What I’d Do Differently If I Started My Studio Again
Starting an interior design studio is funny because you naturally spend a lot of time thinking about the visible bits.
The branding.
The website.
The Instagram grid.
How the proposals look.
What you don’t necessarily think about is:
How is this business actually going to work?
Having now run my own interior design studio, there are definitely things I’d set up differently if I was starting again.
Not because I got everything horribly wrong.
Simply because you don’t know what you don’t know until you’re actually running one.
I’d Sort My Files Before I Had Anything To File
A proper folder structure feels wildly unnecessary when you have one project.
Then you have five.
Then ten.
Suddenly you’ve got folders called FINAL, FINAL NEW and FINAL ACTUALLY FINAL.
If I started again, I’d create the structure first.
Projects. Finance. Marketing. Photography. Templates. Business documents.
And I’d decide how files should be named before everyone invents their own system.
I’d Create Templates Earlier
If you’ve written something twice, there’s a good chance you’ll write it again.
Enquiry responses.
Welcome emails.
Supplier requests.
Meeting follow-ups.
Presentation layouts.
Client documents.
I’d build the repeatable stuff much earlier rather than recreating it every time.
I’d Treat My Website As An Ongoing Job
I’d stop thinking of the website as something you launch and start thinking of it as something you maintain.
Projects need adding.
Services evolve.
Copy changes.
SEO needs attention.
Questions clients ask repeatedly should probably appear somewhere on it.
A website is much more useful when it grows alongside the studio.
I’d Build A Content Library From Day One
Every project generates content.
Site visits. Samples. Sketches. Mood boards. Photography. Behind-the-scenes moments. Client questions.
I’d save and organise all of it properly as I went.
Because finding something to post becomes considerably easier when you’re not starting from a blank Canva page every Tuesday.
I’d Protect Time For My Own Business
This is probably the biggest one.
Client work will always feel more urgent.
So your website, marketing, systems and admin quietly get whatever time is left.
Which is usually none.
If I started again, I’d put my own business into the diary just like a client.
Because running a good studio isn’t only about producing good design.
It’s about building something behind the design that makes doing great work easier.
Wish You’d Set Some Of This Up Earlier Too?
You don’t have to scrap everything and start again.
Studio Sidekick can help you sort the things your studio has outgrown — whether that’s your file structure and systems, website, SEO, content or the general behind-the-scenes organisation that never quite makes it to the top of the list.
Because it’s never too late to make the business behind your design work a little better.