#awinewith Beth Bieske
MEET Beth, founder of More Time To Design.
You can find them here:
Transcript
Danielle Lewis (00:05):
So good. Beth, welcome to Spark tv.
Beth Bieske (00:08):
Hello. Thank you so much for having me.
Danielle Lewis (00:11):
I'm so excited to chat to you. As we said, we've got sunny days here today, so life is good.
Beth Bieske (00:19):
Yes, yes. Sunny is shining. It's a nice change from the rain we've been having.
Danielle Lewis (00:24):
I love it. I love it. Let's start out by telling everyone who you are and what you do.
Beth Bieske (00:28):
So I'm Beth Beki, I'm an interior designer and I'm the founder of More Time to Design, which is a cloud-based studio and project management platform for interior designers.
Danielle Lewis (00:41):
Holy crap, this is amazing. So talk to me more about the platform. So is it a software tool? What is it? What did you build? Yeah,
Beth Bieske (00:54):
So pretty much so my background is interior design, have been an interior designer for 13 years. I say 13 years. I feel like I've been saying 13 years for a while, so it could be longer. And before I went out on my own, I worked for two of Australia's best interior designers and really kind of more in the management side of the studios. So my last role before I went out on my own was with Greg Natal and I managed his team. And when I went out on my own, I knew that there had to be a better way of doing things. So interior design is innately time consuming. There are so many details you need to cover. There's so many things you need to be across. The designing part of a project might only be 30 to 40%, but the admin side, just keeping on top of all of the different stakeholders, client communication, time management, all of that takes up so much more time.
(02:02):
And so when I was at Greg's, we had a whole support team to help us with all that stuff. But when you're out on your own, you don't have that. And so there wasn't really a system that worked really well. You'll have things off running off Excel, you'll have different platforms, notebooks. It was just, it's a shambles. And I was just like, there has to be a better way. And I looked around and there wasn't a product on the market that was the right fit for me. And I knew that there were other designers that were struggling with this. So I started my business when my son was six months old because I knew that going back into the big studios wasn't really going to work with family life. And I knew a lot of designers that were in the same position and they were reaching out to me asking me about how do you do this?
(03:00):
How do you run a schedule? How do you do Excel? How do you use Xero? All of this kind of stuff. Because as designers, and this is not unique to us as designers, there would be a lot of industries where this is the same when you go to design school, whether it be an online course or uni, they teach you about design, they teach you how to design, they don't teach you how to run a business. And so there are so many designers, mainly women who have started a family or they've got to the point where they're ready to go out on their own. They know how to design, they know how to build beautiful homes, but they cannot run a business. And so the platform is really helping them. It's kind of your systems and processes in a box, and it's really built for either solo designers or small teams up to five. And it just helps you do your admin and your business processes smoother, faster, which means you're going to have a more profitable business, which means you're going to be able to take on more clients and it's going to be better all round.
Danielle Lewis (04:06):
I love it so much. So I can relate. I studied fashion design at uni and so funny because I turned out to be more commercially minded than design minded. But you do, you just learn the creative side I think behind it. And it's so bizarre. It's wild to me as now that I'm a person who, so I've had a tech business, a marketing business, and e-commerce business, and now I teach business. But when I reflect on that time and I think about if I started a fashion business, all of the elements I need so wild that they don't teach you those elements when you're actually studying, you learn the craft, but you learn to be an employee almost. Yes.
Beth Bieske (04:50):
Yep. Exactly. And I think that the thing that struck me was it was the same questions that were coming up and it was the same things and it was the same struggles, and it's like, oh my goodness. It's almost a little bit scary sometimes when you have these conversations with designers who are just going out and it's like, oh, this is really kind of foundation 1 0 1 stuff that you need to know. And the thing that also I was finding is so there would be lots of people who were maybe in their first year to 18 months who'd be reaching out going, how do I do this? What's the best way? But then there was also this cohort of designers that might've been in business for five or six years and they still didn't have those systems and processes in place, but they were just constantly on the rat run of trying to, they hadn't got their fee proposals or they're charging. So they were constantly chasing their tail on that. And they're getting to five or six years into business and they are completely burnt out because they're working so hard, but they're not working smartly. And so it was just something that I was like, we need to do this better.
