The Personal Side Of Interior Design With Amala Raj Swenson

I'm so delighted to bring on fellow designer and friend, Amala Raj Swenson to the podcast today. Amala is the Principal Designer & Founder of Amala Raj Interiors based in San Diego, California.

We cover so much in this fun and information filled episode! Here's just some of the topics we will cover:

⭐ The unique way Amala blends her business and personal life
⭐ How Amala's "secret sauce" leads to more and better clients
⭐ The simple yet effective organizational software Amala uses to keep her company running
⭐ How we both feel about using Artificial Intelligence in the design industry
⭐ Amala's advice to new comers to our industry.

This episode is fun, informative, and full of great advice. See you inside!

For more on Amala visit her website at:  https://www.amalaraj.com/
Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/amalarajinteriors/

What if you could finally create the interior design business of your dreams while consistently making 6 figures and doing it all with no stress? Join Design Business Fast Track today to make your Design Business dreams a reality!

www.designbusinessfasttrack.com

For all things John: www.johnmcclain.co
For more information on my online Courses & Coaching Program for Interior Designers, visit: https://designsuccessacademy.com/
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Transcript

For better. Or worse I think I'm just really myself at all times, and I think that does kind of differentiate me where this is what you get. Like I, I am not gonna polish it up further and this is who I am. You either like my process or you don't.

And I think because of that, a lot of my clients feel like they can talk to me a little bit easier. And that's kind of been my secret sauce is where. I'm able to get my clients to open up a lot more just by being friends with them and befriending their families and learning about what their kids do and how many dogs they have and where the dog likes to sleep around the house.

So I know where to put some performance fabrics. getting to know your client goes a long way and I think I've really personalized on that and it comes naturally to me and I think that helps me a lot.

Hey, y'all, you're listening to the designer within podcast, episode number thirty three. 

I'm John McClain and welcome to the designer within podcast, the business minded podcast created for creative entrepreneurs by a creative entrepreneur. That's me. I know firsthand the challenges, but also the victories that can come with our careers. And I'm here to sip and spill the tea with you. It's time to dive deep within yourself and redesign your own business and your life from the inside out.

Together we will uncover secrets and share valuable insights. So prepare for a transformative experience, my friend, because it's time to unleash the designer within. 

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of the designer within happy to have you here. You're in for a treat I have my friend Amala Raj Swenson on today.. She is such a wonderful person and you're going to. delight in this interview. We're going to talk about her secret sauce with her clients and what makes her clients come back over and over again to her and why they love working with her. 

We're also going to talk about some kind of subliminal marketing techniques that she does that I don't even know that she realized is so effective. And I love it so much. It is a win-win for everybody truly. 

We're going to talk about trends and our design industry. 

We're going to talk about AI. And we're going to talk about the method that Amala uses to keep her projects in line and to keep them organized with her and with her trades people. And here's some background on her. 

for principal designer and a founder Amala Raj Swenson interior design is a family tradition. She grew up in the industry as both her parents are suppliers of natural and recycled stone materials, Amala recognized the power of design and traveled to pursue her passion at the New York school of interior design where she cultivated her skills and the areas of textiles, colors, drafting, and environmental movement. Amala now services, San Diego county, Los Angeles county, and the Silicon valley. 

Her work has been featured in publications, such as Forbes, architectural digest, apartment therapy, my domain, San Diego, home and garden to San Diego, union Tribune and so many more. 

She's also a great member of the fun group design hounds influencer group. If you know them, you've seen them out and about on social media. 

Amala lives in San Diego with her husband, Ryan, and they're two cutesy Bootsy puppies, Brooklyn and Henry. 

So there's some background on Amala and I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy this fun and heartfelt interview. 

welcome to the 

Designer Within podcast. I'm so happy to have you

here. 

Thank you for having me. This is so fun.

I love it when not only can I bring a talented designer, someone who knows their stuff, but also someone who is a friend, and I trust your opinion. I trust what you have to say. I trust your knowledge of so many different aspects of the industry, so I'm really excited. To, jump into this conversation today, to hear your perspective on things, and so the listeners and viewers of the podcast can also learn a lot as well.

I did my little introduction before we started, of course. But tell everyone in your own words, who you are, a little bit about your background, how you got into this crazy, fabulous, wonderful industry that we call interior design and all the good 

juicy stuff. 

Sure. So, I guess like the, the brief brief on it is that I've been an interior designer officially for about seven and a half-ish years now. My first job, or my undergrad was actually in film TV world. I graduated, I worked at NBC sports. if anybody that knows me is listening, I don't like sports at all.

Like this whole Super Bowl thing is completely out. So it wasn't really my passion, but I like tv. I wanted a little bit of a change, so I started working for my family's company. They own like stone distribution company in LA and they're up all along the west coast. But while I was there, I started working with designers and architects, helping them with their finished products and materials that they're selecting and really just loved.

Learning what they did, and so I decided I wanted to do that. So I moved to New York. I went to the New York School of Interior Design, moved back to California, and started my business. I started really, really small, and then I've been slowly growing in project size, and I think I'm at a comfortable place now.

That's wonderful. What, what was it about it? I mean, we all have our little spark. I think that gets us interested in the industry. Some people see a show on tv, some people see it in real life. Some people have a family member who did it before them. What was it that you saw in those other designers that you were like, oh wow, this is fun.

