I love interior design - and I know you do, too! We are thrilled when we're being creative, we love making our clients happy, and we are so excited to finish a lovely project. But... there are those moments that make us wonder why we're in this business at all! Things go wrong, clients get angry, we...

As interior designers, it's important for us to have contractors we trust and love to work with. If we all operate as a team on our projects, we'll be less likely to have costly problems crop up, and MUCH more likely to have a great experience. And we all know there are contractors who are terrific ...

Every interior designer has had at least one not-great client (or more than one!). It is just a miserable experience and can REALLY drag you down! It can even impact your work with other clients and projects. So if at all possible, it's best to avoid those frustrating clients. There are definitely r...

Setting a budget - and sticking to it - can be one of the hardest and most stressful parts of an interior design project. Especially today because costs are rising every day on both supplies and furnishings. It's so important to lock in pricing when you can. But once you FINALLY have set a budget, t...

It is never fun to have a hard conversation with anyone, but it's especially difficult when it's your client. It doesn't matter if they're being difficult, if you've made a mistake on the project, or if you've got to tell them that their furniture order is delayed again. Those tough talks are one of...

You may think you have a professional business, but sometimes entrepreneurs will treat their business more like a hobby. That's usually due to FEAR! You just don't want to look too closely at what's happening in your company because deep down you really know you're not doing all that you should be. ...

One thing that's really important as business owners is to look ahead and project what you want to accomplish. Most corporations start this process in the fall, setting goals and budgets for the next year. It's actually a great time to do that because you aren't in the middle of the holidays and you...

As business owners, we are constantly under pressure to make money. That pressure is exhausting and can lead to massive burnout. I know! I've been there. We want to enjoy our business AND spend more time on other things other than making money. Am I right?! So, once you realize money isn't everythin...

When you have a to-do list that is pages long, business goals that you really want to hit, and about 75 distractions and issues that come up every day, it can be completely overwhelming to decide what takes priority. Often, the client who yells loudest is the one who gets attention first, right?! Bu...

What success means is SOOO subjective! It can be financial benchmarks for some people, having a full roster of clients for others, or even just hitting certain personal goals. What success is NOT is some sort of set path that everyone has to follow. In our industry, we seem to forget that! The smart...

Interior design budgets can be such a headache! They're tough to create (especially with today's price increases and constant product shortages) and they can be even tougher to explain to your client. UGH! And sometimes you want that particular project so much that you're willing to skip over a seri...

It's fantastic when you love what you do - it makes the work worthwhile! But - it's called "business" for a reason. You started your company to make MONEY. Sometimes we forget about that, or we put it to the side and assume it will take care of itself. But you have to pay close attention to your inc...