3.
You’re A Hustler.
Focus on setting boundaries and elevating your client experience.You work hard for your clients and do what it takes to create their dream spaces. You have big dreams for your company and will put in the blood, sweat, and tears to achieve them. No one could ever question your work ethic.Interior design is a blend of art and business, and you have that unique mix of creativity, tech-savvy, and people skills - the stuff the best interior designers are made of.On top of it all, you’re industrious, hardworking, and always putting in the effort. Your “can’t-stop-won’t-stop” attitude has taken you far, and you know this is just the beginning.But you’re tired. Your process needs a heavy dose of efficiency. You know your client experience could be much better and you have this sneaking suspicion that you may be leaving money on the table.The foundation of your business is there, and your services are dialed in, but where you’re hanging by a thread (and losing your sanity) is your client experience process.You’re great at what you do, and hear that often, but you still get those emergency client text messages, inane client questions, out of scope requests, and red flag moments that make you want to throw in the towel. Never mind the long hours you put into your work. You care, but you also feel obligated to work hard without stepping back - sometimes you question whether you own the business or the business owns you. EEK.While it could be the clients making you frustrated (sometimes it is), your angst more likely stems from your client experience and feeling like you’re always in “react” mode rather than “expertly guiding your clients” mode. Seriously. Think back to your recent projects. Did you find yourself reinventing the wheel for things that should be simple? Questions that should have the same answers? Emails that didn’t have to be sent if you’d set the right expectation at the beginning with that one client?You want your clients to have a tailored and personal experience with your company. But you also feel like you’re losing your mind a bit as you respond to the same questions day after day with the same answers. You know there’s a way to set proper expectations to take some work off your shoulders.That’s where we need to make a change! If you can take a moment now to see what isn’t working in your process and make even just a few changes, imagine how much better things can be. You’ll get off the hamster wheel and reclaim some of your precious time - maybe you use it for rest and relaxation; maybe you use it to bring on bigger and better projects. Remember, you don’t have to carry the weight of every task in every project. It’s possible to standardize your processes and finally feel some relief.Discover your personalized blueprint for streamlining and growing your interior design business here.1. Protect Your Boundaries and Standardize Your Contract So Every Project Starts (and finishes) Strong!Something I see all the time is designers working without a signed contract, OR, working without a solid contract that actually protects them, their time, or their process. And for designers who base their fee on an agreed-upon scope of work and presumed timeline, you MUST be able to write a detailed scope of work and accurate project timeline to go along with your contract.Otherwise, your client won’t know what is and isn’t included, the project will feel never-ending, and you’ll have nothing to fall back on when you decide “enough is enough”. So how do you prevent this? By using a solid contract and writing a clear scope of work. Your clients aren’t the experts. That’s why they hired you! How would they know what to expect if you don’t put it into writing for them?When you lay a solid foundation for what they can expect during their project right from the beginning, you won’t have to spend the rest of your time together regaining lost ground (or feeling wobbly because you’re operating in murky waters with no scope of work and a generic contract that has nothing to do with the design process).The full service scope and service agreement is just the thing to send to clients to get their consent and set the ground rules for your project. Alongside your contract, you’ll want to send a polished, professional proposal that details the scope of work, fee structure, and client-specific timeline. Our Dubsado, Honeybook, and Canva proposal templates can be customized and presented to your clients so you look like the organized and detail-oriented pro you are.2. Elevate Your Client Experience - Stand Out and Provide Amazing Service, Every Time.Now that you’ve locked in an amazing contract and proposal, you can feel more confident bringing new clients into your pipeline (and will probably also notice a higher conversion rate - woop woop!). Your next step is to ensure the client experience is absolutely perfect as they enter your workflow. You can easily accomplish this with email templates and Canva templates