EP 423 | Double Your Income with Kristen Apicerno
April 8, 2025
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Ever worried that you’re charging too much? Of course you have. You’re an interior design professional! But no more says Kristen Apicerno. Kristen, a Kimberley Seldon disciple, initially struggled with charging appropriate fees for her services. She felt that charging a project management fee was “double dipping” and peers and other professionals agreed. This erroneous attitude severely limited her earning potential, that is, until she joined BOD™. Once she implemented the systems, she realized she was undercharging and tackling the most challenging parts of the project for free. Hear her story of meteoric success.
In this episode we learn:
- always take the approach that designer and client are equals, and emphasize that with language
- during every step, tell clients what’s going to happen before it happens
- ask purposeful open-ended questions and let the client do most of the talking
- use post-project opportunities to gain repeats and referrals.
DESIGN INTERVENTION
There’s no such thing as “double dipping” in design profit centers. To stay profitable, we should charge for ALL of these: our expertise and time, markup on goods and services and project management. No one accuses a grocery store of “double dipping” because they make profit on a loaf of bread AND their delivery service. Designers are a business-not a hobby.
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Legal Disclosure | This podcast is for educational purposes only and should not be used for any legal decisions. Kimberley Seldon Design Group, Kimberley Seldon Productions Inc., Kimberley Seldon Design and Media, Inc., Business of Design™, or any of its affiliated companies or staff is not responsible for any errors or omissions effecting accuracy in any content, and they will not be held liable for the use or misuse of information, facts, details or any other aspects should there arise any defects, errors, omissions or perhaps inaccuracies. Extensive research has been conducted to put this podcast together for the purpose of educating our industry in order to better serve the public. Care has been taken to acknowledge ownership of copyrighted material. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is offered with the understanding that we do not render any legal, accounting or other professional advice. Seek the advice of a lawyer and/or other competent professional person in all matters of law. Further, listeners should be aware that internet websites mentioned may change or disappear between when this was recorded and when it was listened to.