What happens when business owners stop accepting scattered systems, manual follow-ups, and time-consuming workflows as "just part of running a business"? In this episode of Staging Sips, Lori sits down with Harlowe founding members Kishah Langham and Erin Galvin to talk candidly about the frustrations that led them to search for a better way to run their staging businesses. Kishah brings 15 years of business experience in Houston, Texas, while Erin is approaching her first anniversary as a staging business owner in Colorado. Although they entered Harlowe at very different stages of business, they shared the same goal: creating systems that would make their work simpler, faster, and easier to grow. They share how bringing scheduling, proposals, agreements, payments, client communication, renewals, reporting, and business insights into one place has changed their day-to-day operations. Erin explains how she reduced the time required to complete a consultation report and can now send a professional proposal in about five minutes, even from the pool with her children. Kishah shares how Harlowe helped streamline her staging services and educational events while eliminating the need to chase registrations and payments across multiple platforms. You'll also hear how their real-world feedback helped shape Harlowe. Kishah's staging school inspired Harlowe's event functionality, while Erin's workflow inspired new ways to use project images within proposals. Their experiences reveal what it truly looks like to help build a platform while actively using it to run a business. What You'll Learn in This Episode Why Kishah wanted reliable systems in place before expanding her team Why Erin prioritized systems during her first year in business How combining disconnected business tools creates a simpler daily workflow How automated scheduling allows clients and agents to book and pay without back-and-forth communication How Erin reduced the time required to produce her consultation reports How reusable proposal templates can turn a lengthy process into a five-minute task How a streamlined proposal, agreement, and payment experience can help clients move forward faster Why Harlowe founding members averaged just seven minutes between opening a proposal and completing payment How Kishah uses Harlowe's Lookbook to show her work directly inside her proposals How Harlowe helped Kishah streamline registration and payment for her staging school and events How automated renewal reminders and payments reduce missed deadlines and manual follow-up How business analytics can provide clearer revenue forecasts, goals, and pricing insights How gaining time back has helped Erin focus on marketing, networking, and her family How gaining time back has helped Kishah grow her staging school and support the Black staging community How Kishah and Erin's feedback directly influenced features within Harlowe What it was really like to test Harlowe during its earliest stages Kishah and Erin also share the human side of adopting a new system: finding bugs, suggesting improvements, trusting the process, and watching their ideas become features that can serve staging businesses throughout the industry. Their stories show what becomes possible when technology fits the way you actually work. Fewer disconnected tools. Faster proposals. Smoother payments. Clearer business information. More time to grow your company and live your life. LEARN MORE ABOUT STAGING BUSINESS SCHOOL HERE! WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE: Why Kishah and Erin prioritized better systems at two very different stages of business How bringing scheduling, proposals, agreements, and payments into one place simplified their workflows How reusable templates helped turn proposal creation into a five-minute task How automation created a faster, easier experience for their clients while reducing manual follow-up How Harlowe gave Kishah and Erin more time for business growth, passion projects, and family How their real-world feedback and beta-testing experiences helped shape Harlowe's features LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE: RESOURCES: Connect With Our Guests Kishah Langham Texas Stagers https://www.stagingtexas.net/about-us www.instagram.com/texas_stagers Erin Galvin Finishing Touch Interiors https://www.finishingtouchinteriorsco.com/about www.instagram.com/finishingtouchinteriorsco Join the Harlowe Inner Circle Waitlist: https://waitlist.harloweco.com Apply for Private Coaching: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/privatecoachingapp Enroll in Staging Business School Accelerate Track: www.rethinkhomeinteriors.com/accelerate Follow the Staging Business School on Instagram: www.instagram.com/stagingbusinessschool Follow Harlowe on Instagram: www.instagram.com/meetharlowe Follow Lori on Instagram: www.instagram.com/rethinkhome If you want to learn how to streamline your operations so you can grow with less stress and burnout in your staging business, enrollment is open for Staging Business School Accelerate Track. 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