Mastering the Business of Interior Design: Success by Design

Send Katie a Text Message!! If you feel stuck in indecision, overwhelmed by options, or frozen because you’re afraid of making the wrong move in your design business, this episode is for you. In this conversation, I’m talking directly to designers who are waiting for more clarity, more confidence, or more certainty before taking action — and how that waiting is often the very thing keeping them st...

Send Katie a Text Message!! As we step into 2026, I wanted to record this episode before you opened your inbox, before you looked at last year’s numbers, and before you started telling yourself stories about what this year needs to be. This is your 2026 pep talk. Because most designers don’t start a new year with a clean slate — they start it carrying the emotional weight of the year before. And i...

Send Katie a Text Message!! As this year comes to a close, I wanted to have a very honest conversation—one rooted in experience, not perfection. In this episode, I’m reflecting (with another seasoned firm owner- Michelle Lynne) on the mistakes we’ve made, the lessons we learned the hard way, and what actually matters when you’re trying to move your business forward with clarity instead of chaos. T...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Today’s episode is one I’ve been wanting to record for a long time because it’s built entirely around the questions I hear every single week as a business coach. These are the questions that come up in strategy calls, Voxer messages, office hours, and hallway conversations at High Point. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, unsure about hiring, confused by your numbers, or...

Send Katie a Text Message!!  If you want 2026 to look different than 2025, this episode is where that shift begins. Today, I’m walking you step-by-step through the 2025 Business Audit Worksheet and showing you how to look at last year honestly — without judgment, without overwhelm, and without getting stuck in the past. This isn’t busy work or a reflective exercise for the sake of reflection. It’s...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Welcome back, designers! This is Part 2 of The Design Business Growth Blueprint , and today we’re shifting from the hard-number reality of Part 1 into something just as important -  building your 2026 strategy like a true CEO. Not from vibes, not from wishful thinking, and definitely not from “I just want to make more next year,” but from real data, real capacity, and r...

Send Katie a Text Message!! In this kickoff episode of our two-part series, I’m taking you behind the scenes of the work most designers avoid: facing the truth about what actually happened inside your business this year. Before we can build your 2026 vision (that’s coming in Part 2!), we have to strip away the assumptions, the emotions, the “I think I made money here… maybe?” and look at the real...

Send Katie a Text Message!! In today’s episode, I’m getting real with you — lovingly calling you out and calling you up . If you’ve been stuck in planning mode, waiting for the “right time,” or drowning in overwhelm while nothing truly moves your business forward, this is your wake-up call. I’m sharing the mindset shifts, micro-actions, and systems my clients use to stop overthinking, start taking...

Send Katie a Text Message!! When you’re deep in the day-to-day of your design business, it’s easy to forget why you started it in the first place. I’ve been there — chasing goals, saying yes to opportunities, and still feeling like something’s off. In this episode, I’m challenging you to step back and look at your business through the lens of a true CEO and visionary. Because you can’t scale what...

Send Katie a Text Message!! If you’ve ever looked at another designer’s success and wondered, “What do they have that I don’t?” - this episode is for you. I’m digging into the real mindset work behind scaling a design business - and it’s not about better clients, a bigger team, or even a new offer. It’s about confidence. Because growth doesn’t start when your circumstances change; it starts when y...

Send Katie a Text Message!! So many designers get stuck in their businesses because of the beliefs they carry about money, success, and what it takes to grow. In this episode, I’m talking honestly about the most common limiting beliefs I see in my coaching practice — from thinking you have to struggle to make money, to believing that success takes years, to feeling like you’re not ready yet. I’m s...

Send Katie a Text Message!! In this episode, I’m kicking off a brand new series all about building a business that works for you — not the other way around. If you’ve ever felt like your design business has more potential than what it’s currently producing, this conversation is for you. I see you out there trying to scale, trying to take home more income, trying to show up for your family and your...