Or, you know, when you were helping these other designers, what was it that made you think that you too? Wanted to make a career out of this at

that time. 

I think for me it was really kind of the personal aspect of it. I'm such a people person. I love being with friends and family and all of that, so. For me, I liked watching the interaction between a designer and their clients and the why behind it all. Like why are we doing this specific material for this client?

Like how is this gonna improve their life and what is it that makes them happy? And that is something that Made me feel like, oh, this is just picking out tile for a shower, or a countertop for a kitchen. But these people are gonna use this countertop for years to come and all of the Christmases and holidays and everything that they're doing.

So I loved knowing that part of it is that you can help kind of curate someone's life.

And do you primarily now focus on residential

design? Is that 

Yeah, I'm doing, yeah, I guess full residential now, and mostly kitchen and bath. But now I'm like, you know, getting into furniture design and that's kind of what brought me to market this week. And just adding to that. And so now I'm doing full homes.

 so if anyone is wondering, we are recording this during the Las Vegas market and we had a big fabulous event last night at the Designer Sore and Amala and I have been tra sitting around market for a few days and so, we're just having a ball seeing all the new fun, beautiful things that. Las Vegas market has, and by the way, if anyone's listening or watching that hasn't been to Las Vegas market, I, I think it's just a really fabulous market because it's so easy to navigate.

It's so easy to get around. All the showrooms are easy to find. don't you think it's a really cool market to,

to attend? 

Yeah, especially if you're newer in the industry, like I go to both High Point and Las Vegas market, and High Point is gorgeous and huge. And for me as a solo person, it was hard for me to fully navigate versus Las Vegas market. It was so easy for me to find everyone that I needed to see and. Find new stuff too, so I think it's a great starting point for people and it's like a 55 minute flight for me, so I love it.

all of those are very, very good points. So yeah. So if you haven't been to Las Vegas market, put it on your calendars. Not only is it a fun city, of course, to come to, but just a great, great market to attend. So thanks for that input. So when you were saying you were working for your family and you were not only seeing other designers, but I'm sure you saw things that your family did, right?

You saw things that. Maybe you picked up on business wise from the business side of things, because I always love to know what people are. You know, the whole fo focus of this podcast is the designer within looking inside, and sometimes it's in your mind, but sometimes it's also inside of your business processes and how things work.

But did your family have any influence on the way that you operate your business? From the business perspective of things Like were there things that they did that you were like, yes, I want to. Bring this into my company. You know, it could be customer service, it could be how they dealt with clients.

It could be, how they had business processes. Was there something in particular that stood out? Because, you know, I love your family. I love your family, like they're my own and I just value them so much. And I think they're just such, smart, smart people, smart business people. But I, so I'm sure there were things that you picked up, but I'm just curious to hear your perspective.

now that you have your own business, what did you, extract from that to bring to Amala Raj

design? 

I think that's a fun question. So I I mean, you know, my family better than most people. I love my parents. I think they're both just great people, but the way that they operate their business is truly by just treating, I. Every single person they meet, like they're their best friend. And I think that really changed how they grew their business.

'cause at the end of the day, you can buy product from anywhere, but it's the relationships that you build. And I think for them, they really felt passionate about making sure people were happy and just treating people with that extra bit of kindness and. For me, being a vendor, originally I did that from like a customer service perspective, but now as a designer, I'm like extra cautious about it.

When I'm dealing with vendors and as designers, I'll know like things will go wrong and they'll go wrong at the worst possible time, but I kind of always have them in the back of my head being like, okay, like. Or it's not brain surgery, nobody's dying. This is just beautiful wallpaper that needs to be reordered or whatever the case is.

And so it kind of gave me this like cognitive calmness I call it, where I'm just more aware of how to treat people when things go wrong. And I think that's something that I had to learn. 'cause I was, I would get frustrated very easily.

Oh, I love it. That is so, so, so true. If you've ever met her parents, this is, and are you either one? It's just, just all in the family. Truly with all of you, there is a, there is a great calmness about it. And when I first met, when I first went to Stoneville, I didn't know you. I didn't know your. Family. I didn't know any of them, but I will say that it felt like the most welcoming environment.

And I was like, I want to, as a designer I want to purchase from people who I want to do business with. I want to do business with people that I enjoy. I want to do business with people that value me and that I, that I can value as well, not only from a business perspective, but just from a personal perspective too.

And I love that you've. brought that into your company and, and I'm sure your clients see that and respect it as well. Do you get any feedback from your clients as far as a personal touch or, going the extra mile or do they, do they see that or do you have to point it out? I know that sounds silly, but I know sometimes people just expect us to give them everything on a silver platter.

But do you ever have clients who actually say, oh, you're actually different than what I expected a designer to be? You actually do a lot more, for me, I. 

Yeah, I mean I actually, I was just doing a discovery call with a client and she kind of caught me off guard 'cause she was like, I wanna hire you because you're not the typical designer. And I was like, I don't know if this is like an offense or a compliment, but she, but she's like, you're just really relaxed and you know, you have like.

Your target outfit on, like, I feel like you can help me be bougie, but you can also help me save money. And I think hopefully I'm making people feel comfortable and it's like design is approachable and it can be luxury, but it's also, it's something that everyone should look into. And I don't think there's that like, you know, you have to have a $10 million house to hire a designer type thing.