that guide your clients through every step of the design process.And if you focus on construction-only projects or large-scale construction projects (or want more of them), check these templates out. From inquiry to offboarding, you’ll ensure every milestone is proactively communicated, your client’s journey is intuitive, and there is a clear, successive path. With a solid client experience in place, you’ll always know how to keep your clients updated, respond to revisions that are out of scope, explain how processes work (to clients who don’t know this industry like you do!), and more.3. Get Your Design Day Process Standardized and Under Control - Don’t Get Scope Creep on Short-Term Projects!So you’ve got your full-service projects under control, now what? You love your work (and you’re great at what you do), but you wish you could remove yourself from the never-ending project management and long timelines.The solution? Design Days– they’re more comprehensive than a consultation that leaves your client with a mile-long to-do list but simpler than a full-service project that leaves YOU with a mile-long to-do list. Plus, a service that lets you focus on JUST the design? Where to sign up, right?If you can offer a smaller, design-only service, it means you can have a professional way to capture some of those smaller projects that don’t meet your full-service minimums without adding long timelines or crazy amounts of ongoing work to your schedule. You focus on the design work you love without ongoing project management, endless revisions, and nonstop requests.Our Design Day templates give you everything you need, from Canva templates to emails and contract agreements, you’ll roll this service out with ease and your clients will love it! With these in hand, you’ll have everything you need to create a fun design experience with clear expectations and boundaries!4. Prioritize Selling To-The-Trade Products to Increase Revenue WITHOUT Working More HoursIf the only revenue stream in your business is your design service fee income, you’re definitely leaving money on the table. Selling to-the-trade products to clients is a great way to create one-of-a-kind designs while also reducing the chances a client will “shop” your design (no thanks!). Not to mention, generating product sale revenue on each client you work with means you actually CAN work less because every project will bring in more sales. If you’ve been wanting to start selling products but don’t know where to start, our Beyond Retail Mini Course walks you through EXACTLY how to do it and everything you need to know. Plus, we share the baby steps to take to get started slowly. Hey there! I’m Katie. I’m an operations and business consultant for interior designers. Consistent processes, simplified systems, and a strong foundation are the keys to repeat clients, efficiency, and growth. I’ve worked with 170+ clients and served thousands of customers through our template shop, and what I find again and again is that implementing the right strategies leads to doing more of what you love.You’d be surprised how often my clients come to me thinking their problem is one thing when really it’s something they overlooked ten steps before. The saying is true, you don’t know what you don’t know! But with the right pieces in place, you can streamline the back end of your business and step into that Creative Director role you dream of.For all of us, time is at a premium and life is too precious to spend it on tasks that technology or a team member can handle. I’m here to help you do exactly that! Below you'll find some free and paid resources that we recommend based on your results.FROM THE BLOG How to Make Your Interior Design Process More Efficient + ProfitableWhat’s the Difference Between an Investment Guide and a Welcome Guide?Holding a Proposal Meeting to Present Your Scope of Work, Interior Design Contract, and Design FeeThe Complete Guide to Onboarding New Clients Into Your Interior Design BusinessFROM THE RESOURCE LIBRARYWebinar: Where The Client Experience Goes Wrong (& How To Fix It)WATCH NOW >>Webinar: How To Create a Seamless Client ExperienceWATCH NOW >>GUIDED 1-1 AND GROUP SUPPORTDESIGNED TO SCALE® METHODOver eleven weeks, my team and I will dive deep into your services, pricing, and client experience.We’ll help you design a menu of services you love, establish profitable pricing that you feel confident charging AND explaining to clients, and create an elevated process with clear boundaries so you and your team can work efficiently.We’ll make sure your business is aligned with industry best practices and get you on track to achieve your big goals.BE PART OF THE NEXT COHORT >>------------------------------------------------TEMPLATES AND TOOLS TO STREAMLINE, SCALE, GROWSave 10% on any purchase through The Design Library or The Workroom. Use Coupon Code HUSTLER. Not valid on the Designed to Scale®️ Method or The Studio. Client Experience Templates for Full Service