ABOUT KATIE

operations consultant for interior designers

I help interior designers streamline and redesign the behind-the-scenes of their businesses so they can enjoy working in a more profitable and sustainable way.

My specialty is designing services my clients love and the processes and systems to deliver them in an elevated and efficient way.

My all-female team and I provide business consulting PLUS done-for-you implementation.

MY STORY

I built my business to support businesses like yours.

I work with interior designers who are buried in business operations. I help them get back to doing the work they love so they can take care of their clients and grow their businesses — in a way that works for their lives.

As a former event planner with 16 years of experience in operations and project management, I use both my creative and analytical sides to come up with solutions that work for my clients. I’m passionate about doing the work that makes the behind-the-scenes operations run smoothly so my clients can focus on their creative work.

With my intimate knowledge of both industries and my entrepreneurial mindset, I know what it takes to get my clients refocused on their top priorities.

The magic is in the implementation.

My story began in middle school, in the early morning hours in the prep kitchen of my dad’s catering business.

At the time, I didn’t fully understand everything my parents had sacrificed so my dad could achieve his lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant and catering business. But I knew how much it took out of him every day and saw what it meant for my mom as she managed to raise five kids essentially by herself.

The early mornings, the late nights, the weekend work, the distracted holidays.

Instead of missing him like crazy, I jumped right in as his sidekick and did anything I could to work alongside him. This meant learning the ins and outs of both sides of his business: working with a team, meeting and coordinating with his vendors, interacting with his clients, and doing whatever it took to make sure his business was as awesome as he was.

From prepping food for weddings to breaking down events, washing dishes, and eating leftover wedding cake with the rest of the team, I was obsessed with seeing the happy clients, flawless events, and pride in my dad’s eyes when he received compliments, referrals, and rave reviews from his clients.

But I also saw all the behind-the-scenes work.

Crunching numbers in his office, negotiating contracts with vendors, managing employees, and troubleshooting at events when things went wrong. While time-consuming and distracting from his passionate work, it was all necessary to build the foundation to achieve his dream.

But then, my dad unexpectedly got really sick.

He and my mom had to take time off so he could receive medical care. And they left me, at 17 years old, in charge of his bustling restaurant and catering business.

Even with the sadness and uncertainty of his illness, I loved every second of managing the daily operations of his business and seeing how his processes and systems made everything run so smoothly.

When we broke the news about his terminal illness to his clients and refunded their deposits for events booked over the next year, I was heartbroken to see everything he had created disappear. I also saw how he handled it all so graciously and how much his clients loved and respected him.

I was so proud when I realized he had built the business of his dreams on a few simple principles: honesty, hard work, and treating his clients well.

It was during this difficult time in my life that I knew I would have my own business someday, just like him. I would love my clients, work hard, and always operate from a position of honesty.

As much as we wanted to freeze time and mourn the loss of his life, time stops for no one, and life went on.

I watched my mom learn everything she could about his business so she could negotiate his contracts, manage the restaurant and his staff, and eventually find a buyer for his business.

There was just something about the way my dad did business that inspired everyone around him. Shortly after sorting out my dad’s business, my mom found herself motivated to launch HER own business--a web design company.

It was so cool to see her go from considering herself “just a mom” to being a passionate business owner doing work for people she loved. She was so good at bringing her clients’ dreams to life.

Her website-making magic furthered my interest in design and I saw firsthand how important it was for all the operational aspects of a business (in my mom’s case: websites) to be built on a strong foundation.

My parents showed me through their struggles and success that, if you put all the right pieces in place, anything is possible.

So I set out to put all the right pieces into place in my own life.

I went to college at ASU, got my degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, and then got a great job working in operations at a top mortgage company. I lived and breathed my parents’ motto of “it’s not worth doing if it’s not worth doing well”. I quickly became the go-to person for every big project, new launch, and idea that needed to be executed.

After being with the company for just five years, I was representing the president in meetings and managing multiple aspects of the business while I also single-handedly launched and ran one of their subsidiary companies that earned the company almost a million dollars a year.

While I loved my teams and the projects I was entrusted to do, I was missing out on the creative aspect and the high-touch relationships that I loved so much from my mom and dad’s businesses.

I was itching to do my own thing and, at 26 years old, I launched my first company doing wedding and event planning.

Flashback to 2007: my headshot for my first business.

Over the next six years, I built a successful business serving clients in multiple states without any paid advertising or social media.

How I ran my business and treated my clients and colleagues allowed me to grow solely by word of mouth. I loved every minute of it and cherished the special journey I went on with each of my clients.

Right around this time, I shifted my focus to another BIG dream of mine: starting a family.

After having my second daughter, it became increasingly difficult to manage everything – and I didn’t feel right leaving my husband with our girls every Friday night, all day Saturday, and most of the day Sunday while I was working events. Exiting the business was not an easy decision, but I knew the time was right for me to focus on raising my daughters.

While doing the stay-at-home mom thing, I tried to channel my burning entrepreneurial energy. I dove headfirst into nonprofit board work and then into freelance operations work at an interior design firm.

Having worked with many successful entrepreneurs, I saw firsthand that just because someone owns a business doesn’t necessarily mean they enjoy running a business.

My nonprofit and creative clients struggled to reach their full potential because they didn’t have the time, the business background, or the bandwidth to work ON their business while also working IN their business.

They desperately needed support so they could focus on the work they loved rather than technology, record keeping, or developing proper operating procedures.

Ultimately, they needed a system so they could focus on the revenue generating client activities while outsourcing the operational details without sacrificing their brand.

In all of my experience, it has become clear that consistent processes, simplified systems, and a strong foundation are the keys to repeat clients, efficiency, and growth.

This is why I launched Dakota Design Company (my dad’s business name was Dakota as well).

Today, my business continues to serve creative entrepreneurs like interior designers and wedding planners who want to deliver a luxury experience to their clients.

I help my clients achieve business success they didn’t think possible while also freeing up valuable time for their personal lives.

We accomplish this by identifying and implementing strategies that allow them to design a business they love that lets them focus on what they love to do.

For all of us, time is at a premium and life is too precious to spend it on tasks that technology or someone else can handle.

100+

1:1 CLIENTS SERVED

Through 1:1 consulting and done-for-you implementation services, we have helped over 100 interior designers and their teams to work more efficiently & profitably.

1680+

CUSTOMERS SERVED

Our educational workshops and client process templates in The Design Library and The Workroom have allowed us to help designers across the globe.

35,000+

RESOURCES DELIVERED

Our complimentary resources have helped over 35,000 interior designers deliver an elevated client experience and streamline their BTS.

250+

STUDENTS SERVED

We’ve supported over 250 interior designers in our online programs, Design Business Foundations, and our signature program, The Designed to Scale® Method.