What motivated you to become a designer? Every designer that I have asked this question to has replied with a comment about a “deep passion” for the career choice. I have also found that there has is a quick dose of disappointment when one finds that being an interior designer is not as glamorous as it sounded before they traveled down this winding road. I am here to tell you that I can rescue you from the drudgery of running a complicated business and restore the glamour you seek.
You studied and worked hard to become an interior designer because you felt a real desire to be creative and use your talent as a career choice. You should do what you love! Great advice; it sounds so good. But I hear over and over again these common complaints:
“I am doing everything myself. I am always on the phone, and there is so much paperwork.”
“Why am I working so much and getting so little done?”
“Is all this effort and hassle worth it?”
“Why am I always solving problems?”
“Why do I feel like I’m a juggler at a circus?”
Did you become a designer to handle all these problems? No, but you are running a business and in order to free yourself up to “do the design,” you must “systemize the business.”
To do the design, to fulfill your dreams, and to fulfill your client’s dreams, you must develop business systems. As a designer in your own business, you are an entrepreneur. Therefore, you need to organize your company around six basic skills:
1) Providing effective leadership and a vision
2) Building a solid team and a shared vision
3) Creating a brand and awareness
4) Selling your designs
5) Becoming an effective negotiator
6) Fulfilling your promises
To develop these necessary skills, you need to create systems for each of these points. If you do, you will release yourself from the torturous bondage of a job you hate. Every system you implement in your company will add value or equity to your business. Why? Because you are creating procedures that do not require you to perform every task. You can assign someone these responsibilities. Maybe you are the only employee, but if you plan on growing your business, you will eventually hire someone. This first hire will be greeted with systems in place and an understanding of the requirements of the position.
The Designer’s Coach is a program that will help you develop these critical business skills. I have created six modules, each one focusing on a specific discipline of running a successful business. The modules are in a specific order. It is my wish that you follow each module as it is presented. There is a logical progression from one through six, so if you jump around, you might not get the full benefit of going through the work as intended.
The Leadership Coach
This first area of business development is all about you. You are the leader and you must look within and become self aware as to the type of leader you need to be. In this module, the work we will do depends solely on you, your attitude, your beliefs, and your actions. We will examine your leadership competencies and your leadership profile. Are you willing to measure your own behavior with a 360-degree feedback analysis? How will you take your strengths and implement your vision for your organization? What is your Strategic Vision for the future of your company? You will write a first draft of your Strategic Vision.
The Team Coach
All businesses-from a one-person company to a large organization-need to work within a team concept. How will you manage, coach, and lead your team? How can you become an effective leader, even if you are a one-person operation? In this module, you will learn how to build a shared vision, draft a team chart, create position and vendor alignments, and to understand what it takes to keep your vendors, suppliers and craftspeople happy.
The Marketing Coach
The lifeblood of any business is generating leads. We must develop a way to have a constant flow of new leads or we cannot survive. In this module, we will examine the current state of your lead generation. Through careful analysis, you will determine who your target market is and how to create your positioning statement. You will learn the most effective marketing strategies for a design business from networking and referral building to public speaking.
The Sales Coach
The conversion of a lead to a sale is a strategic part of your business that requires the utmost attention. You will learn such things as the power of “asking questions”, understanding the mind of your prospect and how to establish your business value message. Additionally, you will be asked how you sell your designs. Have you implemented a selling system? Finally, you will be introduced to the Advocate Referral System.
The Negotiation Coach
Do you understand what happens during the negotiation or decision-making phase of the selling process? Who is the decision maker? How do you know if you can trust what your client says? We will work on becoming a more effective negotiator with a strategy called: The Pendulum Principle. Also in this module, you will learn an effective negotiation defense against price shoppers and a strategy for developing effective contracts and agreements. Do you have a system to track all costs for each job? Are you communicating your value-message that will maintain the margins you need to stay in business?
The Satisfaction Coach
Keeping your promises is the best way to grow your business and to encourage referrals. A flawless client fulfillment system is critical to delivering on your promises to your clients. We will examine in this module how you get things done and encourage setting up the various systems. Along with this, we will work on making sure that you are exceeding your client’s expectations, each and every time, with great satisfaction staging ideas. You will also be introduced to the concept of Project Management.
If you follow these modules and apply their concepts, I believe that you will find a remarkable change in your business and in your life. I ask only one thing from you: you must want to make a change in the way you run your business. The key to this program succeeding comes only from you and your motivation. I hope that you will find the inspiration to do this, and execute a new way of running your organization. Then we can celebrate together. But before we begin, let’s take a look at the most common mistakes that many design firms make.
Neil Gordon is the owner of Decorating with Fabric. Decorating with Fabric proudly serves the New York Metro area’s Window Covering and Upholstery needs. Among our many clients are Architects and Interior Designers that work on Commercial or Residential projects. From Consultation to Fabrication to Installation, Decorating with Fabric has the staff, skill and experience to handle all types of projects. Visit our blog Draperies & Window Coverings to read more interesting articles @ http://www.dwfcontract.com/.