The Interior DesignHer Blog
real world business education for interior designers
Do You Need An Interior Design Business Coach?
Do You Need An Interior Design Business Coach?
Q: Does every residential interior designer need a business coach?
A: No. There are lots of interior designers who have the business skills to complement their design & people skills.
For those interior designers who do need to level up their business skills, finding the “right” interior design business coach isn’t an easy task. Not all business coaches are created equal. And like interior designers, not all business coaches have the same style or approach.
We sat down with interior design business coach Marc Müskens to discuss this relationship between interior designers and their business coaches. I hope it helps.
Why should an interior designer hire a business coach?
Why should an interior designer hire a business coach?
Why should an interior design business owner hire a business coach?
Why should an interior design business owner hire a business coach?
Residential interior design is a luxury service. Like sellers of high-end watches, jewelry, expensive automobiles, wine, designer fashion and private jets, interior designers sell a “want”, not a “need”. People need homes. They want impeccably designed homes.
However, unlike other companies who sell luxury products & services, residential interior design is a marketplace dominated by solopreneurs & micro-sized businesses…most with almost zero formal business education.
And even as the overall residential interior design marketplace grows and grows every year, the number of residential interior design businesses that go out of business also grows and grows. And why is that?
Are poor design skills to blame? Or, is it a lack of business know-how?
We sat down with interior design business coach Marc Müskens to discuss how an interior design business coach can help residential interior designers transform their businesses.
Interior Designers: Stop Underestimating Yourself
Interior Designers: Stop Underestimating Yourself
According to interior design business coach Gail Doby, 99% of interior designers underestimate themselves.
Are you one of the select 1% that accurately sees your own potential?
What To Look For In An Interior Design Business Coach - Q&A with Marc Müskens
What To Look For In An Interior Design Business Coach - Q&A with Marc Müskens
If you have ever thought about hiring a business coach to help improve your interior design business…you’ve come to the right place.
As part of our series on interior design business coaches, I recently interviewed interior designer & interior design business coach Marc Müskens about his coaching business, what makes it different, what makes it special & all the other questions you need to know before contacting an interior design business coach.
Marc is the co-owner of the Institute of Interior Impact, a Netherlands-based interior design coaching business with a unique approach to helping interior designers level up their business.
If you’ve ever thought about hiring an interior design business coach, you’re going to love this interview.
Mr. Beast Wasn’t Always Mr. Beast
Mr. Beast Wasn’t Always Mr. Beast
It’s true…Mr. Beast wasn’t always Mr. Beast.
Like the rest of us, Mr. Beast’s first YouTube video sucked. Seriously, not good.
However, unlike a lot of us, Mr. Beast kept making videos, and - surprise, surprise - a lot of those sucked too.
Unlike even more of us, Mr. Beast kept making videos AND he studied how people consumed his videos...what they liked, what they didn't like, when they quit his videos, etc
Unlike even more of us, Mr. Beast studied other creators & identified why & how their videos worked and/or failed. And he replied to almost all of his viewers comments to make a connection & learn from them. And he did a whole bunch of other stuff over & over & over & over...until he became Mr. Beast.
How Much Do Interior Designers Get Paid in 2024?
How Much Do Interior Designers Get Paid in 2024?
It’s a good question considering the financial roller coaster that we’ve been on during the past few years.
Like most small businesses, the first phase of the Covid pandemic crushed our businesses as our job sites were shut down.
Then, with the arrival of gov’t support cheques AND a lot of people working (or not working) form home, our economy shifted from buying services to buying stuff to make our homes more livable.
When our job sites were allowed to re-open, a lot of that “free” money flowed our way. Interior designers were busy as heck. Busy residential design firms needed help handling all the job requests.
Then came the double whammy of inflation & increased interest rates. Suddenly, for a lot of interior designers, business fell off a cliff.
So…what does the industry look like in 2024 AND if you’re a junior OR senior interior designer looking for a new job, what should you expect/demand to be paid?
Interior Designers: How to Brand Your Business in 2024
Interior Designers: How to Brand Your Business in 2024
If you're an interior designer who…
owns their own interior design business,
wants to run their own design biz,
has no desire to run their own business but wants to get a raise or get a better job with another interior design firm
…and you're looking to get 2024 started off on the right foot AND you're already on Insta, TikTok, Facebook and even LinkedIn, you probably already get this, but...in 2024, organic social media content - DONE RIGHT - is the best way to build your brand, excite potential clients and build your business.
Gary Vaynerchuk's new book - Day Trading Attention - should be your blueprint to doing social media the right way in 2024.
A friend who has seen a draft copy says that even massive fans of Gary Vee are going to learn a lot from this book. As I haven't seen what they’ve seen, I can't conform 100%, but my friend isn't a bull💩er. As annoyed as I was that he wouldn't give me any scoops on what's in the book, I have to respect that he didn't spill the beans.
Business and Personal Strategies - Interior Design Success 2024
Business and Personal Strategies - Interior Design Success 2024
2024 is going to be a big year for interior design and interior designers. Massive changes in technology are coming our way, BUT that doesn’t mean you can ignore the soft skills that are crucial to running a success business.
