100: 10 Business Lessons From 100 Episodes: What Every Designer Should Steal

Episode 100 is here, and I am recording it on my iPhone from a makeshift desk in Bangkok, where I am living and running my whole business for the next four months. Three years ago I turned on a microphone with no plan and no idea if I would make it to episode 10. This one is not a highlight reel. It is 10 things that 100 episodes have taught me, and more than anything, it is a thank you.

In this episode:

It did not start as a podcast
Episode one was never meant to air. Why you do not have to have it all figured out to begin, and how to start messy.

Slower served everyone better
Why I moved from weekly to two episodes a month, and how the pace that gets recommended to you is not always the right one.

Value your time, not just your work
The year of no, why boundaries protect your time, and why I choose the word value over worth.

I learned to love the quiet
How solitude went from something I avoided to the thing I would protect first.

Shut up and listen
What 100 guest conversations taught me about listening, choosing whose advice to take home, and why not all advice is good advice.

Build it so it runs without you
The Bangkok lesson. A business that cannot run without you is not freedom, it is a job you cannot quit. Build your systems now.

AI is the taskmaster, I am still the brain
How I actually use AI in my business, where I leaned in too hard early on, and why nothing hits the public eye without me.

I am not here to yap
Why the loudest voice in the room is not always the one worth your time.

Free does not mean it costs nothing
A personal ask about feedback, and why we should tell the baker the bread was good.

You don't have to do any of this
The one I most want you to hear. Take what serves you and leave the rest.

If these 100 episodes have given you anything, here is the birthday gift that helps most: leave a review and set the podcast to download automatically. That is how a show like this gets found, and how the next 100 reach more designers.

Come see what I have been building at mcclainmethod.com, where all the new products in the shop are laid out so it is easy to find exactly what you need.

Follow along on Instagram @themcclainmethod.

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Transcript

The McClain Method Podcast

Episode 100: 10 Things 100 Episodes Taught Me

Cleaned transcript. True to the original recording, lightly cleaned for spelling and readability.

INTRO

Welcome to The McClain Method, the podcast for interior designers who are ready to stop hiding and start shining. I'm your host, John McClain, designer, business mentor, author, and your branding bestie. This is not about paint colors or pendant lighting. It's about building a business that's both visible and profitable, inside and out. From marketing and messaging to mindset, systems, and visibility, we cover the front stage and the back stage of your design business, because your brilliance deserves the spotlight and your business deserves to run like a dream behind the scenes. So if you're ready to be seen, get recognized, and get booked, it's time to let it shine. Welcome to The McClain Method.

Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the show. I have a big announcement for you. This is episode 100. Yes, let the confetti fly. Woo-hoo. I just want to let that sink in for a second, for me and maybe for you too. Because the thing is, when I started doing this, I did not even know if I would make it to episode 10. And here we are at episode 100.

So here is kind of what I'm sitting with as I record this. First of all, I am recording this on my iPhone, on a makeshift desk in Bangkok, Thailand, okay? And I didn't want to record this before I left, because I'm going to be here for four months. I just wanted to do this in the moment. So if this sounds a touch different, that is why. I don't have my good microphone, and I don't have my good setup. But I will get through this, and you will love it, because I will make it sound the best that I can. And it's really more about what I'm going to say than making it sound perfect. But I'll give you more too on the Bangkok stuff later, because it's actually one of the lessons that I'm going to talk about.

Now, this show has never once been about perfect gear. Let me tell you about what happened one time. When I first started, I recorded an entire episode, and I thought it was good, with my microphone linked to my earbuds, which were across the room lying on the floor. So the whole thing came out as this static and a faint little voice in the background. And somehow I managed to salvage it enough to turn it into a good episode. I'm not going to tell you which one that is. You can probably guess it if you've listened for a while. But now, an iPhone in Bangkok, that is a step up, honestly, from the earbuds across the floor.

So I'm telling you that today because I feel nothing but grateful. 100 episodes. That's about three years, and you are still here. And if you're just joining us and just finding the podcast, go back and listen to the evolution of how the podcast has developed, and hopefully how I have gotten better at it as well.

So today is not a highlight reel. I'm not going to walk you through 100 episodes. I'm going to give you 10 things that 100 episodes have taught me. I'm going to give you 10 for 100. All right? Let's get into it.

Number one: It did not start as a podcast

Here's a secret. Episode one was never meant to be a podcast. I turned on a microphone, and I dictated into it what had happened to me, because I needed to get it off of my chest and just document it for my own sanity. That's all it was. It was personal. It was me talking into a mic with no plan, no setup. I had to go back later and record an intro and an outro and touch it up here and there to make it actually sound like a podcast, because I really didn't know what I was going to do with that recording. I thought maybe I would give it to my community. I just didn't know. So I was able to go in and make some changes and turn that into an actual episode. That's how green I was in the beginning.

