Uplifting the Interior Design Industry
Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of interior design. I feel like so many companies are capitalizing on the industry (HGTV, Houzz, Laurel & Wolf, and the like) and the independent designers & vendors are suffering for it. These companies aren’t going away and designers aren’t doing a great job of differentiating themselves. We’re undervaluing ourselves, lowering rates, dealing with crappy clients, and giving away work to try to stay relevant.
I wrote a bit about it in this article about project minimums.
I don’t know what to do about it. I find it frustrating. I know you find it frustrating. I have some ideas, but getting everyone on the same page feels impossible.
Do you relate to any of these scenarios?:
You feel like clients zap your creativity.
You aren’t making money.
You give away hours because clients “won’t pay for all of them”.
You let clients tell you how to price your services.
You lower your fees if someone says you’re too expensive.
You’re afraid to charge what you’re worth because you think clients won’t pay.
You don’t have project minimums.
You shop only retail (no trade accounts).
You feel like you can’t say no.
I thought it was time we all started a dialogue and talking about possible improvement. So I’d love if you’d participate in a survey on this topic. I could really use your help, the more results the better the data. The results will be revealed and dissected in a later post. Thank you!