Interior Designers: Are You Running a Hobby or a Business? - Porsche Williams - The Prototype
Check your email right now. How many unread messages from clients and prospective client are sitting there waiting for your reply?
If you're like most interior designers, you're drowning in the operational chaos of running a business while trying to focus on design work. You keep critical processes in your head, reinvent workflows for every project, and wonder why you feel exhausted despite loving what you do.
Here's the brutal question: Are you running an interior design business or an expensive hobby?
This podcast episode reveals why your creative talent isn't enough anymore. Systems expert Porsche Williams exposes the three operational failures killing most design businesses and shares the exact framework that transformed one designer from chaos to a $400 consultation fee increase.
Your design skills deserve better than reactive business operations that steal your creative energy.
So, let's get to it...
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Chapters:
00:00 INTRO
01:17 ORIGIN STORY
05:32 DESIGNERS NEED HELP WITH...
06:44 CREATIVE PEOPLE CAN RUN GREAT BUSINESSES
08:28 SUCCESS STORY
11:30 SYSTEMS FOR SMALL FIRMS
13:54 INTERIOR DESIGN IS DIFFERENT
15:59 WHAT'S IT LIKE WORKING WITH PORSCHE?
20:37 COMMONALITIES
23:42 RECIPROCITY
25:45 INTERIOR DESIGN IS PERSONAL
27:17 DO SYSTEMS KILL CREATIVITY?
32:46 CLIENT ONBOARDING
38:33 HOW TO VET CLIENTS
42:17 CLIENT EDUCATION
45:06 BE PROACTIVE
47:34 COMMUNICATIONS
48:55 TECHNOLOGY
53:12 THE NEXT STEP
Read the transcript…
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Porsche, let's start with your origin story. How did you get into doing this?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Well, first of all, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to talk to you today. My background is in executive support, and I started with supporting C suite executives in a variety of industries.
And one thing that I realized is that successful people have a lot of support that enables them to put their best foot forward. And what I noticed in figuring out who my ideal client was as a business owner, is that creatives, and especially interior designers, they have massive talent when it comes to the creative side, but they struggle with the operational side, with the running of the day to day of their business, with marketing and lead generation and client service.
And so I started the prototype as a way to give them back some time, and decrease their stress and, really to operate as an extension of their business in a way that gives them the support and structure and efficiency that they need, while allowing them to stay in their kind of zone of genius.
When I first started, I think my tagline was more time, less stress. Because that's what, that's something that we all struggle with. And especially for interior designers, it's just, it's a challenge, and I wanted to provide that support.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Was there any kind of one defining point when you were like, maybe talking to designer or something like that, where you just went, yeah, this is it, like, they've all got this problem and I can totally fix it for them?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah. So I would say my defining moment is when I did an interview with one of our, with one of my interior design clients. She was a guest, podcast interviewer, on a show. And so she interviewed me about my role in her firm. And this is still when it was just me.
And after that interview I got so many inquiries and people reaching out saying like, how first they were like, I didn't know a business like this existed. And we're so overwhelmed. Like, we love or they have wait lists, and they do beautiful work, but the email is a mess. And, you know, the follow ups are not happening and, client communication is suffering and people are sending nasty Instagram messages. And you know, they have all these things that are slipping through the cracks even though they're producing great work.
And so that's when I knew that, okay, this is an area that I personally, as a creative, I love and appreciate and respect, the work of designers. But As a creative nerd, I guess you could say I could see like, okay, this is where you need some support. And things just kept coming up that they were like, you know what? I need help with this, Is this something that you can help with?
And so like our list of services kind of grew organically from that. It started off with just client intake, and then we added gifting and past client engagement and helping with, you know, email campaigns and marketing material. And it just kind of organically grew out of the needs of our clients, over the years and the things that we expressed that we could help with. And so now we have like a really streamlined approach to providing like services for, for them that, that meet them where they're at and allow for them to grow with as a business and with us.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Would you, could you identify maybe like the top two or three or four areas of their business that designers need the most help with? The most kind of common things?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, I would say the, maybe the three most common things are inconsistent or non existent client intake process and follow up, where they're wasting time talking to leads that aren't a good fit for them or they're just not following up at all.
