Thinking Bigger in 2020
The best interior design business advice I can give you for 2020 is to think bigger.
I am so happy to be sharing stories lately that talk about the fees designers are receiving. Those fees are getting bigger and bigger all the time. The ability to do that and to be able to move into those bigger fees is really about mindset. It’s about understanding your own value and understanding what your worth is, both in terms of your emotional investment in a project and what your value is to the real estate.
It is so important for me to be able to support designers with these changes, help them discover their value, and help them understand how to talk about their value. They are so excited and happy to be appreciated and well paid for their work.
The designers who are doing this are having a fabulous time because it’s changing their business. It’s changing the whole piece of how it works. They’re valued and appreciated by their clients.
A Successful Designer Story
I want to share one designer story with you. These emails give me great joy, and here’s one that just came in on an email:
“My design meeting was delayed, just met with them today. Presented my LOA and got the call just as I was arriving back at the house. I’m hired! Check is in the mail!
Biggest design fee to date, $31,380.00 Thank you!!
I wore my bracelet of power ?“
–Karen B.
I know that many of you automatically think that the $31K is for selling the product or furniture part of the job – NOT true! The $31K fee is for all the designer time to research and write all the finish and fixture specifications, the interior design as well as some limited construction support.
All the furniture, window coverings, accessories, and soft goods that will be part of this job, will come later by separate contract in addition to this design fee. So, the $31,000 is just to set up a really good job that’s going to develop into the whole rest of the project. So, a marvelous job for this designer; congratulations – I love it!
What is the ‘Bracelet of Power’?
You might be wondering about the ‘bracelet of power’ mentioned in the above designer story.
The bracelet of power is a special thing that we do here at Interior Design Business Academy. I give my students, who have broken through the $10K glass ceiling of design fees, a silver power bracelet in a ceremony held at the Summit. The bracelet is from me personally as a symbol of support; it’s a bracelet of power.
What is its purpose? You wear the power bracelet when you are presenting something big, something bigger than you have ever done before, or that is kind of scary to provide you an extra piece of support. When you see and feel that bracelet on your wrist, you are reminded that “I have got your back.” It acts as a reminder that you’re capable of doing this. If you think you can do it, you can. It’s a lovely tradition, and I use silver bracelets the same way. It’s one of the reasons why I wear them; they all have meaning for me.
Interior Design Business Advice to Increase Your Fees
Thinking bigger and realizing that clients are paying tens of thousands of dollars for quality design services all over the country can change your business.
My interior design business advice to you is that if you want to change the way your business works, and if you want to have bigger design fees, it’s possible because it’s more about a mindset shift. Seek out education and support around how to figure out how much that design fee should be and how to present it to the client so they understand and appreciate your value can change your life. And my team can show you how.
If this resonates with you and your heart says that is the way I want my design business to be, then consider giving us a call and talking to us about the right program here at Interior Design Business Academy.
We have the Growth program that is about getting clients and making money, and the Structure program that’s about the backroom side – building your team and building systems behind you to smooth it all out and keep your cash flow going while making your time your own.
If that speaks to you, then click on the link below and book a call with us to find out how IDBA could support you. Let’s find out If we are a good fit to help you create the life and business that you deserve.
There is no icky selling here; if you belong here, you and I will both know it.
Until next time, design something beautiful and get paid what you are worth.
