Quick, Easy & Healthy Recipes To Make Your Life Easier

Happy Saturday!

Recipe ideas was one of the most popular requests in the survey we sent out, so I definitely wanted to take the time to put together a little recipe guide for you. 

From what I’ve been hearing, designers are crazy busy right now. Everyone is ready to get their house looking beautiful. 

So what does that mean for you? 

Long hours and not much time to care of the every day stuff, like cooking and cleaning. Is this you? 

I want you spending less time in the kitchen and more time either relaxing (I hope you’re doing this) or creating amazing designs for your clients. 

Here are 10 recipes that you can make quickly and that will make your life a whole lot easier. 

Chicken Fajitas

Lemon Pepper Tilapia

Shrimp and Vegetable Skillet

Greek Chicken Salad Bowls

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Overnight Oats (Vegan)

Easy Instant Pot Chicken & Rice

Instant Pot Frittata Breakfast Casserole

Slow-Cooker Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

Slow-cooker Sweet potato lentil Chili (Vegan)

If these recipes aren’t your jam, try searching for these types of recipes. 

Types of Recipes that are great when you have a busy schedule

• Sheet Pan 

Everything on one pan in the oven together. Easy & Simple

• Instant Pot 

Super fast and efficient way to cook a healthy meal 

• Crock Pot

Great for starting before you leave home in the morning. Come home to a cooked meal!

• One-pan/Skillet

A healthy meal where you only dirty one pan 

The Power of Prep

Never underestimate the power of meal-prep! Many think that meal-prep means preparing every bit of food for the week, all the lunches, all the dinners, all the snacks or whatever else, all in advance. This is not true at all. In fact, just prepping one meal, one-item, or one type of food can make a huge difference. 

April Firestone (@april_themacromama on Instagram) , fitness coach and full-time mama, suggests prepping your protein only as your first step. This alone is going to help you meet your goals. Take it one step further by prepping all of your veggies or pre-cooking your rice. 

Even just placing snacks in easily grabbable baggies is going to make your life so much easier. 

You can even just chop anything that needs chopping for your meals, so that when you go to cook, it’s already ready. 

Start by taking one hour each weekend (or any day where you can find an extra hour) to cook as much food as you possibly can for the week. Prep 

Are you catching my drift? Don’t get stuck in all-or-nothing mindset. No matter what you do, it’s going to make a difference in your week.  

If you don’t have an instant pot or crock pot, these tools will be your best friend. If you are going to choose between the two, I would definitely choose an instant pot. This is basically a super-advanced and quick version of the crock pot!

This will change your life, I promise.

Happy Cooking! 

5 Reasons To Give SideDoor a Try

Happy Wednesday!

Have you heard of SideDoor? Their popularity has been growing and I’ve been seeing more and more about it over the past 6 months. 

I wanted to put together a post on all the ways that you can utilize Sidedoor and why you might want to do so!

1.To make money on products

This feels like a no-brainer to me! Not only is SideDoor Free, but it’s a great way to bring more money in through your business. 

With SideDoor, you can make your social media and website shoppable. Simply add the links to your website, email, the bio link on instagram or facebook, or anywhere else where you market your business. 

You can also send links directly to your clients for purchase. They will pay for the item and you’ll make the difference between the designer net price and the price the customer pays for it. 

2.One-stop shop

SideDoor is a one-stop shop that carries a bunch of top trade vendor’s products. It’s basically a multi-line showroom. They have negotiated deals with over 100 vendors. 

There’s no need to manage multiple spreadsheets with vendor info (I know you all have one of these!), passwords, requirements, etc. You can find everything you need on SideDoor. 

3.Things are designed to be easy

No need for a receiver! SideDoor handles all the fuss and all of the behind the scenes logistics that must be considered between the time the order is placed and the arrival at your client’s home.  

We all know this is a HUGE win. I know that managing orders for clients can be one of the biggest stressors. No need for any of that. They also handle all damage claims, as long as the issue is identified as soon as possible. 

4.Taxes/Payment

According to SideDoor, they handle the taxes and file them with all appropriate county, state, and federal agencies. “SideDoor will calculate and remit the sales tax burden for items that sell through our tool.” If you invoice your clients outside of the platform, then of course, you will be responsible for handling all filing. 

So how does payment work? Their website states that after the items have been delivered to your client’s home, the commission is directly deposited into your bank account through Stripe Connect. 

All credit card processing fees are also taken care of by SideDoor.

5.No minimums 

As you probably know, some trade vendors require you to meet a minimum in order for you to either join the program at all, keep your account active, or to place an order. With SideDoor, you or your clients can place orders of any size. 

What SideDoor does NOT offer

1.Samples

Samples are not currently offered with SideDoor. You’ll have to go directly through your trade reps in order to receive samples, or you can use a service like Material Bank. 

2.Custom Product

If you want any of the items shown on sideDoor in a different fabric or finish, you’ll have to take that info directly to your trade rep. 

3.Returns

All sales are final and no returns are offered through Sidedoor.

I hope this blog was helpful for you!

XX, Danae

What are the best Project Management & CRM Platforms for Designers

For many designers, being able to take a space and transform it so that it looks and feels entirely new by adding or removing color, accentuating elements with lighting and incorporating beautiful pieces that promote comfort is easy. The challenge comes from being able to effectively manage multiple client projects simultaneously, while simultaneously being able to tackle your own business’ administrative needs.

Fortunately, there are tons of project management, scheduling and CRM tools that are perfect for helping designers like you, stay organized and on task. With all of the options available out there, it can be a bit difficult to decide which tool to use

Here are a few different project management, scheduling and CRM tools that are more popular amongst designers. They are used to assist with everything from onboarding new clients, to sending invoices and tracking orders.

Project Management Tools - These tools are great for helping to organize each of your projects by creating tasks and/or subtasks, keeping sourced items organized and being able to communicate with your clients and/or team members. All of these tools can be utilized for free, but some offer various pricing plans for more capabilities to meet your needs as your business grows.

Asana

Asana allows you to generate projects that can be broken down into tasks and subtasks. It’s also great for delegating by allowing you to assign tasks to team members and set due dates for your projects that can be marked as complete. Each task offers a space for you to add a description and comments. You can also attach documents and images that are no more than 100MB per file.

Projects in Asana can be viewed in list, board, task or calendar view and integrates with a number of other programs including Microsoft Teams, Google Apps Drive, Canva, Slack and more. Asana offers three paid pricing plans but the Basic or free version is still very capable of managing projects for smaller teams.

Trello

Like Asana, Trello makes it easy to help you organize design projects and assign tasks to team members but in a different way. It operates and functions in board view only. Think of the boards as ‘digital sticky notes’. The boards are broken down with cards

Trello allows you to be creative by enabling you to add images and establish a color-coded tagging system. This is great if you want to track sourced items. Each task could be listed as different phases in the order/tracking process and can be checked or marked as complete as the orders move from one phase to the next. Boards can be duplicated and cards can be moved from board to board to show project progression at a glance. Trello also allows you to share specific boards with others without sharing your entire project. There are free Trello board interior design templates available that can be found through a simple online search.