Danielle Lewis (06:08):
I love it. So being an interior designer by trade and then working in leadership management, then you built a tech platform.
Beth Bieske (06:20):
Yeah, I know. Crazy. Crazy.
Danielle Lewis (06:21):
How did that go? How did you actually go about starting and building a platform?
Beth Bieske (06:26):
So I like all great ideas. It came to me in the middle of the night and I was like, okay, let's see how we can do this. I had an acquaintance from about 10, 15 years ago that as you do, we were Instagram friends back then and then they randomly come up in your feed one day. And when I knew them
Danielle Lewis (06:52):
Universe, I'm telling
Beth Bieske (06:53):
The universe exactly, but when I knew them, so it's a husband and wife when I knew them, one was a nurse and one was something else. I don't even really know what she did. And they had been on their, I suppose, own career journey. And the reason why I'd always kind of, I suppose sparked my interest because they went into flipping homes
Danielle Lewis (07:17):
And I
Beth Bieske (07:18):
Was always like, oh, I wonder what you're doing now kind of thing. It was really interesting. And they had moved into the tech space and I reached out to them and said, hi, we haven't spoken in about a decade. I don't even know my understanding of tech is so limited that I don't even know if what I'm wanting to do is what you do. Could we chat? And I was like, this will go to their junk folder. I'll never hear back, and that'll be the end of that. Anyway, they were like, yeah, this is exactly what we do. And four, five months later, we had our first product, the first iteration of the product out there. And so it was the steepest learning curve. It still is. It really is a massive learning curve. But I just reached out to them. And I think that's something that you can't worry about what people are going to think, what if they say no, you just got to do it. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have had the product I have today.
Danielle Lewis (08:24):
And I always find it funny. People are worried that people will steal your ideas.
Beth Bieske (08:30):
Yeah, exactly.
Danielle Lewis (08:31):
But it's like, oh my God, I thought that in the start too. I think I thought that, but I was like, when you realize how hard it is to build a product, I'm like, no one's stealing your ideas because it's too hard to execute them. Ideas are a dime a dozen, but the people that have the grit to actually get it into the world to bring it into reality, like whoa, it's totally, totally crazy. What's the biggest lesson that you've learned building a tech platform?
Beth Bieske (08:59):
That it is phenomenally slow and patience. You need to have buckets of it. But I also think, and this ties into what you just said, that you need to have so much resilience, so much, and it's not something you can tune into once a week or whatever. You have to be resilient every single day. And you've got to be positive and you've got to be resilient. And you just got to choose that mindset every single day because it's going to take so much longer than you think it's going to take. There's going to be so many more setbacks than you think. It's going to take
Danielle Lewis (09:40):
So much more money, it's going to cost
Beth Bieske (09:42):
So much more money. It's going to be so much of everything. And it's funny, I quite often have to apply the same advice to myself that I give to my child. If you stop, that's where you stop and that's all it'll ever be.
Danielle Lewis (10:02):
Yes.
Beth Bieske (10:02):
But if you keep going tomorrow, you'll be that one step further. And it might only be a mill further ahead, but you'll be a mill further ahead than what you were yesterday. And you kind of just have to have that constant mindset of, I'm going to get there. It's going to work out. It's going to take more time, more money, more patience, more effort, more knowledge than I ever thought it would. But if I stop now, this is where it'll end. And you just got to keep going.
Danielle Lewis (10:33):
Oh my God, I love that so much. I think back to my own tech platform building journey and literally could not agree with you more so much longer, so much more money, so many setbacks, so many learning curves, so much having to trust the developers versus not really knowing we went from, but even, I mean, I'm even impressed that your idea, the idea you had has come to life. When we did it, we went from a virtual change room to fashion, to a fashion discovery platform, an inventory management solution for fashion, a social media monitoring tool. And then we got to influence a marketing platform, which is we built all of those things until we finally got it right for the market and what people wanted to pay us for. And that was at least the first, oh my god, I want to say the first six or seven years of just getting it wrong, spending money, spending time doing other work to fund to the dream,
Beth Bieske (11:44):
The
Danielle Lewis (11:44):
Full on journey tech.