Two, I would say is just unorganized client communication. So clients are left wondering what's happening with the project, from week to week through the different phases and lack of SOPs and a way of doing things, that can be used by them consistently or by their team. They like, it's like the wheel is being reinvented every time. And there's not like a, there's not a streamlined method to follow.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Before we started recording we were talking about interior design school and, and the reason why most designers get into interior design is, is not their love of accounting or you know, email correspondence, it's interior design.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Do you think that doesn't, to my mind doesn't curse an interior designer to not being able to run a good business just because they're creative people. Right. I mean and maybe they need your help to do that kind of stuff. But, but it is possible, right? To run a tight, efficient business?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah. And you, you've heard me say this before. Your creativity thrives when your business operations are optimized. Like it's hard to have the mental bandwidth to transform someone's space for the long term. And stay in budget and make sure all of the, all the deliveries are coming in the procurement process, all of that. It's hard to manage all of that if there's no systems in place.
Systems actually help you to be more creative because it takes things off of your plate that you would normally be having to think through follow ups and emails and you know, it just, it when you don't have systems it's actually stifling your creativity. Whereas when you do have systems you, you have the bandwidth to think creatively like you, you're not having to reinvent the will each time.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Without mentioning any names, could you kind of paint a picture of client of yours who like before and after, like before they, before you came in and helped them with systems, what their business looked like personally. Right. Like what their day looked like and maybe monetarily like how fiscally how things work and then what it was like after.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, I would say so we have a client in California that was, just came to us overwhelmed, right beginning the day, overwhelmed with emails, putting out fires constantly with clients, clients texting and calling before and after business hours and just being very reactive in her approach to everything.
And after we implemented lead qualification system, scheduled communications with clients, looked at her online profiles, optimized those. She's, she's now able to have. And another thing that we did was we started collecting her consultation payments at the time of booking which was a big thing of her like trying to chase down consultation payments or having to cancel the consultation at the last minute which is stressful and completely unnecessary.
Right. So we get that consultation payment at the time of booking and so now there it's offloading the discovery calls and the intake to us frees up time by itself. But also she just has a, she's able to walk and start her day with a plan and a schedule and there are certain days that are designated for certain things and she's getting in front of the right clients because working with the right, with the wrong clients is, it's mentally and financially exhausting.
Because a lot of designers are afraid to say no to projects that aren't ideal. And we help them with that as well. So as a result she's grown, she's grown her team, she's working with higher level projects. She was able to increase her consultation price by about $400 from where she was at previously. Because she's working with people that value her expertise and value what she brings and have clear expectations on what the design process will look like. And so that's kind of what it can look like after you've implemented Some systems and you have the right support behind you.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I've, I've heard similar stories to that. And that's why I wanted to have you on, is because it's such a good lesson for people. And if we, if it, if this needs to be the 10th time that a designer has heard this and pushes them over the edges, that's fine. I will go, I will do this. But realistically, like that designer you're speaking to was ready to handle those, those clients, right? Because, I mean, if, you know, if you've got somebody who is paying, you know, that much more just for that initial consultation, their bank account is probably pretty healthy.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, but those people also expect more. They don't, they're not, they didn't get rich, you know, become affluent because they were dummies, Right. They're, they want value for that money.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: But what about the designer who is maybe not starting out, but they've been in business for a few years, Their business is small. It's just a solo. They would still, to my mind, really benefit from putting in S&PS like as soon as possible. Even if they never grow to those big expensive jobs, they keep it small. I mean, it's still going to help.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Not everybody wants to be a huge, a huge design business, but it still helps you to put systems in place and to start off with putting an emphasis on the value of your time. Like, it's hard to go back and recorrect bad behaviors after they've started. So if you're starting off, it's a great practice to understand that the business has to function outside of just the design portion and plan for how you're going to tackle the other parts of the operational side of the business, the relationship building side of the business, the financial side of the business.