But the lesson is this. You do not have to have it all figured out to begin. Start messy. You can polish it up later. Most people will never start at all, unfortunately, because they're waiting to feel ready, and their readiness will never come knocking. It just does not come knocking on your door. I hit record before I was ready a hundred times over, let me tell you, and look where it went. Here we are on episode 100.

Number two: Slower served everyone better

I did not start where I am now. I started doing my episodes weekly. Every single week, a new episode, because that's what you're kind of told to do. Post more, publish more, feed this big old machine that we're all a part of. And I did that for a while, until I looked up one day and realized that weekly was not working for me, and it was not serving you either, honestly.

So I moved to two episodes per month. I kind of alternate between one solo and one guest episode. And the show got better. I got better. I felt better. You get a version of me that wasn't running on fumes when I was chasing that number, just trying to get more and more and more. So that's a big reason why it took me roughly three years to reach episode 100. But I'm still proud of it. Don't get me wrong. I'm just letting you know I had to pivot in the middle of all of that. But I would not change one thing about how I got here.

And the lesson out of that is this. The pace that gets recommended to all of us, to you and to me, it is not always the pace that is right for you. You need to look deep inside and ask yourself, what does great feel like for me? What does success mean to me? That is your North Star.

Number three: Value your time, not just your work

I have always, always, always valued how hard I work. I have deep integrity for the work that I put out, as I know you do too, and it is a beautiful thing to feel that. But here's what I learned the hard way along the way of doing all of this. A lot of people will take that for granted, and they'll use it as a reason to keep asking for more. And I don't just mean your clients. I mean colleagues too. I mean nearly every opportunity that lands in your lap.

So I started valuing my time as part of my work. Not just that finished product at the end, but the time that it took me to get there. The journey, I guess you would say.

So let me say a quick word about language here. I don't love the word worth. I just don't. Everybody has worth, full stop. Every one of you listening has worth, and I never want you to hear anything different. So I choose to say value instead. And I'm still hunting for even a better word, honestly, because value gets worn out a lot too. So if you've got a good one, send it my way, and I mean that. I just want you to know that your worth is not determined by your money, your financial status, your time, any of those things. You are valued as a human being no matter what your profession, or no matter what anyone else says. Okay?

And that is also why this has become my year of no. I said yes so many times, and this year I have said no to more things than I have said yes to. In the early days of anything new, like a new business and a new endeavor, you want to say yes to everything, and you want to be in every room. And I did, and I was everywhere. If there was an envelope opening, I was there. So it has to have its season for that too, because you just can't continue that forever. But what no did for me is it gave me boundaries. And boundaries are what protect your time. Good manners do not mean no boundaries. You can still be nice and polite and cordial and professional and still have boundaries. That's how I've preached for years, not only with clients, but also with friends and family.

So the lesson is this. Value who you are and protect your time before you let other people start deciding who and what you should be. Because if you don't stand for something, you're going to fall for everything.

Number four: I learned to love the quiet

There was a time that I wanted to be in the center of every room, with the spotlight, all the music, all the food, all the likes, all the double taps. I wanted to be where it was happening. That has its place, it does, but it stopped being the thing for me. It wasn't what I wanted to continue to do.

So some real talk. My favorite times now are on the sofa with my husband and my dog, watching a silly movie or some Housewives show. That's it. That's the good stuff, really. And it gets me emotional just thinking about it, because I traveled halfway around the world to be reminded that the quiet I have at home is the thing that I would protect first before anything else. I have learned to love solitude and time alone in a way that the younger me would be clutching his pearls and would have never understood. There's something special about being alone and just listening and being with your own thoughts. I'm not condoning being alone forever. I'm just saying there are those moments when solitude can be a great friend to you.

So the lesson is this. The quiet is not the consolation prize. A lot of the time, the quietness is the entire point of it all.

Number five: Shut up and listen

100 episodes means a lot of guests, a lot of conversations. And the biggest thing that they've taught me is kind of simple. It's shut your mouth, John, and listen. Let people talk. Everybody has an opinion, and even when I don't agree, even when I would never run my business or my marketing the way that somebody else does, I let them say it, because somebody out there listening to this might be the exact person who needs to hear that thing in the words that the other person said it.

Now, the other side of this, and I say it with all the love in my little Georgia heart, a lot of people give bad advice. I never want you walking away thinking everything that I say on here is going to work for you. I'm not the guru, and I sure don't want you taking everything a guest says as the gospel either. So I got choosy. I bring on people I truly believe are giving you something valuable, not just chasing press.

