If you've ever felt like you're the only one keeping all the balls in the air—checking, following up, and still finding dropped details—you’re not alone.

One interior designer recently asked how to create a smoother team workflow that doesn’t require constant oversight.

Inside the post, I’m sharing five things to do to give your team clarity, keep projects moving, and give you peace of mind.

💡 It’s control-freak approved and micromanagement-free.

Want the full strategy? Join The DTS Files to unlock it inside this members-only post.

We received this question from an interior designer:

Dear Dakota, I'm going to be hiring my first full time employee. What do I need to know and do? 

Hiring your first full time employee is a big step (ps: it’s NOT the same as bringing on a 1099 subcontractor). It usually means your business is expanding, your workload is steady, and you’re ready to bring in support so YOU can focus on the parts of the business only you can do.  

As exciting as it is, it can also feel scary and overwhelming. You want your new team member to feel welcomed and supported, but you also want to make sure you hire the right person (because hiring mistakes are expensive and time consuming!).

Note: this is not legal advice and I am not an employment attorney. Please check with an attorney in your state for any state-specific requirements.

Here’s what I recommend to help you start your new employee off on the right foot:

Wondering how much of your team's time should actually be billable?

If you're trying to run a profitable design firm (without burning out your team or yourself), knowing the right billable hour targets for each role is essential. In this member-only article, we’re breaking down ideal billable percentages for junior designers, project managers, renderers, and even you as the business owner, plus what non-billable time is actually worth keeping on the calendar.

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When onboarding is done right, your client will feel validated, confident they’ve made the right choice, and taken care of.

And you, the business owner? You’ll feel organized, professional, and in control. You’ve just put yourself in a good spot until it’s time to officially begin the client’s project.

Not to mention, the whole project starts off on the right foot and the client is more likely to trust your process even before you’ve done an OUNCE of design work. 

WOOP WOOP.

But when onboarding is messy (which, based on my experience working with designers since 2017, it probably is!), everything feels harder than necessary, you haven’t built immediate confidence with the client, AND the entire process is impacted.

That’s why I love HoneyBook for creating a seamless, elevated onboarding process that keeps things moving and saves you hours of admin time while providing a luxe experience. HoneyBook is a CRM, Client Relationship Management software, that allows you to streamline all components of client communication in one place and leverage automations and workflows to save time and elevate your client experience. There are other programs that do this as well, but—after working with hundreds of interior design business owners—HoneyBook is my preferred CRM software (and the one we use for our company as well). 

Here’s how you we recommend interior designers use HoneyBook during the onboarding phase of their projects:

If every project feels like a custom job and your workflow is all over the place, you’re making business way harder than it needs to be and I have a GUESS as to what’s happening.

The secret to scaling isn’t doing more—it’s doing less, but in a smarter, more strategic way.

Ready to stop reinventing the wheel with every new project? This is EXACTLY where I would start if we worked together 1:1.

There’s marketing, and then there’s sales. 

Marketing is about bringing attention to your business—getting people onto your email, onto your website, or engaging with you on social media. It’s the inquiries and the conversations.

Sales, on the other hand, is what happens next: converting that attention into paying clients. It’s turning those inquiries into signed contracts and deposits … those window shoppers into buyers. 

If you have leads coming in but want to manage them better (and increase your chances of turning those leads into paying clients), streamlining your sales process is key.

For most interior designers (and service providers), the sales process typically looks like this:

Join The DTS Files to see exactly how to use HoneyBook during the sales process.

2025 will be a milestone year for me, God willing, because it is the year I will turn the same age my dad was when he lost his very short battle with cancer. 

He died when I was 17, and back then, 44 seemed SO old. My dad owned a popular restaurant and catering business and a beautiful home, had five kids, was happily married to my mom, and was a powerful, charismatic presence. 

Now, as I approach the same age, I realize just how young he was and how his life was really just beginning. 

Losing him at such a young age has given me a unique perspective on how precious my time is and has majorly impacted my priorities. It is also why I spend time every Friday reflecting on how I spend my time every single week. 

As I plan for 2025, I reviewed all my notes over the past year and noticed some consistent themes of things I didn’t enjoy or realizations I had that I ignored for MONTHS. 

And this is NOT the year for me to hold onto anything that does not serve me. 

So, in honor of my dad, one of my all-time favorite humans in the entire world and the person who has had the most significant impact on who I am today, here are the 11 things I’m saying BYEEEEE to in 2025. (in no particular order) …