You have to plan for all of that, even from the beginning because it will help you to be able to grow faster if you want to grow into a large firm. And if you don't want to go into a large firm, it'll just make the running of your small firm a lot easier and less, with less friction and less exhaust and burnout.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: That drives me crazy when design schools, they don't teach any of the business stuff. And I've talked to educators and they said, well, that's not our role. We're teaching them to become interior designers. And I'm like, okay, 100%. I, I get that point. But interior design is kind of a, a, different business in that it's one, it's a very luxury business. At whatever price point.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes, yes.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: You know, whoever they're renovating their kitchen, it's a big deal.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Exactly right.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: But also it's dominated in the, on the residential side by either solo or very small teams.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: So if you're solo, I was going.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: To say like no matter what type, whatever, whatever size your business is, even if you don't consider yourself a luxury design firm, the privilege of working with a designer is a luxury, it's a luxury service hands down. And it's a bit like how many interior designers do you know that work for other interior designers? The majority of them are solopreneurs. They start they, they may at the very, very beginning but then they eventually break out on their own and they start their own design firm. They don't. It's not a pipeline straight into working for a huge firm and being an in house designer. So interior designers coming out of design school really should understand how to operate and navigate the business side of it because nine times out of ten that's the direction they're going to go.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Yeah. And a lot of other luxury type products, whether it's you know, jewelry or expensive cars or any of that kind of stuff, those are all big corporate environments. Staffed by People with NBAs and business degrees and all this kind of stuff. Interior design is not that.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Exactly. It's exactly, exactly. It's not that.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Okay, let's look at your business, at the prototype. If, if I'm an interior design business owner and I have made that decision, you know. Yeah. I need this and I'm going to come to Porsche and she's going to help me. How does your method of doing this, helping designers, how does that work? How do you help them take control of their projects, their clients, their workflows, all of that kind of stuff.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah. So we start with an audit of what they currently have going on. We look at their workflows, at their process. And we do, in our onboarding we do a lot to understand who their ideal clients are and what their unique brand, voice and philosophy is so that we can speak on their behalf seamlessly. Prospective clients that are interested in working with our clients firm wouldn't know that we're not a member of their internal team. So we do a lot of practice and role plays and ask a lot of questions and onboarding just to understand where they're at and and what makes them different.
And then we start with based on the workflows, we identify those gaps. We start with the lead, lead and client intake. And so we, if they don't have an inquiry form on their website, we're implementing that. We, we work off of discovery call scripts and templates. We'll create customized ones for them and then we'll try to introduce some automation as well. And it depends on where they're at. So some people, they don't have any systems in place and so we take it step by step. Change is hard and we don't want to overwhelm and scare people off by saying everything that you're doing is wrong and we got to change all of it today. We don't want to do that. So we stretch it out over time. But we focus on the client intake, and lead process, at the beginning.
And then we also look at what their client communication looks like and how they're setting expectations for clients. And so that looks like you know, introducing a consultation guide or a new client welcome guide to help set those expectations and give clients an idea of what, what ideal projects are for that firm. And then and vice versa. So it's like an education on both sides.
And then we really focus on the relationship part. So follow up, following up with past leads that may have fallen through the cracks. We have a system for following up with leads from the beginning through the time that they've, you know, completely fallen off. Hopefully they turn into projects, and their other relationships, their past client relationships. So how many past clients are coming back? Do they have referral? Do they have referrals? Have they gotten reviews and testimonials? Do they have strategic partnerships or where are there, where are their new leads coming from? So that's the, that's the other piece is how do we maintain that relationship over time and how do we maintain their key business relationships outside of just with clients but with other people in their circle of influence?
What can we do to establish you know, quarterly check ins with people, and referral partners, make sure they're included in gifting, making sure they have you know, at least one email campaign going out each month, looking at their KPIs, we track all of their KPIs and and make sure that they're making decisions based on the facts, not just how it feels, and what they think is happening. We have more evidence to say okay, this worked, this didn't work. Let's switch strategies here. And vice versa. So yeah, we Try to start small. But we look at the whole business and what really drives the results, which is how you qualify your leads, how you talk to and communicate with your clients and then the relationships that you have. Overall.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Do you find that there are a lot of commonalities between the designers who come to you as clients or like, I mean we all think we're special snowflakes and from the design side of it, I'm sure there is. Right. We could pick 10 designers and they're all going to have different styles and they're going to all have different interpersonal kind of skill sets of how they work with their clients, but just on the business side of the business. Are they really that different or can you kind of say, you know, you've all got the same sort of issues and these are the things we need to fix?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: I would say there are, there are commonalities. It, it's mostly around how much, how much they're doing themselves versus how much they've land on other team members or outsourced. So there's always, if the designer is the one doing their discovery, calls them. Not being able to say no to non ideal projects is like across the board. Right? Like nobody likes to say no. Because the designer is thinking about the full project and the potential of the full project. Not necessarily that, that there are these red flags popping up that, that should really just make you say, you know what, this isn't going to be a good fit.
