Michelle Lynne: What Constitutes Billable Hours in an Interior Design Business?

Episode 814 of A Well-Designed Business®

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814: Michelle Lynne: What Constitutes Billable Hours in an Interior Design Business?

Today With Michelle Lynne:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business! Today I am joined by Michelle Lynn, president of ML Interiors Group, a successful design firm based in Dallas, and founder of Designed for the Creative Mind where she teaches interior designers and decorators the proven practices, effective processes, and profitable systems to run their businesses with purpose and efficiency.

I get a lot of requests to talk about what constitutes billable hours. I think you’ll enjoy the answer to all of the tasks you should be charging your clients, but also we shift into the importance of standing by what we charge, knowing we’re worth what we charge, and yet again, educating our clients.

Pick It Apart

[6:40] The conversation starts about what constitutes billable hours.

[20:20] If Michelle HAD to pick three tasks that may not be considered billable.

[21:30] The controversial subject of charging less hourly when using your junior designer.

[38:00] LuAnn emphasizes the internal work that needs to be done to be confident in what you charge.

[44:00] How having a solid process result in respect from your clients.

LuAnn Nigara and Michelle Lynne’s Ah-Ha Moments

“You need to be raising your standards and continue to push until you start hearing some “nos” because that is when you’ve hit your sweet spot in weeding out the clients who will drag you down.” – Michelle Lynne

“Professionals hire professionals.” – Michelle Lynne

“We make a home feel like a hug. How do you put a price on that?” – Michelle Lynne

“You can listen to hours upon hours of podcasts about knowing your value, but if you don’t do the internal work and come from your CEO role and stand your ground on the service you provide and what it’s worth, you will always struggle with what you are charging.” – LuAnn Nigara

“When you start to conduct your business in an organized fashion, your clients become people who appreciate that, don’t question you, and have trust in you.” – LuAnn Nigara

More About Michelle Lynne:

Michelle Lynne is the president of ML Interiors Group, a successful design firm based in Dallas, and the founder of Designed for the Creative Mind, where she teaches interior designers and decorators the proven practices, effective processes, and profitable systems to run their businesses with purpose and efficiency. A few years into running her interior design firm, Michelle found herself disillusioned from overworking and underbilling. She took control of her firm, putting systems and parameters in place that soon led to a thriving, seven-figure interior design business.