Wedding planners, have you ever made it to the end of a wedding and been, well, super relieved it was all over? Chances are you made the same mistake as countless other wedding planners: ignoring the warning signs of a toxic client.

Wedding planning is a competitive industry, so securing clients always feels like a great achievement. However, sometimes your clients turn out to be a little problematic; critiquing your packages and rates, demanding 24/7 availability, and shutting down all of your suggestions. Yikes! After reflecting on your time spent working with a difficult client, you can often see that the signs were always there—some discreet, others clear as day.

Whilst securing clients is essential to your business' success, so is preserving your mental well-being. A negative relationship is not good for you or your clients. To prevent any imperfect partnerships in the future, watch out for these red flags when meeting with new clients.

Radio Silence

Everything is prepped. Your clients have signed the contract, paid the retainer, and out of nowhere they... go missing.

You try to contact them multiple times via email, text, and calls—but to no avail. Then, out of nowhere, they return. Expecting everything to be in place. Some clients don't want to be heavily involved in the planning process, that's fine! But 0 communication with no prior agreement is not okay. If your clients are suspiciously hard to contact right from the outset, it could be a red flag.

These are the type of clients that expect you to do the impossible. Often these clients don't even tell you what they want but will always have something to critique in the ideas you present. Whatever you do, it'll be wrong! Slow to no communication will disrupt your entire workflow—take our advice, reserve your time for other clients and run!

Incessant Bargaining

Everyone loves a bargain! However, there is a fine line between ensuring you're getting a fair price and becoming disrespectful.

If a client questions the price of every single one of your wedding packages, repeatedly compares your services to cheaper wedding planners, or says the unthinkable: "your services aren't worth that much"—red flag! Don't fall for it—stand by your prices! These clients are manipulating you. They like your services, but want it for cheap. If a client refuses to come to terms with a well-reasoned explanation of your pricing, it is probably best to call off the partnership on your own terms.

Hour Hogging

If a client is demanding an unreasonable amount of your time in the early stages of planning, it could be nerves but it could also be a sign of controlling behaviour to come.

This is the type of client who doesn't care if it's your rest day, 3 am in the morning, or even if you're at another client's wedding—they'll call you. Best to avoid getting to that stage. Respect should work both ways. If you've clearly discussed your office hours with them but they continue to overstep your boundaries then working with them will only have negative repercussions on your other projects. Nobody should steal precious moments out of your "me" time!

Suspicious Storytelling

If there are bad clients, then there are also bad wedding professionals. So at some point, you may encounter clients who have already worked with other planners before you—and that's okay! But what is not okay is acting unprofessionally and consistently badmouthing their past planner. Criticising is acceptable, but if you feel like they've gone below the belt then you should take the and leave—who's to say you won't be next?

A client has a right to privacy but being very secretive about why the relationship broke down could also indicate potential future issues.

Picture this: You've spent hours searching for the perfect image. You've finally found it. Well, almost. If you could just remove that one pesky distraction in the background. Sound familiar?

Image background removal tools are available to creatives, but some are tricky to use. Even tech-savvy creatives know removing the background of an image takes time and energy—time better spent creating!

With new AI technology, you can forget the lasso tool and manual erasers. Get the perfect image in just one click.

Most of these tools are free. Some even come with extra image editing features!

Add these background removal tools to your design toolkit. Never miss out on an (almost) perfect image again!

This article will explore:

• Top tools for image background removal
• How to use background removal apps and software
• Tips for creatives to enhance their image editing process

One-click background removal by Visualist

Best for: moodboard fanatics

Visualist is software for creative professionals to work, earn, and scale better.

Visualist offers a moodboard-making tool that includes an easy-to-use background remover. You can remove image backgrounds with just one click.

Once you're happy, download your background-free image or add it to your moodboard!

Too good to be true? Visualist is in private Beta.  Sign up for the waitlist now!

Image background remover by Canva

Best for: DIY creatives

Chances are, you're already familiar with Canva, But have you fully explored their image background removal tool?

You can edit individual images or remove backgrounds in presentations, posters, and more!

The catch? Canva's background removal tool is exclusive to Canva Pro users. Why not sign up for a free 30-day trial and give it a try? You'll also gain access to a wealth of templates!

Background remover by Cutout

Best for: editing in bulk

Cutout.Pro is a free background remover designed for bulk image editing. Compatible with Mac and Windows, the Cutout App allows you to remove backgrounds effortlessly—up to 10,000 images at a time!

Express Background Remover by Adobe

Best for: extreme precision

Adobe's Express Background Remover is another promising tool. It's simple to use and delivers great, clean results—what's not to love?

If you want to customize your new image, simply sign up for an Adobe account to access a variety of fun photo editing tools!

Background remover by Retoucher

Best for: on-the-go creation

When creativity strikes, you need to act fast—meaning, you need that background gone now!

If that's your story, Retoucher's Background Remover fits your style.

Capture images on the spot and remove the background instantly—now nothing can slow your creative flow!

