Template Support & FAQs
We want to make sure you get the right resources for your business, and actually use them to get the best results. That’s why support is handled by a real, live person on our team.
This isn’t generic help desk support. You’ll get help from Maria, who used to manage implementation for our 1:1 clients and train their teams, so she knows our templates inside and out.
Have a question? Ninety-five percent of the time, the answer is in the FAQs below. Start there, and if you still need help, fill out the form at the bottom of this page, and Maria will take care of you.
Thank you for trusting us with your business.
General FAQs
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We no longer offer 1:1 services because we built something even better.
The Designed to Scale® Method is our signature program, designed to give you everything I used to do for my private clients but with more structure, accountability, and long-term support.
Add your name to the waitlist to be notified when enrollment opens.
In the meantime, check out our plug-and-play templates in The Design Library and our educational resources in The Workroom.
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I know you have options, and I’m honored you’re here! If you’ve been on my email list, attended a workshop or webinar, or worked with me before, you know my business motto: GIVE and GIVE GENEROUSLY.
When I create a product, I pour endless time, energy, and financial resources into making sure it’s not just good—it’s the best.
Here’s what sets my templates apart:
✔ Real Industry Experience – I’ve owned two businesses, managed operations for a 250-person company, and have worked specifically with interior designers and wedding planners since 2017 to streamline their businesses.
✔ Proven & Practical – My company has helped over 350 designers and counting, giving us deep insight into what works across various business models and team structures.
✔ Tried & True Best Practices – These templates aren’t just theories—they’re tested, refined, and built for real businesses with all the nuances.
✔ Superior Quality & Support – We’ve seen what’s out there, and we know firsthand that our products and customer service stand above the rest.
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You’re right! I’m not an interior designer. But that’s exactly what makes my approach so effective.
I’m not just selling one single approach based on what worked in my own design business. Instead, I’ve spent years as a business consultant, streamlining and transforming the businesses of interior designers and wedding planners, from their first hundred thousand to multiple millions a year.
Here’s what makes my approach different:
✔ Deep, Hands-On Experience – I’ve worked inside dozens of business models and team structures, refining revenue streams, services, pricing, client experience, branding, and marketing. This gives me a broad and tested perspective, not just a single success story.
✔ High-Level Strategy + Real Implementation – My team and I don’t just give advice; we provide back-end implementation that makes real impact.
✔ A Seat at the Table with Industry Experts – I’m not just working with designers. I’m on calls with their teams, consultants, attorneys, publicists, marketing agencies, web designers, and accountants. I see the full picture of what makes a business work.
✔ Understanding Your Clients – I know your end customer: what they’ll pay for, what they expect from their designer, and what turns them off. I also hire interior designers for my own homes, so I have been a client and know how it feels.
This knowledge is baked into everything I teach.
✔ What Works Across Markets – My strategies aren’t just based on one location. I’ve seen what works (and what doesn’t) across the U.S. and Canada in various markets and price points.
This isn’t about one way to grow. It’s about finding the best way for your business. That’s what makes my approach different.
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No. Our templates and workshops are intended solely for use by interior designers and are protected under U.S. copyright law. They may not be resold, copied, shared, distributed, or repurposed for use with clients, in courses, or in any third-party or commercial capacity.
If you are a coach, consultant, VA, OBM, design assistant, or strategist who supports interior designers, you may not purchase these resources on their behalf.
Instead, please direct your clients to purchase directly from us so they receive the appropriate license and access to all supporting materials.
We actively monitor and enforce misuse. If you're interested in a commercial license, please email us at support@dakotadesigncompany.com to inquire.
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You’ll receive instant access to your purchase in two ways:
Once you confirm your purchase, you’ll be redirected to an order confirmation page that has the link to your files.
You’ll also receive an email at the address you used when you purchased with the link to access your files as well as your invoice. The link will expire in 24 hours; please download the link and save the file so you can access your templates.
