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It's always great to promote safety, and why not boost your business at the same time? National Window Covering Safety Month is a wonderful "excuse" to do just that. The Window Covering Safety Council's promotion is designed to increase consumer awareness of cord safety concerns. It is a nationwide campaign that urges parents with young children to repair or replace pre-2001 corded blinds, shades, and draperies with today's safer products. Join the crusade! And you can promote so much more than window coverings during Safety Month. Here are a few promotional ideas to try this month... - Send a special "Decorating Safety" email to your clients and prospects. Encourage them to review and follow your safety tips on cribs, windows, bedding, rugs, etc. They'll probably realize they need your help and invite you over for a consultation.
- Add the "KIDS, CORDS, CAUTION" slogan to your promotional materials this month
- Mail a "Safety Tips" postcard to clients
(find tips and downloads at: http://www.windowcoverings.org/safetymonth/safety _tips.html )
- Offer retrofit kits for repairing older window coverings (available at no cost at: www.windowcoverings.org)
- Promote cordless products
- Send a press release to your local papers to encourage safety (and promote your business)
See a sample from the Window Covering Safety Council.
Here's to a safe and profitable month!
I know the feeling too well. I wish I could say that I don't, but I am prone to feeling overwhelmed. As designers and business owners, with so many external and internal factors to deal with - the economy, the housing market, our families, our own homes, the demands of our clients, backordered and discontinued fabrics...(oh my gosh, I am feeling anxious just typing this list!), we are bound to feel overwhelmed and stressed sometimes. So what should we do? Here is what I hear from the 'experts': Take a bubble bath. Get a massage. Read a book. Take a walk. I usually get an urge to punch those experts. When I am in a state of overwhelm, the thought of taking time off to relax makes me more stressed. I have too much to do! I don't have time to take a silly bubble bath. But this is what I have learned: When I am too stressed and too busy to take even a little time for myself, that is when it is absolutely critical to do so! Getting away from the situation is the only thing that will help prevent future overwhelm. Just get through Friday I used to think, "Let me just get through Friday, and then I can relax." Then Friday would come, I'd relax for about a minute, and it would start all over again. I was always "just getting through." Without taking what I call an Intention Break, you will never get your business out of overwhelm. You may get some small relief once in a while, but you never seem to get ahead. Taking an Intention Break If you are feeling
- overworked
- stressed
- overwhelmed
and it seems like you are always working hard but not getting ahead (personally and financially), then you need to take an Intention Break. Here's how it works: - Step Away from the situation that is overwhelming. If it is work and clients, get out of the office. Go outside. Drive to a coffee shop. Plan a trip! (I know - you're too busy to do this! But you can NOT stop the ongoing overwhelm if you do not physically step out of the situation. Take one day to save yourself years of stress.)
- Reflect on your goals, remember your priorities, think about your dreams. What is your intention for running a design business? What did you want to get from this when you started? Is it financial f*r*e*edom? An easygoing lifestyle? To make the world more beautiful? To be known for making a difference? Write your intentions down, and keep this paper with you always. Post it near your desk, place it near your bed, keep it in your wallet.
- Go back to your regularly scheduled life.
Yes, it's actually as simple as that! If you are continuously reminded of your business intention (reading it when you wake up, glancing at it from time to time as you work, saying it to yourself over lunch), you will make choices on a daily basis that bring you closer and closer to your goal - and further and further away from overwhelm. Do you need an Intention Break today?
It really is possible!
By Nika Stewart When I had my first baby almost 2 years ago, I quickly understood the plight of the working mother. The stress, the lack of sleep, the constant demands for your attention. Is there actually enough time to get everything done? It didn't seem possible to me. The available time I had to work on my business was cut way down to about 8 hours a week - and that was adding up all the little "bits" of time I stole when I could. (While she's taking a half-hour nap, I place a quick order. After she goes to sleep, I call a few customers. If my mom can watch her for an hour, I run to a design consultation.) So what did I do about my lack of time? I complained. I don't have time for anything! I can't get anything done. I can't run a business and raise a baby. Everything is going to fall apart! Then one day, when Ellie was about 9 months old, my friend said to me, "Wow, you just had a baby. How do you find the time to get so much done?" And I thought to myself, "What is she talking about? I'm not getting anything done!" But I decided to take a look back over the time since Ellie was born, and I was amazed. With much less time available, I actually did get more done than I had in any previous year in my business! How did that happen? I found the answer to that question recently in an amazing book (The 4-Hour Work Week), and now it seems obvious: When you have a limited amount of time to get something done, you can get it done in less time. For example, if I gave myself a week to place a large order, I would always take the full week (often waiting until the end of the week to really get started). But because I no longer had that time for myself anymore, I had to get the order done in the one hour I could find. It had to get done, and so it did. This is true for every part of my business and my personal life. When I give myself a small amount of time to achieve a goal or task, it gets completed. And so that it what I've decided to continue doing. Today, I have a babysitter for two hours, and so I've decided to write this ezine, email several clients, design a new cover for one of my books, and create a template for a new "Sales for Designers" program I have coming out. Previously, it would have taken me a whole week of working full-time to get this all done. But I don't have that luxury anymore. Thank goodness! The sudden, enormous cut in my personal time made me even more efficient and productive. Why don't you try working just two hours a day for the next week? Decide what you need to get done, and then do it. You might be amazed at how little you actually have to work! To your blissful, joyous success!
