Photography Felipe Correoa Unsplash
Embrace where you are at. If it fails, it fails. One thing is for sure. Your life has a purpose and another door will open.
The detail can really slow you down. If you don’t get it right it has the power to completely derail a good design. If you take the time to get it right and help other people understand your thought process, it has the power to take interior design and the execution process to the next level.
I am always under pressure to deliver, not just on the interior design for new projects, which is different for each project, but also to ensure each trade has a proper brief in order to execute properly.
The needs of clients are all different; some clients want just the scheme and finishes, which has to include a review of the layout and electrical for it to work properly and that is often not understood; others want the full experience and packaging of a commercial or residential building for proper positioning and marketing; some just want some design advice; others the works including furniture design and décor; and others to consult to a project team. It honestly is never a one size fits all approach and of course it is all urgent and everyone is important – because they are. So, how do you get the balance right?
For love or money
We all chase the end of the month, the game of time, so we can keep our cash flow going. It is the constant tension between doing what you love, delivering a great design and getting it done well, on time and on budget – so that you can do it all over again next month. The one thing feeds the other and if you are not focused on every detail, it can unravel very quickly.
The most important thing I have found is that you must always, at the heart of your daily execution, continuously ask yourself why am I doing this?
The moment you shift off-balance by focusing only on the gain rather than your purpose and the value you add, things go wrong. For example, is it more important to get the plan completed so you can invoice or make sure that the client understands and is in love with every detail before the plan is submitted. Both are important right? One cannot happen without the other.
I have discovered that even if a client understands the plan, design, scheme or your logic – if they are not in love with the outcome, even if they sign it off – they WILL change it when it is executed. This costs more time and money than if you had taken the extra time upfront to manage expectations, however it is a time consuming yet critical part of the design process.
The dilemma of a creative entrepreneur
It is also really hard to do when you are under any financial pressure. The reality is that lockdown has created a real financial burden for many businesses and many industries, including the interior design world.
How do you strike the balance between getting the detail right and getting it done, when your reality needs to get it done so you can survive? How do you pause to ensure that everyone is coming with you when actually you need to run ahead?
These are the constant dilemmas of an entrepreneur running a business who is also creative and a perfectionist.
I like things to be right, I am on a constant quest to find the right design for each client and for each project. Some designs are not always what I would want to execute because they are constrained by the project limitations – which may include budget, client preference, time and resources.
Photography Georgie Cobbs Unsplash
Budget work takes more effort
For a long time, all I got was the budget work because I had to start somewhere. Who is going to hire an unknown interior designer with a limited portfolio? So, I took whatever I could get. No project was too big or small. I figured as long as I could stay two steps ahead, I could figure out what to do. This was the entrepreneur in me. I have good problem-solving and resourcing skills so I knew I could do this. It was the right thing to do then but I know now that there was work I could have said no to.
The reality is that budget work takes longer (I promise you it does) because the creative in me cannot deliver an inferior design so you have to get really really creative in order to ensure that your design is still good and adds value to a portfolio. It also means a client is more willing to sacrifice the design elements of a project because the budget is a priority and means the outcome is substandard – possibly not by their standards but definitely by mine.
There is a lot of work I have done that I would not put in my portfolio because it is against my standards and is not perfect enough. It doesn’t meet my interior design standards, the work I want to do and who I want to be as an interior designer. My partner always reminds me that it is more important to give your customer what they want because it’s one step closer to getting the kind of work you want.
In the same breath, he also reminds me never to take work because you need it. Why? Because those customers can feel you need it and then think you need them. This affects your mental state on the project as you tend to give them more power than they should have.
Make sure that even the budget work is work you want because where focus goes, energy flows and you don’t want it flowing into a black hole.
Work like you don’t need it
One of the critical principles I have had to learn over the years is not to take work because I need it, but to take work because I want it. When you run a business, you are inclined to take on any piece of work right? Because you have to work, you have to survive.
My partner has continually reminded me of this, and I have made this mistake many times in my career. I have taken on work because either I needed the money, or I wanted the design in my portfolio. Neither reason is the right reason. How can I say that you ask?
