Most interior designers that I've worked with understand the basics of their financials. They can figure out how much money is coming in and how much is going out. But it's surprising how many small business owners don't know their profit margins, especially since that's the KEY marker of how...

There are at least 4 points in the year when you should stop everything and review how your business is doing. Of course it's at every end-of-quarter time! But it's especially important to tackle this at the end of the year and at the midpoint of the year. Why now? Because you want to ensure that...

It's been such a chaotic year for business, especially if you own your own company. It's felt like we've been running on a giant hamster wheel without enough hours in the day to get everything done! Being productive is a good thing, but we can get stuck in that busy-busy mentality and...

As a business owner, 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...

You have the best marketing materials. You've lit candles and put out snacks. You KNOW you have the best design ideas for their project. And you REALLY want to design this house. But.... you didn't get the job. Were your fees too high? Did you blow it with the wrong design ideas? Nope, you just...

In business, sometimes you have to be bold and take a leap to shake things up. That's especially true when you're starting to feel that your business is stagnant, when you need a change, or when you can see that the economic winds are about to blow. Get off that hamster wheel and try my 4 BOLD...

Every small business depends on marketing to survive, and it is NO different for interior designers! But with limited time - and sometimes limited money - where should you put your focus?? There are marketing channels that work better than others, especially for small businesses. Knowing which...

An unfortunate trend in the interior design business is that we treat our small companies like a hobby or a side gig. We let ourselves get bogged down in the day-to-day and we forget that each of us is the CEO of our own businesses. That can definitely hold us back from reaching the goals we...

Having a competitive advantage is key, no matter what size market you work in! Standing apart from the crowd is the perfect way to entice new clients, and to give you staying power with former and current clients. So how do you stand out? It's more than just a funky logo or a three-word tag line....

There are parts of our jobs as designers that are boring, I'll admit it. And you may think that sitting down to write job descriptions would be one of them, and that might make you decide it isn't that important. But this is one thing on your to-do list that can make a BIG impact on your...

It's crazy that we're already into April and the second quarter of the business year! It may seem too soon to review anything in your business at this point, but I think this is one of the BEST times to stop and look at how your year is going so far. WHY? Because you have 9 months to change...

Last week, I talked about how hard it can be to balance EVERYTHING you have to do as the owner of your interior design business. And you have to be able to switch quickly from a right-brained creative to a left-brained executive. Not easy! It can be completely overwhelming - especially when we...