The Business of Beautiful Spaces Podcast for Interior Designers | Interior Design Business Pocast

Laura Thornton, Interior Designer
  • 4.9 (35)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to The Business of Beautiful Spaces, the podcast where interior design matters! As Interior Designers, we understand the power of creating beautiful and functional spaces that not only look good, but also enhance our daily lives. Join us on this journey as we explore the ins and outs of the interior design industry and dive into the business side of things. From one interior designer to another, we'll share our experiences, insights, and lessons learned as we strive to create spaces that not only make a statement, but also make a difference. So sit back, relax, and let's get started on The Business of Beautiful Spaces.  AI Made Simple for Interior Design: The 2-Part Smart Business Toolkit, ChatGPT Edition https://www.theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/ai-made-simple-for-interior-designers-2-part-chat-gpt-smart-toolkit AI Made Simple for Interior Design: The 2-Part Smart Business Toolkit, Claude Editionhttps://www.theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/ai-made-simple-for-claude-the-2-part-smart-business-toolkit The Business of Beautiful spaces Freebie:  https://the-business-of-beautiful-spaces.ck.page/ Mentorship One on One : https://theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/mentorship The Profit Academy for Interior Designers Online Course: https://theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com You can find us at  www.thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.com, email us at hello@thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.com or any social media platform @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.

  1. 6d ago

    190. Let's Talk About your Last 50 Working Days of 2026

    Send us Fan Mail Everyone tells you there are a hundred days left in the year. There are eighty eight, and only forty nine of them are working days that can still change anything. That is not a scare tactic. Forty nine is a number you can plan around. A hundred is a number you can hide behind. In this episode Laura walks through the three numbers to pull before you plan another thing, and why the gap between what you have collected and what you thought you had collected is always bigger than expected. Then how to build a forecast honest enough to include the projects that will quietly slip into next year, because every miserable January begins in an October where somebody did not want to look. Then the practical part: the four decisions still inside your control before Christmas, each of which takes about an afternoon. Plus why a December discount does not cost you December, it costs you the following spring, and how to close a revenue gap on speed rather than on price. Your year is not decided in January. It is decided by what you price in October. The real day count, and why the fortnight from 14 December does not belong in itThree numbers to find before you make a single plan, and the strict rule for what counts as pipelineWhy anything not signed today is very unlikely to produce installation revenue this yearThe four decisions that still change 2026, in the order worth doing themHow the proposals you send in October quietly set your rate for next springWhy discounting in the fourth quarter is the most expensive move available to youClosing the gap on speed instead of price, with three specific ways to do itLAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  2. Sep 21

    189. Let's Talk About Being Booked But Broke

    Send us Fan Mail Being fully booked can look like success from the outside, but a packed calendar does not automatically mean you are running a profitable interior design business. In this episode, Laura explores why so many talented designers find themselves constantly working, managing demanding projects and serving clients, yet still feeling anxious about cash flow and wondering where the money has gone. Laura compares two very different paths. One designer prices by instinct, absorbs scope creep, gives away project management time and waits until the end of the project to determine whether any profit remains. The other uses a reliable pricing method, establishes clear scope boundaries and regularly tracks project hours, expenses and profitability. The difference is not talent or the number of projects booked. It is having the systems and financial clarity to recognize problems early and make informed business decisions. You will learn three practical areas to strengthen in your business: pricing your services properly, controlling scope and reviewing profitability every week. Because being busy is not the goal, and being booked is not enough. The real goal is to build a business that is both booked and profitable, allowing you to serve your clients beautifully without sacrificing your income, energy or peace of mind. LAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  3. Sep 14

