How to grow an interior design business + FREE download
There are three key stages that your design business will move through - from just getting started all the way to making 7 figures a year (if that’s what you want to do!).
In this post I am unpacking each of those stages and helping you identify the tasks you should be working on at each stage in order to continue to grow.
Let’s identify what stage you're in now and (more importantly) how to get you to that next stage!
Stage 1: Finding design clients (launch)
When you're starting a business the first thing you need to be focused on is finding design clients and getting revenue in the door as fast as possible.
What does this mean?
It means hard work, proactive lead generation, identifying low hanging fruit that you have in terms of finding clients, up-skilling yourself in how to run a business and then over-delivering to every new client that you work with (because these will be the people who start to refer you to your next clients!!).
This is a really fun, rewarding and exciting time but it can also be super stressful as you don't always know what tasks you should be doing, the next steps you should be taking or how to get more consistent revenue coming in.
What to work on?
Your guiding question during this phase of business should be “what is my fastest path to revenue?”.
This is something my husband drummed into me when I was first starting my own business and it has stuck me for the entire time I’ve had my business. Forget faffing around with your logo, get out there and find clients.
Most new designers I meet aren’t doing anywhere near enough proactive lead generation. At this stage in business you’re unknown. People aren’t going to come directly to you - even if you have already set up a website or social media account. You need to be developing partnerships, telling friends and family what you’re doing and generally working hard to find your first few clients.
Once you've got a few you will build confidence in what you're doing and - most importantly - you will have a viable business!
Your income when working in Stage 1 is normally around $0-$50,000/year in revenue (or equivalent in your local currency).
Stage 2. Building business systems (grow)
Once the goal of actually getting your first clients has been reached it means you are officially in business and ready to start thinking about how to deliver your products and services in a more professional way that doesn't end up burning you out. And the way you will do that is by building strong systems and processes around what you are doing.
People sometimes get confused about what is meant by 'systems' but basically what we are talking about here is building out processes, standard operating procedures (SOPs), checklists, spreadsheets and procedures etc. - for any tasks or actions you do in your business that are repeatable and that you do over and over.
What to work on?
Examples of tasks you'll be working on at this stage include:
establishing processes for finding and converting leads (your marketing activities)
developing your repeatable sales system
setting up your client onboarding process
tracking your client projects and establishing a waitlist for future clients
managing your projects using software or other systems you’ve set up
more sophisticated lead generation activities
producing regular content for your community (e.g. blogs, videos, newsletters)
This is honestly just the tip of the iceberg of what you should be thinking about and building out!
If you want some practical systems to get set up today then make sure to read this post next
Your income when working in Stage 2 is normally around $50,000 - $150,000/year in revenue (or equivalent in your currency).
Stage 3. Scaling beyond time for money (scale)
At this stage you are probably now maxed out with your time if you are working as a designer 1:1 with clients. This seems AMAZING until you realise that you have now not only maxed out your time but you've also now maxed out your potential to earn more money. Not such a great place after all maybe?!
So how do you grow from here?
Well once you're at this point it's about scaling your business beyond just you. You either need to be hiring a team who can help you do your design work and/or you need to learn how to productise your services so you can move from working 1 to 1 to working in a 1 to many capacity.
I made a video on my Instagram page @clareleroy that talks about 3 different business models you may like to consider at the scaling stage. You can watch it here.
What to work on?
Projects at this stage include:
hiring staff or contractors to help you
productising the services you offer
unpacking the information you have in your head and then working out how to deliver this at scale to more than just one client at a time
learning how to reach your highest level of performance and productivity as a business owner and leader
Your aim: how to make more money while spending less time working on the things you hate doing in your business. This means having a higher income as well as greater personal freedom.
Your revenue at this stage is $150,000/year to $1 million/year and beyond!
Your Business Success Blueprint
If you would like more nuanced detail about what activities and tasks you should be working on as you grow your design business then I unpack it all in my FREE business success blueprint for designers.
This blueprint will help you more clearly identify what business stage you are in at the moment and show you what it takes to reach the next stage.
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post!
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
