{"podcast":{"title":"To-The-Trade with Interior Design Community","slug":"to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516","podcast_index_feed_id":7139516,"rss_url":"https://api.riverside.fm/hosting/rhnvxGta.rss","website_url":"https://interiordesigncommunity.com","image_url":"https://hosting-media.riverside.com/media/imports/podcasts/f0ba38bf-4b78-48ad-a474-8119edb9236f/40450460-1727805130829-ab5e16bf2bd73.jpg","author":"Interior Design Community","episode_count":100,"summary":"Introducing \"To-The-Trade,\" the ultimate podcast for interior designers. Our mission: to provide business and productivity hacks for better work/life balance. Join industry leaders and experts as we explore trends, strategies, and practical advice. Elevate your design business, manage clients, build your brand, and stay ahead with technology. Achieve success and fulfillment in your career. Listen to \"To-The-Trade\" now!","last_synced_at":"2026-06-15T18:19:08.801377+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516"},"episode":{"title":"To-The-Trade S2E55 Shannon Ggem on Empathy, Boundaries, and Protecting Your Time and Heart","slug":"to-the-trade-s2e55-shannon-ggem-on-empathy-boundaries-and-protecting-your-time-and-heart","published_at":"2025-12-01T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516/to-the-trade-s2e55-shannon-ggem-on-empathy-boundaries-and-protecting-your-time-and-heart","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516","url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/0c981027d3b39b37b4d1e871237d91e04dd07a29bd46dc3c609ad66b836545ce/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0Njg0YTYwYS0zNWNmLTRiYjUtOThhNS0wOTBlYzJiMTZhNmIiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJmMGJhMzhiZi00Yjc4LTQ4YWQtYTQ3NC04MTE5ZWRiOTIzNmYiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2ODc2YTc3ZjY0Nzc5MGE4ZDAwNmViYjYiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjkyYjRmNjNiNDRmNTViMGE1YTdlZDk5L3RvLXRoZS10cmFkZS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI1LTExLTI5X18yMC01NC0xMS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","audio_url":"https://api.riverside.com/hosting-analytics/media/0c981027d3b39b37b4d1e871237d91e04dd07a29bd46dc3c609ad66b836545ce/eyJlcGlzb2RlSWQiOiI0Njg0YTYwYS0zNWNmLTRiYjUtOThhNS0wOTBlYzJiMTZhNmIiLCJwb2RjYXN0SWQiOiJmMGJhMzhiZi00Yjc4LTQ4YWQtYTQ3NC04MTE5ZWRiOTIzNmYiLCJhY2NvdW50SWQiOiI2ODc2YTc3ZjY0Nzc5MGE4ZDAwNmViYjYiLCJwYXRoIjoibWVkaWEvY2xpcHMvNjkyYjRmNjNiNDRmNTViMGE1YTdlZDk5L3RvLXRoZS10cmFkZS1jb21wb3Nlci0yMDI1LTExLTI5X18yMC01NC0xMS5tcDMifQ==.mp3","summary":"In this episode of the To-The-Trade interior design podcast, host Laurie Laizure welcomes Los Angeles-based designer and Kitchen Design Innovator of the Year, Shannon Ggem . Shannon shares how her bi-coastal practice blends New England sensibilities, antiques, and California ease, and how she uses biophilic or dopamine-driven design to connect people to nature and the makers behind their homes. Laurie and Shannon dive deep into empathy as a core business skill in interior design. Shannon explains how highly sensitive, empathic designers can almost read a client’s mind, and why that is both a gift and a trap. She walks through the specific language she uses in client management for designers, such as telling clients they cannot hurt her feelings and having couples rank choices on a scale to make decisions clearer and faster. The conversation shifts into pricing strategies for designers and the fear many clients have around being “sold to.” Laurie pushes back on the big box narrative that designers are expensive middlemen, contrasting it with heavily marketed, value-engineered retail. Shannon opens up about her responsibility to vet factories, materials, and human rights, and why she refuses to sell low-quality products that will fail and damage trust. They also tackle overdelivery, shaving hours, and how constant unpaid emotional labor leads to burnout and resentment. Real stories about showing 167 sconces, clients chasing dupes and bargain antiques, and brands navigating tariffs all highlight why the designer’s professional filter matters. Shannon closes by calling designers to clean up their business practices, educate clients upfront on budgets and fees, extend empathy to vendors and trades, and protect their own boundaries so they can keep serving at a high level.","meta_description":"In this episode of the To-The-Trade interior design podcast, host Laurie Laizure welcomes Los Angeles-based designer and Kitchen Design Innovator of the Y…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3440,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516/episodes/to-the-trade-s2e55-shannon-ggem-on-empathy-boundaries-and-protecting-your-time-and-heart/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/to-the-trade-with-interior-design-community-7139516/to-the-trade-s2e55-shannon-ggem-on-empathy-boundaries-and-protecting-your-time-and-heart.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}