Interior Designers CAN Build a Better Business
Interior designer Laura Thornton spent the past 27 😧 years learning how to run a successful interior design BUSINESS.
If you don’t want to spend the next 27 years struggling to build your interior design business, Laura is here with two time-saving solutions 🙏
Laura’s podcast - The Business of Beautiful Spaces - is one of the absolute best podcasts for interior designers. Seriously, it’s really good. And it’s free :)
If you want to get better…faster, Laura has spent the past year creating a 6-week, 30+ module course - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers - dedicated to helping interior designers, decorators & home stagers build a PROFITABLE 📈 business.
The Profit Academy ain’t free, but it will save time. And as they say, time is money.
To learn more about the Profit Academy, I sat down with Laura at 7am on a Friday morning to record the following interview for the Interior DesignHer podcast.
IMPORTANT: I am a big fan of Laura’s podcast and all the 100% free tips & tricks she shares with interior designers. And, my respect for Laura grew even deeper during our interview. Laura has a legit desire to share her experience with the next generation of desires. But, as the course is brand-new, I haven’t taken it or even spoken with someone who has.
Listen…
Watch…
Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:46 Who is The Profit Academy for Interior Designers for?
03:36 How will the Profit Academy change my business?
11:25 How does the course function? What can I expect?
14:20 How did Laura create the Profit Academy? What was her process?
17:10 What ISN'T in the Profit Academy course?
20:10 Incorporating your business - yes, no, how?
25:33 Final Thoughts
Read…
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I'm curious. Who did you create the profit Academy for? Obviously, it’s for interior designers, but do you have that magic avatar of who you think your student is?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Well, I mean, it is called the Profit Academy for interior designers, but I want to start off by just saying it's not just for interior designers. Anyone in the design world, decorator, stagers, anyone in this world of design is going to be a great person to take this course because it's geared towards anybody who charges for their design time, their expertise, their knowledge. Doesn't matter if they're seasoned or if they're new or if they're just contemplating going out on their own.
But it also is something that will help them navigate right from the first week of this course how to be more profitable in their business. So I don't know anyone who says up, I'm making enough money. I don't need to make any more money this year. I'm good. So it really is for anybody. But it needs to be specifically in our design decorating world. It needs to be somebody who charges for their intellectual property and is charging for product in their business.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: What about maybe somebody who's working for someone else, thinking about going out on their own? Would you think they'd be a good fit as well?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Yes, for sure. I mean, the only thing I'm going to tell you what we don't I'm not going to teach you process. There are plenty of places where great courses that will teach you process in your business, which you would need starting out and leaving a secure job.
But this will be able to tell you right from the beginning how and what, how we charge, what are the best avenues to charge, and we actually cover in the course, whether you're seasoned or not, how to be charging for your time and how that that breaks down to an hourly amount.
We all know that there's multiple ways to charge for design time. There are three primaries, whether that's square footage, hourly or flat rate based on hour. But at the end of the day, everyone needs to be tracking their hours, regardless of your seasons, more efficient or if you're just coming out of out of another job or out of school, you need to know how long every single task takes you so that you can apply that to whichever method you choose.
So we will talk about all of that. So whether it's somebody who has decided they're just about to go out on their own, or they might be still on the fence, this will help you navigate all of that. It'll teach you all of the different ways. It'll teach you which one works best for you and how to keep making that more and more efficient so that at the end of the day, you're more profitable down the line.
But you know, anyone who's passionate about business or about going out on their own, I mean, I always say my, my business was my first child before I had kids. And you still give it all the love and attention that it needs all the way through. It doesn't matter. Even me at 27 years in, I am still constantly educating myself. I am still constantly seeking more efficiency. And more efficiency equals more profitability. So it really is for every gamut of every designer or decorator that is out there.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: When I looked at the website and the course and looked at all the different modules, I try to put myself into the place of a designer who's struggling on the business side of their business and is looking for help and is unsure who to trust. And obviously, designers who've listened to your podcast understand who you are a bit better. You're not a blank slate, you're not this great unknown.
But I'm curious, what do you hope designers are able to take from your course and how they can change their business in both the short term and the long term? Because in the short term, they're going to have to do all the work and change their business.
But then five years down the road, when all of that stuff has been assimilated into their business and it's theirs now, it's not yours so much, right? Like they've made it their own.
So, two questions. In the short term, if I'm taking your course, what can I expect in terms of the effort I have to put in, or the effort you'd like to see me put in and how my business could change and then a longer five years down the road?