Today’s interior design business podcasts have should have you thinking about where you want your ID business to go in 2024.
Today’s interior design podcasts at a glance:
Dear Alice - Jessica Bennett and Suzanne Hall - Listener Questions December 2023 | Your Burning Design Questions Answered - 47 min
The Design You Podcast - Tobi Fairley - Failing Your Way to Success: The Team Edition with Melanie Coddington - 56 min
Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - Vita’s Tip in 10 with Vita Vygovska: Use This End-Of-Year Strategy To Reduce Your Taxes - 13 min
Resilient by Design - Rebecca Hay - A Mindset Makeover for Interior Designers with Andrea Liebross - 42 min
Business of Home - Dennis Scully - The Thursday Show: Stark Carpet CEO Chad Stark on selling to consumers while sticking with designers. Plus: This year's AD100 is unveiled - 52 min
Who’s Ready to Level Up Their Interior Design Business in 2024?
Who’s Ready to Level Up Their Interior Design Business in 2024?
We’ve got 4 radically different interior design business podcasts today. And yet, all 4 provide a ton of useful advice for those interior designers who are ready to level up their interior design business in 2024.
So much good stuff as we get closer to the new year.
Episodes at a glance:
The Holistic Interior Design Business Podcast - Rachel Larraine - Design Logistics Unveiled: Freight, Shipping, & the White Glove Experience - 16 min
Business of Design - Kimberley Seldon - Rule of Thirds with Patrick Ediger - 28 min
The Interior Design Business CEO - Desi Creswell - One at a Time - 13 min
Designed by Wingnut Social - Darla Powell - Creating Leverage in Your Personal and Professional Life With a Virtual Assistant - 38 min
Transform Your Interior Design Business in 2024
Transform Your Interior Design Business in 2024
We’re less than a month away from a brand new year.
How about instead of starting a new diet or signing up for a gym membership, we all make a determined, systematic and knowledge-backed effort to transform our interior design businesses???
2024 is going to be a year of flux for our industry. Between the rise of AI, higher than “normal” interest rates and an economy that doesn’t “feel right”, change will come for interior designers.
Why not get ahead of the game and make that change work for us?
Today’s interior design business lessons come from podcast hosts Terri Taylor, Michele Williams, Michelle Lynne, LuAnn Nigara x 2, Melissa Galt, Laura Thornton, Cheryl Kees Clendenon, Liz Lapan and Renée Biery.
Guests include Val Duvick - Val Marlene Creative, Jamie Van Cuyk, the owner and lead strategist of Growing Your Team, Susan Hayward & Jillian Hayward Schaible - Susan Hayward Interiors and Bessie Seeley, founder of Kardinia Interior Design.
School’s in session. Let’s put those thinking caps on:
Interior Design Business - Terri Taylor - Profitable Remodeling - 30 min
Profit is a Choice - Michele Williams - Financials are the Foundation to Work Life Balance - 49 min
Designed for the Creative Mind - Michelle Lynne - Keys to Hiring and Retaining Team Members for Your Interior Design Business - 43 min
Window Treatments for Profit - LuAnn Nigara - What Would Lu Do?: Seven Strategies for Business Excellence in 2024: Steps 1 and 2 - 32 min
The Affluent Creative - Melissa Galt - What Your Affluent Clients Want - 59 min
The Business of Beautiful Spaces - Laura Thornton - Let's Talk About How to Cultivate Lasting Relationships with Contractors with the Mother Daughter Duo from Susan Hayward Interiors, Susan Hayward + Jillian Hayward Schaible - 29 min
A Well-Designed Business - LuAnn Nigara - Bessie Seeley: Growing a Thriving Interior Design Firm From the Kitchen Table - 56 min
Damn Good Interior Design - Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Liz Lapan - Why your clients should not hire you - 35 min
Referrals, 2024 Design Trends and Stuff Interior Designers Need to Stop Doing NOW!!!
Referrals, 2024 Design Trends and Stuff Interior Designers Need to Stop Doing NOW!!!
Today’s session of Interior Design Business School is a real mixed-bag of awesomeness.
We’ve got a discussion about online reviews and SEO, a look at residential trends for Spring 2024, the importance of being open to change and a long list of stupid stuff interior designers need to stop doing. Kind of a weird day for interior design podcasts…TGIF.
Episodes at a glance:
Designer Discussions - Jason Lockhart, Mirjam Lippuner, Maria Martin - Unlocking the Power of Word of Mouth in Your Design Business - 22 min
Dear Alice - Jessica Bennett and Suzanne Hall - Forecasting Trends for Spring 2024 - 53 min
A Well-Designed Business - LuAnn Nigara - Power Talk Friday: Sonja Capasso: Is it Failure or is it the Path to Success? - 51 min
Hot Young Designers Club - Rebecca Plumb & Shaun Crha - Just Stop VI: Judgement Day - 1 hr, 1 min