Beth Bieske (11:46):
Yeah, it really is. And look, I think that applies to all business. I think tech is its own, but I think for interior designers, it takes so much longer than you ever think it will to grow your business. I was talking to another designer the other day and we were talking about how referrals is the really the best place for your clients to come from because you're getting like-minded clients. If your client has been really great, then if they refer a friend or something, there's a really good chance that they're going to be another great client. But the reality is building that referral network takes time. Especially not everyone is going to need an interior designer every day of the week. So you might have a great client who would recommend you to 10 people, but they might only know one person who's renovating in the next five years. And so it really takes a lot of time, and it's the same with builders and other trades kind of thing you might be using as your referral partners. It just takes so much time. And I think that's something that I think people going into business don't always appreciate.
Danielle Lewis (13:10):
Well, and I wonder too, and look, anyone that's a long time listener of this podcast will know my rant that's about to come. But I do feel like there's a culture on Instagram especially. I dunno what it's like on TikTok, I'm too old for TikTok, but I think especially on Instagram, there is this, I doubled my business overnight, zero to a millionaire in 17 seconds. Here's my blueprint for overnight success. And it's just not reality.
Beth Bieske (13:42):
Not at all. Not at all. And I think I have a love hate relationship with social media. I think it's something that it's a really great tool for developing community and connection. And I love some of the connections I've made on Instagram with other designers and all that kind of stuff has just been phenomenal. But I do also think that it is the highlights reel of someone's life or someone's business. And there is a lot of smoke and mirrors on there.
Danielle Lewis (14:15):
You really have to be discerning. And I feel like the best, I guess, insight into business is conversations with other women in business.
Beth Bieske (14:27):
Absolutely
Danielle Lewis (14:28):
Not a coach. Don't go to a coach first to talk about it. I think they do have the rose collared world glasses. They're selling the framework, they're selling the dream. But I think having these real open and honest conversations with other women in business about how their journey has been,
Beth Bieske (14:45):
And I think also you will see so many similarities. I think the common thread of it's taken longer, it's harder, it's taken more money. I don't know anyone who's really been an overnight success. All the overnight successes I know of have been working really hard for 10 years to get that overnight success.
Danielle Lewis (15:12):
It's like, so maybe someone launched a new product, but it's like there's a 10 year backstory.
Beth Bieske (15:17):
Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (15:18):
Which is what made that product go really well or whatever.
Beth Bieske (15:20):
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's exactly all the mistakes and the learning from the last 10 years.
Danielle Lewis (15:29):
And look, I think that as well, I remember we, so we launched an e-commerce product-based business in 2020, hand sanitizer, if you can believe it. But it morphed into a lifestyle brand. But because we had a decade in business beforehand, we already knew the designer we wanted to work with. We already knew how to build a website, we already knew how to create social media. We already knew all of those things so we could spin it up so quickly versus our first business that I said went through 17 different bloody pivots until we finally the right thing. But no, what I was going to say was I love what you said about other designers contacting you and asking for that advice because I think that is what I love about women in business is we are so willing to help. We are so willing to help and give our advice and experience. And if we can point you in the right direction or give you a resource or give you a contact or give you a whatever, we really are an amazing support network for each other. I think having that support network around you is so important in business.
Beth Bieske (16:38):
Yeah, absolutely. And look, I think when I started the software platform, more time to design, part of it was, yes, I want to help empower women build better businesses. And that is through the systems and processes part of their design businesses. But the other kind of pillar I suppose, was also the community. So I had come out of a studio, there was a great Cade chip around it. When you work for yourself or you might have a small studio kind of thing, you don't have that. And so I think you don't have someone to bounce ideas off. You don't have someone to kind of sense check it. You don't have someone to rant to when you come back from a client meeting and they've just been horrendous. And so I think that is the other side of it of more time to design that I love.
(17:31):
And that is through social media. So that's the part of social media that I love and the conversations that I've had, I've had people reach out to me and go, I just dunno how to do this. How would you set it up? I've had people who I've bonded with our hate of the cold and our Kofi mechanisms getting through a cold winter. I do love that side of it. And I do think that women are so generous with their knowledge because if they haven't done it before, they'll help you work out a way to get through it. So yeah,
Danielle Lewis (18:07):
It's really interesting. I think we're moving into a time where community is a great marketing strategy.
