A Successful Business is Your Real Art

If I were to ask you how do you think of yourself, as an interior designer who has a business or as a business owner who offers design services, what would you say?  Most designers I know consider themselves interior designers first and foremost.  They happen to have a business because they prefer not to work for someone else or it just sort of developed along the way as they pursued their passion.  What they love is design.  Running a business is just a necessary inconvenience.  That’s too bad, because they are short-changing themselves and their businesses.

I share their love of design, but I’m also passionate about business.  And really, they’re not as far apart as they might seem.  Anyone can decorate a room or start a business.  Creating, maintaining and growing a business, however, like good design, requires skill and talent.  Just as with designing an interior, running a successful business takes vision, imagination, planning, management skills, teamwork, and follow-through based on sound business principles and practices.  You have to have good judgment and make tough decisions.  You need to be able to look ahead into the future and see potential for improvement where others see only challenges or more of the same.

One of the first questions you’re likely to ask a new client is what’s working for you in your home and what’s not.  I pose the same question to you about your business.  Do you have the right structure, policies, procedures and team in place to ensure success?  What’s your plan to grow your business, to attract new clients, to increase revenues and realize more profit?  Do you have enough capital and a cash flow strategy to keep the business fiscally sound?  How will you know when you’ve achieved success?

Creating, customizing and orchestrating all the various elements of a business so that they are functioning effectively and efficiently for your unique design firm is a real art.  Achieving business success can be just as satisfying as designing a great interior.  Since, for whatever reason, you have a business, why not make it the best it can be and enjoy the rewards that come from a job well done?

Operating a successful design firm is not easy, but it is achievable if you take the time to develop the knowledge and skills needed to take control of your business.  To help you get started, I’ve laid out the basics for you in my new book, Business Breakthrough: Your Creative Value Blueprint to Get Paid What You’re Worth.  It’s available now in Kindle format or paperback.