NOBELINKS

My Course at Design Institute San Diego

Exhilarating class of professionals, all intent on Design Entrepreneurship - the series of six classes where we take it to the next level. I'll be at New York School of Interior Design too. NYSID  Hope to see you in the design school near you.

 

 

 

Nobel to present Business of Design courses at NYSID

Join me at New York School of Design for big ideas, practical guides and discussion of my favorite subjects in a nurturing environment.

http://www.editoratlarge.com/articles/1808/steve-nobel-to-present-business-of-design-courses-at-nysid

We are Spreading the Word about the Value of Interior Design

Follow this link to read the whole story ...

http://www.editoratlarge.com/articles/1773/hearst-and-dfa-campaign-pushes-for-wider-access-to-design

what clients have to say ...

Whether it’s learning in small groups or one-on-one, we know that there is so much value for interior designers to be able to discuss progressive aspects of their businesses in organized ways.  You will hear in the voices of some of my clients, just what it means to them to learn actively:

Connie McCreight, Los Angeles, CA: This group is simply indescribable! Steve, you were SO on point on what we wanted, needed, and more than we even knew - I could have gone on for days.

Corinne Brown, Mammoth Lakes, CA: Amazing group! I am struck by the good fortune in my life to come across authentic and intelligent people that can take my mind and heart in directions I could not have imagined on my own.

Tobi Fairley, Little Rock, AK:  I can honestly say that this was the best conference/group I have attended and I have been to many! A huge thank-you to Steve for being our fearless leader!

"Thank you for presenting such a wonderful keynote seminar for our members IDS National Conference. Every evaluation we received gave you and your seminar high praise. Comments ranged from 'excellent presentation' to 'he is fabulous' to 'great ideas.' We can not thank you enough and look forward to working with you again in the near future."

Sharon Gosselin McCormick, (Hartford), CT: It was so inspirational to meet such a group of progressive people! It feels like what I learned might be life changing!

Debbie Baxter, San Antonio, TX: This group leaves me gutsy, inspired and happy. We are a powerful group, drawing inspiration from others. Thanks again for being the mavericks who knew we needed more (than the typical generalities presented at most conferences)!!

Kravet Inc., (from customers):

“I just wanted to say thank you for including me on Tuesday for coaching by Stephen Nobel.  It was an honor to be picked as one of five.  His advice was unexpectedly helpful.  He had ideas that I had not heard before, nor had they ever even occurred to me.  I have already implemented one of his recommended techniques and will keep you posted on how it unfolds.”

 

Keith Headley, Memphis, TN and New York, NY: Thanks to you, Steve, for putting the event together and to everyone else for being such willing participants. It is an honor and a true pleasure to be in your company.

Doug Greiwe, Cincinnati, OH: Just one of the segments (like Steve's presentation on luxury marketing), or the five-person panel of business experts and the intimate business/personal dinners would have justified the added-value of this meeting. But we had all four and then some...

Mark Cutler, Los Angeles, CA I repeat all above and would like to recommend "the design think-tank" as the name for our next meeting.

Corinne Brown, ASID, Mammoth Lakes, CA, The fact that Steve was able to put together an incredibly distinguished group of people, for this program was really an amazing feat.  It was also a huge success. I think that it is rare to find such educational and enlightening experiences even when we are farther down a professional path.  Thank you for adding so much to ours.

Constance Davidson, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, I have already picked up four new clients since we met.

Diane Parisian, ASID, Naples, FL, Thank you for your expert input regarding new ways of doing business. It's making me consider different options for my company moving forward, I have some homework to do!

Beril Yurdakul, ASID, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, You gave us so much precious advice and guidance.  In a way you have snapped us out of our usual ways, which is exactly what we needed. 

Deborah Houston, Your idea to throw a party upon completion at my client's house was just fabulous. I can already envision the details vividly! I also read your article on professional fees. I have to say you cemented the feelings I have had regarding this issue. I am going to implement this approach on the next big client.

Mona Ross Berman, Philadelphia, PA, I found our session very thought-provoking.  I truly appreciated all of your feedback and ideas. I’d like to hear more ...  I think I am at a stage in my business where I can really benefit from some outside advice. 

Kravet Inc. (from customers):

“I just want to say thanks so much again to you and the entire Kravet team for offering me the opportunity to meet with Stephen. I found the experience very useful and am so glad that I did it.”

“Thank you also for sharing your wisdom and experience with us in the Kravet seminar. I gained so much more insight into how the Industry is changing and how I need to rework my business to accommodate those changes. I need to get paid what I am worth and still have time to spend with my family!”