    188. Let’s Talk About Profitable on Paper, Broke in the Bank

    Send us Fan Mail You had your best month on record in July. Six weeks later you were awake at two in the morning wondering whether payroll would clear, and nothing went wrong in between. That is not a sign you are bad with money. It is a sign you have been reading the wrong number. In this episode Laura explains why profit and cash are two entirely different figures, why the interior design business creates a wider gap between them than almost any other industry, and what to do about it. She walks through the four forces that pull your account balance out of step with your actual profitability, from lead times and mismatched vendor terms to the costs that always arrive after the money does. Then two structural fixes: how to separate the money that was never yours in the first place, and how to take your design fee off the furniture schedule so it arrives when you actually do the work. Plus the one page, ninety day cash calendar that ends the middle of the night arithmetic for good. If you have ever felt rich in July and frightened in August, this one is for you. Why your account balance measures where you are in a cycle, not how your business is doingThe two column exercise that separates profit from cash in about ten minutesThe four things that widen the gap in our industry: lead times, mismatched payment terms, costs that land late, and a design fee that tricklesThe three account structure, and why your operating balance is meant to look smaller than you expectHow to restructure a deposit schedule so you stop financing your clients' furnitureThe ninety day cash calendar, and the single number on it that matters mostFive things to do this week if the month is already tightLAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  4. Sep 7

    187. Let's Talk About What Successful Designers do Differently behind the Scenes

    Send us Fan Mail From the outside, a successful design firm looks like beautiful projects, polished photography and a full calendar. But those are the visible results. What you don't see is the structure behind them, and that's what this episode is about. I'm going behind the scenes to share what successful interior designers actually do differently: they take the business seriously, invest in themselves and the company, build real professional relationships, create clear processes, review their numbers every week, keep asking what's working and what's not, build the right team, protect their capacity, and make decisions before they feel completely ready. The thread running through all of it? They've stopped running the firm like the designer they were when they worked for someone else, and started running it like the CEO they are now. Plus, I'll give you a one-hour action step, including a calendar audit that reveals which job you've really been doing all week. LAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  5. Aug 31

    186. Let's Talk About Mistakes that Cost me the Most Money in my Design Business

    Send us Fan Mail The mistakes that cost me the most money in my business were never the loud ones. Not the sofa that wouldn't fit through the door or the wrong paint colour on the wall. The expensive mistakes were the quiet ones, sitting in the business month after month, draining money and energy while I was too busy to notice. In this episode I'm sharing the five that cost me the most: scaling without a clear plan, ignoring recurring monthly expenses, hiring the wrong person or the wrong role, underpricing and never reviewing project profitability, and waiting far too long to build processes and ask for help. My hope is that you'll spot these patterns earlier than I did and skip a few years of learning them the hardest possible way. If any of these felt uncomfortably familiar, this is exactly the work we do inside The Profit Academy for Interior Designers, a six-week course opening this September. Join the waitlist on our website to be first through the doors. And if the show has helped you build a better business, a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts is a completely free way to support it and helps other designers find us. LAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  6. Aug 24

    185. Let's Talk About Why Revenue is NOT the Number That Matters Most

    Send us Fan Mail Revenue Is Not the Number That Matters Most in Your Business "I built a six-figure business." "We had a half-million-dollar year." Revenue milestones sound exciting, but here's the truth: you would never judge a room by its square footage alone, and you shouldn't judge a business by its revenue. It tells you the size, and nothing about whether it works. In this episode, Laura walks through one running example, a design firm generating $500,000 in revenue and keeping just $30,000 in profit, and shares the eight financial numbers that actually tell you whether your business is profitable, stable, and capable of supporting your future. This matters enormously in interior design, where huge amounts of money move through the business that never belonged to the business. If you've ever felt behind after hearing another designer's revenue number, this episode will change how you measure success, in her business and your own. LAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  7. Aug 17

    184. Let's Talk About Why Most Designers Never Hit 7 Figures

    Send us Fan Mail Most talented interior designers never reach seven figures in annual revenue, and it has nothing to do with creativity or hard work. In most cases, they're already working too hard. The real issue is that the business was never structured to grow to that level. But before chasing the milestone, there's a more important question: is seven figures even your goal? In this episode, Laura starts with an honest look at what a million-dollar design firm really requires, including the surprising statistics on how rare it actually is, and why a deliberately smaller, design-phase-only firm with no procurement can be a fantastic business built on purpose. Then, for those who do want the milestone, she walks through the eight limitations that keep talented designers from reaching it. Whether your goal is seven figures or a lean, profitable firm that funds a beautiful life, this episode will help you set the right target and see exactly what's standing between you and it. LAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

