Designing Success

Rhiannon Lee
  • 4.5 (4)
  • Design
  • Updated Semiweekly

Designing Success from School to Studio by Rhiannon Lee is dedicated to filling in the gaps in your design course to encourage you to build a sustainable business that supports your dream lifestyle. Are you searching for strategy, systems and support? Looking for a community to bounce industry issues around in?  In this podcast, we will cover the interior design business infrastructure you need to supplement your design school curriculum with practical insights and actionable advice. We also cover all things marketing, product innovation, client acquisition, and more. Go beyond the theory, filter through the stuff that doesn’t serve you and get on with creating. You will find real talk with industry professionals, practical tactics from business realists that leave you reenergised and focused on exactly how to improve the current landscape of your own business. For more behind the scenes of the interior design industry, check out oleander and finch in Instagram https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finchor head to www.oleanderandfinch.com

  1. 8h ago

    EOFY - tips for interior designers

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Most interior designers hit 30 June without ever looking down. This episode covers the end of financial year financial habits solo interior design studio owners actually need — from reading your P&L without panic, to auditing subscriptions, pre-purchasing annual software, and having a planning meeting that changes the next 12 months. Practical, no-accountant-jargon, built for Australian designers running their studio like a business. → Get 90% off Xero for 6 months (affiliate link): https://referrals.xero.com/2aphqv8q0y59 → Join the Studio Build waitlist (July 7 cohort): https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/studiobuild ────────────────────────── CHAPTERS ────────────────────────── 0:00 Why interior designers don't know their own numbers 3:45 What is a P&L and why you should be reading it monthly 8:20 How to use your education budget before 30 June 12:10 Should you audit your ad spend at end of financial year? 15:30 Are your studio systems good enough to hand over? 19:00 How to pre-purchase annual subscriptions and save 15–30% 22:40 What studio equipment can you claim this financial year? 26:15 How to set a revenue target and work backwards from it 30:00 Why you should know your numbers before you talk to your accountant 34:20 How to celebrate end of financial year as a small business owner ────────────────────────── RESOURCES MENTIONED ────────────────────────── → Xero cloud accounting (90% off for 6 months): https://referrals.xero.com/2aphqv8q0y59 → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive: https://www.rhiannonlee.com.au/studio-build → Studio CEO — 12-week business coaching program: https://www.rhiannonlee.com.au/studio-ceo → Studio Learn — free resources for interior designers: https://www.rhiannonlee.com.au/studio-learn → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee ────────────────────────── ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre. → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee → Website: https://www.rhiannonlee.com.au Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    35 min

  2. May 27

    Ewa Doherty on starting and scaling with an exit strategy

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Starting an interior design business with an exit strategy — rather than building it to keep forever — is one of the most overlooked approaches to studio setup. In this episode, regional NSW designer Ewa shares how she built her supply selection and B2B builder service with saleable IP in mind from day one: documented systems, transferable processes, a packaged service model, and zero dependence on her personal creative genius to deliver results. ────────────────────────── CHAPTERS ────────────────────────── 0:00 How finding a podcast on a cruise ship changed the trajectory of a grief-filled career pivot 4:30 Why Ewa started her interior design studio with an exit strategy — and where the idea came from 10:00 What transferable skills from freight logistics and global sales actually do for a design business 16:45 How to get interior design work from builders in a regional area — the exact outreach method 26:00 Should you do B2B builder relationships or wait for residential clients? 33:20 Why Ewa passes 100% of trade discount and charges a procurement fee instead 39:45 How to price interior design services when you genuinely don't know what you're doing yet 46:00 What was harder than expected: the social media problem, and why she stopped caring 52:30 Outsourcing SketchUp, lighting design, and floor plans — what to hand off and how to price it 58:00 How Ewa operates a portable, regional design studio from a motorhome ────────────────────────── RESOURCES MENTIONED ────────────────────────── → Programma project management software: programma.app → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive for interior designers: [link] → Studio CEO — 12-week business coaching programme for interior designers: [link] ────────────────────────── ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre. → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    58 min

  3. May 20

    The client who says: "I just need someone to execute my vision," This is why I don't work with them anymore.

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep.   When an interior design client says "I just need someone to execute my vision," they've already decided they're the designer and you're the logistics coordinator. Rhiannon Lee explains what's actually happening in those moments, how to catch it early in the discovery call, and how to use the parachute cord method to realign — or exit — a project that's drifted into fulfillment-only territory.  → Join the Studio Build July cohort https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/betabuild ────────────────────────── CHAPTERS ────────────────────────── 0:00 What does "I just need someone to execute my vision" actually mean? 2:45 Why execution-only projects almost always end badly 6:10 The difference between a fulfillment model and a creative design service 10:20 How to catch it early — what to say on a discovery call 15:00 What is the parachute cord method? 19:30 How to have the mid-project realignment conversation 25:10 The three things that usually happen when you pull the parachute cord 30:00 Why saying yes to execution-only clients trains the market  ────────────────────────── RESOURCES MENTIONED ────────────────────────── → Studio CEO — 12-week business coaching program for interior designers:  → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive.https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/betabuild  → Studio Learn — free resources for interior designers ────────────────────────── ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre.  → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee  Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    23 min

  4. May 13

    Are you over-delivering in your proposal?

