We recently polled our DTS Files members and asked them to vote on the blog topics they wanted us to cover this month. The clear winner?

How to pay yourself as an interior designer.

This is a question we get all the time, and for good reason. Many designers aren’t paying themselves regularly, or they wait to see what’s “left over” at the end of the month (or year 😭) before cutting themselves a check. Not ideal.

If you want to show up as a real business owner (and feel confident doing it), paying yourself consistently and knowing how much to pay yourself is a big part of getting the back end of your business set up correctly.

How to price your interior design services is probably the NUMBER ONE question we get from interior designers. Now, I get that pricing can feel hard to do, but this particular question has a very (in my opinion) specific solution because of the circumstances. That circumstance being that this sweet designer is brand new. Here’s what they shared:

“I am struggling figuring out how much to charge using a flat fee. I am not sure how many hours to assume a service will take when creating a fee.”

I recorded my response to this designer in the video below, and I’m sharing a few tips for figuring out how to determine what to charge and how to charge as a new designer. I also reference my Pricing & Proposals Workshop, where I walk you through pricing and per-room fees across the United States based on my work with hundreds of interior designers since 2017.

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I’ve been working with interior designers for 8+ years, and before that, I owned a successful wedding and event planning business. 

Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with designers who’ve told me things like, “I’d never be able to afford myself,” or “I could never spend that much on a custom sofa,” or “I wish I could spend $X on a renovation like my clients do.” 

This resonates with me. As a former wedding planner, I was most often hired by the parents of the bride or groom. My clients (the parents who were hiring me) were significantly older and had far greater financial means than I did. (I was in my 20s and 30s and when I had my first company).

That gap can trigger feelings of inadequacy, or even imposter syndrome, where you experience self-doubt and low self-esteem despite your achievements and expertise. It’s easy to feel you can’t live up to your clients' expectations. And it’s a trap that’s easy to fall into.

So what happens when YOU’RE the service provider (the expert), and your client is older, wealthier, more successful, or is more accustomed to high-end, luxury experiences?

I’ll tell you: YOUR MONEY STORY COMES OUT.

Join me inside The DTS Files to find out how to level the playing field when your clients have more wealth, success, or experience with luxury services than you do. Get my insights based on my work with hundreds of interior design businesses, from those on their way to their first $100,000/year to those scaling past $4,000,000+/year in revenue.

A designer asked, “If I present pricing during the presentation, it brings up more revisions. Should I wait and send pricing later instead?”

This is an important question designers often face and it’s one you don’t want to mess up. In this article, I share why the timing of your pricing reveal matters more than you think and how it affects approvals, objections, and even profitability.

Join The DTS Files to read my advice. 

There’s a fear in the interior design industry (and in many creative service industries) that sending an Investment Guide will scare off potential clients or make you look uppity. Because of that, many designers default to just sharing their hourly rates or a flat fee per room. In this article, I show you how to share pricing in a way that communicates value and positions you as the expert.

Join The DTS Files to read my advice. 

They’re not louder. Not flashier. But they’ve built businesses that back them up—and it shows.

In this new article, I’m breaking down the seven specific traits I see time and time again in the most confident interior designers (and how you can work your way toward having them). 

Quiet confidence? Sign.me.up!

Join me inside The DTS Files for insights based on my work with hundreds of interior design businesses.

Ever feel like you’re leaving money on the table with window treatments?

If you’ve wondered how to turn them into a profitable (and seamless) part of your design business, this one’s for you. I’m breaking down five ways to sell them, the risks you need to watch for, and where the real revenue is hiding.

Join The DTS Files for my advice.

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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