and I started my company inuh 2023 because I had
recognized that there's a needout there for contractors, trade
(01:24):
partners, um, designers thatneed assistance in running their
business, right?
So many of these people starttheir own companies because
they're so great at what theydo, the services they provide,
right?
They're talented.
They use their hands great andtheir minds and their visual
abilities to make amazingspaces.
But now when we turn that intohow do we run our business, all
(01:45):
of a sudden we start tostruggle.
And that's an area that Ireally excel in is operations
and running a company.
And so I decided that with mybackground in this space, the
talent that I bring to thetable, I could be of service to
those who want to um seek theirgreatest potential.
I can help them get there.
Jason Lockhart (02:03):
I love that.
And we had talked a lot lastweek, and I just want our
listeners to know that youactually owned your own
remodeling shop for a while.
And let's just talk about thetransition because we had a
funny uh talk about how when youtransition, a lot of the old
ways you had to change.
So talk a little bit aboutthat.
Diane Welhouse (02:24):
Yeah.
So at the time when we tookover, um, it was Wellhouse
Construction Services, uh, itwas a family business, and I had
married into the company.
And uh we were we were gonna befourth generation.
And when you take over acompany like that and it's that
old, a lot of the systems andthe processes were not up to
(02:44):
date.
You know, everything was sortof on pads of paper, everything
was in files, and our QuickBookswas only thing we were tracking
was rough carpentry andfinished carpentry and nothing
else.
So here we are with a businessthat's a hundred years old, and
I have really limited data andinformation to really be able to
move this organization forward.
So literally had to starteverything over, completely
(03:07):
created a brand neworganization, all new
QuickBooks, had established allnew processes and procedures so
that we could set ourselves upat a baseline foundation to
actually be able to scale theorganization to where we wanted
to go.
Generations behind us werereally happy with where they
were at, didn't want to grow,didn't want to deal with the
(03:28):
people challenges, didn't wantto deal with the system
challenges.
Where at the time my husbandand I, we came from corporate
America and we were ready to go.
And we we saw the big vision,we saw the potential of this
company.
We just weren't foundationallyset up right.
So that's what I did is go inand turn all that around and
create the processes and thesystems we needed to scale.
Jason Lockhart (03:49):
That's a lot where I actually hear from a lot
of designers that and thensomething that we deal with on
the marketing side, when we goin, they're behind in terms of
the operations, in terms oftechnology and just all that
stuff because they still operateon Google Sheets per se and not
anything in today's world.
So talk a little bit about whenyou help or when you consult
(04:12):
with Remotlers now, what is thefirst things that you suggest
they have to update everythingin terms of their operation?
Diane Welhouse (04:19):
Right.
So the first things we're gonnalook at is okay, what systems
do they have and what technologyare they using?
Right.
Um, and depending upon whattheir vision is as to where they
want to go, is kind of gonnaguide that conversation.
You know, like I just had ameeting with someone who's
looking to potentially selltheir business.
They've been there too,multi-generation, they're
(04:40):
running out of generations totake over the business.
So they want to sell, you know,but they're using um a software
for accounting that isn'tmainstream.
It's not QuickBooks.
You know, so let's have thatconversation about, you know,
value to a buyer is going to bemainstream things that other
people are using that they caneasily tap into.
(05:01):
They have a proprietizedsoftware package, um, similar to
like a builder trend thatthey're using, but it's
proprietary.
And now that's not scalable ortransitionable because now I
don't have resources to be ableto continue to grow that system.
Or if I want to make changes tothat system, I'm talking about
(05:23):
customization versus usingsomething that's more out of the
box that I can actually call acompany and say, hey, help me
with this, you know, versustrying to learn software that's
proprietary.
You know, so we're looking atwhat is it that you're using,
where are you wanting to go longterm?
And then let's go out andresearch and pick those
appropriate pieces of softwarethat you need to advance your
(05:44):
company.
And sometimes, you know,Smartsheets, you know, it's it's
you know, Google on, you know,it's uh sheets on steroids,
right?
You know, sometimes that worksbecause, you know, you can
program everything in, it canautomate itself, and that might
just be the solution that worksfor you.
Jason Lockhart (05:58):
I like that.
And one of the things we talkedabout, which is huge, is
pricing because a lot ofdesigners and Romanos out there
don't charge enough for theservices that they offer.
And that oftentimes lead tocash flow issues.
So talk a little bit about howyou've helped to guide and help
how to charge the pricingissues.
Diane Welhouse (06:18):
So, you know, the big thing is I can't tell
you how many companies I workwith that have been in business
for five, 10, 20 years that havenever created a budget.
Don't have it.
They they don't know theirnumbers.
Um, and that's really where theproblem comes into play.
Because when we start lookingat, okay, let's take, let's open
up your QuickBooks, let's pullout that profit and loss sheet,
(06:40):
let's look at the balance sheet,you know, let's look at how
well your organization isperforming.
And this is where we start tosee that we're really in a
hobby.
We're not in a business becausewe're not making money, right?
Loving what we do, yeah, I'mgetting paid, but they don't
understand why it is that theydon't have money at the end of
the day.
And it's because they justdon't know their numbers, right?
(07:02):
Um, and sometimes what they'lldo is they'll go, well, industry
standard says, you know, Ishould have XYZ markup.
So I'm just using that.
Well, that doesn't translate toevery single business
accurately, right?
You have to understand, youknow, what is your revenue goal?
You know, what is yourhistorical cost of goods going
(07:23):
to be for that?
And then what are your personalexpenses?
Because your and my expensesare not gonna be the same.
You know, if I've got brick andmortar, if I have a showroom,
um, you know, what what do I allhave?
How many employees do I have?
What softwares am I running on,right?
And what did those cost me?
So really understanding whatyour expenses are.
So now you can actuallycalculate what it is you need in
(07:47):
whether you want to use markupor margin, know your numbers to
be able to apply that.
Now we understand what the basemarkup should be for, you know,
specifically on those servicesthat designers are selling,
right?
What should I mark up my sofasand and the other accessories
and things that I'm selling?
The other key thing fordesigners is really
(08:09):
understanding how many hoursyou're being able to actually
bill out and what rate.
Tracking the historicalinformation here is key because,
you know, if you have people onyour staff, what rates are they
using that you're charging themout at?
Calculate, and you can findthis very easily online.
Do a search that says how manyactual business hours are in the
(08:31):
given year.
So, like right now, there'sabout 2,000, you know, business
hours.
So we're taking out, you know,all weekends, we're taking out
all the major holidays,including the federal holidays,
whether you observe those ornot, let's get a baseline.
So we got about 2,000 hoursthat are happening in in the
year that you can possibly billout.
Well, if I'm the businessowner, uh I'm probably not even
(08:52):
gonna bill out up to 50% of mytime because I'm also running my
business, right?
So I have things to do that Ican't charge someone else for.
So let's just say forconversation's sake, I get to
bill out at 50%, right?
So that's my number.
And then what about my staff?
What are they doing and howmuch are they billing out and at
what rates?
Do you have different rates foradministrative type work that
(09:15):
you're doing?
Are you having different ratesfor actually providing the
service that we do?
So designing, sourcing,purchasing, and those things and
understanding how many hours,which means your people have to
track their hours so that youcan then have this information
and data.
And now you can actually seehow much money you're bringing
in, calculated by the amount ofhours that I'm billing out, to
(09:39):
add that to the things that I'mmarking up, right?
The cost of goods sold that I'mmarking up to my clients to
understand then what is the truerevenue that I'm bringing in.
And, you know, designersshould, you know, if you're not
making at least a 10% profit atthe end of the day, and I'm
talking true profit at the endof the day.
So not, you know, I'm paid, mypeople are paid, all my bills
(10:02):
are paid.
You know, there's got to be atleast a 10% profit at the end of
the day.
Otherwise, you you're you'rekind of in a hobby, right?
Um, you're you're not reallymaking the money that you need.
And that money at the end ofthe day is so critical because
you have to start putting thatmoney away for reinvestment in
your business.
And I like to work with umdesigners and contractors and
(10:25):
help them build a budget thatonce we get to that bottom line,
I have a whole nother section,you know, about reserves.
How much money are we puttingin reserves for a couple of
different things?
One, true reserves for like theCOVID that we had, right?
Businesses shut down.
You still have to pay yourbills.
Your fixed expenses aren'tgoing anywhere.
(10:45):
And if you want to keep youremployees, you got to be able to
pay them too.
So let's start building areserve that will cover, you
know, at least six months,ideally a full year of your
operating costs.
And that money just sits ininvestments and it's there
because, you know, something'sgonna happen again.
It's, it's, it's not, it's notif it's when, right?
When are we gonna have a marketturn down of major um
(11:08):
proportions like we did back inlike 2008 to 10?
