How Can You Generate Revenue in Uncertain Times?

Is that what we’re calling this: uncertain times? Does that adequately describe what some designers and furnishing retailers are going through? Or, are there a bunch of other “u” words that describe how hard it is to generate revenue right now better? Words like: unsure, unclear, unreliable, unsettled, unpredictable, unsteady, unresolved, undependable...

Calling the current environment for service businesses “uncertain” may be the ultimate understatement. Trying to survive in what has always been known as a “face-to-face” business when you are unable – or not allowed – to meet with clients or prospects presents challenges most designers have never imagined. 

In the second half of this post we’ll share some steps other designers have taken in response to the ongoing health crisis and social distancing requirements. First though, we’d like to share a few innovative ideas from other types of businesses that just might get your own creative juices for generating revenue flowing.

Innovative Ideas to Generate Revenue in Times of Crisis

Granted, keeping your business robust during a health crisis is easier said than done, so here are a few examples we heard of recently that may just offer some inspiration:

• Bakery cooks up some classes – A local bakery has been all but forced to close due to the restrictions placed on businesses. While they can deliver and are available for pick up orders, their revenue has been slashed. Their solution was quick to develop, and now, they are offering online baking classes at a modest fee. This is keeping them engaged with their customer base while offering a valuable service, and it has also allowed them to soften the blow of their lost revenue.

• Masseuse manipulates her business model – A massage therapist we heard of has had to stop all direct interaction with her client list. Revenue has dropped to nearly zero. Her response is innovative and effective. She has begun creating a series of meditation videos that teach self-massage techniques, as well as online classes for couples to learn massage for each other. While her fees are modest, she has weathered the storm so far and is looking forward to reopening her studio as soon as possible.

• Online coach tries pay as you go – Finally, we know of a weight loss coach who has had to adapt to a significant loss of revenue because many of her clients are either not working or are working much less. Their loss of income has forced them to stop working with her since they simply can’t afford her fees. Knowing how important her work is to her clients, her response is to offer the same services to all existing clients with a “Pay What You Can” business model. Clients who’ve continued to work with her to lose or maintain their weight always pay her something, while many pay nearly as much as she normally charges.

These examples of outside-the-box thinking and marketing are enabling business owners to survive in spite of the restraints being placed on them. The fact that they refuse to simply let their businesses die is inspiring and we hope they help you to develop your own approach to staying active and productive.

Virtual Solutions to Pandemic-Induced Business Challenges

A recent article titled How a new generation of designers is teaching (and earning) online, from the folks at BusinessOfHome.com, offers insight into how some designers are expanding their menus and markets in the face of the pandemic – and before.

According to author Haley Chouinard, “Whether it was fellow design professionals looking for business tips or clients interested in the decorating process, the inquiries [from] others repeatedly asking them for advice… demonstrated that there was a viable interest in their experience, which in turn meant that there was an opportunity to share—and monetize—their acumen in a more official capacity.”

This has led to many of these designers to offer workshops or courses, including online training, teleseminars, and/or webinars.

“I wasn’t interested in offering individual business coaching,” says Sandra Funk, who founded the Montclair, New Jersey-based interior design firm House of Funk in 2005. “But I didn’t want to ignore the hunger that I saw for this type of content, which was about sharing the real details on things like how to price a job or what language should be in your contract.” In April, after 18 months of planning, Funk launched The Interior Design Standard, an online business program for interior designers, Chouinard explained.

From eDesigner to eDesign Training

From Facebook Groups to one-on-one and group coaching, these designers are being creative in their responses to the pandemic-induced shutdowns we have all experienced this year. Interestingly, this also includes how to start an e-business about, and for, interior designers.

As an offshoot of her digital design service, eDesign Tribe, designer Jenna Gaidusek launched eDesignU, a platform for independent e-designers. “I launched the eDesign Tribe Facebook group in 2018 and decided to put together a course soon after,” says the Gainesville, Florida–based designer, who has been operating an online-only design firm since 2015. “There was so obviously a lack of information on how to start a virtual business or how to incorporate digital design into existing firms.”

In a slightly meta twist, [rather than merely offering how-to courses on setting up a virtual design platform], there is now even an eDesignU class that teaches designers how to create their own online classes, something Gaidusek collaborated with interior design business consultant Leslie Carothers to produce. “We saw that course as a way to incorporate other voices on the site,” explains Gaidusek. “Once designers knew this was something they could do on their own, they could create their own courses that we could host on eDesignU.”

Can you think of ways to combine the ideas from the first half of this post with those of the second? Perhaps you could offer homeowners some training on the design process on a “pay what you can” basis, as a way to build a future client list? Just a thought.

With all of these thoughts in mind, Ted remains available for business consulting support to interior designers and furnishing store owners. Whether virtual or facemask-to-facemask, with more than 25 years' experience in the luxury furnishings industry and through all sorts of economic crises and natural disasters, he should be able to help you cope with all the changing trends and priorities.

To get in touch with Ted, or for more design trends, business tips, and marketing ideas… Get in touch with TD Fall today.