Design Business Tips for Coping with Pandemic Pandemonium

If the goal of a blog like this one is to offer tips, educational gems, and support (and we certainly hope it is seen that way), then it makes sense that in this time of pandemic pandemonium we should share nuggets from the experts. Plus, knowing that time is at a premium for many of you right now, we hope that we can offer design business tips that will help you save some of it.

Recently, the folks at Houzz.com printed a piece that featured some of the better-known designers in the US. In it, they shared some of the steps they’re taking to cope with the change in work style (and to some extent lifestyle) that shifting to working from home has caused.

As we mentioned in a previous post, it’s already true that remote conferencing and video chat apps make “social distancing” the norm for many of us. This is also true for these designers.

Coping Tips for Working Remotely from Your Contemporaries

As explained by Corey Damen Jenkins, when it comes to out of town projects, “We’re still communicating with contractors and builders via FaceTime, Skype, and Marco Polo, as we’ve done for years. In a way, we were working with social distancing long before this crisis arose. These platforms are great tools for communication, but they are also fairly effective for visuals too.”

Now, the entire staff at his firm, Corey Damen Jenkins & Associates, are working remotely from home. And, despite the need to avoid in-person meetings with clients, “It’s crucial that we as professionals take the initiative to communicate with clients, showrooms and contractors just how much we respect the seriousness of this situation [through] our business protocols and our commitment to doing our part in fighting this thing,” he says.

According to Jena Liu, owner of a design firm that bears her name, infrastructure at home is an issue.

“One thing we realized three days into this quarantine is that with the entire family at home and on one device or another, the internet speed is not as fast as what I’m used to in our studio. We hope to upgrade our household internet to fiber in the next week to accommodate the entire household’s need to stream. We hope with this increased bandwidth will come increased creativity and productivity,” she said.

Know the Personal Costs and Challenges

Needless to say, taking care of business during this crisis is important – but so is recognizing the personal changes and challenges – and dealing with them.

This situation is unprecedented, which means your coping skills will be stretched to the max. For many of us, even the simplest, most familiar daily tasks may suddenly seem daunting.

You may have found yourself losing focus frequently as new thoughts and feelings about your situation intrude. You may have begun to create innumerable, limitless “To-do Lists” that have no relationship with your business.

In other words, simply changing your work environment has made your days more challenging; that shifting from working in your design studio or office to working from home has been fairly stressful and surprisingly exhausting.

“Wow,” you may be thinking, “having kids and/or pets around instead of work colleagues has made a huge difference in productivity! It’s really had an effect on my workday!”

Realizing this can create new levels of anxiety and generate whole new levels of stress on your system; on your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health.

Recognizing that this is your “new normal” is just the beginning of coping with these changes. Being mindful of the differences in your work and life, and taking the time to adapt will go a long way toward helping you smooth out the rough patches of this new journey.

Remembering that many of us are on this same challenging journey, and finding others to share it with – virtually and safely – will also be a huge benefit to you, and to your business.

Ted continues to work on and produce new video presentations about these challenges and design business tips. He invites you to follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, where more product pictures and links will be posted.

Looking for more tips on growing your design business, new design trends, designer marketing tips, and product ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.