When are we going to haveanother COVID type moment?
Um, so I'm prepared for that.
My business will stand the testof time if I've got that money
in reserves.
Secondly, what are we doing interms of planning for and
investing in capitalexpenditures?
Do I need new software?
(11:28):
Do I have aspirations of havinga showroom or brick and mortar?
Do I need new vehicles?
Do I provide vehicles to mypeople?
So, what are those capitalexpenditures that we can see
coming in on the horizon andstart allocating monies for
that?
And then lastly, human.
I like to prepare for scalingmy business.
(11:51):
So if my goal is to be, youknow, double my revenue size, I
obviously can't do that unless Ihire people to be able to write
perform those services for me.
But if I can get at least sixmonths of a salary saved, when I
bring somebody on, you know,you figure there's that, you
know, 60 to 90 days of warm-uptime, right?
(12:13):
I'm sometimes not necessarilymaking you money.
I'm trying to figure out wherethe restroom is, right?
So getting myself up to speed,I'm losing money as the owner
because I just hired somebodynew.
And then, you know, they'rereally starting to pump things
out from that 90 days on.
So for three months to six, youknow, six months, we're really
starting to now ramp up andactually produce.
(12:35):
But I've got that salarycovered because I got money in
reserves before they actuallystart making me money.
And then that also lessens thehiring anxiety.
What if we don't get thebusiness?
I'm taking a risk by bringingsomebody on.
What if they don't perform realwell out of the gate?
Well, now I've I I could putmyself to peace of mind.
(12:56):
I can go out and hire, get thecandidate I want, get them
onboarded and get them up tospeed.
And I don't have to panic aboutnew revenue coming in to cover
them because I already have thatsitting on the side to do that.
Jason Lockhart (13:10):
When you head over all that with the
businesses that you talk to, howmany of them are actually
overwhelmed or how many of themhave like have the aha moment?
Like, okay, that makes sense.
Diane Welhouse (13:19):
Both.
So yeah, the the aha moment islike priceless.
They're all like, never thoughtabout it that way.
Especially when we talk about,you know, saving for, you know,
human reserves, right?
That a lot of them don't evennever thought about that, just
assumed I had to, you know, prayfor more business or get to the
point that I am so overwhelmedin my business that I need to
(13:40):
hire.
But then I'm like, yeah, butnow you're stressing because
you're now trying to hire whileyou're trying to service all
these clients and you don't havethe bandwidth to service all
these clients while you'retrying to hire.
So, you know, let's plan forthat.
And if you've got that money inreserves, it's never a bad
thing.
You know, even if plans change,your business isn't ramping up
(14:00):
as fast as you want, having thatextra money on the side and
being ready for when you want tois priceless for you in terms
of peace of mind and runningyour business.
Jason Lockhart (14:12):
Usually when you talk to the businesses that you
work with, does marketing andER ever come up and how you talk
to them about how they need togrow?
Diane Welhouse (14:21):
Yeah.
Um, I
try to get them grounded on,you know, who they are.
So, you know, why, what's ourmission?
Why, why do I exist as abusiness, right?
Because that's kind of reallywhere marketing stems from.
My why?
Why are we here?
And what is that impactfulemotional why, right?
It's not about making money.
That's a given, right?
(14:41):
It's about what am I doing?
What am I providing to theuniverse?
What am I providing to myclients?
That deeper why in what I do.
And then understanding fromthere, you know, what are our
values and what are ourprinciples?
How are we going to operatethis business?
What do we believe in?
And what type of customerservice are we going to do
through our principles?
This is how we expect everybodyat our company to behave.
(15:05):
And from there, you can nowstart to develop, okay, what is
our proprietary process?
What are we selling on so thatwhen I go in and start talking
to clients about whatdifferentiates me, I need to
understand that and identifythat.
So what starts to lead to mydifferentiator is my mission, my
(15:27):
values, and how we operate as acompany.
And now I can formulate thatinto a differentiating statement
about my company.
And then I can start to buildmy processes off of those
things.
And that's where all of themarketing things really start to
come into play because we'regrounded on who we are, what we
do, why we do it.
And this is our proven processthat we have established and we
(15:50):
know it works every single time.
If we go out and we just simplystart marketing for the sake of
marketing, we're just sort ofthrowing darts in the air.
We're not focusing on who ourideal client is.
I also work with them toidentify who's that.
Who's your ideal client?
You know, are they, is it whatkind of income?
(16:12):
What communities and zip codesdo they live in?
You know, the amount ofdiscretionary dollars, like
people who maybe buy theatertickets, people who buy luxury
cars, um, you know, becausethat's that's that's the folks
that are going to be able toafford the designer services,
right?
So how do we pinpoint andidentify who that is in my local
market?
And then what's that messagethat's going to tailor to them?
(16:34):
What are they really lookingfor from my experiences?
What are they looking for?
And what do they want?
You know, they want turnkey uhprofessional services.
They don't want the hasslebecause they're most likely a
dual-income working family,right?
Bringing in your doctors,lawyers, you know, bringing in
high income.
And they don't want to bebothered.
(16:55):
They want to know that when Ihire you, you're a professional,
you're getting things done, andI don't have to worry about it.
That we're gonna have a settimeline, you're gonna bring in
the checkpoints, you're gonnashow me what's happening, we're
gonna make the decisions, and Ican trust you to get that done.
So those are the types ofthings we want to pull out of
the team to say, let's identifyall of this, let's write it
(17:17):
down.
And then we create ourmarketing plan because now we
can find those people.
Are they on LinkedIn?
Are they on social media?
Where am I targeting my moneyto actually find those clients
and pinpoint my message basedupon who are we and how we
service them?
Jason Lockhart (17:35):
I love it.
I'm over here gettingemotional.
I'm I'm over here saying amenas you're talking because anyone
that listens to our podcastknows I always talk about the
ICP, your ideal client profile.
Who that is, you have to knowwho they are because you cannot
market if you do not know whothey are.
Because I like to also say ifyou're marketing to everyone,
you're actually marketing to noone.
As you were talking, I was overhere saying amen all the time.
(17:58):
And I love that.
Diane Welhouse (17:59):
Yeah, and you know, and it helps you, you
know, when you get the call forservice, having that crystal
clear picture of who your idealclient is and what you're
looking for also helps youqualify the call that comes in,
right?
Because you are going to getpeople who are going to find you
and see you.
Um, you know, might even be areferral, who knows?
And you have to make sure thatthat's customer's the right fit.
(18:20):
Because we all know that whenyou compromise on who your ideal
client is and your processes,because you're looking just to
bring on the client.
And I get it, it's it's it's anatural tendency for a business
owner.
You know, if the phone rings,um, you know, I could use the
business.
You know, we want to grow, Iwant the business, but really
(18:41):
staying grounded and focused,having that checklist right
there at your desk.
So when the email comes in, thephone call comes in, you can
easily quantify, is this myideal client?
And having the courage to sayno.
And I love that.
It's courage, right?
It's complete courage.
Um, having the courage to sayno, knowing that and believing
(19:03):
in the fact that if you're doingyour marketing well, the right
client will come to you.
But being a service to theperson that is not your ideal
client by offering a suggestionof where they can go and find
someone who might be able tomeet their needs.
You know, is that the localNARI chapter or the Nary
national directory?
(19:23):
Is it the NKBA local chapter ortheir national directory?
Places where you can point themto to say, you know what, we
focus on this.
I'm hearing that perhaps we'renot a right fit, but allow me to
help you find someone who isgoing to be able to address your
needs.
Jason Lockhart (19:43):
I love that because we're actually working
with a client now that they knowwho their ideal client is.
But before they used to takeall types of jobs that were not
their right fit.
Now they take the right jobsand they hand the jobs that are
not their right fit to theirso-called competition.
And in turn, their competitionsends them their ideal client
(20:03):
profile.
So I love it.
I love them.
So now talking about Neri andNABA, can you talk a little bit
about, you know, the importanceof those organizations to the
industry?
Diane Welhouse (20:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, I've beeninvolved with the National
Association of ModelingIndustry, Neri, for, you know,
18 years.
And, you know, your membershipis truly priceless because you
are surrounding yourselves withlike-minded people, people who
get you, who understand whatyou're going through, the
challenges.
And believe it or not, theseorganizations, um, they're not
(20:36):
competitive.
You know, meaning where I cango to networking events, their
national conferences, meetpeople and share ideas, talk
about the challenges I'm facing.
And people are willing to havethose conversations about, well,
this is how we do it.
You know, and then further,obviously, these organizations
provide great education to helpyou develop your business, your
(20:58):
skills, you know, and train yourpeople as well.
So it's not just for the owner,great value to everybody inside
of your company and they kindof meet you where you're at.
You know, and Neri's got awonderful certification program,
as I mentioned earlier.
