Trade Tales Business of Home, Kaitlin Petersen

Ali Budd on how she sets her firm apart in the competition for clients, what it takes to create a safe space for employees and finding the sweet spot where she can play a role in every project.

Kai Williamson on why hiring a senior designer first transformed her business, how she landed on a per-square-foot fee structure, and how she realized that doing good work and feeling good about the work aren’t always the same thing.

Brian Paquette on why aesthetics alone won’t make him say yes to a project, what he learned from downsizing his team, and how a focus on simplicity inspired his approach to billing.

Michael Hilal on why he’s not afraid to hire a team with more experience than himself, why he’s rethinking his approach to media after a whirlwind of early press attention, and the fine line between inspiration and copycats in the design industry.

Georgia Zikas on why her whole team is involved in the hiring process; how she manages offices across two cities, and why she hired a CFO to keep her firm’s goals in sight.

Christine Lin on the process of finding projects that are more closely aligned with her firm’s aesthetic, why she would never equate her business with a retail store to defend a product markup, and how she established professional development paths within her firm to help her team grow.