Interior Designer's Business Blueprint Selling your services and selling your brand is not always easy! It can feel icky and as if you’re trying to persuade someone to work with you (which doesn’t always feel great). This episode is all about the myths around selling and how to re-frame your feelings on selling. One thing to keep in mind is that your clien’ts money is none of your business. Your clients are grown ups and can decide what they can afford - not you. It’s not your business. If they ...
Mar 09, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Interior Designer's Business Blueprint Today we are putting pen to paper and talking all about the benefits of hiring for your interior design business. I am passionate about this and feel strongly that every interior designer should have at least one assistant. Here’s a glance at this episode… [03:06] I dive right into why most designers get stuck on hiring and understanding how they would utilize an assistant. [05:00] I share how having an assistant can help your business - what can they help ...
Mar 02, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Interior Designer's Business Blueprint Today we are talking all about hiring - specifically, how to know when its time. The reality is that many of us, as designers experience the struggles that we are talking about today and we end up throwing money at or wasting time on the wrong things - when really the answer is hiring help in your business. Here’s a glance at this episode… [06:26] I share the honest truth that sometimes if you are not enjoying your business anymore and feel like you’re losi...
Feb 23, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Interior Designer's Business Blueprint Ask yourself, what would happen in your business if you started to take up a little more space. If you continuously looked for ways to move the needle even in small ways a little more each and every day. Those little needle moving actions and behaviors over time add up to huge success. That’s what we’re going to jump into today to keep you from leaving money on the table. Here’s a glance at this episode… [03:45] I introduce the idea of taking up more space ...
Feb 16, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Interior Designer's Business Blueprint Too often designers either miss red flags due to a lack of experience or choose to ignore them becuase they are eager for the work or the client was a referral from someone you know. They may be in your circle of friends or community and the hard question is really what do you do with these red flags? Today’s episode will shed some light on what to look for and how to handle the most common red flags. Here’s a glance at this episode… [04:20] I jump into how...
Feb 09, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 32
Interior Designer's Business Blueprint You might not always be able to change their minds but if you can look into why a client isn’t moving forward with your services, you can find out where you’re losing a client and if it’s something that you can adjust in your business. In this episode, I’ll dive into the 5 reasons why clients aren’t moving ahead with you that I’ve learned over time with tracking and small changes. Here’s a glance at this episode… [03:15] We talk about what happens when you ...
Feb 02, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 31
Aim for excellence and know that perfection is impossible. I want excellence in my business and for projects to be complete and done extremely well, but perfect just won’t always happen. Trust me, I get it! I’ve found that I have been a victim of the perfectionist trap for way too long and am just recently figuring out just how much this has held me back. We are exposed to the pain-free narratives of others while acutely feeling and experiencing our own struggles. Getting to where you want to be...
Jan 26, 2023•23 min•Season 2Ep. 30
People feel more trusting and eager to work with someone when they can see part of the process or learn more about you from the start. Today’s episode is all about my favorite lead magnet idea for interior designers to help you find the right type of client from the start, share your process, and streamline your business. In this episode, we answer questions like… What lead magnet may be the right one for you? The goal of a lead magnet is finding the perfect client for you. How and what your ema...
Jan 19, 2023•28 min•Season 2Ep. 29
You don’t know what is going to work unless you start doing the work. You will ALWAYS be refining so you just have to get started. Limiting beliefs, you know those sneaky thoughts that creep in sabotage your progress? When left unchecked, they can wreak havoc on your potential. I hear a lot of limiting beliefs from the designers I work with. Today I’m sharing some of the common limiting beliefs I hear over and over again. We’re going to examine 7 of them and try to untangle them. The truth is, i...
Jan 12, 2023•33 min•Season 2Ep. 28
The experience a client receives and great service is so important. Lucky for me, that comes pretty naturally based on my experience working in fine dining. The goal at the end of a meal is to leave the customer with a full belly, and a dopamine hit from laughter and being with people they love. My goal was to make it feel like an effortless and seamless experience, which is the same goal I carry into my interior design business! Today I share all about how I feel that my experiences working in ...
