How to Make a Lasting Impression with Your Design Business
By Wanda S. Horton
So, you've pulled together all of the details, the design plans, the project renderings, and you've crossed your 't's and dotted your 'i's. The clients have oooohed and aaaahed while happily signing the orders. Everything looks beautiful when it’s on paper. Then, the deliveries begin to land and the installation begins. You think you’re ready but are you? Will your design team leave a lasting impression that will garner rave reviews or keep you scrambling to control the damage?
After many years of practicing interior design, I can promise you, all of the preparation in the world may minimize the opportunity for Murphy's Law, but it also doesn't totally eliminate the possibility of it occurring, either. There are always circumstances beyond a designer's control, especially when independent service providers are added to the mix. Having policies and procedures in place can be the tool for addressing these bumps in the road. Here are my hard-won tips for developing them.
Establish Expectations: The process of this runs two-fold. First, I make sure the service providers understand the level of service quality I expect for them to provide. As independent contractors, while not being directly employed by me, I still have the right to choose to hire them based on certain details. For example, most, if not all of my clients are non-smokers. Some have allergies, as well. Can you imagine what it would be like to have custom fabric products delivered to a home with a hint of stale cigarette odor in them? (Yes, an early lesson learned from assumption and not querying a custom workroom, beforehand. Thank goodness there were only pillows involved!) Always have a list of questions to ask potential providers, based on your standards. Also, be sure they will be willing and available to address any of challenges, should that be needed.
The second part of establishing expectations is to be sure you've reviewed with your clients what will take place during the process of the project. They need to be aware of all of the different vendors and providers taking part and who will be coming into their homes. I also let them know custom work sometimes requires tweaking. I build the expectation for this to be the norm. "Onsite customization" sounds much better than "fixing a problem." When butterfly pleats on draperies, were not pinched as close as my client preferred, the workroom owner came out, needle and thread in hand, and took care of it right away the day of installation. (We always pre-plan for the provider to be available.) My client beamed to receive this level of service!
Project Management – The Who, What, When, and How: Once vetted, putting together the team members, for any project, revolves around the scope of work to be accomplished. The cast of characters is lengthy so I've created an alphabetized list, with contact details, insurance information, and even areas of sub-specialties. For example, some projects may require carpentry, while others require my wood artisan. I can easily copy and paste the information into a document to make for ease in communication. In the best of all worlds, I can access that from a notebook, my phone, or my tablet. Emergency numbers and procedures are helpful to have, too. Remember Murphy’s Law? I was on a simple mirror installation, when one of the workers took a different set of stairs, while taking the old mirror away. Sock-covered feet on hardwood floors – whoops! There was a massive thud. The mirror amazingly landed in one piece, but alas, the balustrade was a bit worse for the wear and so was the installer. An ambulance later, we were assessing the damage. The company provided Workmen's Comp and covered the damage, while that same day, I had my handyman on the jobsite and began the repairs.
Remember the list of questions I referred to in the beginning? You can "keep calm and carry on" when you're prepared for anything to happen.
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Wanda S. Horton is a residential interior designer based in the Charlotte, NC metro area and brings a distinct perspective on all things regarding design. She shares her design musings with consumers and interior designers, alike, via her blog, Interior Concepts by Wanda. She also writes monthly posts for Hooker Furniture’s, "Experience Your Home". She's an active participant during the nationally acclaimed High Point Furniture Market, including articles in the Designer Lookbook ,and was in the first group of Style Spotters focusing on market trends. She has been included as a guest panelist during several industry social media events. HGTV honored Wanda as one of Five Designers to Follow on Twitter. Her focus on multigenerational interior design has evolved from addressing the various ranges of her clients’ lifestyles needs. Wanda has been recently volunteering her time and services in the transformation of her local community shelter, in order to create bright, new beginnings.
