FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE:

GRAB REBECCA’S FREE NAIL YOUR NICHE START KIT PLUS DIRECT FEEDBACK FROM HER ON THEIR NICHE HERE

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT REBECCA AND FOLLOW HER PARISIAN ADVENTURES ON INSTAGRAM @beseriouslyhappy

CHECK OUT HER PODCAST, STUFF INTERIOR DESIGNERS NEED TO KNOW

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW REBECCA DEVELOPED A PROCESS IN HER BUSINESS TO SUCCESSFULLY HELP HOMEOWNERS MANAGE THEIR PROJECTS

HOW TO DETERMINE WHAT SERVICES YOU OFFER AND WHO YOU WANT TO WORK WITH

THE POWER OF OUR LANGUAGE WHEN SPEAKING WITH CLIENTS AND PRESENTING DESIGN OPTIONS

KNOWING YOUR VALUE AND GAINING CONFIDENCE IN THAT

HOW TO SET YOURSELF APART FROM OTHER DESIGNERS

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Whether you are a new designer or seasoned, there is something to learn from today’s conversation with my guest, Rebecca West!

Two decades as CEO of Seriously Happy Homes turned Rebecca West into the go-to business coach for residential interior designers who create happy homes for regular people (rather than the wealthy 1%). In 2023 she closed her business and moved to Paris, France. Now she’s here to help you master your marketing message and establish professional practices that’ll keep your clients – and your accountant – Seriously Happy. 

You may know Rebecca from the many webinars she’s done with the NKBA and IDS. She’s also been a regular TV guest on New Day Northwest, served as a judge for Best in Show at KBIS, and is on the board of Heritage Design School. 

In addition to 1-1 business coaching, Rebecca offers a signature course called “Nail Your Niche” that lays the foundation for becoming the only designer your clients will call. She’s also working on her next book about the “DECIDE” method, a process that helps clients make quick, confident design decisions and keeps our projects on track.

But Rebecca’s not all business—she can’t resist a costume party or a cat video, loves sipping whisky and eating stinky French cheese, and dances tango with her hubby. 

Anytime you go somewhere social, you hear stories of how horrible their renovation was. Trashign the contractor, etc. So I’ve actually not seen a lot of successful large renovation and construction new builds done directly by the homeowners. So, in other words, Rebecca created this blueprint for them. So she shares how she created her business to be able to help them as you can’t obviously foresee every potential problem/surprises that will arise on projects.

Firstly, Rebecca was meticulous with design files.  A lot people, designers included, make a lot of assumptions. For example, they may think the electrician will put the switch where it is supposed to go. No, the electrician will put the switch exactly where it shouldn’t go if you don’t give them exact information.

So, the first thing was developing a process so that our files included all of the needed information. 

Then her firm was very clear with their clients on where their jobs started and stopped. “When I had a client come to me who wanted project management and could afford it, I encouraged them to work with my colleagues. I knew exactly the kind of client we were targeting and they were comfortable taking on the responsibility of working difeclty with their contractor.” says Rebecca. That is not a fit for everybody. 

Early on, Rebecca says she knew what kind of work would feed her creatively and psychologically. So, she didn’t sell anything to her clients, buy anything for them, or execute the projects. The reason for that was that she wanted to help her clients with the thing they could not do, which was create the road map. 

She also tells her clients that she is not the kind of designer who will get upset if they change anything in the file. That is very true for her, and she knows it isn’t for many designers. So, you need to be really honest with yourself over the level of control you need over that outcome. 

She also said that if anything in the file was unclear or the client hit a roadblock, she was still around. So, there were dozens of times she would show up on-site to help address unexpected things that came up. She never left her clients high and dry. 

“But the reason I structured my business the way I do is because it can be really gray figuring out when the design process has been finished and you should be paid for that professional work and when the project management and problem solving portion has started and you should be paid for that work.” Rebecca says.

“We have to decide what our professional rules are so that we can deliver our best work,” she says. Where I will only help clients from design to punch list, Rebecca is the opposite as she will help with design only and if that’s not what you’re looking for, she’s not your gal. There are people out there who need one service or the other for all kinds of reasons that don’t matter. The only thing that matters is never to let your client be in charge of your professional services. You tell them what they are, and they choose whether or not they’re going to buy them. 

So, how do you really determine who you want to be and who you want to work with?

Because ultimately you are in charge of what project you take on. And most designers know it but aren’t acting on it, and it’s out of fear. 

“But it is important for people to know that when you’re brand new, you are going to kind of throw spaghetti at the walls. You’re trying to figure out where your sweet spot is, so you’re going to take on projects that you ‘shouldn’t have.’ But that’s the only way to figure out what you really enjoy doing. The key is to reflect on the project when it’s over and go, ‘What went well? What didn’t go well? Were there red flags that I ignored at the beginning of this that I could have listened to?’ So that you don’t learn that same lesson twice.” Rebecca says. 

We can do anything for anyone, but that doesn’t make you an expert in anything, and it makes marketing impossible. 

Rebecca shares how she implemented a service in her business that involved large amounts but on a smaller scale. So many designers want to get big new build projects when they can make the same amount of income by offering smaller services but larger quantities. 

