Ivan Meade: an International Interior Designer

Big show today in The Lounge!  I announce my new sponsor for 2016, I share a listener review from iTunes, and I have a chat with an amazing designer who lives on an island in Canada, and started his design firm by working for free!   Yes, we take the #1 interior design podcast and go international today!  Ivan Meade started his Meade Design Group in 1998 in Victoria BC, Canada. He received an International Business degree in Mexico where he was born and raised. Practicing with a multiple discipline design idea, he was combined his love for graphic design and interior design in one place and business. He has also expanded his brand by adding a high-end fabric collection which can be found at ivanmeade.com

This week’s discussion hit on several points of how to sell yourself, your design and learning a very important word…NO! Ivan feels that the emotion in the design needs to convey the clients need and heart as well as his design.We also talk a lot on the marketing and social media aspect of business and life. Though he combines the two and has made social media sites available, he doesn’t often repeat information from one site to another.  You can visit him at a few different sites: MeadDesignGroup.com, IvanMeade.com, and LifeMstyle.com where he has interviewed a ton of fantastic Canadian designers.

The best small business resource for learning about systems is a book by Michael Gerber called E-Myth.  If you are now into your interior design business, I highly recommend you pick up a copy.  It will be the best investment of time you can make.  BUT, if you want a free copy, all you need to do is give me a review on iTunes!  That’s right, I believe so strongly that this book will help you, that I am giving away 20 copies of The E-Myth to the next 20 people who write me a review in iTunes.  Just take a screen shot of your review, and email it to me at me@nickmay.co with your mailing address.  I will send you one book with free shipping.

Our sponsor Design Manager is your best answer for all your back-office needs.  It will help you with your accounting, paperwork, and logistics.  There are a lot of things to track in your business, don’t leave it up to Word docs and spreadsheets.   If you give DM a try, please let them know you heard about them in The Lounge.

If you would like to hear more episodes, please visit us on iTunes or on our website at TheChaiseLoungePodcast.com