While we still have a few more months left in this year, it is the time for you to start thinking about how you can charge more next year.
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Not everyone has the skills necessary to be a business owner. Sometimes people are born a natural entrepreneur and some others can learn the necessary skills. But there are others that it is just not in the cards for them.
Running a business is often a whole different ballgame than the purpose of the business. Meaning that you can be a plumber, but not know how to run a plumbing business. You can be a talented cake baker, but not have the skills to run a successful bakery. You could make the most beautiful pottery, but not know how to sell it.
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Last week I wrote about the ways you can work smarter and not harder and this week I want to share with you a super-simple system that I use that has changed my business. Because why create a system unless it makes your business run better? This one couldn’t be any easier, I call them Power Hours.
Power Hours are a time-blocking technique, which means that this is my hour a week to do very specific tasks. I found that there were things I kept putting off or never seemed to have the time to do. All those little random things that pop up that don’t fit into your normal business operations, but still need to get done.
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I whole-heartedly believe in working smarter and not harder. And based on the amount of inquiries I receive about this topic, it seems like you might too. I would rather work 20 focused hours in a week than filling 40 hours with who knows what just because that is the “standard”. When you own your own business this is within the realm of possibilities, you just need to work smarter and not harder.
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I’ve been rereading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey and it’s so good. So many wisdom bombs that has me underlining and affirming to myself. But of course, I’m always thinking of you and how it applies to running an interior design business.
So when I read the part where the author defines “effectiveness” by using Aesop’s fable of the goose and golden egg, I thought of interior designers over their head in business.
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Should interior design services be accessible to everyone? Does everyone deserve a beautiful, professionally-designed home?
My answer is no.
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It has taken me a long time to realize that it is up to me to set the tone. I was recently at a conference and the energy from the crowd was truly amazing. I’d never seen so many people enthusiastic and pretty much saying that this was the greatest conference ever. (Which if you’ve ever sat in a large bland hotel ballroom, in uncomfortable seats, and intense air conditioning you know is quite an accomplishment.)
I am generally a reserved person. I look before I leap.
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One of the things that you must deal with when running an interior design company is the cyclical nature of the business. Some times of the year are naturally slower than others. Depending on where you’re located seasons, holidays, school schedules, and daylight savings time (I’m not sure about that last one, but I wish it would go away) can have an effect on the flow of work into your design firm. This means that we all likely have to deal with income ups & downs.
As a smart business owner, you must plan for this. So what can you do when you’re dealing with inconsistencies with your income?
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I get asked about these quick e-design companies quite often.
Are they a good option (to work for?)
How do they make money?
How can full-service designers compete?
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Creating interior design packages can be great additional revenue streams in your business. They can be quick ways to generate a bit of income without a huge time or effort commitment from you. It’s also nice to have an option for prospects who contact you, but may not be a fit for your signature service or meet your project minimums.
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So, you want to scale your business this year? Or maybe next. Or sometime in the future.
Some people start their interior design business without any idea of where they ultimately want to take their business, they may not even realize they are actually starting a business. They are just working IN their business, head down, trying to get something off the ground. And often, the business takes off because of all their hard work and they are just along for the ride, rather than steering the ship.
So first, you need to steer the ship.
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Sometime within the past few months I came across the headline: “Online Interior Design - How To Hire A High-End Designer For The Fraction Of The Price”. Ugh. Yes, let’s just keep making design cheaper and cheaper.
First, let me say, this is a complicated economic and societal issue that I am certainly not going to solve in a blog post, I’ll probably not even scratch the surface. However, I do want to get you thinking. Thinking about your contribution to the interior design industry.
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How much do you want to make this year? Specifically, what do you want your business’s gross profit to be? Do you know how you’re going to get there?
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The New Year offers a fresh start and the end of the year is the time that you can focus on preparing for that fresh start. It’s always nice to make sure that the clutter and chaos don’t follow you into January.
Here are 8 things to do before the calendar flips:
1. Get Accounting in Order
Catch up with your bookkeeping, pay bills, send invoices, pay your sales tax. You may want to meet with your accountant to make sure you’re current on your estimated taxes and talk to them about any year-end tax savings (like buying a new computer or making a charitable donation).
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After working with so many designers in all shapes, forms, and stages of business, I wanted to share with you with you the resolutions I would wish for designers. These are the ones that I see repeatedly in almost every single interior designer out there.
Imagine if we could nail these resolutions in 2019 - how much better would you feel about running an interior design business and how much we could collectively raise the industry up!
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Too often, instead of making choices in our business, we allow the circumstances in our business to choose for us. Meaning, we simply react and respond to what comes our way.
Our businesses are like boats and I see so many designers have yet to pick up the oar and steer towards a destination. They’re just floating along, going where the current takes them.
One of the side effects that I heard over and over from participants in The Golden Blueprint was that they felt so much more confident during and after the course. For a long time I couldn’t pinpoint why that was.
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There are a few things I feel strongly about when you’re running an interior design business. Most of the time, it doesn’t matter how you do it, just that it gets done. One of those things I feel is a critical part of running an interior design business is telling people what to expect.
Unmet expectations are one of the most common reasons for unhappy clients and issues on projects. (You can read more about that in Why Projects Fail.)
But setting expectations isn’t just for clients, it is also important …
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How can I find good vendors is a popular question from new designers. Finding vendors takes time. It’ll take trial and error and research on your part. There is no quick fix. You can read more about finding quality vendors in this article.
So after you’ve found vendors, you need to develop good relationships with them for maximum benefit in your business. (I’m using a blanket term “vendors” for tradespeople, workrooms, suppliers, manufacturers, showrooms, etc.) These people are extensions of your business and will help you run your business smoother and more efficiently if you consider them part of your extended team.
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As a business, you deserve to be profitable. Running a business is a challenge and too often we settle for “just getting by”. We shouldn’t settle. We shouldn’t compromise on profitability. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to forget that we’re running a business and the goal of any business is to make money.
Otherwise we’re not running a business, we just have a hobby.
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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.
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