In business, there’s always a lot happening. There are new clients to work with, older relationships to maintain, new opportunities to seize, problems to solve, and workflows to manage - all in the name of growing your interior design business. It’s exciting and sometimes is a little overwhelming.
Check out these 7 ways to set your business up for success, so that moving forward you'll be ahead of the game.
1. Understand Your Finances
A business is only as strong as its finances and it’s important that you know exactly where your business stands financially. That means knowing your bottom line, what you owe (if anything), and what you need to make in order to break even for the year.
You also might want to think of accounting software to help your business to keep track of every dollar.
2. Analyze
At the beginning of each year, you should take the time to sit down and analyze your previous year. What worked and what didn’t? Where did you lose money and where did you gain it? What surprised you?
Analyze to learn about your company’s strengths and weaknesses as well as its potential trajectory in the coming year. Once you do this, you’ll know where you stand and you’ll have a better idea of what you want to improve upon.
3. Set Company Goals
Just like an individual, a company needs goals in order to grow. Now is a perfect time to set those goals and to set your business up for success. Make sure those goals are timely and realistic as well as attainable, measurable, and specific.
Where possible, be transparent about your business goals as this allows everyone to feel like they’re part of the inner circle.
4. Plan out a Strategy
Where do you see your interior design company in the future and how will you get there? You can determine this by planning out a strategy. A strategy will enable you to achieve your annual goals.
Have a strategy-planning meeting with your team and work out how you’re going to approach the rest of the year. This is the perfect time for brainstorming.
5. Check Your Hired Talent
After setting your goals and planning out your strategy, it’s time to sit down and take a look at the talent you’ve employed. Now that you've come up with a solid business plan, see if you have any gaps in your talent that you’ll need to hire for.
Finding the right person to hire who’s a good fit for your company can take some time. When you do hire, make sure you have a solid onboarding process to help your new hire hit the ground running.
6. Routinely Check in on Your Goals
Accountability is key to keeping your goals on track. After all of the work you put into creating them, planning to achieve them, and making sure you have the talent to fulfill them, don’t let them fall by the wayside.
Routinely check in with your team to determine the progress you’re making on them to ensure they stay fresh in everyone’s minds.
7. Plan Your Development
Your development is a key piece of business success. It’s important to be able to grow as a leader, and that can only happen when you take the time to invest in yourself and learn new things. Listen to interior design podcasts, read books, and explore your creative side.
Business can be unpredictable, but you can set your business up for success with these tips.
