Interior Design Business Success Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All. How To Stop Comparing Yourself
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This has been weighing heavy on my heart lately,
1. Because I keep seeing it.
2. Because I’ve been there.
Where, you ask?
In the space where you’re scrolling Instagram or Pinterest and thinking:
👉 “I guess I need to post more project photos like her…”
👉 “Maybe I should be doing luxury only, like that designer I admire…”
👉 “Do I need to be scaling like her? Hiring a team? Getting featured in a magazine?”
👉 “Maybe I should be doing luxury only, like that designer I admire…”
👉 “Do I need to be scaling like her? Hiring a team? Getting featured in a magazine?”
I’ve been in that spiral.
The one where you start questioning if you’re doing it wrong because your path doesn’t look like someone else’s.
💬 The Truth They Don’t Talk About Enough:
Interior Design business success isn’t linear.
- Some designers thrive off year long full-service builds.
- Others want quick and profitable virtual design offers they can sell while picking up their kids or catching a flight.
- Some crave luxury clients and glossy magazine spreads.
- Others want a calm, curated client roster and a slow, intentional workflow.
All of them are valid.
All of those can be considered success.
All of those can be considered success.
But here’s what every designer I’ve worked with (myself included) regardless of their goals, wants deep down:
✨ Clients coming in consistently (not the feast-or-famine cycle)
✨ Marketing that actually feels aligned and not like a second job
✨ Income that feels good, not stressful
🧠 The Moment Things Shifted For Me
For years I thought success only looked one way: sleek portfolio, word-of-mouth referrals with luxury clients only, polished branding, and celebrity clients knocking down my door.
For years I thought success only looked one way: sleek portfolio, word-of-mouth referrals with luxury clients only, polished branding, and celebrity clients knocking down my door.
But I learned something the hard way:
If you don't define success for yourself, the industry will try to define it for you and you will be miserable trying to reach it.
If you don't define success for yourself, the industry will try to define it for you and you will be miserable trying to reach it.
And the truth is, none of that external stuff, followers, aesthetics, "likes" really matters if you’re burnt out, disconnected from your work, or constantly second-guessing how you're showing up.
That’s when I started asking new questions:
What does success look like for me?
What kind of clients do I actually want to serve?
How can I build a business that supports my lifestyle instead of consuming it?
✨ You Get to do business YOUR Way
The biggest shift wasn’t in my aesthetic or my social media feed,
It was in my mindset of how I do business and how I approach my marketing.
The biggest shift wasn’t in my aesthetic or my social media feed,
It was in my mindset of how I do business and how I approach my marketing.
Because once I stopped trying to fit into someone else’s version of success, I could start creating systems and strategies that actually fit me.
That’s when things got easier.
That’s when the clients got better.
That’s when the clients got better.
That’s when my income stopped feeling like a gamble and started becoming predictable.
And if you're feeling like you’re doing all the “right things” and still not seeing results?
Please know it’s not because you’re not talented.
Please know it’s not because you’re not talented.
It’s probably just because your thoughts about your version of business success and how you approach your marketing doesn’t match the version of success you think is for you from social programming.
A note just for you
You don’t have to market like the designer you admire
You don’t have to post reels every day, do 100K renovations, or go viral.
You don’t have to market like the designer you admire
You don’t have to post reels every day, do 100K renovations, or go viral.
You just need a strategy that supports how you want to show up.
That’s when your business starts working for you, not the other way around.
And that version of success?
It’s already within reach.
Let’s keep rewriting what success can look like for Interior Designers like us.
On your terms. In your voice. At your pace.
On your terms. In your voice. At your pace.
You’ve got this.
To your success,
Bena,
Interior Designer & Digital Marketing Strategist for Interior Designers