And yeah, I get that a lot.

I do think a lot of people feel that we are untouchable and unreachable and we can't do certain things. And you know, I just had a conversation last week with Joshua Smith about this very same thing, and we were saying that Sometimes people put you on a pedestal and think, oh, you're so busy.

Or you're at this level and you can't do this. And we were just saying, ask us, we may

want to do a nursery, we may want to just do one room. Or, I remember my very first blog, I was back in the day when I was starting out, I, I, my very first blog that I started was called Beautiful affordable design.com.

And I was like, why? I know, right? And I was like, why do I want to. Go that route. And I think because for me, I didn't grow up with a lot of, you know, extravagant means. I didn't have a lot of things handed to us. We had a great life, but it wasn't like, you know, in a mansion or anything. And so for me, I am like you.

I wanted to find ways to make design attainable in some ways. Of course there's the luxury end, obviously, you know, that is for people who want all the bells and whistles,

But I think there's a happy medium 

I guess like to clarify too, it's like we're not saying you need to be cheap and offer your services at a 

lower rate. This is just about like overall, you know, make your money be a for profit business, but be for everybody.

Yeah, well, to me it's just different levels of service, so you either, you know, get. Full service, which is here, or you get maybe a PDF download that tells you how to do these

things. That, that's that's my levels of it, to me it's like there's, there's lots of different, I call it the value ladder.

So you're giving to the client on the, on your value ladder, and then you find where they fit based upon what they want to spend, what their goals are, If they want all of Amala, if they want you, all in, on the project, the top tier service, then that is at the top that, and they pay for that.

That's

just the way it goes. You know, that's I, I will pay gladly for things that save me time and money and make things, , the best outcome for, for me in, in all aspects of my life. And I'm sure you do the same thing. You know, we all have our trigger that's like, yes, I

will pay for that. 

Yeah, of course. And life is quality, so that's all it comes down to.

So now you've, you've been in the industry a while. You said seven,

seven years now. 

Seven-ish years. Yeah, I think 

Seven-ish? 

Yeah.

Like, what's the math on that? I started my company officially at the end of 2016, 

Okay. Well, don't ask me. I don't, I don't have math without a calculator. They, they tell you in school you'll never have a calculator. But guess what? I have a calculator. It's called my phone. Uh, um, but I was wondering Have you seen any changes in our industry as far as our peers? How do you feel about any sort of comradery?

How do you feel about the design community giving back to one another? I know there's lots of different people who have different perspectives on this, and I've seen a change in my career from where it was a little more hush hush and now people are tending to be. More talkative, more sharing, more giving with their information.

Do you, what do you find, what's on your spectrum of that? How do you see other designers, other peers in our industry helping you or not

helping you? 

I think overall people are super helpful. I think I got incredibly lucky. Like I, you know, like you've been such a dear friend to me and then I have like Jeanie from Cozy Stylist Sheik is always telling me like, let me know if you need anything. And then I'm part of Design Hounds now, so I've met, I.

A whole group of gals and men from that that are amazing and everyone's just really supportive. And I think you need that. 'cause I don't think you can go at this alone. Like we're always learning and I'm sure some people maybe are standoffish, but overall I think it's a really rare and nice community.

and especially if you're. Open to sharing. And if you're open to meeting new people, then those people will be open to sharing with you. So it's just about having a giving heart and a giving soul and a giving mind. And you kind of get that back in return, I

feel when you are that person.

Don't you agree? 

Yeah. And I think, you know, if I'm doing something that's working, it's like, of course I wanna share that with my friends. Like I want them to be. at my level or if not better, like I think that's the whole point of life. So, 

And I love transparency as you know, and I know you do too. You are, you are so transparent with things and you actually, you don't hide anything you really do. And I love it. And I think I wish more people had that character and that trait because I think that so many designers are afraid to talk about their fees or talked about the bad, alongside the good.

And it's not all sunshines and roses and it's not all, you know, fabulous things, but. It is an industry that we love, and I think if we all bring it back to that, then that's what really matters about, the whole reason we do this is because

we love it. Right? And, and every business has ups and downs.

But as you said, it can get lonely sometimes if you're a solopreneur and you're alone on that island and you feel like no one's around. And I think that's why this group of. Designers at market and at different design events is so important to have just online, even just to share in your experiences with one another and to, let you know that we're in this together.

We're all rowing in that

same crazy boat. And no matter if you have a huge company or a smaller company, everybody's just trying as hard as I can to make it successful and to do the best I

can. 

Absolutely.

I, you know, it's so funny. I, I recently saw. And you may have seen it too, an Instagram reel of this actor who was kind of poking fun at interior designers and making, making light of our consultations.

know, he was sort of acting as if like, oh, you should do this. And basically, you know, going around the, did you see this by

chance? 

No.

Okay. So and he ended up doing three more reels. Brian? Brian, I did Brian something. He's, he's the guy from Will, will and Grace. He's the. He was

Jack's boyfriend on Will and Grace and I can't remember his. Yeah,

so 

And Grace is an interior designer, our 

Right. But he basically goes around and he and the, and and he is like sort of making up stuff off the top of his head and it just sounds so silly and it's, and it's funny when you listen to it, but also I'm just like, it's kind of offensive to me too because we actually. Do put a thought process behind it.

