Interior Design Business
Are You Paying Too Much for Payroll Services?
By Gail Doby, ASID CVO & Co-Founder, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University If you have employees, even just one, and are not using a payroll service, you should be. Even if you are using a program like QuickBooks to track payroll data, unless you have a background in accounting and are…
Read MoreDeveloping a Special Niche
By Drue Lawlor, FASID Director of Coaching, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Imagine yourself in a large room filled with interior designers. What would set you apart from all the others? Of course you could refer to that excellent “tag line” you’ve developed, but what makes your firm stand out? What…
Read MoreClearing Your Purchases Through Customs
By Gail Doby, ASID CVO & Co-Founder, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Whether you are purchasing a single piece or a crateful, any and all items brought in the United States from another country must pass through U.S. Customs. It does not matter whether the item(s) are purchased from a manufacturer…
Read More3 Key Elements To Ramp Up Your Business
Have you looked at your “vision statement” and your “why” lately? If not, it’s time! And when you pull up that vision statement does it epitomize where your business is currently? Has your business met your “why”? If so, congratulations – now you’re ready to update your “why” and stay focused on that vision. But…
Read MoreDesign vs. Designing
In the previous article we reviewed the most popular comprehensive design software programs. These products are suitable for both commercial and residential projects at any scale. Highly versatile, their enhanced functionality comes with a hefty price and a considerable learning curve. If you do mostly smaller residential design and remodeling projects, you may want to…
Read MoreBest Design Software – Part I
By Gail Doby, ASID CVO & Co-Founder, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Switching to new design software is a big investment in time, money, training and, possibly, equipment. Whether you are choosing for yourself or your team, you’ll want to take your time to explore at least several products, as each…
Read MoreChoosing Software to Manage Your Design Business
By Gail Doby, ASID CVO & Co-Founder, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Photo taken by Dana McGrath Designers soon learn that their life revolves around paperwork. Proposals, contracts, purchase orders, manifests, receipts, invoices, payments, and more keeping piling up while the design work goes on. You need some way to manage…
Read MoreWhen Talking Budget, Explore Boundaries, Not Limits
By Gail Doby, ASID CVO & Co-Founder, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Establishing a budget can be one of the trickier negotiations when working with a new client. More often than not, the client will not have a fixed figure in mind. They probably have a sense of what they feel…
Read MoreThree Keys to Effective Communication
By Drue Lawlor, FASID Director of Coaching, Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting & Design Success University Have you ever had problems during a design job or within your design firm? It would probably be more effective to say, “who hasn’t”, but did you ever think about the crux of the matter? Let’s say you arrive…
Read MoreWhy You Need a Unique Value Proposition For Your Business
We hear this often from interior designers: “My clients do not truly value what I do/offer, how can I help them to understand how working with me can help them?” So often interior design professionals make the mistake of expecting their clients to be able to recognize how wonderful we are without showing them how…
Read More