Like Asana, there are three paid plans for Trello but the free plan allows unlimited cards and up to ten boards per workspace for free

Monday

Monday shares similarities with the other project management tools listed here but like the others, it features several different elements that are unique to the platform. Monday operates primarily in the default table view format but you do have the option to change the view of your workflow to Gantt, Board, Timeline, Chart, etc. Like with many other project management tools, Monday allows you to invite external users and assign tasks to those individuals. This way all of the parties involved in the project (including contractors, engineers, architects, etc.) can see the project’s progress as well as their part in it.

Monday makes it easy to create categories to identify the type of task being completed. Team members can also update the status of the tasks that they are working on so that others know if the task is currently ‘Working On It’, ‘Stuck’ or if your task has been ‘Completed’. With the help of basic and more advanced reporting features, Monday enables users to create custom reports.

Monday is also free to start using and has three paid plan options that make it easy for you to continue to track projects without missing a beat as your team grows.

Airtable

Because Airtable is more of a data organizer and project management tool wrapped into one, it can serve as a one-stop shop for your to-do lists, scheduling or tracking your business or project goals. Airtable operates in a spreadsheet format where you can add files, documents, images etc., to your Fields (columns) and Records (rows). Instead of projects being broken down into tasks and subtasks (like Asana), or boards and cards (like Trello), Airtable uses workspaces and bases. Because this is a spreadsheet-based platform, you can easily import CVS files that you exported from a spreadsheet. Into Airtable. Airtable incorporates automation into your workflow, which can be useful for tracking orders or project deadlines.

It’s a robust tool that has tons of features and elements and at first glance can seem overwhelming but there are tons of free templates that can help you get started. While Airtable doesn’t have any templates specifically for interior designers, it does have quite a few that could be modified to fit your particular project need. Some examples are the project planning and management templates.

Airtable is free to start using and offers a free plan in addition to three paid plans. All but one (the customizable) of the paid plans offer a free trial.

Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management tool that is ideal for smaller firms but can handle the demands of larger firms as well. Like Asana Trello and Monday, it offers features that enable you to tackle your to-do lists. You can also invite team members and even grant clients access to your Basecamp account so that they can track project progression for themselves. The best part is that you have complete control over what the client is allowed to see. Some other features include group chats, message boards, scheduling and there is even a file and doc storage feature. You can even create timelines and schedules for each individual project that you are working on.

As with many of the other project management tools, Basecamp allows you to assign tasks to other users and tag team members or clients in threads. You also have the ability to run reports to monitor things like, what people are tasks people are working on, what tasks are due soon and what tasks are late. There is also a feature that allows you to track the progression of a task being completed based on the percentage of the task completed.

Basecamp offers a free 30-Day trial and there is a free version that allows you to create up to three projects there is also one paid plan available for a monthly or annual rate payment option.

ClickUp

ClickUp has very quickly become a fan favorite amongst the interior design/project management community. It has some similarities to Trello, Asana and Monday, but it’s much more robust. ClickUp has an additional layer of organization called spaces. For instance, in Asana, you have Projects then Tasks followed by Subtasks. In ClickUp, you would have Spaces, then Projects, then Tasks, then Subtasks. ClickUp enables you to operate in various different views, including Board, List, Gantt, Map, Box, Calendar, Table, Mind Maps and more.

ClickUp integrates with tons of different programs including your favorite time tracking software where you can track your time or, you can use the time tracking software that comes embedded in the ClickUp platform. Additionally, ClickUp allows you to, generate a checklist, and add tables attachments and docs within a task description window.

Doc is a cool tool that works within ClickUp and is much like Google Docs. This tool is great for generating reports or meeting notes and it’s housed within the Space. ClickUp allows you to attach larger files such as PLAN or DWG files to tasks or subtasks. Comments can be made on attachments and documents and you can also tag people to documents and attachments. There are so many cool ClickUp features and tools that it can almost seem like too much. Fortunately, ClickUp offers many great tutorials, there is even a free interior design template available to use.

ClickUp has three paid plans or if you have a smaller firm, you can use the free version. It allows you up to 100MB of storage.

Milanote

Milanote is a great tool for designers to use because of the visual elements and like Trello, it operated in board view. Not only does Milanote allow for effective communication with your team, but it also enables you to create mood boards, communicate in real-time with clients and team members, and attach documents and files.

One unique thing about Milanote that makes it stand out from the other project management tools listed here is that it offers a downloadable clipper tool. This is great for extracting information from sourced objects. Tasks can be generated in Milanote using To-Do lists to help the team keep up with project progress.

Milanote offers Interior design templates to help you get started and offers a free version along with two paid plans.

Slack

Slack is much different from the other tools listed here; it focuses primarily on communication, not project management. Slack enables team members to communicate and function seamlessly despite their regional or location via the direct messenger and voice recording and video calling features. Slack integrates with many different programs and allows you to set reminders for project deadlines or send documents and files.

With Slack, you can generate different channels and invite specific team members to these channels. Only those within the channel will be able to see the correspondence that transpires between team members. This is ideal for a project that includes subcontractors.

There are three paid Slack pricing plans for Slack as well.

Scheduling Tools- These tools, unlike project management tools, help to keep your calendar organized. They sync with your calendars and make setting up meetings with clients hassle free. These tools allow people to view your availability and select an ideal appointment time. Both of these scheduling tools can be utilized for a fee and offer various pricing plans.

Calendly

Calendly is a fairly simple scheduling tool. It syncs with up to six different calendars at once such as, Google, Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud. It is user friendly and is ideal for smaller or boutique firms. Calendly’s capabilities can be enhanced by using tools like Zapier to integrate with other tools.

Calendly allows you to generate different event types and establish rules for each individual event or group type. Some examples of these rules include establishing a pre-set minimum time in advance to prevent people from scheduling last minute meetings. Certain settings help to keep you from being overwhelmed by setting a maximum number of meetings per day and putting a buffer in place before and after scheduled meetings. Calendly offers a link that is accessible by people in the corresponding group type that enables you to access the calendar.

There are three paid pricing plans available for Calendly, but there is also a free plan that includes one calendar template integration with all calendar services.

Acuity

Accuity, like Calendly, syncs with multiple calendars simultaneously. Some of these include Google, Mailchimp and iCloud. Accuity’s features make it ideal for larger firms with busy schedules but can easily accommodate smaller firms as well. It allows for customization of its features through the use of open API supports. Accuity can be viewed like a personal assistant in that it takes care of reservations, displays available times and then schedules them on the calendar. Like Calendly, you can create rules for appointment types and there is a feature that enables you to block available schedules of the calendar by letting others know that you are busy.

Accuity has capabilities that enable you to send and receive messages. It also sends notifications to the appointment scheduler to remind them of upcoming appointments and confirm ones that were set. If you are working with clients in various time zones, you don’t have to worry about clients potentially missing appointments due to the time difference. Accuity uses the time zone of each client so that they know exactly when their appointment is.

Unlike Calendly, Accuity allows the scheduler to see your calendar and your availability. You can also share your calendar directly through your social media platforms, your email and you can even get a code to publish it directly to your website. Accuity integrates with PayPal, Stripe and Square and enables you to accept payments immediately for paid appointments.

Accuity offers three paid pricing plans but also has a free plan that offers a basic automatic programming calendar scheduler.

CRM - Or Client Relationship Management software is a very useful tool for interior designers and can be seen as a one stop shop when it comes to storing client information, onboarding new clients, invoicing and sending contractual agreements. A solid CRM can really make a difference in organizing client projects and help your business run more smoothly.

