You have looked at the numbers. You have talked to peers. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you have a fairly accurate sense of what your work is worth. And then the proposal goes out with a number that is lower than the one you calculated, or the hours get billed at a fraction of what you actually worked, or the extra site visit never makes it onto the invoice at all.

If you have started searching how to sell an interior design business, you are likely sitting somewhere between curiosity and exhaustion. Maybe a designer you know sold her firm last year and it made you wonder what yours would actually be worth. Maybe you are tired, and a sale feels like the only exit you can picture. Either way, the question underneath is usually the same one designers bring to me in our very first conversation: is what I have built worth anything to anyone besides me?

A client sat across from me recently, certain her pricing was just fine. She was busy, her projects were beautiful, and her clients were happy. But when we opened her numbers together, we found something she had never noticed. Her markup was only 10%. She had been quietly carrying the cost of shipping, freight, receiving, and hours of vendor coordination, and almost none of it was built into what she charged.

Should you raise your prices? Hire that operations person? Fix the onboarding process that's been broken for six months? Finally get serious about marketing? When everything feels urgent, nothing actually moves forward — and you spend the week busy without ever feeling like you're building anything

Should you raise your prices? Hire that operations person? Fix the onboarding process that's been broken for six months? Finally get serious about marketing? When everything feels urgent, nothing actually moves forward — and you spend the week busy without ever feeling like you're building anything

As interior design firms grow, it is natural for owners to begin focusing more closely on their financial reports. Revenue has increased, the team has expanded, and overhead has become more complex. At that stage, many owners begin reviewing their Profit and Loss statement with a single question in mind: “Is this good?” That question, however, cannot be answered by numbers alone.

As interior design firms grow, it is natural for owners to begin focusing more closely on their financial reports. Revenue has increased, the team has expanded, and overhead has become more complex. At that stage, many owners begin reviewing their Profit and Loss statement with a single question in mind: “Is this good?” That question, however, cannot be answered by numbers alone.

One of the most common questions interior design business owners ask is, “What should my profit margin be?” It is a reasonable question. As revenue grows and teams expand, owners want to know whether their firm is performing at a healthy level. The challenge is that “profit margin” can mean several different things. If we do not define which margin we are discussing, the answer becomes vague and unhelpful.

One of the most common questions interior design business owners ask is, “What should my profit margin be?” It is a reasonable question. As revenue grows and teams expand, owners want to know whether their firm is performing at a healthy level. The challenge is that “profit margin” can mean several different things. If we do not define which margin we are discussing, the answer becomes vague and unhelpful.

As your interior design firm grows, the financial reports become more important, not less. Many business owners assume that once revenue crosses the million-dollar mark, the primary focus should remain on sales. In reality, once demand is steady, the greater opportunity lies in understanding how that revenue is structured and whether it is supporting the company you are trying to build.

Have you ever felt like your business was working against you, no matter how hard you try? You invest time, money, energy, and effort, yet you're still not reaching the goals you've set. That feeling of spinning your wheels is often a result of misalignment. And more often than not, the root of that misalignment? A lack of understanding around your financials and how to leverage them strategically.

Ending the year well doesn’t mean checking every single box on our imaginary “if I get all of this done by this date I will finally be able to slow down” list. It doesn’t mean hustling your way through December until you collapse into the holidays. It means being intentional about how you spend your time, your energy, and your focus. Because how we end the year directly impacts how we start the next one