Imagine a new client inquiry - always a little exciting, but maybe a little daunting. Will the clients be a fit? Will they like and choose you to complete their design project for them? What exactly are they looking for in a designer?

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.

Getting hired should be a two-way street, you don’t have to accept every client that comes your way. Part of the power of a business owner is that you should also have your criteria for accepting clients and projects. Now, I’ve already spoken about red flag clients in another article, but there are also times when a prospect may have an interesting project, but for whatever reason (i.e. the criteria you’ve determined) they’re not a good fit for your business right now.

Identify Right-Fit Projects

Being able to correctly identify projects that are a fit for your business is critical to your business profit and success. The type of projects you have now is going to be the type of projects you receive in the future - like attracts like. Whether you consciously choose or not, each project you accept is determining your niche and the more projects within that niche you receive the harder it is to transition away from. This is where your criteria becomes important.

Knowing which clients you want to work with and knowing what makes a project worthwhile to you and your business is a powerful business move.

Your Criteria for Accepting New Interior Design Projects

The first place to start with your criteria is your guiding light - why are you in business. Not sure? read this article.

Because your reason for running an interior design business is different than others, your criteria for taking on projects will differ as well. For example, a designer may be pursuing worldwide celebrity and that will color what projects they accept. That designer’s criteria will be very different from someone who wants to work part-time and have a lot of family time.

Below are some measures for you to consider. It’s up to you what criteria you place the most importance on - based on your guiding light. I would consider the top three the most critical.

• Gut check. What does my gut/intuition say? Are there red flags? Do I get a good/bad feeling?

• Guiding Light. Why am I in business? Does this project support that?

• Client. Do I like this person/people? Do they seem like a fit for my personality? Are there red flags? Will I have fun working with them?

• Money. Will I make money? If I am not going to make money, do the other criteria make up for it?

• Publicity. Will this project be suitable for publication?

• Referrals. Will I get referrals from this client? Do I want referrals from this client? Is this client well-connected to other people I’d like to work with?

• Marketing. Will I be able to get good photography from this project for my portfolio/blog/advertising?

• Testimonial. Will the client give me a glowing testimonial?

To grow your business and client base, you will need to leverage these criteria when accepting new clients.

Because if the project doesn’t meet your criteria - WHY are you doing the project?

And if your new client inquiry doesn’t meet your criteria - here are some easy ways to turn down a project.

About The Author

Hi! I’m Capella and I’m an interior designer who helps fellow designers build their businesses. Forget secrecy and competition, I believe designers should support and uplift each other. By helping and boosting one another, we can elevate the business of interior design together! Hang around a bit and I’ll share all the business “secrets” no one else wants to talk about.