The rise of freelance working has allowed creatives greater flexibility and autonomy in their careers but at times, freelancing can get pretty lonely. Community is an essential ingredient of creativity. Being a part of a community of like-minded creatives boosts productivity, provides support and keeps us inspired.

Thankfully, creative freelancers have figured out a way to secure the best of both worlds by, you guessed it, getting creative! Meet a selection of freelance writers, designers and creators who have found community in unconventional places—and learn just how they did it!

The Social Searcher: Amanda Guerassio

"I've been an independent designer for over 15 years, and I can tell you that having a community of people who get it is such a relief. As much as your family or friends may support you, if they aren't in the freelance trenches, they don't understand the everyday stresses and issues you face. Which can leave you feeling incredibly lonely. For me, it has been important to find two distinct communities: one that is centred around my creative field (design) and one that is centred around female business owners. They've both been so helpful in learning new things, inspiring new ideas, staying motivated and discovering opportunities. You do have to do a bit of trial and error with different groups and find the format and vibe that works for you—but it's totally worth it!"

Amanda Guerassio is a brand strategist, designer and founder of Studio Guerassio.

The Matchmaker: Daniel Tortora

"For me, the answer to building a network is LinkedIn.  I look at my connections' connections, and then connect with them! I connect with people whose posts and comments I vibe with and when someone sends me a connection request, I only accept if what we do is closely related. I've also got a list of other freelancers whom I've met over the years that specialise in areas I don't cover but that my clients may need (cover designers, indexers, life coaches, etc.) It's like I have my own little club and I'll always refer my clients to people in that network! It's fun knowing that the people I know, know each other. When you're talking to someone and you know the same people, it always breaks the ice, right? And the best part? When you refer people (and it works out), people love to return the favour."

Daniel Tortora is a freelance nonfiction book coach and editor. Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn.

The Social Introvert: Tara Reid

"I’ve been an online entrepreneur for 17 years, and in that time I've experienced the value of community firsthand. As a huge introvert, I need to have people who understand the struggles of being a freelancer whom I can connect with. The best place to find these communities is Facebook Groups. I am part of both free groups and paid groups (often included with a membership or program I am signed up with) have been invaluable for finding my 'business besties', as I like to call them!"

Tara Reid is a business coach helping even the most introverted creatives to scale their businesses. Learn more about her services on Instagram.

The Digital Mingler: Danny Browne

"The communities I am part of really influence the way I operate and create online content. The best way to search for community is by joining groups on Facebook and LinkedIn—I've even gotten some work through friends I have made in Facebook groups.

A massively underrated place to find community is Reddit. Joining the right subreddits can allow you to ask questions without anybody knowing who you are and find other people who are struggling too. Even experts don't know everything!

I would also advise hopping on to virtual events. They're really great for learning new stuff as a freelancer and with some of them you get to see each other on Zoom so it's a little more interpersonal. The old adage is 'it's not what you know, it's who you know' so, even if you're a bit of an introvert like me, get yourself out there! It's tough, but you'll be so much better for it and so will the work you produce."

Danny Browne is a freelance content specialist and founder of Found at One—a content marketing consultancy specialising in creating attractive and engaging campaigns.

The Self-Evaluator: Hayley Slade

"To find a sense of community you have to first know what you bring to the table. Your community has to be aligned with your values and goals, you need to know who you want to learn from and connect with. Get into groups, go to networking events, and find women-led events like brunches, luncheons, and online groups. Try all the different types of communities out there to learn exactly what you want to create for yourself. Then, start showing up. Hold your own events, post on social media, train, teach and open your virtual (or in-person) door. Community is the absolute biggest catalyst to business growth. Without it, we wither."

Hayley Slade is the CEO and founder of Slade Copy House.

Wedding industry mentors have a broader field of vision—they know why your wedding business is stagnant and how to relaunch it.

Are you struggling with starting or growing your wedding planning business? You've tried it all: exhibiting at wedding trade shows, reaching out to fellow wedding professionals and doubling down on your social media efforts. And yet, you're still not picking up your dream clients. This is where a wedding business coach comes into play. Wedding industry mentors have a broader field of vision—they know why your wedding business is stagnant and how to relaunch it. They'll help you unpack what your business lacks, build a business strategy to get it back on track and help you rediscover your passion for wedding planning. If you're determined to succeed in the wedding planning industry, here are 3 reasons why you should say yes to a wedding business coach...

Build a robust business strategy

As a wedding planner, you are first and foremost a creative. But you're also an entrepreneur, which means you have a lot to learn about the world of business. With the help of a wedding business coach, you will learn how to cover all the operational gaps, meet legal considerations, hire the best people, and make the most out of your resources and profit. No more investing in complex software that's not compatible with your business! You can opt for 1-on-1 sessions for dedicated business coaching, or group sessions to connect with other professionals in the industry—networking is the key to a successful business.