And we do think about what we're saying to clients during consultations and especially, during a meeting of a presentation. But How do you feel about just general thoughts on how the public perceives us, because that's always been like a be in my bonnet when people are just like, oh no, you know, I could, I could, I could do this myself, but I'm just going to have you do it because I need, I don't have time to do that.

do you see that the, is it number one, do you notice that in any part of of the community, the world, the industry, the social media, any of that? And number two, how do you think we combat that? I.

I, this might be like the wrong thing to say, but I am a little worried about our industry only because I feel like there's people that are joining our industry and we always want people to join, but they don't wanna do the work it takes to actually be a quality designer. And they like the idea of kind of like the, the glitz and glam of it and not like the.

The CAD drawings and your, all of your shoes having construction material on it, part of it. And I think the glitz and glam part of it when people are just aspiring for that, I think other people don't take us seriously 'cause they're like, oh, this is just like a cutesy person that's here to like fluff some pillows when in reality we're doing so much more.

So like that's been kind of my like. I don't even know what to call it. It's not negative, but like it's my concern. It's like, no, we're so much more than that and I want us to be acknowledged for what we actually do, if that makes sense.

So how do we do

it? 

I don't know. You're, you have the podcast. I think it's just about like educating clients and like I think, you know, we have all these conventions and markets and stuff, and it's just about kind of raising that awareness and like as a community kind of setting that guideline.

all right, if we wanna call ourselves designers, if we're doing the legwork, this is kind of how we get there and here's steps A, B, and C to take and. Maybe we start teaching others how to take those steps instead of just excluding people in some way, or, you know, just be inclusive, but also be like, get your steps together.

I agree. No, I agree with all that, and that's what I wanted to hear is just, it is just transparency and openness about it. It's just showing your clients the process, showing your clients the bad when it happens, and how you fix the bad, and how you overcame the problem and not making yourself this magician. Who you know, is just going to wave the wand and fix everything. Like, yes, we can fix it, but here's how we're going to do that. It's gonna cost more time for us. It's gonna probably cost more money for you because it's going to take more time for us, and you're going to pay us for that, but we're going to fix

this.

And I'm all about leading a client through And, and I know that with social media that, that to me, I feel is this guise that people sort of. Live behind this facade of social media of like, yes, yes, yes. It's beautiful. I'm sitting here in this beautiful dress or this great suit in this room that I designed and you know, they don't show your car full of boxes and they don't show you, schlepping last minute to home goods to grab a couple of accessories that you just had to have to finish it

off or whatever. And that's the part that I don't think clients are aware of either. And I know sometimes we. Push clients away for the install and I wonder if we had clients there for the install, if they would just, I know, I know it'd be a pain in our ass to do that, but I wonder if, if they were actually there. For the install, if they would see like, oh my God, like, or if we video recorded or something, you know, like, maybe we should do a time lapse of the day.

I don't know. Because to me that's when, the stuff really hits the fan is on that last day when you're like, oh God, there's no outlet there or whatever. You know? I've, I've seen everything at this point, but I just think that just being a, being open about it with, with everybody within our community.

With our clients. And again, there are people who don't want to know about any of that. But I still, I still tell them, I still, I still, me personally, I still let them know that yes, we had a couple of issues. This is what we're doing to fix it and we're all good now, but I just wanted you to know that we did solve this problem.

' cause otherwise they think it's just

running 

Like nothing happened at all. Yeah.

Yeah. And I don't like that. I don't like that. I think that, you know, we're all human beings and. Life, life happens and, you know, stuff happens. And that's just, that's just

the way it is. So I agree with you there. on your website, I noticed that, and, of course in knowing you, giving back is something that's important to you in your life personally, but also in your business.

And I was just wondering, when you put it on your website, was that intent, I mean, I know it was intentional, how is that working out for you? First of all, was it intentional to. Sort of, you know, bringing in new clients, was it intentional just to show your awareness and how is it working? Are people reacting to it?

Are people appreciative of it? Because I personally love it and I think that it's just a good way to show who you are as a person and to also show that you have other reasons to do

your business rather than just, you know, making money for yourself. So tell me about your giving back, the premise behind it and how that's

working for you. 

So it's funny 'cause I didn't really put it on my website as like a marketing tool. I actually put it because I, it's in my contract. when I submit my proposal to a client and they're initialing off all of the points that I'm, you know, covering for the project at the end, they sign off on it. And then they have to pick an organization that their funds will go towards.

And I have several different ones. I have the Trevor Project, I have my three, I have food on Foot, and then I'm doing an animal rescue as well now that I'm donating to. And so it's, you know, I have a diverse selection and something that'll appeal to everybody, but something that's important to me. So the website link was more just like a.

Here, read about each of these organizations and pick one, 'cause your money's going there, but you pick where it goes. And I think people have been really responding to that 'cause they feel like they're also donating and their money's going somewhere. And it makes me feel good too, especially, you know, I pick things that are part of my daily life, so they're important to me.

And so it helps me kind of grow my own community and my friends and family around that benefit from these organizations.

