Your Results Are In!
You’ve been grinding since the first day you opened! There is no project you turn down, and more often than not, the client is setting the tone on how you price. You’ve got grit and determination - and I have no doubt you’ll be running a successful interior design business for many years to come.
But what happens when the hours run out? When you need to hire your first employee? Or scope creep settles in? The 4 steps below will help you take that fuzzy film off your financials so you can own and understand them with confidence!
Step 1
Define Your Future State:
“What designer do I want to be in 12 months?”
Defining your "why" for your design business is crucial because it forms the foundation of your brand's identity and purpose. When you can clearly focus on where you want to be in twelve months, it helps you define clarity and focus. It will help set you apart from competitors by highlighting what makes your business different, and it enables you to make strategic decisions that support your future state.
Listen now to the Profit is a Choice Episode, “Creating a Vision for Your Life and Business.”
Listen now to the Profit is a Choice Episode, “Begin with the end in Mind”
Step 2
Understand Your Cash Position
It's crucial to stay on top of our cash position. Your cash position simply refers to how much cash you have on hand at any given moment and an understanding of what that cash is allocated for. While it's important to be mindful of unnecessary expenses, we must also consider that our payments for products and services are essential for keeping other businesses afloat – just as they are for keeping us afloat. This means we need to be very responsible in our decision-making process.
Blog Post, “How to Determine Your Cash Position”
Step 3
Create a Financial Plan
Creating a financial plan for your design firm is essential to effectively manage your finances, make informed decisions, and achieve long-term, sustainable financial success. To create a financial plan, you do NOT need to have a knack for numbers, and you do NOT need to become an economist or go get an MBA Trust me. You just need the right guidance.
Step 4
Audit the Way You Price Your Design Services
Flat fee, fixed rate, hourly pricing, OH MY! Interior Designers are faced with a unique challenge when it comes to pricing their services - perceived value, cost estimations, client budgets, and scope creep are all too common for designers like you. To overcome these challenges, you should focus on clearly communicating the value of your services, developing standardized pricing models based on factors such as project size, complexity, and establishing clear boundaries and terms in your contracts to manage scope creep effectively.
Blog Post, Designing Your Worth: Overcoming Underpayment Obstacles in Interior Design
Listen now to the Profit is a Choice Episode, Benchmarks for the Interior Design Industry
Your Recommended Coaching Plans
Free Coaching Program
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TDIC / $997 per month
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As a member, you'll enjoy our monthly group coaching calls, access to our entire suite of online education, 1 ticket to our annual strategic event, and an online community for nonstop networking opportunities and knowledge sharing!
Group Education Coaching / $1,795 each
Our 8-week group coaching programs are designed for designers, workrooms, and window treatment professionals who are ready to start transitioning into their well-deserved CEO title. We run a total of 4 group programs throughout the year with our next one starting in Jan 2025.
Free Resources to Create Action in Your Business TODAY!
PROFIT IS A CHOICE PODCAST
THE BLOG
Hi There!
I'm Michele, the Owner and Founder of Scarlet Thread Consulting. Before diving into business coaching, I spent over a decade running my own design business.
I know firsthand the stomach-churning feeling of not having enough money to pay taxes or even yourself.
That experience was a wake-up call. I realized that simply trying to "make more money" and "sign more clients" wasn't the path to profitability.
Instead, I focused on restructuring my pricing, improving time management, and creating a solid financial plan.
For the past ten years, I've been helping interior designer, workroom, and window treatment CEOs understand, manage, and optimize their finances. My goal is to make your businesses work for YOU, not the other way around.