Beth Bieske (18:15):
Yeah, absolutely.
Danielle Lewis (18:17):
Building that network, building that community building, like-minded people, bringing like-minded people together and supporting them leads to your business growth. Oh,
Beth Bieske (18:30):
Absolutely. I think as well, the number of things where I've seen women benefit from, they haven't started out going, I'm going to try and get work from this kind of thing, but they've just grown their friendship online and it'll be like one designer's too busy and because they know that other designer, they're really happy to pass that on as a referral and all of that kind of stuff. I think community is, I think if you set out to do it hoping that you get business out of it, then you're not doing it right at all. It has to come from a genuine place, but I think you can definitely grow your business. It's just got positive for your business.
Danielle Lewis (19:20):
Totally. Well, and I think the interesting thing as well is that, like you say, if you start out thinking, this is how I'm going to get money out of this person by helping them, they can feel that for starters, you just feel like you're selling to them. But not everyone will need your product or service at the same time. Yeah,
Beth Bieske (19:39):
Exactly.
Danielle Lewis (19:40):
But if you are there supporting them, they become an advocate for you. And that's the biggest thing I've found is that people will say to me, I don't need this right now, but I actually know a couple of people that do. And just because I've had them on the podcast or I've sent them a resource or I've just booked a one-on-one call to talk about and share my experience fundraising or whatever it's been, they're amazing. And they're like, yeah, maybe it's not the right fit for them, but they go and tell somebody else about the network and community. And I think that's the thing. If you can just show up and be helpful, you will be surprised at how far that will spread.
Beth Bieske (20:21):
Absolutely. Absolutely. And yeah, I've seen it so many times in my own business and I've heard it from other people. But yeah, it definitely, I think people have such a craving for community these days, and I just genuine community. I think it's a really great added extra to your business.
Danielle Lewis (20:43):
Yeah, absolutely. So did you find, obviously interior designer then managing the studios, going into tech platform and running your own business, obviously you built a business around supporting interior designers in their business. Did you find any challenge or struggle or learning curve going from working from somebody else to being in business yourself?
Beth Bieske (21:10):
No. So when I finished school, I went to uni, thought I was going to be a doctor, did all that kind of stuff. And then realized kind of halfway through it wasn't really for me. And so I did a complete 180 and went and did a flory course and ended up buying a flory business and had my own floristry business for 10 years.
Danielle Lewis (21:37):
Oh my God.
Beth Bieske (21:38):
Yeah, I know it's random. I actually went from small business owner to employee back to being a small business owner.
Danielle Lewis (21:48):
Gotcha. So
Beth Bieske (21:50):
I You'd
Danielle Lewis (21:51):
Already done the hard yard.
Beth Bieske (21:53):
Yeah. So I had that kind of journey. But I think as well when I started working for myself, so as I mentioned, I had a six month old baby when I started my studio. So what I was learning was how to work as a mom, and that is a whole other ball game. So that was, I suppose, the iteration of my small business journey that I had when I started my design studio. And that was very different. It's not just the time, it's the mental juggle, it's all of those kind of things. And so that was something that I had to learn how to do when I started my own studio. And I suppose it's a bit of a lens that I put over a lot of my, I suppose when I think about systems and processes because, so for me it's caring for young children.
(22:59):
For someone else, it might be caring for elderly parents or another family member, or it might be that you just want to be able to play tennis three times a week, whatever it is that you want to have, what other things you have in your life. That is the lens that I put through a lot of the stuff that I talk about when it comes to systems and processes. Because the reality is if you have strong systems and processes, you are going to have more time and more flexibility, but also the mental capacity that you have is not going to be taken up with the stress of, oh my God, where do I written that down and where have I done that kind of thing. It calms the mind. So as a working mom, I think I've got maybe a 20% capacity of what I used to have in terms of recall and all that kind of stuff, because I'm also thinking about who's picking up the child from school today. But having strong systems and processes really helps with that. So that I suppose is definitely something that I had to learn second time round.
