The Studio Tapes Ep1.

the studio tapes are a new sneaky leak of an actual conversation had in my private or group coaching where I share publicly something that helps me or my clients privately. These are Bonus eps and unscripted, unedited and basically unhinged and you'll never know when they will pop up next. Best way to make sure you don't miss them is to hit the + sign and follow the poddy so you never miss a new ep drop. 

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Transcript

0:26

Surprise. Welcome to the very first episode of. Today I just decided that I was going to, for want of a better description, pull back the curtain a little bit. And I have inside of designing success quite a few times, shared some with permission, obviously shared some coaching calls or shared other types of examples of what I bring to my weekly calls with my group coaching programs. I decided that it's my podcast and I can do whatever I like. And today I was chatting to one of my small groups, the Framework Collective, and something came up inside of that I thought, you know what? This is actually something that I think could have wider impact. I actually think it could help more people in the industry, and it may not be right for everyone or anyone's business, but it was a. An approach to edits or an approach to requests for multiple edits or particular clients or pricing. And I had an opportunity to reflect on the sorts of things that I did early in my career, and then the big change that I implemented into my business that I've never really shared publicly. And it's something that Oleander and Finch interior design does differently to everybody else that I. Probably work with or come across. It's also something that I think can help some people out there who are finding their projects are heavily delayed because they're just stuck going back and forth looking at options. So once I had a moment to reflect on it this afternoon, I thought, do you know what? Once or twice a month, I'm just gonna bring out a bonus episode called the Studio Tapes, and I'm just gonna pull out some of these things that I share in private coaching. I spent hours every week coaching so many designers, one-on-one, and sometimes they ask me questions like today's question that invites the kind of answer that I think everybody could learn from. So it just made sense to me. No gatekeeping as always. And I thought, you know what? I can already think of 500 examples that I have recorded already in my files, in the tapes. So let's just start leaking some of the studio tapes. It's not replacing my solo episodes, it will be once or twice a month whenever I get around to it. At my leisure, you'll see a little surprise studio tape episode that comes out. So I'm gonna turn over to the earlier version of today's Me and I want you to have a little listen. Now, the question that was asked, and this scenario that was presented to me is I'm having a little bit of trouble with a client who has taken the idea of edits and back and forth out of hand, like they're just coming back and forth constantly. This designer knew that they would be a little bit difficult and therefore added in particular felines to cover that and to know that was gonna be someone who was going to struggle with decisions. Her question was around managing those edits and managing those expectations. So I shared a little bit about what I did, and I hope that it helps you too

Speaker: 3:28

I also felt bad that this week's microphone glitch meant that the quality of the audio just wasn't that great. And so I'm hoping you will forgive me with my little gift of the studio tapes episode one.