If after 24 hours you haven’t accessed your file, click the link in your confirmation email and it will automatically send a new link.
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Due to the instant and digital nature of our templates and workshops, we have a strict no-refund policy. Please review our Terms & Conditions before making a purchase.
Contact us if you need help choosing the best templates for your business.
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Due to the instant and digital nature of our templates, we do not offer payment plans. Please reach out if you are interested in bundling multiple products, as we offer special bundle savings.
Our signature group program, The Designed to Scale® Method, does offer a payment plan. We’ll share details during our next enrollment period.
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We offer two coaching and consulting programs.
Our signature program, The Designed to Scale Method®, is ideal for designers looking to improve their current systems, pricing, processes, and client experience so they can get unstuck, grow, scale, and elevate their business and increase profitability.
Our Design Business Foundations program is reserved for brand-new designers who are in the process of launching their business and want to set it up in the best way possible right from the start, so growing and scaling will be easier along the way.
If you’re not sure which one is best for you, please email us at support@dakotadesigncompany.com, and we’ll let you know what we recommend for your specific situation.
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Yes, if you’re interested in purchasing $1800 or more in templates, you can use BUNDLE20 at checkout.
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We are not able to break out individual items from our templates.
However:
The Canva templates, questionnaires, and email templates inside the Emerson Complete can be purchased individually.
The Canva templates inside the Full Service Canva Bundle can also be purchased separately.
If you're unsure which option is best for your business, feel free to reach out, and we’ll help you choose the right fit!
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1:1 consulting with Katie is very limited and, when offered, is only offered to:
Students of The Designed to Scale® Method
Former 1:1 clients
If you’re currently enrolled in The DTS Method or have worked with Katie before and are interested in hiring her for private consulting, reach out for availability.
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You will have access to any on-demand workshops for the life of the product unless otherwise specifically stated.
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Absolutely! These templates were created based on the same systems I built and implemented over and over for my 1:1 clients. These were designers making anywhere from their first $100K to multiple millions a year.
They work for firms of all sizes and stages and are designed to present an elevated, high-end experience for your clients, because that’s exactly what they deserve!
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If we were just starting out as an interior designer, we'd focus on getting two things right from the start:
Your pricing and your client process.
Client Experience Resources:
01 | Investment Guide – Helps you present your services and pricing in a well-organized, client-friendly way.
02 | Full Service Contract Template – Ensures your agreements are legally sound and set the right boundaries.
03 | New Client Welcome Guide – Nurtures your new clients through the onboarding phase, reducing confusion and setting expectations.
04 | New Client Design Questionnaire – Collects all the details you need upfront so you can design a space with fewer revisions and a smoother process.
Of course, the best starting point depends on your specific services, so feel free to reach out to our team for tailored suggestions!
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We don’t provide sample language because we are vigilant about protecting our intellectual property from those who might attempt to use it without permission.
However, here’s what you can expect from our templates:
✔ Professional yet approachable tone – Based on our experience working in the luxury services industry since 1996, our templates strike the perfect balance between polished and personable.
✔ Customer-centric writing – We make complex ideas clear, never use jargon in customer-facing materials (FFE, programming? NOPE!), set boundaries without being harsh, and make “No’s” sound like “Yes’s” by guiding clients toward the best path.
✔ Meticulously crafted content – Every template goes through multiple rounds of editing by me and my team of writers, copyeditors, and design professors to ensure clarity, effectiveness, and ease of use.
✔ Proven quality – Our clients and customers consistently tell us that our templates are the best they’ve purchased—and they’ve tried a lot!
If you’d like to get a feel for our writing style before purchasing, you can:
Read one of our 150+ blog posts for expert business advice and real examples of our approach.
Grab one of our free resources to see how we break down complex topics into clear, actionable steps.
Sign up for The Weekly Install®, where we share valuable business strategies for interior designers every week.
Our templates are professional, strategic, and designed for design firms that want to present themselves in a professional way while providing their clients with an elevated, supportive experience.
