There are some skills that you may not realize are important to running a successful interior design business - and sadly, many designers actively avoid mastering these skills. But if you can improve these skills you’ll improve the success of your business. Keep reading to learn more.
Read MoreThere is something that could be called our dirty little secret - many designers feel like they don’t know what they’re doing. Sure, they can design, but the running of their business feels overwhelming, beyond their expectations and capabilities. Many designers end up winging most parts of running of their business.
Read MoreDemocratizing design. Making design accessible for everyone. Every time I hear a designer claim that this is their mission or reason they are in business it makes me cringe.
I cringe, not because I’m a heartless, elitist, design snob, but because these designers are setting up unprofitable businesses.
Read MoreHow do you support your creativity? Creativity is a muscle, it’s a gift, it’s energy - it will weaken if unused and overused, will retreat. As an interior design business coach, I don’t delve into the design/creative side much. But I see so many designers become burned out because they aren’t honoring their creativity.
Read MoreOne of the hardest things about running an interior design business is that there really are very few standards and practices in the industry. Interior design is a super-specialized business and extraordinarily personal. Many designers (and clients) find frustration in the lack of industry standards and business practices.
However, because there aren’t industry standards, each design business owner is able to create their own standards and practices based on their strengths, their special sauce, their specialty, and their ideal clients.
Read MoreInterior designers are highly skilled professionals, required to know and retain vast amounts of knowledge and specifications. They’re usually required to be the jack-of-all-trades in managing clients’ design projects, knowing the details and how everything comes together…
Read MoreJust last week, I told you that you can’t make money on small interior design projects. But like most things with running an interior design business it’s not always black and white. So while you may not be able to make money on projects with small budgets, there may be other benefits that you may want to consider.
Read MoreRunning a business and creativity are often at odds. The creative side wants to be creative -without restrictions and that could be finding the perfect sofa, exploring every option, scrolling through hundreds of pages of options. But that is not sustainable for business, Clients don’t want to pay you for hundreds of hours of sourcing. This is why lack of time-management is hurting your business.
Read MoreI’m sure that surviving the Coronavirus pandemic is a top priority for your business right now. Their are many interior designers who are already thriving and growing during this time. You should be one of them. Here are my top tips for doing just that.
Read MoreYour interior design business may not be growing because there are 5 areas that you are neglecting. I go into each area, however, these should be thought about as a rebalancing of your time, not about adding more to your already long to-do list. By incorporating these areas into your business you will be more productive and feel more balanced.
Read MoreThis past week we have seen a lot happening in the racial equality front. What I am worried about is that once the hype has died down, so will white action. We’ll go back to our comfortable, privileged lives, leaving BIPOC to fight this fight mostly alone.
Read MoreCreating new design services can be a challenge, especially if you’ve never executed virtually before. It’s a whole new system with different workflows, onboarding, and execution. Virtual design services generate a whole host of new questions.
The questions about virtual services: How do you get accurate measurements if you’re not there? Who should you market virtual design service to without diluting your brand? How should you price virtual design? When should you send the questionnaire? When should the client sign the contract? What apps and programs should be used to deliver virtual design?
Read MoreWow, things are changing fast and a single news headline can make the world feel like it’s ending. But we’ve been through tough times before - uncertain times - and with the first countries hit with the virus improving, I can’t help but feel we will be on the mend soon.
The irony is that this year was supposed to be the year that I was more public and had more travel planned. Conferences, presentations, my Grandfather’s 90th have all been canceled. The universe has different plans.
Read MoreWant to hear something crazy? You should do what you want. Because that’s the way you let your light shine and share your gifts with the world.
Too often interior designers get into this business and then the business of the work starts to get to them. They’re not making money. They don’t think clients value and appreciate their work. The stress of expectations. The suck of creativity. The weight of running a full-on business. All the responsibilities and pressure.
Read MoreMany of us are coming back this week from extended time off, so you may not be thinking about how to take more time off. But the start of the year (anytime really) is a great time to make sure you are scheduling in downtime for yourself while running your interior design business. And since we are doing our yearly planning - you also want to include time off in that.
Read MoreLast week I hosted a planning webinar - sounds sexy doesn’t it? But taking the time to review your business and to plan your focus for next year can be very sexy - especially if it involves more money, less mistakes, and more magic in your business.
Read MoreI often get overwhelmed when my to-do list seems never-ending. At that point, I need to take a step back and ask myself if there is anything that can be eliminated or delayed. Usually overwhelm comes when there is a lack of focus and a lack of control.
When you run a business, your to-do list will always be too long. Sometimes we trick ourselves into thinking that once X happens, it’ll be different. For example, once you have more clients, you’ll be less stressed. But this isn’t the case. Once X happens, you’re likely going to be in a slightly different situation, but more or less the same mindset. That is the reality of running a business, there will always be problems to solve and new issues to address.
Read MoreThey spend the day in the weeds - answering emails, putting out fires, talking to clients, posting to social media, managing employees, following-up on orders - and no one is looking after the big picture of the business.
You’re the pilot - but flying in the fog.
It’s time to get a 10,000 foot view of your business.
Read MoreAs interior design business owners, we’re always looking for planning tools and programs to help keep us organized and on top of our typically huge to-do list. But oftentimes these same tools can become burdens rather than advantage.
Too many planning tools and programs can become burdensome because you have information spread out in multiple places, usually resulting in multiple steps to access the information, and learning or navigating a new tool or program can be a pain.
Read MoreWhen clients can’t differentiate between you and another designer, they will always be making their decision to hire you based on price.
This is why you need to stand out and have a unique value proposition.
Now, unique value proposition is a fancy term for the unique advantage you bring to your clients.
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