How Standardizing Your Services Can Help You Scale Your Interior Design Business
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If every project feels like a one-off, special unicorn, if you’re constantly reinventing the wheel, and if no two projects follow the same process—it’s time to standardize your services. When you don’t have a clear, repeatable way of working, it’s easy to get pulled in a million directions, stretched too thin, and stuck in the weeds instead of actually growing your business.
The fix? Streamline what you offer, package it up in a way that makes sense for both you and your clients, and set yourself up to scale your business.
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So, how do we do that?
By standardizing your services.
^^^What does this mean?
All too often I see designers offering a laundry list of tasks on their websites that includes jargon and a little something for everyone, like this:
Residential design
Commercial design
Hospitality design
Architectural services
Window treatments
Floor plans
Furniture selections
Lighting plans
Blueprint reviews
Consultations
Fabric selections
Project management
Site visits
Procurement
FFE schedules
Styling days
Coordination of trades
Custom floor coverings
Email us for a quote
The problem with a laundry list like this? It’s overwhelming for clients and exhausting for you. When you offer everything, it’s hard for potential clients to understand what you actually specialize in—and even harder for you to run an efficient, scalable business.
Instead of listing out every single task you could do, refine your services into clear, comprehensive menu that positions you as the expert and allows you to focus on what you love doing most and what your ideal clients value the most.
Here’s what that could look like:
We offer two levels of service for clients who are tackling large home renovations or building from the ground up.
Service One
Full Service Construction & Furnishings Design
Service Two
Material Selections Design
Then, within each of those services, you describe the CLIENT FACING benefits NOT the tasks you will be doing.
Then, internally, you can very easily create a step by step process (an SOP) and apply a timeline to each service.
When your services are structured and your process is dialed in, everything gets easier. No more recreating the wheel, no more chaos, and no more wondering how long something will take. Instead, you’ll have a clear roadmap and timeline for every project and—best of all—the ability to grow your business without working more hours.
If you want to scale your interior design business, the first step is standardizing your services rather than providing a list of the tasks you will do for anyone, at anytime, letting clients choose what they want rather than you guiding them to get the best result.
