SEARCH YOURSELF: What's under your name? By Robin Colton

In a sea of Internet search results, potential clients are wading through page after page of designers names and descriptions. When an interior designer hires me as their business coach, very often this is how the designer has positioned themselves:

‘Boutique high-end award-winning luxury full service interior design firm specializing in residential and commercial spaces that works closely with clients to interpret their style and create spaces tailored to every client’

Upon seeing this under designer name after designer name, it becomes a description that means nothing to a consumer at all. The designers that have described themselves in such a generic way have positioned themselves to cast as wide a net as possible to catch as many clients as possible. And sometimes they do (and when they do - maybe 1 out of 20 is actually a good match) but

more often they do not catch anything at all with such a non-distinct point of view.

Clarity of purpose, vision, aesthetic, style, project type. Clarity is the key to success in the design industry. A designers voice, their distinct point of view is what informs who they are, what they do, and how they do it. And when that clarity is communicated in their messaging, there is no question from potential clients that firm is THE firm for them.

Are you able to sum up in 2-3 sentences who you are as a designer and what your business stands for? (And no - you’re not allowed to use any of the words in the generic description above)

If the answer to this question does not come easily to you or you have chatter in the back of your mind that says that’s not the way to a successful business, consider this:

“Design is perceived through our five senses. It is a conversation between things. Subtle differences taken in: the differences between smoothness and texture, dark and the not so dark, the plain and the patterned, and how those differences make us feel.”

This is what appears under Barbara Barry’s name on a search engine. She did not get to be Barbara Barry by defining herself as a ‘boutique interior designer who caters to the style of every client’. She fully stepped into her femininity and elegance and that is exactly what her clients hire her for.

“ A DESIGNERS VOICE, THEIR DISTINCT POINT OF VIEW IS WHAT INFORMS WHO THEY ARE, WHAT THEY DO, AND HOW THEY DO IT”

“ TO GET AT WHO YOU WANT TO BE, BELIEVE YOU CAN BE THAT, AND THEN STEP FULLY INTO IT”

Asking yourself the following questions is meant for you to see that to get at who you want to be, believe you can be that, and then step fully into it unapologetically - clarity of your positioning is an essential element. So grab a cup of coffee, find a quite spot, turn your phone all the way off, and look deep inside yourself to answer thoughtfully and honestly:

• What does success and fulfillment as a designer and as a business look like for you?

• How you would describe your aesthetic?

• Sum up your dream or ideal project, client, and business in 2-3 sentences.

When you have defined your business identity on the deep- est level, and then stepped fully into that identity - this is where the magic happens! It is from this clarity that your voice is articulated and heard loud and clear. And it is when you stand feet firmly planted on the ground in who YOU are that you attract your true ideal clients and projects (and repel those who are not) and you build a business that truly feeds your soul.

Robin Colton is a mindset and business strategy coach for high achieving design professionals. Through her coaching practice as well as speaking engagements, Robin works closely with design business owners as an intentional business strategy partner to reach their next level of impact in the industry.