We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Lashae Ben recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole Lashae, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry

We all know that the pandemic turned the world upside down. All businesses were forced to shift in so many ways including many corporate entities switching to remote work. Within the interior design industry specifically, remote work changed a designers experience tremendously.

Previously, designers would go into the office to collaborate on design projects with their colleagues. They had easy access to a design library filled with options of interior and architectural products to be used for the built environment. They could also easily meet with industry reps through face-to-face meetings and presentations.

When work shifted remote, all of those experiences had to shift as well. Now, we are in what people are calling “the new normal.” A recent ThinkLab survey shared that 3 out of 4 design firms will have some form of hybrid or remote work for the foreseeable future. This proposed a “trend” or “design challenge” to create experiences (included brand experiences) for designers that balance in-person and digital experiences while still promoting value.

Interior and architectural product companies will need to embrace this trend to stay top of mind in the design process.

Nicole Lashae, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Nicole Lashae Ben, CEO of Thrive In Design. Thrive In Design is a design and innovation consultancy that helps interior product companies increase their brand awareness and revenue. We do this by taking a human-centered approach to understanding a designer’s experience with their brand.

In 2023, our main focus is working with interior product companies who are struggling with social selling.

I’ve been in the interior design industry for 20 years. I started with a passion for residential design through obsessively watching HGTV. I went on to study interior design at Syracuse University and design management at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). As I started graduate school at SCAD, I also started my career in sales for interior product companies.

In this path, I was able to merge my love of entrepreneurship, interior design, design thinking, and product based business. All of those passions led me to a very specific consulting niche (interior product companies), which is a multi-billion industry and also happens to be very underserved by consultants.

I now have a few different offerings through Thrive In Design, including a workbook (“The Ultimate Guide to A&D Sales, which is available on Amazon), trainings and coaching for sales teams of interior product companies, and customer journey audits. My experience in the industry sets me apart and has allowed me to created offerings that the interior design industry has never had before.

My clients refer to me as “The Social Selling Queen of A&D Sales.”

Have you ever had to pivot?

My consulting business initially started as Nicole Lashae Consulting, LLC at the beginning of 2019. When I started my business I knew that I wanted to use design thinking to help businesses be innovative. But, my target audience was too broad and my business offerings were all over the place.

It took me a little over a year of trial and error to have an ah-ha moment. I remember sitting in silence one day in 2020 and thinking, “Nicole. Focus on the industry that you’re been in almost your whole life. Interior design.”

The obvious niche was in front of me the whole time. To be honest, I almost quit the interior design industry. It’s a tough industry to thrive in as a black woman. But, at that moment, I knew it was time to embrace the industry and make my mark. Ever since then, everything has been coming together with ease.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Building my audience on social media has been a slow race. I’ve had social media since before college. Over the years, I’ve created accounts on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (never posted there), Twitter (post 10 times of less per year) and Linkedin. There are endless platforms that come and go. The key for me was to get laser focused on the platforms that would reach my target audience with ease.

For me, those platforms were LinkedIn and Instagram, which may change in the future. On LinkedIn, I’ve focused on connecting with my alumni network as well as interior design industry connections. I currently share content around pertinent industry topics and content to promote the Thrive In Design podcast. I also focus on sparking offline conversations with the connections that I make there.

I use Instagram to share a balance of business and my personal life. My content gives a behind the scenes look into running a business as a solo mom. If I’m connecting with potential clients there it’s typically resharing their content or sparking a conversation through DMs to create authentic connections.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thriveindesign.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thriveindesign/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thriveindesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleben/