#193 - Design Dreams, Not Disasters: Why Systems Matter for Interior Designers, with Beth Bieske
What separates a flourishing business from a floundering one?
It’s the often-overlooked systems and processes that run in the background.
This week I sat down with Beth Bieske, from More Time To Design, to share how you can design processes that don’t just support your business, but elevate it to the next level. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by the amount of tasks your juggling, this is the episode you can't afford to miss.
Many people think of systems as merely a 'nice to have’, but, as Beth pointed out, success is often lost without them. Whether it's expanding your team or gaining more personal time, the key is your systems and processes. Without them, you may very well be stuck in a loop, never quite advancing.
If this sounds overwhelming, systems don’t need to be elaborate of complicated to be effective. In fact, the simpler the better. Take for example the "pre-client process," which smooths out the process from initial inquiry to a signed contract. This often neglected step won't just save time; it reduces the mental strain of overthinking every new client engagement.
Picture this: an inquiry lands in your inbox. With a strong system in place, you're armed with ready-made templates that guide the potential client journey smoothly from discovery to contract signing. Beth shares that knowing your next step, at every stage, brings an incomparable peace of mind and boosts productivity.
Importantly, these systems are not just about improving efficiency—they are about elevating client experience. When you roll out the red carpet for clients and exceed their expectations, they become your biggest fans and recommend you to their crowd. Who wouldn’t want that?
Many designers Beth encounters tend to overcomplicate their processes. Instead, she suggests keeping it simple and clear. Start by thinking about how you'd explain your process to someone else, and avoid reinventing the wheel. Say your process out loud—does it sound too convoluted? If so, it's time to streamline.
So as the holiday season draws in, take a moment to think about the processes in your own business. If there's a task that you dread or one that seems disorganised, that’s your signal to implement a streamlined system, or possibly even outsource it. Time saved here can be used to focus on the creative aspects you love.
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[00:00:00] Tracey: Welcome back everyone. And welcome to another episode of the Rise Up in Business podcast. Today, I'm diving into one of my very favorite topics, which is processes and systems in business, I'm joined today by my guest, Beth Bieske from more time to design. I'm So delighted to have Beth along today.
Beth is an interior designer and she has. many years in the industry, in the context of running her own business, but also for the many years she spent as the general manager for a leading interior design business in Australia. Today, Beth and I are going to dive into
what really good processes and systems can look like for interior designers. And we're going to explore the difference between a business that has strong processes and systems and a business that doesn't. What I love about Beth and her unique perspective on this is that she addresses the fact that success looks different for every business owner.
she then focuses on being a realist, that whatever success looks like for you and your business, you're not going to get there if you don't have proper processes and systems. It's that simple. And I love that about Beth's very direct view on these things.
And we're going to deep dive into that and talk about why that is so, and what it means to have. Really good processes and systems in place for an interior design business. Let's dive into the episode. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And I'll be back here with you at the end. Hello, Beth, welcome to the podcast.
[00:01:58] Beth: Thanks, Tracy, for having me.
[00:02:00] Tracey: Oh, it's a pleasure. And we've been spending so much time together talking. So I just know that this episode is going to deliver so much value for business owners and listeners. So I'm so delighted that we've got a chance to have this conversation around one of my favorite topics and incidentally, one of yours.
Solid processes and systems in business. I talk about this a lot on the podcast and I know you talk about this a lot on your podcast. You're going to bring it a fresh perspective because mine's always around setting yourself up for success, be legally protected and all the things. Let's shift the lenses and look at this through your area of expertise. ,
[00:02:39] Beth: for those of you who don't know me, I am an interior designer with the 15 odd years experience. Gosh, that makes me sound old.my experience has been more on the business side of interior design alongside the design path through, , running my own business, but also being general manager for one of Australia's leading interior designers and all of that experience has really brought me to see the difference between a business that has good.
Strong systems and processes in place and a business that doesn't. And so often people think that systems and processes, uh,almost a nice to have, or they don't really understand why they are so crucial. And one of the things that like is really quite fundamental is. Whatever growth and success means for you in your business, for some people, that's going to be building out a large team for other people.
It's going to be only having to work three days a week, whatever success means for you. If you don't have systems and processes in place, then you're not going to achieve it. It's as basic as that. And so often I see designers come out of design school or come out of working from a studio and they set up their own business and they are phenomenal designers and they are absolutely hopeless at the business side, the systems and processes.
