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

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Legal Disclosure | This podcast is for educational purposes only and provides general business advice for interior designers and design professionals. It is not intended as individual legal, accounting, or professional guidance. Kimberley Seldon and Business of Design® make no guarantees regarding accuracy and are not liable for how information is used. Strategies shared may not apply to every situation—listeners should seek qualified legal, financial, or professional advice before making business decisions. References and resources mentioned may change over time.

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