Dubsado

While Dubsado requires an involved initial setup, you have the ability to make Dubsado unique to you and your business’ specific needs. Dubsado makes it possible to include your branding and customization in their templates. You can also add file uploads and custom images when generating forms. When it comes to automations, Dubsado takes the cake. It makes accepting and tracking payments and expenses easy because it integrates with other platforms like Stripe, Square, QuickBooks etc.

One cool feature that Dubsado offers when it comes to scheduling, is that you can require that people complete a questionnaire, or pay an invoice before they are allowed to schedule time on your calendar. This rule can be set up by creating a custom workflow and identifying triggers. You will receive an email notification whenever a client has completed a form or a workflow action needs your approval.

Dubsado offers a client portal feature. Your client would be able to access their portal with a passcode and all of the important elements of their project can be viewed and accessed there.

Dubsado does offer a free trial for up to three projects. If you need to add more than four projects to the platform, you would be required to purchase a plan. The plan can be paid monthly or annually.

17Hats

17Hats is user friendly and a much more simple CRM option. This tool connects directly to your business bank account and not only imports your expenses in the bookkeeping dashboard but also could potentially eliminate the need for the use of accounting software for basic reporting.

When it comes to workflow, 17Hats offers some awesome options such as sending invoices and booking reminders automatically. In addition to tracking your time live while completing tasks, 17Hats has a time tracking feature that allows you to record hourly rates based on different services. So if you charge $80 per hour for generating floorplans and $50 per hour for e-design services, you can indicate these rates in your time tracking set up, making future invoicing so much easier.

17Hats has three pricing options to choose from. They don’t offer a free trial for the full platform, but you can access certain features for free. There is also a 30-Day money back guarantee for paid plans.

So, as you can see, there are a ton of options available to help you successfully manage all of your design projects. The key is finding what works best for you and meeting your and your client’s needs. This might take some trial and error, but fortunately, all of these programs have great features and come with a free version so that you can test them out and find the perfect fit.

Happy planning!

Must-see Travel Destinations For Fall

Raise your hand if you need a vacay! Ummm..it’s probably all of you! This has been a very interesting last couple of years, for lack of a better word. Stress has been high and most designers (at least for the last 6 months) have been crazy busy! And while I’m sure we are all happy to have thriving businesses, sometimes we just need a break. 

If you didn’t catch our email from a couple weeks ago, there is a lot of new fun stuff happening with Elite Design Assistants. One of the biggest things is that we have partnered with Travelgistix! 

A little about Travelgistix before we get into the destinations. 

Logistics professional Staci Spittler started Travelgistix as a way to share her passion for travel. She believes there is someplace for everyone and it’s her mission to help clients realize their travel dreams.

Travelgistix specializes in Active & Adventure Travel, All-Inclusive Resorts, Beach/Sun, Family, Food & Wine, Group Travel, Villas, and Yacht Charters.

Product expertise includes Classic Vacations, G Adventures, Globus, Insight Vacations, Monograms, and Travel Impressions.

Travelgistix is SO COOL, you guys. They will plan your whole trip, which we could all use with as busy as we are.  You can read more about Staci and Travelgistix on our website, but for now, let’s get into this juicy blog post!

Ok, so who is pumped to travel?!

Staci put together these great destinations for Fall and I couldn’t be more excited to share them with you!  The first two destinations are great places to check out New England's famous fall foliage. The last two locations are more focused on Relaxation, while still soaking in the beautiful fall foliage. All of these destinations are unique and you may not have even heard of them. 

1. Boston, Massachusetts

Situated in a 1903 Beaux Arts Building that juxtaposes cutting-edge technology with extraordinary Jeffersonian styling, XV Beacon Hotel is a refined landmark hotel that combines peerless personal service with the intimacy of a private residence. The hotel’s restaurant, Mooo.... is a contemporary steakhouse. Guests enjoy all of the luxuries this Bostonian boutique hotel has to offer, including a complimentary in-town chauffeured Lexus car service.

Check out the full details of this destination here.

2. Stowe, Vermont

Located at the base of Mount Mansfield The Lodge at Spruce Peak (formerly Stowe Mountain Lodge) is Stowe, VT's only ski-in, ski-out luxury lodging destination. Be our guest among more than 250 artfully appointed guestrooms, suites and residential offerings ranging from cozy studios overlooking mountain views, to spacious 4-bedroom Penthouse residences complete with all the comforts of home.

The Lodge is your base for year-round adventure and serious relaxation. Featuring a world-class Spa & Wellness Center, 18-holes of elevated mountain golf, adventure concierge team, and a variety of on-property dining and retail options, there's memories to be made at Spruce Peak.

Check out this destination here.

3. Canyon Ranch, Massachusetts

Ready for renewal? Discover your good life at Canyon Ranch all-inclusive wellness resort. Escape to Lenox, Massachusetts for a getaway that goes beyond relaxation. Canyon Ranch is integrated health and wellness. The promise of an enhanced life.

Your Canyon Ranch stay can be anything you want it to be - pleasurably relaxing, intensely active, focused and intentional. We push you outside your comfort zone to explore new ways of moving and nourishing your body.

Challenge yourself with a full range of fitness activities, from guided hikes to stand-up paddle boarding. Savor fresh, organic cuisine. Learn from our leading health experts in one-on-one sessions or group presentations. Enjoy invigorating treatments in the spa.

At Canyon Ranch, we treat you as a whole person, integrating Western and Eastern traditions. From sleep studies to ayurvedic medicine, you'll leave with a new understanding of your body. An enhanced version of yourself.

Nature is key to transformative wellness. The beauty of the Berkshires has nourished generations of artists and poets. Now write your own story of renewal. Taken away from the distractions of your busy life, you'll find room to breathe and explore in New England. To venture forth into nature. To evolve. And get back to what's real.

Check out this destination here.

4. Lenox, Massachusetts

Set among the beautiful Berkshire hills, Miraval Berkshires Resort & Spa welcomes you to observe, and improve your wellbeing. Our seasonal experiences will renew your spirit, and manifest your intention for a new year filled with balance and hope.

Check this destination out here.

The itinerary below is for those of you looking for a complete package (where to stay, what to do, and how to get there) while checking out multiple destinations on the same trip. If you decide to book, you’ll be on a guided tour with some other people also wanting to check out the New England fall foliage! This tour package includes accommodations, some meals, transportation from location to location while on the tour, and tour guides. This package does not include flights. This trip is on a preset schedule but you have a travel director there with you to help set up any additional tours or reservations and answer any questions you might have. 

If you want to work with Staci, please let her know that Danae from Elite Design Assistants sent you, as there is no affiliate link setup at this time. 

Happy Traveling!

How To Prepare For High Point Market

It’s that time of year! High-Point Market is quickly approaching and I’ve been hearing whispers of everyone’s plans. It’s getting exciting!

While I will not be attending this year, I wanted to put together a little guide so that you feel prepared if you’re going!

About High-Point

Let’s start with the basics. What is High-Point and when is it? 

High-Point Market is when designers all gather together in one location, to network, learn about all of the new fantastic products and vendors, and attend trainings and other fun and educational things!

The dates for this event are October 15th through the 20th. 

Some designers choose to stay the whole time and some stay for a shorter amount of time. This is all up to you, there is no right or wrong. 

I do suggest staying through the whole event just so you can make sure to squeeze all of the goodness out of each day, meet as many vendors as possible and learn a bunch of wonderful things that you can take back home with you. 