So I think that's something that's common. I think even more than that, the, the intention and desire to do things better without the plan or the real commitment to figure out how to do it. They know that they need to do things better. They have, you know, like gifting is a great example of this. Interior design is such an aesthetic industry. Right. Gifting lends itself really, really well in this kind of client interaction. And it's something that every single one of the designers that we've worked with have done sporadically. But it's never been like a system. Right. It's never been something that is like effortless, on repeat. They know when this happens. This happens when you know, we have a client welcome gift or we have a one year anniversary of the project gift. It's never been something super consistent. So I think that happens a lot of times. Like they have really good intentions, they just don't have the support to get it executed properly. And so that's where we're Happy to come in. Because we don't help them with the design portion of their business, we help them with all of the other stuff.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Blows my mind about the gifts, what you just said, considering how important referrals are to this business. Right. Talking to neighbors, talking to friends, all that kind of stuff, you would think that it would be such a no brainer that, that all designers would say you look after those clients because they're going to look after you.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes. Yeah. And I think and the thing is they, it's. Unless until you have a plan in place, it's not easy. It's something that like just gets dropped to the bottom of the list because, because you don't have other systems in place, you're just constantly reacting, putting out fires, and you just don't have the time to really put that intention to use and put it into action.
So, we help them with, you know, an annual gifting strategy and we have identified all the different, milestones during a project where it makes sense to gift and based on different referral relationships with other people that aren't clients. And we have pre picked out what we're going to do. We have a system of collecting information to make sure that the gifts are personalized and meaningful and high quality. And so it's, it is, it, it's a process that can absolutely work once you have it in place, but it takes time to establish that and we're happy to help, help the clients, help our clients and make it a part of their client experience overall. So it's something that those, because the clients that are a higher, higher price point luxury client, that's what they expect. And it really goes a long way when they are shown appreciation for the investment that they're making.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And it goes beyond luxury as well because it's such a personal relationship.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Right.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I mean you're, you're literally in their drawers like you are, you have to know them.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: So. Yes, yeah. It is the idea of go ahead.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: No, no, go please.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: No, I was just saying it's that, that's what I love about design is that it's a professional service that is highly, highly personal. And if you can. And it's important for designers to create an experience where not only do they check off the design boxes, but they blow the experience boxes out of the water. That's what leads to referrals and retention. And we like, we have one client who worked with a family. This was maybe like 12 years ago. The kids, their kids were, I think she did like one of the girls bedrooms. And now fast forward, I think this was last year. She was working with the dog, like the kids now on their homes. And that only happens through a consistent relationship that's been cultivated and nurtured over time to where you're like a generous generational interior designer for a family. Instead of just a one and done. So that's what we want to build, is those, like, really solid, lifelong relationships.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: You mentioned, you used the term, you know, putting out fires. And when I've spoken with designers who don't have, organized, systemized, you know, possibly automated processes, the number one thing is I don't have the time. Like, I can't stop. I'm sprinting so fast, I can't stop to come up with a strategy. And I'm like, okay, I get that. But there. I've had a few people mention this, and I'm curious if you've ever heard it, where there seems to be some concern that if they organize their business, they will lose kind of the creative side to it. And it. I, I disagree. 100. I'm like, they're two different things.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And. Right. Like you said, it should free them up to be more creative. But have you seen that hesitancy before from designers?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, I've, I've heard that before. Where they think it takes away the personal side. And I would say to, your. It. It. It does the opposite. It has the opposite effect. It allows you, again, that, that mental bandwidth to be more creative, but also to be more present. Right. And to show up thoughtfully and to not be scrambling before you walk into a consultation and to be able to respond to people, if, if there is an emergency, to be actually. To be able to actually deal with it because other things are operating as they should. Instead of it just being the 11th thing on your 10 list, on your top 10 things that you need to get done that day. Right.