Take control of your time

Wedding planning is a fulfilling yet demanding career. Your schedule is jam-packed and weekends don't feel like it at all! Instead of drowning in social media marketing, replying to emails, and meeting new clients all at once, a business coach teaches you how to manage all your responsibilities. Organisation is a wedding business coach's middle name. Working with a coach will help you to identify your top priorities and organise your tasks accordingly, schedule your workload in a manageable way, and guide you to finding a healthy work-life balance. Business coaches can also give you access to templates and resources that help to automate the mundane parts of your job, like client invoicing, staffing formulas, and more. In short, it's time to reclaim your time and go back to dedicating your energy to the creative side of your work.

Know your worth

Here's the thing, the more you underprice your services, the more you undervalue yourself—something a lot of potential clients run away from. A wedding business coach helps you to debunk your self-imposed limits. Starting with combatting any questionably low rates just to meet a target number of clients and saying "no" to big opportunities because of perceived skill gaps. Wedding business coaches will guide you through pricing your services and securing clients—say hello to fuller books and bigger profits!

Money aside, a mentor also makes sure you know your self-worth—that you appreciate yourself and the work you're putting in. A wedding business coach can help you to develop accountability and a success mindset. They provide valuable advice on setting healthy boundaries and keeping your cool in certain situations. This way, you won't get exploited or demotivated in times of struggle. In other words, working with a wedding business coach is like having a good friend always looking out for you!

As a fashionista, nothing beats the in-person styling experience—choosing stylish pieces, feeling the fabrics, and seeing your client's joy when you find the perfect outfit!

The rise of online shopping means people have more freedom to create their wardrobes. But they are also overwhelmed by choices, influenced by trends, and unsure how clothes bought online will fit—all areas where a virtual personal stylist can help. The role of a personal stylist is more relevant than ever, but clients now want a new type of personalized styling. How can personal stylists meet these changing demands? Simple, go virtual.

Offering virtual stylist services won't change what you do or how you help your clients. You'll just deliver it differently.

This article will explore:

• The benefits of becoming a virtual personal stylist, including flexible scheduling and increased profitability.
• Strategies for expanding your client base globally through online styling services.
• Tips for leveraging digital tools and passive income opportunities to enhance your virtual stylist business.

Ready to become a virtual stylist? Here are 3 reasons you should!

Earn more, save more

In-person interaction is invaluable, but Zoom and other digital tools make it easy to build trust and rapport with clients remotely—and at a fraction of the cost.

Working as a virtual personal stylist, all you need is a stable internet connection! You save on transportation and other expenses compared to in-person styling—boosting your net profit!

When offering virtual stylist services, explore passive income opportunities. Sell online resources and courses, like style guides and closet cleansing tutorials. It's a great way to boost earnings and increase your value to clients

Learn more about Erica Ball's experience as a virtual stylist.

Take control of your time

One of the best parts of being a virtual personal stylist is the flexible schedule.

1-on-1 virtual styling sessions usually run about 30 minutes, depending on your and your client's needs. You can work with several clients per day and still have plenty of free time.

The best part? You will have more time to build better relationships with your clients. Without long hours traveling and getting ready, you can spend extra time getting to know your clients and creating a truly bespoke service.

With a virtual calendar, you can control when clients book appointments. This lets you block out time for family, friends, and "me" time!

Learn more about Christen Johnson's experience as a virtual stylist.

Expand your clientele

Time to bring your expertise to a global market!

Offering virtual stylist services more than doubles your reach. You're no longer limited to local clients—you can connect with clients worldwide. Many clients today prefer online services, so adding this option makes you more appealing to a wider market.

Virtual styling is an exciting chance to challenge yourself creatively with clients from diverse backgrounds. You might even get to style that international brand you love!

As a personal stylist, nurturing a strong relationship with your clients is the goal—and long term relationships are mutually beneficial to you and your clients. Working with a stylist long-term means a client receives an increasingly tailored experience and feels confident in expressing their needs and wants. Whilst as a styling professional you benefit from regular work, increased security and the privilege of watching their style and confidence evolve.

So how do you build lasting relationships with clients as a personal stylist? I'll hand this one over to the experts...

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Grow together

Jeffrey Ampratwum

"Every stylist should have a comparative advantage that makes you and your services unique. I like to connect with my clients on an emotional level so that we can begin to build on aspirations, goals and expectations. It is extremely important to personalise and humanise your service and relationship with clients—the more out of touch you are with reality, the further you push styling clients away. Communication, therefore, is an integral aspect of your business. If someone feels they can never get you on the phone for an emergency wardrobe malfunction, they will simply not continue growing with you. I like to tailor my communication to whatever suits my client. Quick text and voice notes are often preferred but email and socials are great for references."

Jeffrey Ampratwum teaches Menswear and Fashion Styling at The Fashion Institute of Technology. His work as a fashion editor and curator also includes directing and styling fashion editorials for top magazines and shooting visual campaigns for brands. Follow Jeffrey on Instagram.

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Develop a deeper connection

Susan Padron

"The way that I develop long-lasting relationships with my clients is by connecting with them on a deeper level, beyond just finding beautiful clothes for them to wear. Being someone's personal stylist is such a gift because you're being welcomed into a state of vulnerability. Whether you're looking into their closet (a place that no one but them really gets to see) or talking about body image, it's all centred around delicate conversations. As a personal stylist, you have to know how to 'hold space' for your clients, they need to feel that you are there to support them and that they can trust you. When you're able to develop that deeper connection, it's easy to have clients for years and years."

