Is your interior design business ready for outsourcing?

Is it time to outsource tasks within your design business?

As an interior designer, you know the importance of having a well-functioning business. As business owners we’re always working towards building that seamless, well-oiled machine that can run itself. While that may seem like a dream, taking steps towards this goal is a possibility. I am sure you have found yourself spending more time putting out fires than doing what you actually love— designing beautiful spaces and connecting your expertise with your client’s vision. You’ve probably learned the importance of having a well-functioning business the difficult way and quite possibly, you’re still striving to attain this balance.

These fires are pulling you away from what you do best.

It does not have to stay like that.

Maybe you’re asking yourself right now, “What is the secret that I am missing?”

—it’s not a secret!

Getting back to your zone of genius, and creating amazing spaces, often means bringing on support and feeling comfortable delegating tasks.

There are so many things that bringing amazing (and capable) people onto your team can do for you, but you may be wondering “how do I know that my business is ready for help?”

There are several signs pointing to when may be the right time to expand your team.

➡️ You spend most of your time putting out fires in the backend of your business — dealing with the woes of backorders, invoicing, order tracking, project management and so much more of the administrative tasks instead of actually designing. If this is you, it’s time to delegate these tasks to someone else, by doing so, you’ll free up your time to focus on what you do best and clear the looming dark clouds of workload that you don’t enjoy doing.

➡️ Okay, so you don’t mind doing those backend tasks, but maybe you’re no longer spending the bulk of your time doing the things you actually started your business to accomplish. As your business grows, you may find yourself taking on tasks that aren’t necessarily in your wheelhouse. For example, you may be spending more time on marketing or social media management than on actual design work. If this is the case, it’s time to bring in someone who will take over these tasks so that you can focus on what you do best, all while knowing the rest is in the hands of someone doing what they do best.

You may have heard me say it before, and I’ll keep saying it, you’re not meant to be the best at everything. Stay in your lane, sis!

➡️ Or maybe you are there— you’ve already written down the tasks you know you want to delegate. This may include anything from administrative tasks to design-related tasks, such as sourcing materials procurement or even managing projects . You’ve spent the time thinking about your specific needs and you’re that much closer to outsourcing to get the help you need to scale your business to the next level.

There are so many reasons why bringing on support can be beneficial to elevating your business and its structure, of course the ones that are mentioned above, but the list is long.

As business owners, we could all use a little hand up at times, an extra brain to pick, and someone to just say “I got this, don’t worry about it.”.

Because if we’re honest, without extra help, we often find ourselves checking emails at 9 p.m., skipping lunch, working “just a few hours” on the weekend and doing anything possible to feel like we are one step ahead. When in all honesty, the best thing we could be doing for ourselves, and our scaling business, is to have help that you can trust and and the peace of mind in knowing you can delegate the tasks that don’t require your expertise. Doing just that will get you back to focusing on what you do best (and what fuels your passion), allowing you to grow your business or really lean into that work/life balance, a summer slow down, a 3 day work week, whatever your heart can dream of.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and stretched thin, it’s time to reach out and see if a support system can be the life saver you need. Let’s talk about it!