5 Reasons to Work with Partners in Your Design Business
By Robin Callan
When I first started Room Fu eight years ago, I was a very-hungry-for-business Jane of all trades. Not only did I handle the design side of my business, I was also the interior house painter, the seamstress, the handyperson, the bookkeeper, the web designer and the promotions department. You name it, I did it, that first year. Since then, word-of-mouth and the Internets have been kind to me and I don’t have to do everything myself anymore. How do I decide what to keep and what to farm out to other service providers? My decisions come down to five elements:
Money. If I know a professional seamstress, stager, or contractor who can perform the same or better quality of work for a lower rate, that’s a good task to delegate. Saving people money while maintaining a high level of workmanship creates goodwill among your clients, which inspires them to trust you with additional jobs and affords you the best free advertising opportunity on the planet: terrific reviews and referrals.
Liability. We’ve all seen plenty of sitcoms on TV celebrating the ineptitude of the American dad when it comes to his home improvement skills: Dad comes into his living room, announces his intent to fix the kitchen sink, and cue the collective groan from the wife and kids. You know what happens next, right? The family wakes up the next morning to a flooded kitchen. Don’t be like Dad…hire a pro. Let plumbers change out faucets, let seamstresses (and seamsters) cut into that spendy fabric your client ordered, and let your favorite painter handle the dangerous stuff that instantly stains wood floors, carpet and upholstery when a drop dares to spill or splatter. They’ve already mastered the learning curves of their trades, so they know what trouble spots to anticipate along the way and how to prevent mishaps. It’s just not worth the potential risk to your business image and to your bank account if something avoidable goes awry.
Interests. Some designers live for the hunt of the shopping process, while others prefer to work out a puzzling spaceplan. Pairing up with another designer or freelancer who is the designer yin to your yang allows you to share your strengths and eliminate brain drains from your workday. This type of collaboration creates a more fulfilling work life for you, and working simultaneously allows for quicker execution of your projects, which leads to my next point:
Efficiency. Are most interior designers capable of installing a floating wall shelf or a curtain rod on their own? Yes. Should they? Probably not. This goes back to my point about saving your clients money, but it also involves your own payoff. If a handyperson is performing these types of tasks while you focus your energies on styling, your projects will run more efficiently and you’ll spend your day doing something you probably enjoy more. During peak business periods, this increased efficiency could help you manage a greater number of projects concurrently and grow your interior design business.
The Freak Out Factor. You know that moment when the calendar catches up with you and you realize that those deadlines you imagined being so far away suddenly are right around the corner? That’s an especially good time to bring in more help, obviously. Concierge services can return fabric and tile samples or drop off that Craigslist find to the upholsterer, freelance designers can step in to source things like sofas and side tables, and interns can prepare mood boards and specifications lists. Bring them in and exhale.
When business is bad, we wish for more clients. When business is good, it’s easy to start resenting the extra workload an increase in clientele brings. Don’t get trapped by this vicious cycle—determine what you can and should do, then outsource the rest.
Robin Callan is the founder of Room Fu, an Austin, Texas interior design firm and long-time defender of affordable design. Her blog, Fu for Thought, features steals and deals, design-related musings, and interviews with celebrity designers. She is grateful to be supported by a great group of service professionals in Austin, who keep her thriving practice rolling.
