Happy Thursday interior designers and small business owners!

Remember when I told you about that designer whose clients were driving her nuts?

Too many texts. Too many revisions. Too much work outside scope.

Waaay too much work she wasn’t getting paid for.

The diagnosis was: This wasn’t a “bad-client” problem. It was an onboarding problem.

So what did we actually change?

No, we did not make her contract scarier. It was already a brick wall of legalese. 😂

What we DID do was look at every client behavior she kept having to correct, and every policy she kept having to defend, explain or charge for once projects were underway, and ask:

Could the client have understood this BEFORE the project began?

That led us to clarify things like:

• What was and wasn’t included
• When additional work became an additional fee
• How communication should happen
• What the client was responsible for
• What happened when plans changed

Basically, we stopped asking Future Her to suddenly become a boundary-enforcing badass every time something went sideways. 😂

Instead, we made the expectations clearer before anyone had a chance to cross them.

Because yes, you need to hold your boundaries.

But first, your client has to know the boundary exists. 💡

I wrote about what we changed, and why your contract shouldn’t be doing all the heavy lifting, over on LinkedIn:

[ If You Keep Having to Hold Boundaries, You May Be Establishing Them Too Late → ]

If you're ready to fix what we fixed for her, she did it inside Contact to Contract.

Remember, this work isn't about getting more clients to sign.

It's about getting clients ready to be great partners in the design process so you can deliver your best work.

The next cohort kicks off Oct 5.

In six short weeks, you'll rebuild your onboarding process from first client contact to signed contract, so expectations, scope, communication & responsibilities are clear before the project ever begins. 🚀

Have a great weekend!

I'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday, writing from... Slovenia!! 🤩

💛 Rebecca

✨ JOIN ME FOR ✨

Next Contact to Contract Client Onboarding Bootcamp: October 5.

And I'll see you at KBIS in Vegas!

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Well, hello there — have we met?

I’m Rebecca West. I help residential interior designers feel seriously confident about their marketing, sales, and client onboarding.

Everything I teach comes from running my firm, Seriously Happy Homes, for 17 years. Between 2007 and 2023, my team and I helped over 2,000 clients transform their small, tired houses into happy homes. 💛 Our work, and my book Happy Starts at Home, was featured on TV’s New Day, in The Wall Street Journal, Live Happy Magazine, Success Magazine, & beyond!

Then, in 2023, I closed my design studio and moved to Paris, and, a couple of years later, to the south of France. ( 🤩 !! )

As a coach, consultant, and gal-who's-been-there, I'm here to help the next generation of creative, hardworking, detail-oriented interior designers get found, get great clients, and get paid like a pro!

Let’s make it happen for you!

​Courses • Podcast • Book • Instagram​

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Seriously Happy Coaching & Consulting
10002 Aurora Ave N, Suite 36-513, Seattle, WA 98133
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