What I Actually Talked About at a Room Full of Interior Designer Founders (And Why It Got Real Fast)

I was invited to speak at an IRL mastermind for interior designer founders recently. A room full of incredibly talented, creative women building real businesses — and I got to be part of the conversation.

We covered a lot of ground. But if I'm being honest, it wasn't really just about branding or websites or SEO. It was about what's underneath all of that. The stuff nobody puts on their services page.

Here's what we actually talked about.

Content That Works With Your Life & Your Business Strategy

One of the things I hear most from founders is that content feels like a second full-time job. And I get it — because when you're doing it without a strategy, it kind of is.

But here's what changes everything: understanding that each platform has a different job to do — and you don't have to do all of them at once.

Instagram is the hello. It's where people discover you, fall in love with your work, and decide you're the kind of person they want in their corner. Warm, visual, personality-driven.

Your website is the closer. This is where the sale actually happens. Instagram gets people curious — your website makes them book. This is why you cannot build your entire business on Instagram. You don't own it. The algorithm changes, the platform shifts, and suddenly, the audience you spent years building is harder to reach. Your website? That's yours. Forever.

Your blog builds authority. Long-form content positions you as the expert (and can be repurposed for IG, Threads, Pinterest and more). It answers the questions your dream clients are already Googling. It works for you 24 hours a day without you having to post a single Story. And it feeds your SEO, which feeds your website, which closes the deal.

Your newsletter is the long game. It's where your most loyal community lives — the people who chose to hear from you directly. These are your future clients, your referral sources, your word-of-mouth engine. You own this list. No algorithm can take it away.

You don't have to do all of this at once. But understanding how these pieces work together means you stop throwing content at the wall and start building something that actually compounds over time.

Strategic. Brand-aligned. Built around your life — not the other way around.

Branding that Goes Beyond

When founders hear "branding," they usually think logo. Colour palette. A pretty mood board.

And yes — those things matter. But branding is really about one question: when your dream client finds you, does what they see match how good you actually are?

For a lot of interior designers, the answer is no. Not because their work isn't exceptional. Because their brand is still reflecting who they were three years ago. Before the bigger projects. Before the referrals. Before they levelled up.

Here's the thing most people miss when they invest in branding: they brand for today. Where they are right now. The clients they're currently serving, the price point they're currently at, and the version of their business that exists in this moment.

But the best brands are built with the next 20 years in mind.

What do you want this business to look like in five years? Ten? What kind of projects do you want to be known for? What do clients say about you when you're not in the room? Your brand should be laying the groundwork for all of that — right now. Not once you've "made it." Now.

The Interior Designers who build brands with this in mind are the ones who don't have to rebrand every two years. They build once, deeply and intentionally, and then they grow into it.

Your brand should be chasing who you're becoming — not holding hands with who you used to be.

Your Website is Your Hardest-Working Employee

Your website isn't just a place to put your portfolio. It's your biggest business asset. It should be the closer. The thing that takes a warm lead and turns them into a booked client before you've even had a conversation. When someone finds you on Instagram, loves your work, and clicks your link, your website should seal the deal.

That means building trust before a single email is sent. Answering questions before they're asked. Making your ideal client feel like they've already found their person. Like they'd be crazy to go anywhere else.

It also means meeting them where they are — not just listing your services and hoping they figure out which one applies to them. Think about it from their perspective: they land on your site already a little overwhelmed. They know they need help, they're just not sure what kind. So instead of a generic services page, guide them. On my own site, I don't list services anymore. I ask a question: Are you ready to scale? That button takes them to our done-for-you offerings. Are you looking for clarity first? That button takes them to our audits and strategy sessions. Everyone lists their services. What makes you different is making your potential client feel understood before they even reach out.

We also talked about SEO. I know — eyes glaze over. But here's the simple version: if your dream client is Googling "interior designer in [your city]" and you're not showing up, someone else is getting that inquiry. That's it. That's the whole argument for caring about it. But that said, you still have to keep your copy human.

AI is a Tool, Not a Replacement for your Voice

This came up, and I had feelings about it.

AI is genuinely useful. I use it. A lot of us do. But there's a difference between using AI to support your voice and outsourcing your voice to AI entirely.

AI is like the world's smartest co-op student. Eager, resourceful, fast. It can research, draft, brainstorm, and organize like nobody's business. But it doesn't know your clients the way you do. It doesn't have your eye, your instincts, your 10 years of understanding why a space feels the way it feels. You still have to be the one leading.

The way to use AI well? Train it on your brand. Upload your brand style guide, your copy notes, your bio, your client testimonials, your brand voice document — anything and everything that captures who you are and how you communicate. The more context you give it, the more useful it becomes. It stops generating generic content and starts generating a solid first draft that actually sounds like you.

Then you put yourself back into it. Your specific opinions, your references, your actual personality. Because your clients hire YOU. Your perspective, your aesthetic, your way of seeing a space. The moment your content starts sounding like everyone else's — polished, clean, a little flat — you've lost the thing that made people want to work with you in the first place. Use AI to go faster. Not to disappear.

The Female Founder Piece

Imposter syndrome. Shrinking ourselves. Charging less than we're worth because we're terrified someone will say, "Who do you think you are?"

This isn't a mindset problem. It's a pattern. And it shows up in our brands more than we realize — in the way we write about ourselves, in the services we're afraid to promote, in the prices we set when no one's looking.

The most powerful thing I said in that room — and I'll say it here too — is this: the client who needs you most is waiting for you to stop hiding. Your brand is either inviting them in or keeping them at arm's length.

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If any of this landed for you, I'd love to connect. Whether you're an interior designer, a creative founder, or just someone who knows their brand, website or even their strategy isn't doing them justice — my door is open.

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