Interior Design Business Resources

Interior Design Basics: Setting Up Trade Accounts

One of the most intimidating things to do for a new interior design business can be setting up trade accounts. Unfortunately, despite being in sales, the trade reps aren't always helpful. And the applications have spaces that a new business likely can't fill out.

To apply for a trade account you just need to contact the vendor or sales rep and let them know you need to set up a new account. Look online for your local rep or call corporate or just pick up an application at the showroom. They can send the application straight to your email. Then you fill it out and return it. You'll get an email or letter back letting you know that your application has been approved and your new account number.

Red Flags

So many times after a project sours designers tell me that there were red flags from the get-go. So the good thing is that potential clients will usually reveal from the start that they're not the right clients for you.

Too often designers, especially new designers, are so eager for work and to get hired that red flags are ignored or they don't know what to look out for. In the beginning, there are a few areas that you should consider before accepting and moving forward with a project.

ClientsCapella KincheloeOctober 11, 2017red flags, working with a client, saying no Comments

How to Handle Returns

I see this question a lot. So I'm going to share with you how I handle returns. Remember, this is how I do it, that doesn't mean that it is the right way to handle it for your business. It's just one way to do it.

The first thing you need to do is accurate set up your client's expectations. This means that you put a refund policy in your contract, not only for product and orders, but also for the markup on that product, for your time procuring and expediting that product, shipping and freight fees, install costs, and restocking fees.

Real Designer: Grayson Pratt

About Grayson Pratt
After studying interior design for 3 out of a 5-year program in college, Grayson Pratt became impatient and got a degree in Political Science. Armed with a great base of drafting and color study after college, she worked for a large furniture store in the furniture mecca of High Point, NC and later for the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center. Then 3 years ago she started Grayson Pratt Interiors in Atlanta. Like so many designers, most of her clients start with a couple rooms in their home and grow into the rest of the house.

InterviewsCapella KincheloeSeptember 27, 2017Real Designer, interior designer interview, interior design businessComment

Real Designer: Courtney Moss

About Courtney Moss: Despite being passionate about design, it wasn't until Courtney graduated with a degree in Marketing and Communications, did an interior design opportunity fall into her lap and her career in interior design began. Then 5 years ago, she started her own design business and hasn't looked back, infusing bold pops of color into southern charm.

InterviewsCapella KincheloeSeptember 20, 2017real interior design business, Real Designer, interior designer interviewComment

Real Designer: Julie White

About Julie White After working for an award-winning design firm in Phoenix, Julie started J White Designs in 2012. At this point, she has over 13 years of experience in residential and commercial design focusing on high-end residential design, which is apparent in her beautiful project photos. She has a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design from Arizona State University and is NCIDQ certified. Julie has clients all over the state of Arizona and, full disclosure, is one of my local design friends. You can read more about her business in Client Confessions.

Million Dollar Decorating - Interior Design Podcast

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with James Swan on his Million Dollar Decorating Podcast. They track their most popular episodes by comments so I'd love if you'd comment on the podcast page here: Million Dollar Decorating - Capella Kincheloe.

Ultimate Interior Design Pricing Resource

I've written many articles on pricing and created a free course to help designers figure out their sweet spot. I thought I could round them all up for you in one convenient place. Want to get really clear on what works for me and what I've seen work for other designers? Read the articles below.

Click Read More to Get 10 of the Best Articles on Pricing Interior Design

Multiple Revenue Streams for Interior Designers

Creating more than one way to make money in your interior design business is like diversifying your portfolio. If something takes a downturn you have other places where money is coming in.

On the other hand, I don't want you to complicate your business so much that it becomes unmanageable or overwhelming. Too much on your plate and business becomes messy and you won't be able to do anything well.

Below are some ideas on how to add multiple revenue streams into your interior design business. A caveat, if you want to add anything, you should be able to create it and then set it and forget it.

MarketingCapella KincheloeAugust 23, 2017pricing interior design, revenue, pricing Comments

How to Make Money As An Interior Designer

At the end of my course, The Golden Blueprint, I do review calls with participants. In the last session of the course I had several review calls every day and I found myself giving the same advice most every call. So what was the question that everyone was asking about? Pricing. Or more specifically, how to make money as an interior designer.

We would talk about how they priced their services and how they charged their clients and ultimately there was one glaring mistake everyone was making in their design business that was costing them valuable income.

Biggest Pricing Mistakes Designers Make

Psst. Designer. Do you want to hear the biggest trade secret of all time? You can't share it with anyone. If I tell you, you are sworn to secrecy. Other designers will ask. Don't tell them. This is just for you. I'm going to give you the Super Secret Magic Pricing Model. MPM for short.

I'm sure you know the Magic Pricing Model I'm talking about. The one where clients readily accept your fees and buy all the product you select without question. It is the one where your bills and invoices are always paid on time. The one where you make a ton of money easily. It is the one that is so easy you never have to have an uncomfortable conversation about money with clients. The MPM is the one that you make the most amount of money with the least amount of effort. I know you want it. Everyone wants it.

Markup is Dead

Let's go back to a time pre-internet. Cue the fog and crackly old-time radio. Generally, the wealthy were the only ones who could afford to hire a decorator. HGTV didn't exist. Correspondence was done via letter or the phone. Orders were placed with checks. Cell phones didn't exist or were giant bricks kept in the car "for emergencies". Shopping was all done in-store or from a mail-order catalog, you had to literally mail-in or call in your order. Things that couldn't be sourced would be designed and custom made in a workroom. Clients had no access to trade-only sources.

A Detailed Look at Pricing Interior Design Services

How do Interior Designers price their services? How should you price your services?

Unlike architects or realtors, there is no regulating body for interior designers. Therefore, there are about as many different pricing structures as there are interior designers. There is not a one size fits all for designers or clients, the bottom line is do you feel comfortable and confident in your pricing model?

Why Discounts Are Hurting Business

When you discount your services, you are undercutting the value of the entire industry. Ever bought a Groupon for a discounted exercise class, but then never went again for full price? If you pay less for something it is really hard to fork over more money later. When you lower the price of something, it sets a precedent and people don't want to pay more for it. The perceived value goes down. This may not matter when you are first starting or if you are in a slump and need whatever clients you can get, but it will matter when you are wanting to get paid more for your services or want to work on higher budgets. It also matters to all the other designers out there working their butts off and growing their businesses.

Essentialism for Interior Designers

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.