Prep

So how should you prep for High-Point?

If you haven’t started preparing, it is definitely time.  

Hotels book up quickly for this event. Don’t forget you can also check sites like airbnb and vrbo. If you’re unable to find a place, I suggest reaching out to fellow designers that are attending and see if there is room in any of the places that they are staying. 

It’s also time to book that flight, baby! Get on it fast. 

Don’t forget transportation. Make sure you have transportation to and from the airport, and to and from the market. I suggest renting a car. You can also call the hotel you are staying at and see if there is some sort of shuttle option. This could help out a lot and you could maybe avoid the price of a rental, depending on where you are staying and what is offered. 

You can find more info for transportation and hotels by clicking here. Check out the “planning your trip” section of the highpoint website for all sorts of fun goodies when it comes to planning this trip. 

Planning

I suggest planning out your entire trip from start to finish. Yes, we’re talking about planning again! If you are not a planner, don’t stress. Just having a loose idea of what you want to do each day will help tremendously.

I would start by choosing which events you would like to attend and adding them to your calendar. This should be your first step. You can find a complete list of events here.

Once those are scheduled, I would make a list of all of the showrooms you would like to visit. Think about what products you’ve been having a hard time sourcing for your clients and then check out the complete exhibitor list here. I suggest organizing your list by floor and maybe selecting which floors you would like to go to each day. 

Another suggestion is to do all of the showrooms you absolutely have to or want to visit on the first day. That way you can spend the rest of the time with a little more casual of a schedule. 

Here’s a map of the event center. 

Find your friends

If you want to be a lone wolf, that is totally fine! I prefer to experience these kinds of events with friends, so if you can get a group together to peruse some of the showrooms with you, that would be great! This is another great way to learn. More people in your group + more knowledge to share and more fun to be had. 

Opening accounts/placing orders

If you’re planning on opening accounts and/or placing orders, make sure you have all of the necessary paperwork for doing so. Call individual vendors beforehand to get all the details on what you may need to start an account with them. 

Register

Don’t forget to register! 

You can do that here.

As of now, there is an indoor mask mandate in effect for Guilford County. I’m not sure if that will change before the event starts, so make sure to have a couple on hand. 

One final note: The high-point website has a planning tool to help you with all sorts of things. You can find that here.

Have fun!

XX, Danae

Comfy & Stylish Shoes For Interior Designers

Let’s talk SHOES! I’m not telling you anything you don’t know….but I think Interior designers having the right shoes is something that is so beyond important! Raise your hand if your feet hurt at the end of a long day? 

Well….we did a little research and sourced 8 amazing pairs of comfortable (and cute!) shoes that are going to rock your world...and save your feet!

1. The Royale Pump: I love these classic black pumps. These have a memory-foam footbed and are tall, but not so tall that they will become uncomfortable with long wear. They also come in several great colors that are perfect for fall. Go get you some! 

2. The Royale Pump in Red Plum: Stylish and sexy and according to the reviews, very comfortable! 

3. The Starling in Cheetah Print: Birdies….in cheetah print! I just wanted to add these in because wow they’re cute. These are a bit pricier than the solid ones so if you are looking to spend less, there are some less expensive options to choose from on the website. 

4. The Starling in Black Velvet: Have you seen the advertisements for these? They look so comfy. I may have to order a pair or 2 for myself. These would be a really great option to wear to High Point Market if you are planning on going. I’ve been reading the reviews and you can wear these babies all day long with no pain. 

5. The Glove Boot In Black: -Ok...these boots are making all of my dreams come true. They look so comfy and according to the reviews, they are!

6. The Glove Boot in Toffee: Again...very impressed with these. These are made of 88% recycled polyester which is pretty cool. 

7. Vivaia Flats in Deep Ebony. These are made from knit that is made from plastic bottles. They are also eco-friendly and have a deodorizing insole...woah! So cool!

8. Vivaia Flats in Pale Turquoise: Just another color of these glorious comfy flats. Dress them up or dress them down, these flats are perfect for designers.

I hope this blog post has been super helpful for you, and if you try any of these shoes please let me know!

Need help creating boards or blog posts like this one for your business? Just send me an email at danae@elitedesignassistants.com and I will set you up with a design assistant.

What's New With EDA?

Happy Wednesday, everybody! My team and I have been working working working like busy little bees the last few months pulling together a bunch of new fun stuff for you guys. 

This email will be a little different than the others, because we just want to let you in on all the new things we have to offer and how you can benefit from them. 

Shop The Look

You know those shop the look boards and fashion blogs we’ve been sending out to you. Well, we thought it would be a good idea to get all of those in one place so that you can shop them whenever you want. We’ll be adding to it monthly so make sure you check it out. But, don’t worry, we’ll still be sending new shop the look boards to you via email on a semi-regular basis. You can find these by clicking here. 

Templates

These have been up on the website for a few months but I don’t think we’ve addressed it yet in an email or blog. We have a wonderful template shop where you can find not only email templates but also all sorts of great templates that can help you run your business as smoothly and efficiently as possible. An example of a few of the options are: 

• Client Design Questionnaire

• Interior Finish Schedule

• Client Project Brief

• Client invoice

These are just a few but you can find the rest here.

Resources  

Remember that fun survey we had you fill out a couple months ago? We had lots of requests for help with travel, legal resources, affiliate income, and more...so we put together a place on our website where you can find it all in one spot. We’re even partnered with a company called Travelgistix that provides travel expertise for pretty much any trip you might want to take. 

If you’re interested in any of this, make sure to go and check out the details here.

Passive Income E-book

This has been many months in the works and we are very proud of it! This is a 37 page EBook I wrote that has basically anything you could ever want to know about creating and marketing passive income as interior designer. It even has a fun bonus chapter called “24 Ways To Market Your Business”. For more details, click here.

That’s all for now, but stay tuned for even more great stuff coming later this year!

Looking to hire one of our design assistants? 

Just send us an email!

XX, Danae

Canva for Interior Designers

According to many designers I have talked to, Canva is a DREAM. Canva is a software created originally for graphic designers. It’s a tool that can be used for so many wonderful things and designers are loving it!

For some, it has almost completely replaced photoshop, allowing them to put together beautiful graphics in about a quarter of the time. It does not have all of the capabilities of photoshop, so if you’re looking to do photo editing beyond adding a filter or removing a background, you’ll still want to keep photoshop on your computer. 

Canva does however have many photo editing features, it’s just a very watered down version. 

Things Canva does and things to consider:

1. Graphics quickly. Canva is brilliantly designed to make your life easier. And who doesn’t love that? There are lots of templates that allow you to simply replace the template info with your own and...voila! You have a beautiful graphic that looks like it was made for a professional

2. Moodboards. Canva is great for moodboards. You can easily remove the background of items with the click of a button, and layer things as necessary. Freely move items around the board until they are exactly where you want them to be. I found several articles and videos online that can teach you how to use Canva for moodboards. Check those out if you need a little direction on how to get started.  

3. Enhance. There are a variety of ways to enhance your graphics. You can add fun little sparkles or letters or symbols, all of which can either be found in their graphics library or uploaded by you. 

4. It’s free! Canva is free, unless you want to use the pro plan which I believe is $119.99 when paid annually or $12.95 paid monthly, for up to 5 people. Very reasonable for how often you will use this program. 