I'm going to be honest, a big pet peeve I have, while I'm on the subject, is sometimes a guest gets booked by their own publicist, and they show up to my podcast and they have no idea who I am, what I've built, what the show even is, what my following is, or who you are, any of those things. They're just marching in and following orders, looking for free press. And that's not what this is for.

So one practical thing I had to learn on the job was also that guests ramble. You have to find a kind way to bring them back around without making them feel that you don't appreciate what they're giving you. That's become a real skill for me.

Because the lesson is, listen more than you talk, and be careful whose advice you take home with you.

Number six: Build it so it runs without you

So now I'm going to bring you back to the Bangkok story here. The reason I'm here, the proof of all of this. I'm here because I want to be, first of all, and that'll be another episode in the future. But I'm running this show, and I'm running my business, from the other side of the world for four months. And I know a lot of you can't even step away from your business for a single day. I felt that too for years. I really did. The whole thing lived on my shoulders. My name was on the door. I thought I had to do everything. Then I grew a team, and then I started learning how to delegate, and then those delegations paid off in a way I did not expect.

Now, right now, I only take on one or two design projects a year, and they're very select, and I'm very, very hands-on with those projects. But in the past, when I had 12, 15, 20 projects a year and a team in two different cities, I also could be gone for four months if I wanted to. You know why? Because my team ran things exactly the way that I laid it out, on the systems and the processes that I so diligently built.

The lesson is this. A business that cannot run without you is not freedom. I'm going to say it again. A business that cannot run without you in the middle of it is not freedom. It is a job that you can't quit. Build your systems now. Build your processes now. It is the thing, I promise you, that will eventually set you free.

Number seven: AI is the taskmaster. I'm still the brain

I could not do an episode recapping the last 100 without talking about where we are in the world with AI. AI is the taskmaster. I, and you, are still the brain.

If you take nothing else out of this episode, which I hope you take a few, go back and listen to it again, take this one. We are under so much pressure right now in this industry, and honestly in the whole wide world, to follow every single thing that gets recommended to us. Use AI, automate everything, systemize everything. And somehow, in the middle of all of that, the message I think that is happening is people are taking themselves out of their own business, and they're letting the tools do the thinking.

Now, I love AI. I use it all the time. I even teach it, as you know. But here's really how I think about all of that. AI runs in the background for me, as I said, like that taskmaster. It handles systems, it handles busy work, all the things that an extra set of hands could help with on the team. That's what it does. But I do not use it to make big decisions without my input, and nothing, and I mean nothing, hits the public eye without my eyeballs on it. One time, ever, ever, ever.

Now, I'm going to be honest with you. In the beginning, because I was an early adopter way back in 2023 of AI, and in that beginning, I leaned in a little too hard. So if you go back through the archives, and maybe through some emails, you can probably hear where I stretch a little too much into AI slop, because it sounded good, and I was new, and I didn't know any better way back then. But it was where I was listening to the machine more than I was listening to myself. That was a huge lesson for me, and I hope for you as well. I've corrected course since then, and now I want to lean harder into the real side of things. Just be myself, as messy as that might be. And look, an iPhone recording from a makeshift desk in Bangkok is about as real and messy as it gets. I'm literally holding my microphone from my iPhone to my mouth right now.

Because the taste and the judgment and the relationship with the client, the read on the room, AI can't do that. That is what makes the work yours. That's still you. The tool, the AI, that's your assistant. It's a very smart assistant for sure, but you are the designer.

So I'm putting a pin in this right here on episode 100 on purpose, because a year from now, I want us to look back and see where we all landed as well when we talk about AI. Because where I stand is pretty simple. Let it run the task. You stay the brain. You have the intellectual property.

Number eight: I'm not here to yap

What does that mean? Right now, speaking of looking back from a year, I hope we're not still doing this, but everybody is talking. Everybody's got a hot take. Everybody's posting all day long. Everybody's yapping, with those yapping challenges. And there's a real pressure, I know, to jump on that train just so that you don't feel left behind. But I'm not going to do it. I don't want to. And it's not because there's anything wrong with talking. I want you to do that. If that feels good to you, you do you, boo. But because that is not the challenge that I want to take on, and it's not the way that I want to show up for you or for anyone.

I did an episode a while back where we talked about listen to your heart and the power of being original, and I believe in it now more than I did then, honestly. The loudest voice in the room is not always the one that's worth your time.

And here's the funny part. I've come to love the solo episodes a lot. I really do, because I do like to yap on those, but I get to talk the way that I actually want to. So I guess that's kind of my version of yapping, if you will. But the difference is, I'm always trying to say something worth the minutes that you're handing me, worth your time. I know time is currency. I know we only have so many minutes of it in the day, and I'm so thankful that you spend a little bit of it with me.