You know, I'm a certifiedkitchen and bathroom modeler
through Neri.
You know, it it's a it's arigorous test.
You know, and I took the exam.
(21:20):
I mean, I literally walked outof the exam room going, oh my
goodness, I've owned my owncompany.
I've been, uh I'm aschool-trained professional
interior designer.
I know all these things.
And I think I just failed thiscertification because it's,
it's, they really teach yousomething.
You know, so you spend weeks,um, 16 weeks doing um course
(21:40):
preparation.
They kind of take you throughall the modules that are going
to be on the exam.
And then you sit down and andyou take the exam.
And, you know, if you couldpass the exam, it's it's great
credentialing to have behindyour name.
Um, it's an ability to uh againenhance your sales and your
marketing.
You know, tell people that, youknow, you're a professional in
your industry.
You Have done these criteria toget to where I'm at.
(22:04):
I've advanced my education andmy level.
I'm a student of my game, inwhich then I can service you
better because I am on top ofwhat is happening inside of my
industry because I belong tothese organizations who are
constantly bringing the latesttrends, the latest information,
the best education possible thatthen I can use to service my
(22:27):
clients better.
It's it's that great extramarketing piece to one up your
organization in the mix of thisspace.
Mirjam Lippuner (22:36):
I want to say that, Diane, I think the
Milwaukee um Nary chapter thatyou led for a while, it's the
largest one in the country,isn't it?
So it's uh yeah, it's uh wealways talk a lot about trade
associations and the benefits.
Um you talked about marketing alittle bit, and I'm just
curious if you because I'm thePR um expert of the duo here.
(23:00):
So do you have any specificexperiences or advice um when it
comes to seeking visibility andturn with the media, like not
on the paid side, but on theearned side?
You go out, um, have a lot ofspeaking engagements, obviously.
But what is your take on PR ingeneral?
Diane Welhouse (23:20):
Um, today I think it's all about being a
thought leader.
I think it's about sharing yourexpertise with people.
So, you know, as simple asLinkedIn, making sure that not
only you personally, um, and youhave to decide, you have to
decide how this works.
So, like for me, because I'mI'm a one-man show, I use my
personal LinkedIn to promote myexpertise and my thoughts and my
(23:42):
knowledge on my page.
But if I happen to have abigger team, I may want to
consider also having a businesspage.
And then using that businesspage to share your expertise.
Go out there and make smallposts about things that are
happening that are relevant toyour client base.
You know, talk about the latesttrends in kitchen designs or,
you know, bathroom designs orremodeling in general, whatever
(24:05):
your expertise are, show that topeople.
Because what I find interestingis that you may not always get
the likes.
You, you know, you may not goviral, but people are reading
and know you're out there andthey're following you because
everywhere I go, people will sayto me, Oh, loved your post the
other day.
And I'm sitting here going,geez, I didn't see a like from
(24:28):
them or a comment from them.
I'm like, I didn't even knowthese people saw my post.
So you're doing more outreachthere than you think that you
are.
Same thing is, you know, workwith your local media.
At most TV stations have somesort of an investigative
reporter, right?
And unfortunately, contractorsseem to be on the list
(24:50):
regularly, right?
But if you're a professionalresource, they're gonna call you
and say, you know, hey, we'reexperiencing this with this
contractor.
Can you give us some tips andinformation about how a consumer
should vet their contractor orlook at a contract and how do
you sell your services?
You know, so put yourself outthere to those people and offer
(25:12):
to do interviews with them or beavailable if they need you when
they're looking at someone elsewho, you know, unfortunately
maybe isn't playing nice in thesandbox, right?
Be that resource and thatperson that they can reach out
to you.
Um, you know, send articles tovarious magazines or even your
local newspaper.
I know a lot of times we thinkthat this isn't where people are
(25:36):
anymore, but if you writearticles and send them, you
never know who might pick themup.
And especially if your localnewspaper has a home and garden
type section, they're alwayslooking for content and they
don't always know where to go.
And if you're willing to write,you know, basically take your
blog and just turn it into anarticle, right?
Um, and just send that stuff tothem, kind of like free PR,
(25:58):
like, hey, here's here's ahere's a trends coming up for
the summer on outdoor living.
And as a designer, what we'reseeing um more and more people
doing, or whatever the the topicmay, right?
And send that stuff out.
And I think those are greatways to show your expertise.
Speak, you know, if someone umhas a local conference in your
area, you know, reach out andsay, hey, we would love, I'd
(26:20):
love to come in and talk aboutagain what it is that I do best.
So talk about those things andget yourself out there as the
thought leader because peopleare looking for thought leaders
because when they see that youcan articulate and share
valuable information about whatI do and what I do well, you
start to build that trust,right?
(26:40):
And people buy from people theyknow, they like, and they
trust.
And when you're out thereposting those things, sharing
that information, people feellike they get to know you, you
know, right?
They get a sense for your styleand and and what you're all
about with how you write thingsand they can see your picture.
And, you know, so we'restarting to slowly build that.
And when they reach out to havea conversation, they feel like
(27:03):
they have a connection with you,well beyond the connection that
you have with them, becauseyou're just meeting them for the
first time, but they know allabout you from your website,
your social pages, and they theyare feeling that sense of I
like this person, I trust thisperson, and I want to work with
this person.
Mirjam Lippuner (27:22):
Yeah, that's great advice.
We talk a lot about um workingwith the local and regional
media as well.
So I think that's reallyvaluable.
And anybody can do it becauseeverybody who is qualified as a
designer or modeler, um,contractor, they all have
knowledge that's um useful forother people.
It's just a matter, like yousaid, of putting yourself out
(27:44):
there.
Diane Welhouse (27:45):
Write your own press releases.
You know, if you happen toparticipate in, you know, the
NKBA awards program or the NARIAwards program and you win.
Uh, and it doesn't matter, youknow, they all have different
um, it's not always winner takeall.
There's like gold, silvers, andbronzes, and there's all kinds
of different, you know, thingsthat you can win at.
Regardless of what you have andwhat you do, write your own
(28:06):
press release.
We won, you know, we're a localcompany that just won, you
know, whether it's a a local, astate, a national award, promote
that.
Show pictures of the before andafter, and people will will
gravitate towards that.
And those types of things willget published.
And they're a great way, youknow, to say that my industry
(28:26):
peers have decided that I metthese standards and and and put
the standards in there by whichyou had to address.
So, like for the Nary Remodelerof the Year Awards, you know,
they talked about, you know,what did the client want?
Did you meet their budget?
You know, how did you enhancethe space through, you know, the
aesthetics?
(28:46):
You know, show us, you know,creative craftsmanship and how
you solved problems.
So talk about that, that thisis how we do that.
And our industry peers agreedthat our company addresses all
of these things that consumersare looking for out of their
service provider, right?
(29:07):
You know, can this is what Iwant.
Can you do it?
Can you meet my needs?
Can you meet my budget?
And can you provide me withoutstanding aesthetics and
craftsmanship, right?
So speak to that and show thepictures of how you do it.
Jason Lockhart (29:21):
What you're talking about with the awards, I
would say also for Nerimembers, NKBA members, apply for
the awards because oftentimesI've sat on the judging side and
there were not enoughapplicants for certain
categories.
So apply, you know?
Diane Welhouse (29:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
It, you know, it don't get mewrong, it's time consuming to
put together a good entry, youknow, but they're they're
telling you what they're lookingfor.
Make sure that you takephotographs of your projects and
you know, get into the habit ofdoing that because that is
great marketing for you, whetheryou were showing progress
pictures and end results on yoursocial media pages or on your
website.
(29:56):
You know, we're a visualindustry, right?
And and consumers want to seewhat's the product.
You know, HGTV has made aliving out of showing people how
great something can be, right?
You're doing the same thingwith your finished picture.
So make a habit of once you getthe job, go in and take all of
those foundational pictures.
This is what it looked likebefore.
(30:18):
Mark your angles by whichyou're taking those pictures and
then go in and take progressphotos and finished photos all
from the same angles.
Because, you know, if you'reflipping angles, you know,
consumers have a hard timeunderstanding what you did.
But if you can stand here andsay, see this wall in front of
me here, now it's gone.
And now this space is allopened up.
(30:40):
And we've now connected thekitchen to the dining room or
the kitchen to the living roomor whatever it may be.
You know, show those sameangles because that wow factor
of the transformation comes intoplay.
People can see what you can do,they can see what's available
and the options to them, andthat's what helps sell them.
Jason Lockhart (31:00):
So we've talked about a lot today, and you're an
expert in this aspect, but Iwas looking at your website and
you're also an expert in thebowling industry as well, which
I didn't know.
You bowled a 308 times.
I've never done that.
So, you know, talk a little bitabout that because you also
helped mine the NCAAchampionship in bowling, which
that was interesting.