5. You can make videos. Want to make a quick video of your portfolio work or share an upcoming event? Choose the mp4 setting when saving your work and you’re good to go! There are also lots of tutorials online, so feel free to research.

6. User-friendly. Canva is very easy to navigate, and if you have used any other kind of design software it shouldn’t take you long to learn. 

Interested in having a design assistant create graphics for you in Canva? 

Just reply to this email. 

XX, Danae

How To Deal With Constantly Having to Give Your Clients Bad News

Where do I even start? I actually don’t think I have to go into detail about how being an interior designer in these uncertain times can cause immense anxiety. Delays are making most interior designer’s lives a little tougher than they need to be…

Are you struggling with this? Do you feel like you just can’t even give your clients good news because things are so chaotic?

While I don’t have all these answers to something so stressful, here are a few things to focus on moving forward that will hopefully make your life at least a little bit easier.

Set the correct expectations. Make sure your clients know exactly what they are getting themselves into. Present this with the most positive attitude you possibly can, and let them know this is a universal issue. Let them know how you are currently handling delays when they happen. Under-promise and over-deliver. Be as realistic with them as you possibly can. They will appreciate your transparency!

1. Contract. Be prepared and have something about delays in your contract. How they are likely to occur and anything else they can expect. 

2. Pad your hours. If you are working hourly (or flat rate) make sure to add a little padding to account for all of the extra time you will be spending handling delays. Let them know that you are doing this, or at the very least, add it to your contract so there are no surprises. 

3. Frequent updates. Update your clients at least once a week, even if there are no changes. This will keep them from feeling left-out and like their project is at a standstill. Make sure they know that they are still a priority, even when a project is put on hold due to delays. 

4. Be open and have a positive attitude. Don’t let your clients see you sweat. You are a professional and you are good at what you do. No little delays can get you down...right? This is not forever. Eventually things will return to normal, or the new normal at least. 

5. Don’t fret. Most clients are going to completely understand, especially if you set the correct expectations. If you have one or two that get impatient, sit them down and have a heart to heart. They will understand that you are doing your very best, and you will go to bat for them if necessary. 

6. Pay attention. If your client is showing you red flag after red flag, or are not responding well to your warning of delays…..bye! They gotta go….

I hope this was helpful for you. Moral of the story, breathe. Breathe, breathe….and breathe some more. 

We are all gonna get through this. 

If there is anything we can do to make this time easier for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

XX, Danae

10 Tips to Attracting More Clients

I get this question A LOT. So I took some time to put together this list of ways that you can attract more clients right now.

Below are some ways I’ve seen other interior designers continue to stay in front of clients and continue to offer services that will keep their businesses thriving, even in uncertain times.

1. Nurture that email list! Spend some quality time creating some really heartfelt and genuine emails to send to your contact list. Create emails that let your subscribers know that you understand what they are going through, you are here for them if they need anything and outline the ways you can still help them. Start an email series right now that will help them.

2. Offer virtual consultations. Let clients know how they can work with you. You may be surprised how many people just need a consultation right now, with things opening back up and slowly returning to normal. People are wanting to refresh their homes!

3. Create shoppable concept boards and renders. Share your favorite products and make money using affiliate links. People who shop your style may be more inclined to work with you.

4. Share your portfolio. Start inspiring people with your work and share what makes you happy about what you share.

5. Update and share. It’s time to get caught up on housekeeping issues like updating your portfolio, creating content, organizing your processes and share what you’ve learned. People connect to you and your story … share your story and how you are growing and changing.

6. Share your e-design services. Share how people can work with you, outline this process and make sure your target market is aware that you are open for business. Share your in-person and remote services. However you are working with clients at this time, share it!

7. Create interest. Write a blog post about why now is a great time to update your home, or how interior design can affect your mood or about the psychology of color. Write intriguing posts relevant to the times to get people interested in your brand.

8. Continue to educate yourself. It’s always a great time to start listening to an interior design podcast or to get continuing education through interior design platforms. Many of them are offering free video conferences and webinars at this time. Use what you learn to attract more clients.

9. Create videos. People LOVE video….so try to create some fun videos about refreshing a space, your process, choosing the right rug or something else that you know your target market will love.

10. Be real. You will attract the clients you are looking for just by being yourself. Stick with a positive message, share a sneak peek into your life and use humor (if that’s your thing). Sometimes we are afraid to be ourselves but it’s only when we are ourselves do we find growth.

Our world will forever be changed so we have to adapt and grow. We will be stronger and our industry will thrive.

Stay safe & well!

XX, Danae

Best Bags (and more) For Interior Designers

Let’s talk BAGS…and some other fun organizational tools! I know for those of you that do in-person consultations and project installs, it’s important to have a bag that really works well for you.

Having everything you need when you need it, may be one of the most important things when you’re an interior designer.

Here are some common items you may want to have on you during a consult or installation day.

-Tape measure

-pencil, pen, sharpie, furniture staining pens

-paint deck (Benjamin moore, sherwin, Behr, whatever paint you love to use!)

-Design samples (flooring, tile, etc)

-“emergency” supplies like cleaning supplies, bleach pens, etc.

-Ipad/tablet/laptop

-painters tape

-Business cards

-Tools (Hammer, drill, nails, hanging utensils, safety pins, etc)

-Steamer

-Furniture moving pads

-notebook

Can you say prepared? You’ll have everything you need! 

Here are 8 of my favorite bags (and more) that I think may work well for you as an interior designer…

The Bellroy- I love this bag! Not only does it look nice but it’s so functional. You probably won’t be able to fit most of your tools unless they are miniature, but this is still a great bag.

Tumi Bag- This one is a splurge, so keep that in mind. But, it has every pocket you could ever need. Perfect for tools

Toyo Steel Toolbox- This one is pretty self-explanatory. Just a cute little toolbox for all the things! 

Better together pouch- This pouch will not hold your tools, but it can get you organized enough for a client meeting! This bag is perfectly designed for something like that. 

The Canvas Tote-A simple canvas tote with great little storage pockets.

Weekender Bag- A great weekender bag that comes in so many colors and patterns! (The way to my heart)

The Kaya- If you’re more into backpacks

The Rachhel- If you want something that looks a little nicer

View these below!

6 Ways To Keep your Cool as an Interior Designer

Life can get really overwhelming when you’re trying to thrive in your interior design business AND manage your personal life. It feels like there’s just so much going on and it never gets any easier. 

Well, enough is enough! It’s time to feel better. Less anxiety, better health and improved productivity. 

Doesn’t everyone want this? 

I put together just a few tips here to make your life easier and find a little more balance in your life. 

1. Plan Plan Plan -remember this point from my email last week? The more you plan, the better off you’ll be. I suggest google calendar to add both personal and business engagements. You are welcome to put this on separate calendars, but I find it better to keep everything on one, so that I have a full picture of what’s going on in my life. You can also do things like prep meals in advance, get your bag ready for your next client consultation, 

2. Multi-task-sometimes this is just what I have to do to get everything done! I’ll give you an example. Every morning I walk on the treadmill and answer emails. It’s important for me to get my exercise in and of course it’s also important for me to check my emails. So this is a way that I can get both done. And to be honest, it makes walking on the treadmill significantly less boring. 

