UPDATED OCTOBER 2024

Are you thinking about taking some time off from your interior design business for summer or the holidays? Or maybe you generally want to reduce your workload so you can enjoy fewer work hours and more family time?

In this article, I’ll walk through some benefits of taking time off from your business (or intentionally slowing down for a period), and a few ways to do it depending on how you work best.

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ONE THING TO REMEMBER WHEN TAKING TIME OFF IN YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESS

First, I have to share a little backstory, because you can’t simply stop working when you have active client projects, just because it’s summer or the holidays.

That would NOT be a good client experience.

But, you do need to have some foresight and planning skills in order to take ACTUAL time off (not “fake time off” where you’re still working everyday but your OOO is up).

Hi, guilty.

I recommend planning a few months in advance and ALWAYS blocking your slow down times, vacations, or holiday breaks at the very beginning of the year so they are already marked off on your calendar.

WHAT IS A SUMMER SLOWDOWN?

I do this thing every year called “A Summer Slowdown” where I drastically reduce my work hours, limit the number of clients and type of projects we take, and say no to just about everything else. This is when I leverage my evergreen marketing efforts and my team and have SO much more whitespace on my calendar (which means more time for my kids and more time to think).

When my typical slow down periods come up (spring break, summer, Thanksgiving, and winter break—I have three kids in school so I’m generally on their schedule), I welcome the break.

For a lot of interior designers we work with, a typical slow down period for them means no new clients, no designs being presented, and maybe ONLY doing Design Day services or Paid Advice Consultations (you know, services with a quicker turnaround and have a very tight scope.)

Read more about packaging your design services here.

During my own intentional slow times, we’ll generally continue to support private clients and offer one-off consulting calls.

What I really love to do during these intentional slow-down periods is refine my backend processes and create additional valuable resources for my clients and their teams so they feel even more supported. Then, when we move back to our regular schedule, I’ll be able to do it with even more ease knowing things are more buttoned up AND I’ve crossed a big picture project or two off my list.

Check out these resources to grow your team and implement standard operating procedures during your slow time.

Slowing down in my business also means more afternoons reading. More playtime with my girls. More walks with the dog. More fun with my family. More exercise. ⁠More whitespace to think.

And with this downtime comes a necessary break that all business owners need to come back refreshed and ready to do their best work. Taking a break from the regular day-to-day grind gives your brain more space to think and dream about your business and your clients’ projects. This can shed new light on how to make things better, it gets you back in touch with your creativity, and it all comes full circle.⁠

Slowing down and taking time off helps you to be at your best.

INTENTIONAL BUSINESS SLOWDOWN TIPS FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS

If you’re thinking an intentional slowdown is in your future, here are a few things that might be helpful for you:

01 | Don’t start any new client projects until the end of your slowdown. This means you’ll still have calls, still send out proposals, and still take deposits/retainers. You’ll simply let clients know you won’t start their project until you’re back from your slowdown. Then, stagger their start dates and use a waitlist email sequence so your clients still feel supported even when they wait.

→ Read my tips for creating a client waitlist experience, and be sure to check out the client waitlist emails as well.

02 | Only promote and sell your services that have a clear start and end date (if you’re planning to work just a little bit, like in the case of a slow down). These services shouldn’t include project management or additional support.

→ For example, you could offer design days, consultations, distance designs). This way, you’re not on the hook during your slow time with out-of-scope requests you aren’t able to accommodate.

03 | Block off one week each month for no client meetings/calls/deliverables due.

04 | Email your active clients whose projects will span your holiday or slowdown period (like the quiet months in design projects once orders have been placed), and let them know how they’ll be supported during your time away. You’ll want to do this at least a month in advance.

→ Of course, make sure it matches what’s in your Interior Design Service Agreement, but also set boundaries around communication and what they should reach out for and who they should reach out to in your absence. Be sure to schedule a reminder to go out a few days before you are out so they can’t forget.

05 | Post about your availability in your online marketing so prospects know about your timeline for starting new projects. I like to put this in my email signature, my email auto-responder, and on my website contact page (“Starting new clients in Month”, as well as mention it in Instagram posts and via direct email.

06 | Structure your slow down or holiday schedule so it aligns with what you want. For me personally, I am an early riser, so even if I’m “off” I always know I will have time in the very early morning hours before my family wakes up to check messages from my team or write a blog post if I need to. If it’s a time I will be COMPLETELY out of office (like when we go to Disney World), I know my team has it handled and they if they have a question on something, they know to Voxer me since I won’t be at my computer.

07 | Share communication expectations with your team. Are you available at all? Is there a certain way you’d like them to contact you? Or, should they only contact you in case of emergency, and an emergency would be x, y, z <— this should be one of your SOPs.

08 | Turn on your out of office auto-responder. Be sure to include the point of contact to reach out to in your absence, OR, if you’re a solo, let them know when you will respond (if you’ll respond while you’re out OR if you’ll respond when you’re back in the office.)