EP 434 | Get Different: Marketing That Actually Gets Interior Designers Noticed with Mike Michalowicz

June 24, 2025

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This episode originally aired as Episode 261 on February 15, 2022.

Most marketing fails for one simple reason: our brains are wired to ignore anything that feels familiar, predictable, or irrelevant. In this episode, Kimberley Seldon sits down with author and entrepreneur advocate Mike Michalowicz to explore why so many interior designers struggle to get traction—and what it actually takes to break through the noise.

Mike introduces his antidote to being “highly ignorable”: get different. That doesn’t mean louder, flashier, or more complicated—it means being intentional, strategic, and unmistakably you. This conversation dives into how designers can identify their best clients, focus marketing efforts where they actually matter, and test ideas without wasting time or money.

If you’re tired of posting, promoting, and pitching without seeing real results, this episode will challenge how you think about marketing—and give you practical ways to stand out without selling out.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

  • How to organize clients by revenue and “crush factor” (who you love working with)

  • Where to find your ideal clients—and how to market where they already gather

  • Why being “highly ignorable” is the biggest threat to your marketing

  • How to perform simple R&D (rip off and duplicate) without copying blindly

  • Why leaning into who you really are strengthens your marketing

  • How to choose the right marketing mediums intentionally

  • Why the method matters just as much as the message

  • How to introduce “keys” that tell you whether your marketing is actually working

TAKE AWAY

Read the book, Get Different by Mike Michalowicz

 

WATCH ON YOUTUBE

About Mike Michalowicz

By his 35th birthday, Mike Michalowicz had founded and sold two multi-million dollar companies.

Confident that he had the formula to success, he became a small business angel investor… and proceeded to lose his entire fortune. Then he started all over again, driven to find better ways to grow healthy, strong companies. Mike has devoted his life to the research and delivery of innovative, impactful entrepreneurial strategies to you.

Mike is the creator of Profit First, which is used by hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe to drive profit. He is the creator of Clockwork, a powerful method to make any business run on automatic. In his 2020 release Fix This Next, Mike details the strategy businesses can use to determine what to do, in what order, to ensure healthy, fast, permanent growth (and avoid debilitating distractions). His latest book Get Different (released September 21, 2021) will give you the tools to stand out in any market.

Today, Mike leads two new multi-million-dollar ventures, as he tests his latest business research for his books. He is a former small business columnist for The Wall Street Journal and business makeover specialist on MSNBC. Mike is a popular main stage keynote speaker on innovative entrepreneurial topics; and is the author of Get Different, Fix This Next, Clockwork, Profit First, Surge, The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

www.MikeMichalowicz.com

Thank you to our podcast sponsor, Zena!

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Legal Disclosure | This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be used for any legal decisions. Kimberley Seldon Design Group, Kimberley Seldon Productions Inc., Kimberley Seldon Design and Media, Inc., Business of Design™, or any of its affiliated companies or staff is not responsible for any errors or omissions effecting accuracy in any content, and they will not be held liable for the use or misuse of information, facts, details or any other aspects should there arise any defects, errors, omissions or perhaps inaccuracies. Extensive research has been conducted to put this podcast together for the purpose of educating our industry in order to better serve the public. Care has been taken to acknowledge ownership of copyrighted material. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is offered with the understanding that we do not render any legal, accounting or other professional advice. Seek the advice of a lawyer and/or other competent professional person in all matters of law. Further, listeners should be aware that internet websites mentioned may change or disappear between when this was recorded and when it was listened to.

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