So, the thing that I will talk about every day is. How important they are, but also how they don't need to be complicated. It doesn't need to be overwhelming. You just need to have them in place and to start, and that they're a living, breathing thing. It's not set and forget. You don't do them once , you work at it over time.
[00:04:27] Tracey: So it sounds like they're a lifeline of the business.
[00:04:30] Beth: They really are.
[00:04:31] Tracey: and what got you here won't get you there. So when we talk up leveling and I have this conversation with my clients a lot, as I'm sure you do, I've gotten this far in my business, but now it's time to go to the next level where I'm ready for the next season and I want to grow.
The first thing I do. is let's look at the processes and systems and see whether you've got the infrastructure set up so that you can grow and up level and move into that next season. I talk about this a lot in the context of risk mitigation, my experience, creatives don't have a huge appetite for risk.
So let's remove as much risk as we possibly can, but they all want to be able to work in a way that they enjoy in a way that lights them up because no one wants to be bogged down with the This is where the magic of processes and systems comes up again. what is it that actually is a really great process set up? What's an example? What does one look like? So if someone's thinking, well, I don't know if I've got good processes, what are some of the things that they need to consider in this context?
[00:05:28] Beth: So one of the, processes that I think is a good place to start if you don't have one, but it's also one that designers quite often feel overwhelmed and confused and muddled by. And that is the process that you take. I call it the pre client process. So from that initial inquiry through to sign contracts, deposit paid.
Client is booked in. The reason why I think a lot of designers struggle with it is because during that phase, you are actually not an interior designer. You are head of sales, salesperson mode. That's mindset you need to be in. The product that you're selling is your services as an interior designer.
So having a process and systems in place where, you know, exactly that lead comes in, you know, exactly what the next step is in that, process and the steps that follow from that, you understand the email scripts, the document that you send to that email. Is it a face to face call? Like, what are those next steps?
That is something where if you have a strong system and process in place, you can do it with your eyes shut. And the thing that comes from that is that it removes time because you're not having to think about it every single time. So you're saving time, but it also is saving emotional energy.
And that is such a big part of being a studio owner. If you're a working parent or whatever your life circumstances is, so much of having a strong system and process in place is that it not only saves you physical time, but it just saves you mental energy because you can almost go into automatic mode.
You're not having to think about what the next step is. So client phase is one where I think It's a really great place to start building out your systems and processes, because ultimately if we can't convert an inquiry into a client, then we just have a hobby, we don't have a business.
[00:07:29] Tracey: I love that. You're absolutely right. Going just a little deeper into that, if someone's listening and thinking, well, yeah, I've got a process because clients get referred to me or they send me an email from my website or Instagram say, and I jump on a call with them and then we work out what they need and then we go to the next step.
Well, that's my process. That's a process, isn't it? To that, I would say that makes me nervous because that's all very casual. Can you share an example of say a four or five step process from, initial inquiry to say, issuing a proposal? And what are some of the examples?
What are some of the things there? Touch point.
[00:08:05] Beth: Yeah. one of the things when your process is a bit loose like that, that's when you come unstuck. And I have a personal example with all of my experience. This still happens that there was a someone who inquired, and for a whole heap of reasons, I didn't put them into the process.
The start the process. And I just kind of went along with the flow and very much let her drive the process or what was happening. it was a disaster and it took up so much time, so much energy and was totally unnecessary all because she didn't, I didn't make her stick to the process. So, I think that's kind of like an example of what can happen. The way that I think a great process works is like you have that initial inquiry and. Knowing how you capture that inquiry is also really important so that it's not like, if you get it, if it's an inquiry form on your website, how was that captured? How are you reading that? And it's interesting you said about like a call or an email, like an Instagram inquiry.
The first thing that I see designers get unstuck is that they go, Oh, okay. They've kind of started now, like in the third part of the process. And it's like, no, if you get an inquiry from Instagram, just say to them, Hey, can you go and fill out my inquiry form on my website? Because that's going to allow me to capture all your details easily.
So making sure that it doesn't matter where the inquiry comes from. You're always putting them in at the start of the process so that you don't miss that key information. With that inquiry, I always have some kind of initial questions. It doesn't need to be their life story on the project, but have some initial questions where you can really easily screen that and go, actually, this is not right for me.
This is not the right project. It's too small of a scope or whatever. The next step in that process is by having some email templates set up. So if it's the right kind of client and you want to proceed, you've got email template one, and you know, you just copy and paste that and you send it out and you have a document that you send out with that and that document is your capability document.
