FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE

INTERIOR DESIGNER’S GUIDE TO CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN IN THE EPISODE:

WHAT THE FOURTH QUARTER MEANS FOR MANAGING CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE 4TH QUARTER IF YOU HAVE A CURRENT PROJECT RUNNING

HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE 4TH QUARTER IF YOU’RE PROPOSING A NEW PROJECT

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How do you balance design projects in the 4th quarter?

If you are currently running a project now Is the time to talk holidays with your clients.

And I don’t mean just Thanksgiving and Christmas meals….I’m talking about celebrating the holidays. If your clients are throwing a holiday party before Christmas, like two weeks before, now’s the time to talk about it and schedule it.

There are things you will need to figure out depending on the renovation right now.

Will they be cooking for the party or having it catered? Should you put off starting the powder room until after the holidays?

These are the kinds of conversations that if you get in front of your client now, you will not only look professional and understand the scheduling of things around important moments in their life, but you will also get the team on board and where they stand and where their priorities need to be shifted to (if needed) and/or pushed back if also needed. 

It is also extremely common to travel around the holidays. And this goes not just for your clients but you as well. Do you travel for the holidays? And don’t NOT travel because you have a project going on. That’s not fair to you nor sustainable over the years. You just have to put your boundaries in place and schedule accordingly. 

What happens if you’re proposing a project?

I had a member of my course reach out and tell us about a wonderful project she was pitching her services for. Several bathrooms in one house, as well as several other projects going on. And she wondered if it should start now, like the client wanted, or after the New Year, which was her hunch. And that was an easy one – after the holidays. There’s just no way anyone would be happy with that much construction going on. Let alone during the holidays. Living through a construction project isn’t fun for homeowners.

I get to leave a project. I get to go home where there is no dust and debris and dampness and everything else that comes along with construction. And the fatigue that sets in is real.

So, she felt more confident in telling them her recommendation. Her professional recommendation was that it should start fresh right after the new year.

Set expectations immediately. Talk about schedules even before anything else, even before pricing. Because they really go hand-in-hand.

If they’re calling you, it’s because they’re seeking your expertise. If they can afford your services, that’s where your expertise needs to lead the project. 

Something I never do anymore is make Christmas deadlines, not in my decorating work or my construction work. It’s just too stressful.

I’m in a position in my career I’m able to do that, and my clients are fine with it. I also tell them months in advance if we hit a Christmas deadline, that’s wonderful, but I will never promise one. Particularly in construction because there are so many variables that are just simply out of our control. 

So, I know that fall time adds a complicating layer to our work. But this is why I want you to be looking into it now so that you are prepared and can schedule accordingly. And frankly, so you can enjoy your holidays and hopefully some time off without the stress and anxiety that goes along with feeling overwhelmed and underprepared for scenarios just like I share in today’s episode.