Danielle Lewis (24:11):
That is really interesting. I'm listening to a podcast at the moment around exactly that, around how systems and processes will set you free. And whilst it seems a bit boring, it's the staff that takes that mental load off your brain, but also is what lets you get help in the business without worrying that it won't be done in the way that it needs to be done to support your customers or to support the experience you want to put out there. And I'm thinking, so look, I'm the world's worst businesswoman all over the shop, but I must admit, literally as you're talking, I was reflecting and I'm thinking the parts of my business that are the least stressful when I've actually sat down, recorded the steps, created the process, and handed it off to a va. And I am now in a position where I just flick an email and I know it gets done exactly the way it needs to get done, and it's just the most freeing thing in business. I just can't explain how good it is.
Beth Bieske (25:19):
Oh, totally.
(25:20):
And I think it's really interesting you mentioned that there is that initial threshold you've got to get over of, you can't just hand it over. You've got to teach, train, give them the tools to do it well, but if you can get over that mental barrier of, oh gosh, it's going to take me so long to get this organized. What do I even do that you then really do see the fruits of it kind of thing. But yeah, it is definitely a big part of that is helping people understand, yes, systems and processes sounds like the driest topic in the world, but it is freeing. It is really freeing. And it definitely, the reality is if you don't have systems and processes in place, whether that be because you are just a one person business and it just means your business runs smoothly, or if you're wanting to take on staff or have a VR or something like that, if you don't have them in place, you are putting a massive ceiling on your business. It's just as straightforward as that.
Danielle Lewis (26:32):
Yeah. Oh my God, I love it. It's literally one that I'm agonizing over right now, and you've just given me to kick off the button, so I'm so happy. Oh my God, that's so good. I love it so much. Okay. I always love to wrap up our podcast with one last piece of advice. So reflecting on your multiple businesses over all the years, what would be a piece of advice that you would give to another woman on her journey in business?
Beth Bieske (27:01):
So it's going to be two, because I can't be that, and we've already kind of talked on the other one, but I think that you just don't give up, really don't give up. And you got to have resilience. It's going to be tough. It's not going to be easy. And anyone who tells you it's going to be easy and flowers and cupcakes, it's just a lie. So don't give up. That's my biggest bit of advice. And just wake up with your cup of resilience every day. The other bit of advice, which I think I find really helpful to remember, and I think, I suppose I get a little bit of a snippet. I talk to people about their own businesses. It's okay if it's scrappy and messy. Don't think that everyone has all of their files perfectly organized and knows exactly what's going on all the time. It's okay if it's scrappy because, and that's not hustling. That's something totally different. Okay. If it's a bit kind of like we were talking before, being a duck looks calm, it looks smooth, but underneath you're frantically peddling. It's okay if it's scrappy because it's not always going to be scrappy. You'll get everything sorted and you'll grow your team and it'll go places. But it's okay if it's a bit scrappy.
Danielle Lewis (28:31):
I love that so much because even going back to the systems and processes conversation, you don't do that first. No, no. You get into it, you sell people stuff. They want you prove it's a real business, and you just start like, okay, you know what? I keep doing this same repetitive task tomorrow. I'm going to record myself doing it. And that's one system and process you've done.
Beth Bieske (28:53):
Exactly. And that's the thing. And the breast has a shit
Danielle Lewis (28:55):
Show.
Beth Bieske (28:56):
Exactly. And I think that's the thing. The reality is that the first three to five years of any business is just getting the thing off the ground, and it is chaotic, and it's messy and it's scrappy. And if you can improve one thing by 1% every day, you are going to have a very different business in a year's time. And then you'll have an even better business in five years time. And so I think you kind of have to just accept that it's not perfect. It's never going to be perfect. There's always going to be things you can change. There's always going to be things that you wish, oh, I wish I had done that differently from the start. But it doesn't just keep going. Just take that one step kind of thing and you'll get there.
Danielle Lewis (29:46):
You are absolutely incredible. Beth, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us on the Spark Podcast. I'm so grateful for you.
Beth Bieske (29:55):
Thank you so much for having me, Danielle.
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