So the lesson for me is this. You don't have to be the loudest in the room. You just have to be worth listening to.

Number nine: Free does not mean it costs nothing

Let me say something a little more personal now, and I want to say it with all the heart. Because it's not a complaint, it's an observation. I've learned that people are consumers, and they are not always feedback givers. I pour a lot into this show, and I give most of it away for free, and most folks take it in, get something from it, and move right along. That's human. I do it too.

But I would love, if possible, for us all to shift just a little. And not just for my show, but for every single thing that we are soaking in these days. When something helps you, I would love it if we could say so. When something you love is not costing you anything, remember that free does not mean it costs nothing to make. Somebody poured hours into that. So let's be people who tell the baker that the bread was good.

And to every one of you who has ever left a review, sent me a message, or told a friend about this show, thank you. Truly, truly, thank you. You have no idea how far that carries a person when you hear that feedback.

So the lesson is this. Give your feedback to the things that you want to keep existing. Give the flowers now.

Number ten: You don't have to do any of this

And now we've made it to number 10. You don't have to do any of this. Last one, and it's the one I want you to hear the most. I have spent 100 episodes giving out ideas, things to try, things to improve, things that helped me, things to think about. So let me be really clear, because I think this gets lost. I'm not here to tell you to change your business. I would never, ever do that.

If your business is running well and you are happy with it, you do not need to change one single thing. Not because I said so, not because someone online said so, not because it's the trend of the week. You do not have to do everything you hear or see or get told to do, including me. You need to take what serves you in life and leave the rest. There's so much information out there. I can barely even keep up with the number of newsletters that I'm on, with all the things that come in every day, and sometimes I just delete before I even read, because it just feels too much that day. So take what serves you every day and leave the rest behind. It's okay. You can go back and get it if you want to later, or not.

Every choice that I talked about today, slowing down, saying no, being you, was me deciding what was right for me instead of what was recommended to me. You also get to do the exact same thing.

Okay, that was my 10 lessons. I probably could have done 100, but nobody has time for that. But more than anything, I wanted this episode to be one thing. I wanted it to come across as grateful. So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. 100 episodes, three years, and you are still right here with me. That is not lost on me for one second. I love you for being here, and I am you. We are the same person. No matter where you are in your business journey and your design journey, I feel like I have been on one of those steps at some point in my life.

So if you would love to give the show a little birthday gift, there are two small things, and they would mean the world to me. First, leave a review, and then second, set your podcast to download automatically. Reviews and downloads are how a show like mine, and all the others, gets found and judged these days. It's just the way it is. And if these 100 episodes have given you anything at all, that's the way you help the next 100 reach more designers. So think of it as the candles on my little birthday cake for my show. Thank you for that.

Second, I would love for you to come and see what I'm building. I've got a brand new website. I haven't really announced it yet. Some of you may have seen it, but it has a lot of new products in the shop, all laid out so it's easy to find exactly what you need. I'm so proud of this website. We've put a lot of work into it, and I'm proud of giving you more options to find the things that you need. So you don't have to purchase a big program from me to be a part of it. You can go grab a freebie. You can get one of the lower-priced items, whatever. But there are so many ways on there now that I've added to serve you. So go check out mcclainmethod.com. I'd love to see you there.

And one last belief while I've got you, because it ties together everything we've talked about today. Selling in design, I want you to know, does not have to be pushy. When you recommend something to a client, that is you serving them. You've heard me say this before. You've worked hard on those recommendations, and handing someone your very best is service, not a sales pitch. Just like the way that I'm serving you today. I wish more designers felt free to see it that way. And when you finally do understand that selling is serving, your whole world will change. You're going to have more clients, better clients, higher sales, larger revenue streams. Everything is going to improve when you start serving your client rather than trying to sell to them. Okay?

All right. So thank you for being here. Thank you so, so, so much for listening to these 100 episodes. I'm grateful beyond belief that you've been a part of this journey with me. And I would love to hear your feedback on the episode and on the show itself. So if you find me on Instagram, send a DM or leave a comment on the post about this episode. I would love to hear from you, and maybe if you have ideas of what you would want to hear, I'm all ears. I'm open to that always, because this is your show. I'm just the messenger. Okay? Thank you, my friend. Thank you for being here. I love you, and I will talk to you soon.

OUTRO

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of The McClain Method Podcast. I'm so grateful you made it all the way to the end, because that tells me that you're ready to do the work that truly transforms your brand, your business, and your life. If you want more tools, trainings, and behind-the-scenes looks at what I'm building next, head over to mcclainmethod.com, and don't forget to follow along on Instagram @themcclainmethod for even more drops of brilliance. And remember, my friend, your brilliance is your brand. Don't dim it, design it. I'll see you next time.