How to Start a Consult-Only Business in Design, Staging, or Organizing
"This is beyond exhausting and I don't know how many more years I can run my business like this."
"I wish I had more time for my family without shutting down my business."
Have you ever said that about your design, staging, or organizing business? It might be time to change your business model. If you've read a couple of my past blog posts on how to turn your industry knowledge into a paid membership, don't worry, this isn't a repeat. If you are wanting to slow down in your business without giving up your income, listen up.
In this blog post, I'm sharing a lightweight business model that has become popular with home professionals who want the flexibility of working remotely, but they don't want to offer e-design. The cool part about this consultancy business model is that you can still meet with clients in person, just as you would for a normal, on-site consultation. But unlike traditional services, you wouldn't then need to do all the planning and sourcing for the client - unless you wanted to offer that upgrade.
How to Start a Consult-Only Business in Design, Staging, or Organizing
The stereotypical business of an interior designer, home stager, or professional organizer looks something like this: Office work and site work, project delays, client management, and subcontractor coordination...at all hours of the day. Your daily schedule might change at a moment's notice and you might find yourself reacting to the newest priority that has worked its way up to your to-do list. In some ways, you may feel like your business is running you, versus you running the business.
For some of us, this phase lasts only for a season. For others, it becomes their entire business model, often because they say "yes" to so many things that they have to say "no" to what truly matters...such as family time, personal care, and working on their business instead of in them. This is the fastest path to burnout and the surest way to grow a business you simply don't like anymore.
If you struggle to say "no" to the wrong projects and feel like you're living on the edge, and not in a fun way, you need to reassess your life, not just your business. The home industry is booming right now, but that doesn't make you obligated to accept every project that lands in your inbox. It's time to create clear parameters and qualifiers around which projects you'll accept and which ones you'll deny.
In some situations, you don't need to define your parameters by the geographic location or project type. You need to define them at the root of your business - in your services menu. The worst thing you could do for your business is say that "no project is too big or too small," and the best thing you can do is say that you offer one particular service, a specialty that brings you joy when shared with others.
You might be thinking, "But, Kate, I already offer a specialty, and I have a list of different consultations I offer, too."
Good, good. But is your specialty made clear as day? Do all arrows of your marketing point to that specialty? Or are you piling on multiple specialties and trying to market them all at once? The main reason designers, stagers, and organizers don't sell as many consultation packages as they'd like is multi-fold:
Consultation services are usually buried under a mountain of other services.
Consultation services are rarely marketed as being high-value.
Consultation service packages tend to compete with each other, such as a color consult versus a hard finishes consult.
Consultation services are often pitched as being free (or complimentary), which totally erases any value during that call or meeting, plus it degrades the value of all other services as well.
To sell more consultation slots, your consultation must meet several standards:
Client Alignment
The consultation package you are selling must be aligned with your ideal client and their specific problem, which means the title, description, and imagery should be anything but generic. Make it clear who is and who is not a good fit for your consulting services.
Tiered Packages
The consultation packages you offer should be tiered in terms of duration and your involvement, not based on what you discuss. For example, you shouldn't offer a "Closet Organization Consult" and a "Kitchen Pantry Organization Consult." Rather, you should offer a strategy consultation and an implementation consultation, for example. Then, it won't matter which space in the home you are discussing, nor will it matter if "scope creep" starts to occur. You are theirs for the duration of that consult, and then you are done.
Defined Process
The consultation package you are selling should follow a defined structure or timeline every time. It should begin upon booking, with certain documents or forms automatically being sent to your client so that you can make the most of your time together. It should also result in consistent, professional deliverables and logical follow-up from you.
Automation
Any consult package you sell should be automated before and after you meet with your client. Perhaps the client books and pays for your time via Calendly or Acuity on your website. After that, they are sent an onboarding form to complete and a welcome guide (video or PDF) to review. They are also sent a Zoom link if they haven't already requested a meeting at their physical location when booking. After the consultation, you are timely with providing any notes, lists, or other deliverables that you promised.
As an ongoing follow-up, you also send them an automated "check-in" email to see how their implementation is going and to sell them another consulting package, if they need more help. Because their needs will change over time, it is best to add them to your monthly email marketing. This will keep you top-of-mind and also allow you to continue serving them.
How to Set Up the Technology for a Consultancy Business in the Home Industry
Don't let technology scare you. Once you've set up all your tools and systems, running a consultancy can be efficient and truly enjoyable. Here's a short list of things you'll need:
A consultancy-specific website (Squarespace is the easiest and most professional).
A DBA, logo, and other brand assets specific to your consultancy business.
A clearly written Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions document that explains how you handle client information, recorded audio / video, refunds, cancellations, and no-shows.
Online scheduling and payment tools (Acuity or Calendly connected to Stripe or PayPal).
Email marketing software with automation abilities (Mailchimp or FloDesk are great options with enough functionality. Plus, they are not overkill compared to ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, or Keap).
A high-resolution laptop camera, if you'll be doing most of your consulting via video (don't rely on your phone camera).
Clearly defined and branded deliverables such as PDFs, videos, lists, etc.
A standard operating procedure (USP) for onboarding, servicing and offboarding each client.
A clearly outlined structure for each call or on-site meeting.
A lead magnet that shares the key benefits of your consulting packages and how they work (this is great for leads who are on the fence).
Branded email templates for onboarding and monthly / ongoing emails, as well as a welcome email for delivering your lead magnet to any new email subscribers.
While this isn't an exhaustive list, it is more than enough to get your consultancy business up and running. To market your actual consulting packages is another story, but I can make it a short one:
If you want to market your consulting services, show up on any audio or video platform that your ideal client already uses and...start consulting. Answer your FAQs in a video each week, focusing on a different question each time. Maybe this means you host a weekly group video chat on Zoom or Google Meet. Or perhaps this means you hop on IG Live every Friday. Or maybe you launch a mini-podcast.
To become a consultant, assuming that you are already well-versed in your specialty, just start consulting. When it comes to marketing, you get back what you specifically put out there.
Resources:
Tour and purchase the Socialite Consultancy Template for Squarespace (easy to customize)
Get pre-written and designed lead magnets (easy to customize)
Get pre-written and designed client guides (easy to customize)
Get pre-written email marketing (easy to customize)
