How To Make More Money As An Interior Designer By Taking On LESS Projects
As a new interior designer, you might feel the stress of being pulled in a lot of different directions. Maybe you have kids, or work a full-time job in addition to designing, and so the projects you currently have are taking up all of your free time. It might seem impossible right now to leave your day job to become a professional designer or even get your business off the ground in the first place. You’re probably wondering how to make money as an interior designer and still have a balanced life.
Let me help you solve that problem by sharing how you can work 10-15 hours per week and still earn a full-time income as an interior designer.
And just to be clear, here’s what you DON’T need to do:
spend hours networking in person or online
write blog posts every week
be an influencer on social media
cold call people
How My Interior Design Business Started
I currently run a thriving 6-figure interior design business and coach other women to do the same. I only work 10-15 hours per week and I choose which projects I want to take on - but I definitely didn’t start out this way. Let me paint the picture of my early career as an interior designer.
In the beginning, I was willing to take on essentially any design project. I would do paint color consults, one-off furniture projects, decorating days, wallpaper selection, rearranging existing furniture, and things like that. These are all real projects I did early in my career.
I realized that I was always bouncing back and forth between projects and working crazy hours just to complete the small projects. And I didn’t always vibe with the clients I was working with. I was not feeling creatively fulfilled working this way, not to mention I was barely bringing in enough money to pay the bills.
Eventually, I hit a wall - I felt scatterbrained and stressed out, and this was not the lifestyle I envisioned when I started my interior design business. I had become a slave to my work. But, instead of continuing on like that, or giving up entirely, I did some reflection and realized the answer to my problem: I needed to take on FEWER projects with LARGER budgets. This would help me work less hours per week while still earning a full-time income.
So that’s exactly what I did.
Now, you’re probably thinking, “Okay, if I could just snap my fingers and get clients with larger budgets, I would.”
I promise it’s easier than you think to get a constant stream of new leads for your business. Read on to learn my proven strategies for how to make money as an interior designer while working part-time hours, plus gain access to my support group for interior designers called Design Business Secrets+.
→ If you haven’t officially launched your own interior design business yet, check out this post for the top 5 reasons you should get started.
Interior Design Project Minimums
As a beginner, you need to take on a lot of smaller projects in order to gain experience and really get your name out there. But once you start to get some money coming in, it’s time to consider shifting your mindset around which projects you take on.
Eventually, you’ll need to create something called an interior design project minimum. This is just a minimum amount of money that you are willing to accept for any new project that you start. For example, my first minimum design fee was $5,000 per room. This meant that I would not accept a project with a budget lower than my minimum fee. And as I grew my business, the minimum project budget that I would accept was $20,000 and eventually $60,000.
By implementing this project minimum budget restriction, it allows you to take on fewer total projects because each one pays more money than a bunch of smaller projects would.
And when you focus on one large project at a time, you can actually enjoy the process without feeling the constant need to always be working. You don’t have to manage nearly as many client relationships at once, let alone communication between vendors, construction crews, etc. You would be surprised at how much time gets wasted just changing between projects - you now have less timelines to keep track of and less questions that need to be answered each week.
I personally only work 10-15 hours per week, sometimes less, because I’ve created my business to function this way. I only accept large projects with budgets that will support my lifestyle. These clients actually appreciate interior design as a luxury service, compared to clients who are looking for the absolute cheapest price.
How To Get More Leads For Your Interior Design Business
So, how can you go from overworked and stressed out to only working part-time and enjoying your job? The answer is effective marketing. Wait - don’t let this scare you.
You might be thinking that you can’t possibly add another task to your plate because of how busy you are already with your current projects. I totally hear that - I’ve coached hundreds of women and helped them build successful interior design businesses, and this is typically a huge mindset shift for them, too.
You might even be thinking that if you did begin to effectively market your business, that you wouldn’t be able to handle all of the extra work coming in. That’s the beauty of what marketing does - it brings in tons of potential project leads, but ultimately, you get to choose which ones you accept. The luxury of choice only exists if you have plenty of high-quality leads in front of you and the ability to select the one or two you want to work with. You can be more picky about which projects you want to complete based on budget, timeline, and your creative alignment. Doesn’t that sound like the dream?
In order to achieve this, you need to properly market yourself to ensure that you have enough inbound project leads coming to you - not leads that you have to chase down.
How To Make Money As An Interior Designer
This is where your minimum project fee comes into play. Now that you’ve got a consistent flow of inbound leads, thanks to effective marketing, you can begin to implement your minimum fee. You qualify the lead and let that person know that the minimum amount of money it costs to work with you is X amount of dollars.
Having a consistent flow of potential clients reaching out to you each month will give you the luxury of choice in your business. It will allow you to earn more money while working less hours each week, with clients you actually love. Clients who respect your time and value your expertise as a designer.
Once you’ve transitioned your business to this model, you’ll never have to wonder how to make money as an interior designer and still have a balanced life again.
And just as a reminder…
You DON’T need to:
spend hours networking in person or online
write blog posts every week
be an influencer on social media
cold call people
I know this because I never had to do any of this to get leads. I never had to chase down my projects - even early in my career, my clients came to me. I developed my proven 3-Step Client Attraction System and never had to chase a potential client again. Now, I teach this system to my students, and they experience the same success that I did.
My system uses a combination of strategic partnerships, Google search traffic, and direct mail to create an effective marketing strategy for your business. This generates a consistent stream of inbound leads coming straight to your email inbox saying they want to work with you. This is the exact system that I used in my own business to earn over $300K in 2023.
Anyone can use this system to attract new design clients - whether you’re brand new or just looking to revamp your current business. Head over to my group for interior designers, Design Business Secrets+, to learn more and get started today!