Dear Dakota,

Can you tell me whether the processes are the same for commercial and hospitality projects as for residential ones? What do I need to do if I want to expand into these project types?

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It’s all about creating a design process that’s efficient, sensible, and enjoyable - and the most climactic moment of all is when your client sees their design presentation for the first time. You want to provide the highest quality design presentation possible so your client can clearly see and understand the vision you have for their space, and you also want to minimize the number of hours you or your team sit at a computer creating it! So, the choice of software for interior design presentations is key in streamlining this part of each project and ensuring a whole-hearted “WE LOVE IT! APPROVED!” from your clients. With so many software programs available to interior designers, it’s important to choose the right one based on the types of presentation drawings you typically produce and your comfort level with each platform.

In this blog post, we’ll highlight the best software for interior design presentations and share the project type each is most ideal for.

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Whether you price your interior design services hourly or based on a flat fee, I am a strong proponent of tracking your time. And if you don't track your hours or find yourself saying “you aren’t good” at tracking your hours, then you cannot, under any circumstances, bill hourly for your interior design services.

You may have heard the saying, “In God we trust, all others bring data,” and I’m here to tell you: the data is in the numbers, and the numbers don’t lie.

As a business owner, it is your job to know your numbers, and part of that is knowing how long things take. 

Tracking your time and reviewing the numbers will empower you to make critical decisions for the long-term success of your company. 

Here are a few benefits of tracking your hours for interior designers…

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Dear Dakota,

My vendor just went out of business, and I’ve already paid them for my client’s furnishings. I cannot get ahold of anyone and am freaking out. What should I do?

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A friend of mine is in the process of starting a business and asked if I could share a few pieces of advice with her. I don’t often talk about my own business, but I thought my response to her could be helpful for those in the beginning stages of starting a company or for those who might feel stagnant in their growth.

Here are the tips I shared with her:

This topic was inspired by a recent Squarespace Circle member email. They shared an article about “nightmare website stories,” and I was immediately inspired to do a spin-off for interior designers about nightmare client experience stories.

You know the interior design client experience is my all-time favorite topic, and since this IS the scariest time of the year, I’ve pulled together a few of the most horrific stories our interior designer clients have shared with me and my team over the years to share with you. Bonus - with each “scary” situation, you’ll get tips for handling them and (most importantly) preventing them so they NEVER happen to you.

Ready for some full body chills? Let’s go!

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A recent discussion among several experienced interior design business owners during a group consulting call led to a reflection about things designers wished they had known earlier on in their careers. 

We all get wiser as we move along life’s journey, and everyone can probably relate to the wish that — had they just had greater insights earlier on — they could have saved themselves significant frustration, anxiety, sleepless nights, or even embarrassment. 

So, we wondered, what do interior designers specifically wish they had known sooner to avoid some professional and personal anguish. We asked designers via The Weekly Install® “What is something you know NOW that you wish you knew when you started your business?” and are so excited to share their responses. (All confidential information has been removed.)

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Dear Dakota,

I have been working with a builder for almost 3 years. He is continually changing his process and his projects are a time suck. He is not accountable for his own process and I found out last week he threw me under the bus to cover his own ass. I'm finally at a crossroad and wondering if I need to stop working with him. However, his business is a consistent cash flow. One of his "project managers" hates working with designers. He will purposely not call anyone on my team for tile walks, paint walks, etc. because he doesn't want to deal with us telling him things are installed incorrectly. I have spent hours and hours of my time with his clients and honestly feel bad for them. I know they have no idea what's going on behind the scenes and I feel totally stuck. HELP!

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