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ACTIONABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES
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MEMBERS-ONLY ARTICLES PUBLISHED WEEKLY
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PRIVATE LIBRARY OF EXPERT INSIGHTS & ADVICE FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
| ACTIONABLE BUSINESS STRATEGIES I MEMBERS-ONLY ARTICLES PUBLISHED WEEKLY | PRIVATE LIBRARY OF EXPERT INSIGHTS & ADVICE FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
How to Make Getting Interior Design Referrals A Consistent and Repeatable Process
For most interior designers we talk to, referrals are the number one source of new business.
What could be better? People who know and like your business tell their friends and colleagues (who are likely similar to them) about your interior design business and then your pipeline fills with ideal clients.
According to a Nielsen report, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than all other forms of marketing. And, referral customers are 50% more likely to make a purchase than non-referral customers (McKinsey & Company).
Unlike other marketing strategies, it doesn’t cost anything to ask existing customers for a reference. To be honest, it’s probably the lowest hanging fruit in your entire business.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
What Interior Designers Can Say Goodbye To As They Move Into their CEO Role
When you first start your interior design business, you have to wear a lot of hats. Unless you have investors, you’re single-handedly managing the marketing, sales, client delivery, admin, customer service, finance, operations, and IT. By yourself.
But after time, you realize that is not sustainable, and it leaves you with no time or energy to actually grow a company that gives you more time and freedom—which is the whole point of starting your business in the first place.
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
Dear Dakota | How To Hire A Purchasing Coordinator Who Doesn’t Want To Be An Interior Designer
Dear Dakota,
How do you locate talent for an operations/purchasing type role, someone who doesn’t want to be a designer? I need to find someone who would like to work at a design firm managing budgets, invoices, procurement, and design operations? Everyone who applies for my open position wants to be a designer. HELP!!
Join The DTS Files for my advice to this interior designer.
Dear Dakota | Streamline the End of Renovation Projects and Increase Client Satisfaction
Dear Dakota,
Do you have tips for managing the not-quite-end of a renovation project? This is when things start to unravel. Clients get anxious and start to micromanage because they're exhausted and overwhelmed. It's not a pleasant experience for anyone involved
Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.
Dear Dakota | How to Ensure Interior Design Clients Buy Furnishings Through You: Leveraging Your Interior Design Contract
Dear Dakota,
We charge a flat fee for Phase I and Phase II of our interior design services, and don't charge a service fee for the purchasing phase. Our flat fee pricing is contingent upon the client agreeing to purchase furniture through our vendors. We offer this arrangement to secure the entire project and ensure that clients buy all the required items from us.
Recently, we encountered a new challenge with a client. Although she loves the design and we are within budget, she expressed intentions to sell the custom home and not purchase furnishings at all.
It’s been two months since we presented the design, and she hasn't signed the contract yet. I've contacted her multiple times, but she has only responded regarding ongoing contract work, not the furniture purchase.
In my current contract, I have a provision that allows me to charge the client a fee of a specific % if the client removes items from the scope that were originally presented with a cost and within budget. I'm curious to know if your contract includes anything similar or if it has provisions to make it ironclad in such cases.
While this particular project is already underway, I'm concerned about handling similar situations in the future. Do you have any advice?
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ACCESS A PRIVATE LIBRARY OF EXPERT ADVICE for INTERIOR DESIGNERS
My strategies have shaped the way thousands of interior designers and luxury service providers do business.
Inside The DTS Files, you’re getting the original insights straight from the source—tested, refined, and backed by my experience working with 100+ design firms.
And because this is a members-only space, I can go deeper than ever before—sharing the real strategies that help designers build profitable, sustainable businesses with confidence.
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PRICING PLAYBOOK for INTERIOR DESIGNERS
The Complete Guide to Pricing Your Design Services
Grab my pricing playbook, The Complete Guide to Pricing your Interior Design Services, to learn:
the six most common pricing models for designers
who each one is best for, and
how to know if your pricing model is broken
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SHOP TEMPLATES
Plug-and-play templates, questionnaires, processes, and guides for interior designers who want to stop reinventing the wheel with every new project.
The Design Library helps you streamline client communication, set clear expectations, and protect your time—so you can spend less time in your inbox and more time designing. Inside, you’ll find:
✔ Professionally written client emails and marketing guides for every step of the process.
✔ SOPs to standardize service delivery and create a seamless, high-end experience.
✔ Contract templates with sample scopes to protect you, your team, and your clients.
What took me years to refine can be in your inbox in minutes.
*for interior designers only, not interior design business coaches, consultants, mentors, strategists.
SHOP WORKSHOPS & TRAININGS
Learn from my team (comprised of industry experts and educators) and me all the things they don’t teach in design school. And we know because two of the women on my team went to interior design school!
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. We are familiar with various software types, team structures of 1 to 20, and the challenges that are coming, whether you’re on your way to your first $100,000 or already making multiple millions.
On-demand trainings for your busy schedule.
*for interior designers only, not interior design business coaches, consultants, mentors, or strategists.
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Proven strategies and tools to streamline and elevate your interior design business.
COMPLIMENTARY QUIZ FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Feeling stretched thin in your design business?
You’re busy—but is your business actually working for you? If you’re constantly putting out fires and second-guessing what to focus on next, this 2-minute quiz will show you exactly where to start.