What You Should be Doing Right Now to Make Next Your Best Year Yet as an Interior Designer

Not to be totally cliche, but it really never is too late to plan ahead. While January 1 might seem like it’s pretty far down the road (hello, we just had Halloween), it’s really not. There are only a few months left to start planning your business goals for next year.

To make next year your biggest, most successful year as an interior design business owner, planning is key. Your list of things to do for next year’s business goals should include the following:

•       Monitoring business trends
•       Create a marketing plan
•       Setting challenging yet attainable goals
•       Evaluate your client services

You want to spend your days creating beautiful spaces — not trying to juggle finances, contracts, hiring, marketing, and processes all on your own. Getting ahead for the new year is imperative to ensuring you can do this. Keep reading for my personal guide to helping you make next year your best business year yet!

Monitor Business Trends and Adapt to Interior Design Industry Trends

It’s easy to ignore business trends because… well, they’re not nearly as fun or pretty as interior design trends. But because you’re a business owner and a designer, you have to keep your eye on both. You literally can’t afford not to.

I’m not saying you have to read all the business journals first thing in the morning, but there are some things to stay on top of. Here are just a few things I’ll be looking at for next year:

•       Assessing the budget and seeing if there’s anything that’s not making sense for my design firm.
•       How will the design industry trends change? Are materials going to be more expensive? Will shipping costs go up even more?
•       What do housing trends look like in your area? How will those impact your interior design business?
•       I will also be reading up on how other designers are receiving changes and how they’re adjusting. I want to see what their experiences look like, so I can get a better idea of how my own might pan out.
•       How’s your workflow working out? Is there anything you’d like to streamline for the future? Implementing workflow apps can help make the business side of things more efficient.

Create a Marketing Plan… and Stick with It

Step back and assess your clients. Has your target audience changed? You might already be working with your ideal clients, in which case your marketing strategy should be directed toward that audience. If you’re not, create a marketing strategy that draws in that audience.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, but you do need to step back and take a good look at what you’re doing now to see what you can improve for the upcoming year.

Here are questions that I use when I revisit my marketing strategy with my team:

•       How are my clients (or ideal clients, if that’s the case) consuming their information?
•       Is email marketing still working for them?
•       Would it help to include a newsletter to continue to feed them information?
•       Are my clients using social media more? And if so, what platforms?
•       What kind of traffic is my website getting?
•       Should I ramp up my blog frequency?

If your budget allows, I highly recommend outsourcing your marketing to a professional agency. They’re able to handle all of this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.

Revamp Your Services

Now that you’ve taken a good look at what your clients might potentially want or need from you, you can gather a better idea of how to make that happen. So ask yourself: are my services still working for my clients and me?

If there’s anything that clients just aren’t using, then don’t feel bad about cutting it loose. If most of your clients have transitioned from luxury family life to high-end, chic empty-nesters, then you don’t need to offer (or market) children’s spaces.

You should also consider any new certifications or any courses you took over the past year. Have you learned anything new that’s valuable to your clients? Or your ideal clients? If so, add it to the list!

Set Attainable, Yet Challenging Goals

The secret ingredient to making sure next year is successful… set goals that encourage you to reach new heights that you can actually reach. Be realistic, but don’t make it easy on yourself. The only way to do better is to keep driving yourself to do so. Being complacent and settling for less than your best won’t get you to that next level of success.

When you set financial goals, consider where you started and where you hope to be. Set client goals that put you in a better place than you are currently. And then… get to work!

Finding Even Great Success Next Year

No matter where you are in your career as an interior design business owner, there’s always room to do better. I’ve given you all of my secrets for how I’m going to tackle my goals for next year, so all that’s left for you to do is to make them work for you and your business.

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by navigating your future business goals, I know a lady who can help. You’re definitely not alone in your feelings, which is exactly why I created my mentorship program, The Interior Design Business Bakery.

I channeled my corporate America origins and interior design systems into a full 12-month coaching program where brilliant designers learn to grow their businesses with profits baked in. I want to help you whip up a five or six-figure leap in your interior design business over the next year. Click here to find out more on how I can help you make next year your best yet… with continued success for the future!