Interior Design Business Resources

I just finished the book Essentialism by Greg McKeown and was blown away by how much the ideas in the book paralleled my teachings and personal philosophies in both running a business and in life. If you ever feel like you have to do it all, that you have too much on your plate, that you are overwhelmed, that you don't know what to focus on or what is most important than this book is for you. And from what I hear from you in your comments, emails, and in coaching sessions this is pretty much everyone running an interior design business. I highly recommend you read it.

Here are how the principles can help you do less and achieve more:

Email Marketing for Interior Designers

Most interior designers keep their portfolio on their website. There may be a little information about their services, but mainly interior design websites are put up to display designer's work and contact information. Some interior designers even have a blog. Although, I'd suspect that if those designers are reading this article, their blog probably hasn't been updated in awhile.

While interior design websites have a way for clients to contact the designer, they usually haven't created a way for the interior designer to contact clients. This is where an email list is useful to your business. Despite the spread of social media, email is still one of the best ways to be in contact with your potential clients and past clients - the ones that you don't talk to regularly.

MarketingCapella KincheloeJune 28, 2017email list, marketing, email newsletter, interior design email newsletterComment

Increase Website Traffic with Pinterest

Pinterest has become one of the biggest search engines online and it's still growing. Now as I mentioned in last week's post on growing your Instagram following, social media is not one of my strengths. But I've been working on it recently and I'm going to share with you what I've learned. If you have tips, be sure to share them in the comments!

Pin It Button

Make it easy for website visitors to pin your images with a Pin It Button on your website. Beware of copyright infringement implications.

How to Grow Your Instagram to 10K+

For the past month, I've been putting some energy into social media. Social media is such a great tool and I've seen it make businesses - through followers, connections, and brands. It is not something that comes natural to me, in fact it feels very unnatural and revealing, but I am working on it. No matter where on the scale of social media comfort you are, the following tips are sure to help you get more eyes on your business.

I know this because the person I asked to give me her tips on growing your Instagram following amassed over 10,000 followers in about a year. In fact, I'm pretty sure most of them came in the last six months. Her name is Meg Hosler from Meggie H Interiors. Meg told me that with little to no money to spend on marketing and advertising Instagram has become invaluable to getting her name out there. She said, "The Instagram community within design and architecture is very supportive and interactive. I have met a number of my Instafriends in person and have made some great friends. It has also been the number one way my clients find me. Instagram is also how I was discovered by The Glam Pad blog which has been invaluable to launching my career." Below are Meg's tips on how to grow your followers:

Organizing Client Projects

When I start a new project there are a few things that I do to organize that new project, this is one of the systems I have created to make my business more efficient. In this post, I've attempted to describe my system for you. It feels a lot more complicated to explain the system in words than it is in actual execution.

I start with a 3" white 3-ring binder and a stack of b inder tabs. Much of my organization is based on using Studio Designer, but if you don't use Studio Designer or a project management software you can still organize your projects this way.

Interior Design Programs: Studio Designer v. Ivy v. Mydoma Studio

Today, I am going to talk about two newer interior design programs on the market and my tried and true. This month I spent some time researching and playing around with Ivy and Mydoma so I could report back my findings to you because we are always trying to make business easier and more efficient.

There are pros and cons to each program and unfortunately, there is no definitive answer as to which one is "best". They all are very good options, you'll want to pick the one that works best for running your business.

Essential Apps for Interior Designers

The title of this article is a bit of a misnomer because there are very few applications that you need to run an interior design business. Somewhere a few years ago, I stopped adding and started simplifying. This was a conscious effort to stop looking for the best way to run my business from external sources to start developing the best way to run my business by looking inside my business.

Simplicity and focusing on what really matters is what will make your business run smoother. By not cluttering up your process with various applications and subscriptions, you can give your attention to the work that needs to be done, not the app you should use to get it done.

That said here are some of my favorite apps for running an interior design business.

