As creative business owners, we naturally excel at the visionary side of things—designing beautiful spaces, building relationships with clients, and creating marketing strategies. But there’s a side to business that is often overlooked and, frankly, feared by many: the financials. You can be incredibly talented at your craft, but if you don’t understand your numbers, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.

Fall gets me so excited every year. As a matter of fact, every season brings with it a special delight. Fall brings college football, cooler weather, leaves turning, and all things cinnamon and nutmeg. I feel the crispness in the air, and it makes me want to start looking for a cozy sweater and a good movie. But fall can also bring a slowdown if perhaps your marketing wasn’t connecting during the summer months (or was nonexistent), or if there is a general slowdown in the economy. If either of these are affecting your business, don’t lose hope. Keep marketing and turn your focus towards working on your business so that when your ideal client reaches out, you are more than ready.

Running a successful design business isn’t just about your creativity, service, or product quality—it's about understanding the financial health of your business. For many entrepreneurs, particularly creative business owners, the financial side of the business can feel daunting. However, stepping into the role of CEO means mastering your numbers. During my 6-week CFO2GO program, we don’t just skim the surface—we dive deep into the numbers that matter most. To give you a head start on your financial success, here are the five key financial metrics I would want you to learn first as part of my CFO2GO program. These are essential to move from designer to CEO and can make the difference between just getting by and thriving.

In the world of business, pricing is often viewed as a dry, mathematical exercise—a necessary but uninspiring part of running a company. However, I have learned through years of experience, pricing is not just about numbers. It’s a journey of self-discovery, empowerment, and ultimately, transformation. This realization led me to create and teach a course that has changed the lives and businesses of countless entrepreneurs: "Pricing Without Emotion."

Do you struggle with pricing your services? Does setting your interior design pricing strategy intimidate you? You're not alone. Many design industry business owners find it challenging to set prices that reflect the true value of their offerings without letting emotions interfere. Pricing is a critical aspect of any business, but other operational tasks often overshadow it. Understanding the math and foundation of your pricing structure is essential. It's not just about covering your costs and making a profit; it's about creating a sustainable model that supports your long-term business goals. How can you achieve clear, emotion-free pricing for your business?

In my recent Mastermind session, I had the pleasure of leading a dynamic group of business owners through the essential strategies for growing and scaling a business without sacrificing income. This blog post covers the key points and actionable insights from our discussion, focusing on the importance of preserving financial health while expanding operations. Through real-world examples and a step-by-step formula, I guide you on how to identify the income you need to protect and the amount of sales required to achieve sustainable growth.

One-on-one coaching is my main line of work, and for a good reason. So much of my work happens behind the scenes. I dive head first into my client's business, helping them become strategic with their finances and decision making to be able to lead profitable companies. My ultimate goal and reward is connecting with and helping incredible business owners in the interior design industry. So, I get very excited when my clients come back on my podcast to share their stories so they can, in turn, help others in the design industry.

Are you an interior design professional looking to level up your business? Do you struggle with business hurdles, managing financials, or even paying taxes, let alone yourself? Do you struggle to keep up with the responsibility of running a company and balancing it with your life and family? I have spent more than two decades in the industry and know firsthand that to scale your business, a "make more money" strategy doesn't work. You need a solid financial strategy to grow your business and make it profitable. Over the years, I have helped many design professionals restructure their businesses and understand and optimize their finances. I made it my goal to make your business work for you, not the other way around.

As interior designers, you often focus on creating beautiful spaces for your clients. But what if I told you that the key to success in this industry lies not just in the design skills but also in building and nurturing a strong community? In this blog post, we'll explore why community matters for interior designers and how it can help you thrive professionally and personally. So grab a cup of coffee, and let's dive into the power of connections in the world of interior design!

I am going to share with you some of the training that I've been offering in my AIM with Intent methodology to my private group. I am an advocate of doing all the planning in advance as much as we can so when it comes time to execute your plan, you already know what to do. We will be thinking about worst-case scenario/ best-case scenarios, when it is time to implement your plan, you are free to do just that. We will also be discussing transition plans and why you need one. This is information we should all have about and for our business.

As an interior designer, you have a unique eye for aesthetics and a passion for transforming spaces. However, to truly thrive in the design industry, you need to master the art of financial planning. Creating a solid financial plan is necessary for your business's success. Without carefully considering expenses and revenue streams, your business may struggle to stay afloat in the competitive market. A well-thought-out financial plan can help you assign resources effectively, making sure that funds are spent on necessary supplies and equipment. Also, having a clear understanding of your cash flow, projections, and budgeting can prevent overspending or running into unexpected financial difficulties down the line. You want to ensure that your creative vision remains sustainable. So, let’s dive in.

Interior design is a highly competitive and demanding field where one's creativity and skills are put to the test daily. However, despite the hard work and talent that goes into this profession, many interior designers struggle with being underpaid for their services. This issue not only affects our financial stability, but it undermines our worth as design professionals.

We have heard and maybe even talked with others of being burned out and looking for inspiration in different ways. But today, I want to talk about being exhausted in all ways: mentally, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually then discuss what we can do about it.

Let’s talk about leadership. As many of us are growing our teams, we should consider how our role, and perhaps that of some of our team, is shifting into more of a leadership focus and not simply executing details.

As owners, we build and build and work and work on our business. But what happens when we need to step away for a time? Can the business move on without us? What if we are out for a hot minute and someone needs to step in on our behalf, have we established a company that they can move into? Let’s look at the areas we need to consider for continuity of service if we, the owner, need to take a sabbatical.

Do you currently create a budget for your new year and then manage to it? If so, you are going to enjoy this blog. If not, I ask that you read with an open mind and perhaps are swayed to begin this process of financial management. Either way – let’s talk about budgets and how to manage to them effectively in your firm.

Each year we go through a process of setting our financial goals for the following year, or at least we should. And I don’t use the “should” word without consideration. Many of us hate to be told what to do, so my hope is that as you read, you understand the why behind it and you decide for yourself that you ‘should’ create financial goals.

Every year I choose a word and a focus. In 2019 my focus was marketing, and the word was “intentional”. In 2020 my focus was adapting and codifying my AIM with Intent™ methodology and the word was “grace”. And goodness knows we had to heap loads of grace on everything that year. 2021 brought new challenges and my focus was on building strategic plans. My word that year was “ease”. How do we scale with ease was the biggest question I worked through and tackled in my company and offerings. In 2022, the focus is on metrics and the word for the year is “analysis”.

Owning an interior design business has many challenges and some of the yuck parts of being the boss could be managing people or projects, giving bad news, clearing up miscommunication, and managing parts of the business that are not in your wheelhouse (such as finances, marketing, or HR). No matter what, we all have areas of our company or tasks that we would like to avoid.