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.

Clients are very familiar with the fact that interior designers get designer discounts. Here is how to have that conversation with clients about this privilege and how to prevent clients from ever asking for discounts during the project.

Everyone wants to know they aren’t being taken advantage of by their interior designer. And unfortunately, because nothing is standardized in interior design this can lead to client distrust. That is why I am a big proponent of being super-transparent about your pricing.

Time to start treating your business with a little more respect, it’s more than a hobby. In this article, discover some simple boundaries to start building into your interior design business. Take back your life and add a little more balance.

It’s important to set your business off on the right foot. That begins with your very first interior design project. Read this article to learn how to not give too much of yourself and make sure that you are also benefiting from all the hard work you do on your projects. Too often independent interior designers sacrifice themselves for their clients’ projects. Here is how to make it a win-win.

Here are five quick website tips for your interior design website. Make sure that your website is working for you. These aren’t tips you’ve heard before - and they can change your business.

One major thing I don’t see enough on interior design websites is pricing. Pricing should be on your website. Pricing must be on your website. You’re probably losing good clients without it. Read Should You Put Pricing on Your Website to know all the reasons that you should include pricing on your website. #capellakincheloe #interiordesignbusiness #interiordesignpricing #interiordesignwebsite #interiordesignceo #businessofdesign

I am a huge proponent of new client packets (aka welcome packet). It shows you you know what you’re doing, it sets client expectations, and it educates. A new client packet prepares clients for working with you and helps them understand your process.

There 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.

There is one thing that can help provide a bridge between visitors to your website and those that become clients - a call-to-action (CTA). It’s important to lead people to the next step. Tell them what to do. It’s amazing to me how much this little instruction makes a psychological difference.

Designers can be obsessive about pricing. As you probably know, I write about things that I see designers struggling with. And pricing is probably the number one issue that designers THINK they have trouble with. But pricing isn't the problem. Trouble usually comes from the issues surrounding pricing like confidence, billing, and time.

You must have a specialty. Your specialty, or niche, will either be something you’ve figured out for yourself or if you don’t choose, sometimes it’ll emerge on its own just because of your natural talents and personality. Who you are, what you do, and who you attract all come into consideration for your specialty. Uniqueness is a beautiful thing.

Democratizing 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.

How 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.

One 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.

Interior 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…

Just 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.

Can you make money on small projects? I’ll share what I see in working with thousands of designers because I know that this is a touchy subject for many designers.

But the short answer for me is ultimately: no. You don’t make money on small interior design jobs. The amount of time that interior design takes does not lend itself well to small projects with small budgets. Plus…

Running 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.

If Instagram is your online resume, do you want to have what essentially is someone else’s job on it? Time to think if that’s the message you want to send to potential clients.

Are you selling yourself short by not selling and marketing your interior design business? It’s time to rethink your relationship with selling because as Robert Louis Stevenson said, everybody lives by selling something.

I always liken getting new clients to dating. You do not need to say yes to everyone who asks you out on a date and you do not need to accept every inquiry or prospect that comes your way. In fact, there is power and success in saying no. This is why it’s important to know your criteria for accepting new interior design projects.

When you’re watching another designer’s business - you lose sight of your own.

Most of us get in our own way. We are what keeps us from getting to where we want to go. With my coaching clients, I see this pretty frequently, but I can also recognize when I do this to myself. This is a universal human struggle. But what if you don’t need to know, that trust comes first?

A look back at all the great interior design articles of 2020. Have you read them all? Some old favorites and new classics are gracing the list this year. Which is your favorite?

The planner was designed to help you really examine your business - what’s working, what’s not, how to improve, the sticky areas, those that run smoothly, those that create hassles that you may not have even realized when you’re absorbed in the everyday business. Know your business like never before.

Designers Around the World interviews real-life designers about what it is like to run a design business in countries all over the world. As you'll see these designers have all different backgrounds and experiences, but I think you'll be surprised how similar we all are too.

Your website is your single best business tool - why do you still not have one? In this post, I share a few reasons why your hurting your business by not having a website for your business.

The beautiful thing about setting expectations is letting your clients know what to expect, which naturally puts them at ease. The unknown is a terrible thing for many people and for most when dealing with a personal space as well as a substantial amount of money.

The better you can set and manage clients’ expectations - the smoother the project will be. But often those things that designers should set expectations around - many feel a little uncomfortable bringing them up to clients - things like money or handling problems. Here is how to talk about it.

Very often, I will get asked by designers in every range of experience, how do I estimate the price for this project?Clients want some idea of what their project will cost, but without some intentional experience, designers find this estimation very difficult. And we want a quick and easy answer.