Client Presentations: Interior Designer's Guide to Presenting Your Design Plan

Not long after I first started my business, I spoke to a potential client who wanted "three different design schemes presented to them like they do on HGTV". First, HGTV is fake. Second, creating three completely different design schemes is a waste of time and of my talent. A designer's job is to take several different puzzle pieces: the home, budget, the clients & family, client's style, and client's lifestyles and combine those into a beautiful and well-designed home. There are a lot of parameters to consider. Without taking into account any of those puzzle pieces creating different design scheme would be as easy as pie.

Capella KincheloeMay 17, 2017 Comments

Interior Designer's Toolkit

It's always fun to get a peak inside of someone's bag, right? I little snapshot into their life and the treasures they carry with them. But mainly, I like looking in someone's bag because maybe, just maybe they'll have discovered some great secret I'm not yet privy too. That miracle lip plumper? A genius planner? An adorable key ring? Secrets hidden in someone's bag.

Being an interior designer means schlepping around quite a bit of stuff in your bag (and vehicle). From a job-site meeting with a contractor to meeting a new client to installations, there are many different occasions that interior designers must be prepared for. Below I've rounded up the best items that a well-prepared interior designer should have in her toolkit.

CAD Programs for Interior Designers

When I started in the architecture school at USC, computer aided design (CAD) was just beginning to be introduced into the curriculum. Hand-drawing and drafting was still king and I had one class in drawing plans on the computer (which we saved on giant floppy zip disks). It wasn't until years later while working for Michael Smith that I took an AutoCAD class and really started using it regularly.

Now it is commonplace. Your interior design firm can't survive without using CAD for 3D renderings or 2D furniture plans. This doesn't mean that you yourself have to know the programs if you're like me and they were never an integral part of your design education. There are lots of current students and recent graduates that are extremely proficient in CAD. Sometimes it is better to delegate.

AutoCAD

AutoCAD - The premier CAD program used by architects and engineers. This is the most widely used program and a standard in the industry, but it is also very expensive. For that reason,

FundamentalsCapella KincheloeMay 3, 2017software, tools Comments

How to Get Published In Shelter Magazine

I met Lisa Mowry several years ago when I lived in Atlanta and she helped me get published. She is a great person to ask about getting published because she works with multiple magazines. In the 27 years she has worked for home & garden magazines, Lisa has produced more than 1,000 features for national and local magazines.

She is the Atlanta editor for such well-known publications as Better Homes & Gardens, Traditional Home and Decor, as well as a dozen more of BH&G’s special interest magazines...titles such as Cottage Style, Elegant Homes and Beautiful Kitchens & Baths. Lisa also serves as the homes editor for Atlanta Magazine’s HOME and has been a contributing writer for Atlanta Magazine for 20 years.

Her many other writing credits include Southern Living, Woman’s Day, Styleblueprint, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Metropolitan Home. So you can understand why I asked her to help answer your "how to get published" questions.

When should a designer submit projects?

In theory, nobody is ever really done with a house, but editors do need

Photographing Interior Design: Interview with Kat Alves

This week I am speaking with Kat Alves, a talented freelance interiors and architectural photographer for both commercial and residential spaces. I was first introduced to Kat when I did Amy Aswell's Real Designer feature since she photographs all of Amy's work.

Kat is a California native with a degree in Photography and Design Studies from San Francisco State University. She followed that up with a Certificate in Interior Design from UC Berkeley. So she knows a bit about photographing interiors. Her photography showcases modern, fresh design with natural light. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Dwell Magazine and Luxury Home Magazine.

Below, Kat shares with us the inside scoop on working with a professional photographer:

What is the benefit of hiring a professional photographer to photograph interiors?

To make your project shine and be able to present your work to the world in its best light. Since most homes are private, it is very difficult for prospective clients and others to view all the hard work of interior design. Photos are the key to getting

6 Tips for Better Interiors Photos

When I first started my business phones had just begun to come with cameras. There wasn't a way to document your life and share it like there is now. It was a much slower time. There wasn't the pressure that there is today to create magazine-worthy images for your life and your business.

C'est la vie.

So what are you supposed to do now that your photography skills haven't developed as quickly as technology?

