Navigating Interior Design Business Development

The Team

Let’s talk about your team and the roles each of you play. This section is commonly overlooked. You need to be clear about your role, especially if you have a partner. As the leader, you will also need to incorporate a self-mastery component, like self-care, recharge methods and personal development so that you can continue to lead effectively.

Roles

• Designer
• Junior Designer
• Expeditor
• Office Manager
• Principal Designer

Each role should have the following:

• Accountability Chart
• Job Description
• Mentor/Consultant/Group for Support, Learning & Guidance
• Self Objectives & Timelines
• Self-Care Program/Guideline
• Plan for Learning & Leadership Development
• Plan for Facilitating Company Development

Not every design firm needs all of these roles in their fullest sense, as in full-time hires. That being said, these roles are the intrinsic parts of the engine. There are many ways these roles can be satisfied, either 1099, part time, combined with another role or outsourced. Most firms grow through a few of these methods as they slowly expand. Regardless of the way you construct your team short or long term, you will need to consciously devise a structure that demands less of your time as the CEO, doing the technician duties and more time on high level client, design vision, billable and business development work; your zone of genius essentially. Same with the support roles, keep each role in their lane, without too much crossover. This keeps everyone in their zone of genius and keeps the design team billable as much as possible.

• Job Description / Accountability Chart/ Job Posting
• Offer Letter and onboarding documents
• Training Documents, Videos, Resources & Training Checklist
• Support Methods
• Weekly/Monthly Check-In Meetings
• 90 day / 6 month and annual review self-assessment and review with Principal guidance
• Growth Track for each role

I’d love to know what works for your team, share it with me in the comments!

Next we’ll talk about positioning and how to get your ideal clients.