Designer's Oasis

In order to know your profitability at the end of a project, it's helpful to see what you estimated in the first place. Just like a budget for money, we need to budget our time.    Today's topic is one of the most asked questions that I get about building your interior design business and that's how to price your projects and come up with your service fees and feel more confident in your proposals...

We schedule trades so that there is some overlap between related trades. This allows for the best ideas to flow and they can discuss what they need from each other.    One of the most important steps in the Interior Design Process is "Trade Day" especially on those small to mid-scale projects or cosmetic projects.  "Trade Day" is the day that you arrange for your vendors or trades to walk your int...

Think about what your clients are experiencing. Hint - Your clients will give you these words Look in their clients intake form and use their words. This episode focuses on all things involving the welcome packet that you deliver to your clients. We will talk about how to create a professional, beautifully designed welcome packet and how to use it best as well as dive into some of the specifics of...

Having clearly defined design services is paramount to running an efficient and organized business.   It not only helps you get clear on the details such as the deliverables, the investment, and the timeline, but it also helps you to talk about your services to your clients with clarity and confidence.    And let's be honest, confidence is what we're after here right?    You can also use the detai...

Being boutique is about delighting your client EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.  Today we are going to talk about what it means to "Be Boutique" in your business. Being boutique doesn't have anything to do with being small. It has everything to do with how you show up and serve your clients - and when done well,  experiencing the natural benefits such as being able to charge more and cherry pick the clients...

You don't need to do it all! Think about your personality and what is a good fit for YOU and your clients!   When it comes to design services and the different options that we, as interior designers, have when it comes to what we each offer, I don't believe in a one size fits all approach. In many cases, designers today don't want to do procurement due to lead times, construction costs and delays,...

"You don't have to get it right. You just have to get it going." – Mike Litman   So first let's talk about why I want to go from blogging → podcasting. Over the past few years I have been sharing my content through the Designer's Oasis website (and fun little fact - there are over 78 blog posts you can still find there!). Recently I decided to switch over to providing content via podcasting becaus...

How do I build an interior design business? How do I get portfolio-worthy projects? Do I "have to" offer full-service interior design? How do I charge for my services? What if I want to do things differently with my interior design business? How do I take my design business to the next level?     Feeling overwhelmed? I got you friend.   Welcome to the Designer's Oasis Podcast. Consider this your p...