How to Set Up Systems & Processes to Scale Your Interior Design Business with a Tiny Team
My CPA paid me the highest compliment when working on the Socialite Agency's year-end taxes last February. After reviewing the numbers, she said, "You've really figured out how to scale."
Is it weird if that statement conjures up all sorts of emotions for me? I've been building this business for over eight years, and scaling has been the plan for about the last six of them. A few years into scaling, I had numerous other business people say things like...
In the early phase: "That idea won't work."
In the early-mid phase: "Oh wow, this is a great business model. Let's join forces, and if you don't partner with me, I'll create a competing platform." (To which I said, "Go ahead," and that person never did.)
In the upward phase: "What happens to your business if you die? I should become a partner." (Um, why are you so concerned about my death, or rather, my business? Ironically, that was the beginning of the end to a partnership that never officially got off the ground.)
In the scaling phase: "How are you able to offer these services at such a streamlined rate? My team would need to charge at least $1,000 per month for blog posts, email marketing, and sales funnels. It's really suspicious."
That last comment made me laugh because I'm not sure what is so suspicious about using repeatable processes and clear-cut systems. Any good business coach will tell you that each service you offer should have its own repeatable, well-documented process. Not only does this keep you on track with a good handle on your schedule, your capacity, and your income, but it also makes services easier to hand off to team members or freelancers.
Add a few automated systems in the mix and, boom, you're well on your way to scaling! So, I'm sharing practical ways you can set up systems and processes in your home industry business so that you can operate as a solopreneur or small team without drastically limiting your revenue potential.
How to Set Up Systems & Processes to Scale Your Business with a Tiny Team
You might think that because you offer completely custom services, having a set-in-stone client onboarding process might be difficult. Actually, it isn't!
Because my agency offers a few different services (custom, semi-custom, and a shop), each has a specialized team member assigned to monitor it, and each process looks a little different. If you are a solopreneur, you could easily monitor your own onboarding workflows for each service you offer, especially if you stay within the recommended range of offering only 3 services. I have team members assigned to various workflows purely because of volume. Just because the number of leads or clients increases doesn't mean the attention to detail should decrease in the name of "hurrying up." (By the way, when you reach the "hurry up" phase, that's a good sign you need to hire an employee or freelancer to help.)
When managing a client onboarding workflow, you can keep it simple and manual to start with, changing any steps that don't make sense and recording the ones that do. Once you are solid on your process, using tools like Asana and / or HoneyBook is an excellent time-saver. I don't recommend using tools like this if you have no basic process at least outlined and tested.
How to Test Your Client Onboarding Process:
1 | Does your contact form sort out bad leads from good leads? I've canceled discovery calls with leads when I can see, based on their form answers, that we will not be a good fit for each other. It saves them and me so much time.
Tools I use for this step: Calendly is the start of client onboarding for all services at my agency. While a lead completes a basic contact form or sends us an email to initiate contact, they are always directed to book a discovery call if their needs and our services align. If they are inquiring about something that has a waitlist or time-sensitive component, we tell them via email and let them decide if they still want to book a call.
2 | Does your process capture all project / new client information on a post-discovery intake form? This should eliminate the need for more info-gathering calls and emails. Your intake form should be sent after the discovery call is complete and must gather all the necessary information required to move on to the next step in your process. The more back-and-forth emails or calls you allow in your business, the less scaled it is.
Tools I use for this step: Asana or HoneyBook, depending on the service type. If the service is custom and requires a contract, I use HoneyBook to take care of the intake form, contract, and down payment. If the service is semi-custom and doesn't require a contract or down payment, I use an Asana form. The beauty of Asana forms is that the new client information is automatically turned into a work order for my team. They then follow up with that task / new client to make sure all questions are answered and info is gathered so we can start serving them quickly.
3 | Does your process address concerns and questions before they arise? I am routinely updating my processes to include new questions or concerns, as this helps build trust and confidence in what we are offering and prevents buyer's remorse. It also decreases the number of emails we receive, which means our clients are being served well.
Tools I use for this step: If the service is custom, I will create a "next steps" email within HoneyBook that auto-sends after the contract and down payment are complete. That email breaks down what the client can expect and what will be required of them as their project begins.
If the service is semi-custom (our membership) or fully automated (our online shop), I'll simply add the question to an FAQ page on my website and make it SUPER obvious and / or include the question in an informational video or product listing. Adding the same information in multiple formats (text and video, for example) is always a good idea. You'd be surprised how many people don't read but will watch videos, and vice versa.