Best case scenario, what you think, how you'll be able to help designers transform their businesses?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Great question. So, questions. So in the short term, my primary hope is that the designers who actively participate, meaning you have to commit to doing the work, will start to see immediate transformations in their business operations. We still have six months of 2024. This is not something where you can't change the trajectory of even this calendar year or I'm not sure if, you know, if you're incorporated. I know I'm June to January. But either way, you still have six months of 2024 left to start implementing even a fraction of what you're going to learn to be more profitable.
So the best case scenario for students in the short term is to gain clarity on who their ideal client is. Therefore, they can market correctly towards that client, setting profitable pricing strategies. Streamlining. Streamlining their business. Financial health, the foundational work that can lead to immediate improvements in cash flow. Project management, for example, a designer might quickly realize that they've been undercharging for their services, which probably everybody is, right?
Let's be clear. We all could probably use to raise our rates, especially with the way the market is right now, and you and I were just talking about, like, even just groceries and gas, right? Just there alone, like everybody's raising their prices, we should be also doing that as well. But we can also adjust our rates, but start seeing a significant increase in revenue just in that way alone.
But they also might be able to find that they can take on more projects with less stress due to better time management, organizational systems, while making more money. If you knew how to charge properly and if you knew how to be profitable on every item that left your office, like nothing should leave your office without markup on it, period. There is time, there is thought, there is intellectual property that went along with that.
So those are just really simplistic, basic items that everybody could be starting to implement today without taking the course. But if you knew how to charge for the preliminary consultation properly. I've talked to many designers who don't charge.
That's, that's, that's the first thing you have to be charging. You have to be charging. It is the most professional way to start any, any project with any potential client. You have to charge for your consultation time. And then I've had other designers who charge like a combo fee. If it's 2 hours, they make it a little bit less than what their hourly fee is. Well, that's the exact opposite of what you should be doing. It should be more.
So you still had to drive a distance, you still had time in the car, you still had kilometers in gas, and now you're spending 2 hours with a client who may or may not end up making money for you down the road. So that should be an increased price. Your two hour consultation should not be the same as your 2 hours that you would charge a client. It should be more. You have to cover your time in the car, you have to cover your kilometers, and you have to cover all of that.
So these are just really simplistic, basic things, things that when I've talked to other designers, they had never thought about it in terms like that before. So that's real short term, but it's going to go for the long haul if you implement it. So that means on every project, every consultation that you start off, every kicking point, you are actually making a profitable amount of money. Just even in the potential of that consultation, which turn into a client, but they might recommend you to somebody else. And so every time you have one of those consultations, you are being profitable. So if you end up having a goal of four a month and you know how much you're making, at least you're covering probably all your bills for the year just on the consultations. But regardless, designers can take all these lessons and apply it at their own pace.
I'm not saying you have to take the six week course, show up tomorrow and get it all done. I know that life happens. I get that, you know, things like I have to jump in a car and head out to Mississauga. That was not planned today because there's a leak in a basement job. So, you know, these are things that we can't change. You have to jump in a car, you gotta go. I totally get that.
So if your life got busy or something happened, this course is not going to go away. It's going to sit where you can come back and do this at your pace if you wish, but it's there for you to keep working towards and implementing at your own pace. It is only a six week course. I tried to keep it short due to the fact that we are busy and tried to maximize what I could fit into each week. Not to overwhelm everybody, but also so that, you know, you could, hopefully you have four or five days to at least watch the videos. Join me on the live support call so that if you do have questions or other people do, you're actually hearing the information for when you do get to that week in the course.
And at the same token, we're going to be building a community, which I think is paramount. So I think that's the long term goal. If we all have each other to start learning from and ask questions towards, I think that has value in itself right there.
So the long term, to answer your question about the long term transformations, I think that's even more profound. Designers who have fully embraced all these lessons and took the time to walk through it all and start integrating into their business can see a complete shift in their professional lives and their financial lives. They'll find themselves consistently hitting higher revenue targets, enjoying much healthier profit margins, which will allow you to have money in the bank to be able to a pay yourself.
But also, look what we just went through in the last year where everybody was running on an interior design high and then we all saw really come down and we've all been seeing a big shift in how much work's coming across our desks. And you start to worry, of course we all do, because we're entrepreneurs. But if you have money in the bank, then you can ride through those low times for when it comes back up to the high times.
So if we can make sure that everybody has some revenue sitting, that they can know that their bills are going to get paid, they can still be paying themselves. I think that that is the goal and that you can start to save and invest in yourself and in your future and in your retirement.
So those are the long term goals. But again, it's mostly to come down to having a bit less stress in our lives. I think most people worry about money all the time. I don't know who doesn't worry about money in their business?
