Damn Good Interior Designer

Your client already has a general contractor, so why do they need you?
Cheryl digs into one of the biggest misconceptions about a designer’s role in a renovation and why waiting until it’s time to choose finishes is already too late. From layouts and electrical plans to the hundreds of decisions that affect everything that comes next, the real value of a designer starts long before the pretty stuff. If you’re still selling your value through selections, it may be time to rethink what you’re actually selling.
Have a question--click here to ask us.
Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review
RESOURCE LINKS:
Damn Good Workshops - Website
View our upcoming workshops!
These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.
Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.
Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website
The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching
Join our FREE Facebook Groups
Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
Subscribe to our newsletter

ABOUT US:
Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.
***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Should your designers earn a commission, bonus, or a share of the profit?
In this Asked & Answered episode, Cheryl breaks down how to build an incentive plan that rewards the behavior you actually want inside your firm. She explains why bonuses should be based on profit instead of total sales, how participation should affect the percentage, and why a simple system helps team members think more like owners. Because revenue may look impressive, but profit is what stays in the bank.
Have a question--click here to ask us.
Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review
RESOURCE LINKS:
Damn Good Workshops - Website
View our upcoming workshops!
These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.
Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.
Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website
The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching
Join our FREE Facebook Groups
Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
Subscribe to our newsletter

ABOUT US:
Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.
***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Cheryl has spent 25 years building systems around the way her design firm actually works. So what happens when AI suddenly gives her the ability to build the software around those systems, too?
In this episode, Cheryl shares what happened when one irritating business problem turned into building her own app through “vibe coding,” what she’s learned along the way, and why knowing your processes matters more than knowing how to code. AI can help you build almost anything, but it will also happily automate a bad process.
Have a question--click here to ask us.
Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review
RESOURCE LINKS:
Damn Good Workshops - Website
View our upcoming workshops!
These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.
Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.
Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website
The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching
Join our FREE Facebook Groups
Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
Subscribe to our newsletter

ABOUT US:
Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.
***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

When clients ask questions or make requests that rub you the wrong way, it doesn’t always mean they’re trying to take advantage of you. Sometimes, they simply don’t understand what designers actually do. In this Designer Drama episode, Cheryl explains why designers need to get better at communicating their value instead of constantly protecting it and why your value can’t rest on gatekeeping sources.
Have a question--click here to ask us.
Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review
RESOURCE LINKS:
Damn Good Workshops - Website
View our upcoming workshops!
These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.
Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.
Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website
The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching
Join our FREE Facebook Groups
Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
Subscribe to our newsletter

ABOUT US:
Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.
***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Little did we know our Pricing and Salary Survey results were going to give us great nuggets of information that we could share for many future podcasts to come! One of the biggest challenges we found designers face is defining their product. Too often, “full-service design” means something different to every designer—and that inconsistency makes it nearly impossible to set confident fees, manage scope, or show clients the real value of design work. The secret lies in creating clear deliverables with a written scope of work, and structured meeting agendas that are always advancing the project. If you are not keeping track of your time--as many do not--this reveals where designers tend to undervalue themselves. You must trust in the value of your own work--define it, control it, manage expectations, and most importantly, position yourself as the expert in the room.

Have a question--click here to ask us.
Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review
RESOURCE LINKS:
Damn Good Workshops - Website
View our upcoming workshops!
These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.
Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.
Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website
The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program
The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching
Join our FREE Facebook Groups
Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
Subscribe to our newsletter

ABOUT US:
Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.
***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***