It's a very visual document. It's starting to show the prospective client, what you're capable of and the transformation that you can take them on. you're really building their excitement about working with you.
So, by the time they get to the point where they're seeing the numbers and what your fee is, it is a no brainer. They're like. I don't care what the money is. I want to work with you. I can't imagine doing this without you. So that's the other part of this. Like, it's not just random higgledy piggledy, you've intentionally building their excitement through this process.
so you get the initial inquiry, great. That you want to work with them. So you send them one email, but say it's like, you don't, Want to work with them or they're the wrong client you have another email template that you can just quickly copy in send it Off and you might have four or five designers that you recommend.
You've got that somewhere stored So, you know, okay great. This designer is in this area. It's this inquiry boom. So once again, you're saving time It's really easy. It's something that you can outsource if you need to You're not wasting emotional energy going, Oh God, like I've got to get back to that person.
Like, you know, we all procrastinate around stuff we don't want to do. So having that kind of process where you kind of, okay, you've got that initial inquiry, you've now dealt with it in the way it's progressing down the chain. And then it's a quick call, a 15 minute call. And this is once again is another screening device.
It really allows you to work with people. As much for them to get to know you, as it is you to get to know them. Because so often we just assume they're going to be like, they're a client. They're going to be right. And so often they're not the right fit for many reasons. And so then from there, you're going to have a more detailed process document that you're going to send out.
You're going to start talking about the process that you'll take them through the, for the project. The language of that document needs to match the language that you were using in your capability document. But that language also then needs to be matching the language you're using your fee proposal.
So you're making the clients more excited about it, but you're also educating them throughout this process of how you will work with them. And so this process continues and there's a few more steps and all of that kind of stuff. But really the key things is about. You're very intentional in your process.
It's not ad hoc, it's not reactive, it is building emotional excitement and educating the client about what's to come. And it's showing how professional you are. It means that you can reply in a timely manner, just all of the things that we can come unstuck with if we don't have that process in place.
[00:12:52] Tracey: I'm loving all of this, Beth. It's exciting me just listening to it because it's ticking all the boxes that I think are really important to set the creative up for success. And I love the crystal clear clarity, you're managing expectations and how you want to work. So the client knows how you're going to work with them and what you're going to deliver.
And they're getting a taste of the experience. And I'm loving the focus here on building the excitement.that's very much what I like to help clients work towards when they're issuing their T's and C's with their fee proposal.
You want to get to the end of that when clients are busting to work with you. And That's what you're saying here is to build that excitement so that when it gets to the numbers, Oh my gosh, I can't imagine doing this without you. That's magic.
[00:13:41] Beth: I
think one of the things that designers struggle to communicate to these kind of inquiries is how much work is involved. There's a lot that isn't understood about the level of detail that we go in. They're kind of like, Oh, you can just sketch it out and pick a tap and fluff a cushion kind of thing.
So, it's so intentional because you are trying to, through these documents and through this process, show that client how much work is involved to get to the end product. So, you know, we talk about in the capability document, it is a very visual document, but it's not just pretty pictures.
Because. It's very hard for someone who isn't in our industry or hasn't done a build project before to really appreciate how you got to those pretty pictures at the end. And so in that capability document, you're not only showing the completed project, But you're showing snippets of how you got there, talking about, this was a house, a floor plan that wasn't functioning for a growing family.
And we did this and this to get to there, and showing snippets of some of the documents they might receive along the way. And then the process document, it's not just like, here are my three steps. It's a detailed stepping out around, this is what's involved in this stage, this is how long it will take. We expect feedback in a timely manner so that we can continue on the project. And so often you kind of get pushback from designers like, Oh, I can't say that. I can't do this kind of thing. It's like, well, You can, because you're running a business, but also you just need to say it from the start and have it in your documents and go, we expect feedback in a timely manner.
If we don't, there'll be delays to your project, because then what happens is when the client comes back to you and says, you're causing a delay on my project because the documentation isn't ready, you can say, actually, if you remember back to my proposal and my contracts, we stated that we needed feedback
within seven working days or whatever it is kind of thing, it gives you power and it gives you authority when you need it because you are going to need it at some point. But it also means that you kind of feel confident in what you're saying. So, being able to go back and say, if you recall in those documents that we sent you, or we talked about in the proposal stage.
It was clearly stated there. It also comes down to like revisions. I so often see designers going, I don't know how to manage revisions. They've come back to me for more revisions and I don't know what to do. if you state clearly, once again, in your documents thatyou get three revisions and then after that, it's charged at an hourly rate or however you want to set it up.
it just really gives you so much more credibility and so much more power in the relationship.