Melissa Palazzo, Laguna Niguel, CA, I wanted to thank you for such a thought provoking day last week. I really enjoyed your ideas and insight surrounding the design industry. I am currently implementing some of them into my business plan as we speak! 

Valerie Pulido, San Diego, CA, I am one of those designers who listened to you years ago and took the progressive route to marketing and pricing so I have positioned myself for success even in this tough economy.

Tanya Shively, Scottsdale, AZ, It was such a pleasure to hear your thoughts on the direction of things to come in our industry.  I definitely had some good take-aways that I will be working on ASAP.  Two of the things I would like to implement are the tri-fold process brochure and the touch points to reflect the brand I want to embody to resonate with my ideal target market.  Thanks for all you insight into those key points.

Catherine Avery, Norwalk, CT I have been working with the project pricing approach with an hourly fee built in. So far, it seems to hold a lot more appeal for my clients than the old commission based model and it certainly makes billing much easier. Great advice--thanks!

Rebecca Robeson, San Diego, CA, Please know, you continue to motivate and inspire me.

 

Professional Fees: The Price is Right

Today’s clients are paying a worthy premium for the gratifying experience that interior design affords them. Increasingly, that means that they are paying a professional fee for this extraordinary experience while at the same time paying a nearly wholesale price (actually the most realistic price) for the furnishings specified for the decor. Typically through the years though, clients paid an hourly rate for time to design and execute an interior while at the same time paying a markup or ‘split discount’ on the price for the furnishings bought for resale to the client. That’s changing. Recently, a great deal of interest has been directed toward replacing the conventional model based on ‘time and materials’ with the more progressive model based on fees worthy of a professional. Why is this transition happening, and who is making it? Clients are; largely because any reasonable consumer would want to know how much money is on the line, or at least be assured that their apprehension about open-ended payments for time and materials can be relieved. All of the recent research into consumer preferences indicates that they prefer fixed fees because they are more predictable, calculable for budgeting and transparent to the buyer – all contributing factors in the client’s trust in the designer’s judgment. And that’s what designers want too - to increase their value (and their fees) as advisors, advocates, consultants or style-makers, and lessen their dependency on selling products.

Most consumers don't pay for anything else the same way they are used to being asked to pay for interior design. Consequently, doubt springs up and gets in the way. Yet, the same research suggests that many more of them would become clients of interior designers if there were more transparency in the relationship between price and value – designing vs. purchasing. The choice appears differently if we consider the client's perspective. These savvy consumers intelligently place value on what matters most - not stuff per se, but the experience of co-creating and living in a beautiful, personal, comfortable and well-designed residence that only a professional can deliver. They go on to say that the experience is worth more than the combined price of all the products or services, and is just as indispensable to living well in today’s complex world as investment counsel, estate planning, travel concierge, health care or even counseling.

As designers earn more from the value of design and less from trading goods, their clients are less apprehensive about prices and more trusting of the designer's judgment in so many other aspects of the project - a signature quality of most brands, and a common practice in architecture, commercial design and hospitality markets. Is it inconsistent for designers to be compensated on sales of products they specify: objectivity is called into question. Indeed, by relieving the buying process from the appearance of conflict of interest, designers can stretch their client’s spending power higher or lower without jeopardizing the designer’s income. Clients get the right design with the right product at the right price.

Coincidentally, whether designers charge ‘time and materials’ or ‘professional fees’ the total amount can often be the same, and some clients deserve the option. But for clients and designers alike, the benefits of predictable processes, transparent terms and expanded buying power favor professional fees.

So, given the mutual benefits of these fees, why not give your next client the favorable option to spend their money on confidence in your judgment rather than how long it took you to do the job, or how much of their money you spent. A designer in Newport Beach, CA said, “I sleep better at night knowing that what I design for my clients is right at any price and doesn’t affect my clients’ confidence in my judgment.” Many other leaders in the profession are voicing similarly virtuous claims.

Some designers ask, “Well then, what should my fee be, how much should I charge?” “And how would I recover what seems like lost revenue?” Not surprisingly, I prefer to respond with, “Tell me how much your brand is worth, then let’s focus on the gain not the loss.” In the limited space here, let me suggest how to calculate the new relationship between price and value. Start at the top; how much income should your business be generating from all that you have invested in your brand (e.g., knowledge, experience, time, talent, client satisfaction, etc.)? That’s your income goal. Next, how many days per week do you realistically have to generate that income? That’s your capacity to earn the income goal. Time is money.