So it helps you to, to show up, you know, just more thoughtfully and, and to not be buried in the administration, to where you can really focus on your clients and on the design and making sure that you are, you know, that you're have time and the mental bandwidth to take notes of what you see in their home when you're in there. So then when it comes time to gift, you know, you are, you're able to do something that's more personalized for them instead of being, instead of being halfway in the consultation and halfway in your. To do list. And so then you're not focused on either. Right. So systems just help you to operate more efficiently and operate better and be able to provide a better experience. And you can do, and you can, I would say, like, if there's something that you want to do to keep it more personal, you can do that still. You can have an automation in place, but still choose to write a handwritten thank you note. Right. So you can do both at the same time and keep it personal, but also, not, you know, exhaust all of your energy by doing everything manually. Right.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And like you said with the gifting, there are certain points in a job where they're going to either make more sense or have more impact. Because, you know, I'm sure there's times when things are just stressful, decisions need to be made, and it's like, you know, you want to kind of reestablish that connection between the designer and the client. We're on the same team here.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes. Yes. Yeah. I, think of when it, when it comes to gifting and I think just in client relationships in general, if you think about it like a bank account, you can either deposit or withdraw in a bank account. And that's how it is with your client relationships. And there are natural withdrawals that are going to happen during a design project. There's going to be delays, there may be deficiencies, there may be, you know, price point, like when it's time to pay that invoice. That could be like, I mean it's part of the process, but it's, it can, sometimes it can be kind of hard to turn over, you know, $100,000. But there are, and that's, that's why it's so important to lead with deposits. So having clear boundaries, having clear systems, having a wonderful way to welcome them is a deposit. Understanding that their kitchen has been under, renovation for three months and sending over dinner, is another way to offer a deposit. You know, making, instead of just doing a generic end of project gift where everybody gets the same thing. Doing it, making it, you know, related to the project or acknowledging the kids and the spouses in the gifting and in the communication are other ways to add deposits. So, hopefully your goal is to never go into the negative and stay in the negative. So you have to continually be intentional about making those deposits and your communication and your client experience, your level of organization. All our deposits, that can happen during a design project, for sure.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: You brought up onboarding as being kind of an Essential system that needs to work properly. I 100% agree. I mean, you know, how many times have designers received, you know, an email outreach or a DM or I mean best case scenario, a phone call and they don't jump on it right away. And you know, what does that say to the, to the prospective client? Right. If you don't hear from them and what you think, you're all excited, right? You're like, okay, I'm ready to go, I want to talk to this designer, I want to get this project. And then they ghost you even for a day. Right, so can you give us an idea of what a good system of bringing in clients like right from that initial contact would, would look like?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah. So the, the having, this is one of the common things that I see is that designers don't have a lead follow up sequence in play. And so the first and most important thing is that when they, when they drop into your inbox or you get the phone call that you're responding right away. There are 24 business hours at the very maximum, but the same day and within the same hour, right away, if possible. Now that can happen through, that can happen by you just responding if you, if you have, you know, the time and the moment to respond. Or you can set up an automation that as soon as that lead comes into your inbox, they're getting a response saying that we'd love to learn more about your project. Here's a link to book a discovery call. Or here is a, or here are the times that I can talk to you or you'll hear from my client experience manager, within the next four hours or something.
So that's the biggest thing because a lot of designers send one email or place one phone call and then they just never follow up. And that's where, because, and people's priorities change over time. Like they may be super excited to talk to you. And then if you didn't reach out within that first day, you know, something else has come up, has moved to the top of their to do list. And so then they're less likely to want to reach out.
So we, we do five follow ups within the first 10 business days either by phone, email, if we call and leave, if we call and we don't get the person, we leave a voicemail, we send an email. If it's part of the designer's process to also send text messages, we'll send a text. And so we do that for the first time during those first 10 business days, to make sure we've given ourselves every opportunity to get in touch with that client. And then we have a system for following up, every month, three months, six months, a year, after that, to make sure that, again, people's priorities change. Right? So they may have been ready to do design project today, and then tomorrow something happens and they can no longer do it. And six months from now, they'll hear from us and say, hey, did you ever start that project? How's it going? Is there any way that we can help? And they're like, you know what? We didn't. And you're the only person that's followed up with us to see how we're doing or see if we do need any help.