Diane Welhouse (31:21):
Yeah.
So um, you know, my sportgrowing up uh was bowling.
Uh got into it with my family.
And um, you know, it wassomething I was uh, I was the
little sister and my big brotherbowled.
And so, you know, I had to becompetitive with my big brother,
is really how it all started.
And it was something that um Itook a liking to.
I was talented at.
(31:41):
And there's not a lot of reallygood female bowlers in the
country.
And so um started to grow myinterest, uh, was able to
partner with a professionalcoach, um, which is why I do so
much coaching today, because Ifully believe in, you know, you
need that partnership to get tothat success.
And so I acquired aprofessional coach who who, just
(32:04):
like you see the otherprofessional athletes, you know,
seven days a week, you know,getting up and going to a
bowling center at 6 a.m.
to get practice in, you know,going to the pro shop, learning
all about the equipment, being atrue student of your game.
Um, and that uh all that workrewarded me to um bowl for the
United States Bowling Congress'steam USA.
Um so I was very proud torepresent our country uh in the
(32:27):
sport of bowling.
And uh that was a thrill of mylife uh to have that honor.
And because of that, and livingin Milwaukee at the time, the
United States Bowling Congresswas head headquartered here in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
So obviously I got to knoweverybody that worked there
really well.
And that's how I got my firstjob, a corporate job.
(32:47):
And I was in charge ofcollegiate bowling.
And back in the day when wewere trying to, the NCAA was
trying to equalize the equitybetween men and women sports,
bowling was selected as one ofthose sports that colleges could
elect to have to equalize theirgender equity issues.
(33:09):
And so um I had I had the thefun job of going around the
country and selling women'sbowling to the biggest athletic
programs in the country.
You name that athleticdirector, I sat across from that
person.
And, you know, it was a reallytough sell because, you know,
obviously this was being forcedon them.
A lot of colleges at the timedidn't see women's athletics as
(33:29):
revenue generating.
Uh, they certainly didn'tnecessarily want to bring on
more women's sports.
And, you know, bowling doesn'talways have the greatest
reputation as being this highathletic uh professional type
sport, right?
Most people see it more fun andrecreational and more social.
Um, so I kind of had a lot ofum things going against me, but
was able to uh acquire 40institutions, which is what the
(33:51):
NCAA required, got 40institutions to adopt it.
And in 2004, the NCA held itsfirst official national
championship for women'sbowling.
Um, and today, what I loveabout that part of my life is
women today all across thecountry are getting full ride
(34:12):
scholarships to the institutionthey want to go to to receive
the education they want to get.
And they get to do it byparticipating in a sport that
they have a passion for andthey're really good at it.
And I made that happen.
And people don't know my name,people don't know that I did
that, you know, because it was20 years ago plus.
Um, but I can sit here todayand be really personally proud
(34:34):
to know that those women aregetting those opportunities
because of something that wepursued.
Jason Lockhart (34:40):
So now you left something out because you
explained a whole lot, but yousaid you bowled for the USA, but
you didn't say how how you did.
Did we place?
Did we win a gold medal,silver, where I mean, you left
that out.
Diane Welhouse (34:53):
Yeah, we so I've uh to this day, bowling is
still not an official Olympicsport.
Um, so we are still vying toget in.
And the year that I was on,which is 1992, uh, the Olympics
were in Korea and we were anexhibition sport.
So the whole team didn't get togo to Korea, so I did not get
to go.
Uh, we picked one male and onefemale that went to Korea to do
(35:18):
the exhibition to basicallypromote and try to get bowling
selected by the U.S.
Olympic Committee and the WorldOlympic Committee to take it
on.
What we did was we did allkinds of international
competitions.
So we competed against Ireland,the Tournament of America's
where we bring in all of thesouthern countries come in, like
Venezuela and all of them comein and we do those competitions.
(35:38):
And yes, we we fared very well.
I have a lot of really nicemedals and big trophies um
sitting in my house that uhrepresent how well we did as the
United States for sure.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Jason Lockhart (35:49):
Awesome.
That that's what I want to hearthat we did well.
Awesome.
We did well.
Diane Welhouse (35:52):
Yeah, and and and all of that landed me into
three Hall of Fames.
So, you know, I I I I'm veryblessed to have had a wonderful
career um in bowling.
Jason Lockhart (36:02):
I love that.
Last question.
So I asked this for all of ourguests.
So the younger Cayenne, if youwere to talk to her right now,
knowing what you know, whatwould you advise her?
And that same advice will applyto a lot of our listeners as
well.
Diane Welhouse (36:16):
Sure.
You know, there, you know,there's a couple of things.
Um, follow your passion.
You know, what what do youreally enjoy doing and what do
you really want to do?
Because I think as youngpeople, um, you know, we're
we're faced to make some reallytough choices about what we want
to do.
And we don't always know whatthat is.
And, you know, follow yourpassion because it's funny
(36:39):
because when um, you know, whenI was growing up, I wanted to be
an interior designer.
Um, and my family was like,that ain't gonna work.
You know, they said, you know,we're we're we're a blue-collar
family.
Um and I said, I wanted to ownmy own business.
Like I would be happy startingoff, you know, with an Ethan
Allen or some sort of afurniture store or whatever to
get started.
But my long-term vision was Iwanted to own my own company.
(37:02):
Um, you know, my family's like,you know, we're we're we're
your average Joe, you know,we're blue-collar.
You don't come from that circlein that world.
And they're like, it's gonna bereally hard, you know, to break
into that and to get to thatclientele, you know, because
we're not in that, that space.
And so I didn't, I didn'tfollow my passion.
And, you know, and early in mycareer, you know, I went to
(37:23):
college, I got out of the gate,I got three degrees.
And don't get me wrong, theyhave served me well, but I went
without focus of what I wantedto do.
And then 20 years later, youknow, I just happened to, you
know, get married and and marryinto the the construction
industry where I always wantedto be.
And I went back to school.
You know, I'm 40 years old,going back to school, getting an
(37:45):
interior design degree, becauseit was my passion and it was
what I wanted to do.
And so I found my way.
Um, it just took, you know, Ijust took the long road to get
there, but I found my way.
I found my passion, I found thespace I wanted to be in and
what I love doing.
Um, so you know, do that, youknow, tap into your heart and
what do you want to do?
And you can be supersuccessful, whatever you put
(38:07):
your mind to and what you wantto do.
And in today's world,specifically the trades, huge
opportunities, right?
There, we are looking forpeople to get into this industry
and learn it and work it.
And you can be very successful.
And what it does for you isthat it's personally satisfying
and financially rewarding.
So it really hits the two bigrocks that are that you're
(38:31):
looking for is that personalsatisfaction of what you're you
can look back at all the homesthat you have touched, all the
lives you have improved throughthe functionality and the things
that they wanted, to know thatthose people are absolutely
delighted with their livingquarters and their space, the
place that they call home thatis so close to their heart, you
(38:51):
did that for them.
So satisfying.
And then it is financiallyrewarding as well.
So find your passion and go forit.
Jason Lockhart (38:59):
I love it.
So if any of our listeners wantto reach out to you, how do
they do so?
Diane Welhouse (39:04):
Sure.
So um obviously my website is agreat place to start.
Come and check me out.
The services that we do, it isWellhouse.
Uh, my last name, W-E-L H O U SC Consulting.com.
Um, on there is a reach outpage as well.
My phone number is there, myemail is there, and I'm on
LinkedIn.
So connect with me on LinkedInso you can find me out there as
(39:24):
well.
And I'm always posting aboutvarious business things.
So you might get some littletips and tricks and information
to help you out.
Uh, but that's how that wouldbe the easiest way is through my
well, my website,wellhouseconsulting.com.
Jason Lockhart (39:36):
Diane, we enjoyed having you on.
We hope our listeners learnedsomething in terms of operation
and how they can groweffectively.
And if they have any questions,I hope they reach out to you.
And we hope to hear and see youall here in two weeks on
Designer Discussions.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode of Designer Discussions
and all of the helpfulinformation.
Subscribe to our podcast, leaveus a review, and share it with
(39:58):
your friends.
We look forward to having youback next week for more
information on the podcast andthe marketing studio.
Visit designer discussions.comand follow us on social media.
Hello and welcome to Designer Discussions
with Jason and Miriam.
Today we have a special guest,and it's Diane Wellhouse from
Wellhouse Consulting Services.
And she's going to talk to usabout how to strategically
operate your business in today'schallenging marketplace.
(00:23):
Welcome to the DesignerDiscussions Podcast with Jason
and Miriam.
Tune in each week where we talkabout marketing PR and business
advice for designprofessionals.
Jason Lockhart (00:39):
How are you, Diane?
Diane Welhouse (00:40):
I am good.
How are you?
Jason Lockhart (00:43):
Doing good, doing good.
