695: Kate Rasmussen: Breaking into New Interior Design Projects

Today with Kate Rasmussen:

Welcome to A Well-Designed Business. Today, we’re talking about how to take on new projects—specifically projects that you don’t have experience or expertise in. It can seem almost impossible to break into new avenues in your business. But with the right strategy in place, you can find and land new projects, even without the specific expertise in that area. I’m joined by Kate Rasmussen of Wade Weissmann Architecture, who has quite a bit of experience doing just that!

Pick it apart:

• • [1:16] Kate talks about putting together pricing and proposals when jumping into brand new types of projects.
  • [9:50] LuAnn and Kate discuss how to successfully manage new projects without having the systems and processes in place. 
  • [18:07] LuAnn and Kate talk about the importance of designing with your client’s budget in mind. 
  • [32:25] Kate shares how to find growth opportunities for your firm. 
  • [45:55] Kate gives her insight on how to develop relationships with architects.

LuAnn and Amy Lynn Allard’s Ah-Ha moments:

“When you’re breaking into a new market, you’re probably not going to hit the same profitability margin, but you also don’t want it to hit the bottom line too hard, especially when it’s a much larger project.” -Kate Rasmussen

 

“We analyze at the end of a project what went well, what didn’t go well, from design to schedule to communication, and then at the heart of it, profitability.” -Kate Rasmussen

 

“It does attest to the power of relationships, that it’s not a transaction, it’s a conversation, it’s a friendship, it’s a relationship. You’re not necessarily calling them to ask them to show you or teach you or help you propose this. You’re calling on a colleague that you know has done a project of similar style or scale and you’re picking their brain about that project— what were the pitfalls, the challenges, what did you not know before you started.” -LuAnn Nigara

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The Power Talk Friday Tour at High Point

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