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ACTIONABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES
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ARTICLES PUBLISHED WEEKLY
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EXPERT INSIGHTS & ADVICE FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
| ACTIONABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES I ARTICLES PUBLISHED WEEKLY | EXPERT INSIGHTS & ADVICE FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Welcome to The DTS Files for Interior Designers
Business analysis, advice, CLIENT INSIGHTS and field notes for interior designers
The DTS Files is a library of expert insights for interior designers who want to work in a more streamlined, efficient way. Articles are based on real-world consulting experience, strategies I've personally implemented in design businesses across the US and Canada, and a perspective most business educators can't offer: I've been on both sides of the table, as a business consultant and as a luxury design client. Read more below.
Why It Could Be Risky For Interior Designers to Source Retail
Most of the interior designers we work with source primarily to-the-trade and custom products for their full-service interior design projects. Sure, they'll pull in a retail item here and there when it comes to accessories or styling items. But for the most part, if they specify something, they're ordering it through one of their vendor accounts.
This may be how you run your business, or maybe you'd like to start selling more to-the-trade items (if this is you, be sure to check out our mini-course: Beyond Retail). Either way, I’ll bet you've heard questions similar to these from prospects before:
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
What Needs to Be True to Book Interior Design Projects With Five & Six-Figure Design Fees
If you’re not booking interior design projects with five and six-figure design fees, don’t blame it on your market or your clients. Many things have to be in place to book those bigger projects that everyone so desires. And best of all: these things are all in your control. Woop woop.
Without further ado, here’s what needs to be true to book interior design projects with five and six-figure design fees (that’s design fees in the five and six-figures, not project budgets).
Client Experience Tech Tip: How to Elevate Your Contact Form
If you're using the form feature on your website to collect feedback, new inquiries, etc., these tutorials will show you how to redirect the form submission so your prospects and clients land on a beautiful page, rather than seeing just the generic “Your form has been submitted” message.
BLEH!
The Complete Guide to Requesting Feedback & Testimonials from Your Interior Design Clients
For many interior designers, a large source of business comes from past and current client referrals. I mean, of course! Who better to ask when hiring someone to help with your most important investment (your home) than a trusted friend who’s actually gone through it with your company?
It goes without saying: having an amazing client experience will have clients referring you from the day they sign on to years after they work with you, so it’s important to focus on delivering your services in an elevated and thoughtful way from day one. This way, when it comes time to ask for a formal testimonial, your clients will already have been singing your praises all over town so the ask won’t be a difficult one.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
If You’re An Interior Designer And You Struggle With Not Having Enough Time, Here's What To Do
If you’re anything like me, there’s a lot that needs to get done in your day for you to keep the odds stacked in your favor. Kids, pets, partners, homes, health, friends, family, school, travel…the list goes on and on, and I haven’t even mentioned work.
But here’s the truth (and a reminder I write in my journal just about daily):
I have time for the things that are important to me.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
Feeling Out of Control in Your Business? You Have a Lot More Control Than You Think.
When you’re hit with the unexpected, it’s natural to spiral downward and feel out of control and hopeless.
As a former wedding planner, I had to plan for the unexpected and also have a plan FOR handling the unexpected. Often the unexpected things I planned for (wine spilling on the bride’s dress, someone not rsvp’ing and then showing up anyway, fake eyelashes falling off, etc.) were never the things that actually happened (like how could I have planned for the wild goose that knocked over the chuppah, or the kitchen fire, or the cake table being invaded by ants, or the bridesmaid’s chiffon dress getting TAPED together and shredded before the ceremony ← PS: my brides never knew any of these things happened).
If I’ve learned one thing in life and business, mindset is everything.
Top 10 Blog Posts of 2022 for Interior Designers
In 2022, my team and I wrote 43 blog posts for interior designers (this one makes it 44). Today, I’m sharing the top ten blog posts for interior designers based on analytics (not thoughts and feelings), plus the two blog posts I enjoyed writing the most.
Thank YOU for being here and reading my blog, The Weekly Install, and my Instagram posts.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
Luxury Hosting & Client Experience: What Every Interior Designer Should Know
Growing up in the catering industry and later running my own wedding and event planning company, I learned that hosting is an art—one that’s just as much about experience as it is about execution. Every detail, from the way guests are greeted to how smoothly an event flows, influences how people feel.
And the same is true for your interior design client experience.
Just like a perfectly executed event, a well-run design process makes clients feel taken care of, guided, and confident in their decision to hire you. It’s not just about the finished space—it’s about the journey.
In this post, I’m sharing my unexpected hosting insights that translate seamlessly into your design business—how small shifts in communication, preparation, and presentation can elevate your process, set you apart from competitors, and ensure clients walk away raving about their experience.
Because whether you’re welcoming guests into your home or onboarding a new client, luxury isn’t about extravagance—it’s about how you make people feel.
Join The DTS Files to read the full post.
HEAR FROM SOME OF OUR READERS:
Looking for help with pricing?
PRICING PLAYBOOK for INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Start with The Complete Guide to Pricing Your Design Services
Learn the most common pricing models used by interior designers, where each works best, and how to spot the signs that your current pricing structure needs to change.
NEED BUSINESS SUPPORT ASAP?
SHOP TEMPLATES
Need the documents behind a streamlined process?
The Design Library includes the client-facing investment guides, proposal templates, welcome guides, SOPs, questionnaires, contracts, and business tools we use and recommend for interior design firms.
SHOP WORKSHOPS & TRAININGS
After consulting with and doing hands-on implementation for over 100 interior design business owners, I’ve seen what works (and doesn’t) across every business model imaginable. The Workroom houses our focused trainings for interior designers on pricing, construction, service structure, business operations, and other areas we teach inside design firms
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