Business Builder Discussion: Kara Duffy Speaks on Aspiring Enterprises
In the world of interior design, it's essential to strike a balance between creativity and business savvy. Kara Duffy, a renowned business strategist and host of The Powerful Ladies Podcast, offers a unique approach to building a successful and fulfilling design business—the "Selfish Business" model.
This model encourages designers to prioritise their needs, creative vision, and lifestyle, creating a business that supports their life, not the other way around. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you build your dream interior design business using Kara's principles:
What is Kara Duffy’s "Selfish Business" Model?
The “Selfish Business” model is about building businesses around what designers truly want—not just chasing profits or client demands blindly. It's about putting personal needs, boundaries, creative vision, and lifestyle first to create sustainable, joyful success.
Steps to Build Your Dream Interior Design Business Using the Selfish Business Model:
- Define Your Vision and Boundaries Clearly
- Outline what you want from your business, considering lifestyle goals such as work hours, client types, project scope, income targets, etc.
- Establish clear boundaries around time, client communication, payment terms, and project scale.
- Identify Your Ideal Client and Niche
- Focus on clients who align with your style, values, and ideal working relationship.
- Choose a niche (e.g., eco-friendly homes, luxury interiors, small spaces) that excites you and within which you can become an expert.
- Set Up Systems that Support You
- Develop streamlined processes for inquiries, proposals, contracts, and project management that protect your time and sanity.
- Use technology and tools that automate or simplify administrative tasks.
- Price for Your Value and Lifestyle
- Price your services based on the life you want, not just market averages or undercutting competition.
- Include value for consultation, design hours, and project management, reflecting your expertise and time.
- Say No Strategically
- Be selective about the projects and clients you take on.
- Turn down jobs that don’t fit your boundaries, vision, or values—even if it means slower growth at times.
- Prioritize Self-Care and Creative Fulfillment
- Allocate time for rest, creativity, and inspiration outside of paid work.
- Design your schedule to avoid burnout, fostering long-term enjoyment in your work.
- Build a Support Network
- Connect with other designers and entrepreneurs who share a similar mindset.
- Seek mentorship, collaborations, or accountability partners to keep your business aligned and growing sustainably.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- Do clarify and communicate your boundaries early to clients.
- Do invest time in marketing to attract your ideal client, not just any client.
- Do regularly revisit your business goals to ensure alignment with personal life goals.
- Do prioritise high-value work and projects that excite you.
- Do invest in learning business skills such as pricing, contracts, and negotiation.
Don’ts
- Don’t sacrifice your vision or well-being for short-term gains.
- Don’t accept every project or client out of fear of missing out.
- Don’t underprice your services to compete if it drains your passion or income.
- Don’t ignore your creative needs—your design voice should lead your work.
- Don’t try to do everything yourself—delegate or automate where possible.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- Burnout from Overwork: Saying yes to too many projects or working outside your preferred hours leads to exhaustion.
- Undervaluing Your Work: Pricing too low to attract clients can undermine your business sustainability.
- Ignoring Boundaries: Letting clients dictate excessive changes or communication outside agreed terms causes stress.
- Lack of Focus: Trying to please everyone or chase trends instead of refining your niche can dilute your brand.
- Neglecting Business Skills: Relying solely on design talent without developing contracts, pricing, and marketing reduces growth potential.
- Forgetting Your Joy: Losing sight of why you love design leads to dissatisfaction even if financially successful.
By following Kara Duffy’s Selfish Business principles, you create a business that serves your needs first, allowing your interior design career to be fulfilling, creative, profitable, and aligned with your lifestyle.
Would you like specific examples of how to set boundaries or price services in this model? Stay tuned for more insights from Kara Duffy!
This article was originally published in the Winter 2025 issue of DesignDash Magazine.
- The "Selfish Business" model in interior design emphasizes the importance of prioritizing personal needs, creative vision, and lifestyle, ultimately creating a sustainable and enjoyable business.
- To build a dream interior design business using Kara Duffy's principles, one must clearly define their vision and boundaries, identify their ideal client and niche, set up systems that support them, price for their value and lifestyle, say no strategically, prioritize self-care and creative fulfillment, build a support network, and adhere to the Do's and avoid the Don'ts.
- It's crucial to communicate boundaries to clients early, invest time in marketing to attract the ideal client, regularly revisit business goals to align with personal life goals, and prioritize high-value, exciting projects.
- Avoid sacrificing vision or well-being for short-term gains, accepting every project or client out of fear, underpricing services, ignoring creative needs, trying to do everything alone, and neglecting business skills.
- Common pitfalls to avoid include burnout from overwork, undervaluing work, ignoring boundaries, lack of focus, neglecting business skills, and forgetting the joy of design.
- By following Kara Duffy's Selfish Business principles, an interior design career can be fulfilling, creative, profitable, and aligned with one's lifestyle, leading to long-term success and satisfaction.
- In the world of design and entrepreneurship, diversity-and-inclusion, leadership, careers, personal-finance, wealth-management, news, and small-business are all aspects that play a significant role in building a successful and impactful design business.