And that happened with a client of ours in Australia. And the prospective client was like, you know, interior designers and architects must be rolling in the dough because nobody follows up. Like, you're the only firm that's followed up. And yes, our, yes, our timeline shifted, but when we're ready, we're going to go with you because you showed interest and you are pursuing our business. Although we made the initial outreach, so the fortune is always hands down in the follow up.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And I'm sure there's lots of interior designers who are going to hear what you just said and they're going to be pulling their hair out. They're like, oh, you people are getting phone calls and you're not answering them. I was like, I send them to me.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Well, I mean, ha. I mean, it happens. And. But you also have to be ready to vet that client, that prospective client, when they call. And you have to be willing to understand and recognize the red flags and say no if they're not in alignment with you, your firm. And that's why, that's why the intake form is so important, because that helps you establish. You should never go into a call blind, Right. You need to know budget, timeline, location and like a loose scope of work, right? So you can understand if, if that person's expectations are at all realistic. Like if somebody's saying on their intake form that they need a new kitchen next month, that's not going to work. Right. And so you need to be able to understand where they're coming from and what they're thinking before you get on the phone and talk to them.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I was, You've led me right into my next question, which was about, those initial consultations or initial contacts with clients to determine if they are a Good fit. And it doesn't mean they're a bad client. They may just not be your client.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes, exactly, exactly, exactly.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: So, so other than that intake form, which I always have a problem with, like how deep do you go into that intake form? Because like you want as much data as possible so that you can weed out the people you don't want. But on the other hand, you don't want to have 50 questions there that somebody has and they're like, okay, I just quit, gone. And they just, and they just move aside. So there's, there's probably a real balancing act there to.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: I think it's on the intake form. I think it's important to have. You don't want, you don't want it to be too long. Seven questions. Maybe you need their, their name, their contact information, scope of work, timeline, budget, and that's really what you need for the intake form. But having an intake form is an indicator of whether they're willing to follow a process. Right. So if they're not going to fill out a form, then they might not be willing to understand and let you lead the design process. But then after that, when you're on the discovery call, we can go into more detail about, how do you want the space to feel? How do you want the space to function for you? Have you worked with a designer before and what was that experience like? Have you already hired people for this job? A lot of people come and they're like, I just need a designer. I already have a contractor and I already know that I want to work with this person, but now I need a designer. Or they had a bad experience with an interior designer. And so now you're kind of making up for, you're creating your own experience and trying to make up for that bad experience too. You can find out that's the discovery call is a great time to understand what other decision makers are involved in the process.
That's super, super important and that's something that a lot of our clients require for the actual design consultation that all decision makers are present so that you can mitigate and you don't become like a mediator between one spouse that is all about the design and has like a non realistic idea of the budget and the other one that doesn't really understand or isn't super concerned about the design but only cares about the budget. Right. So having those people, everybody that's making decisions, included in the beginning, asking questions about what interested them about your work, what caused them to reach out to you, is there a specific project that they saw on their website that made them really want to reach out, if there's pets or kids that need to be considered, what's motivating them so you can get in deep, deeper detail on the discovery call. And so the and so once you've had that discovery call conversation and we've determined, okay, this looks like this is going to be somebody that's a great fit for the designer, then we schedule the consultation. So the consultation should really just be the introduction to starting the project, not where you're learning everything about them for the first time. Okay.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I would also assume that whether it's a, a homeowner who's never done a, a renovation, never done an interior design project or even one that has maybe, but they haven't worked with, with me, they don't know me, they don't know my process. I'm assuming that this onboarding is also an education of yes, what we can do, but also how, how it's going to go. Right. Like this will happen, then this and then they kind of learn as they go.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yes. And that can be communicated during the consultation. That can be communicated during a consultation guide that also illustrates your process. It can be communicated during the new client welcome guide on your website. This one thing that is different about designers is that they often have different processes. Some follow like a 15 step system, some follow a seven step system. Some do like we have one client that does architecture and interior design. So her process for an architecture client is different than that for an interior design client. Although they may come together and end an interior design at the end.
So having that process in place, understanding it, having it written down and able to communicate to us if we're working with you, but just on your own. If you're being able to communicate that and share that with the client gives them peace of mind. It helps build your trust and establish your credibility that you have a process in place and they have a clear expectation of what the next step is instead of just guessing, or having to come to their own conclusions.