DesignersWith these professionally written Email Templates, reduce questions, streamline your experience, and set the standard for what your clients can expect from you. Bundle it with these Canva Templates that include a pre-designed and written investment guide, consultation guide, welcome packet, design feedback guide, what to expect guide, and closing packet. You’ll quite literally have everything you’ll ever need to make your client experience professional, polished, and straightforward for all.Client Experience Templates for Design DaysYour design day projects may be a lower-cost, lower-effort option, but that doesn’t mean we don’t put as much effort into the client experience.With Email Templates that pace out the project, welcome clients into the experience, and equip them with what they need, you’ll be off to the races.To really bring things full circle, the Canva Templates include an Investment Guide, Welcome Packet, Measuring & Photo Guide, and more.All you’ll have to do is sign, send, and start the process with your client!Full Service Scope and Service AgreementYour contract sets the expectation for your client experience, and if your terms don’t align with your process, it will lead to confusion and mismatched expectations, and lots of problems. With this services agreement, you’ll have exactly what you need to legally protect your business. Set clear expectations from the beginning with an outlined scope of work, fees, methods of payment, travel time, furniture retainers, and more.And when your client asks to add scope, you can easily capture it in the addendum template to get the client’s official sign off. Design Day Services AgreementDesign days don’t function the same as full-service projects and you can’t just use the same contract agreement.With a design day project, it’s key to hold boundaries strong, set the proper expectations, and ensure your clients understand exactly what they’re getting in your design-only service.The Design Day Services Agreement gets into the legalese behind your scope of work, timeline, access to you, and more.Construction Design Client Experience Templates & Contractor KitIf you’re ready to book more large-scale, high-end projects and need the tools to showcase your value, expand your reach, foster new collaborations, and communicate roles and expectations flawlessly — you’ll love the Construction Design Client Experience Templates and Contractor Kit.Includes two professionally written Canva guides to use with contractors (one for marketing, one for onboarding), two Canva guides to use with clients (one for onboarding, one for offboarding), three construction-specific questionnaires, five email templates, and two informational guides to share with clients. Be on your way to generating new business and seamlessly managing large-scale construction projects.Beyond Retail Mini CourseStop leaving money on the table with every room you design! Increase your profitability on every project, expand your sourcing opportunities, easily explain your pricing, and effortlessly arrive at “I LOVE IT. APPROVED!” from clients every time you present. With the Beyond Retail Mini-Course, you’ll learn the ins and outs of sourcing to-the-trade products and selling them to clients. Through seven bite-sized on-demand modules, you’ll learn how to open up accounts, place orders, work with receivers, manage your vendor list, price your products, and increase your profitability on every project. Take advantage of the bonus resources included, like a chart of accounts, vendor list, wholesale terminology glossary, and more! Testimonials“The Client Experience templates helped us quickly define our own firm's processes and start to communicate confidently to our clients. Before purchasing the templates, every client email or question sent us into a tailspin trying to craft a new response and figure out our values on the fly. Having Katie's framework has now allowed us to refine our non-negotiables and communicate in a professional and beautiful manner. Just recently, one of our clients raved about how professional and organized we were - yay! The templates were worth every penny - thank you for this amazing support!”— Interior Designer, Full Service Client Experience Templates"I cannot say THANK YOU enough for your Full Canva templates. I absolutely LOVE them and they have allowed me to uplevel my business so quickly! They are a complete game changer in how I show up as a business while providing valuable information to my clients (in a professional, beautiful way!). I just could not be happier with this purchase!”— Amy, Interior Designer, Client Experience Canva TemplatesWHAT’S NEXT?Learn about the topics they don’t teach in design school.Keep an eye on your inbox for more insights about your quiz result and our Friday newsletter, The Weekly Install™, full of industry insights, resources, and complimentary business consulting just for interior designers. My emails go well with coffee…or mimosas :)
