Have you ever been in a position where you knew you should decline a potential interior design project but weren't sure how to do it? Maybe you didn't have capacity, the project wasn't in your wheelhouse, the budget was too small, or your personalities clashed.

Or, maybe your instincts were telling you to RUN and you couldn't quite put your finger on what was off.

As a business owner in ANY industry, saying no and turning away business can be scary. However, I've found it's often MORE costly and damaging to your reputation in the long run when you say YES to projects that aren't a good fit. 

In this article, I'll share a few tips for turning down potential clients (and some simple ways to prevent bad-fit clients from making it past step one in your inquiry process).

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The last time I opened up my waitlist, I had the pleasure of speaking with  several designers who were interested in working together. Something a lot of clients and potential clients share with me is that they've already tried a variety of things, and many of them haven’t been effective.

Or, they invested in a program for interior designers, only to realize after a year and $10k, it wasn't helpful, and they were learning more from my blog posts. 

Here's the thing:

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When determining how to price your residential interior design services, it’s important to understand the various pricing structures out there so you can choose the one that will work best for YOU.

In addition, there are other factors to consider like your location, your marketing, your experience level, whether you are sourcing retail vs. trade furnishings, your clients, your scopes, your client experience, your team, and so on.

While every designer I’ve worked with since 2017 prices a little bit differently, I’ve definitely seen consistent ranges among the most popular methods, as well as what I believe to be the pros and cons of each. 

*As a side note: my expertise lies in residential interior design businesses, not commercial, so keep that in mind as you read this post if you’re a commercial designer.

Six Pricing Models for Residential Interior Designers …

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Dear Dakota,

Should I give friends and family a discount? If so, how should I structure it so I don’t get burned?

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As summer approaches, you might be thinking of ways to slow down so you can enjoy the beautiful weather, more unstructured days, and time outdoors. Or if you're like me, you might realize you only have SEVEN summers left with your oldest, and you cannnnnnnnnnnnot even think of that, so you want to soak up every moment before they leave for college. This is why I schedule a summer slowdown every year (read about how I take summers off or what I learned from my last summer slowdown).

Either way, summers are a great time to bring on some additional help in your business to either take your own “summer slowdown” or to get caught up and organized while everyone is moving at a slower pace. 

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Does it feel like you're always working in your interior design business, and even when you stop, the to-do list in your head and the urge to do “this one last thing” are always there? 

As an entrepreneur, it's common to be consumed with your business, especially in the beginning when you have adrenaline and excitement running through your veins at the thought of what’s possible, giving you that boost to persevere and accomplish so much. But eventually, the excitement lapses a bit and you get into a groove with the day-to-day operations of working with clients and running your business (two separate things; don’t miss the second part). 

And then, the to-do list gets longer, the inbox fills up, project scopes increase, responsibilities quadruple, and the constant pressure makes it feel like you’ve created a monster. 

I get that.  

So what do you do when you have more work in a week than you have time for? 

While I can teach you everything I know about the business side of design: like structuring and pricing your services, developing and implementing effective software and systems, hiring and delegating to a team, marketing to attract dream clients (and repel the red flag ones), and setting boundaries to build a business you love, I am not a trained interior designer.

If you are looking to expand your knowledge within certain project types, or you want to validate the high level of expertise you already possess, pursuing a recognized interior design industry certification may be something to consider. 

Below is a listing of the most well-established and widely respected certifications for interior designers written by my in-house tenured interior design professor and certified interior designer, so you can decide whether pursuing any would be helpful to your professional development.

I see a lot of designers who put this question on their contact form…and I think it’s a bad idea. You miss out on SO MUCH GOOD INFO and the ability to instantly determine whether a client will be a good fit. Not to mention you’re just clogging up your contact form when the goal is to make it as easy as possible for someone to submit an inquiry.

The question to ask on the phone (not in your contact form):