Additionally, I create an onboarding video for every membership level we offer, which is something you can do for any of your offerings as well, whether a service or a product type. I create these videos using Loom or Vimeo, especially if I need to record my screen.
4 | Can your process be monitored and understood by a 3rd party? If you are the only one who knows where each client is in their onboarding or project process, your process isn't fully functional yet. A team member or freelancer (or you!) should be able to check the status of each client or project within a few clicks.
Tools I use for this: HoneyBook will change the client / project status based on where they are in the workflow. Asana can also do this, or you can manually move them to the next step / status as soon as you complete the previous step with them. Don't try to remember all of this. You need to use tools like HoneyBook or Asana to keep things timely and straight in your brain. It might seem like overkill if you only have a few clients right now, but that can quickly change. Systems and processes are much easier to set up before you are overwhelmed with clients, rather than after.
The onboarding process is a huge step in setting up your businesses for scalable services. But once you have the client set up and ready to go, what's next?
How to Add Scalability to Your Creative Services
The actual implementation of the service or project is where many workflows become painstakingly slow and start deviating from what you actually want to offer. Scope creep, forgetting to bill for all the random minutes you spend on a project, wasting time corralling clients who don't meet their own deadlines or who disregard yours...
Ugh. Not a great workflow.
1 | Get spot-on with your timing.
Part of becoming scalable means maintaining impeccable timing as much as possible. Offering the same service and project scope to two different clients should take relatively the same amount of time. If you are often held up by avoidable delays (the client, usually), either allot more time in that particular stage of the project or alert the client right away that there is no room for delay. Make it part of your service agreement and outline what will happen if they can't meet your deadline to review a design concept, a layout, etc. This might look like a fee increase since you now have to hurry or it might mean their project gets paused until a certain date so that you can still focus on your other clients.
As for unavoidable delays, such as backorders and supply chain issues, make them part of your service agreement, too. You can certainly promise to be as timely as possible while accounting for the reality and unpredictability of goods.
2 | Review each project weekly and update the client.
Two weeks can fly by in a blink. Don't let that lapse in time make you drop the ball on a project. Even if you and the client are just waiting for a backordered item to arrive, sending a weekly email to your client saying so will go far in helping the client feel cared for, rather than forgotten. A client who feels good about how you're serving her will be more likely to refer her friends to you — even before her own project is finished.
Needless emails and calls to track down random information — not good. Planned weekly updates — very good.
This routine task puts you in a good rhythm of client care and can be outsourced to a team member, or even automated. Set yourself a reminder in Asana or HoneyBook to do weekly check-ins and follow-ups.
3 | Record or document your frequent / recurring tasks and services.
Do you use an outline for every consultation you conduct? You should! It keeps the conversation from going off the rails and taking more time than it should; plus, it helps you better serve the client. Each type of consultation you offer should have its own outline.
What admin tasks must be performed for every project? Weekly check-ins, sharing progress photos on social media, adding finished project photos to your website, announcing a project reveal via your email newsletter — all these things should occur in your business, but you don't have to do them by yourself forever. Record your screen as you discuss how you select which photos to share, upload, or email. Assign these tasks to an assistant when you're ready, and make it a recurring task in their schedule (easy to do in Asana).
4 | Specialize in a specific type of client or service.
The fastest way to scale up is to niche down. Think about it: If you have really tight processes and workflows and each project or client that comes in has a similar set of needs, you can get better at serving them more specifically and more efficiently, which means you can both increase your prices and your workload.
Besides, being known as the go-to professional for a certain type of person or project can result in organic publicity and notoriety. Be a specialist, not a generalist.
If you offer more than three services, you might feel it is too difficult to create a workflow for each one...and you'd be correct. Narrow down your services so that you can scale each one. Aim for three services that have repeatable workflows and documented processes. Every client should complete the same pre-made forms. Every client should follow the same rules. This isn't about being tyrannical as a business owner, but rather, about maintaining quality control and being able to quickly spot the sticky places in your workflow so that you can address them before they cost you money and future clients.
Need a Better Marketing Workflow?
We can help! Go Socialite Vault for email newsletters, blog posts, ebooks, lead magnets, media kits, and more. Our repeatable processes can be done by you, by your assistant, or by us. Regardless, the end result is high-quality, customized marketing for your home industry business.
