Heather Fujikawa on her designer-client matchmaking process, what it takes to diagnose and solve the firm’s bottlenecks, and the value in handing control over to a leadership team.

Noz Nozawa on the value of investing in a professional recruiter to find top talent, how to gauge a candidate’s design passion in the interview process and why it’s essential as principal to set the firm’s standards for boundaries and communication.

Jean Stoffer and Grace Start on how they’ve kept their relationship healthy amid rapid growth, their strategy for scaling several different design-related businesses, and how they’re navigating a major C-suite transition at the firm.

Georgia Zikas on the importance of conducting regular assessments on a firm’s financial health, tips for curating a network that produces potential clients and the importance of conducting regular assessments on a firm’s financial health.

Lindsay Anyon Brier on the value of hiring a COO, the team-building efforts that keep her firm closely connected, and how her brick-and-mortar store has opened her up to the broader design community.

Dwayne Bergmann on how to assess the financial health of a firm that’s on the market, a breakdown of the two most common types of business acquisitions and how a simple pros and cons list can help identify the challenges that lie ahead when it comes to leading a firm.

Luis Fernandez on how he’s carefully considering how much liability he wants to take on with each job, what he’s learning while exploring different approaches to billing and why he has appreciated this phase of working on his own rather than staffing up.

Michael Hilal on photography—what to shoot, when to shoot it, and why it matters.

Minneapolis, Minnesota–based designer Anne McDonald on why bringing on a CFO has helped her look toward the future, how she is navigating a shift towards smaller projects, and how her team is adjusting to a new pace of work.

Jean Liu on communicating additional fees to clients in a pre-invoice estimate, the value of using credit cards as a form of consumer protection and preparing for tariff-related fees.

Dwayne Bergmann on why his firm uses different billing models depending on the project type, how opening a storefront took his firm to the next level, and why he doesn’t ever discuss markups with clients.

Brian Paquette on vetting storage partners, how warehouse insurance can result in profitability for both parties, and why the design business is 95 percent execution and logistics.

Michelle Gage on the book that transformed her approach to leadership, the benefits of hiring a brand manager and how she educates clients on the costs of design.

Designer Bria Hammel on aligning payments with various phases of the design process, why every firm’s first hire should be an accounting position, and the go-to management software that keeps everything in order.

Chloe Redmond Warner on the employee who pushed her to improve the firm’s processes, the lengths she’s go to to determine a client’s aesthetic sensibility, and how taking a sabbatical ultimately helped her discover a new way of working that preserved her time and mental energy.

Arianne Bellizaire and Cortney Bishop share advice on a range of designer dilemmas, including when to start talking about design costs with prospective clients, what it takes to scale the receiving arm of your business and how to deal with an unreliable contractor.

Meg Lonergan faced a sudden crisis during the pandemic: in a matter of six weeks, she let go of all of her firm’s team members. To bring her business back from the brink, she took a hard look at her own leadership style, and started building a firm for the long haul.

Meagan Camp on building storage costs into client budgets from the beginning, her vetting process for new receivers and the organizational system that ensures every item gets to the right place.

Alex Kaehler on how putting her firm’s values in writing changed the company culture, how she’s communicating rising costs to clients, and how she’s finding joy these days in a workflow that has her getting into the weeds on each and every project.

Amy Storm on when to be transparent with clients about jobsite issues, how frequently communicating updates can protect your firm, and red flags that indicate whether or not it’s worth walking away from a contractor relationship.