Even designers running multimillion-dollar firms aren’t immune from the scarcity mindset. My clients typically range from $1 million to well beyond $10 million in annual income, and I can tell you from experience: The fear of the empty pipeline doesn’t disappear with success. It just changes shape.

Your number one job as a principal is to bring in revenue. You have a team to support, a business to sustain, and your own financial future to protect. I’ve repeated this so often it should be etched on every designer’s desk: The busiest season is exactly when you need to market your business the most. It’s essential to fill your firm’s future pipeline long before the current one runs dry—not after you’re already scrambling.

I know, I know. When you’re swamped with active projects, carving out time for marketing feels impossible. But “too busy” is a reason, not a strategy.
Need a jump-start on using your time wisely to generate new business? Here’s where your next client is actually coming from, ranked from highest conversion rate to lowest.

1. Turn past clients into new leads. A designer I know sent 50 handwritten notes to former clients when business slowed. She restarted her pipeline and is now generating multimillions. Hear her full story on the Creative Genius Podcast.
2. Talk to current clients about expanding their scope. Propose an addition to an existing contract. From what I’ve seen with my clients, you’ll close roughly half the time, though your experience may be different.
3. Tap past clients for a new project. Reach out with a fresh idea—for example, if you worked on a kitchen previously, you could propose a makeover for the adjacent family room and powder room, since those spaces flow together. Expect to convert about one in three proposals.
4. Generate referrals from current clients. Ask—and tell them specifically who your ideal client is. Don’t assume they know what you’re looking for, even when they are ideal themselves. You’ll likely sign one in five potential new clients.
5. Cultivate a network of referral partners. Seek out Realtors, builders, architects and other influential industry figures—whether you have an existing relationship with them or not. About one in seven of their contacts will convert.
6. Try out advertising, marketing and PR. When targeted precisely to your ideal client, expect roughly 1 hit for every 13 pitches. This works, but it takes longer and costs more—which is exactly why it sits near the bottom of this list.
7. Utilize SEO, AI search and other digital discovery tools. These require significant time and financial investment before producing meaningful results. Once you’ve built the above first, these will amplify your efforts.

Keep in mind: There is no “easy button.” Results come from strategy, consistency, and the willingness to put yourself out there and ask for business. Waiting isn’t how you’re getting new clients. They’re coming from your being proactive—reaching out, following up and showing up before the pipeline has a chance to go dry.

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Gail Doby is co-founder of Pearl Collective (formerly Gail Doby Coaching & Consulting), an interior design business consultancy that helps designers, architects and other creatives increase their profitability. Doby ran her own design firm in Denver for nearly 20 years and has a degree in finance and banking. Since 2008, she has been helping designers scale their businesses profitably and reach financial freedom. As a coach, mentor and business transformation specialist, she shares innovative ways to overcome the roadblocks, challenges and detours creative entrepreneurs face. She is also the bestselling author of Business Breakthrough: Your Creative Value Blueprint to Get Paid What You’re Worth. Her goal is to empower design industry clients to differentiate themselves, drive measurable results, achieve business projections, and create personal satisfaction through game-changing strategies and business practices.