Susan Padron is an intuitive personal stylist, working closely with her clients to help them discover their authentic selves through their wardrobes. Find buckets of style inspiration on Susan's Instagram.

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Find a match

Brigid McGrath Stasen

"My number one secret to building a relationship with clients is to get to know them and their lifestyle and match their clothes to that.

I help recurring clients to build on their existing wardrobes. I pride myself on the fact that my clients never have a blouse, skirt, or pair of trousers in their wardrobe that they love but don't know how to wear. I anticipate what pieces they are going to need for a new season and leverage what pieces they already have in their wardrobe."

Brigid McGrath Stasen is a seasoned stylist with a background in boutique management. Now, Brigid is revolutionising personal trunk show shopping with her loyal clients.

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Be authentic

Lisa Strandberg

"Having an authentic connection with your client is essential. Great customer service is a key factor in building strong relationships. As a small brand or business, being responsive to a  client's needs and creating things they love are all critical. My clients will often hear from me personally, and they love that. At The Shore Line we have a significantly higher customer return rate than the industry average, and that is something I am proud of."

Lisa Strandberg is the co-founder and creative director of The Shore Line, an independent women's resort wear brand. Lisa worked as a stylist prior to becoming a founder.

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Keep Communicating

Evonya Easley

"The key to lasting client relationships is communication. I check in with all my clients on the first week of every month to anticipate their needs. We communicate mostly via texts and phone calls but I also have an email system set up. My clients love my personal touch. I am passionate about making clients feel important when I communicate or when they use my services. I never use my phone or discuss other clients when I'm with a client—my focus is all on them."

Evonya Easley is a certified personal stylist and founder of Love E Fashion. Evonya has over 15 years of experience in the styling industry and specialises in styling busy, professional women.

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Build the trust

Holly Chayes

"I think the keys to sustaining long-term client relationships are trust, genuine connection, and growth. Building trust is vital to sustaining any relationship long-term. Having a genuine connection with your clients makes the styling process so enjoyable, and growing as your clients grow helps keep the client relationship strong."

Holly Chayes is a personal style coach and consultant helping her clients to discover and claim their authentic personal style. Follow Holly on Instagram.

All interior designers dream of landing a feature in a recognised interior design trade publication. Not only will your designs look beautifully in the gloss spread of a magazine, but a trade publication feature is also a great way to bolster your reputation in the interior design industry and attract new clients.With the ever-mounting costs of running an interior design firm, is hiring a professional publicist worth the expense? Or can you successfully manage your own PR and marketing? Here's a complete guide to managing your publicity as an interior designer and landing a feature in your dream magazine.

Do interior designers need a publicist?

An interior design publicist can help you to build brand awareness by showcasing your brand in relevant media outlets such as interior design trade publications and on social media. Before taking your brand to the media, a PR professional will help you to consolidate your brand messaging, identify your USP, and determine your target market.

For interior designers, the ultimate PR win is landing a feature in a celebrated interior design magazine such as Architectural Digest or House & Garden. However, capturing the attention of journalists as a new designer can be tricky. A publicist will likely have an existing relationship with journalists and editors, as well as a wealth of knowledge of their specific criteria which will make it easy to break down the initial barrier between you and the industry.

That being said, a publicist is not your only ticket to getting published. Many interior designers pay high prices for a publicist to bag them precious press opportunities, but others have taught themselves the art of PR and have successfully landed PR opportunities as a result. To successfully manage your own PR you need to be savvy, organised and, most importantly of all, yourself.

How do interior designers get published?

Contrary to popular belief, publications want to publish relatively unknown interior designers, even with small portfolios of work. Star-studded interior designers might receive requests for publication, but the majority of the time editors commission interior designers based on their pitch. Which means that the only thing between you and a feature in the interior design publication of your dreams is a stand-out pitch!

Another quick win for having your work published is to submit your work for interior design awards. There are thousands of interior design awards spanning all levels and niche areas of design, all of which are a great way to gain publicity for you and your business. Whether you choose to submit your work to magazines, awards or other media outlets, a great pitch is your ticket to success. We've prepared a bank of practical pitching tips to help you sell your brand, get the attention of journalists and present your best work—all you have to remember is PITCH.

How to pitch to an interior design magazine

Perfect your interior design pitch and land features in top interior design publications following our simple pitch writing formula. All you need to remember: PITCH.

(P): Position yourself as the expert

People want to read the stories and advice of experts, so you must convince journalists that you are one. Use real examples to illustrate your expertise and don't be shy in sharing what makes you stand out from the crowd. That being said, remember this is not a sales pitch (they are not a client!) One foolproof way to position yourself as an expert is to share your recent and relevant awards or achievements. A fresh perspective also makes you seem well-informed and trustworthy. Try offering a teaser of your original research about different interior trends and their effect on the current market.