Client Experience Template FAQs
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If you offer both full service design and design day services, then yes, you will need the Avery Design Day Templates.
The emails, investment guide, welcome guide, measuring guide, and post project resource guide included with the Avery Client Experience Templates are written specifically for the very structured design day service.
In fact, we’ve laid them out so you can reverse engineer exactly how to structure the service, if this is the first time offering it.
If you need additional help with how to structure the service, and want to save 20% on the Design Day Client Experience and Contract templates, purchase the Design Day Workshop and access the private savings code.
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Nope! Our templates are professionally written and go through several rounds of edits by professional copy-editors and writers, design school grads, and interior design college professors.
As a customer, you get lifetime access to updates so anytime we update or add to the templates, you’ll receive those updates.
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The Emerson Full Service Client Experience Templates were created for interior designers who offer full-service design work for furnishings/renovations in either a flat rate, hourly, or price/square footage business model.
The Avery Design Day/Virtual Design Client Experience Templates were created for interior designers who offer design days, design consultation services, designer for a day services, or virtual design services.
While you may not consider yourself a “luxury” business, the service you provide your clients is a luxury for them.
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These are completely written out and we’ve highlighted the words you’ll need to replace with your business-specific information (like your hours, contact information, pricing, etc.).
The only section with prompts is the bio section for you/your team. Obviously, we can’t template a bio that works for all designers!
The images show Lorem Ipsum (dummy text) to protect my copyrighted language from copycats (yup, FIVE times and counting I’ve had people steal our content). Once you purchase the templates, you’ll receive the link to access your files, which are fully written by me and were refined and edited by professional writers and copyeditors on my team.
If you want to sound professional and client focused in your emails and marketing materials, these will be perfect for you.
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The Proposal Template and Contract Template serve two very different purposes, and technically, you need both.
✔ Proposal Template – A sales tool used to present your design fee, timeline, and total investment in a professional, polished way. It helps communicate your value and positions your services clearly to the client.
✔ Contract Template – A legal document that includes terms, conditions, and all the fine print (plus ours includes two sample scopes of work + an addendum). This protects both you and your client by setting clear expectations and boundaries.
How They Work Together:
1️⃣ You send the Proposal to clients once you’ve determined they’re a good fit and have prepared their scope and design fee.2️⃣ When they approve the Proposal, they move to Step Two: Signing the Contract.
If you’re looking to streamline your client booking process, having both ensures you’re presenting your services professionally and protecting your business legally.
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The Canva Templates come with placeholders for photos so you can add your own brand and portfolio photos.
If you don’t have a strong portfolio, you can use stock photos that represent your design style, OR, you can do a brand shoot (highly recommend!) and use photos of flat lays and design materials from your office.
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You shouldn’t need any new software as this is created to run straight from your inbox. You’ll need a free Canva account to edit the guides and a free Google Drive account, and you’ll receive the emails in an editable Google Doc. You can read here about my favorite software for a luxury client experience.
Your purchase also includes short video tutorials (I’m talking less than 3 minutes each) walking through how to edit the files in Canva, how to add emails to your CRM or Gmail, how to edit the questionnaires, and more.
Here’s a previously recorded video showing how simple it is to edit the Canva files and once you purchase you’ll receive an additional training video walking you through how to change fonts, colors, images, and page layouts and how to share your files.
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The Canva and email templates are written based on what I've seen is the most common process for industry best practices. I would set aside an hour to review the Canva templates and add your images, links, and fonts. You’ll also want to confirm the language is correct (example: do you call it your office or your studio, do you call it a welcome meeting or a kickoff meeting, etc). Once your refinements are in, you shouldn’t have to edit them again unless your process or pricing change. One and done!
For the email templates, I recommend doing a one-time read through to plug in your business-specific language in the highlighted areas. Then plug them into your email system or CRM as templates so you can personalize them when you use them. If you’d like help with personalizing your templates, please email us us for more details.