Jan 05, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 27
Be willing to own your experience and the value that you bring to your clients and projects. If you feel you’re worth what your charging, so will your clients! Want to raise your design rates? Your costs have increased and it’s time you raise your rates to match this. It’s tempting to put our emotions into these decisions but today is all about sharing how to make this a little easier! In this episode we discuss things like… How to raise your rates and fees with ease. How to deliver the message ...
Nov 24, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Pick one or two to help propel your business into the new year in new light and an organized mindset and business. This episode is all about mini projects to help you set up and organize your design business for the new year. I’m going to be sharing 10 options that will hopefully get your mind thinking about the new year with a fresh start. In this episode we discuss things like… How to prep your business during this down time to give you a fresh start How to feel energized and refreshed in the ...
Nov 17, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 25
I think there’s this idea that once you decide on your ideal client, you’re done and in reality you need to come back to this many times in your business. Today is all about failures and mistakes in business. I’m pulling back the curtain on the top 5 mistakes I have made in my business.I want to share these mistakes to normalize them and hopefully my mistakes can help you from making those same mistakes. In this episode we answer questions like… What do I wish I had done sooner in my business? H...
Nov 10, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 24
It’s so important to go back and take a look at your intake forms. Maybe you worked with a client who was unsavory, you missed the red flags or you turned down a project because it wasn’t a right fit. Today’s episode is all about knowing your ideal client’s pain points and how this helps you to talk directly to them. when you are able to do that you can help them see and feel like you get them and you are the answer to their challenges. In this episode we discuss topics like… How to discover you...
Nov 03, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 23
I would stand in the fire everyday for women’s empowerment around money. In today’s episode I have the pleasure of interviewing Jenny Karlsson of Financial for Creatives. Jenny is a certified money coach with a special focus on helping creative entrepreneurs. Jenny is the creator of the #moneycompassdeck (a powerful and practical tool that allows you to connect with the energy of money.) She is on a mission to help creative entrepreneurs heal their money blocks and manage money with confidence. ...
Oct 27, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 22
What I started to realize is that I was focused on the wrong thing. I didn’t need to - nor should I - compete on price. About a year ago I was invited to speak at the Designers On Social Summit and today I wanted to share this presentation with you because what I talked about is so near and dear to my heart. You see, years ago I struggled with pricing my services because I thought I needed to compete with the online design brands who were at the time offering $99/room designs. What I started to ...
Oct 20, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 21
You don’t want to look back at your life and feel like you missed opportunities to get the most out of life. Whatever it is, these are the things that matter. Leisure matters. Family time Matters. Time with friends matter. Travel matters. What are the things that matter to you? If we aren’t intentional about our time and protect the things that matter, it’s too easy to look up and be like, oh my god, I haven’t had a proper vacation in 3 years. In this episode we answer questions like… How to pre...
Oct 13, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 20
My guest today is Carly Teigeler , owner and lead designer of Schematic Design Co, a brand and web design studio that specializes in “Human-Centered Design”. In my interview today, I ask her about what human-centered design is and how we can employ that throughout design. But we also cover some other really exciting topics as it relates to braind like the 3 things, carly says your brand needs to communicate well - in order to position yourself well in your market. She also describes the palette ...
Oct 06, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 19
You have to be able to evaluate if they are someone who is going to be able to take this design and run with it OR if they are someone who really need full service. Today I sat down with one of the Designer’s Oasis Members, Lauren Sullivan of Well by Design, a luxury virtual interior design studio based out of Tennessee. Well by Design has been featured in multiple media outlets including Homes and Gardens, Southern Living, The Zoe Report and more. After nearly a decade as a pharmacist, Lauren’s...
Sep 29, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 18
In this episode, I had the privilege of interviewing Dani Haas of Dani Haas Designs all about her unconventional path to launching her interior design business. Dani Haas is the founder of Dani Haas Design, a Denver-based interior design firm focused on creating layered, sophisticated, and comfortable spaces. While carefully balancing function and aesthetics, Dani's interiors are known for being warm, textured, and inviting. Before founding Dani Haas Design, she spent a decade in NYC working wit...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Each month inside the Designer’s Oasis Membership, we invite guest experts to come share more about their area of expertise. These curated individuals come and provide actionable insight into their areas of knowledge. Some months we have Design experts such as Porcelanosa who came and taught us about using their XTONE large format porcelain slabs which make beautiful and durable countertops, flooring and wall finishes, or Surfacing Solution who came and talked about tambour wood - a flexible woo...