[00:16:24] Tracey: I love that so, so much. And again, managing expectations and setting yourself up for success with clients. And I really resonate with what you said at the beginning, Beth, which is our bandwidth where business owners were wearing all the hats and doing all the things, the emotional toll.
That it takes mentally on having to make these decisions and reinvent the wheel. Every time we're onboarding a new client or every time we want to pitch for a piece of work and we have to go back. , it's exhausting and the refreshing thing about what you're saying. So it's not just love processes and systems because Tracy says to. but it's be kind to yourself, support and nurture the business with processes and systems that work right from the first touch point, right through to onboarding the client. They've said yes to your fee proposal, then service delivery. And like I often say, if you do this well, You are setting yourself up not only to meet client expectations, but to exceed them.
And you find yourself then with a very happy client, a beautiful testimonial, and you've just guaranteed word of mouth referrals for your business. And that is every small business owner's dream. So,
that in itself is just another reason as to why spending the time to get your processes and systems right is so important.
Tell me though. Whilst you and I talk about this because it's second nature and you can run through that beautiful example and thank you for sharing that because I think that's really helpful as a practical step by step of what one can look like. Do you see designers who overcomplicate their processes and systems?
[00:18:00] Beth: Absolutely. and so often they overcomplicate it in their mind before they've even started. And they're like, I'm going to need to do this and I'm going to need to have all of this stuff. And it's like, no, you really don't. the best way of thinking about it is like, if I had to explain how for someone else to do it, how would I do it?
And it's just getting started is the process, like is the hurdle, but then once they're in there, it's kind of like, Oh gosh, I've got all of this other stuff that kind of feeds into it.
But I think if you have a mindset of I'm going to add to this, I'm going to grow these. And it's going to really improve my business. You can kind of get over that
[00:18:43] Tracey: I like what you've said about how would you say it to somebody else? So I teach law students, I, well, spend a lot of time teaching, but I still teach every now and then when I'm invited to UNSW to teach, but one of the things I always say to them iswhen you're preparing your submissions, say it out loud.
[00:18:58] Beth: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:18:59] Tracey: matters, say it out loud and they do, and it improves, but with your processes and systems. Just say it out loud. What's your process from touch point to,to onboarding, for example. And when you hear yourself say it, my husband would attest to this. I'm very much a, I get clarity when I speak I'm that person, which can be very frustrating in this household sometimes.
But as I hear myself, sometimes I stop and go, yeah, I heard it. I heard how ridiculous that sounds. I heard it. So it really can help. And if you're saying it out loud, this is my onboarding process. Sometimes. You will hear yourself talking, oh, holy dooly, that actually, I don't quite understand that. That sounds really complicated.
And then you can get clarity that way too, , keep it simple. It doesn't need to be a bigger than Ben Hur exercise, so long as it's aligned and it does all of the right things.
[00:19:46] Beth: So often when you go through the process. It's, It's important to look at the guidance and the process of setting up this these systems you start to realize where the holes are in maybe the documents that you have, or the way that you explain something, or you kind of go, gosh, I send that same email all the time.
Can I have a template for it? What ends up happening is you kind of almost go, Oh, well, there's more things that I need to do, but it all kind of makes sense and it all kind of flows together. And so that's why I always think starting at the start with how to, take a lead from a lead to a client is a great place to start, because that's really going to show you where you kind of need to go.
I say to designers really often, could someone come in and run your business without you being there?
the answer's usually always no.
And that's okay. think about where you want the business to go. How do you want it to grow? Do you want to take on staff? Like all of those things.
And if it's all in your head, it's never going to go anywhere. You're constantly going to be either answering staff members emails or doing the same thing over and over. and so, yeah, you kind of, you just got to have that mindset. I've got to get this information out of my head. What is the best way for me to do it?
For some people that'll be doing lots of screen recordings and lots of videos for other people, it'll be physically writing it down, whatever way you do it.
[00:21:13] Tracey: That's such a good way of looking at it. Could somebody else run it? Even if you don't want them to, that's not the test. It's could they to help you with your processes and systems? that's a little nugget of gold right there, Beth. So as this, as people are listening to this podcast, we are edging closer and closer to the end of the year.
I'm not going to add to the often very stressful period for a lot of people, but what I like to do at the beginning of a new year is look at things with fresh eyes and new season, new chapter, new year, all the things. And if listeners are listening to this thinking, Oh yes, I'm pretty sure I've got some work to do in my processes and systems.
