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INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

THE VALUE OF ORGANIZATION AND PROCESSES IN YOUR BUSINESS

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFICIENTLY

COMMUNICATION AND RELATIONSHIP BUILDING ARE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS

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Today, I’m excited to share my conversation with Meredith Huck. Meredith is the owner and principal designer of House of Huck and a member of my course, Interior Designer’s Guide to Construction Management.

House of Huck is a full-service Interior Design firm located in Coastal Connecticut. Their homes are the essence of coastal casual—textured accents, inviting spaces, high-end finishes and timeless furnishings. Their goal is to curate a tranquil and welcoming environment into their client’s homes while not sacrificing the beauty within, just as the coast does for us.

I often talk about the members of my course and how valuable our conversations are. So, I wanted to share that type of conversation with each of you!

Meredith came from the corporate world three years ago. She was in software sales and was at a bit of a crossroads. She decided YOLO (you only live once) and decided to give Interior Design a go, and if she wasn’t successful, she’d go back to her corporate career when her daughter went to kindergarten. And she is happy to share she just started kindergarten and will not be going back to corporate! 

Meredith shares how one project turned into another and then another, and then she started asking herself how she could scale. One of her focuses is construction, which is how she found me and my course.

Meredith loved watching the fixer-upper shows on HGTV and scrolling through beautiful homes on Zillow, and her corporate software sales background gave her the business acumen she needed to pursue her dreams.

She says she was able to scale in a way she did in the past few years due to her business acumen, not because of the design. 

“Without fail, at the end of every project, yes, we do beautiful designs. Everyone loves their beautifully curated home, but I am thanked for the organization and process that I brought to the chaos. And I’m able to do that through this overarching construction management theme.”  Meredith says.

“Yes, it’s important to be able to mix fabrics, patterns, and metals, and it’s an open floor plan, but we don’t want it to all look the same, so how do we make it all look cohesive? That’s an art. But it’s that structure and that process that I truly believe is what sets House of Huck apart.” says Meredith

Meredith runs an incredibly successful design firm and shares how she was able to hit the six-figure mark in net profit within her first year. She is able to do that through efficiency. Meredith is also a solopreneur, and she is able to do that through her processes and efficiencies. 

These efficiencies have not only given Meredith financial wealth but also time wealth. “I am in charge of my time and when things get done and when they get done, and it’s a luxury to me to be able to go on a field trip or go with my kids Tuesday afternoon because I have booked out my week correctly.” 

This is exactly what can help you if you are feeling frazzled or in over your head, scared, or making mistakes and don’t know how to stop. I listen to them, and most of the time, they feel ‘lesser than.’ So when the contractor says ‘jump,’ they say, “How high?” As opposed to, “What do you need for this jump?” And then, “Let me tell you how I can organize that.”

90% of the time, it doesn’t need to be done that day; it can be done that week. Your job is to take half a step back and say to yourself, “I’m managing the project; this has come up.” But we do want to stay on schedule. 

That said, most of the women I speak with who have left the corporate world and gone out into the entrepreneurial world do so because they want to be able to control their time better.

The only way you can manage your time efficiently is by knowing your responsibilities. 

“You don’t need to be an expert in everything.  What I think gets people in trouble is they pretend that they know everything or become defensive or argumentative when a question is being asked. What I think has made House of Huck so successful is I don’t pretend that I know everything. In fact, I want my tile installer to tell me that you can’t do that 12×12 tile here, and this is why.” says Meredith.

We also share how setting boundaries is so important. Things like scheduling emails, texts, and not having that feeling of needing to respond to them as soon as they come in. When we start that with clients, tradespeople, etc. we set that expectation up front. It is your business and you can run it how you like. You don’t have to answer emails at your sons soccer practice on Saturday morning.

Most of the time, there are red flags before you start working with clients you can look for. 

You are more than a designer.

We can often play the role of therapists in our business. I would challenge anyone aside from a housekeeper or any other industry that has the intimate knowledge that we have in our clients’ homes. I know what side of the bed they sleep on, if they’re not sleeping in the same bed, etc. There is that level of intimacy that I think needs to not be taken lightly, and I honor the fact that they are entrusting us with that knowledge. I don’t know if designers really take the time to think through it.

We’re just so in the process of getting this information because we have to produce this product and keep going on the schedule, but you’re not taking a step back and realizing, oh yeah, I know when she takes a bath. I know what she does in the bath. Because I had to design for that purpose. So yes, we have a strange relationship that’s all built on trust. So, there is that level of communication that has to happen very early on in order to have a successful project. 

Construction is such a long and interactive process. Even with client’s who aren’t at all the meetings, I am in constant communication with them. I am either updating them on what’s going on.  With decorating, it’s not at that same level of intimacy. I think that needs to be thought through by a designer who is looking to add this service of construction management. You have to be prepared emotionally and want to give that level of service. 

This includes letting them know or giving them an update that there is no update. Even that is a huge part of what you do. Your clients just want to know and know that you’re working on the project.

This is a significant investment of your clients’ money. So that needs to be taken seriously. You need to be a good steward of the money as well as the anxiety your clients are going through. 

A successful project really comes down to communicating, relationship building, and maintaining that relationship. 

Lastly, take time for self-reflection. If there’s an issue, maybe it’s a client. But if that issue is happening over and over again, sit back and analyze and figure it out. Most of the time, if there’s an issue, you have some role in it. It could be that you didn’t notice it, but that self-reflection isn’t guilt; it’s learning and moving forward.