Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer: The Business of Interior Design

Paperback Writer

As most of you know I am very interested in the many ways we can market and promote our business beyond the simple four-color ad or placement.  I am a strong believer in editorial press and that includes items about your business and those parts of the business you can write about.  For a number of years I was writing for our local newspaper, The Pine Cone, in a series of articles entitled “Ask Mr. Williams”.  I hope it doesn’t surprise you to learn there were many times when I had to write the questions as well as the answers.  Hey, some of my best pieces were the ones in which I selected the question.  During a stint as a national board member of the International Furnishings and Design Association I participated as a writer for a group of articles released nationally on the future of design and what might happen to designers and clients as home styles changed.  Once all this was posted on the internet I found people coming to me asking for quotes and seeking more information on what had been printed.  Do not doubt for a minute how powerful the internet has become.  Nothing goes away once it has been posted.  Why not go to Google or any other search engine and type in your name and maybe your location.  You just might be surprised at what comes back at you.  So, it’s time for all you entrepreneurs out there to get writing.  Contact your local newspaper; ask the magazines in which you buy advertising if they could use another free-lance writer.  Create a blog.  Link it to my blog and the other blogs you enjoy and watch what happens.  Social networking has become the most interesting and cost effective type of promotion.  And, with all that said, I am happy to announce I have signed with Allworth Press to write a second book for them.  We haven’t decided on a title but the book will look even deeper into the multi-faceted face of the interior design industry.  Am I excited?  You bet I am.  What a wonderful chance to have my voice heard.  The first book, Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer, is set to release on May 19th.  I didn’t know I wanted to be a paperback writer but now I am one.  Your own path will differ from mine or anyone else and you want to make sure you write about a part of the business you really enjoy.  Is it presentations that make your day?  Maybe you enjoy the whole aspect of how to find clients in this or any other type of economy.  Are you very good at working the social networking scene?  If you don’t think you can manage the social sites I have the answer.  Gibson Design Management just introduced their newest program which assists designers in setting up and managing social network sites for marketing and promotion.  What a great idea.  Now even those of us who feel a little intimidated by the plethora of sites and how they can be managed have the “go to” team ready and waiting to help.  There is simply no excuse now not to get connected.  Contact Gibson Management, just start writing and watch what happens.  Good luck.

In the Still of the Night

Does this happen to you?  Your eyes open somewhere around 2:30 in the morning and you just can’t get back to sleep.  Yes, you’re thinking about the business.  Actually, while in that never never land between sleep and waking your subconscious has just given you the brightest insight into how to make your business stronger.  The problem, of course, is how can you remember until morning.  Well, you can’t.  If you lie there trying to make yourself remember you will just keep yourself awake and you might loose that very important insight.  So, keep a paper and pad next to the bed.  Or, keep a small recorder you can switch on and share your thoughts.  I have discovered some of the most successful people in the world keep a pad and paper around just to jot down ideas.  It’s important.  It also frees up your mind to go to other ideas and topics.  Once an idea is down on paper it becomes real for you and your planning.  It’s not to say you won’t get ideas in the middle of the day.  You will.  Again, just jot them down and, when you have the time, go back and take a look at what just might be the gem that will create a new income stream or focus.  I do think, however, ideas come to us in the night because we allow ourselves to relax.  Whether you believe it or not it’s the subconscious that holds the key to inspired thought.  Whether it’s about your business or the new guy you just met.  It’s a part of your brain that runs without boundaries and, therefore, not subject to the parameters we all set up around how we think and operate in the day to day world.  Using your subconscious is truly thinking outside the box.  I also heard this morning on the news shows that getting eight hours of sleep can help you maintain or even reduce your weight.  Just think, we can now give ourselves permission to sleep eight hours and get insight into our business at the same time.  Now that is truly making money while you sleep.

Rain or Shine

Here on the central coast of California we get rain in the winter.  This winter hasn’t been as horrific as others for large windy storms but we are getting some rain.  Steady downpours throughout the day and night.  When this happens none of us wants to be outdoors and I got to thinking about what I could do for my business indoors on days when the weather just won’t cooperate.  There are lots of things to do.  I’m catching up on my blog and plan to get the blog for next week in the can this week.  Our professional group’s winter conference starts in Palm Springs next Wednesday and I won’t have the time to blog that week.  So, I’ll be at my computer this week watching the rain and writing.  Robert is completing a report on activity from the past few weeks and also working on a presentation for a design consortium in our area.  We are going to show them the upholstered furniture we represent here in California and in Nevada.  What else?  Well, I am putting together a proposal for a second book.  The writing part is good for me as I review our business practices as I write about the process.  I am spending time going over past clients files and trying to ascertain whether or not there is something we could supply for them in the way of services, furniture or fixtures.  Oh, yes, I’m also getting together the tax info for 2008 taxes.  That’s just lots of fun.  The hardest part is waiting for those reports from investment houses that are supposed to be here by January 31^st and never come until well into February.  I hope to get all that off to the accountant by the end of the week.  Robert and I both are reviewing our marketing and advertising schedule to see where we can cut costs and where we need to increase spending.  So, even though it’s raining outside we’re snug and warm here in the office looking at those parts of the business we think need attention.  Besides, with all that rain out there it’s always so nice to slip into a nice dry martini at the end of the day.

Hard Habit to Break

I spent a wonderful weekend watching the tennis from down under.  The Australian Open Tennis matches were on and we took up a lot of our Tivo space so we could watch at leisure and fast forward the commercials.  I noticed something that at the very least is annoying and at the most a super bad habit.  Rafael Nadal, the ultimate tournament winner, continued to pull at his underwear before every point of the matches in which he played.  I don’t mean just occasionally but every single point.  It became apparent he had a very bad habit in need of breaking.  That, or new underwear.  I know this habit didn’t affect his game or the outcome but it is so unprofessional and just doesn’t look nice.  I know, I know, it’s a sport and those guys don’t have to follow all the rules.  This, however, just looks so bad.  My mother broke me of the habit when I was a toddler.  Someone needs to tell him about it.  So, what would you do about a habit that might impact your professional standing in the community?  Another pet peeve of mine is table manners.  Have you ever really looked at how your peers dine?  Do they use a knife and fork appropriately?  Do they chew with their mouth open?  When you see it what do you think?  Were they brought up in a barn?  Didn’t anyone care to teach them table manners?  I know it may sound trite but it is these kinds of things that people notice and judge.  Your peers and your clients.  Don’t believe me?  Oh, yes, manners, the way you dress, style and all that have an impact on the way your clients judge who you are in the professional world.  Slurping your coffee, eating with your fingers and not using a napkin can all impact how your client might ultimately come to treat you.  Do you know someone who will be honest with you about any habit you might have and don’t recognize?  Now is the time for a mentor.  That person to whom you go when you need good sound business advice.  And make no mistake, this is all about business.  A polished and accomplished air goes a long way in instilling trust in clients and helps them recognize you as the talented professional you are.  So, make sure you look good and know you aren’t letting any stupid tics and habits get in your way.  Success is often about the little things and attention to detail is an important aspect of all of our business lives.