Where do I start coming into the new year? That could be an amazing time to sit down and take stock of where you're at. What would you suggest to somebody, is a couple of things to look out for, to identify, we really need to do some work on this. So I really need to get some help with this when they're considering their processes and systems at some relaxed time in January, hopefully with, with, um,
fresh eyes.
[00:22:10] Beth: they're by the, beach and they're, you know, so
I always think the biggest kind of red light that there is something that you need to work on is if there is something that you procrastinate about every single time it comes up, that usually means that one, you don't like doing it, it's difficult or complicated to do, and therefore that combination is mostly the best thing that you could outsource. So to outsource something successfully, you need to be able to show the person who's going to do it for you, how you want it done. Now, it might be that it's outsourcing something to a va, or it might be that you are outsourcing to a bookkeeper or whatever it is, regardless of who you are, outsourcing this task to, you need to be able to show them.
Where do you keep your documentation that the bookkeeper might need? how do you want your emails to be responded to? If you are having someone come in and do inbox management for you? If you are someone who's doing your social media for you, how do you want that tone? Do you have some assets and documents that you want to be using, some branding that you are using?
So if there is that, that's usually the first thing that I would look at in terms of. If it's a pain point for you, because pain points take up more time than they need to, they are big kind of like full stops on your progress, find that pain point and put a system around it. So that you can outsource it because you're going to give yourself back so much time, but you're also going to free up mental space because you're not going to be worried about it.
and that is usually a really great spot to start. And I think sometimes you get to like, you kind of put up with it for too long. It's kind of like, if you've got, a pebble in your shoe and you kind of like, oh, It's fine. It's fine. It's fine. And then you kind of usually get to the end of the year and you'll either have like.
No social media done because you just fed up with it or your bookkeeping will be, months and months behind. Like you usually get to the end of the year and there's usually a verybig telltale sign as to the thing that you've put off and you've procrastinated about. So I think that's a really great place to start in the new year and go, okay.
And it doesn't have to be a huge investment financially. It doesn't have to be a huge process, but sometimes those little things can make all the difference.
[00:24:42] Tracey: That's so wise. As you were saying that I've thought of two things that I procrastinate on a lot and That's going to be my January task now to think about what I'm going to do about that. But as you were talking, I thought, Oh, actually, that's gold. It's genius in itself. Those are the things. That's how we know.
I loved that. Thank you, Beth, for sharing that. Look, this has been an amazing conversation. Thank you so much for coming on. I've enjoyed this so much. And I just know that the value that listeners are going to get from hearing us have this conversation. And it's just a really refreshing, different perspective on the value of solid processes and systems in business, rather than just hear me bang on about it all the time.
[00:25:18] Beth: All the time, Beth, if listeners want to look you up and follow along on your content and your podcast, where will they find you? And can you share details of your podcast as well?So, on Instagram, I am more time to design and on my website as well. And the podcast is the design dialogues podcast, where we chat each week to designers or other people that help us run our businesses better, Tracy, I know you're coming on, and yeah, people can find me there. And I love,chatting to other designers and about things and, my dams are always open.
So yeah, I'd love to chat.
[00:25:52] Tracey: Thank you so much. And we'll make sure we put those details in the show notes so people can find you very easily. Beth, it's been a pleasure. Thank you so much for coming on.
Okay. Oh gosh. I hope you have taken away as many nuggets of gold from this episode as what I thought you would when I was having this conversation with Beth. One of the big ones is, let's be honest, solid processes and systems really are the lifeline of a business.
Andthe truth is when we're running our businesses. What got us here won't get us there. So we have to accept that. And we have to accept that we need to up level and do things differently in order to accommodate the growth and evolution of a business and allowing a business's processes and systems to grow and evolve with the business is Clearly from what Beth's saying, and you know, I subscribe to this way of thinking, it is a game changer.
So, you know, more now around what great processes and systems can look like. And I really hope that that has crystallized things for you in the context of running the business and that you've taken away, not just clarity, but inspiration to dive in and really focus on. The lifeline in your business, the foundations you have for your processes and systems, and that you've taken away tips on how it is that you can up level as, and when you need to.
as you're working through these types of things in business, please always know that you do not have to be doing this alone. reach out to people like me, reach out to people like Beth.
We are always so happy to help. And as always, I love receiving your feedback from these episodes. So keep it coming. Thank you so much for joining me. I'll catch you next time.
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