We had we had talked last week,and I was looking forward to
having this conversation becausewe talked about a lot of
information that our listenersneed to hear and that they want
to hear about as well.
So let's start by having youjust explain a little bit about
who you are for our audience.
Diane Welhouse (00:59):
Sure, absolutely.
So I'm uh Diane Wellhouse.
I'm a certified kitchen andbathroom modeler through the
National Association of theRemodeling Industry, Neri.
Um, I do have an interiordesign degree, and I've been in
the remodeling design space forthe past 18 years.
Um, and I started my company inuh 2023 because I had
recognized that there's a needout there for contractors, trade
(01:24):
partners, um, designers thatneed assistance in running their
business, right?
So many of these people starttheir own companies because
they're so great at what theydo, the services they provide,
right?
They're talented.
They use their hands great andtheir minds and their visual
abilities to make amazingspaces.
But now when we turn that intohow do we run our business, all
(01:45):
of a sudden we start tostruggle.
And that's an area that Ireally excel in is operations
and running a company.
And so I decided that with mybackground in this space, the
talent that I bring to thetable, I could be of service to
those who want to um seek theirgreatest potential.
I can help them get there.
Jason Lockhart (02:03):
I love that.
And we had talked a lot lastweek, and I just want our
listeners to know that youactually owned your own
remodeling shop for a while.
And let's just talk about thetransition because we had a
funny uh talk about how when youtransition, a lot of the old
ways you had to change.
So talk a little bit aboutthat.
Diane Welhouse (02:24):
Yeah.
So at the time when we tookover, um, it was Wellhouse
Construction Services, uh, itwas a family business, and I had
married into the company.
And uh we were we were gonna befourth generation.
And when you take over acompany like that and it's that
old, a lot of the systems andthe processes were not up to
(02:44):
date.
You know, everything was sortof on pads of paper, everything
was in files, and our QuickBookswas only thing we were tracking
was rough carpentry andfinished carpentry and nothing
else.
So here we are with a businessthat's a hundred years old, and
I have really limited data andinformation to really be able to
move this organization forward.
So literally had to starteverything over, completely
(03:07):
created a brand neworganization, all new
QuickBooks, had established allnew processes and procedures so
that we could set ourselves upat a baseline foundation to
actually be able to scale theorganization to where we wanted
to go.
Generations behind us werereally happy with where they
were at, didn't want to grow,didn't want to deal with the
(03:28):
people challenges, didn't wantto deal with the system
challenges.
Where at the time my husbandand I, we came from corporate
America and we were ready to go.
And we we saw the big vision,we saw the potential of this
company.
We just weren't foundationallyset up right.
So that's what I did is go inand turn all that around and
create the processes and thesystems we needed to scale.
Jason Lockhart (03:49):
That's a lot where I actually hear from a lot
of designers that and thensomething that we deal with on
the marketing side, when we goin, they're behind in terms of
the operations, in terms oftechnology and just all that
stuff because they still operateon Google Sheets per se and not
anything in today's world.
So talk a little bit about whenyou help or when you consult
(04:12):
with Remotlers now, what is thefirst things that you suggest
they have to update everythingin terms of their operation?
Diane Welhouse (04:19):
Right.
So the first things we're gonnalook at is okay, what systems
do they have and what technologyare they using?
Right.
Um, and depending upon whattheir vision is as to where they
want to go, is kind of gonnaguide that conversation.
You know, like I just had ameeting with someone who's
looking to potentially selltheir business.
They've been there too,multi-generation, they're
(04:40):
running out of generations totake over the business.
So they want to sell, you know,but they're using um a software
for accounting that isn'tmainstream.
It's not QuickBooks.
You know, so let's have thatconversation about, you know,
value to a buyer is going to bemainstream things that other
people are using that they caneasily tap into.
(05:01):
They have a proprietizedsoftware package, um, similar to
like a builder trend thatthey're using, but it's
proprietary.
And now that's not scalable ortransitionable because now I
don't have resources to be ableto continue to grow that system.
Or if I want to make changes tothat system, I'm talking about
(05:23):
customization versus usingsomething that's more out of the
box that I can actually call acompany and say, hey, help me
with this, you know, versustrying to learn software that's
proprietary.
You know, so we're looking atwhat is it that you're using,
where are you wanting to go longterm?
And then let's go out andresearch and pick those
appropriate pieces of softwarethat you need to advance your
(05:44):
company.
And sometimes, you know,Smartsheets, you know, it's it's
you know, Google on, you know,it's uh sheets on steroids,
right?
You know, sometimes that worksbecause, you know, you can
program everything in, it canautomate itself, and that might
just be the solution that worksfor you.
Jason Lockhart (05:58):
I like that.
And one of the things we talkedabout, which is huge, is
pricing because a lot ofdesigners and Romanos out there
don't charge enough for theservices that they offer.
And that oftentimes lead tocash flow issues.
So talk a little bit about howyou've helped to guide and help
how to charge the pricingissues.
Diane Welhouse (06:18):
So, you know, the big thing is I can't tell
you how many companies I workwith that have been in business
for five, 10, 20 years that havenever created a budget.
Don't have it.
They they don't know theirnumbers.
Um, and that's really where theproblem comes into play.
Because when we start lookingat, okay, let's take, let's open
up your QuickBooks, let's pullout that profit and loss sheet,
(06:40):
let's look at the balance sheet,you know, let's look at how
well your organization isperforming.
And this is where we start tosee that we're really in a
hobby.
We're not in a business becausewe're not making money, right?
Loving what we do, yeah, I'mgetting paid, but they don't
understand why it is that theydon't have money at the end of
the day.
And it's because they justdon't know their numbers, right?
(07:02):
Um, and sometimes what they'lldo is they'll go, well, industry
standard says, you know, Ishould have XYZ markup.
So I'm just using that.
Well, that doesn't translate toevery single business
accurately, right?
You have to understand, youknow, what is your revenue goal?
You know, what is yourhistorical cost of goods going
(07:23):
to be for that?
And then what are your personalexpenses?
Because your and my expensesare not gonna be the same.
You know, if I've got brick andmortar, if I have a showroom,
um, you know, what what do I allhave?
How many employees do I have?
What softwares am I running on,right?
And what did those cost me?
So really understanding whatyour expenses are.
So now you can actuallycalculate what it is you need in
(07:47):
whether you want to use markupor margin, know your numbers to
be able to apply that.
Now we understand what the basemarkup should be for, you know,
specifically on those servicesthat designers are selling,
right?
What should I mark up my sofasand and the other accessories
and things that I'm selling?
The other key thing fordesigners is really
(08:09):
understanding how many hoursyou're being able to actually
bill out and what rate.
Tracking the historicalinformation here is key because,
you know, if you have people onyour staff, what rates are they
using that you're charging themout at?
Calculate, and you can findthis very easily online.
Do a search that says how manyactual business hours are in the
(08:31):
given year.
So, like right now, there'sabout 2,000, you know, business
hours.
So we're taking out, you know,all weekends, we're taking out
all the major holidays,including the federal holidays,
whether you observe those ornot, let's get a baseline.
So we got about 2,000 hoursthat are happening in in the
year that you can possibly billout.
Well, if I'm the businessowner, uh I'm probably not even
(08:52):
gonna bill out up to 50% of mytime because I'm also running my
business, right?
So I have things to do that Ican't charge someone else for.
So let's just say forconversation's sake, I get to
bill out at 50%, right?
So that's my number.
And then what about my staff?
What are they doing and howmuch are they billing out and at
what rates?
Do you have different rates foradministrative type work that
(09:15):
you're doing?
Are you having different ratesfor actually providing the
service that we do?
So designing, sourcing,purchasing, and those things and
understanding how many hours,which means your people have to
track their hours so that youcan then have this information
and data.
And now you can actually seehow much money you're bringing
in, calculated by the amount ofhours that I'm billing out, to
(09:39):
add that to the things that I'mmarking up, right?
The cost of goods sold that I'mmarking up to my clients to
understand then what is the truerevenue that I'm bringing in.
And, you know, designersshould, you know, if you're not
making at least a 10% profit atthe end of the day, and I'm
talking true profit at the endof the day.
So not, you know, I'm paid, mypeople are paid, all my bills
(10:02):
are paid.
You know, there's got to be atleast a 10% profit at the end of
the day.
Otherwise, you you're you'rekind of in a hobby, right?
Um, you're you're not reallymaking the money that you need.
And that money at the end ofthe day is so critical because
you have to start putting thatmoney away for reinvestment in
your business.
And I like to work with umdesigners and contractors and
(10:25):
help them build a budget thatonce we get to that bottom line,
I have a whole nother section,you know, about reserves.
How much money are we puttingin reserves for a couple of
different things?
One, true reserves for like theCOVID that we had, right?
