In my 15+ years in the interior design industry and almost 10 years of working with interior designers directly, there are patterns I see. Unfortunately, what some designers avoid is exactly what will help them become more successful. Today, I am sharing five skills of the most successful designers. Be honest with yourself as you read through them, see if there are areas to improve or re-evaluate.

Running an interior design business is not easy, but I want you to have a thriving business. Here are the skills that the most successful interior designers have.

1. Speak Confidently About Money

Running a design business is mostly about running a business - and businesses get paid. The most successful designers have developed the ability to speak confidently about their value and have conversations about money with clients. This includes how you price, budget, what is in your contract, and quickly addressing any money issues that arise during the project.

Homework: Be honest with yourself about how comfortable you are talking about money with clients. What areas could you improve? What do you need to improve your confidence here?

2. Design Philosophy

Having a clear design philosophy will attract your clients to you and turn off not-your-clients. Perfect! Designers can’t service everyone, so you want to attract the best clients for you and let the others find their fit with another designer.

People are not all the same and how they live is not the same. Every designer is not the same and their approach to design is not the same. The most successful interior designers celebrate these differences and have a unique point of view that their clients love. Don’t be afraid to specialize and turn away clients who aren’t a fit for your business. Happy clients = success.

Homework: Are you stuck in the “I can do anything for anyone” mindset? What are your personal strengths? What unique traits can you highlight to clients? What type of projects do you love? Are there commonalities? What type of projects/clients do you want?

3. Repeatable Processes

Efficient. Organized. Streamlined. Productive. Valuable. Profitable. These are all things that successful businesses are and are probably how you’d like to describe your own business. But I still see some designers resisting this task. Yes, it takes time and energy, but in the end it creates more room for creativity because you’re not thinking about next steps - you already know them. And being efficient, organized, streamlined, productive, valuable, and profitable will make you more successful.

Homework: Create systems in your business. Start small with a few and keep going!

4. Saying No

There is a difficult line that each designer needs to find personally, I can’t tell you what that line is, but it’s the line between taking projects that light you up and taking projects just for money. Turning down work is scary, whether you have money in the bank or are living paycheck to paycheck. But taking work for money will leave you in the space of just taking projects for money. It’s a desperate and joy-sucking place.

Homework: Find your line. Evaluate your project criteria, and work on getting projects that fill your cup and your bank account.

Share with the community: What skill are you strong in? What skill needs improvement?

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.