Interior Design Business Trends for 2023 from My Point of View
Updated September 2023
Working with interior designers day in and day out offers me glimpses into the inner workings of interior design businesses across the world. I often see patterns and trends in the challenges my designers are experiencing.
Being able to share my insights to help designers all over, even ones I’m not currently working with, is one of the best parts of my job. In this post I’m sharing three trends I’m seeing for interior designers and their businesses in 2023, and giving my top three tips for taking your interior design company to the next level this year.
Here’s what I’ll cover in detail in this post:
Business Trends for Interior Designers in 2023
Trend 01: Designers are seeing collaboration and partnerships
Trend 02: Designers are taking control of their businesses
Trend 03: Designers are prioritizing designing an elevated client experience
Business Tips for Interior Designers in 2023
Tip 01: USE. YOUR. SOFTWARE.
Trend 02: Show only projects you want more of in your portfolio and marketing.
Tip 03: Don’t expect clients to invest in your company if you won’t.
Alright, let’s jump into it!
THREE TRENDS FOR INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESSES IN 2023
Designers are seeking collaboration and partnerships.
Now more than ever before, I’m seeing a huge trend toward interior designers seeking community with other designers. There’s always been a yearning for collaboration within the interior design community, and in recent years, there’s been a shift toward more open communication among designers.
Designers are sharing information about vendors, pricing, client challenges, and business practices in general. It’s powerful to see designers stay in close contact with other designers and act as sounding boards as well.
This means I’m also seeing more transparency in the interior design world – transparency on pricing, processes, billing, and so on. I’m a huge believer in the power of community, and in this ever-connected world of ours, I think we’ll continue to see a rise in this trend of designers lifting each other up. Increased transparency means interior design customers will begin to experience more consistency across the industry (no more racing to the bottom because a prospect says “well, this other designer down the street splits said she’ll split her discount with me, so will you?”).
Designers are taking control of their businesses.
As a business consultant, this is by far the most exciting trend I’ve seen on the rise in the interior design industry. I’m continuously impressed by designers who are investing in their business from day 1 and working to build a strong foundation, whether their business is large or small. As interior designers, you have to ask your client to place blind faith (and money) in you and your business without knowing what the results will be. When I see designers investing in and taking control of their business from day one, it shows that they have trust in themselves and are taking their business seriously, which speaks volumes about the assurance and future success of a company.
What do I mean by ‘taking control of your business’?
I’m talking about hiring a lawyer and accountant right off the bat, getting business savvy with your marketing, and utilizing your software programs to the fullest. And, one of the best ways to truly take control of your business, is identifying and hiring help so you can spend your time and energy doing the work you truly love and excel at. This is also typically the work that generates the highest revenue for the company.
Designers are prioritizing designing an elevated client experience.
It’s not enough to just design a pretty room anymore. Consumers are smart and have TONS of options. Designers know they need to differentiate their company. The easiest way to do this is by creating an experience so amazing your clients have absolute trust in you from day one.
As an avid advocate of a formalized luxury client experience, I’m obviously the most excited about this trend! I’m seeing so many designers prioritize their client experiences so their clients can enjoy a more elevated process, their team knows what to do, and designers feel more confident in their pricing and timelines.
So many of the designers I work with get stuck in the rut of doing the same things in their business because it’s what they’ve always done, and the first step in prioritizing your clients and your business is taking a good look at how you’re doing business and see where you can improve, scale, and create efficiencies. My designers who create formalized client experience processes benefit from more confidence in the sales process, an increase in pricing, more repeat clients and referrals, improved communications and a decrease in client confusion, a team that knows exactly what to do and when, and happier clients.
MY THREE BUSINESS TIPS FOR INTERIOR DESIGNERS FOR 2023
Software, software, SOFTWARE!
So many of the issues my clients face come from not using software. If you’re looking to implement software in your business, the first place I’d recommend starting is financial software. Investing in financial software saves you from the tedious (and dreaded) task of manual entry for your financials and allows you to work more efficiently, ultimately helping you scale your business and grow. At a minimum you should be using Quickbooks. But if you’re planning to sell products, I highly recommend using a product management software like Design Files or Houzz Pro (these both sync with QBO). If you prefer an all-in-one solution, you can look at Studio Designer or Design Manager. These are the four most popular ones we see among our clients.
Show only projects you want more of in your portfolio and marketing.
This one seems obvious at first glance, but it’s something many designers overlook. They think, “why wouldn’t I show as much of my work as possible?” or, “that project was horrible to work on, but it turned out great so I should showcase it.” In reality, showcasing projects you didn’t feel fully aligned with or didn’t enjoy will only lead to you getting more projects just like that - ones you probably don’t want. By showing only projects you want more of, you’ll attract the right kinds of clients and you’ll spend more time working on projects you’re passionate about.
So be sure to review your portfolio on an annual basis and remove any projects that no longer speak to your ideal client and the work you want to do.
Don’t expect clients to invest in your company if you won’t.
As I said before, being an interior designer essentially means asking clients to place blind faith, trust, and money in you without knowing what they’re going to get in return when their project wraps in six months or a year.
That’s a big ask for clients, and if you don’t invest in your business, how can you ever expect a client to?
To every designer out there: empower yourself and take control of your business. Invest in your business, in your team, and in yourself! It’ll pay off in more ways than you can imagine. And if you’re looking for people who work specifically with interior designers, be sure to grab our Interior Design Industry Playbook here.
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