I am writing purely from my personal experience which is linked completely to my life purpose and who I want to be. You have your own context and own journey. My experience is that if you take on work just for the money you land up resenting the time you spend on the project because your heart is actually not in it. As a result, you don’t really deliver the best work you can, even if you deliver good work.
Photography Boris Smokrovic Unsplash
The second reason, if it’s only for the design experience, you land up putting too much into it, you give away too much of yourself and it’s not appreciated and usually not executed as you envisaged because the client has their own vision and restraints.
A good deal is more than what meets the eye
A good design project is a partnership between individuals where every person adds unique value, where each person is respected for the piece of work that they will deliver, where boundary crossing is unnecessary because of the connection of minds and hearts. Everyone is invested. It doesn’t actually matter if mistakes occur because they are easily fixed and there is an appreciation for the effort each part of the process delivers.
A good business deal is not just work. It is about who you are working with, what they expect for what they pay you, is it worth your time both from a design and monetary perspective. What are the team dynamics and do you like the people? Yes, this is important because if you don’t like your clients you won’t be motivated to deliver a good design and truly understand what they want. Is there someone else in your team that is a better fit? This is also a solution to making projects work better. How do they treat their suppliers? How do they engage with you? Understand your own expectations and question your own motives. A good deal is not just about the money it is about how the whole thing hangs together, the journey and making sure that it works for everyone involved not just the client.
Big budget equals higher risk, and everyone wants something
When you have a big budget there is a lot more risk if things go wrong, so you have to build that into your costing, but it gives incredible freedom to the design process. I have also made the mistake of allowing this to be the motive for taking on a project; where I have been so mesmerised by the fact that I can do whatever I want to that I have lost sight of the price it would take from a personal perspective. I even realised that these clients wanted something from me personally, but I chose to ignore the signs.
It is so important to listen to that quiet voice.
Everyone wants something in a deal. You have to figure out what this is and see it for what it is. Can you live with it and understand what it means? Then you go in with your eyes wide open and when the thing happens that you feared, you have two choices. One, make peace with it and get it over with as soon as you can. Or two, you acknowledge you made a mistake and walk away, yes quit. It doesn’t get better so you must confront it and walking away can be the best choice for you.
Photography Edu Lauton Unsplash
Holding on seemed the right thing to do
As a little girl, in my yellow room, I just believed in the inherent good of the world and of people. Everyone has good in them, but people choose who they want to be, and most will choose their needs over yours. The question is, what do you want and what will you choose? Good business partners will consider all the players, they will consider what is important to everyone and make a fair deal. These are the people you want in your life and are the kind of people you should be doing business with.
I held on to a previous business with all my heart. I kept it afloat for many many years. The truth be told I don’t think that business would have survived lockdown, but my current business is thriving. So, what are the differences between the two. I actually was charging myself out more in my old business and making great money, but I had more permanent employees. I had bigger overheads than I do now. I love what I do now more than ever, I feel and believe it is what I should be doing.
I put more of myself into it. I don’t just work hard which I have always done, and I did in that business for many years. I also always knew deep down that I was only doing what I was doing before because I was good at it, not because it was what I should be doing.
This is my life’s purpose: to create engaging spaces that improve how people live and work and be. It combines every talent, I have. The money seems to come when I do things for the right reasons not just because I need the work. See your reality for what it is.
Photography Herbert Goetsch Unsplash
Embrace where you are at. If it fails, it fails. One thing is for sure. Your life has a purpose and another door will open.
Love from my yellow room
6 Responses
Wow !! I love your Blog – the way you think about design- listening to your client and there needs( Something that most Design/Builders miss ) , customer satisfaction…. money…. when to run , when to take the change because you believe in your self – – and to all this i can relate ….. through reading this , i know i am on the right track to Build something special- just like you did …. Have a awesome Day and New week !
Thank you so much for the feedback, I appreciate it so much. It is great to know that it ressonates.
So powerful!!!! Thanks for sharing Kim.
It’s really inspiring and it touched me ?
Thank you for commenting, so great to know it means something and we can learn from each other.
I’m not an entrepreneur but this makes perfect sense to me. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on “love” or “money” Kim. I will most definitely share this with my son. He can give some thought to these principles in his business as well. Although it’s a whole different field the basic struggle between doing what you love and making a living remains the same. Very insightful.
We all learn from each other continuously. Thank you for the support.