Dear Dakota, I have no leads coming and haven't booked a new client in a while. Do you think I should invest in having my website rewritten, or should I have it redesigned?

This question was submitted by a designer via The Weekly Install®, and here’s the thing: if you don't have leads coming in, it's …

Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.

If you're anything like me, you have a gazillion things you want to do in your business. But how do you know where to start when you have SO MANY things you want to do? And on the flip side of that, if everything feels broken but you also want to add in more things, where do you begin?

Join The DTS Files for my advice and insights.

This week’s tech tip is all about organizing your ordering and tracking process to save you SO. MUCH. TIME.

Set up an orders@yourbusinessname.com email address and use that email to apply for all your vendor accounts. This way, all your order update emails go to that inbox AND once you hand over the ordering to a team member, they’ll have full access to that inbox and won’t need to log into your inbox to get order information. 

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).

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! 

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 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.

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.