Can you run a successful interior design business and have a baby?

In this honest roundtable episode, Rhiannon Lee is joined by four interior designers and property stylists to talk about pregnancy, maternity leave, cashflow, systems, staffing and what really happens when you mix motherhood with business ownership.

If you are an interior designer who is pregnant, trying to conceive, planning a family, or quietly wondering how maternity leave works when you are self employed, this episode is for you.

We cover:

• How to plan maternity leave as a small business owner
 • Cashflow planning during pregnancy and unpaid leave
 • Government maternity pay for self employed women
 • Raising prices before maternity leave
 • Selling vouchers or pre-paid services to create income
 • Project timeline planning for interior designers
 • Protecting client relationships while pregnant
 • Hiring and training staff before stepping away
 • Building SOPs and systems before baby
 • Returning to work part time after maternity leave
 • Mum guilt, ambition and productivity shifts

You’ll hear real experiences from studio owners at different stages. Some are pausing their business. Some are keeping teams running. One has sold her business and stepped into a creative director role. Others are navigating pregnancy in solo design studios.

This conversation explores matrescence, flexible work, time management for mums, and how to structure a design business that supports both family life and financial stability.

If you run a full service interior design studio, property styling business, or solo consultancy, you will walk away with practical strategies to:

Plan maternity leave without shutting down
 Protect your income during pregnancy
 Strengthen systems and operations
 Set boundaries with clients
 Build a sustainable studio model

Pregnancy and entrepreneurship do not cancel each other out. You can design a business that works around real life.

For more resources on pricing, systems, SOP development and AI for interior designers, visit oleanderandfinch.com.

Designing Success from Study to Studio is the podcast for emerging and established interior designers who want stronger systems, profitable studios and a business that supports their life, not competes with it.

Thanks for listening to this episode of "Designing Success: From Study to Studio"! Connect with me on social media for more business tips, and a real look behind the scenes of my own practicing design business.

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For more FREE resources, templates, guides and information, visit the Designer Resource Hub  on my website ; https://oleanderandfinch.com/

Ready to take your interior design business to the next level? Check out my online course, "The Framework," designed to provide you with everything they don’t teach you in design school and to give you high touch mentorship  essential to having  a successful new business  in the industry. Check it out now and start designing YOUR own success
THE FRAMEWORK  ( now open)  https://www.oleanderandfinch.com/the-framework-for-emerging-designers/

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