Are You an Interior Design CEO or Stuck Wearing the Business Owner Hat?

Interior Design CEO is more than just a title you adopt in your design practice or words you print on your business card, it’s a mindset and way of being. There are 3 core differences between being an interior design business owner and an interior design CEO.

#1 Busy vs. Productive

The interior design business owner most often wears a badge of busy. You spend your days putting out project fires, soothing client crisis, and are driven by external demands rather than internal plans. You trade your big vision for just getting through whatever comes up and immediate deadlines. You are reluctant to delegate and outsource as you see it as an expense rather than a way to reclaim valuable time and stay focused on your goals.

The interior design CEO has a crystal clear view of goals and every action taken is designed to generate a specific outcome and revenue driven result. You spend your days focusing on growing the engine of the business so it can better serve and support the long term success and big vision. You aren’t hesitant about delegating and outsourcing because you know that your time is best invested in big picture activities and strategy rather than mired in day to day details.

#2 Waiting for Permission vs. Taking Calculated Risks

The interior design business owner wants to grow but you’ll often second guess your decisions. When it comes to risk taking, you wait for permission or approval from an outside source (that frankly, doesn’t exist.) You question your qualifications and think you need more education, certifications, or experience to get where you want to go.

The interior design CEO trusts themselves by staying focused on the goals established and taking the necessary strategic steps to get there. You step forward with the knowing that the resources you need will show up as you need them. And you know that to achieve what you haven’t before, you must go beyond your comfort zone.

#3 Spender of Time vs. Investor in Results

The interior design business owner views time as something to be spent on projects, marketing, client care, and putting out the proverbial fires. You don’t view it as an investment and tend to dismiss the high value of your own time. Instead you’ll willingly spend it on tasks from large to small that don’t actually move the needle forward on your business growth.

The interior design CEO sees time as an investment to be used strategically and for the highest and best good of the company. You focus your time resources on those actions that will create the greatest momentum, and speak to long term goal achievement. You are a master at both deleting the unnecessary and delegating what you aren’t good at or what isn’t the highest and best use of your time. Everything you do moves the needle forward on your business.

You have a choice in your interior design practice. Whether you’ve been in for just a year, practicing for 10 years or established for over 20 years, at any time you can decide to give up your business owner hat and step into the role of interior design CEO. It requires a mindset shift, an attitude adjustment, and new types of action that turns busy into productive, and generates focused momentum for achievement of your big goals. What will you choose?

About Melissa Galt

Melissa Galt is a sought-after business coach, marketing consultant, keynote speaker and workshop leader who empowers designers to build highly profitable businesses, without the burnout. With over three decades as the principal of her namesake successful residential design firm, Melissa brings firsthand experience and proven strategies to guide creative professionals earn more in less time, with less stress.

She is the author of four transformative bestselling books, Marketing Luxury Design: Attracting Affluent Clients; The Language of Success: 35 Words to Boost Your Worth & Wealth; Design Discovery: The Proven Process to Land Ideal Clients & Grow Profit, and Proximity to Profits: 50 Strategic Locations to Meet Affluent Clients.

She is also the host of the weekly Design Business Freedom™ podcast, where she shares unfiltered advice on mindset, money, and marketing for interior design pros ready to elevate their game. When you’re ready to take your practice to the next level, book a complimentary Design Business Assessment with Melissa.

Melissa draws inspiration from her legacy of iconic creatives including her mother, the late Academy Award-winning actress Anne Baxter; her godmother, the legendary eight-time Oscar-winning costume designer Edith Head; and her great-grandfather, American architectural icon Frank Lloyd Wright. Get your Design Dream Team Builder at melissagalt.com/interior-design-templates.