Divide the income by capacity and start proposing fees for the time to deliver a satisfying and rewarding experience. For example, if your income goal is $1,000/day, and your estimated capacity for the project will require the equivalent of two days per week for twenty-five weeks, the fifty days would be priced at $1,000/day for a total project fee of $50,000. That total fee could be invoiced in monthly progress payments of $10,000/month for five months. As noted above, clients favor the predictability of this model for their budgeting purposes. And that’s not all they favor – the monthly invoice will include sales of products at your ‘most favorable price’ (i.e., ‘wholesale’) plus a few percentage points (5% - 9%) for the expense of administration. But the calculation really starts with your own self-assessment. The larger fee and lower markup is predicated on the confidence you have in the added value that your clients are afforded through the experience with your brand.

Even if you are used to earning lower hourly rates but higher revenue from sales, you can calculate what your fees would be for comparable projects by adding the income earned from sales to the income earned from hourly rates. The fee would be the sum of the two income sources.

How to sell higher fees? As an isolated amount, some clients may resist. But compared to the other expenditures they are making in a new residence, for example, the cost of the property, construction, architectural fees, furnishings, landscaping and other worthy investments, the fee for interior design will likely be comparatively low. Yet, we are mindful that one profession – interior design - is likely to yield the greatest return on the homeowner’s investment, and make the biggest difference to their overall satisfaction with the result.

There is a lot more to making this transition profitable for you, like crafting an agreement that clearly defines the scope of work and carefully estimates time to fulfill it. With clear expectations for outcome, time, money, even provisions for additional work and mutual responsibilities for success, your clients will know exactly what to expect and how the experience will unfold.

What this means is that the modern trend toward professional fees is influencing the entire business model 'to the trade' and helping to convert a rich client pool for designers. As interior design becomes more transparent, design brands earn more trust which gets redeemed each time clients pay a price that is worth the benefits they expect to gain from the brand experience. Respectability increases in a profession that deserves respect. Everyone wins: it's how the best businesses work today, and is how our market is evolving.

= = =

Designers on Design

During this transformative period, it isn’t easy adjusting to the new normal. Every designer is trying his or her best to be demonstrably superior and pleasingly different from the rest. But too many struggle on their own without reliable sources for good ideas and familiar feedback. Last week, I was in Kravet showrooms leading a series of workshops with some real pros – experienced veterans, up-and-coming talents and others among the vanguard who are reshaping the way they do business. They are working on marketing, pricing and getting the next client project.

For these designers, marketing efforts are more selectively aimed at the most affluent prospects, connected by one or two degrees of separation to their current or former clients, or the very best realtors and contractors with brands equal to theirs. They’ve found that there may be as many as eight prospects for every one client. Just any project for any client that comes along won’t do, exasperation and fatal-client-fatigue is just too risky for their brands (and can lead to burn-out after two years of recession).

Pricing models are being rehabilitated to lessen dependency on sales while restoring the rewards from design. Today, many are finding that money is being made from style not stuff – concierge not common – custom not commodity. Project fees and higher hourly rates are driving income up while stretching the dollars for what and how much is being purchased. That’s good for clients, and good for designers.

For some, this new look at old ways will result in a fresh approach to the next client, especially if the proposal hinges on the value of design rather than sales. Actually, what many designers and clients have found is that even with a much larger fee or hourly rate, when compared to the prices for all of the other investments that a client typically makes in a new or remodeled residence (property, architect fees, contracting costs, landscaping, furnishings, etc), design is an extraordinary value, and really fair. When a designer acts as the trusted advocate for the client and orchestrates the entire project, the professional fee for professional value is demonstrably superior and pleasingly different from the old cost-plus method.

Why a Designer?

My mission is to link people and ideas so together we create more consumers of design and prosperous design businesses. Too often, we have to go back to basics: so, why a designer?

Research shows that among affluent households that can afford an interior designer, only 15% actually use one. But the good news is that many of us are taking aim at the other 85% who could be or should be using professional design services like yours.

Some of my links are with industry leaders who have come together as the Decorative Furnishings Association. DFA just unveiled the concept for its new advertising campaign: "Why a Designer," which addresses the concerns affluent consumers have about using an interior designer.

The ads feature a practicing interior designer successfully interacting with a client in a well-designed living room where people actually live. The image is all about the happy, satisfying and rewarding relationship between designer and client. Below the image, statements of 'myth' vs. 'reality' are listed:

 Myth: "It's too expensive" —  Reality: "We met our budget"

 Worry: “I’d lose control” –  Wrong: “We worked as a team”

“It’s not practical” – “We love the results”

“It’s out of my budget” – “We nailed the budget”

“It’s not my style” --  “It’s so us!”