Businesses shut down.
You still have to pay yourbills.
Your fixed expenses aren'tgoing anywhere.
(10:45):
And if you want to keep youremployees, you got to be able to
pay them too.
So let's start building areserve that will cover, you
know, at least six months,ideally a full year of your
operating costs.
And that money just sits ininvestments and it's there
because, you know, something'sgonna happen again.
It's, it's, it's not, it's notif it's when, right?
When are we gonna have a marketturn down of major um
(11:08):
proportions like we did back inlike 2008 to 10?
When are we going to haveanother COVID type moment?
Um, so I'm prepared for that.
My business will stand the testof time if I've got that money
in reserves.
Secondly, what are we doing interms of planning for and
investing in capitalexpenditures?
Do I need new software?
(11:28):
Do I have aspirations of havinga showroom or brick and mortar?
Do I need new vehicles?
Do I provide vehicles to mypeople?
So, what are those capitalexpenditures that we can see
coming in on the horizon andstart allocating monies for
that?
And then lastly, human.
I like to prepare for scalingmy business.
(11:51):
So if my goal is to be, youknow, double my revenue size, I
obviously can't do that unless Ihire people to be able to write
perform those services for me.
But if I can get at least sixmonths of a salary saved, when I
bring somebody on, you know,you figure there's that, you
know, 60 to 90 days of warm-uptime, right?
(12:13):
I'm sometimes not necessarilymaking you money.
I'm trying to figure out wherethe restroom is, right?
So getting myself up to speed,I'm losing money as the owner
because I just hired somebodynew.
And then, you know, they'rereally starting to pump things
out from that 90 days on.
So for three months to six, youknow, six months, we're really
starting to now ramp up andactually produce.
(12:35):
But I've got that salarycovered because I got money in
reserves before they actuallystart making me money.
And then that also lessens thehiring anxiety.
What if we don't get thebusiness?
I'm taking a risk by bringingsomebody on.
What if they don't perform realwell out of the gate?
Well, now I've I I could putmyself to peace of mind.
(12:56):
I can go out and hire, get thecandidate I want, get them
onboarded and get them up tospeed.
And I don't have to panic aboutnew revenue coming in to cover
them because I already have thatsitting on the side to do that.
Jason Lockhart (13:10):
When you head over all that with the
businesses that you talk to, howmany of them are actually
overwhelmed or how many of themhave like have the aha moment?
Like, okay, that makes sense.
Diane Welhouse (13:19):
Both.
So yeah, the the aha moment islike priceless.
They're all like, never thoughtabout it that way.
Especially when we talk about,you know, saving for, you know,
human reserves, right?
That a lot of them don't evennever thought about that, just
assumed I had to, you know, prayfor more business or get to the
point that I am so overwhelmedin my business that I need to
(13:40):
hire.
But then I'm like, yeah, butnow you're stressing because
you're now trying to hire whileyou're trying to service all
these clients and you don't havethe bandwidth to service all
these clients while you'retrying to hire.
So, you know, let's plan forthat.
And if you've got that money inreserves, it's never a bad
thing.
You know, even if plans change,your business isn't ramping up
(14:00):
as fast as you want, having thatextra money on the side and
being ready for when you want tois priceless for you in terms
of peace of mind and runningyour business.
Jason Lockhart (14:12):
Usually when you talk to the businesses that you
work with, does marketing andER ever come up and how you talk
to them about how they need togrow?
Diane Welhouse (14:21):
Yeah.
Um, I
try to get them grounded on,you know, who they are.
So, you know, why, what's ourmission?
Why, why do I exist as abusiness, right?
Because that's kind of reallywhere marketing stems from.
My why?
Why are we here?
And what is that impactfulemotional why, right?
It's not about making money.
That's a given, right?
(14:41):
It's about what am I doing?
What am I providing to theuniverse?
What am I providing to myclients?
That deeper why in what I do.
And then understanding fromthere, you know, what are our
values and what are ourprinciples?
How are we going to operatethis business?
What do we believe in?
And what type of customerservice are we going to do
through our principles?
This is how we expect everybodyat our company to behave.
(15:05):
And from there, you can nowstart to develop, okay, what is
our proprietary process?
What are we selling on so thatwhen I go in and start talking
to clients about whatdifferentiates me, I need to
understand that and identifythat.
So what starts to lead to mydifferentiator is my mission, my
(15:27):
values, and how we operate as acompany.
And now I can formulate thatinto a differentiating statement
about my company.
And then I can start to buildmy processes off of those
things.
And that's where all of themarketing things really start to
come into play because we'regrounded on who we are, what we
do, why we do it.
And this is our proven processthat we have established and we
(15:50):
know it works every single time.
If we go out and we just simplystart marketing for the sake of
marketing, we're just sort ofthrowing darts in the air.
We're not focusing on who ourideal client is.
I also work with them toidentify who's that.
Who's your ideal client?
You know, are they, is it whatkind of income?
(16:12):
What communities and zip codesdo they live in?
You know, the amount ofdiscretionary dollars, like
people who maybe buy theatertickets, people who buy luxury
cars, um, you know, becausethat's that's that's the folks
that are going to be able toafford the designer services,
right?
So how do we pinpoint andidentify who that is in my local
market?
And then what's that messagethat's going to tailor to them?
(16:34):
What are they really lookingfor from my experiences?
What are they looking for?
And what do they want?
You know, they want turnkey uhprofessional services.
They don't want the hasslebecause they're most likely a
dual-income working family,right?
Bringing in your doctors,lawyers, you know, bringing in
high income.
And they don't want to bebothered.
(16:55):
They want to know that when Ihire you, you're a professional,
you're getting things done, andI don't have to worry about it.
That we're gonna have a settimeline, you're gonna bring in
the checkpoints, you're gonnashow me what's happening, we're
gonna make the decisions, and Ican trust you to get that done.
So those are the types ofthings we want to pull out of
the team to say, let's identifyall of this, let's write it
(17:17):
down.
And then we create ourmarketing plan because now we
can find those people.
Are they on LinkedIn?
Are they on social media?
Where am I targeting my moneyto actually find those clients
and pinpoint my message basedupon who are we and how we
service them?
Jason Lockhart (17:35):
I love it.
I'm over here gettingemotional.
I'm I'm over here saying amenas you're talking because anyone
that listens to our podcastknows I always talk about the
ICP, your ideal client profile.
Who that is, you have to knowwho they are because you cannot
market if you do not know whothey are.
Because I like to also say ifyou're marketing to everyone,
you're actually marketing to noone.
As you were talking, I was overhere saying amen all the time.
(17:58):
And I love that.
Diane Welhouse (17:59):
Yeah, and you know, and it helps you, you
know, when you get the call forservice, having that crystal
clear picture of who your idealclient is and what you're
looking for also helps youqualify the call that comes in,
right?
Because you are going to getpeople who are going to find you
and see you.
Um, you know, might even be areferral, who knows?
And you have to make sure thatthat's customer's the right fit.
(18:20):
Because we all know that whenyou compromise on who your ideal
client is and your processes,because you're looking just to
bring on the client.
And I get it, it's it's it's anatural tendency for a business
owner.
You know, if the phone rings,um, you know, I could use the
business.
You know, we want to grow, Iwant the business, but really
(18:41):
staying grounded and focused,having that checklist right
there at your desk.
So when the email comes in, thephone call comes in, you can
easily quantify, is this myideal client?
And having the courage to sayno.
And I love that.
It's courage, right?
It's complete courage.
Um, having the courage to sayno, knowing that and believing
(19:03):
in the fact that if you're doingyour marketing well, the right
client will come to you.
But being a service to theperson that is not your ideal
client by offering a suggestionof where they can go and find
someone who might be able tomeet their needs.
You know, is that the localNARI chapter or the Nary
national directory?
(19:23):
Is it the NKBA local chapter ortheir national directory?
Places where you can point themto to say, you know what, we
focus on this.
I'm hearing that perhaps we'renot a right fit, but allow me to
help you find someone who isgoing to be able to address your
needs.
Jason Lockhart (19:43):
I love that because we're actually working
with a client now that they knowwho their ideal client is.
But before they used to takeall types of jobs that were not
their right fit.
Now they take the right jobsand they hand the jobs that are
not their right fit to theirso-called competition.
And in turn, their competitionsends them their ideal client
(20:03):
profile.
So I love it.
I love them.
So now talking about Neri andNABA, can you talk a little bit
about, you know, the importanceof those organizations to the
industry?
Diane Welhouse (20:13):
Yeah, absolutely.
So, you know, I've beeninvolved with the National
Association of ModelingIndustry, Neri, for, you know,
18 years.
And, you know, your membershipis truly priceless because you
are surrounding yourselves withlike-minded people, people who
get you, who understand whatyou're going through, the
challenges.