Speaker 4: 3:42

So I was finding there was a lot of back and forth and it would be really draining and I wasn't being rewarded for it or paid for it, and it was killing me. So I. Completely changed my e-sign deliverable like service offering and said, okay, we have a Zoom call and then I give you two concepts and you have a week to gather feedback and chat to your partner. So you've got seven days from delivery to report back to me which direction we wanna go in. And then I present you a mood board a week after that. And on that day, so say that's the 15th of March, I've presented that mood board, you unlock. 10 days of editing with the PR principal designer, and it must be signed off by the 25th of March. So you could speak to me all day, every day for 10 days, or you can speak to me on the 24th of March until the 25th of March.'cause you didn't get around to the edits or whatever. So I unlocked an editing period of time. Okay. So then it was like, that's a time when you can have as many revisions as you like. And it was a really big sales tool for me in my discovery calls because I was able to say to people, yeah, no problems. Like you absolutely will love it because you have that 10 days of editing. So if you really need to use it, you can. And if you don't, like sometimes people don't need to change anything. And that is actually true. It was swings of roundabouts. There are high need clients like the one you are discussing, but I knew no matter how high they are, they have to sign off on the 25th. So I only have 10 days of pain with those painful clients. So that was the solution I came up with for my business. That worked for my business. But if there's anything in either of those approaches that might work for yours, I think you could have a little think about, maybe do I say I give it to you and then we have a 72 hour open edits. And I know the worst thing that can happen is I'm working my butt off for three days and, or I'm like solely all about that client for three days. But then there is a time where they're, they have to sign off. So I would say to them, sign off cannot be after the 25th of March. The original that's in the beginning and I'm really clear about it over and over. Cool. I can't wait till our editing week. It's gonna be so much fun. Like what? Like from the concepts, do you reckon I'm gonna need to block out my whole week or are you loving anything inside of that? Or how does that feel to you? And I just get them on board with it and I keep reminding them all the way through. Not yet. You don't, you're not in your 10 days. We don't talk about that. No one talks about Fight Club until we're in Fight Club Week. And I think that it really worked for me. It changed everything.'cause I just really struggled to hold a boundary when I actually feel like it's their home and it's their right and they should be very involved and they should have a voice in the selections. And so I never felt comfortable being someone who goes, Nope, there's anyone edit. Too bad. So sad. You don't like it. I don't care. I do care. I care a lot that I deliver exactly what you want. And if I found two armchair and they're both maybe something that I'm feeling like the chubby look, or I'm loving this kind of fabric, and it turns out you wanted a very rigid timber chair and I just wasn't picking up on that, or it wasn't part of what I wanted to do, that's a me problem. So I needed to be open to that feedback as well. So I think that worked really well. I felt like I was being very fair by doing that. And it's taken ages,'cause I've done that for many years. But now I think it helps sell the. The service itself in the discovery call when I'm like, you'll always pay less than recommend a retail pricing for any furniture that you purchase, which can recuperate the cost of the time that we spend together. Because I am an E designer and I keep it, I keep it low cost and I keep it moving, and that's why you only get X amount of days editing and then it needs to be signed off. But that edit period. Was something that stopped the whole four week process being the edit period. And also it stopped people from effing up my cashflow, if I'm honest, because if you won't sign off on something, it's taken an extra six weeks, then I actually allowed for to get you in a position where you feel like it's moved to invoicing. You don't get to control when I move to invoicing. I need the money. I need to get on with my life, and I need to be able to open up my calendar and wait list in a way that's works for me. And if I can't be sure that you are gone and you've had your spec list, like the specification schedule sent, and you're off shopping, if I'm still in concept back and forth with you. I can't take on new clients and onboard them'cause I just don't have the headspace. So at least if I know that there's this 10 day period, it can't be worse than that. And also at the time, this is how I worked my processes to be like the Preston project will be signed off by the 25th. So my VA who does the schedules, knows she will have the information that she needs up in their file by, if she wants to schedule to do it on the 26th'cause her kids are out or whatever. It's all very regimented because I have these like structure in there. Yeah. And that this has to be signed off by call, so you can go early. If you're gonna be on holidays, you can take it up to the midnight. But I need, like I moved to stage two on this date with or without you that you're getting an empty spreadsheet. If you haven't given me sign up and I made mine. Give written signoff, which is also really great for any customer service issues or any questions down the line that I've actually received an email saying, this design is at signoff approved. Do you spell out the dates or those expectations, like in your contract? I. Yep. And also in the Zoom call