You Don't Need to Know, Trust Comes First
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?
Trust Comes First
We want to see how others are doing x, y, z. We want someone to tell us how to do x, y, z. We avoid risk. We avoid uncertainty and the unknown.
We doubt ourselves, we question ourselves, we see the grass over there looks a lot greener (what’s their secret?)
We wonder how other designers price, how they manage clients, what their processes are. These little tidbits can be useful, however, from my position as an interior design coach and consultant, sometimes designers spend so much time wondering, fretting, and considering how other designers are running their business, they lose sight of their own.
You Don’t Need to Know
Not trusting yourself manifests itself in several ways:
Allowing others to take advantage of you
Looking everywhere but within for the answer
Wanting additional credentials and certifications
A quote from Robert Rodriguez from the book Tools of Titans reinforced this topic for me. In his interview, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez shares that despite studying with an extraordinary artist, his art was never anything special, until he got out of his own way:
“You get it in your own way - thinking that you needed something, a trick or a process, before it would flow. If you got out of the way, it would just flow. What gives you permission to let it flow? Sometimes if you take 4 years of schooling or you study under somebody, then you’ve suddenly given yourself permission to let it flow…”
We have preconceived notions of ourselves, of others, and often think that others are doing so much better than us - therefore they must have the answer.
Learn to Trust Yourself
As I’ve written in numerous other articles, there are no magic formulas or secrets for running an interior design business. The secret is to trust yourself - trust comes first.
One of the things that I wish for most for the designers I work with is that they find the confidence to run the business that they want to run, the way they want to run it.
To do this, you need to trust.
Trust the process, trust your experience, trust yourself. Trust that you have the answers within you.
The bad news is there are very few “rules” when running an interior design business, there is no formula for success or doing it “right”. The good news is that you can run your business the way you want and it’s “right” because of the lack of standard rules.
If we can harness that energy we spend thinking about other designer’s businesses and spend it on our own, figuring out our own path, our own way of doing things, the more successful your business will be.
Let’s allow our creativity that we infuse in the design portion of our business seep into the running of the business as well.
Let’s stop always questioning ourselves and thinking that we’re doing it wrong.
Stop thinking there is a better way to do it.
My business mantra for designers is as long as it feels good to you, to your clients and you are working in integrity it’s great. It may not be how everyone else does it, but it works for you and your clients and that’s the important part. Plus it may work better than anyone else is doing it. You’re being creative - you’re innovating rather than following the pack.
So the next time that you find yourself questioning how to run your business - trust yourself.
In the comments, share where you can allow trust to come first in your business.
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.