So those are the short and that's the long term. Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And if they're not worrying about money, they probably should be worrying about money. Right?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Well, God love them if they're not, because that means they're sleeping better than I am. Yeah, for sure.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: You kind of already answered my next question. I was wondering about the nuts and bolts of how the course functions.
If I've signed up, what are first steps and what can I expect, say over the first month? And then, I mean, I guess with each new module you're just going to be repeating the process for a new concept to learn.
But definitely also tie in the group work because what you were talking about, if somebody is due to time constraints, is maybe lagging a week or two behind in the course, they still have access to the group. And I assume you can bounce questions off and maybe even get help to get caught up in the course.
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Yeah, so I've taken courses and I haven't stayed up. So I get that. Like, I get that that happens, right? Like that's something that happens. And then you feel this panic to like, oh gosh, I'm going to miss the next thing.
But you don't have to feel that way. I mean, the nice thing is everybody in this peer group is literally going through what you're going through. We're all running businesses or trying, and we're all trying to navigate life and business. And if you have a support network or you feel like you have a place to go and ask a question, like, I'll be in there too.
Like I belong to a couple of different Facebook chats and I will sometimes go in and just see what other people are, are talking about. Or I might ask, hey, I have this client and this is happening. How have you dealt with this before? And people have really good ideas because I'm a hothead. So I go from like zero to 100 when I do. I always say when I do get mad, it's when I get mad. But otherwise I'm pretty even keeled.
But if you get that random client who just isn't getting it and you get that really crappy email and before you react, you can maybe ask an opinion to someone else that might bring it down, or they can say, I've dealt with this and this is the way I dealt with it. I think that sometimes helps to have people who are going through what you're going through living the same kind of issues that you're going, and they can talk you off the ledge, if you will.
Or it could just be as simple as, hey, what printer do you use to do your like, it's just information that we all crave and would love to know, but I think if we have this group of people and just designers and decorators and stagers or anyone who happens to join and have this access, it's private.
So that's the other thing. You don't have to worry, like, I don't want to put something out with my name attached to it that a client can read. Well, no one would find you here. It is private to private peer group. So that's just one added bonus. But we would have the weekly live Zoom calls with me. You can ask any questions. If we don't have questions, we all just get to know each other and then you create your own network. I have a network of four women that I talk to once a month that we all met in a course, and we took ourselves, we all got along, we removed ourselves out of that course, and we do a 1 hour to two hour call once a month and just talk about our business and our lives. And it's been a really great resource. Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: So that definitely brings me into my next question is about what was involved for you to create the course. What was that like?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: I have a profound appreciation for anybody who teaches and creates courses because it is ridiculously time consuming, but it also is 27 years of living and doing this job. So, like I mentioned to you earlier, I am constantly educating myself. Still, like, on my bedside table is a book. Um, it's not fiction. It's all about business. I'm constantly reading, I'm constantly seeking more information. So I've taken all of that.
And just like we ask our clients when we start a project, to start writing down the things that work and don't work in their In their homes and in their spaces and what they want to improve on, I had to start actually applying that myself. And I was carrying around papers and pens and my, my notes app and my phone was very full of all the things I'd be like, that's, that's. That someone should know and every process I did and everything I was doing, I was writing down, so that way I could bring it all together and put it into basically this summary of the course. Like, every time I came, like, this is literally how I function. Right. Charts.
So I was like, okay, that's something that we should know. That's something that someone, because, you know, it, it becomes rote as you do it every day. But to get it out of your head and onto paper and to commit to do that was something that was very time consuming. So it's just. It'll be just under a year by the time this launches that it took to do.
And again, if you had told me a year ago that this is what it was going to take, I probably wouldn't have signed up to do it. But I really feel like it's missing in their industry, and I think it will help a lot of people move their businesses very quickly forward, financially and health financially than it took me. Because for 15 years, you know, it was building and it was building. And I remember thinking, oh, this is a big one. I made $5,000. Well, $5,000 doesn't go very far. So it's been in the last ten to twelve years that even though I've had a seven figure business for a long time, and people throw that around like it's a big deal.
It doesn't matter if you have a million dollar business or a $2 million business, if you're handing over 95% of that in, you know, in your expenditure. So you have to know how much money you're making to be profitable.
So this is where, you know, it's great to say that you have got a seven figure business. It doesn't mean much until you start talking about, what was that looking like? Were you running at a 10%? But you're supposed to be running between a 30 to 40 minimum percent profit margin. So these are the things that we need to. We need to make sure that every designer knows, every decorator does. Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Going back to that chart, I mean, it's obvious to see there's a lot of stuff that you've covered and put into the course, and you've mentioned that process is something that's not in there.