And believe it or not, theseorganizations, um, they're not
(20:36):
competitive.
You know, meaning where I cango to networking events, their
national conferences, meetpeople and share ideas, talk
about the challenges I'm facing.
And people are willing to havethose conversations about, well,
this is how we do it.
You know, and then further,obviously, these organizations
provide great education to helpyou develop your business, your
(20:58):
skills, you know, and train yourpeople as well.
So it's not just for the owner,great value to everybody inside
of your company and they kindof meet you where you're at.
You know, and Neri's got awonderful certification program,
as I mentioned earlier.
You know, I'm a certifiedkitchen and bathroom modeler
through Neri.
You know, it it's a it's arigorous test.
You know, and I took the exam.
(21:20):
I mean, I literally walked outof the exam room going, oh my
goodness, I've owned my owncompany.
I've been, uh I'm aschool-trained professional
interior designer.
I know all these things.
And I think I just failed thiscertification because it's,
it's, they really teach yousomething.
You know, so you spend weeks,um, 16 weeks doing um course
(21:40):
preparation.
They kind of take you throughall the modules that are going
to be on the exam.
And then you sit down and andyou take the exam.
And, you know, if you couldpass the exam, it's it's great
credentialing to have behindyour name.
Um, it's an ability to uh againenhance your sales and your
marketing.
You know, tell people that, youknow, you're a professional in
your industry.
You Have done these criteria toget to where I'm at.
(22:04):
I've advanced my education andmy level.
I'm a student of my game, inwhich then I can service you
better because I am on top ofwhat is happening inside of my
industry because I belong tothese organizations who are
constantly bringing the latesttrends, the latest information,
the best education possible thatthen I can use to service my
(22:27):
clients better.
It's it's that great extramarketing piece to one up your
organization in the mix of thisspace.
Mirjam Lippuner (22:36):
I want to say that, Diane, I think the
Milwaukee um Nary chapter thatyou led for a while, it's the
largest one in the country,isn't it?
So it's uh yeah, it's uh wealways talk a lot about trade
associations and the benefits.
Um you talked about marketing alittle bit, and I'm just
curious if you because I'm thePR um expert of the duo here.
(23:00):
So do you have any specificexperiences or advice um when it
comes to seeking visibility andturn with the media, like not
on the paid side, but on theearned side?
You go out, um, have a lot ofspeaking engagements, obviously.
But what is your take on PR ingeneral?
Diane Welhouse (23:20):
Um, today I think it's all about being a
thought leader.
I think it's about sharing yourexpertise with people.
So, you know, as simple asLinkedIn, making sure that not
only you personally, um, and youhave to decide, you have to
decide how this works.
So, like for me, because I'mI'm a one-man show, I use my
personal LinkedIn to promote myexpertise and my thoughts and my
(23:42):
knowledge on my page.
But if I happen to have abigger team, I may want to
consider also having a businesspage.
And then using that businesspage to share your expertise.
Go out there and make smallposts about things that are
happening that are relevant toyour client base.
You know, talk about the latesttrends in kitchen designs or,
you know, bathroom designs orremodeling in general, whatever
(24:05):
your expertise are, show that topeople.
Because what I find interestingis that you may not always get
the likes.
You, you know, you may not goviral, but people are reading
and know you're out there andthey're following you because
everywhere I go, people will sayto me, Oh, loved your post the
other day.
And I'm sitting here going,geez, I didn't see a like from
(24:28):
them or a comment from them.
I'm like, I didn't even knowthese people saw my post.
So you're doing more outreachthere than you think that you
are.
Same thing is, you know, workwith your local media.
At most TV stations have somesort of an investigative
reporter, right?
And unfortunately, contractorsseem to be on the list
(24:50):
regularly, right?
But if you're a professionalresource, they're gonna call you
and say, you know, hey, we'reexperiencing this with this
contractor.
Can you give us some tips andinformation about how a consumer
should vet their contractor orlook at a contract and how do
you sell your services?
You know, so put yourself outthere to those people and offer
(25:12):
to do interviews with them or beavailable if they need you when
they're looking at someone elsewho, you know, unfortunately
maybe isn't playing nice in thesandbox, right?
Be that resource and thatperson that they can reach out
to you.
Um, you know, send articles tovarious magazines or even your
local newspaper.
I know a lot of times we thinkthat this isn't where people are
(25:36):
anymore, but if you writearticles and send them, you
never know who might pick themup.
And especially if your localnewspaper has a home and garden
type section, they're alwayslooking for content and they
don't always know where to go.
And if you're willing to write,you know, basically take your
blog and just turn it into anarticle, right?
Um, and just send that stuff tothem, kind of like free PR,
(25:58):
like, hey, here's here's ahere's a trends coming up for
the summer on outdoor living.
And as a designer, what we'reseeing um more and more people
doing, or whatever the the topicmay, right?
And send that stuff out.
And I think those are greatways to show your expertise.
Speak, you know, if someone umhas a local conference in your
area, you know, reach out andsay, hey, we would love, I'd
(26:20):
love to come in and talk aboutagain what it is that I do best.
So talk about those things andget yourself out there as the
thought leader because peopleare looking for thought leaders
because when they see that youcan articulate and share
valuable information about whatI do and what I do well, you
start to build that trust,right?
(26:40):
And people buy from people theyknow, they like, and they
trust.
And when you're out thereposting those things, sharing
that information, people feellike they get to know you, you
know, right?
They get a sense for your styleand and and what you're all
about with how you write thingsand they can see your picture.
And, you know, so we'restarting to slowly build that.
And when they reach out to havea conversation, they feel like
(27:03):
they have a connection with you,well beyond the connection that
you have with them, becauseyou're just meeting them for the
first time, but they know allabout you from your website,
your social pages, and they theyare feeling that sense of I
like this person, I trust thisperson, and I want to work with
this person.
Mirjam Lippuner (27:22):
Yeah, that's great advice.
We talk a lot about um workingwith the local and regional
media as well.
So I think that's reallyvaluable.
And anybody can do it becauseeverybody who is qualified as a
designer or modeler, um,contractor, they all have
knowledge that's um useful forother people.
It's just a matter, like yousaid, of putting yourself out
(27:44):
there.
Diane Welhouse (27:45):
Write your own press releases.
You know, if you happen toparticipate in, you know, the
NKBA awards program or the NARIAwards program and you win.
Uh, and it doesn't matter, youknow, they all have different
um, it's not always winner takeall.
There's like gold, silvers, andbronzes, and there's all kinds
of different, you know, thingsthat you can win at.
Regardless of what you have andwhat you do, write your own
(28:06):
press release.
We won, you know, we're a localcompany that just won, you
know, whether it's a a local, astate, a national award, promote
that.
Show pictures of the before andafter, and people will will
gravitate towards that.
And those types of things willget published.
And they're a great way, youknow, to say that my industry
(28:26):
peers have decided that I metthese standards and and and put
the standards in there by whichyou had to address.
So, like for the Nary Remodelerof the Year Awards, you know,
they talked about, you know,what did the client want?
Did you meet their budget?
You know, how did you enhancethe space through, you know, the
aesthetics?
(28:46):
You know, show us, you know,creative craftsmanship and how
you solved problems.
So talk about that, that thisis how we do that.
And our industry peers agreedthat our company addresses all
of these things that consumersare looking for out of their
service provider, right?
(29:07):
You know, can this is what Iwant.
Can you do it?
Can you meet my needs?
Can you meet my budget?
And can you provide me withoutstanding aesthetics and
craftsmanship, right?
So speak to that and show thepictures of how you do it.
Jason Lockhart (29:21):
What you're talking about with the awards, I
would say also for Nerimembers, NKBA members, apply for
the awards because oftentimesI've sat on the judging side and
there were not enoughapplicants for certain
categories.
So apply, you know?
Diane Welhouse (29:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
It, you know, it don't get mewrong, it's time consuming to
put together a good entry, youknow, but they're they're
telling you what they're lookingfor.
Make sure that you takephotographs of your projects and
you know, get into the habit ofdoing that because that is
great marketing for you, whetheryou were showing progress
pictures and end results on yoursocial media pages or on your
website.
(29:56):
You know, we're a visualindustry, right?
And and consumers want to seewhat's the product.
You know, HGTV has made aliving out of showing people how
great something can be, right?
You're doing the same thingwith your finished picture.
So make a habit of once you getthe job, go in and take all of
those foundational pictures.
This is what it looked likebefore.
(30:18):
Mark your angles by whichyou're taking those pictures and
then go in and take progressphotos and finished photos all
from the same angles.
Because, you know, if you'reflipping angles, you know,
consumers have a hard timeunderstanding what you did.
But if you can stand here andsay, see this wall in front of
me here, now it's gone.
And now this space is allopened up.