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Interior designers often over-deliver at proposal stage — sharing mood boards, design direction, and creative strategy before a client has signed or paid a deposit. This episode asks whether that's genuinely good service or anxiety dressed up as process. Rhiannon Lee, AI strategist for Australian interior designers, unpacks where the habit comes from, what it costs you, and why simpler proposals might actually convert better. → Join the Studio Build waitlist: https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/studiobuild ────────────────────────── CHAPTERS ────────────────────────── 0:00 Why are interior designers over-delivering in proposals? 3:20 What happens when you give away the design direction upfront 7:45 Is your proposal too long — or are you scared of your own price? 12:10 What a $15,000 course with three Zoom calls taught me about value 17:30 How to hold back the strategy without losing the client 22:05 Should your proposal be a one-pager? 26:40 How to use AI to audit your own proposal right now 31:15 Studio Build live round — what's coming and when ────────────────────────── RESOURCES MENTIONED ────────────────────────── → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive: https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/studiobuild → Studio CEO — 12-week business coaching program: https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/f2hx86pcv4 ────────────────────────── ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre. → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee → Website: Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    28 min

  5. May 6

    Why AI is making hourly billing dangerous for interior designers

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Value pricing means charging for the outcome your client gets, not the hours it took you to deliver it. In 2026, that distinction matters more than ever — because AI is making designers faster, and if you're still billing by the hour, that efficiency is going quietly to your client's pocket, not yours. Rhiannon Lee, AI strategist for Australian interior designers, breaks down exactly how to calculate, set, and communicate value-based project fees. → Join the waitlist for the interior design pricing calculator: rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/value GET THE PROCESS MAPPED  OUT HERE ────────────────────────── CHAPTERS ────────────────────────── 0:00 Why value pricing matters more in 2026 than ever before 2:45 What's wrong with hourly billing when you're using AI 6:10 What value pricing actually means — and what it doesn't 9:30 How to calculate the transformation your client receives 14:00 How to work out your floor and your ceiling 18:20 How to present your fee without defending your hours 22:45 How to handle "ChatGPT said this should cost $4,000" 26:10 How AI efficiency affects your pricing model — risk or opportunity? 30:00 What to do if you've been undercharging for years 35:15 How to transition existing clients to new pricing 38:40 The interior design pricing calculator — what it does and when it launches ────────────────────────── RESOURCES MENTIONED ────────────────────────── → Pricing calculator waitlist: rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/value → Episode notes (full value pricing framework): [website link] → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive: [link] → Studio CEO — 12-week business coaching program: [link] → Studio Learn — free resources for interior designers: [link] ────────────────────────── ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre. → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    48 min

  6. Apr 29

    “You’re Behind” Is the biggest lie in AI right now.

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep.  AI is not replacing interior designers — it's replacing average ones. Rhiannon Lee, AI strategist for Australian interior designers, breaks down why "AI killed my industry" is lazy marketing, how pattern recognition software produces sameness not taste, and what designers need to document right now before AI flattens the industry. Practical, operational, and built for real studios — not theory. RESOURCES MENTIONED → Pre-AI documentation checklist: https://ripple-coat-1f1.notion.site/B... → Rhiannon at The Design Show, ICC Sydney, June 2026: https://designshow.com.au/agenda#site... → Studio Build — 6-week AI implementation intensive for interior designers: https://rhiannonlee.myflodesk.com/stu... ABOUT RHIANNON LEE ────────────────────────── AI strategist for Australian interior designers. Former Oleander & Finch. Creator of the Studio Suite — Studio Learn, Studio Build, and Studio CEO — operational AI implementation for design businesses, not productivity theatre. → Instagram: @the_rhiannonlee Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    26 min

  7. Apr 22

    Where to actually start with AI in your design business (and what to stop doing)

