Management consultant Keith Granet, whose book The Business of Design (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011) targeted designers, will soon release The Business of Creativity, a follow-up tome that reaches out to creatives of all stripes. The author sat down to chat with EAL about his latest offering. 

What are the most common business hurdles you see among designers? 
Being able to communicate their value and not discounting their services when they find they are in need of work. [Discounting] ultimately hurts you and clients who are shopping for price and not your talent. [It] never, absolutely never, moves your career forward.  

How does this book follow up on The Business of Design? 
Where The Business of Design walks you through the major aspects of running a healthy design firm, The Business of Creativity takes a deeper dive into the team you need to surround yourself with if you are a creative person.

Have any new issues, such as changing technology, come up for designers since your first book debuted?The internet has definitely been a big disrupter for the interior design industry. Pricing has become more and more transparent, which is good, but it also removes the relationship between the designers and their loyal resources—if the manufacturers are going to sell to everyone at the same price, the relationship with their designers will deteriorate.  

Like in any business, you give your reps a better price, because they don’t just buy one item, they buy many. Interior designers are the best customers of most home-furnishing businesses, and they should be given a deeper discount because of the volume they generate. Also, the No. 1 platform for designers, Studio Designer is creating a game-changing feature that will revolutionize how designers purchase and communicate with their vendors.