Designhounds Talks May 7/8: Chicago Business Spark Conference – Rekindle the Romance With Your Business

Please join Designhounds and a powerful team of speakers May 7/8 at The Mart in Chicago, concurrent with the Wine + Design Event . You don’t have to be a Designhounds Community member to attend the event but we’d love to have you consider joining our pack of design savvy influencers. Here’s how it works and we promise we don’t bite.

Please note that tickets to The Mart Wine + Design Event are included in the Conference Registration.

These are exhausting times regardless of where we stand politically or philosophically and whether or not our business flourishes at the moment. Overwhelm and work fatigue get ahold of the best of us even at the best of times and now the challenges associated with the industry we love and work in become magnified especially for creative thinkers.

In business, stress and uncertainty can be easily result in doubt, dread and anxiety and these can then often turn into less than confident creative work and a need to “play it safe” and we all know what it feels like to wish that Friday would just hurry up and get here already. Wishing days away is not a good way to live life and short of changing direction altogether and moving to a remote island to live as a hermit – the question is, how can we find that spark again, the motivation and excitement we felt for the work we do (remember the first time you opened the box of brand new business cards?) because it is that spark that drives us through rough times.

So how can we rekindle that spark? How can we leverage our anxiety and how we can we embrace our inner impostor to not only get through tough times but to thrive in them?

Join us May 7/8 at The Mart Chicago for an immersive workshop series with a team of inspiring speakers and facilitators.

OUR SPEAKERS:

Jane Horan, The Horan Group

A recent returnee to the U.S., Jane was born and raised in Southern and Northern California, and lived and worked in China, Hong Kong, and Singapore before settling in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Her career spans leadership roles at Disney, CNBC, and Kraft Foods. Over the past decade, she has shifted her focus to coaching mid-career professionals and women in leadership, helping them reconnect with purpose and navigate transitions.

Drawing on her doctoral research and lived experience, Jane blends practical tools with a reflective approach, encouraging individuals to see doubt not as an obstacle, but as a companion on the path to fulfillment. Through her advisory work, coaching, and workshops, she supports others in recognizing what matters most offering both guidance and the space to imagine new possibilities.

Jane’s personal manifesto, shared in her book Now It’s Clear, reminds us: Look within. Walk the path of most resistance. Be comfortable with doubt. Invest in relationships. Join the dance with the world around you.

Kyle Gott was raised in Northern New Mexico and La Jolla, California, where he learned early on the power of aesthetics and the refuge the natural world offers. A passionate fly fisherman, luthier, and songwriter, Kyle believes that aesthetics, beauty, and suffering are the only forces that truly pierce and change us.

The son of an interior designer, Kyle didn’t fully appreciate the power of good design until he met Veronika Miller, who as a gift, designed his living room. With its hand made Nakashima-style tables, 1920’s vintage leather chairs, a well worn Chesterfield couch and artwork created by his mother and talented young artists, the room became a needed space of renewal as Kyle leads a historic, large, center-city church in York, Pennsylvania.

Kyle’s passion for leading his congregation to become more active and engaged with its under-resourced neighbors has presented many challenges, teaching him valuable lessons about leadership, listening, and imagining a more just community.

In addition to his work with nonprofits and churches, Kyle served as a professional songwriter for BMG Music Publishing in Nashville. He believes an important part of his vocation is supporting others in their journey toward deeper creative development, grounding practices, and rituals that encourage a life of play.

LuAnn Nigara, A Well Designed Business

LuAnn Nigara is a leading business expert, keynote speaker, and media personality, known for helping entrepreneurs stop playing small and take decisive action. As the host of the top-rated podcasts A Well-Designed Business® and Window Treatments for Profit—with over 1,000 episodes and 9 million downloads—LuAnn has built an international reputation for delivering no-nonsense business advice.

A seasoned entrepreneur, she has successfully launched three businesses, including LuAnn Nigara Inc., where she provides business education through live events, LuAnn University, and bestselling books. Known as the go-to speaker for business owners ready to get out of their own way and step into profitability, LuAnn delivers engaging, actionable keynotes that inspire and challenge audiences to make bold, smart decisions in their business.

Jenna Gaidusek, AI for Interior Designers ™

Jenna Gaidusek is a visionary entrepreneur, interior designer, and AI expert passionately at the forefront of integrating technology and creativity in the design world. As the founder of AI for Interior Designers™, she empowers design professionals to embrace AI and emerging technologies to enhance their businesses, streamline workflows, and elevate creativity.

Through workshops, keynotes, and advisory sessions, Jenna provides practical, relatable guidance to help design professionals thrive in a rapidly changing industry. She is also the force behind the newly launched The DAIly, an innovative app that’s setting a new standard for AI-powered tools in the design world. With a proven track record of building transformative platforms like eDesign Tribe and eDesign U – both acquired by Mydoma Studio in 2022, Jenna continues to shape the future of interior design with tech-driven solutions.

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