And another thing that we do is follow up communication with clients. So that's where we're following. We call it follow up Friday. Where each week, each client that has an active project is getting a communication of okay, what happened this week? What's, what can we look forward to next week? What questions it gives them an opportunity to ask, you know, what questions do you have for us? And here are a few things that we need from you. And it just helps keep everybody on the same page instead of, you know, assuming and guessing and then things being misconstrued and possibly having miscommunications for sure.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I've had a design friend who runs a good sized residential business say to her employees that if your, if your client, if the homeowner is ever asking you a question about the project. We've messed up. Right. That we should be telling them. Yeah, this is what's happened, this is what's going to happen. So they don't need to, you know, be making a phone call on Friday night and saying, you know, well, what's happening next week? And like just that dynamic alone there, you know, you have to be losing trust.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: That just this, this Friday follow up just seems like such a, a simple thing that anybody could do right now.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, it just it shows that you're anticipating their needs, which is something that, you know, premium services offer is in anticipation of your needs. So you don't, so you're not having to ask questions, you're not having to go find information because it's already been presented, presented to you. But yeah, the follow up Friday, and it doesn't only have to be on Fridays. One of our other clients does it on Mondays. But I mean it's just the practice of being in touch because that's a lot of times what people, you know, complain about when they're working with the designer is, you know, I didn't know what was going on. It's such a long project. I didn't know what was going on day to day or they felt like, you know, their money was being wasted. While all of these things are happening behind the scenes. You have to show and you have to show and tell what your value is. By, and that's, that's by keeping them updated on what's going on and.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Even if nothing happened, right. Like you're that far along in the project and you're just waiting for things to be delivered and you're like, you can still, I mean that information should be available internally already. Right. Like the design company should know. So then it's just taking that, packaging it up in an email or however you want to do it, sending it out and saying, oh, okay, well we're waiting on these six things and when they, they're scheduled to come in in a week and a half, then the Install is going to happen. And like. Oh, okay, good.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah, exactly. That's, that's exactly what I wanted to know. Now I don't have any questions. Yeah, yeah. So just being upfront and anticipatory with your communication is super, super important.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Yeah. Because I'm assuming communications can be a, real time suck for designers, especially if, if they've got disappointed clients or angry clients. Right.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: So by having these systems, you kind of head that off at the pass. Right. They don't have questions for you. And if, and if they're upset because that furniture is going to be, you know, two and a half weeks, it's not your fault. Right. It's not.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: It's literally out of your.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: It comes in, we'll install it. We're doing our part. Right.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: And have, and, and having that communication established from the beginning helps you navigate those up and down moments. Because there are things that will happen, there are things that will happen throughout the project that you have completely no control over. But if, but if this is like the fifth time that you've communicated poorly there, your clients are not going to have the patience with you that they would if this is, if this is something that's different than what they've been experiencing. And they have already established a lot of trust in you and your firm, based on the experience that they've had so far. So, so yeah, it's, it's really, really important to start off strong with your communications and expectations. Okay.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: What about technology? I'd like to know what, in terms of this kind of stuff, do you recommend specific technologies or do you work with what they've already got or how does that.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: We work with, we work with what they have, if they have, if they have something in place. And only if we, only if it's something like, I don't know if there, that there's been an occasion where we're like, we absolutely cannot work with that tool that you already have in place. Most of the time it's that they don't have something in place. And so the, CRM or a business management software is, really essential.
[Technical difficulties noted]
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Hi. Oh, hello. The video went funny. Scrambly. Yeah. Okay, so tools, tools, CRM, is important for being able to gather and export client information to keep things organized. One that we love is Dubsado. That is, I really like, I've been a, in my own business. I've been a Dubsado client for probably seven years now. And I Love it. Because it is really outside of project management. When it comes to client management. It's really kind of all inclusive. You can do your, you can send your contracts, you can take payments electronically, You can design your workflows, set up automations. I love that.
Another one that's designed specifically for interior design designers is called Sidemark. It's a newer CRM and so Sidemark and Dubsado are my go to's for that. For project management, ClickUp, and Asana. I know a lot of designers love Asana and ClickUp, to help with their internal organization. And you can even give clients access to a limited amount of information. So you have like a client portal which you can also do in Dubsado.
If the CRM that you're using doesn't have virtual scheduling, calendly is great. That reduces the back and forth and scheduling and even Google, well, Google Workspace in general. I love Google Workspace because you have the docs, the sheets, the you know, it helps with your organization, client folders, client communication. And now you know, you can create your email templates in Google and have those saved. You can do suggested scheduling, in Google now. And then Canva. Canva makes us all feel like we're graphic designers. And so I think Canva is great for being able to thoughtfully create what you're putting out, into the world. Whether it's your welcome guide or even like branded stationery for your handwritten notes. Canva is a great tool for that. So that's kind of my tech stack when it comes to signs. But we've worked with HoneyBook, HubSpot, Monday.com mydoma by studio designer like I said, Sidemark we worked with a lot but we always recommend having because having that technology also forces you to get things out of your head. It allows you to be able to collaborate, outside of just yourself. And it allows you to collaborate with other people on your team so that you're not the only person that has the answers for sure.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Okay, you've sold me. I'm gonna, I'm gonna take my little solo interior design firm and I'm gonna, I wanna talk with you about helping me make it work better. So how would I do that? How do I get in contact with you?