3. Exercise and meditate-I’m sure both of these things have been suggested to you before. These are probably two of the best things you can do for your health. Exercising is magnificent for both mental and physical health. Adding in even just 15 min of exercise per day and you’ll start seeing the benefits. If meditating overwhelms you because it’s something you haven’t tried before, don’t stress. There are several meditation apps where you can start with something as simple as a 3-minute meditation. Fyi, this will feel like a long time when just starting out. But the more you practice, the easier it gets. Also wanted to mention that meditation is just breathing. That’s the most simplified way I can explain it. You can’t do it wrong, and having thoughts is very normal. It’s a common misconception that the goal of meditation is not to think, but we are humans and being completely devoid of thought is unlikely. The goal is to let those thoughts move through you. And the more you practice, the quieter those thoughts will get. 

4. Stop working at a specific time-I suggest picking a time each night to stop working. I know that can be hard, but it’s absolutely necessary. Every once in a while is fine of course, but you should really try and create some more work-life balance by shutting your computer and walking away early enough to actually have a life, or at the very least, get a bit more rest. I am really good about this, and even stop working at 3pm on Fridays when I can manage it. I do not check emails or work on the weekends. This is a boundary I always stick to and am so glad that I do. I have a family and it’s important for me to spend time with them. I’m a mom! But whether or not you are a mom, you are a  human. And humans need breaks. 

5. Hire a design assistant-were you waiting for this one? A design assistant takes things off your plate. And how could this not be a blessing? A design assistant is also great for those whose businesses’ have grown tremendously but are not quite ready for a full-time employee or long-term commitment. Choose how many hours you want your assistant to work for you and what tasks they can take off your plate. This is a great way to add more balance as an interior designer. 

6. Eat a balanced diet. Research has shown that gut health directly correlates with mental health (including stress). What you put in your body is important. Take some time to pin some healthy recipes on pinterest, plan your meals and build a shopping list each week. This is a game-changer. I suggest putting up some sort of meal-planning board on your refrigerator or on the wall in your kitchen so everyone knows what’s for dinner. Note on meal prep: even just cooking only the protein or only the veggies can save you a lot of time and stress. You can also prep things like rice, quinoa, and oatmeal in advance. Take a look at your meals each week and ask yourself which of those things would be helpful to prep. Also wanted to say, always make time to eat. I know life can get stressful and you forget or you prioritize other things, but seriously, eat! Your body needs it so that you can feel amazing and full of energy. 

Note:    Remember to START SLOW. Just like a crash diet, going too hard all at once is not a sustainable life-change. I like to implement a new habit for a week or two and then add new ones as I feel comfortable. A walk can change your mental health and gets you some exercise. Maybe start with a walk 5 days a week and do 15-30 minutes. Then the next week start planning 3 meals for the week, and make sure you are getting 3 meals a day. Then the next week you could add in something else you’ve been wanting to add, or maybe make your walk or other exercise routine a little longer. What can you commit to this week? 

Would you be interested in more health-related posts? Respond to this email and let us know! Another way to offer your feedback is to take our 2-question survey here. 

XX, Danae

So you’re busy? How to avoid turning clients away by adding them to your pipeline

From what I’ve heard lately, designers are incredibly busy and feel like they need to turn away work. This can be hard, especially if you are sometimes feeling starved for business. And, we’ve all been there. 

So, let’s talk about a few things you can do when a client wants to work with you and you just do not have the hours available to squeeze them in.

1. Walk them through your processes. Go ahead and walk them through the process of working with you, even if you can’t get started right away. If they really love you and want to work with you then they will wait. Let them know how long each typically takes place once you get started. They’ll want to know how much time their project is going to take. And as you know, it’s almost always longer than they think. 

2. Be specific. When you let them know about the delay, don’t say 12 weeks or 6 months…let them know a specific date. For example, “we can start this project on October 1st”. 

3. Do something for them. Get part of the project started, if possible. For example, have them send their inspiration photos to you or have them go ahead and fill out any questionnaire or other necessary paperwork. Just to get things started. Do something for them so that they can start to get excited about working with you. 

4. Send them something. A lot of designers wait until the end of the project to send the client a bottle of wine or some sort of small thank you gift. But if your client is waiting on you, it might be cute to send them something that lets them know that they are on your mind, and that you can’t wait to work with them! A few ideas could be a little card or note with a bottle of wine or some fun swag with your business name on it. Maybe even a cute little goodie bag that has a note saying “I can’t wait to get started on your project on October 1st!” Maybe even add something about what they can do to prepare in the meantime. 

5. Hire a design assistant (Not so shameless plug). Design assistants can help you with whatever you need help with. Think of them as your personal assistant. If it can be done virtually, your design assistant can help you with it. Some of our clients choose to just have social media taken off of their hands. Some need help with a variety of tasks from sourcing to project management to admin work. A design assistant is a tool and you can use them in a way that works best for you. Think of all the time you could save and how many more projects you could add to your plate if you didn’t have to worry about weekly subscriber emails, social media posts, order tracking, and client style boards! I mean….wow! You are paying them and whatever you can take off your plate - travel plans, online shopping, scheduling hair appts, ordering flowers, holiday cards, etc. 

6. Work on your processes and tighten them up. If you’re wasting time printing out materials for your client meeting when it’s the same for each client, take a Sunday or another day off and PREPARE yourself for your week. Just as people that are in-shape meal prep and set out their workout clothes, you can do this for your business. If you do client binders, prep those binders as much as you can so all you have to do is grab a new one on your way to see a new client. What can you do right now to prepare yourself for next week? Or next month? You NEED to have a system to set yourself up for success. If you want to have time for more clients and also experience less anxiety, plan plan plan plan plan plan plan plan. Are you getting what I’m throwin’ down?

7. Add them to your email list so they continue to hear from you while they wait! This is another great way to keep them excited and engaged.

8. Breathe. From a manifestation perspective, you can actually energetically propel clients when you feel like you may not have time for them. Why not create a pipeline that will be there when you’re ready? That way you feel prepared and available for more clients. Do yourself a favor and GET ORGANIZED and prepared for all your future clients. You got this. 

Next week we have a follow up to this post coming called “5 Ways To Keep your Cool as an Interior Designer”, so stay tuned for that!

Need to contact me about a design assistant? You can sign up for a time to chat by visiting the contact page of our website. I can’t wait to hear from you!

XX, Danae

---

Have you taken our 2-question survey yet? I would love if you could share any wants or needs you have for this blog! You can take it below.

How To Use Instagram Ads To Get Business

Have you ever considered using Instagram ads for your business?

I’ve heard from several designers that they’ve been interested in trying Instagram ads to bring in some more business, but that they are overwhelmed by the task. I had one of our assistants write this up for you guys!

Instagram:

>Gets your name out there and helps you to build a following

>Gets your offers in front of more people

>Attracts your ideal client

>More

Check out how to build your ads below!

UPLOAD

When starting your Instagram promotion, you want to select an image or short clip that sends clear message, don’t leave anything open for interpretation.  Make sure to leave your caption short and sweet.  When creating your ad strategy, the goal is to capture the attention of your audience, keep in mind social media has become an outlet for mindless scrolling (aka, unconsciously scrolling through your Instagram feed out of habit, not out of interest).  With that in mind, there is that fine line of attracting attention but you don’t want to overdo yourself!  It’s important to stay true to you.  Social media trends come and go, it’s fun to partake in the current hypes and trends through posts and stories.  But when it comes to running ads, remember to stay authentic to your brand and your brands messaging.

