Why you need to think like a General Manager
So, you might be asking what a general manager actually does in an interior design studio and why you need to think like one in your business.
What exactly does a general manager do in an interior design studio?
The best way to think of this is a bit like a traffic cop directing traffic in the studio and making sure that everything is running smoothly. Having the mindset of a general manager, even if it is just you on your own, constantly thinking about the larger picture of your studio and thinking about the flow of work.
A great example is staying on top of your meeting schedule. Having too many client meetings in one week is a great way to make you feel overwhelmed and stressed. You don't have time to do the work that is generated by each meeting. Everything else becomes impossible.
But you also need to make sure that you have the right client meetings booked in so that you can invoice as you need to and you are sticking to your invoicing timelines. This ultimately makes sure your cash flow is on track.
So having that kind of bird's eye overview of the studio means that it's not whoever calls at first gets booked in. There's a strategy and a strategic general manager mindset means that you are looking at your systems and processes and running your business in a way that is logical, organized, calm and coherent. Not scattergun and whatever is the most urgent issue is the one that gets done.
Having this approach and mindset in your business, even if it is just you, is crucial to running a successful business.
So having a general manager mindset is one thing but you need to have the systems and processes in place to support that mindset.
Why is it so important that you have your systems and processes in place?
If you don't have your business systems running smoothly then you are going to be wasting so much time in your business. Think about the admin tasks that you do for every project:
Can you do them quickly and efficiently?
Do you do them the same way for every project?
If someone had to find the information for you, could they do that easily?
Often I talk to designers and they feel their business is running them and they don't enjoy the business. Most of the time, it is because the back end of the business - all these systems and processes - is a mess.
Making sure that your systems and processes are in place and working well means that you're going to be able to work efficiently which ultimately means you are going to have a more successful business.
Here is how MTTD can help with your general manager mindset making sure that your systems and processes are in place.
Listen to our podcast The Design Dialogues Podcast where we talk each week about how to run a successful interior design business
Learn with our The Process courses which take you set by step through what to do to run a successful interior design project.
Book a Health Check to have Beth personally look over your business systems and processes.
Use MTTD, the tool designed by Beth Bieske (interior designer + general manager) to run your interior design studio