Your probably know that your professional portfolio is an important selling tool, and that a great one will put you ahead of the competition. But have you made yours the absolute best it can be? I've seen and heard of too many lost sales due to poorly designed, unorganized, or even no portfolio (gasp!). When your portfolio shows you off as a talented professional, you not only turn more consultations into sales, but you start feeling more confident and proud of what you deliver to your clients. Your confidence leads to more sales, which helps you feel even more confident...what an exciting cycle to get caught up in! Here are some quick tips and ideas to improve your portfolio: - Make sure all your photographs are the same size.
- Use large photographs - 8x10 or larger. Small snapshots tend to look amateurish.
- BUT, do include small "before" snapshots next to your finished work when you can. These will add to the impact of your beautiful designs.
- Hire a professional photographer. My business took a giant leap when I finally hired a photographer. One more sale could pay for the expense!
- If you're not ready to lay out the expense of a photographer, make sure you at least learn a few tips for taking the best photographs you can. Even if your designs are incredible, poor photography will make you look like a less professional designer. My friend (and personal photographer), Barbara Lane, wrote a great book on how to photograph interiors - especially for people like us (I could never seem to take a good interior photo until I learned some of her tips). You can see info here.
- Include clippings from any press articles where you are mentioned.
- Update your portfolio on a regular basis (every 6 months or so). Replace jobs from several years ago with fresh, new ones.
- Limit your photos to about a dozen. Use only your most impressive work. Small, modest jobs can be kept as snapshots in your briefcase to pull out when necessary (if your client needs to visualize a certain style or example).
- If you are computer-savvy, create a digital portfolio. Pulling out your laptop to show your designs can make you look very current and knowledgeable.
Remember: When your portfolio is well-maintained and professional, selling is a whole lot easier. To your increased sales and confidence!
by Nika Stewart "If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you'll achieve the same results."
- Tony Robbins, bestselling writer and motivational speaker In other words, if you want to run a successful design business, copy what successful designers are doing, and you'll achieve the same success. Sound good? Are you interested in modelling successful designers? Great! So, what are successful designers doing? How do they work, think, act? Here are 3 traits that are common to successful designers: - Successful designers have systems
What do you do when a call comes in? When you measure a room? When you hire a contractor? Do you have specific steps to follow for every part of your business? Or do you wing it? I used to! But I learned that "winging it" leads to chaos and confusion, and you certainly can't grow from there. Successful designers handle each part of their business the same way every time. They follow a system for everything: marketing, selling, setting up consultations, etc. Systems lead to consistency, organization, and effectiveness. - Successful designers study marketing
Unfortunately, being a terrific designer doesn't necessarily make you successful. In order to succeed in business, we need to be super marketers. Successful designers are either great at marketing, or they hire people who are. The most lucrative design firms actually spend more time and energy on marketing than they do on studying design.
The trick for those of you who don't enjoy marketing is to learn some fun, creative ways to market your business. Once you do this, you will have more fun with marketing - which will lead to more success. - Successful designers are detail-oriented
This may seem obvious, but are you doing it? Successful designers take care with every detail of the business - from all aspects of office work to each element of design projects. This doesn't mean they do it all themselves (in fact, profitable design companies delegate a lot of the details), but they always make sure that every part of their business - down to the smallest details - supports their exceptional image.
What's interesting is that once you have systems in place, details and delegating become so easy! So the better it gets, the better it gets.
By Nika Stewart When asked who their ideal client is, many designers respond:
Owners of expensive homes or Rich people or Anyone who has money and is willing to pay Here is the problem with believing that wealthy people are your ideal clients: It is an ineffective target because it is too broad. Choosing "high-end homes" or "wealthy homeowners" as your target does not give you a specific target. And without a clear, defined target, your design business will be less successful. You must aim all of your marketing at a clearly defined target. Why? - Marketing becomes SO much easier
When you know who your audience is, you know how to find them. You know what they read, what stores they frequent, and what events they attend. - Marketing costs go down
Instead of promoting your business to everyone, you can target your advertising. - More word of mouth referrals
Your unique ideal client is thrilled when they find someone who specializes in their interests and needs, and they will share you with other members of their circle. - Competition goes WAY down
When you have a very specific target audience, you become a special, sought-after designer. Those without a target are a dime a dozen. But a decorator who specializes in the needs of an exclusive group of people is one in a million! - You get to design your business - on your own terms!
My favorite part of choosing my own ideal client is choosing what works for me. I choose to target people whom I love to work with - those who are creative and easygoing, and want to work with me because they see me as the expert.
Try this "Ideal Client" Activity:
Sit alone and begin to imagine your ideal client in as much detail as possible. Keep in mind your goals for business and lifestyle. Write down a clear description of this client (this is your Ideal Client Intention), and place this paper in your office where you can see it everyday.
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