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Interior designers who feel overwhelmed by AI typically don't have a tool problem — they have a prioritisation problem. Australian AI strategist Rhiannon Lee recommends three starting points: spend four minutes meeting Claude, do a five-minute audit of your most repetitive business tasks, and invest time in free AI literacy resources. Chasing AI image generation is the biggest time drain to avoid. EPISODE OVERVIEW The noise around AI is loud right now. Everyone's screaming that Claude killed interior designers, that you need to understand MCPs and managed agents and agentic workflows — and meanwhile you're just trying to run a studio and not lose your mind. This episode is not that. Rhiannon Lee, AI strategist for Australian interior designers, cuts straight to what actually deserves your attention this week — if you're starting from scratch, if you're overwhelmed, or if you've been dabbling but can't see a clear path forward. Three things. Fifteen minutes. Actual forward momentum. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE Why the overwhelm is real — and why it doesn't mean what you think it means The wave of AI experts, the screaming headlines, the feeling that you're already behind. Rhiannon talks about why it feels like going from zero to hero overnight, why that's disorienting even for people who are genuinely across it, and why the existential stuff is worth sitting with — without letting it stop you. Claude vs ChatGPT: the honest comparison interior designers actually need Not a feature list. A practical frame. ChatGPT is your dinner bestie who knows your history — great for thinking out loud, voice memos, and unpacking what's in your head. Claude is Lord Business from the Lego Movie — your chief of staff, your executive assistant, the one you brief every morning and who executes without needing to be managed. They're not interchangeable. They work better together. How to use both tools without burning through tokens Rhiannon's actual workflow: think out loud in ChatGPT, get a tight synopsis, take that synopsis to Claude. Minimise spend. Maximise output. It's a small shift that makes a big difference. The five-minute business audit that unlocks everything else Before you build anything in AI, you need to know what to build. Pen and paper. Two columns. What's repetitive and soul-destroying in your business right now? What would you hand to a staff member if you could write the procedure in ten minutes? That list is your AI roadmap — and most designers haven't written it yet. Why AI gives bad results (and it's not the AI's fault) Claude and ChatGPT can both produce incredible outputs. But if they don't know your brand voice, your project process, your pricing logic, or the 40 steps between inquiry and invoice — they're working blind. The output quality problem most designers are experiencing is a context problem, not a capability problem. Where to find free AI education that's actually worth your time Anthropic has guides and libraries. Google has full AI courses. There are university-level accreditations available online at no cost. You don't need to do Studio Build to start learning — but you do need to be intentional about who you're learning from. Rhiannon's filter: have you seen them actually doing this in their own business, breaking things and showing up? If not, they might just be generating content that sounds right. Why chasing AI image generation is costing designers time they don't have This is the big one. At every speaking event Rhiannon has done in the past two years, the same conversation happens: someone's spent days trying to get an AI tool to do renders properly and is ready to quit AI entirely. Here's why it keeps happening — large language models are language first, image second if at all. They're pattern recognition engines. They are not spatial. They are not Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    37 min

  8. Apr 9

    Stop charging for the process (and other things I'm yelling about while the kids trash the house)

    Text me and tell me what you think of this ep. Join the email list to get the business restructure challenge, 'Studio Build'  updates HERE  The kids are on school holidays, there's a triple bunk being installed, and I'm stealing 20 minutes here and there to talk about the pricing shift that's quietly happening in the interior design industry and why you need to get ahead of it.  This one's recorded live from the chaos: paint swatches, tent pitching, and small people interrupting every second sentence. It's unpolished, unedited, and exactly the kind of bonus episode you didn't know you needed.  What we're talking about:  The home reno update no one asked for (but you're getting anyway) — triple bunks, colour drenching, and why I'm not taking myself seriously with this one  The 15-day Easter challenge happening on Instagram right now — 20 minutes a day, tidying up the operational side of my business so AI can actually do its job properly  The pricing conversation that came up in Studio CEO this week and hasn't left my head since — what happens when you can do in 24 seconds what used to take 2.5 hours? Do you charge less? Spoiler: absolutely not  Why billing by the hour is a trap in an efficiency economy, and why you need to stop itemising your scope and start pricing for the outcome  The thing to remember:  You're getting better. You're getting faster. You're finding smarter ways to run your business. That doesn't mean you charge less — it means you protect your pricing and articulate the value you bring, regardless of how long the admin takes.  Where to find the Easter challenge: Instagram — search the highlights, watch along, steal the prompts, and give your own business 20 minutes of attention each day.  Next episode: Not for two weeks. I'm with the kids. See you week commencing 20 April.  Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.  Grab  more insights and updates: Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finch Like Oleander & Finch on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/oleanderandfinch  For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/ Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/ Remember to subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your feedback helps me continue providing valuable content to aspiring interior designers. Stay tuned for more episodes filled with actionable insights and inspiring conversations...

    16 min
See All (185)

Trailer

4.5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Designing Success from School to Studio by Rhiannon Lee is dedicated to filling in the gaps in your design course to encourage you to build a sustainable business that supports your dream lifestyle. Are you searching for strategy, systems and support? Looking for a community to bounce industry issues around in?  In this podcast, we will cover the interior design business infrastructure you need to supplement your design school curriculum with practical insights and actionable advice. We also cover all things marketing, product innovation, client acquisition, and more. Go beyond the theory, filter through the stuff that doesn’t serve you and get on with creating. You will find real talk with industry professionals, practical tactics from business realists that leave you reenergised and focused on exactly how to improve the current landscape of your own business. For more behind the scenes of the interior design industry, check out oleander and finch in Instagram https://instagram.com/oleander_and_finchor head to www.oleanderandfinch.com

Information

  • Creator
    Rhiannon Lee
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    185
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Designing Success
  • Show Website
    Designing Success

You Might Also Like