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: So you can go to our website which is the prototype.net and we have you can see our services there. Then we have an application where you fill out a form that tells us a little bit more about your, your design firm and what your goals are, what your gaps are, what your process is. And we look at that and then we reach out to schedule a consultation with you and you decide which services that you want to go for, go through from there. And that's for our monthly retainer clients, which is the done for you portion.
And then also I was talking about before we started recording, I just released a course last month called the Designer's Guide to Reliable Lead Generation. And so if you're not ready for our monthly retainer services, you can also invest in the course which teaches you how to help generate leads in your design business from a relationship based standpoint. We, I created a radar framework that touches all the different points of your client journey and relationships and where you can generate leads, from there. So, yeah, you can, we can help you with the consultation for our regular services. You can take the course which is also listed on the website, and then we have a quiz on the website that helps you identify what's holding you back in your business. And so that gives you, once you take that, you'll get a customized strategy based on your results, from there and then that'll guide you which way to go.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: That's fantastic. Okay. I really want to thank you for coming on. I mean, I was already sold, to be honest. I was already sold. I love, I love systems and processes. I'm a giant nerd. But I think this is a lesson that designers need to hear again and again and again and again. And whether they contact you or whether they muddle through on their own or buy a book or whatever they do, I mean, systems and processes will radically transform your, your business. And I think, I think what you're doing and I think like, you know, with the, with the new course, like getting it out to as many people as possible, like you're doing something very valuable for the industry for sure.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Oh, thank you. Thank you for saying that. And I'm happy to preach to the choir because it takes time. It takes you, you know, you, you hear, you can hear the same message 10 times and it only click one time. And so I'm happy to preach to the choir because I truly believe in order to stay in business, it has to be sustainable or else you are going to. Entrepreneurship is such an up and down experience. You have to have systems in order to weather the ups and downs and the storms. And so, I just hope that interior designers take what I'VE said to heart and what you provide through your other interviews on this platform to heart. And they understand that it can be a better experience for them and their clients.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Thanks so much, Porsche.
Porsche Williams - The Prototype: Thank you.
Why Interior Designers Benefit From Operational Systems Implementation
Interior design education focuses almost exclusively on creative development while ignoring business operations. Porsche reveals that successful interior designers implement systematic approaches that offer distinct advantages:
Documented processes eliminate the mental load of operational decisions, preserving creative energy for design work
Systematic client intake and qualification attracts ideal clients while filtering out problematic prospects
Organized communication systems enhance client experience while protecting designer boundaries
Consistent follow-up processes convert prospects into clients months after initial contact
Strategic gifting and relationship management create referral systems that compound over time
This approach enables interior designers to focus on creative excellence while building sustainable, profitable businesses that enhance rather than exhaust their passion for design.
The Systematic Business Operations Blueprint
According to Porsche, successful interior design business operations depend on five foundational elements:
Implementing consistent client intake processes that qualify prospects before consultation calls
Establishing organized communication systems that keep clients informed without overwhelming designers
Creating standard operating procedures that can be executed consistently by the designer or team members
Developing systematic follow-up processes that nurture leads through extended decision timelines
Building relationship management systems that maintain connections with past clients and referral sources
The difference between interior designers who struggle operationally and those who run efficient businesses isn't creative talent—it's implementing systematic approaches to repetitive business functions.
Transform Your Interior Design Business Through Strategic Operations
Interior designers who implement Porsche's systematic approaches report meaningful business transformations:
Enhanced creative focus through reduced operational decision fatigue
Improved client relationships via organized communication and clear expectations
Increased project profitability through better client qualification and scope management
Greater personal satisfaction by preserving creative energy for design work
Sustainable business growth through systematic rather than reactive operations
The goal for many interior designers extends beyond operational efficiency to creating businesses that enhance their creativity rather than competing with it. Strategic systems implementation achieves this balance by removing repetitive operational decisions from the designer's daily experience.
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Facebook: @ThePrototypeLife
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