GOAL

So now that you have selected your ad media, it’s time to launch your promotion!  The first thing Instagram is going to ask is to Select a Goal, giving you three options.  While they may seem limited, these three options do have their benefits.  What you select depends on you, your brand, and you messaging. 

Goal Option 1: More Profile Visits.  This option is great if you are looking to get more views, more likes, more follows, and to bring people to see your insta-stuff! 

Goal Option 2: More Website Visits.  This is a great option to bring people directly to your business.  You want to view your website is your online “home base” for your business.  This option virtually brings your audience directly to your business. 

Goal Option 3: More Messages.  If your ad is sparking conversation or seeking feedback, this is the option for you!

AUDIENCE-

Instagram will give you two options to help Define Your Audience. If you select Automatic it will target your followers, plus similar users who follow them, etc.  For a more successful Ad Campaign it is sometime more beneficial to select Audience Option 2: Create Your Own. This allows you to pick a target location, pick the age group of your audience, and pick the interests of your audience (This is key!) You can pick as many interests as you want.

For Example: Interior Design • Interior Design Pro • American Society of Interior Design • International Interior Design Association • VDA, Designer • Home Design • Home Décor • Design & Interior • DIY Home • Etc. –There is no such thing as too many interests.

BUDGET & DURATION

The next step is to select your budget and the duration of the ad campaign. 

Side Note: If it’s your first time running a promotion on social media, don’t be afraid to run a “Test Week.” Give your ad campaign one week to run with your selected ad graphic, goal, and target audience.  Once the test week is up you will have analytics and feedback to either continue with what you have, or to change things up!

LAUNCH

Instagram will ask you to review everything before launching your promotion.  Make sure to double check everything! From spelling and grammar to the resolution of your ad graphic. 

Then press Create Promotion!

WATCH

Watch analytics and feedback.  Breathe! Don’t forget to enjoy the process!  

---

Need help creating ads for Instagram? Reach out today.

XO, Danae

Have you taken our 2-question survey yet? We would appreciate your answers so that we can better serve you!

Sourcing Made Easy

As you are aware, being an Interior Designer means juggling a multitude of things from client meetings, to sourcing, invoicing, proposals, dealing with contractors and the list goes on and on. Streamlining processes are crucial to building and maintaining a successful interior design business and so today I’m going to write about sourcing.

Sourcing can be as simple or as complicated as you like, but to simplify things I’ve got a few great tips and tricks for you below.

1.       Narrow down a list of key vendors. I know many interior designers that only work with their favorite vendors … you know the ones. They are easy to work with, offer great commissions and their shipments come on time and intact. Keep this list in your computer or better yet go to each of their websites and save them to your favorites. This way you can have tabs across the top of your website browser that you can get to easily and quickly. If you need help with a list of key vendors … let me know as this could be a blog post entirely on its own.

2.       Keep an ongoing list of your favorite products. I realize you don’t want all your clients’ homes to look the same but there are a handful of items that even the most successful interior designers’ source for multiple clients. For example, I follow a popular interior designer on the east coast who has a very popular blog and from her portfolio I can tell that she loves tulip tables, X benches, anything leopard print, trays and popular design books.

3.       Organize your favorite products in libraries on Pinterest, Excel or another area of your computer. This way when you have a client looking for a kitchen table you can go to your kitchen table cheat sheet to see if there is a great kitchen table there. I realize these lists will always be changing but it’s a great time saver if you spend a few minutes updating it as needed.

4.       Outsource your sourcing. I realize this is hard for some people but when you find someone great who understands your clients’ style and what you are looking for it can be such a huge benefit to your business. Working with a trusted virtual design assistant can be a huge asset to your business.

Hopefully you’ll find these tips helpful in creating a system for sourcing that will save you time and headaches!

Fashion For Interior Designers and how to feel more confident in client meetings

Hello and Happy Saturday from Elite Design Assistants! 

I’m sure you’re thinking “but we usually don’t hear from you on Saturday’s?!” 

Well...remember a few emails ago when we announced we are transitioning into a lifestyle brand? This is our first step. 1 to 2 times a month, you’ll be receiving tips, tricks, advice around more lifestyle related subjects like fashion, health, finances, travel, our favorite products and brands….and MORE, all coming at you via email and all specifically for interior designers. 

For those of you who filled out our 2-question survey, we appreciate it so much. It’s because of you we are able to make this transition and share even more exciting stuff with you. If you have not had a chance to fill it out, don’t worry! You can do it at any time. Just click here. 

Now, let’s get into the fun stuff, shall we? 

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but how you dress and present yourself is important. This has nothing to do with your clients, although, of course, they are important too. But this is really about YOU feeling confident in the way you look. 

Have you ever put on an outfit, looked in the mirror...and thought WOW I look good. Then you go to your client meeting and you just carry yourself in a different way? And of course, the client starts the project. 

That is no coincidence. Your confidence is everything! And if you dress well, you will appear more competent and powerful. 

Because of this, I decided to put together this board of some mix and match outfits that I think interior designer’s will not only love, but will feel amazing in. This board is designed so that you can mix these pieces however you want. 

Beyond fashion choices, here are a few extra tips for feeling confident when headed into a design meeting. 

1. You are the expert: Never forget this! This person decided to book a consultation because they know that you know much more than they do about this subject (or let’s hope they do….we’ve all had “those clients.”)

2. You are worth the price you charge: If you’re struggling with this one, just remember those projects where you charged too little for your services and it felt like your soul was aching. We’ve all been there. Maybe we’ll do another email on how to figure out what to charge for your services. hmmmm….

3. Plan: If you are just starting out OR if you are a seasoned designer, plan out some talking points. How will you bring up your processes? In what order will things be discussed? Is there a way you can make the verbiage easier for your client to understand? Is there anything you would like to change from your last project? Can you provide visuals for them so that the process is more exciting? 

Did you love this post? We appreciate any feedback! And if you haven’t taken the 2-question survey yet, I would love it if you would do that for me. 

Survey

XO, Danae

---

Need More Business? Here’s how to get it!

I realize that at the exact time I’m writing this blog … 10:47 a.m. on Thursday, July 8, 2021, (yes, I’m supposed to be on vacation but I still need to do my treadmill and checking emails and working while treadmilling is the only thing that gets me through my treadmill. Ha!) many designers out there are drowning in work. Which is why we are here – to throw a life vest to those designers and not only help them from drowning but to help them grow and scale their business – and did I mention our contract is on an as-needed basis?

Anyway, enough of the shameless plug, if you are one of those designers I see in groups still trying to get business and in utter shock as to why everyone around you is getting work here are some very helpful things to try!

Give your brand a good hard look. Have a friend or colleague give your website, social media, portfolio and copy a once over as if they are a potential client. Is there a disconnect in your messaging? Are you to vague? Can people easily find your contact information? What do you images look like? Your brand is you, this is why people want to work with you.

• Can people find your website? You may want to check your SEO and make sure you that are able to be searched based on your location, services, uniqueness, style, etc.

• Stay busy! You’ve heard the saying, when it rains, it pours. Keep busy improving your brand, your portfolio and your networking and the work will come.

• Create videos in your down time. I realize half the design industry is saying you MUST do video to stay relevant and the other half would rather eat liver and onions and spend the entire day on the toilet than do video but if you have time … try it. Do something quick and fun and if you need ideas for video, I’ll include some below.