  8. Aug 10

    183. Let’s Talk About What to Say When a Client Says Your too Expensive

    Send us Fan Mail "You're too expensive." Almost every interior designer has heard it, and even when you know your pricing is fair, those three words can send you straight into explaining, defending, and discounting. In this episode, Laura walks you through exactly what to do when a potential client pushes back on your fees. You'll learn why "too expensive" does not automatically mean your price is wrong, how to uncover what the client actually means, and how to respond with confidence while protecting the profitability of your business. She also shares the discount maths most designers have never run, and it will change how you think about "just taking ten percent off" forever. The goal is not to win every project. It's to communicate your value clearly, adjust the scope instead of your worth, and recognize when a client simply isn't the right fit. What You'll Learn in This Episode The first move when you hear "you're too expensive": pause, and ask one question before you respondWhy an expectation issue and a budget issue are two different conversations, and how to tell which one you're havingThe fee-versus-furnishings confusion: why clients often call the whole project investment "your price"How to reconnect your fee to your value with language that is specific, not defensiveWhy you adjust the scope, never the value, when the budget genuinely can't support the projectThe real cost of a discount: how ten percent off your fee can cut your profit in halfHow to gracefully decline when the client is not the right fit, and the difference between a client seeking clarity and one negotiating your professional worthWhy your own discomfort with a number is not proof the price is wrong, and how to stop negotiating against yourselfLAST CALL: Enrollment for The Profit Academy for Interior Designers closes September 30 at 11:59 PM EST. If you’re ready to understand your numbers, price with confidence, protect your profit, and build a stronger, more sustainable design business, now is the time to join us. Learn more and choose your level at theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com before the doors close. Be sure to follow along on Instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces + @thorntondesign to stay up to date on what we're talking about next week. If you love our podcast, please, please, please leave us a review. If you have any questions or topic ideas OR you wish to be a guest email us thebusinessofbeautifulspaces@gmail.com or find us on instagram @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Laura Thornton is the  principle designer of Thornton Design Inc, located in Kleinburg, ON.  Since founding the company in 1999, Laura has been committed to creating a new kind of interior design experience for her clients. Thornton Design is an experienced team of creative talents, focused on curating beautiful residential and commercial spaces in the Toronto, Ontario area and beyond. Now sharing all the years of experience with other interior designers to create a world of collaboration and less competition.  The Business of Beautiful Spaces  I @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces Thornton Design                                      I @thorntondesign

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Welcome to The Business of Beautiful Spaces, the podcast where interior design matters! As Interior Designers, we understand the power of creating beautiful and functional spaces that not only look good, but also enhance our daily lives. Join us on this journey as we explore the ins and outs of the interior design industry and dive into the business side of things. From one interior designer to another, we'll share our experiences, insights, and lessons learned as we strive to create spaces that not only make a statement, but also make a difference. So sit back, relax, and let's get started on The Business of Beautiful Spaces.  AI Made Simple for Interior Design: The 2-Part Smart Business Toolkit, ChatGPT Edition https://www.theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/ai-made-simple-for-interior-designers-2-part-chat-gpt-smart-toolkit AI Made Simple for Interior Design: The 2-Part Smart Business Toolkit, Claude Editionhttps://www.theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/ai-made-simple-for-claude-the-2-part-smart-business-toolkit The Business of Beautiful spaces Freebie:  https://the-business-of-beautiful-spaces.ck.page/ Mentorship One on One : https://theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com/mentorship The Profit Academy for Interior Designers Online Course: https://theprofitacademyforinteriordesigners.com You can find us at  www.thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.com, email us at hello@thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.com or any social media platform @thebusinessofbeautifulspaces.

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