Dear Sean,

Business is good, but I’m concerned it might not stay that way. I have a lot of projects that are midstream and inquiries are still coming in—but closing on these opportunities is getting harder. This is less a “What do I do when things slow down?” question and more about “How do I keep the train moving?” In other words, how do I stand firm in my business and its unique identity and offerings, even at a time when fewer people may be looking to buy what I’m selling?

Seeking Security

Dear Seeking Security,

I very much enjoyed BOH’s article “How to Weather an Economic Slowdown.” The advice was solid and worth considering even if your firm is not technically slowing down right this minute. My column is going to focus on another idea: Go the other way and dig deeper holes. Undertake exercises that will help you clarify and affirm your design business’s value, building your confidence in what you’re offering regardless of what is happening in the economy. Instead of watering down your vision or your services, you may discover it’s actually time to double down.

I offer three universal business truths to interior designers that most disagree with:

1. The client is always wrong.

2. Great clients pay more, not less.

3. You will only get hired if you are Wonder Woman or Superman to those you seek to serve.

The kicker to this list is that your firm is almost worthless to those that do not matter—but indispensable to those that do.

The best way to embody the above principles is to double your design fee, regardless of how you calculate it (flat fee, hourly). Commit to doing that for any new and incoming business leads over the next 21 days. Yes, have some other pricing structures for consulting and other design services for clients with projects that do not fit the bill, but for the majority of projects that do, double your design fee. Doing so forces you to appreciate the value that only you and your firm can deliver.

Terrifying? Of course. Fear is an overwhelming emotion that can make you do irrational things. Listening to that fear can only take you away from yourself and the real work of refocus, redefinition and evolution. This work of honing purposeful intention and effective value will serve you far better than just about anything you will rationally undertake. There’s nothing rational about developing an unshakable trust in your business’s outrageous promises and demands—the one-of-a-kind vision only you and your firm can manifest.

My three truths are about relationships, and the possibility of discovery and transformation for all involved. The value of design is what you say it is, as is the process of discovery. The value of your firm is directly related to your ability to own the power of the irrational. No one needs what you do. AI, the internet, and the availability of design advice from just about anywhere should tell you that being “the regular kind of designer, just better” is the path off the edge of a cliff. There’s no future in that approach.

Remember, your business is about emotional return. Almost no client buys a $20,000 sofa with the intent of selling it next year for $30,000. They buy it because it is a piece of a puzzle that makes them feel better about their lives. Trading in emotional value is, by definition, irrational. The advice to be more rational has value in other realms of life and business—just not here.

A thought experiment: Put the irrational and rational together and see what happens. “I love this sofa’s trim and how comfortable it is. I know it is twice the price, but so worth it compared to ones of the same quality and comfort. Just better.” See how the value of the irrational fades when put together with the rational? This is the very reason I advise my clients to never show line item prices. Value is in the irrational allocation of resources given a set spend, not the individual, item-by-item maximization of those resources.

Here’s the thing: You might not get a single project with your doubled design fee in the next 21 days. But what you will get is an understanding of what exactly you need to do to earn the permission to change your clients’ lives, stating a clear and undoubting sense of your value.

Your firm exists to realize a vision of what never was, but always should have been, for your clients. The three truths are what get you there. How far are you willing to go? Doubling your design fee for the next three weeks is a great way to find out. Good luck.

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Sean Low is the go-to business coach for interior designers. His clients have included Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Vicente Wolf, Barry Dixon, Kevin Isbell and McGrath II. Low earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and as founder-president of The Business of Being Creative, he has long consulted for design businesses. In his Business Advice column for BOH, he answers designers’ most pressing questions. Have a dilemma? Send us an email—and don’t worry, we can keep your details anonymous.