(I): Intrigue with your subject line

Journalists and editors receive hundreds, or even thousands, of pitches every day. The key to standing out from the crowd: your subject line. First, clearly state that this is a pitch. Don't assume editors will automatically know why you're getting in touch. The rest of the subject line should both inform and intrigue. What can the journalist expect when opening the email and why should they bother?

Quick tip: avoid your subject line being cut off by keeping it to approx 50 characters.

(T): Tailor your pitch

Let's get straight to the point—your pitch will end up in the trash if it sounds generic and bland. Don't even think about sending a copy-paste email template to every journalist in your mailing list! Take your time and personalise each pitch to fit each editor. Get to know them a little bit by browsing through their previous work and socials. For extra bonus points, reference something about them or their previous work and what inspired you to reach out to them in your pitch.

Also, always consider their medium. Be clear as to whether this journalist works in television, radio, newspaper, magazine, blog site etc. You don't want to tell a radio journalist to "write about your brand".

(C): Cut to the chase

It's called an elevator pitch for a reason! If it helps, you can even pretend you're writing a Tweet and have to stick to the character limit. You'll get that concise and punchy pitch by writing something your recipient can read in less than a minute. One to two paragraphs are enough to present your idea as it is easier to digest and understand. Providing a brief synopsis highlighting the relevant points can make the journalist invested and inclined to learn more. You want to provide a teaser, not the whole story.

(H):  Hawk your portfolio

Great! You've got the journalist's attention. Now seal the deal by sharing your stunning portfolio! The best way to get your portfolio up to scratch is to invest in a professional interior design photographer. Not only will your portfolio look sleek and polished, but so too will your website and social media feeds. You'll likely have many pictures to choose from, but there is no need to share them all. Select a few images that align with the tone of the publication you are pitching and are relevant to the topic. If you're looking to be featured as an expert on kitchen renovation, time to showcase that beautiful kitchen you just completed.

What next? Your post-publishing to-do list

Congratulations! Your well-crafted interior design pitch paid off and you landed a feature in an interior design publication. Now what? We get it, you want to "ride the wave" and begin pitching your next project, but hold on just a second! Whilst there is an overwhelming amount of advice on how to get published as an interior designer, there is very little on what interior designers should do after being published. If you want to really make the most of a PR opportunity, how you act after getting published is just as important as the magazine feature itself. Take the following steps to make the most out of your press as an interior designer.

Maintain a relationship with the editor

Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn—there is an abundance of social platforms to help you maintain professional relationships. Follow the journalist/editor who commissioned you and you'll be first to see future opportunities they advertise. Not to mention, they'll be kept up to date with any exciting new projects you post and may even initiate contact with you because of them. Maintaining professional relationships requires time and effort. But even a like or comment here and there goes a long way. Also, it's nice to show support. Everyone appreciates a boost in social engagement here and there.

Repurpose the content for your socials

Getting published is a great achievement—you deserve to show it off! Share your published work on all your social media platforms—again and again! This way, prospective clients will see that you are an established interior designer, well-regarded in your field. Remember to tag both the publication and the journalist in all promotions—a re-share is great for reach! When posting images to your Instagram feed, use captions wisely—you could use an excerpt from the interview or share an explanation of your process. Also, use your Instagram stories to share direct links to the article. You should link to the published article in your Instagram bio too.

Use this feature, to help land your next

Always use your published PR to jump-start another PR opportunity. Landing your first feature is the hardest part, but you will be surprised at how your now-published work editors' attention. The fact you have worked with other journalists before proves you are experienced, professional and reliable—so make sure all future editors know that from the outset!

The takeaway

Hiring a publicist for your interior design firm is a fast-track ticket to landing features in interior design publications, but it is by no means the only way to get published as an interior designer.

Instead, you can master the art of pitching to journalists by being original, personable and professional. The job doesn't end after landing a feature in a top interior design publication. Post-publication you should look to maintain a relationship with the magazine editor, promote your work on social media and use the publicity as social proof to help land your next trade publication feature.

Is it time to renovate your interior design website? Your website is your first impression to potential clients—what does yours say about you? To build a great interior design website you need: standout portfolio imagery (but less than you think), a well-structured page layout, and an abundance of CTAs. But wouldn't it be great if there was an expert to hand to show you how to slot it all together?

Meet Justin Page Wood, founder of JPW Design Studio and expert website builder for interior designers and architects. We invited members of the Visualist community in the midst of a website makeover to consult Justin with their most pressing questions. In case you missed it—here are the highlights...

I'm new to interior design and have limited projects in my portfolio, can I still launch my website?

All you really need is one really good photo on a website. You get the gist of a firm's style within the first few photos, so even if you display 20 or 30 projects, almost all potential clients will look at just one. Even if you only have one completed project, you can usually get the website looking great. A website doesn't have to show everything you've ever done, it's important to be selective about what you show—better to have fewer good photos than more "meh" photos—less is 100% more.

The most common mistake I see interior designers make on their websites is not highlighting their best work. The first photos on the Home, About, Portfolio and Contact pages need to make your client say "wow!" The first photo sets the tone for the rest of the website. If you do decide you want to bulk out your imagery a bit more, integrate your Instagram profile on your website to give the illusion of a portfolio. This is a great example of a website I built for a designer with only a few projects under their belt.

