FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ll keep posting answers to some of the questions we typically receive.  Please be sure to email us at info@designsuccessu.com if you don’t see an answer to your specific inquiry.

How can I get the most out of DSU and what do you have to offer?

If you’re a solo practitioner or small firm design firm owner (Designpreneur), you’re not alone any more.  If you’re looking for advice, solutions, strategies and support to help you take your interior design business to the next level, Welcome Home!

We’re experienced interior designers, and we truly understand the challenges and pitfalls of your chosen profession. We’re constantly researching, learning and simplifying the latest information from the overwhelming glut of noise on the Internet to save you time and money. You’ll learn practical techniques from innovative marketing experts and consultants that will help you transform your business and your mindset so you can achieve your dreams.

Here are some of the classes and programs we offer:

• Design Mastermind with supportive peers from non-competitive markets. Renew your enthusiasm for design, get fresh ideas and solutions to difficult challenges, and connect with 3 compassionate friends. 10 week sessions limited number of groups (Sessions start January 18th, 2010, April (date TBD), September (date TBD) – Open to all levels of experience.
• Value Based Fees – learn how to change your relationship with clients and become a trusted advisor.  You’ll easily differentiate your message from your competitors, simplify and transform your unique brand message, gain confidence, reduce conflict and increase the profits in your business. (Sessions start January 25th, 2010, April (date TBD), September (date TBD) – Minimum of 2 years of experience.
• Marketing Intensive – We currently offer two 10-week series with five innovative marketing experts and five group coaching sessions each will help you learn and easily apply the latest techniques, stay ahead of your competition and become the go-to professional interior designer in your market. (Two tracks starting in February 2010 – date TBD) – Open to all experience levels.
• Business Mastery Membership – remove the constraints to your success, learn about the latest marketing strategies, develop a clear and concise blueprint for your business, learn how to budget for profit, and learn the latest cost-effective social media strategies, business management techniques and powerful time management triage principles. Need answers about contracts, fees, client management or the latest software for our industry? Get your burning questions answered in the live monthly Q & A sessions.  This ongoing membership keeps you up-to-date with the latest marketing, time management and business management strategies. (This membership is $37 per month, and includes the interior design classes they don’t teach in interior design colleges.) – Open to all experience levels.
• Ultimate Interior Design Business Blueprint – Gail Doby’s comprehensive eBook uncovers the hidden secrets of running a successful interior design business.  This book is ideal for you whether you are a new or seasoned designer.  This is a practical guide that isn’t like a typical textbook, and it is especially helpful if you don’t have a business degree. (Available now – please click on link on home page for more information.)
• Positioning for Profit – Once your prospect calls, what would it be like to establish your credibility, position yourself as the only designer they want to work with and lead them with a clear-cut process that leaves no doubt that you are the most professional person for their project? You’ll develop your marketing and positioning process that is unique to your business and brand in this class.  Pre-requisite is the Value Based Fee class.  This series is under construction and will be available in 2010. – Open to all experience levels, and particularly recommended if you are thinking of starting your own business, or you are in your early stages.  We’ve had experienced designer that also learn a great deal from this book.
• Social Media Intensive – this series will teach you how to set up and/or enhance your Facebook Fan Page, LinkedIn Profile, Twitter Profile, blog, social bookmarking and YouTube Channel.  You’ll create a mobile profile for your blog, and learn how to use mobile marketing for your business. We’ll share shortcuts so you can post your updates on Facebook so it automatically posts to your other profiles. You’ll establish a clear brand, build traffic to your website or blog and position yourself as a design expert with name recognition and credibility in your market.  You’ll learn how to simplify, automate and outsource most of your daily social media process. We offer optional services to assist you with developing a strategy to establish your unique brand and we’ll help you target your ideal clients, generate traffic to your blog or website and monitor the return on investment of your social media marketing.  This series is under construction and will be available in 2010. Open to all levels of experience.  It is recommended that you have average computer knowledge and interest in innovative ideas.

How do I take the classes?

Classes, series, Design Mastermind and coaching are all delivered by either webcast, webinar or teleseminar.  You can listen from the convenience of your studio, home or car.  If you can’t make the live calls, downloadable MP3 recordings and transcripts are included in the class fees.

I’m interested in your classes and information, but I don’t know where to start.  What do you recommend?

