A major life change forced interior designer Lynda MacDonald to rethink what she wanted from her career and gave her the push she needed to fulfil the dream of starting her own business. And thus, The Design Chaperone– an interior design, decorating and styling firm based on the Gold Coast in Queensland – was born in March 2020.
Stepping out on your own can be terrifying, particularly when it’s during the height of Covid-19. Here, MacDonald reveals how she used Houzz Pro to help grow her new business from the ground up, from finding new clients to streamlining her everyday processes.
Interior designer and decorator Lynda MacDonald of The Design Chaperone.
How did your business start?
I launched my business in March 2020 when I lost my full-time interior design job at the start of Covid-19. It forced me to think about what it was I really wanted to do.
Working for myself had always been the plan and this really pushed me to do it. I love that I can help my clients find solutions to their design problems and create amazing homes for them, from the planning stages right through to final styling.
How has Houzz Pro helped your business grow?
I have been using Houzz to advertise since I started my business. I have since started using Houzz Pro for all my product selections and proposals for clients, plus the back-end of purchasing through suppliers and following up on orders using the Product Tracker. It’s a fantastic tool.
What did you use before?
Before Houzz Pro, I was using Excel worksheets. I was relying on formulas and would have to spend a lot of time rechecking everything prior to sending anything to a client so it was accurate and looked presentable.
Houzz Pro streamlines the whole process and it’s just so much simpler to use. It’s important while growing my business and adding new team members that we are all able to see at a glance which stage each project is at.
What were your initial thoughts about Houzz Pro?
At first, I was a little cautious about spending on the advertising and not knowing how successful it would be for me as a new business – every cent counts when you’re starting out.
But Houzz Pro really has been the reason behind my success. Without consistent leads, I wouldn’t be where I am today, two years on.
Not every lead turns into a great customer, but once I get their details, it’s up to me to sell my services and find out if we are a good fit to move forward with the project.
What has impressed you most?
Having Houzz advertising sync up with my Houzz Pro business software – it’s the winning point for me when compared with other business software.
It has allowed me to have presentable online software to share my client proposals and product selections, which goes a long way towards an enjoyable customer experience for my clients.
Streamlining the way I turn my invoices into purchase orders and making the entire process faster has been an absolute game-changer. As an interior designer, we have hundreds of products being ordered at any time and so much admin that we need to do behind the scenes. Anything that helps save us time is a huge advantage.
What’s your favourite feature?
I love the Product Clipper tool. Being able to see a product online and quickly save it to my product database or directly to a client’s Mood Board is such a time-saver. This was what first drew me to using Houzz Pro instead of just having a Houzz profile.
I didn’t realise I had all of this functionality at my fingertips that I wasn’t taking advantage of. Now, I use it every day in my business.