In the absence of that big portfolio, how else can I show myself my website?

Stick to the basics: Home, Services, About, Contact.

These pages should advertise:

• You—highlight your strengths and expertise
• Your process—what can your client expect during your interior design process
• Your style—feel free to share examples of things you like to illustrate this

Important: you need to have a clear call to action. Your website is a way to guide clients to the "next easiest step". Examples include downloading a PDF of your interior design process, requesting a free 15-min design consultation or providing an email address to be sent further information.

When building my new site, how much $$$ can I expect to spend?

So, you have your super-high-end custom WordPress websites which are going to cost upward of $10,000. At the other end of the spectrum, you might find developers on Upwork offering services for as little as $500, but they're going to be much less experienced. Then, you have your mid-range (fully custom but not 100% built from scratch) you're talking between $2,000 to $5,000.

For those starting out, I recommend going for the latter, the website will still do the trick with the right copy and imagery. This website is a gateway to more projects, once you are a little more established you can look at upgrading to something a little fancier! In the meantime, remember to keep using Instagram, email and referrals to drive traffic to your website.

What's the difference between a Home page and an About page?

A Home page is almost like the cover of a book. Anticipate that most people will only browse your home page. A Home page must include:

• Your very best project photo. This is your first impression.
• Info on what you do. Don't assume the client knows, make it super clear. E.g. Los Angeles Minimalist Interior Design Firm.
• Clear navigation to the Portfolio and Contact pages.

Then, the About page is your chance to provide more detailed information about your firm. I find the 3 most visited pages on interior design websites are: Home, Portfolio, and Contact—About is usually 4th in line. Most people will look at your portfolio first which is why it's so important you always make sure you show your best work on every page and be selective about what you show.

What should I include in my About Me section?

Ask yourself, how can I attract my ideal client? Personally, I went to architecture school and I enjoy working with creatives in that industry and so I make sure that I showcase that on my website in order to build a connection. If you love designing for families, say that. If you love beach homes, focus on that. Focus on the connection between you and your client, the thing that will make them say, "Oh I love that too..." That's where the connection begins.

How should I approach location-specific SEO?

SEO is one of those things that you could easily blow a lot of money on without seeing any tangible results. Just search for "Los Angeles interior designers" and see how many come up—cluttered! If you are in an area with lower competition, SEO is easier but bigger cities like NYC, Miami, and Los Angeles are infinitely hard to rank for without hiring a professional.

An easier and faster way to improve your presence on Google is Google Business—the best part? It's free. When setting up a Google Ad, make sure to target the cities you want clients from and be specific—think Silver Lake, Malibu, and Santa Monica.

More tips: always target the top 5% income bracket, and target by age to really speak to your ideal client demographic. Personally, I think it is worth exploring other avenues of marketing that make you really stand out in front of your ideal clients.

In that case, how can I increase visibility in a way that doesn't rely on SEO?

Some examples are obvious: Instagram, Facebook, Maps and increasing your reviews on Google Business, Yelp, and Houzz—good reviews and a strong following help to give you authority. Then you want to think outside the box a little. Examples include:

• Your office signage
• Networking with people in your community
• Giving away a design consultation to a charity/good cause in your community
• Email marketing to your list of contacts
• Linkedin

A lot of super high-end clients only choose to work with interior designers based on referrals. If this is your market, get your client testimonials on point! The important thing is to experiment initially, keep track of what your clients actually pay attention to, and then hone in on those areas—all client demographics are different so there is no one size fits all approach.

A lot of marketing is about timing. You need to know who you want as a client, and when they are most likely to be interested in your services. For instance, you might approach new buyers in certain neighbourhoods by dropping your flyers in their mail to get their attention at a time they are likely to be looking for your services. You'll recognise this strategy from Restoration Hardware. You buy a home, and 2 months later RH sends a nice big catalogue to your home—perfectly timed! In fact, you might as well copy RH's timings and operate within 2 months of someone buying a nice property in your area!

Should my website focus more on showcasing my niche style or appealing to a wider client base?

I call this "Signature Style" versus "Client Focused". I have found that designers either have a distinct style that they bring to the table or can shapeshift to appease a client and make their vision come to life. Decide what kind of designer you are, and then ensure your website follows suit. If you have a distinct style some clients will say "Oh wow, I love that" and some will say "Not for me", but that is okay. If your website is clear (well-labelled and well-formatted), your ideal client base will naturally gravitate towards you. Florida-based designer Rajni Alex is a great example of how to present a portfolio when your preference is style per client.

How can I balance making my "offer" obvious on my website whilst avoiding making it all about sales and looking un-classy?

Most interior design websites are too vague with their "Call To Action", but the purpose of your website is to encourage clients to contact you—and a client needs very clear instructions on how to do so and why. I believe a strong call to action is more important than advertising awards/press—because as impressive as they are, they don't matter if the client is not directed to contact you. Therefore, I recommend putting a CTA as often as possible on your website—3 on every page to be precise. You can fit your CTAs wherever you like, header, footer or main navigation, but they need to be obvious, not discreet!