Are there other things that you thought about including in the course in the Profit Academy that you said, nope, nope. Gonna keep it here. This is where I want it. This would be great. But that's something else.
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: And that was process, because process is really important. And it is something that if you. Efficiency equals profits, period. End of story. But again, it would just be too vast.
So whether or not some, I mean, I don't think it matters if you're new or if you're seasoned. You have a process. You just might not realize that you do. You're doing things similarly every single day.
So it was hard not to start focusing in on, make sure this is in order. Make sure that, like, make sure you're asking your client, you have to stop somewhere because it's just too much. It needed to be, for me, more, more narrow, less broad.
However, one of the bonuses in this profit academy is I'm handing over 100 templated emails that we use every single day. I've seen other people sell theirs for literally thousands, like, shockingly so.
And, you know, if somebody was really had the time to read them all, you basically have gotten my process. Like it's, it's right there because every single email relates to its client facing and internal. So you'll see our process, it's very, very, very clear.
Of course, there's more internal checklists and things that maybe aren't in there with process, but it'd be very clear to see the process in which we, in which we use here. But some of it does get taught just in where you can charge and how you can charge.
But it's not the nuts and bolts of here's our spreadsheet that we use, or here's our, you know, we don't do that.
But there are so many fantastic programs that exist that can teach you that if you're seeking that. But it had to stay about profitability at the end of the day, that's the goal that I had set out and that's what needed to be here.
At the end of the course, there is about five modules about protecting that money once you make it. And even that I debated on leaving in and leaving out, but it's so important to protect yourself via contracts and wills and corporations and all of that that I really felt that that needed to be included because it's great to start making money, but if you can, if you can lose it real quick.
So even that I debated, but I figured that to me is really important. It helps me sleep at night tomorrow, know that I have all of these things in place in my business that I know I'm protected, my family's protected. Nobody can come after whatever revenue you've created. So even that was a debate.
But at the end of the day, I think it's really important that you just need to have the knowledge that these are some avenues that you can explore to protect the money that you're now making. Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: We're both in Canada, so the idea of incorporating a business, and I would argue that the vast, vast majority of designers are not incorporated, considering most are either solo firms or these micro sized companies in the states, you can set up a limited liability corporation, and that's easy. We don't have that here.
So I'd be curious to know, when you made that switch from being a sole proprietorship or. Or a small business and decided to incorporate, what was that like? Like, how painful was that?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: It wasn't at all. And I don't know why. I was kind of overwhelmed by it. And didn't I think. Cause I didn't know enough about it, to be honest. And my projects were getting bigger, and it was getting scarier at that point, I was still doing my own accounting, because I always say, you know, we feel like we can do it all because we can.
But the reality is, is that the projects were getting so big, and it was my first million dollar project. Full disclosure. And I remember thinking in my head, this client could wipe me out. They clearly have a lot of money, and if I make a mistake or any, you know, they were always talking about they had to sue this person.
And I was like, oh, my God. Like, this could change. This could be a bit like, not that I was planning on disappointing them, but you just have that fear. And so that was when I decided a I was going to engage a accountant, and the accountant right away said, you should. You need to be incorporated. And he was doing it solely for tax savings, which, again, I didn't even understand those implications, which I'm going to.
This is part of the things that I do discuss in the course, because it's just the lack of knowledge, and I wish I had done it ten to 15, like, I did it probably about twelve years ago, 12, 13 years, and I should have done it right from go.
It doesn't make sense not to, because if you're not incorporated, your home is up for grabs, all your investments are up for grab. Like, a client can come after you, and everything that you have with your family, like, everything you own is up for grabs. But if you're incorporated, you're protected solely for the incorporation, and you're taxed at different rates.
It just opens up a whole different world for you financially as well. Yes, it's a little bit more legwork, but I do think it's worth the investment of the accountant, maybe doing your paperwork at the end of the year, at minimum, to do your corporation. But it is something where I wish I had done it sooner, because all those years I was open to being sued and I could have lost, literally, my home, my investments, my retirement fund, everything was up for grabs.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: And to be clear, I mean, as much work as it is on your end to become incorporated, you're hiring professionals to do the actual legwork. Right. We're not opening up some do it yourself, incorporate your interior design firm. Right. So you are going to pay somebody to do it.
And maybe if you're first starting out and you're doing small jobs and literally money is that tight, that really just isn't feasible based on your cash flow. But once it gets good and once you've got something to lose, it does seem like a no brainer. Yeah.
