Are you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by the lack of success in your creative endeavors despite your best efforts?
You may be pouring countless hours into perfecting your designs but struggling to attract clients or generate sales. Maybe you’re trying to navigate the complexities of running a business, but finding it difficult to make strategic decisions or manage finances effectively.
The pain of not seeing your hard work translate into entrepreneurial success can be incredibly disheartening, and I hear you.
In today’s episode, I sit down with Tobi Fairley and talk about the importance of design skills and business knowledge for success in the interior design industry. We dive deep into how to navigate a career in interior design, the benefits of lifelong learning, and the rewards of taking well-analyzed risks.
Don’t miss out on this enlightening conversation!
Why you’ve got to check out today’s episode
- Explore the appeal of taking well-calculated risks and setting the pace in your field of expertise
- See the impact of continuous learning and structured education in attaining professional growth
- Realize the importance of having a strong foundation in both design skills and business knowledge for lasting success
About the Guest:
Toby Fairley is an innovation igniter, a thought architect, and one of the leading voices on reimagining what it means to run a successful creative business in an equitable and sustainable way.
As the host of the Design You Podcast, Toby delivers a life-altering inspiration for creative entrepreneurs mixed with tactical business advice, and unfiltered aha moments on topics most business gurus won’t dare to cover.
She has been featured in many publications. When Toby is not running her high-end residential interior design firm, leading her online membership community for ambitious creative professionals Design You, or recording an episode for her top-rated podcast, you can find her working on her upcoming book, Thinking Deep Thoughts, about how to change the world painting or curled up with a few good books and spending time with her family and two pups.
Toby lives in Arkansas with her attorney husband and her teenage daughter who has just gone to college.
Connect with Tobi Fairley:
Website: tobifairley.com/
IG: @tobifairley
Check out these episode highlights
03:50 – Tobi’s education and career journey
07:11 – The importance of following one’s heart and becoming great at what one is meant to do, and creating a financially stable, lucrative career
08:59 – The benefit of having a formal education and continuous learning
10:46 – Why and how Toby decided to start her own business
13:31 – Tobi’s first business coach who teach her how to charge flat fees, the concept of pricing per value not per dollar, and creating a high-end luxury brand
16:59 – The game-changing magazine features put Toby at a different level of credibility
20:07 – The benefits of being an early adopter
- Don’t wait to try things because there’s so much opportunity. You don’t even know what can happen from being willing to try things to put yourself out there, test new technology, or be on the front end of a curve.
23:29 – On taking risks: investing your time and money in the potential success
26:24 – Toby’s retail business; the changing retail landscape and new approaches to it
33:23 – Toby’s other revenue stream – business coaching for creatives
34:23 – How Toby’s online course incubator works
38:28 – Toby’s in the process of creating a platform to sell other people’s courses – a hub for online education in the design-related space
41:24 – Toby’s advice to a designer who is thinking about getting into the career
- Have a business background or think like an entrepreneur.
- Approach the revenue stream issue from various perspectives.
- Be willing to do multiple things.
42:29 – Embracing multifaceted business
Next Steps
Grab your freebie:
Take the QUIZ!! Find Out What Type of Interior Designer You Should Be!
- Your Roadmap to a Career in Interior Design
- 3 Things I Wish I had known when I started my career
Join the Design Mentor to kickstart a successful career in interior design!
Check out the best books every interior designer should have here.
Enroll in Business of Design with Kimberly Seldon or DesignYou with Tobi Fairley today to scale your interior design business!
Email me at [email protected] if you have suggested topics
DM me on Instagram at @rwarddesign if you have a burning question
Leave me a rating and review! Click here.
Thanks for listening! I hope this helps you discover if interior design is the career for you. See you next week…