And get creative with the copy! Instead of having a "Contact" button, you want to tell clients why they should contact you, e.g. find out more about our pricing or learn about our design process. Your CTA should move the process forward by leading clients to the next easiest step.

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Learn more about Justin's work on his website.
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Visualist regularly invites industry experts to answer the practical questions of our creative community. Brand messaging, financial management, legal contracts—you name it! Secure an invite to our next event by joining us on Facebook.

As an interior designer, you know how to make a house a home. With more people wanting virtual services, you might wonder how to use your skills in virtual interior design.

Many virtual interior design platforms can help you start your remote interior design career.

Working virtually removes location limits. You can reach more clients and spark your creativity. Digital work lets you test new ideas without breaking the budget.

This article will explore:

• The rise of virtual interior design services and platforms.
• How interior designers can leverage these platforms to expand their clientele.
• Key tools and software available to enhance remote interior design capabilities.

Ready to explore virtual interior design? Join these platforms now...

Stucco

Stucco's users have one goal: to find the perfect interior designer for their project.

Stucco offers virtual interior designers a chance to grow their client base. They hire designers for remote, project-specific work. Just fill out their online application.

While you wait, browse Stucco for interior design inspiration.

Stand-out feature: virtual furniture store

You know that feeling when you enter a furniture shop—the sheer excitement at all the possible ways you could incorporate the pieces into your designs.

Stucco creates that excitement with a virtual furniture shop. Interior designers can find products from brands like Anthropologie and West Elm.

My Bespoke Room

Houzz awarded Bespoke as the "Top Rated Interior Design Service 2022"—and it is well-deserved.

The Bespoke team has skilled and experienced interior designers. Bespoke excels in spatial and lighting designs—great for your CV as a virtual interior designer.

As a team member, you'll design both commercial and home interiors—a great way to broaden your skills.

Stand-out feature: search by specialisation

The Bespoke team consults and supports clients from the initial design stage to final concept.

As a Bespoke designer, you can list your specialities. Clients can search for your skills and see you are the perfect match!

Havenly

Havenly is known as the go-to site for clients seeking virtual interior design services. This means lots of exposure for you as a designer.

Havenly's slogan is "making room for better living." If this resonates with you, consider joining their team.

Stand-out feature: customised profile

Havenly showcases their designers, each with a custom profile highlighting their personality, style, and expertise.

This is excellent news for you as a designer; your ideal client can find you effortlessly!

Decorilla

Decorilla offers a straightforward sign-up process for its virtual design service platform.

It's ideal for designers new to virtual interior design, allowing them to build their portfolio and earn money doing so —Decorilla charges only a small commission from clients!

Stand-out feature: 3D room designs

Impress your clients with Decorilla's 3D room designs. 3D renders help you showcase your vision and guide clients in visualizing their dream space.

Wedding and Event Styling is a competitive creative industry—in order to stand out, you need to build a strong brand and, crucially, get in front of your target market. One of the best methods of reaching your ideal client? PR—and lots of it!

Getting publicity (without hiring a publicist) can be difficult if you do not know where to look, especially for upcoming wedding and event stylists. But it is entirely possible to land fantastic PR opportunities from trusted and reliable sources, whether you're just starting out or you're an established name in the world of wedding and event planning. So, can wedding and event stylists find PR opportunities? To make your search easier, we've rounded up all the sites you should have on your radar to land your next publicity opportunity—get searching!

HARO

HARO, short for Help a Reporter Out, is a platform where journalists and creative professionals can directly connect. The best part? HARO is a go-to source for journalists from on-trend and reputable outlets, such as Refinery29 and Mashable—both of which produce great content covering the Wedding and Events industry. Switch on your email alerts for a 3 x daily dose of PR requests specifically picked out for you. Check your inbox promptly throughout the day and always be sure to send your pitch within the deadline.

Tip: make your pitch irresistible by thoroughly reading briefs and complying with journalists' requests to a T.

Twitter

Getting the attention of a reputable journalist can be challenging, especially for newcomers. Fortunately, Twitter facilitates lots of interactions between creatives and journalists. Search the hashtags #journorequest to find PR opportunities. Go a step further and use hashtags connected to your industry too, such as #wedding, #weddingstylist, and #weddingplanner, to filter the right requests for you. As soon as you click enter, voilà! Recent tweets from journalists will appear, looking to connect with wedding and event professionals just like you! Got a story to tell? Take matters into your own hands and pitch your story followed by the hashtag to let journalists find you.

Instagram

Instagram is another example of how you can use social media to source PR opportunities. Odds are, you're already using Instagram to showcase your work and grow your online presence—so this is a great chance to multitask! Follow journalists and publications that you aspire to work with to be notified of their opportunities. Alternatively, you can tag accounts in your content for a chance to be reposted to their page—@wedphotoinspiration and  @inspiredbythis are great places to start.