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: If you are doing paint consultations, or if you're just doing consultations and helping people with selections in their home, but you're not selling any product, you're not doing drawings for them, you probably will never need to incorporate. There's nothing. Are they gonna sue you over a paint color? No. But if you're doing construction drawings or you're doing things where it starts to impact and have more effect on a mistake, those are the items that just protect yourself.
And it sounds overwhelming and daunting. I believe it was around $1,000 at the time to incorporate and pay to have someone. Maybe it's 1500 now. I'll double check so that I have that not. But it's not.
Yes, it's a lot of money, but it's a one time, and it's a one time investment. Like, it's not something that you have to keep, just like your contract. These are really important things that you need to put the money out.
I would say before you even have your first client, if you're going to invest in your business, that's where you invest. Business cards, maybe. I don't know who uses them anymore. But, you know, I would invest in.
I would invest in a lawyer and your accountant. Those would be the two things that I would. I would say, you have to have protect yourself from the beginning. Yeah. Yeah.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: I mean, I've heard different people talk about who would be their first hire at their firm. And I'm like, accountant? How can that not be right? I mean, unless you're that kind of person who just loves, you know, doing your own books. That's. That's your skill set.
But it seems like a weird combination, right, of the. The artistry of interior design and yet just loves doing the bookkeeping. Yeah.
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: Yeah. I didn't. I was. I didn't like numbers. I didn't like talking about money. I really didn't. I thought I just like any of it. And then once you start to understand it, it becomes a passion. Now, it doesn't mean that I need to reconcile my books every month, but I definitely want to see the numbers. I definitely want to know where I want to see all of that. And it's once you educate yourself and you're comfortable with it, then it's not that thing where you're like, I don't want to talk about the numbers. I don't want to talk about the money. You'll want to trust me. You are going to want to talk about the money.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Is there anything that I've missed? Anything I should have asked you about?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: No, I don't think so. I think we covered everything that there. It's, you know, it sounds complicated when we're talking about lawyers and accountants, but it really isn't. You'll wonder how you didn't know before. Like, it's something really easy.
I hope that everyone finds value in it. That would like. I don't know how you can't. If you're..unless you're making fantastic moolah and you have no interest in making more, I'm not for you. But if you're interested, if you're interested in knowing how to increase your profits, I can. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to help you out.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Okay, so I'm sold. How do I sign up?
Laura Thornton - The Profit Academy for Interior Designers: So you can go to the Profit Academy for Interior Designers. The website there is all the information there. Breaks down the modules, breaks down all the inclusions, breaks down the weeks, the start states, the open and close cart dates. Everything is there.
If you have any questions, you're welcome to send any emails over my way. We're happy to answer.
We also did a podcast on the business of beautiful spaces this week and talked all about it as well. So if anyone needs a bit more clarification, you are welcome to email me anytime. And we will be setting up a link page shortly to do a webinar on the 18 June. So if anyone wants to join that as well, for any further questions, we'll be there to answer anything that anyone wants to know.
Douglas Robb - Interior DesignHer: Okay, fantastic. I'll include all of those links in the show notes.
Wanna learn more about Laura Thornton & the Profit Academy for Interior Designers?
Laura is running a series of informational webinars prior to the launch of the Profit Academy for Interior Designers
With over 25 years of experience, Laura Thornton is a distinguished interior designer and the visionary founder of Thornton Design, a thriving 7-figure design business. Laura is known for her exceptional ability to create luxurious, livable spaces that reflect her clients' dreams and lifestyles. Passionate about sharing her wealth of knowledge, Laura is dedicated to helping fellow designers achieve success and profitability in their own businesses.
The Business of Beautiful Spaces is a podcast hosted by Laura Thornton, aimed at empowering interior designers to excel in the business side of their craft. Each episode delves into essential topics such as profit margins, vendor relations, and project management. Laura and her expert guests offer practical advice and strategies to help designers navigate the complexities of running a successful design business, ensuring their creative talents translate into financial success.
The Profit Academy for Interior Designers is an online course created by Laura Thornton, designed to help interior designers, decorators, stagers, and design enthusiasts master the business aspects of their profession. Featuring over 30 comprehensive modules, live weekly support, and a private Facebook peer group, the academy equips students with the tools and knowledge to charge appropriately for their services, manage their time and income effectively, and build profitable, sustainable design businesses.
Interior DesignHer lives to bring top-notch business education to interior designers. We especially have a soft-spot for interior design solopreneurs & micro-businesses.
If this sounds good to you, join us & we’ll email you updates when we find or build something cool to help your biz.