It's the first campaign of its kind to be presented in the industry and is expected to launch in House Beautiful, Architectural Digest, Veranda, Luxe Interiors + Design, Elle Décor in January issues. Editoratlarge.com gave it an initial thumbs up.

I have had a role in this, so am naturally quite excited about the creative theme that centers on the delightful relationship between client and designer. Let me hear from you; how do you answer the question, why a designer?

 

Revitalize the Design Ecosystem

Change is in the air…profound change. Everywhere we turn there is no longer a ‘business as usual.’ This is the backdrop upon which the drama of the home furnishings industry is being played out. Every constituency is experiencing the pain: the design community whose pool of potential clients is diminished; the showrooms and manufacturers who serve them; the design centers who aggregate them; and the publications who depend on advertising dollars. We call it the design ecosystem, where the health of one part is vital to the health of all of the others.

 

This is exactly the right time for all groups to come together, look at what we do and how we do it, and collaborate for change. This is where design thinking comes in. It is the right time to consider the re-design of our industry, to think about the large-scale system, and to engage in a process that relies on the efforts of many.

 

To set the stage for this, we need to first start at a common understanding of the situation we find ourselves in today, what our goals are and finally, identify certain principles we share to make change happen.

 

Today we find a highly fragmented design economy comprised of numerous small business with a few larger national players. Access to interior design, goods and services, and the finer things in life, is further cloaked in traditions which have evolved over time and need to be revitalized.

 

We know that there is a sizeable market for interior design which has been challenged in this economy, but is still filled with potential. Ipsos Mendelsohn and American Express have published research over the last several years suggesting that there are many more homeowners who could become consumers of design services than are able to find their way to a designer. Yet despite the system’s best efforts, the research shows that we have earned only a small percentage (10 – 15%) of that potential, and the percentage has not grown in years.

 

In order to achieve the goal of more clients for designers, more volume being moved through the system, it will be necessary to look at the system overall, think more broadly and take bold moves. Business as usual is not sustainable, but establishing shared principles that ignite the future of the design industry is attainable.

 

I shall report on those principles shared by many of you throughout the design ecosystem in the next few posts

Another New York Kind of Day

Bright sun greeted me on Park Avenue on one of those mornings when I am reminded why I live in New York. Tulips were in the avenue's gardens, flowering trees in bloom. I know its going to be a good day when the subway train arrives just as I swipe my entry card - the turn-style opened to a new-york-kind-of-day. Each one reminds me of why I live here; finding gems of life embedded in the energy of the city and my favorite seasons.

There is probably a place in your community that inspires you, too. Whatever it is, how does it get your day off to a great start?

Downtown, the farmers market in Union Square was blooming too. In a city thriving with such diversity, you know the market will have color, texture, flavor and all of the stimulants to inspire one's palette. This market certainly does. I walk through on my way to an appointment savoring the possibilities of what's for dinner tonight.

I like to think that I am pretty good at connecting the dots between people and ideas that advance the markets for interior design and home furnishings. The meeting I joined was with Nancye Green, my partner in D2D, our business that is working to make a difference in the entire 'design eco-system.'

Our underlying premise is that if we exposed more consumers to designers and they were able to choose an appropriate one, D2D would be stimulating the industry as those designers gained more clients and therefore were able to purchase more goods and services.  By connecting all of the parts of the 'eco-system' we could truly change the dynamic.   Stay tuned.

Lunch was with my dear friend Mary Kindel Libby (she of the venerable Kindel Furniture Company), an executive at Christie's and one of the city's doyennes of art and design. We were here guests at The New York Yacht Club, one of the nation's sporting treasures (13 America's Cup) and a trophy of Beaux Arts Architecture.

  Lobster salad enlivened by a smart Sancerre accompanied some far-reaching conversation with experts on artists Donald Judd and Dan Flavin, who were both friends and minimalist sculptors in New York and lived later in 'the new santa fe,' Marfa, Texas. Dessert or not foretold a curious cause for concern about whether furniture was sculpture or not or both. I agreed and had espresso.

Lingering over erudition, regretting that Mary's friend Christophe de Menil (the Medici of Modernism in America) was ill and could not join us (can you believe the names I am dropping?), I toasted her family's tribute to minimalist spirituality in the Rothko Chapel on the campus of the Menil Collection in Houston - a must experience for meditative spirits, and a segue to the evening's performance of 'Red.'