PS: I’ve had interior designers buy these, fill them in, and send them out ONE HOUR later to clients. So they can be ready to go as quickly as you want.
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Short response: then make time. I say this with love!
These will be a game changer for your business once you start using them.
Long response: while the templates are simple and quick to set up, and once you do personalize them, you shouldn’t have to edit them again unless your process changes.
Invest the time once, and let them serve you forever!
Business Blueprint SOPs FAQs
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No. The processes are outlined in an editable Google Doc (which is similar to Microsoft Word or Apple Pages) so you can update them and use them without any other software. For some designers, this is plenty. We simply provide resources and training videos for those who are interested in managing their processes in Asana to give designers options.
See how we set up and use Asana for my business and our clients’ businesses with our complimentary Asana Blueprint.
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Yes! The tools take you through the weekly and monthly business management process as well as the entire design process. So if you take discovery calls, prepare proposals, source products, prepare for presentations, place orders, make reselections, and offboard clients, the customer-facing processes will provide you with the step-by-step checklist for managing each phase of your service.
If you have different processes for different services, you can customize the Business Blueprint processes as necessary for each service.
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If you’re too busy to work on your processes, then you need to implement processes so you aren’t too busy!
When we’re busy, the last thing we have time for is hiring and training someone. That’s why it’s important to start now before you get busier and fall more behind. Investing the time upfront to create your processes will save you hours each week AND will result in having a step-by-step training checklist you can hand over to a new hire. Sure, maybe someone can’t come in and do the design work, but they can certainly manage the other 80% of non-design-related tasks that are necessary for every project.
If you are truly too busy, I recommend prioritizing the processes where you are currently having the most trouble so you can work through your bottlenecks one at a time.
Another benefit to setting them up now is you can add future refinements to your new employee’s to-do list so they will continue to update and maintain the processes as your business evolves.
I like to say "Cry once, and reap the benefits forever".
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Yes!!! Even more so. If you plan to manage everything from clients, to finances, to orders, to taxes, to vendor accounts, to drawings, and all the tasks in between, then having formalized processes will SAVE you from making mistakes and missing important details and will save you so.much.time!
Checklists will keep you from waking up at 2 am wondering if you remembered to send a payment for that custom order. When you have fewer to-dos floating around in your head, you’ll have more brain space for doing the creative design work you love to do, and your clients will pay top dollar for it. By formalizing your service steps, you'll keep productivity elevated, which always equals better profit margins.
And if you ever want to sell your business down the road, you’ll need documented processes so someone coming in will be able to run the business successfully in the same way you did.
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Nope! The Business Blueprint includes plug-and-play resources, completely done for you. Each of these resources is delivered in a Google Doc so everything is in one place. It’s up to you if you want to keep it in the Google Doc, or if you want to move the resources into a project management tool.
Each of the Blueprints comes with a few short videos (5 minutes or less) with tips for using the tools and templates.
These are the processes, tools, templates, and documents we use in our 1:1 clients' businesses and my 1:1 clients hire me for the consulting AND the done-for-you implementation my team and I provide.
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These products are standalone products, so you don’t need to purchase anything else to use them. In the Business Blueprint, each process has prompts telling you (for example) to send a “What to Expect for Installation Day” email or a “Welcome to the [Business Name]” onboarding email, or a “Welcome Packet”.
If you don’t have the client experience templates, you’ll know to create an email or PDF for that part of the process so it’s templated and ready to go out. You could essentially reverse engineer this and make a list of the items you need to create so each process is complete.
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If you purchase the Business Blueprint SOPs and then later join our signature program, The Designed to Scale® Method, we will credit your purchase toward your program enrollment fees.
A majority of the SOPs, tools, and calculators from the Business Blueprint are included in the program.
Submit a Support Request
If you still have questions, we’re happy to help! Submit a support ticket or send us a message using the form below, and we’ll get back to you within two business days (usually sooner!). We’re here to make things easy, and we can’t wait to hear from you!
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