I want to share with you that I’ve been working on my next retreat for my Growth members. We’re going to work on design fees very specifically, and we’re going to dig deep. I’ve come up with the five rules that are essential for you to have successful design fees.
Think of these five things as a checklist. If you have all five rules in place, chances are your design-based jobs are going to work out very well.
- Budget – You need to have a budget. Without it, things run amuck. You end up wasting time doing things over, and you don’t make any money. You can do this with a Budget on the Fly or an Exploratory Agreement.
- Clear scope of work – You have plenty of time on a paid first appointment to understand what’s going on. When you write a scope of work, you have to be clear about what you’re going to do, the outcome you want, and specifically the space you’re working in. That way, you won’t get stuck with “scope creep.” You can always write another agreement if something new comes up.
- Quantity – How many meetings are you going to have? How many selections? Revisions? What are the qualifiers? This rule is all about boundaries. By setting the boundaries in the Letter of Agreement that match your fees, you’re in great shape. You and your client know what will be provided.
- Timeframe – Your job has to have a beginning, and more importantly, an end date. You are hired on the Letter of Agreement to do the design in a certain period of time. That means that if you’re doing something like a $60k living room, it shouldn’t be more than five or six appointments. Your client doesn’t get to “play with the decorator,” and you can control your time.
- Fee amount – The fee amount and when it gets paid need to be stated specifically. The fee is easy to figure out because you have a budget. What’s important is to take plenty of money upfront, if not all of it, at least 50%. You also want to make sure to state when the final balance should be paid, which is due before you finish the design. Your money needs to stay current with your work so that you can maintain a good cash flow.
Watch the video above, where I go into much more detail on my five rules of design fees listed above. By following these rules, you can experience more success with your jobs.
If you like this type of recipe for success tips and strategies, sign up for a clarity call with one of our coaches to learn more about our education and coaching programs. It’s a fun, free, no-pressure call where you’ll find out what the next best steps are for your business and if one of our programs is a good fit for you.
Until next time, design something beautiful and get paid what you’re worth.