Oh my gosh. That's so good. That's so good. so you have it in your agreement and then they choose at that point, and then do you, do you go in. Into explaining to them, you know, why they're important to you, or do they, do they already know? I'm just curious of how that, do you actually go into personal reasons of why or how does, how do you explain it to them

of why you've done 

Sometimes, like some clients don't even ask. And I've had clients be like, you just picked something. And then other clients have really asked me, like, like the Trevor Project, for example, is really important to me. I, I have family members and friends that are all part of the LGBTQIA plus community, and I've lost.

A couple friends now, unfortunately, that have taken their own lives because of. Kind of their struggles within themselves and not finding their place in the world. And so that's something, especially for people under 18, it's like I don't want that to ever happen to people. So if the least I could do with my life is donate some money every month.

So there's call centers available and funding for housing and you know, whatever people need, that's the least that I can do, I think. And so like that, every organization kind of has its own purpose within. My business.

That's so good. You know, I, I feel that I've always said that your business and personal lives are. they're all intertwined with what we do, and I think this is just perfect example of that. And I know you didn't put it on your website for marketing, but I will say that what I love about it is that it, you didn't, but it is working, in my opinion, it's working as such because it is showing people who you are, thus showing people who your company is, thus making people want to work with you more.

So I, I'm a big advocate for showing people truly who. The person is behind the design. I've seen websites where they don't even put their

face on the website, and I'm, I'm like, who is this? You know, like, please. and you and I have had conversations about, when you actually truly open up and you are showing yourself to the world and showing who you are, that is when your true people find you and then those people want to stay with you.

And then that one project becomes. Another project, and then they're going to refer their friends, and then they're going to say, oh my God, I had the best, experience with Amala. she does this X, Y, and Z, and then tell their kids about it. And I think it's just this whole organic kind of trickle down that's so really great.

Right. 

yeah, I like it. And I hope like, and it was really easy to set up is the other thing, like, so if someone's listening to this and they're like, oh, I, I have an organization that I love, like, just do it. Just put it on your website. Make it a part of your plan. And I think, you know, if anyone wants to Instagram me and ask how, or how to start that, like, I'm happy to help.

Like I, there's so many people that we could donate to and build with.

I was speaking to a coaching client about this very thing, and we were discussing maybe even you know, for clients who are apprehensive about working with a designer, you could even give a portion of your consultation. I. To A cause and maybe get them onboarded with your company that way.

Right. So they're like, oh, I love this person. my consultation's not just going to go all to them. It's gonna go partially to a charity or you know, organization.

So that's another 

Oh, I love that. Okay.

Yeah. It's just again, all the warm and fuzzies because it is a people

business and. as I say, we're gonna be seeing your bra on the panties on the floor as we're renovating your house. I know we are. So let's just go ahead and be close to each other as we can

right now. 

I love that.

What do you think are the biggest challenges? I know there's so many challenges for, this industry but for someone just joining the industry, you've been in it for a while, you've, had different avenues that you've come into it from.

We all, again, as I said, come into it from different ways. It's a second, third, fourth, whatever career for me. I don't even know. But for you, it was a natural progression from your family's business, but do you see any challenges for someone coming into the industry now? And I know we all want to, predict the future, but what do you think would be a challenge for someone coming into the industry now and then?

What advice would you have for that person? what would you have for amala eight years ago if, if you were speaking to eight years ago, Amala.

I think a big challenge that maybe it's challenge forever, but I think it's getting more challenging as life goes on, is as we're working with new vendors and contractors and subs and everybody, it's really hard sometimes to communicate with people because my communicating style might not be what. The general contractor stylist, but we need to communicate.

So it's about bridging that gap. And I like using a lot of like the online tools and you know, I have Google sheets and processes and technology is improving that I encourage, you know, like younger designers or even like if builders and contractors to utilize those resources. Because I think when that lack of communication becomes an issue, it snowballs really fast and.

I think we just have to kind of be aware on how to tackle it and move forward from that.

How, how much of an open line of communication do you keep with your tradespeople that you work with? Is it a constant communication because you do new, new constructions and renovations

alike? Right. 

Correct. And so mainly I communicate directly with the builder or contracting group. I don't they, and then they have all of their subs who, you know, I'm friendly with. I'll have their information and we can check back and forth on stuff, but I make sure that the builder is like. CC'd or looped in on every single message that goes out because, a lot of times something gets lost in translation if you just verbally talk about it.

And that's something that I learned very quickly. Like I'm putting everything in writing and all my measurements are written down, signed off on, and it's challenging, but I think once you find the right people, it makes it easier.

I mean, that could be a whole episode in itself, just about documentation and the reasoning behind it and the lessons behind it. cause I made that mistake early on as well. I did not document as much as I should, and, and I think we all have it in our heads, right? We know. The steps, and we know that you should do this before you do that there's so many things So for me, having this documentation is just so, so critical. Do you start that early on? Do you let them know that this is how you work? Do you let them know that you. Like to document things or do you just start by documenting, how, how 

I mean, I just start by documenting, but I put everyone in it. I use like Google, oh, quite a bit. So I have like my Google's like studio set up So it's like I just loop everyone in the project in, invite them all into the collaboration rooms. And so everybody's seeing everything. And I don't know if you watch Real Housewives at all, but like, 

Yeah.

