Interior Design Business Coaching

If starting or growing your interior design business is something you’ve always wanted to do, then let’s do it.

Are you starting to feel burned out from tackling interior design deadlines while also running a business?

Would you like to have more consistently reliable income and profits? Maybe even a vacation?

Are you struggling to grow? You know you could make more money and secure bigger projects if you had a team or a more professional office, but you are uneasy about the risks associated with growing your business. They don’t teach the legal, accounting, and marketing aspects of running a small business in design school.

I’ve been there. I know exactly how it feels. 

I’ve been through the trenches and learned so many lessons the hard way. I want to give back to my industry and help other interior designers avoid the same pitfalls that I fell into as I built my business. I want to see more interior designers with happy clients who genuinely enjoy running their businesses. I want to see more women-owned businesses who are thriving and seeing steady profits. This is why I’ve decided to share my industry knowledge with you!

My Founder’s Story

When I first started my business, I was barely making ends meet and quickly became burnt out dealing with inconsistent income and lots of low-budget clients who were super high maintenance. I felt anxiety every time I hit send on an invoice, worried that I would upset my client by charging too much. My clients were constantly haggling about pricing or finding loopholes in my contract. I always worried that the next new client wasn’t going to call and worried about how long this month's income would last. I could never plan for the future because I never knew how much money was going to come in down the road. I was even afraid to hire help because I worried I wouldn’t be able to pay them. When designers can’t grow their businesses, they remain stuck in a loop of smaller projects, unreliable income, and burn out. 

After about a year of struggling in my new business, I made it a point to start networking with other interior designers to ask them how they were making ends meet in their businesses, and all five designers I asked told me that their interior design business was NOT paying their bills—they had generous parents our spouses that were footing the bill for their seemingly established design companies. I was like, “OH SHIT! I got a $60,000 degree in something that is apparently only a hobby!” As an independent woman, I didn’t have the luxury of running a business that couldn’t pay my bills, so I knew I had to revolutionize the business model in order to reach my dreams (and pay my bills!). 

I looked to other industries for inspiration. I attended business workshops for photographers, marketing agencies, and software developers to learn how they were structuring their services and pricing. I also got serious about my business data. I tracked every minute of my time, every dollar I spent and developed a system of reporting that allowed me to see how profitable my different services were (and where I was losing money!). I even worked with lawyers and accountants to evaluate my risks and close up any loopholes where I wasn’t protected. (unfortunately for me, it was AFTER I found myself involved in a random frivolous lawsuit that targets interior designers and AFTER I found out my bookkeeper had incorrectly calculated my sales taxes- which I want to help YOU avoid). By my second year in business I was turning enough of a profit to hire an assistant and a studio manager, and my business continued to grow exponentially from there. Every year I learn something new and modify my systems and processes and each year, running an interior design firm gets a little bit easier. Now, ten years in, I have built the business of my dreams.

Most Interior Designers who have achieved success aren’t sharing their secrets, which I think is a shame. But you know what? I never follow the rules anyway! So even though it’s a little taboo, I want to share what I’ve learned over the years with you. That’s why starting 11/1/2021 I’ll be offering this course for interior designers!

I wish I had this course in my first few years of business. I honestly can’t believe no one is teaching it! In 2020, while so many other businesses were struggling and going under, I spent my summer hiking in the mountains. I genuinely want you to have that same stability and confidence in your business model. I am determined that no matter what happens in the future, your business should be set up to succeed.