In this post I'm sharing three strategies that will help you grow your design business.

These are things that many designers put off (due to being scared) or don't do consistently (because they are difficult) but I want to try and convince you that if you start to do these things then really good things will come from it and your life and business will change dramatically.

1: Get your face on video

I know lots of you are scared to do this but this is the number one thing you need to try and get over this year.

We are in a video first world and you are going to get left behind if you don't get over your fear of being on camera.

Here are a few posts I've created that might help you:

2: Create valuable content every single day

I have shifted the way I think about what my 'job' is.

Instead of thinking of myself as an interior designer or as a course creator I now consider myself a content creator. My shift in thinking around this means that my core focus each day is to create as much helpful content as I can for the people in my community.

This is the modern way of doing business. And I want to strongly encourage you to start thinking about your role like this as well.

So if you're an interior designer (for example) then instead of thinking about how to 'market' your business or how to find more design clients instead shift your thinking to how you can become the best publisher of the most helpful interior design content on the internet. If you do that then the clients will come to you automatically as you will have built up your reputation in the market as an expert, a trusted source and someone they have got to know.

So what content can you create to solve the problems you know people have? Try and use as many different mediums as you can and create as much as you can each day.

Here is my current content rhythm for those who are interested:

daily blog post (read them here if you've missed any!)
weekly newsletter (that's this!)
two posts each day on my Instagram feed with a mix of images, carousels, reels, video etc.
8-10 Instagram stories each day
A daily post in my free Facebook group
Two posts per day to my Facebook page (normally just repurpose my Instagram posts automatically)
Daily pin to Pinterest (posting an image pin of my latest blog post)
At least one post per day on LinkedIn

Here is what I want to try and add to this rhythm:

Two YouTube videos per week (I will start these once I have finished remaking my SketchUp course).
A weekly podcast (this has been on my list for ages but I 100% want to do this in 2022).

And yes, I create all of this content by myself and still have a life and run my business. :)

It is possible to do it all if you create systems around what you're doing. Some of my current systems include:

I batch my content creation
I have templates for the content I create (e.g. a blog template, templates for my Instagram posts)
I set specific times each day and week to get my content made
I give myself certain times to get things finished (e.g. 1 hour each morning from 4.30-5.30am to write my daily blog post - that's all I allocate so it has to get done in that period).

3: Take your health more seriously

The one thing that correlates most highly with the success I've had in my business over the past few years is taking my health more seriously.

Over the past few years I have built new healthy habits bit by bit. Here's how it has worked for me:

Exercise: Just over 3 years ago I started working with my personal trainer. I made a lot of improvement in a short space of time and started wanting to get stronger and fitter. 3 and a bit years later I am still doing strength training sessions with him 6 times a week and I rarely miss a session because (a) I love it! and (b) I pay for the accountability of him asking me where I am if I don't turn up (which almost never happens, but I know would happen if I didn't go).
Diet: Getting serious about my strength training lead to me wanting to improve my diet. I wanted to eat more protein to build muscle and I learned heaps about macros and nutrition. My diet is now much more dialled in than it used to be and I know a lot more about how to fuel by body for the energy I need for training.
Alcohol: 2 years ago I decided that alcohol wasn't serving my fitness and health goals. If I drank I felt crap at training and I also had some weight that I couldn't shift. So I decided to stop drinking alcohol altogether and this has been absolutely huge for me. I have now been alcohol free for just over 2 years.
Sleep: Because I train in the mornings I wanted to feel awake and strong for my training sessions. So I needed better sleep. One thing I have implemented is reading my kindle at night instead of scrolling my phone before bed. My sleep has improved a lot.
Meditation: I am a naturally high anxiety person and I wanted to find a way to manage my stress and anxiety levels. I had tried to be consistent with meditation in the past but had always failed but I have now built this in to my morning routine and haven't missed a day in about six months. I use the Headspace app for this.
Peloton + Stretching: My most recent healthy habit is the introduction of using my new Peloton bike and the workout app that comes with the bike (if you don't know what Peloton is then look it up - it's amazing!). Since 1st January I have done at least an hour of activity using the Peloton app every single day. This has not only been bike rides but also stretching, meditation, Yoga and body weight strength sessions. Because of how much strength training I do I have wanted to get in a good stretching routine for ages so I can help my body recover a little faster, but until now I haven't found a good way of building a habit and routine out of stretching (because frankly I don't enjoy it all that much!). So I'm really happy with how this is now working using the Peloton app.

Overall my suggestion for how to take your health more seriously is to take it bit by bit. I have slowly added to my healthy habits over the past 3 years. It's a long process that I intend to keep improving over time. There isn't a quick fix for this one (sorry!).

The three things I’ve described above have been some of the main contributors to my success and enjoyment of my life and business over recent years.

But I have also been making all these changes slowly and improving my life bit by bit. It’s taken me many years and I am always trying to improve something about what I’m doing by 1% all the time.

So don’t try and do all of what I described above all at once. This will just lead to frustration and overwhelm. Instead just pick on thing on the list to try today, get that embedded in your routine and then add something else when you feel ready.

The benefits of the small improvements that you’re making compounding over time is what will become life changing for you. Enjoy the process! :)

Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects

If you need help growing your interior design or architecture business then check out my business short courses and resources for designers and architects. Think of it a bit like business school but more fun, less intimidating and created specifically for designers and architects and what YOU need in business.

Our courses and resources leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and moving past imposter syndrome.

You’ll learn strategies for finding more clients and we have heaps of support that will help you to drop systems and processes straight in to your design business so you can then be more professional and organised in the way you do business with those clients.

Find out more about the courses and resources we offer via the button below and feel free to contact me and I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY COURSES+ TEMPLATES FOR DESIGNERS

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Clare x

Dr Clare Le Roy