Like what? The Salt Lake City, when they're like receipts proof, timeline, screenshots, like that's what my business is built off of. Like I just have her in my head forever now. Like that's how we have to do it because things get lost otherwise.

Yes, totally, totally, totally, totally. And then even if you think that you said it, you're, you forget. So how busy do you get? So you may have remembered that you said something, yesterday, but you're not gonna remember that next 

Yeah, exactly. Like when you're doing 

or 

you 

have to keep writing as you go.

Oh my gosh.

Like I don't even remember what I had for breakfast yesterday. Much less what happened on a project yesterday. I mean, really it's just, it gets so overwhelming. And especially I think when you're a solopreneur, you do get lost in all of that, and it is hard to, when you're juggling invoicing and site visits and creative and all the things, it's hard to remember like what you actually did do.

So you use

Google, like a Google 

I know 

it's really basic, but yeah, like I use the.

I think a lot of people might

relate to that. Tell me about it. 

stuff. It's like you can pay for like a more accessible account that you can store more on, but I do everything on Google and it's easy 'cause then if someone's on the go, they can just pull it up quickly. It's not like some third party app or anything and everybody has it.

What I find sometimes with technology is that some of the GCs or builders or whomever, they're like, ah, I don't know how to use that. So you have to do this little onboarding session. Oh, no, it's true, it's true. It's like, they're like what's an app? Or, you know, what, or worse, what's, what's a Google?

You know 

I know what's.

Yeah. Who's Mr. Google? No, but I, I, I love technology. Technology to me, I always say it is like another employee. It's another team member that I have that makes my business just run so smoothly and you can wake up in the morning and not only have your business organized when you're in it, but even sometimes when you're not in it, you know, they can schedule a consultation or they can, send a questionnaire in and they can basically be working on things when you're not online, which is, the simplest thing I've found, and this is so simple, and I don't know why more of us don't do this. Is, especially for solopreneurs, is just to put an autoresponder on our emails cause we're out and about all day, we're super busy. So just put an autoresponder if you're emailing me about this, here's how you handle this. If you can't log into your account, here's how you do this.

So put these general questions on there for people just to like, oh, okay. I can, oh, okay. There's the answer. And if you need more questions, come back to me. I'll check my email later on today. I think that would just sort of. Eliminate for a lot of solopreneurs, that worry of having to respond to every email, every time

it came in.

Just a 

I'm totally gonna start doing that 'cause I don't do that and I, 

Do it. Do

it. 

at one in the morning. I love that.

Yeah. 'cause I mean, think about everything that we do that is repetitive, that is almost the same answers. To the same questions every time, which is why I started doing my systems and processes is because it just made sense to document. I was like, I'm repeating myself over and over and over, so let's put this in a format.

And so I do the same thing now with autoresponders, cause it's just, again, it's nine times out of 10. it's

the same question. 

Yeah. 

What do you think, we've talked about so many great things about you and your business and, and really cool parts about it, but What do you think is your secret sauce?

Do you have something that makes you apart from other designers? and if so, how do you relate that to the world? as far as marketing but what do you feel is your, your special thing that it sets you apart?

Because we all need something that. This big

sea of designers that niches us down, I think to be something different and to show the world, you know, that we are something different because I hate when it's just this bland, We all wanna make clients happy. Yes, we all wanna design beautiful homes.

Yes. Tell me how you are going to do that for me from a client's perspective. If I'm a client, I want to know, especially from you, how you're going to do that. So what, what, what do you think is your secret ingredient? Your Colonel Sanders secret ingredient.

I think, I mean, for better. I think I'm just really myself at all times, and I think that does kind of differentiate me maybe from some other people in our industry where this is what you get. Like I, I am not gonna polish it up further and this is, this is who I am. You either like my process or you don't.

And I think because of that, a lot of my clients feel like they can talk to me a little bit easier. And that's kind of been my secret sauce is where. I'm able to get my clients to open up a lot more just by being friends with them and like befriending their families and learning about what their kids do and how many dogs they have and where the dog likes to sleep around the house.

So I know which, where to put some performance fabrics. And I really, I think getting to know your client goes a long way and I think I've really personalized on that and it comes naturally to me and I think that helps me a lot.

Do you have a formal questionnaire? Do you do it verbally and write it down for them? How do you do this onboarding

intake process 

It is a little of both. I do have a, I have a Google sheet that has very basic questions like, 

Of course you have a 

are in your house? Like, tell me about the animals. Tell me like who works from home, who doesn't? Those kind of things. But then I also like to do a sit down in-person consultation before we start.

And aside from going through the home and what we need to do, I really try to get an idea of what their lifestyle is. And I was actually just talking to my friend about this yesterday and she does something similar. And she said that in her area, she lives out here in Vegas and she does a lot of residential and she said that clients have told her, oh, you're the first designer that we've ever used that asked us this.

And you know, they've 

Oh my God. 

I was like, that can't be a thing. But I guess people just aren't, it's not a natural process to everybody. And I don't know, maybe it should be, but I know it's hard. Like some people just, you know, it's hard to connect 

Well, I know for me when I started out there was no, yeah, I do too. I love that connection and I, again, made all the wrong mistakes when I started, which is why I had this podcast, and which is why I have coaching and all the things. I don't want anyone else to do that, but I just went in. Not from a pompous perspective, but I just went in thinking like, oh, I'm the designer.