at the beginning I'm like, Hey, it's kickoff day. Thank you for waiting to speak to me. And I've been really excited about this project ever since our discovery call.'cause I did have a lead time. And then I would be like, okay, so just in case you haven't been through the welcome pack or you don't remember from here, I'm going off to do your concepts and that's a seven to 12 day turnaround. Like I tell them whatever it is, and then I'm like, and then you get a whole week to think about that, right? So I'm not gonna actually. I don't follow up. I just expect that on this date you're gonna be telling me which direction to go in because I have working on your project scheduled for the Monday of that day. So I am very organized and I think it looks professional. People really loved that. It was like, okay, so I'm working on your concept for week one. Then I'm working with someone else while you are doing feedback in week two, and I'm working on their concept in there. And then you are. Project is set to go on the following Monday to start like the real thing and then I give it to you and we kick off 10 days of editing. So I have your name across those 10 days. So yes, you can be very rinse and repeat about it as long as you, as long as those timelines work for you. And then it just looks to them like, I think, I felt like the clients felt like I had it under control. It looked quite professional that I knew what I, who I, how many people I could take at what time. And because they were all plugged in, it's also very type A and very mean You. I feel like you could do that in Notion and that could help you and you could work with Posey around what would that look like, and then let's pull that out. And it helped create. Calendar boundaries are easier for me to make than confident boundaries. So I'm just gonna say that for me personally, growing through and into where I am now, at the beginning I was. It's easier if I have a date, a deadline, a thing to blame than to openly say, I don't wanna be stuck doing all these edits for you. I didn't, I don't feel like I'm being, um, I didn't charge enough as well for me personally. At that time. I was charging like early day pricing and so I was feeling very taken advantage of, and it was very unfair that I was so passionate about my business and I wanted to do such a good job. But then I was only getting paid the equivalent of a hundred dollars an hour or whatever here for something that was taking me like 40 hours of time. But I was doing a package deal that was like$600 for the full room refresher, whatever, and I just felt I. Awful about it. In the end, when I reflect, at the time, of course I was just like, I'm just happy anyone will, lemme go into their house and it's just, it's everything I wanted to do and my kids are little and it's great. I can be at home and stuff. There is about the third year there is a massive shift towards responsibility, profitability. It's the reason a lot of people are here at that. Scale level because there's such a thing as just there's gotta be a better way and I've gotta get good at asking for, for what I'm worth. I've got to change because otherwise I'm leaving here like anyone else. I'm going back to work for someone else so I can just switch off at five o'clock because this is not worth this agony overnight analyzing, waking up at four in the morning and thinking that is due. Oh Jesus. Have I done the like show? I don't wanna wake up and write notes about ideas. For no money like that, it's hard. You do get there and I think sometimes it doesn't, like someone can tell you these things. Some of these things have to be lived experience. Like I don't think you can fully feel like that until you've felt like that. It's the same way. You can't learn from a mistake and prevent a mistake from happening until you've made a mistake. Like you have to have someone on site looking at you going, you didn't connect these two dots, and there's a cost. Involved with that for you to never, ever connect those dots again and make that mistake. And I, I don't think there's such a thing as a framework or like a thing that you can tell people to. I wouldn't wanna prevent it if I could, is my point. I think that there's an onus of doing things your own way, learning your own lessons, and moving and growing through that there's no growth in someone telling you instead of you feeling it or experience it, experiencing it.

Speaker 3: 13:33

I hope you enjoyed episode one of the studio tapes. I hope to share some other insightful things because there are so many huge conversations that we have in our community and so many times that we are collectively sharing. I'm only going to be sharing my answers in the studio tapes because, because what my students are talking about is private and it's locked down and it's a small group and that's what they pay for. I'm also not giving out my juiciest things because girls gotta eat. Some things have to be behind a paywall. I will just share as much as I possibly feel I can and that I feel will be helpful. If you enjoyed today's episode and you want more studio tapes and you liked this, pull back the curtain behind the scenes kind of vibes. Come and let me know. Oh, better yet, let Apple Podcasts or Spotify know. I would love, love, love to grow some of those ratings. And I haven't had a little review in quite a while, and I just think the more that I get of those, the more this becomes a suggestion to interior designers and small business owners who could really use the marketing process system ai. Pricing all the focus. So please share it with a friend, pop it up in your stories, share the link, write a review, all the things. I'm gonna get outta here'cause begging ain't my jam. And I will see you on a regular episode next week when I'm interviewing Georgia from Studio Ezra. All right, bye for now.