Sep 15, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Lack of clarity is debilitating. It prevents momentum, causes stress, is taxing on our relationships and leaves us feeling stuck! This feeling of being stuck is a sign of discomfort, which often means we are on the edge of a major breakthrough. Regardless of where your lack of clarity is coming from, it can truly get in the way of your business via burnout, indecision, lack of success, lack of vision, etc. In today’s episode I want to share with you my story, plus methods to use to break free of...
Sep 08, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Full Service is a high-end or luxury service designed for clients who are typically busy individuals (robust professional career or lifestyle - kids, volunteering, traveling, etc.) Today’s episode is all about how to attract the right kinds of clients for full-service interior design projects. It can be challenging to find clients who are wanting to commit full-service so I am going to share a few methods and tips for attracting these types of clients. We are also going to dive into the benefits...
Sep 01, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 14
It is not a crime to make money! You can delight your clients, do great work, grow a team, AND make a good living. Have you ever dramatically underestimated how long a project would take? Maybe you were so far over on hours you couldn’t bring yourself to invoice the client every hour of work you completed, Perhaps you were so far in the hole that you just stopped tracking your time b/c you couldn't bear to know exactly how far off you were. If so, this is the perfect episode for you! This is a 2...
Aug 25, 2022•31 min•Season 1Ep. 13
If you aren’t tracking your time, you’ll never be able to know exactly how profitable your business really is. You won’t have those benchmarks that you need. Tracking time can be such a sore subject with entrepreneurs and business owners and the interior design business is no different. It is easy to forget, can feel like an interruption, and can be hard to enforce with a team BUT it is the KEY to finding out the profitability of your business, charging the right amount, and being transparent wi...
Aug 18, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Clients don’t do this everyday. When you normalize issues that come up, it helps to remind clients this isn’t a house of cards. This one issue (usually) isn’t going to affect the whole project. Client expectations start at the beginning of the design process. It’s imperative to build a good relationship with your client. Make sure you are open, honest, communicative, and direct. This will translate to more business in the future, through referrals or future projects. In this episode we answer qu...
Aug 11, 2022•16 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Today’s episode is all about building a successful relationship with your contractor and how many benefits this may lead to. Every project is going to have its road bumps. When you have a great relationship with a contractor with open, honest dialogue those moments will feel more like little speed bumps than giant potholes that cause a flat tire. The result is smoother projects and happier clients. In this episode we answer questions like… How do you find contractors that are at the caliber you ...
Aug 04, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Your first hire will always be the hardest. It’s kind of like having a baby. Imagine this - You just returned from a much-deserved 2 week holiday with your favorite person or people and while you were away any one(or perhaps all) of these things happened… You have a new client consultation on the calendar with a fully-vetted client. You’ve received the as-built drawings and site photos from a brand new project you are kicking off. Drawings for a new kitchen renovation are nearly complete and ful...
Jul 28, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 9
I find it’s better to guide the client to the service type that you think is the best fit, versus laying out all the options and making your client decide. Years ago, I had a wonderful Discovery Call with a photographer who I was interviewing for a project. When we wrapped up, she sent me a drop-dead gorgeous PDF that showcased her work and also broke down her process and all of the investment details. She offered premium services and it was a huge investment for me. I wasn’t ready to commit ove...
Jul 21, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In order to know your profitability at the end of a project, it’s helpful to see what you estimated in the first place. Just like a budget for money, we need to budget our time. Today’s topic is one of the most asked questions that I get about building your interior design business and that’s how to price your projects and come up with your service fees and feel more confident in your proposals when you send them out. In this episode we answer questions like… How do you decide what type of prici...
Jul 14, 2022•34 min•Season 1Ep. 7