I know what to do versus asking the client. And so from, first, when I opened my doors to probably it took me about six months to figure out like, oh no, no, John, this is their house. This is not your

house. They live here. You need to cater this to them and make it special for them.

you have opinions, obviously we're the experts, obviously we know all the fabrics and why things work the way they should and floor plans and, all that. But at the end of the day, they live there and we have to make them happy with, with the house. And have you ever had to compromise on anything just because of the client, wanting something one way and perhaps you wanted to do it a different way?

Has that ever been a compromise? And if so, how did you face that?

I mean, definitely I think more so in like the aesthetics realm of design where it's, you know, I've recommended some finishes or fabrics and they go with something that's the complete opposite and maybe it doesn't, Fit the flow of the home, but they love it. And it's one of those things where, I have to not take it personally.

'cause like you said, it's not our home. We're not living in it. So they have to use what makes them happy. and I think hopefully this isn't the wrong thing to say, but like the 

There's no wrong thing 

is like, well, I want this to be perfect so I can get my photos and share it on social media and put it on my website and this.

Sofa you picked out is not gonna make the cut. But that's not right. Like, that's not cool of me to say or to think. So it's just adjusting my mindset and being like, no, they love it. They're gonna live with it for the next 10 years. Like, go be you, go do it. that's still a learning process for me though.

I always, well, I always say there's certain projects that are. Gonna be in the magazine, they're gonna be on your website. And there's certain projects that just pay the bills. And that is not that you, not that you don't give any more or less to those projects, you do. But the point is that client is wanting a lot more interaction.

They're wanting a lot more input, and you are not getting your designer way, quote

unquote, as much as you probably wanted to. And we have to let go of that ego. We have to let go of the fact that, this is not going to be. Award

winning. But you know, what I've also learned is you can get very creative with the way you shoot your photographs.

Sometimes you can just edge out that ugly sofa or edge out, you know, that grandma's coffee table and get the shot that you want. So I've been very cre I've even, I've even on houses that I really, really, really loved and I don't recommend this, but I've done it. I've even brought in furniture before just to get it to where I wanted it to because I was so passionate about the project early on, and I haven't done that in, oh my gosh, years and years and years.

But I have done that before, you know, true confessions because I just felt so passionate about the whole house. and as you know, sometimes with magazines and different publications, they want a whole house

to be published, not just, you know, one room or whatever. but yeah, the ego is the ego's hard, right?

The ego is so hard. 

The designer,

of things, 

like a spiritual self realization episode. I was gonna say though, like you bringing in furniture, like the 2024 equivalent is like going on Photoshop and just AIing what you want into the room, which I mean, don't do that, but I guess that's the same thing.

well, I think that's actually even worse because that's just like clicking a button and you're not having to do any work at all, you know? But yes, you're right. And I wonder, I wonder so many times that how many people I see, ' cause in the past people would just steal your work from your page and put it on their Instagram page and they would just take your image

and, put it on theirs and and then just say like, oh, look at this beautiful project.

And then they get followers from it and

whatever. Now they just have, they just have to find an AI image. Oh, I know. It's so creepy. I've called people out on it to their face before in person. But with, with ai, yeah, you're right. I, I, I wonder how many things we're looking at that are actually really real

anymore that are actually genuine, how do you feel now?

That's a really interesting subject because I know a lot of people, either they don't know a lot about AI or they don't know anything at all about it, and they have their head in the sand. And they pretend it's not going to change our industry and the world, and it already has started to do that. Or they're starting to embrace it and I've tiptoed into it and embraced it, not from the visual side, but more from, just like the writing side of things.

It helps sometimes with

blog writing to give you topics to give you ideas, but are you concerned about it affecting our industry visually and, now, the whole goal from a lot of these companies is to make design accessible to everyone, literally, to everyone for like $99 or whatever.

Hire a designer for 99 bucks on these websites. But I think AI, in my opinion, could take that even further. are you concerned

about that? 

I mean, that would involve the client knowing what they want though, which is. Hard, I think so much is like our client wants a finish room or finish space and they don't know how to do it, so how are they gonna tell AI what they want? Like that's our job. That's where we come in. We're like, here's how you can do it.

but I think AI is gonna be around, I think us ignoring it is not gonna help us. So we have to kind of adapt and at least learn it, be familiar with it. I don't really use it at all, but I, I think I downloaded chat GBTA couple months ago and I've used it for ideas for like, like blog prompts.

I'll be like, it'll, and it doesn't sound like me 'cause it's all, you know, ai, but I can be, oh, that's a good way to put this and reword it in my own way. And I can say, okay, I wanna write a blog post. Focusing on this product and how great the finish is, blah, blah, blah. And it writes it nicely and then I can reword it.

So like that, there's AI images that I know designers sometimes uses like mood boards almost now, and I haven't done that, but there's some cool ones out there. And I think as long as you're transparent about it and you let people know, Hey, this isn't a real space, this is just ai, I think it's fine. But the moment that kind of blurry dishonesty comes in is where I get kind of creeped out.

I say, use it as your assistant. So use it as like an assistant to you. Take it as like you say as a guide and then edit and change. 'cause it never sounds like.

