Advice We Wish We Had Before Starting Our Interior Design Firms
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Starting and running an interior design firm requires far more than creative talent. Experienced designers emphasize the importance of resilience, emotional maturity around feedback, strategic business knowledge, and the courage to keep evolving. Growth comes from staying curious, building supportive communities, trusting your judgment, and recognizing that success is built through consistency, thoughtful decision-making, and learning from every project along the way.
Reflection Questions
Where in my business am I relying on endurance instead of building systems, strategy, or support to help me grow sustainably?
How well do I balance creative instincts with business knowledge like operations, financial planning, and long-term strategy?
Am I creating space to reflect, reassess, and stay curious about my work, or have I become too comfortable with how things currently operate?
Journal Prompt
Think back to the early days of your firm. What assumptions did you have about running a design business that turned out to be incomplete or inaccurate? Write about one lesson you learned the hard way and how it has shaped the way you lead, make decisions, or support your team today. Then consider: What advice would your current self give the version of you that was just starting out?
Running a design firm can be incredibly rewarding, but it can also feel isolating. Many firm owners spend years figuring things out through trial and error, learning lessons that would have been so much easier with the right guidance, community, or sounding board along the way. That’s one reason we love asking designers in our Women, In Their Own Words interview series…
“What’s one piece of advice you wish you’d known when you started your business or creative career?”
Their responses often reflect the hard-earned wisdom that only comes from experience: insights about growth, leadership, resilience, and the mindset shifts that make for truly successful firms. Below, several of our interviewees share the advice they wish someone had given them earlier in their careers. Sometimes, another designer’s perspective can change the way you approach your work. Other times, it can reassure you that you’re already headed in the right direction!
Click each image below to read the designer’s full Women, In Their Own Words interview. And thanks again for joining us at DesignDash!
Advice from Our Women, In Their Own Words Interviewees
Fuel your creative fire & be a part of a supportive community that values how you love to live.
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Ready to move forward with more clarity and confidence?
Sometimes resilience comes from asking for support and making the difficult decisions we’ve been avoiding. In a recent conversation on the DesignDash Podcast, executive coach Lois Barth joined us to talk about how high-performing founders navigate difficult decisions. We discussed why many business owners default to endurance, pushing through challenges alone instead of building resilience by pausing, reflecting, and seeking support from their community.
Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team
Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you’re interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@designdash.com.
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