Send Katie a Text Message!! This week on Success by Design , I’m diving deep into one of my favorite topics: how to grow your design business thoughtfully, without letting it take over your life. I chat with Heather about the differences between W2 employees and 1099 contractors, and how choosing the right type of hire can make or break your business as you scale. We also talk about coaching, syst...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Welcome back to Success by Design ! I’m wrapping up our three-part series, Your Interior Designer Survival Guide Through Economic Uncertainty , with one of the most important conversations we can have right now — how to build a business that bends but doesn’t break. In this episode, I’m sharing how to strengthen your foundation through visibility, creative adaptability,...

Send Katie a Text Message!!  Hey designers — welcome back to Success by Design ! I’m Katie Decker Erickson, and this week we’re diving into part two of our three-part series, Thriving Through Economic Uncertainty . In this episode, I’m breaking down how to create demand even when the market feels quiet — because slowing down doesn’t mean sitting still. I’m sharing the exact mindset and marketing s...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Welcome to Success by Design ! I’m kicking off a brand-new three-part series called The Interior Designer’s Survival Guide Through Economic Uncertainty. Let’s be honest—the economy feels weird right now. Clients are cautious, interest rates are high, and confidence can feel scarce. But while you can’t control the broader economy, you can control your pricing, positionin...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Hey designers, it’s Katie Decker Erickson, and today I’m giving you something totally different — no fluff, no hype, and no sugarcoating. This is your five-minute State of the Industry for interior designers, and a heart-to-heart about what’s really going on behind the pretty photos and Pinterest boards. Because let’s be honest — the economy isn’t doing us any favors ri...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Scaling an interior design business isn’t just about hustling harder—it’s about systems, boundaries, leadership, and strategic support. In this episode, I sit down with my client Shannon to share her journey from feeling overwhelmed to confidently scaling her interior design business. We talk about the unexpected lessons she learned along the way and how coaching helped...

Send Katie a Text Message!! In this week’s episode, to wrap up our Project to Profit Series, I'm getting real about the one step most designers skip that could save you hours, protect your margins, and stop you from repeating the same costly mistakes project after project. Here’s the kicker: research shows that teams who actually take this step improve performance by 20–25% on their very next...

Send Katie a Text Message!! What if one happy client didn’t just mean a beautiful portfolio photo — but also became the gateway to three more dream projects? That’s the power of a referral strategy for designers that actually works. In this episode, I'm sharing why most interior design referrals don’t happen by chance — and how to move beyond “word of mouth” into a system that brings you cons...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Scope creep: two little words that can drain your profits, stretch your timeline, and zap your energy if left unchecked. But here’s the twist—done right, scope creep can actually fuel your profit margins and strengthen client relationships. In this episode, I'm breaking down the sneaky ways scope creep shows up (and why it feels so personal). The #1 mindset shift t...

Send Katie a Text Message!! Every design project begins with excitement, but if you skip one crucial step, that excitement can quickly spiral into misunderstandings, scope creep, and profit loss. That step? Onboarding and expectation setting. In this episode, part of our Project to Profit series, I'm pulling back the curtain on why onboarding isn’t just paperwork and contracts. Done right, it...

Send Katie a Text Message!! If you’ve ever said, “I gave a discount just to keep the client happy,” this episode of Success by Design is for you. In this week’s Projects to Profit series, I'm pulling back the curtain on one of the most common traps interior designers fall into: discounting. What feels like a quick win for keeping a client can harm your profit margins, dilute your brand, and e...

Send Katie a Text Message!! This week, we’re kicking off a six-part series I’m calling "Turning Projects into Profit." As designers, we pour our hearts into projects that photograph beautifully, but sometimes those same projects barely move the financial needle. I know that tension well because I’ve lived it in my own business. That’s why this series is all about helping you stop leaving...

Send Katie a Text Message!! What every designer needs to know about neuroaesthetics, biophilia, and charging what you're worth.  In this episode of Success by Design, I'm sitting down with Mike Peterson, founder of Science in Design, to explore how neuroscience is validating what designers have known intuitively for years: beautiful spaces make people feel better. Now we have the data to...