Mark Rothko spent a tragically abbreviated lifetime showing us how an artist sees a painting. The Broadway production of 'Red" takes us inside the pulse of the studio where art happens, the thinking about art and the pulse of the art itself. It lives, he does not.  I do, birthday means 60, and likely to be inspired by the next new-york-kind-of-day, where ever I am.

Design In New York: Uptown Downtown, Program April 27 - 30, 2010

 

 

New York’s abundant art and design welcomes for the third season, a select few interior designers for “Design in New York: Uptown Downtown” April 27 - 30, 2010.

This innovative and intimate experience arouses designers' creativity while enriching business skills – and what better place to be stimulated than in New York City – the tangible fusion of design and business.

"Because of Steve Nobel and his genuine heartfelt "desire" to help creative people develop in their careers, I know we all know; on a deep level, that our lives will forever be better because of his many gifts!"  Thank you so much, Bo Waddell, Atlanta, GA

If your visits to New York are too rare, or you long to be inspired this way, join us. This immersion in design will be especially good for you and your business, right now.

"This experience gives us the time to do things we normally would not do, but that are so important to our business." Laury Barnes, Newport Beach CA

 

Tuesday, April 27 : Arrive in New York at the Standard Hotel – downtown’s mecca of fashionable shopping, dining, art and antiques.

 

Wednesday, April 28: town cars take us Uptown to where it all started - the Frick Collection, one of America’s largest private collections of classical fine art housed in one of the finest architectural examples of the Beaux Arts.

Later, New York School of Interior Design presents the faculty exhibit and historian Judith Gura who profiles the great decorating influences from Edith Wharton, through Billy Baldwin and other mid-century icons.  "We could have listened to Judith all morning, her portraits of the design legends are so inspirational." - John Wiltgen, Chicago IL

Lunch is in the famous Design & Decoration Building, landmark design center for the best of the best and new discoveries in home furnishings.

In the afternoon around Columbus Circle, we are toured through the archival Museum of Art and Design, enshrined within its new façade that features textured terracotta panels and transparent fritted glass, materials that express the Museum’s celebration of creativity in art, craft, and design.

  Later, we tour the Museum of Modern Art examining the world’s largest collection of Twentieth Century modern art, and other significant influences on modernism like Marcel Breur, Josef Albers, Paul Klee and decorative objects rarely seen elsewhere.

The immersion cascades that evening when we attend the theater on Broadway. And that's just the first day!

Thursday, April 29: shifts downtown to the urban mecca of Chelsea and the Meatpacking District – central to art and design in contemporary New York. The skyline breaks at the  ‘High Line,’ one of the many inspiring aspects of what makes New York New York.

 

 

 

Thursday includes visits to art galleries, architecture firms, furnishings boutiques, and fashion studios – all to inspire creativity. The New Museum is about new art and new ideas. It’s building designed by Tokyo-based architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa/SANAA, is a home for contemporary art and an incubator for new ideas, as well as an architectural contribution to New York’s urban landscape. The New Museum is a combination of elegant and urban, just like our program. 

 Dinner is with one of many new-age chef-signature restaurants in the capital of dining downtown.

Friday, April 30: Business first - we collaborate in a workshop on strategies for the future and new ways to overcome the challenges of changing economy. We explore issues like these:

What’s next for all of us? Where should we position our businesses for the future? And who better to discuss these pressing questions with than a group of peers.

"WOW what an experience it was sharing The Big Apple with each of you! We grew, we laughed, we were in awe, we saw because we looked. I gained nine new wonderful friends. We nourished our bodies with wonderful wine and food ...and most importantly we nourished our souls!"  Bo Waddell, Atlanta GA

  Lunch then shopping: Tory Burch, Trina Turk, Lars Bollander, Stella McCartney, Vitra and some many other shops for fashion and furnishings.

Departures may begin after lunch on Friday, but extended stays will be available from the Standard Hotel at the group rate.

But before you think about leaving, plan to be with us. As most of us know, moving oneself ‘out of the box’ is a motivating experience, infused by an energetic group like ours adds to the vitality of the mix.

Price for Full Hotel and Program is $3,500.00 per person including three nights single-occupancy in The Standard Hotel, all meals and gratuities, all entrance fees and tickets, car-service and other amenities. A deposit of $2,000.00 will be required to confirm reservations.

 “I loved Design in New York! It was fabulous from beginning to end,” Tobi Wells Fairley, ASID, IIDA

For even more information about the last sessions, open Design In New York in the Categories on this weblog.

For reservations contact Steve Nobel at snobel@nobelinks.com, or comment below to request a reservation for this innovative experience with Design In New York.