• Network, network, network. Network with realtors, contractors, painters, mortgage lenders … you never know where you might get business. Try Facebook groups, hand out your business card and local business events, think outside the box and put yourself out there.

• Try niching down into one specific group. Again, the riches are in the niches, is a popular saying so maybe you are trying to reach everyone and it’s not working – narrow down your target market and go after them. Some designers have a target market of families, empty nesters, singles, luxury clients … and some break it down by style such as coastal, farmhouse, mid-century mod, minimalists, environmentally friendly, etc. who are you most passionate about working for? Who do you resonate with and most connect with? That’s who you want to target.

• Advertise. You can always try Instagram or Facebook ads. I realize this costs money and to get the most bang for your buck you’d want to work with an experienced social media ad expert.

• Try a new platform. A lot of designers notice the bulk of their business comes from one main social medium. For example, I hear designers say they are getting most of their business from Pinterest OR Facebook groups OR Instagram OR word-of-mouth referrals. Are those word-of-mouth referrals lucky! The reason they get word-of-mouth referrals is most likely because of the niche they serve. I know a few designers that don’t even have a website!!! That is unheard of and almost absurd in today’s world, however, they got in a niche and showcase all of their work and info on another platform such as Instagram and have been so busy they never had a chance to build a website … or in some cases update and old outdated one. You never know, maybe your target market is waiting for you on a platform you either aren’t spending enough time on or aren’t even on yet.

• Manifest. I know some people might think this is crazy but I truly believe in manifesting what you want. Envision yourself having all the work you want, believe it, live like you have the business of your dreams and it will come.

• Collaborate. I have always found that interior designers with a collaborative mindset instead of a competition mindset are way more successful and happier than designers who view every other designer as competition. Reach out to other designers and ask for advice or maybe partner on their overflow work.

As promised, here are some ideas on what to do in videos….

Showcase your strengths – what makes you unique? Maybe you specialize in organization for growing families or luxury items that are also practical. Showcase a few of your favorite design or products.

• Give a quick tutorial on how to style a coffee table, end table, dresser, shelf, etc.

• Give a quick tutorial on how the flow of a room should be set up in regards to focal point, etc.

• Talk about pros and cons of certain materials such as flooring, countertops, lighting

• Do a fun video about reveal day vs real life

• Do a day in the life sort of video – use a project in your own home if you have to

• Go to your favorite home décor store and pull some things together to show how to put together a look

• Be real, be honest, be yourself and just talk about your business and how you help others

• Show how drastic a look can change just by swapping out a few materials

• Review the most popular questions you get and answer them in a series of videos for example – how to choose a paint color, what size of rug do I need, what kind of window treatments should I purchase, etc.

Hopefully, by trying some of the tips above you will see an increase in your business in no time. If you are still struggling and need help, please reach out. We are always happy to help!

XX, Danae

Have you had a chance to take our 2 question survey from last week’s email? This would really help us out. You can find it below. Thanks!

Multi-Vendor Affiliate Programs

I’ve written about affiliates before. They are a great way to make some passive income. If you are already writing blog posts about your designs or posting pins on Pinterest with a ‘Shop the Look’ sort of pin then affiliate vendors are the perfect way to makes some extra money.

How does an affiliate work? You sign up for your favorite vendors affiliate program and then you include your affiliate links for your favorite home décor on your social media. When someone clicks on your affiliate link and makes a purchase, you get a commission! Affiliate links are the perfect way to monetize blog posts, Pinterest pins and social media posts.

Although you will get the largest commission going directly to the vendors to get an affiliate link if you are trying to do this on your own it can get very time consuming. Another, easier way to use affiliate links is by signing up with multi-vendor affiliate programs. These programs allow you to have one affiliate account but use multiple vendors. The commission is typically at a lower rate with these programs but for busy designers the simplicity can trump higher commission rates.

Some of the most popular multi-vendor affiliate programs among interior designers are the following:

1.       Share a Sale

2.       Shop Your Likes

3.       Pepperjam

4.       Amazon

5.       Rakuten Marketing

6.       VigLink

7.       CJ Affiliate

8.       Shop Style Collective

Start making more money today! Please let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like information on how you can work with a virtual design assistant to get your affiliate programs set up for you.

What else would you like to learn from us?

Happy Wednesday, everybody! We’re doing something a bit different this week and we need your help….

Our business is growing quickly and our goal is to continue to accommodate all of our client's needs.

We are currently in the process of transforming Elite Design Assistants to be so much more than just a virtual design assistant service for busy interior designers. We are slowly becoming more of a lifestyle brand, helping interior designers with whatever they need to THRIVE in not only their interior design business, but in life. 

We are currently offering the following services:

• 3d renders

• Drafting

• Sourcing

• Admin

• Marketing

• Social media

• Web design

• SEO

• Bookkeeping

• Copyrighting

• Client management

• Vendor management

• Project management

• And help with creating courses, shop the look boards, affiliate marketing, passive income ideas, ecommerce

• Templates for e-newsletters, Client Questionnaire, Welcome Packet, etc. Shop templates

• And resources for courses, legal templates, vendors, etc.

What else can we help you with? How can we make your life easier? Our goal is to become your go-to for all things you need. Are you interested in resources and/or help with fashion, travel, fitness, wellness, recipes, finance, real estate, legal or other?

We would love it if you could take our quick survey below, so that we can better serve you. 

We greatly appreciate your feedback!

XX, Danae

Tiny Offers to Create Passive Income

I’ve been doing a lot of research on ways to generate passive income by selling digital downloads and some of the research I’ve come across has been very interesting.

One leading digital marketer has been teaching her clients NOT to offer freebies. Yes, that’s right. Even though the popular rule of thumb is to offer a freebie in order to get in front of your target market, this particular digital marketer has found that by offering freebies we are just attracting consumers who are online collecting freebies.

She suggests that we offer tiny offers, whether they be $17 or $27 or $37 … I’m really not sure why they all end in 7 but this is what she recommends. She said that we are more likely to attract our ideal client when we offer them something of value at a small price. They are more likely, than someone who grabbed our freebie, to purchase more from us in the future.

So why does she believe this? When we offer something for free we are potentially attracting way too many of the wrong type of prospects … if someone isn’t willing to spend $27 with us they most likely won’t be willing to spend any money with us. Now I realize that all interior design firms are different and depending on your target market and if you are looking to offer digital downloads this may not pertain to you.

I did find it ironic that she was teaching me about her practice on a Masterclass that she offered for FREE, but that is a discussion for another day. I do know people who have built a successful business offering freebies … offering tiny offers is just an alternative approach to generating more income.

So how does this work? Let’s say you have some valuable information that you are just giving away on your website as a digital download, now you attach a price to it and sell it. I’ve seen designers sell pdfs of design plans, choosing the right paint colors, tips on how to design a room and tips on how to manage their own construction. There are a lot of DIYers out there looking at interior design websites every day and some of them might just purchase your download. After purchasing your download they may just decide to do business with you, and if they don’t, well you still made a bit of cash from their download purchase.

For those of you looking to create passive income, creating valuable downloads and selling them is a great way to increase revenue, increase exposure and increase interest in your business.

Are you ready to start offering a tiny offer? Shoot me an email and let me know how we can help!

XX, Danae