When your business is young, a step-by-step Instagram strategy guide or a $97 financial spreadsheet template feels like it could solve all of your problems. But when you start hiring more staff, and your annual revenue surpasses $1M, it can start to feel like that DIY advice just doesn’t cut it anymore. You need something more, you’re just not sure exactly what. That’s because you’ve moved past the “dabbler” stage and need to focus on scaling an interior design business to be a powerhouse of the industry. One-off “hacks” and templates aren’t going to help you anymore.
When you’re on the road to business mastery, you don’t need basic “how-to” information, but rather elite strategy, support from peers, and kind, clear, and direct coaching. Pearl Collective coaches interior designers who want to achieve mastery over their business, but we know the transition isn’t always easy. In this article, we’ll show you where your current business education may be breaking down, and how coaching might (or might not) be right for you and your business journey.
Why General Advice Fails You
DIY advice often assumes that your primary focus is getting that one more client you need to make ends meet this month. But when you’re scaling an interior design business, that’s not really the problem. Ideally, you have a full pipeline of clients. In fact, it’s likely too full, and you, as the principal, are the bottleneck. General advice doesn’t account for the kinds of issues you face at this stage: hiring for leadership roles, succession planning, and navigating tariffs and supply chain issues.
At this point, you know there is no single silver bullet that will solve all of your problems, yet all of this DIY advice claims to be just that. Maybe to the you of several years ago, but not the you of now! Success now comes from creating a well-oiled machine with the right processes and procedures in place, not a get-rich-quick tip.
Transitioning from Managing to Leading
Most of the general advice you’ll find assumes that you are the primary action-taker, and you will personally be managing a project. But an experienced designer who wants to scale an interior design business can’t get stuck being a project manager or having their hands in every aspect of the design. You don’t want to have to manage everything, so in this transitional phase, you’ll need to give your team, whom you’ve curated and trained, a certain level of trust and responsibility. A highly-functional team spends less time asking you for permission and more time executing on your high-level vision. Check out our article 5 Signs Your Design Firm’s Culture is Quietly Breaking to read more about how a non-empowered team and a tied-up principal can hamper your firm’s success.
You’ll need to shift from doing everything solo to setting the vision and allowing your team to execute using repeatable systems. If you find yourself saying “I can just do it faster myself”, it’s time to sit down and create processes and procedures that let your team take ownership.
What to Do Instead: The Three Pillars of Success
- Strategic Clarity: Stop guessing based on feelings and vibes. Create measurable KPIs and strategies based on data. When your marketing, communications, and sales efforts are aligned and working toward a SMART goal, your business will see more success than just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
- A Like-Minded Community: Pearl Collective’s greatest tool is programs such as our Boardroom. The DIY world is lonely, but a network of like-minded professionals who share your ambitions, challenge your assumptions, and push you to be a better business owner can be invaluable.
- Masterful Mentorship: Working with a coach who has your best interests in mind and isn’t afraid to be gentle but firm with you can have massive benefits. They can also hold you accountable and keep you on track.
Your firm deserves a CEO, not just a hard-working entrepreneur. You’ve long outgrown the messy, fly-by-the-seat-of-pants phase, and it’s time to use processes, data, and confidence to propel your business to new heights. If you’re ready to move from stuck to strategic, take the next step by filling out our program application.