How To Maximize Your Income
To maximize your income as an interior designer [ or in any creative field for that matter ] the key is to know, IN YOUR HEART, the part of your work you are PASSIONATE about doing.
How do you know what that is?
First, list out every single task that goes into doing your job - take your time with this.
Then, group those tasks together if they can be grouped.
Then, here are the two questions to ask yourselves:
1/ What part of your job doesn’t feel like work when you’re doing it…where time just flows and you’re immersed and don’t get tired even when several hours have passed?
2/ What do you sometimes do without even thinking about getting paid for it ahead of time?
The answers to these two questions are where your PASSION lies…..and that is where your greatest income potential lies, too… as clients are happy to pay very well for people who are GREAT at what they do and in whom they can feel [ through your online marketing efforts and/or through meeting you in person ] have a genuine passion for what they do.
Everything else that’s not centered around your passion is something you can outsource.
You do not have to hire full time people, you do not have to scale up.. you just have to find people you can hire on a retainer basis or on a project by project basis to do those tasks that are not at the center of what you LOVE to do.
And then… you have to be willing to charge very well for what you know you are GREAT at doing… and to have the courage to do that because - if you’re very good at CONSISTENTLY marketing your passion by telling real stories, by helping people see how your passion helps them relieve their pain points and how you provide solutions, you can trust and have faith that the clients who can afford to hire you - WILL.
You don’t need 10 clients to have a successful business. You only need a few who understand your value to their business and who have the ability to pay for your expertise.
The real success in life is when you can have enough money to live the life you want to live [and that varies with each person and at each stage of life ] , without sacrificing the things that bring you personal enJOYment and time freedom.
For 22 years now this month, I’ve lived this. I started my business in June of 2002, and have never looked back.
My 3 talents and PASSIONS are strategic thinking, creatively connecting people with the opportunities that matter to their businesses and educating.
I’ve done this in a number of ways throughout my career, but today, I do it through:
1. Developing unique digital marketing programs for mfg. brands in order to help them develop national brand awareness within their target customer base, which leads to national publicity, leads and sales. I do the same thing for tradeshows, which leads to increases in attendance by their desired audiences and also helps them differentiate themselves as thought leaders in a crowded tradeshow market.
2. Providing strategic business advice on lead generation to my interior designer clients, developing digital marketing strategy plans for my interior designer clients and, if desired, creatively connecting my interior designer clients with the people that lead to their work getting published, speaking opportunities and opportunities with brands.
3. Community building through my Design Wealth Facebook Group for interior designers and through my Linked In Group for the CEO’s and CMO’s in the furniture and design industry.
4. Educating through speaking.
Even today, 22 years after starting my business and working at it every single day, I still have fun, I’m still passionate about it and I still LOVE what I do…and this has led to a great income [ although I live rather frugally so I never have to take on clients that are not a good fit ] and, most importantly for me, a return on life enJOYment that far outweighs any of the financial benefits I’ve received.
And without ever spending ONE DIME on paid marketing, the right clients have found me now for the past almost 22 years.
Everything else I’m not passionate about… I outsource… like bookkeeping, accounting, website design and maintenance, etc.
And, I collaborate with others…. a lot, when it’s needed to do a great job for a client.
So, today, I encourage you to really reflect on what part of your business you’re passionate about…get as good as you can about marketing that online and in person [ and, of course, if you need my help, let me know ] charge well, and outsource the rest.
You will maximize your income, and most importantly, you will be happier and more fulfilled every day of your working life.
I’d love to talk about this with you.. let me know what part of your work you’re MOST passionate about in the comments!
As always, thank you so much for reading. I appreciate it and invite you to subscribe to my blog, too, if you haven’t already done so, so you never miss a post..and so you can automatically get a download link to my complimentary guide on How To Drive More Traffic To Your Website, 24-7.
Leslie Carothers, principal
Savour Partnership
Named One Of Home Furnishing News Magazines Top 40 Most Inspiring Women In Home
Winner of Designers Today Magazine’s 2022 Readers Ranking Award For Best PR and Marketing Agency
If you’d like to learn more about my background in the furniture and interior design industry and the 6 shifts I’ve made in my career, I invite you to read this post. And please connect with me here. I’d love to stay in touch and learn more about you.
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