Avoid Copyright Infringement on Photos

A few years ago, I was talking to another designer and I warned her that some of the photos on her blog could be putting her at risk for copyright infringement. She was immediately defensive and responded that the designers should be happy that the photos were on her site because it was free publicity. I tried to explain that publicity or not, she was opening herself and her business to potential legal action. She reacted like I was going to be the one to file the lawsuit!

So I hope that you'll be a little more open-minded to what I'm going to talk about today. In other words, don't shoot the messenger.

The bottom line is unless you took the photos on your website or have explicit permission from the copyright holder you are infringing on copyright and can have legal action taken against you.

How to Deal with Negative Client Feedback

Getting negative feedback from a client is inevitable. Let's just get that out of the way: you are going to get negative feedback and so is every other interior designer out there. You're not alone. But sometimes it feels like you're alone if you hear anything but rave reviews. It can feel like a giant spotlight is on you. Or like it is written on your face and everyone knows. But none of this is true.

Sadly, negative feedback will probably stick with you much longer than the rave reviews. At least it does for me. In a way, I think this is because we don't expect our clients to have criticism. We expect our clients to love the work we've done for them. This kind of feedback can make you question your talent and maybe even question why you are in interior design.

Confessions of an Interior Design Client: Part 2

You very rarely hear about design from the design client unless it is in a shelter magazine or a bad review online. But there are thousands of experiences in between. Here is a perspective of different projects through the eyes of a client and the value they see in interior design. This series is to help other designers understand design clients better and for clients to see the value of interior design.

What made you decide to hire a designer?

I had to get very honest with myself about how I wanted to spend my time. While I love looking at furniture and everything related to homes and decorating, it is an entirely different process to have to shop for a room full, or a home full, of furniture, rugs, art and accessories. Even if you don’t mind the amount of time and energy it takes to do that amount of running around, I think you have to ask yourself if you have that very specific skill set

Client Confessions: J White Designs

You very rarely hear about design from the design client unless it is in a shelter magazine or a bad review online. But there are thousands of experiences in between. Here is a perspective of different projects through the eyes of a client and the value they see in interior design. This series is to help other designers understand design clients better and for clients to see the value of interior design.

What were your concerns about hiring a designer?

Since I don't have that "vision", I change my mind probably more frequently than the designer would want. I was afraid that the designer would be upset about not going with her "expert" opinion and not realize that I have to live in the house. That being said, it's a fine line since I don't have the "vision". I do need to be told if something will not look good. Also, I like working on an hourly basis versus working on a per furniture piece basis. I do like to do my own shopping to get the best value. If it was not hourly, I would have been dropped by a designer a long time ago.

Capella KincheloeMarch 1, 2017Comment

Sales Tax Basics for Interior Designers

The first thing to know about sales tax is that if you're selling product (and sometimes services) to clients you'll have to pay it and the second thing to know is that every jurisdiction has different rules and regulations. In other words, it is unavoidable and it is complicated.

Tax is required to be paid on goods sold, but some businesses can get exemptions to pass on this tax to the end consumer - the client. The designer purchases a taxable item with the purpose of resale and at the time the designer charges the client they also must collect sales tax. The purpose of resale is the exemption. The sales tax is passed on to the client.

Designing Business Systems

It is no secret that I love organization, so when I started organizing my business it came fairly naturally to me. Coupled with my desire to make things as easy and automatic as possible, creating business systems was actually fun. I realize that this is not the case with most anyone else. I enthusiastically recommend creating business systems and processes to every interior design business owner. And not because I think it is fun. Systems can help your business run smoother, more efficiently, and with minimal brain power. You may even have some unofficial systems running already without knowing it.

3 Ways You May Be Sabotaging Your Business

In the orientation calls for my business training course this past week, I found myself giving the same advice to many of the designers: separate your business (e.g. Capella Kincheloe Interior Design) from your person (e.g. Capella). Most of the designers I spoke to had trouble creating boundaries. They had trouble saying no. Clients were calling on weekends.

When you own a small business you and your business are inevitably entwined. However, your boundaries will be much easier to manage if you can separate yourself from the business.