Dear Sean,

I run a midsize firm that’s finally turning a profit, built on whole-home projects. But I’ve realized my real passion is kitchen and bath remodels specifically. I’ve worked so hard to build my business, and I’m nervous that narrowing our focus could hurt the stability I’ve fought for—not to mention shrink repeat business and rattle my employees. How do I make this pivot without blowing up what I’ve built?

Kitchen-Bound

Dear Kitchen-Bound,

You are an outlier. Most designers want to do larger projects, expanding to whole-home scope from smaller remodels. And since you are profitable, I am guessing you manage these projects well. So it only makes sense to make this pivot if you are not just passionate about, but maniacally excited by and committed to the vision of becoming a top-tier kitchen-and-bath firm—otherwise, I suggest you stay where you are.

Apples to apples, if you were going to focus on kitchens and baths at the same level as your current business, you would need more of them to maintain your revenue and operations—a business model that does not make sense given its complexity and differential from your existing framework. So the real question is whether you are able to focus on kitchens and bathrooms such that you do not have to chase volume to maintain scale.

To take a not-at-all accurate example, if kitchens and bathrooms currently represent 65 percent of your whole-home projects, are you ready to get 35 percent more expensive (in the form of increased fees, not costs, though those will likely go up too)? The lower the portion represented by kitchens and baths in your typical project, the more expensive you will have to get in order to maintain your current revenue, staff and operations should you choose to narrow your focus. Meanwhile, clients seeking whole-home renovations will have to decide whether it’s worth paying more for your services in addition to hiring a separate designer to handle the rest of their house.

And this is your conundrum. Passion will not cut it. You are going to have to be obsessed. And my question is, Where lies your obsession? At levels beyond your current work—or at your current work?

Only if you are obsessed with leveling up to compete with elite kitchen and bath designers like DeVol should you even consider shifting your business solely to kitchens and baths. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in NBA history, and he still practices with such commitment, it’s as if he has never played the game. Rick Bayless makes trips to Mexico just to learn how to grill peppers. If you are not willing to play like them, stay where you are. As the old saying goes: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if you are willing to go all in à la Steph and Rick, the new saying has to be: If you want to fix it, you’re going to have to break it.

What that means is a whole new business model, with different metrics of success (profitability versus revenue, for sure); clarity in place of transparency; and the focus on design over production.

The new model you’re considering is not merely extrapolating the kitchens and baths from your current projects, no matter how high-end—it is orders of magnitude higher. You need a huge “no-fly zone” to be sure each business does not cannibalize the other. For instance, if your typical kitchen is $150,000, your elite kitchen starts at $300,000. You’re dealing with two different customers, two different processes and two different metrics of success.

Before you take the leap into the fraught waters of elite kitchens and baths, how about you test it out? Create a new business line that clearly defines your elite kitchen and bath. If you test, you will learn the reality of this new market. Perhaps it upgrades your passion to obsession and allows you to go all in; but perhaps it dampens the spark. Just be open to learning what the market will teach you, and take it from there.

Entrepreneurship is the willingness and profound desire (compulsion?) to have your voice be heard above all others. It is not editing what you are already saying when that story is singing beautifully. Know the difference and the rest will take care of itself.

____________

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.