You never, never, never. But it does come up with some really cool, like, oh, okay, that's a great avenue to explore. Let me expand on that and let me, you know, say more about that.

' maybe it's a heading and a blog that you wouldn't have added to your blog originally. And it's almost like someone sitting beside you saying, oh yeah, add this heading in there, or, you know, add this little piece of content. Right. So that's the easiest way that I think people can incorporate it into their businesses is just by a blog or a newsletter.

But as you say, my encouragement is to take it and reword it, to make it sound like you not just, 'cause it's pulling it from the

internet, it's pulling it from, you know, other people's

words. Right. 

Yeah. 

You were saying you worry about clients and ai, you know, that you can actually put in. Design a room as Amala Raj and it will design a

room 

No way. 

you can do that now. So it can say, you know, design a room in Kelly Worler style design a room in John McLean, design style. And it will actually,

sadly and scarily it will actually, yeah, it will actually do that. So I, the capabilities of this crazy thing.

yeah. It's, it's wild. It's wild what it will do. and strangely, it actually looks like the same aesthetic that the person would have

designed. 

That, that's kind of crazy. I, I'm gonna go research this.

So what's next for you? What is next on the horizon? are you gonna add any new services to your company? Do you have any new additions that you're gonna change?

anything marketing wise that you're going to change for your company for this upcoming year that you maybe have found that's worked or hasn't or, or you're going to build upon? I'm always curious about that business side of things, about what, people are thinking about the past,

what's worked. Did you do any introspective work, last year to see. What you may want to revise or grow upon for this upcoming year. Where are you

with that? 

So like actually, so pre pandemic, I really wanted to launch some sort of e-commerce website. And then the pandemic hit, I got worried about like just investing in inventory, all of that. And I never did it. And now I'm kind of at that place where I'm like, okay, I'm getting that itch again where I wanna do that.

So I, that's something, and market's been super helpful. For that. So I've been visiting a lot of vendors for accessories, home goods, gifts, but that kind of stuff. And so that's something I wanna work on curating and starting out really small, but I wanna get pieces that are very my vibe and not what you can find at, you know, home goods and kind of more colorful or a little weird or bizarre, like just really unique pieces.

And that's something I'm looking forward to. And then I've been thinking about doing some sort of like. I, I, I don't like the term e-sign. It's more like e decorating, but like, kind of like. Some package of that sort for clients that are further away. 'cause I've gotten a lot more inquiries through social media from people like, Hey, can you help me with a project?

I'm in Texas or North Carolina or wherever. And they're not in this, the place to fly me out and do it physically, but it's like, oh, maybe I can just help them with finishes or suggest this kind of stuff. So that's something I'm kind of talking to some friends about, trying to figure out how they do it, how I can kind of make it my own.

And hopefully I can start that soon.

That's

awesome. Yeah. I love it. Half of owning a business is pivoting and knowing when to change or add or take away, and I love that you're looking into other things, not only other things that. Make you happy, but other things that clients are asking for as

well. And I think for me, I, my 2 cents is just give your deliverables to whatever service you're offering.

As long as they know what to expect upfront for what they're paying, then you can offer anything and you can sell anything. 'cause you're giving them that expectation upfront of their deliverables for their e-sign or whatever virtual design. And then they know exactly what they're getting. They know that you're not gonna fly out and you know,

install everything, but you're going to do X, Y, and Z for them and this is what they're paying for.

And wrap it up with a bow in a package and there you have it. So I think that's

really, really great. So how this is, 

a volume client maker, like you can do more at once too, which could be interesting.

and I think there's a whole, to me, I love systems as you know, and processes, and there's a whole different set of processes for. Something like that versus an in-home design where you're working directly

with a client in their house with a builder, with a contractor. I always say I love baking the cake, but I also love icing the cake so much more, which is the, to me, the dec, the decorating part, and just putting all the things in place.

So if you can help someone put the icing on this cake that they already have, and maybe they don't want to change. The cake. They just want to change the icing, and you can just change the icing from afar. Why

not? You know, I can ship icing anywhere. This has been so great. I've loved chatting with you. Tell everybody where to find you, where you hang out. You're always active on all kinds of social places. I love, I love your, I love your tiktoks and your, and your Instagram. So tell everyone where you are and how to

connect with you. 

So, yeah, I'm on Instagram and TikTok on both of those. My handle is just my business name. It's at Amala Raj Interiors. Yeah, come say hi.

Spell that

for the people listening 

So it's a M as in Mary, A-L-A-R-A-J, interiors.

Perfect. Well, I have thoroughly enjoyed talking to you as well. I know the listeners have, and I know that this was a lot of great advice for people whether they're just starting out or whether they want to maybe change some things in their business. So thank you so much for being open and honest and for

just being you and sharing

yourself 

today.

I appreciate it. 

you for being a friend and having me 

on.

Ah, see you soon. 

Bye. 

Thanks for sticking with me to the end of the designer within podcast. It means the world to me. If you're ready to dive deeper into the topics that we've discussed here, be sure to check out my online coaching and courses program, design success academy. com here. I will teach you everything you need to know to run your interior design business.

From starting the project all the way to the end, including marketing and pricing your services for profit. And for more information on this podcast, including how to be a guest or my design services in general, go to johnmcclain. co. That's johnmcclain. co. See you soon, friend.