If you sign up on the home page for our Interior Design Fee & Salary Survey eBook, you’re on our Free New IDEAS Membership which includes a weekly newsletter delivered to your inbox.  You can also sign up for our RSS (Real Simple Syndication) feed for new blog posts which is the orange button on the home page below our class offerings.  This sends the latest blog posts to either your email or your online news reader like Yahoo or Google.

White Papers – these are papers that Gail has written about a variety of topics including marketing, business, mindset, social media, business challenges, etc.  We offer these from time to time on LinkedIn, our Facebook Fan Page http://www.Facebook.com/DesignSuccessUniversity and on Twitter.  Be sure to join us at those sites.  You’ll find the links on the home page of this blog.  Keep checking the “Freebies” tab, too.  We include at least one white paper as a bonus for every class series we offer.

Your next step up is the Business Mastery Membership and that includes a Monthly Mentor Class with Gail (second Wednesday of each month at noon Eastern) filled with information to teach you how to run your business more effectively.  This membership is $37 per month and offers checklists, tools, templates, spreadsheets and many other useful resources. Even designers with 30 years of experience find the class to be extremely helpful because Gail introduces new and innovative methods for running your business more efficiently and effectively.  One of the favorite features of this membership is the live Q & A session with Gail & Erin on the third Wednesday of each month at noon Eastern.

Third, we recommend trying one of our series such as the Value Based Fees, Design Mastermind or Marketing Intensive Series I or II. There are links on the home page to more information about these series. Value Based Fees is only recommended for designers with two or more years of experience.

Fourth, the Ultimate Interior Design Business Blueprint is excellent for you if you are new to the business, and even if you are a seasoned designer.  We’ve had Designpreneurs with 20 or more years of experience learn many things from the book.   There is a link on the home page to the book.

Why isn’t the membership login working?

We are getting ready to offer a member’s area on our site, but our membership portal isn’t ready yet.  We hope to have that working by the end of the first quarter 2010.  We’ve been using our email delivery system to provide all of the membership details since January 2009, and it has worked very well.  We’ll keep you posted once this feature is active on our site.

Do you offer CDs or DVDs of your classes?

Not yet.  Most people like downloading to their iPods, iPhones, MP3 players or computers, so we haven’t offered this upgrade.  We’re thinking about it although it would add to the cost of the classes.

What can I expect from being involved with DSU?

We’ll be in touch frequently.  You might feel overwhelmed with emails at first, but we’re doing our best to provide the information you need to get the most out of your experience with us.  Just like design, there are lots of details that we need to communicate with you, so please forgive us if it seems a little much.

You’ll find that we’re really here to support you.  Since we started DSU, we’ve had many members tell us that they are so glad they found us and that they are getting information they never received in interior design classes.  That’s why we created DSU.

Few designers have a business background, and most of the time, they make expensive and time consuming mistakes that could have been avoided had they had the information we’re sharing.  Our goal is to cut years of trial and error and thousands of dollars.  From what our members say, the value we deliver is way beyond the price they pay, and that’s important to us.  Just check out our Rave Reviews tab and you can read about what your peers say.

Even though you don’t have the eyeball to eyeball contact with us, we’re here and we’re real.  Yes, we make mistakes, so we hope you’ll be  understanding as we work to improve what we offer.  We’ll send surveys after each of the classes and we’ll incorporate the changes and suggestions in our programs.

Our goal is to over-deliver, and with that, you’ll probably experience information overload.  Just remember to take 2 – 3 ideas from each session and immediately apply them.  The key is action.  Each designer is at a different place in their learning curve, so we try to provide information for each level within each offering.

Do you offer CEUs?

Not yet.  We really do want to do this, but just like you, we have to focus on priorities.  Our number one priority is getting the information out to you so you can grow your business and remove the obstacles in your way to make it easier and more rewarding. We plan to offer them sometime in 2010 when time permits.

How much should I budget for education each year?

It depends on how much you want to accomplish.  Typically, you’ll want to include a line item in your budget of about 3% of your gross revenue.

If you want to learn steadily Business Mastery Membership, you can expect to invest under $500 per year.

If you’re really motivated, most of our 10-week series are $299.  We often pair the series and offer special discounts when purchased together.  Also, if you are a Business Mastery Member, you will receive an extra discount.