a note from my desk....
It's no secret that we're living through uncertain times.
Lately, I've been talking with a lot of interior designers who are telling me the same thing:
"This one feels different."
And I've caught myself saying it, too.
But then I remember I've said that during just about every difficult season I've been through.
And this isn't my first rodeo.
In 2008, we'd just moved to a new province. My husband was fresh out of college and starting his own business. I was starting my interior design business with two children under the age of two.
Meanwhile, the financial markets were falling apart around us.
In 2017, my design business was at its peak. And then we decided to move 4500 KMS twice in 19 months.
There was a lot of starting over, rebuilding relationships, and figuring out what my business needed to look like in a new chapter of life.
Then came 2020.
When COVID shut the world down, I was freelancing as a designer. Like everyone else, I had no idea what was coming next.
But when I blocked out the noise and focused on what I could control, I developed room-specific design packages that I could deliver virtually.
And my business thrived.
Not because I'd predicted what was coming, but because I was willing to change how I delivered my services.
Post-pandemic brought another unexpected chapter.
I began supporting other interior designers, helping them implement software, improve their workflows, and build more organized businesses.
Imagine that. Helping other designers improve their businesses while discovering an entirely new direction for my own.
That experience eventually led me to the work I do today.
Every one of those chapters required something different of me.
Different decisions. Different skills. Different ways of doing business.
And every single one felt uncertain while I was living through it.
Here's what all those rodeos have taught me.
I don't need to have all the answers.
I need to make the most reasonable decisions I can with the information I have at the time.
And I need to build a business that's capable of changing when circumstances do.
Because we can't predict every economic shift, personal challenge, or unexpected opportunity.
But we can be intentional about how we build our businesses.
Let's dive in! ๐
This Week Inside the Method
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This Week's Blueprint
๐Foundation: Know Your Numbers
When business feels uncertain, it's tempting to focus entirely on finding the next client.
But before you chase more revenue, look at what's happening with the revenue you already generate.
Do you know your monthly operating expenses? Your profit margins? How much revenue you need to bring in to pay yourself consistently?
And perhaps most importantly, do you know which of your services are actually profitable?
You can't make confident decisions about your next move if you don't understand where you stand today.
๐Operations: Build Room to Respond.
If a new opportunity came along tomorrow, would your business have the capacity to take advantage of it?
Or would you be too busy answering emails, following up with vendors, and managing the day-to-day details of existing projects?
Your systems aren't just there to keep you organized.
They're there to create capacity.
When your processes are documented and your workflows are consistent, you have more freedom to explore new services, take on different opportunities, or adjust when circumstances change.
๐Growth: Your Services Can Evolve
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that growth doesn't always mean doing more.
Sometimes it means doing things differently.
In 2020, I didn't suddenly become a different designer. I took the skills I already had and found a different way to deliver them.
Take a look at your current services.
Are they still aligned with what your clients need? Are they profitable? Do they fit the life you're living today?
You don't have to abandon what you've built to make room for what's next.
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This Week's Workshop
๐ ๏ธ The Business Resilience Check-In
Set aside 30 minutes this week and answer these five questions:
- How many months of operating expenses could my business cover if revenue slowed?
- Which of my services generates the strongest profit for the time invested?
- Where am I losing the most time in my day-to-day operations?
- What part of my business depends entirely on me remembering to do something?
- If I needed to make one change to my business model, where would I start?
You don't need perfect answers.
You need an honest picture of where things stand.
๐ ๏ธ Choose Your One Thing
Open your calendar and schedule one hour next week to work on your business.
Not client work. Not emails. Not catching up on the little things.
Choose one area that would make your business more resilient.
Maybe it's documenting your client onboarding process, reviewing your pricing, setting up a project communication schedule, or identifying an opportunity to package your services differently.
Pick one thing and make meaningful progress.
Because being prepared for change isn't about having a contingency plan for every possible scenario.
It's about consistently building a stronger business.
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CEO Reflection
โThe Business I Needed Then Isn't the Business I Need Now
What would you do differently?
I believe uncertain times have a way of making us look at things we've been putting off.
The systems we've been meaning to create.
The numbers we've been avoiding.
The boundaries we know we need.
The changes we've been considering but haven't quite committed to.
When I think about the business I started in 2008, it's almost unrecognizable compared with the business I have today.
And that's a good thing.
Because I'm not the same woman I was in 2008, either.
My children have grown. My priorities have shifted. My experience has expanded. And what I want my business to look like today is very different from what I wanted nearly twenty years ago.
We spend so much time trying to build a successful business that sometimes we forget to ask whether we're still building the right business for ourselves.
So here's my question for you this week:
Are you holding on to a way of doing business because it's still serving you, or simply because it's the way you've always done it?
You don't have to change everything.
But you do have permission to change what no longer fits.
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๐ Keep Building
Let's Get Intentional About What's Next
Building businesses with intention is exactly what I do through my Thoughtfully Designed Business Methodโข.
My eight-week, one-on-one program, Bring Calm to Chaos, is designed to help interior designers create the foundations, systems, workflows, and leadership practices they need to run a more organized, profitable business.
Not just to get through the next uncertain season, but to build something that can evolve with them.
I'm opening four spaces beginning November 2.
Over eight weekly sessions, we'll work together to identify what's holding your business back and implement practical changes that make sense for you.
Whether that means understanding your numbers, improving your operations, refining the way you work with clients, or creating more capacity to grow, we'll start where you are.
Reply to this email by October 30 if you'd like one of those four spaces, and we'll get your first session scheduled.
Imagine ending the year knowing you've made meaningful progress toward a business that's more organized, more intentional, and better prepared for whatever comes next.
I've been to this rodeo before. You may have, too.
And one thing I've learned along the way is that you don't have to figure it all out on your own.
It's built one intentional decision at a time.
I'm grateful you're here.
Until next Friday, ๐
Marsha
Helping interior designers build businesses as thoughtfully designed as the homes they create.
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