(30:40):
And we've now connected thekitchen to the dining room or
the kitchen to the living roomor whatever it may be.
You know, show those sameangles because that wow factor
of the transformation comes intoplay.
People can see what you can do,they can see what's available
and the options to them, andthat's what helps sell them.
Jason Lockhart (31:00):
So we've talked about a lot today, and you're an
expert in this aspect, but Iwas looking at your website and
you're also an expert in thebowling industry as well, which
I didn't know.
You bowled a 308 times.
I've never done that.
So, you know, talk a little bitabout that because you also
helped mine the NCAAchampionship in bowling, which
that was interesting.
Diane Welhouse (31:21):
Yeah.
So um, you know, my sportgrowing up uh was bowling.
Uh got into it with my family.
And um, you know, it wassomething I was uh, I was the
little sister and my big brotherbowled.
And so, you know, I had to becompetitive with my big brother,
is really how it all started.
And it was something that um Itook a liking to.
I was talented at.
(31:41):
And there's not a lot of reallygood female bowlers in the
country.
And so um started to grow myinterest, uh, was able to
partner with a professionalcoach, um, which is why I do so
much coaching today, because Ifully believe in, you know, you
need that partnership to get tothat success.
And so I acquired aprofessional coach who who, just
(32:04):
like you see the otherprofessional athletes, you know,
seven days a week, you know,getting up and going to a
bowling center at 6 a.m.
to get practice in, you know,going to the pro shop, learning
all about the equipment, being atrue student of your game.
Um, and that uh all that workrewarded me to um bowl for the
United States Bowling Congress'steam USA.
Um so I was very proud torepresent our country uh in the
(32:27):
sport of bowling.
And uh that was a thrill of mylife uh to have that honor.
And because of that, and livingin Milwaukee at the time, the
United States Bowling Congresswas head headquartered here in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
So obviously I got to knoweverybody that worked there
really well.
And that's how I got my firstjob, a corporate job.
(32:47):
And I was in charge ofcollegiate bowling.
And back in the day when wewere trying to, the NCAA was
trying to equalize the equitybetween men and women sports,
bowling was selected as one ofthose sports that colleges could
elect to have to equalize theirgender equity issues.
(33:09):
And so um I had I had the thefun job of going around the
country and selling women'sbowling to the biggest athletic
programs in the country.
You name that athleticdirector, I sat across from that
person.
And, you know, it was a reallytough sell because, you know,
obviously this was being forcedon them.
A lot of colleges at the timedidn't see women's athletics as
(33:29):
revenue generating.
Uh, they certainly didn'tnecessarily want to bring on
more women's sports.
And, you know, bowling doesn'talways have the greatest
reputation as being this highathletic uh professional type
sport, right?
Most people see it more fun andrecreational and more social.
Um, so I kind of had a lot ofum things going against me, but
was able to uh acquire 40institutions, which is what the
(33:51):
NCAA required, got 40institutions to adopt it.
And in 2004, the NCA held itsfirst official national
championship for women'sbowling.
Um, and today, what I loveabout that part of my life is
women today all across thecountry are getting full ride
(34:12):
scholarships to the institutionthey want to go to to receive
the education they want to get.
And they get to do it byparticipating in a sport that
they have a passion for andthey're really good at it.
And I made that happen.
And people don't know my name,people don't know that I did
that, you know, because it was20 years ago plus.
Um, but I can sit here todayand be really personally proud
(34:34):
to know that those women aregetting those opportunities
because of something that wepursued.
Jason Lockhart (34:40):
So now you left something out because you
explained a whole lot, but yousaid you bowled for the USA, but
you didn't say how how you did.
Did we place?
Did we win a gold medal,silver, where I mean, you left
that out.
Diane Welhouse (34:53):
Yeah, we so I've uh to this day, bowling is
still not an official Olympicsport.
Um, so we are still vying toget in.
And the year that I was on,which is 1992, uh, the Olympics
were in Korea and we were anexhibition sport.
So the whole team didn't get togo to Korea, so I did not get
to go.
Uh, we picked one male and onefemale that went to Korea to do
(35:18):
the exhibition to basicallypromote and try to get bowling
selected by the U.S.
Olympic Committee and the WorldOlympic Committee to take it
on.
What we did was we did allkinds of international
competitions.
So we competed against Ireland,the Tournament of America's
where we bring in all of thesouthern countries come in, like
Venezuela and all of them comein and we do those competitions.
(35:38):
And yes, we we fared very well.
I have a lot of really nicemedals and big trophies um
sitting in my house that uhrepresent how well we did as the
United States for sure.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Jason Lockhart (35:49):
Awesome.
That that's what I want to hearthat we did well.
Awesome.
We did well.
Diane Welhouse (35:52):
Yeah, and and and all of that landed me into
three Hall of Fames.
So, you know, I I I I'm veryblessed to have had a wonderful
career um in bowling.
Jason Lockhart (36:02):
I love that.
Last question.
So I asked this for all of ourguests.
So the younger Cayenne, if youwere to talk to her right now,
knowing what you know, whatwould you advise her?
And that same advice will applyto a lot of our listeners as
well.
Diane Welhouse (36:16):
Sure.
You know, there, you know,there's a couple of things.
Um, follow your passion.
You know, what what do youreally enjoy doing and what do
you really want to do?
Because I think as youngpeople, um, you know, we're
we're faced to make some reallytough choices about what we want
to do.
And we don't always know whatthat is.
And, you know, follow yourpassion because it's funny
(36:39):
because when um, you know, whenI was growing up, I wanted to be
an interior designer.
Um, and my family was like,that ain't gonna work.
You know, they said, you know,we're we're we're a blue-collar
family.
Um and I said, I wanted to ownmy own business.
Like I would be happy startingoff, you know, with an Ethan
Allen or some sort of afurniture store or whatever to
get started.
But my long-term vision was Iwanted to own my own company.
(37:02):
Um, you know, my family's like,you know, we're we're we're
your average Joe, you know,we're blue-collar.
You don't come from that circlein that world.
And they're like, it's gonna bereally hard, you know, to break
into that and to get to thatclientele, you know, because
we're not in that, that space.
And so I didn't, I didn'tfollow my passion.
And, you know, and early in mycareer, you know, I went to
(37:23):
college, I got out of the gate,I got three degrees.
And don't get me wrong, theyhave served me well, but I went
without focus of what I wantedto do.
And then 20 years later, youknow, I just happened to, you
know, get married and and marryinto the the construction
industry where I always wantedto be.
And I went back to school.
You know, I'm 40 years old,going back to school, getting an
(37:45):
interior design degree, becauseit was my passion and it was
what I wanted to do.
And so I found my way.
Um, it just took, you know, Ijust took the long road to get
there, but I found my way.
I found my passion, I found thespace I wanted to be in and
what I love doing.
Um, so you know, do that, youknow, tap into your heart and
what do you want to do?
And you can be supersuccessful, whatever you put
(38:07):
your mind to and what you wantto do.
And in today's world,specifically the trades, huge
opportunities, right?
There, we are looking forpeople to get into this industry
and learn it and work it.
And you can be very successful.
And what it does for you isthat it's personally satisfying
and financially rewarding.
So it really hits the two bigrocks that are that you're
(38:31):
looking for is that personalsatisfaction of what you're you
can look back at all the homesthat you have touched, all the
lives you have improved throughthe functionality and the things
that they wanted, to know thatthose people are absolutely
delighted with their livingquarters and their space, the
place that they call home thatis so close to their heart, you
(38:51):
did that for them.
So satisfying.
And then it is financiallyrewarding as well.
So find your passion and go forit.
Jason Lockhart (38:59):
I love it.
So if any of our listeners wantto reach out to you, how do
they do so?
Diane Welhouse (39:04):
Sure.
So um obviously my website is agreat place to start.
Come and check me out.
The services that we do, it isWellhouse.
Uh, my last name, W-E-L H O U SC Consulting.com.
Um, on there is a reach outpage as well.
My phone number is there, myemail is there, and I'm on
LinkedIn.
So connect with me on LinkedInso you can find me out there as
(39:24):
well.
And I'm always posting aboutvarious business things.
So you might get some littletips and tricks and information
to help you out.
Uh, but that's how that wouldbe the easiest way is through my
well, my website,wellhouseconsulting.com.
Jason Lockhart (39:36):
Diane, we enjoyed having you on.
We hope our listeners learnedsomething in terms of operation
and how they can groweffectively.
And if they have any questions,I hope they reach out to you.
And we hope to hear and see youall here in two weeks on
Designer Discussions.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode of Designer Discussions
and all of the helpfulinformation.
Subscribe to our podcast, leaveus a review, and share it with
(39:58):
your friends.
We look forward to having youback next week for more
information on the podcast andthe marketing studio.
Visit designer discussions.comand follow us on social media.
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