This business model allowed her to get lots of social proof and lots of reviews. When you only do two projects a year, it takes a very long time to get any social proof on whatever platform. So, her volume business allowed her to really elevate her social standing, which then led to a lot more business. She says it was a great way for people to taste test if they would like to work with her. Or for people who didn’t yet have the budget for either a full design or a full remodel. 

So it was a remarkable way for her to market herself and it fit with her personality. Then with her design only process they did have to put very clear boundaries around it because it was important that they had enough projects over the year to make their income goals. 

“We have so much more influence over having a good outcome with our clients than we think we do or that we exercise. Rebecca teaches about the onboarding process as building the client. “In a lot of industries, we land a client, deliver service, wash your hands, and you’re done. But in interior design, our relationship, whether it’s ten weeks, like it is for me, or two years if you’re doing full execution, you can’t just sell the project,t do the project. You have to cultivate a good professional relationship that involves them understanding what to expect and their job, as well as your job. And what you’re doing is building a good client. They don’t know how to be a good client.” shares Rebecca

Also as you get into more luxury design, you will find that you are not those clients first designer. And so you also will need to differentiate yourself from their previous experiences and establish tha you are not that person. But you should assume that they will compare you to their experience with their previous designer. And that can be even more challenging. 

Rebecca also mentions building a new relationship with her clients and what I tell new designers when they’re really struggling with the actual client interaction part is I remind them that this is a very unique project management situation. This is not like project management in the corporate world because you know if your client sleeps on the left or right side of the bed. You know if someone is sleeping down the hall because someone snores too much. You know so much personal information. 

Controlling your career

By the time you’re a seasoned designer, you go through the stage where you’re saying yes to everybody. You go through the stage where you’re saying no to way too many people. Then you get to this wonderful moment in your career where you do not have to say no to people because your system is inviting in the right people and filtering out the people that belong to somebody else. And that is where can just do your job.  

Designers really do have the power to control their careers, even in the very beginning. 

It’s almost as if designers are looking for permission to say no to things. But even if you do take on the wrong client, you give yourself grace, and you learn from it. That’s how we learn. Something I learned a lot about is listening to my gut. It’s always right whether we choose to listen to it or not. 

Confidence

The confidence thing is such an interesting part of it, too. We are a professional career, which means two things: 

It means that people can take us seriously, and we are allowed to take ourselves seriously. 

We have a responsibility to be extremely good at our jobs because our jobs are that important.We cannot let our clients get away with not letting us do elevations. We have to take the ball the whole way, whatever the finish line means. But this is a real job, a real profession. And they won’t start taking us seriously until we take ourselves seriously. 

Designing for the client

You can have a signature design style or can help people feel safe and shop where everybody else shops. None of those designs are wrong or right  it’s just making sure the right client gets partnered with the right designer and everyone ends up happy.

It starts with them finding your website and how they feel. Do they feel that sense of relief like they found their person based on what you say, what you show, the fonts, the colors, your vibe, all of it, to the onboarding process of building a trusting relationship and then through the design and decision-making process? 

It’s all wrapped up in what business you are building. What boundaries are you going to set? And how are you going to communicate with them so everybody is happy at the end of the project? 

What services are you offering?

Less is more. Typically, clients don’t really know what they want, and they certainly don’t know what they need. So if you’re offering all these services, they won’t know what to pick. They will end up confused and leave. Once you build the know, like, and trust factor, opportunities will come. Clients will ask about a service, and you can offer it even if it’s not advertised on your website.

The more options we give our clients for services, the less likely they are to make a decision. 

That’s also the beauty of owning your own business. You can set your rules, but you’re also allowed to break them if you choose to do so because they’re your rules. 

We also share how this also applies to presenting options to your clients in regards to design options. I was taught to give them three options. One you hate, one you like and one you love. And they never choose the one you hate or you know wouldn’t be a good fit for what your client is going for. 

Rebecca also uses three options. Three seems to be the magic number. She always starts off by asking, “Which of these do you like the least?” So it takes the pressure off of the client. They don’t have to choose don’t have to choose which tile they’re going for yet. But this small exercise step stones them towards a decision and it’s happening without it feeling like heavy lifting. 

Rebecca also teaches a technique called Nudge, which, she says, you want to use very carefully because the words you choose will sway your client. “But there are times where I want to steer a client on purpose because I know they are choosing something that I know doesn’t align with their big picture goals,” Rebecca says. 

But you do want your clients to ultimately be making the decisions because they are the ones living with it, so be careful about your personal biases.  

When you are a new designer, it is important to know how to use your words to get what you need from the client.

This will take some trial and error, but Rebecca shares the approach she uses in limiting her clients to 10 images per room. If she works with a couple, she wants both of them to do this independently of each other. Then she asked them if they were to choose ten rooms if she had a magic wand, and she plopped them into their house, saying that they would like them. Don’t worry about the details. She just needs to see the recipe. What are they more drawn to? 

So we have to get clear on what ingredients we need from our clients to do our work. This will also vary from designer to designer, so play with it. If you’re not getting what you need out of your clients, it’s not them—try new words.