Qwoted

Qwoted is cleverly capitalising on advanced tech and AI to revolutionise the traditional media market. They're specifically committed to connecting smaller brands with a variety of media outlets, making it the perfect place to start if you're a wedding professional new to the PR game. Qwoted ensures that you only receive requests from reputable channels, such as Forbes and HuffPost. Even better, a journalist's publication is always shown on their profile so you know exactly what you're applying to before you send your pitch.

Financial uncertainty is a ticking time bomb for businesses. Unless you have a full view of what goes in and out of your account, you're blind to your business's full potential.

Fortunately, there is a tool that accurately predicts your business' 'future cash' without needing to be a financial whiz—a financial forecasting tool. Financial forecasting tools convert what-ifs into facts. You integrate your business data, declare your goals, view future projections of your finances, and fill in the gaps right before it causes damage. No more struggling with surprise losses and missing opportunities that you could've taken yesterday.

Here are five of the best financial forecasting apps to keep you on top of your finances.

Cushion

Made For: the future-focused freelancer

Made by freelancers—for freelancers. As a freelancer, you almost never know what's next. Schedules are all over the place, income rises and fluctuates, and stability seems out of reach—but not anymore. Cushion was built to take the stress out of freelancing by providing optimised financial insight with a birds-eye view of your schedule, potential income, and expenses. Better decisions, and no more overbooking!

Causal

Made For: the visual learner

Struggling with building financial models in Excel? Instead, build one in minutes on Causal! Trusted by hundreds of rapidly-growing teams, Causal takes away the hassle in financial modelling. With auto-managed driver-based projections, Casual projects your business' financial capabilities from one week to 10 years—even better, it shows you exactly how to get there.

Float

Made For: the multitasker

Keep your business afloat with Float! Decision-making doesn't have to be as nerve-wracking as it is for you right now. With a real-time, visual forecast of your coming cash flow, even newbies can feel more confident about their next steps. With Float, you don't just enjoy a clear and precise view of how your finances are running, but the forecast is also automatically synced on your account. This way, you can always track what goes in and out of your business, and what's about to come!

Pulse

Made For: the emerging entrepreneur

Thinking twice about making an investment? Let Pulse check. Small businesses are easily intimidated by huge investments—understandably. Without a financial forecasting aid, you're at a dead end on how this decision will affect your business. Pulse is a master in this aspect—scenario testing. On the app, you can toggle income and expenses on and off and see how certain decisions affect your operations. Additionally, you can add in your cash flow projections, including expected growth and expense curves. This gives you a clear view of when and how much you can spend in one sitting. The best part? Pulse is easy to set up and understand!

PlanGuru

Made For: the strategic businessman

When it comes to flexibility, PlanGuru has 20 versatile forecasting methods that you can explore. It projects finances for up to 10 years and includes significant turn-key methods, custom business drivers, and non-financial data analysis. With PlanGuru's unlimited budget flexibility, forecasts can go as simple or as complex as you want and need. Furthermore, the app provides powerful insights into which methods work best for your business, helping you make even better decisions in the future!

At the end of last year, we hosted a community gathering—an intimate soirée set against a fittingly autumnal backdrop. To bring the seasonal setting to life, we partnered with, a friend of Visualist and founder of fourteen a.m., Winnie Tam. To embark on our collaborative project, we needed a space to house our inspiration, develop our concept, and seamlessly collaborate—naturally, we used Visualist.

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A shared space to develop ideas

“We want to transform the space by turning foraged natural materials into art” - Winnie Tam

Given the seasonal timing and her personal appreciation for nature, Winnie suggested that we let Autumn's natural beauty inform our design direction—deep red hues with sparks of yellow, intricately tangled branches and delicate but robust autumn bloomers. The only place to find items of such beauty is in nature itself, and so our decor was to be built entirely from foraged natural materials.

We named our event, "The Art of Gathering"—a title that spoke to the creative concept as well as the physical act of bringing together our creative community.

Choosing a plot

To manage the project, we needed a "control room". We built a hub in Visualist as an easily navigable space to store our growing ideas.

Hunting and gathering

Winnie and our creative team set about foraging for inspiration to fill our hub. Firstly, we looked for images that broadly communicated our desired aesthetic and sparked imagination—each image was saved to our Visualist library. The library was then combed for top picks and these were clipped to the board "evening Inspiration".

We then repeated this process with boards dedicated to food styling and invitation design. We also created boards to detail more logistical aspects of the project such as the existing furniture within the office and the assets of our brand partners—this systematic and logical organisation of our ideas was key to the success of our event.

A pop of colour

Winnie used the gathered imagery to craft our colour palette for the event. Our colour palette needed to be recognisably autumnal, without being too conventional.

Winnie started with an auto-generated colour palette taken from an image in the Art of Gathering inspo board, she then used Visualist's colour palette editor to explore hues, tints and shades. The resulting colour palette felt reminiscent of autumn but with a distinctly customised stamp—exactly what we wanted.

Watering the seeds

Visualist is not just a space to store and share inspiration, it is also a space to collaborate; to discuss and refine every detail of a project. The key to a successful collaboration is clear communication, we tackled this with stickies. Leaving stickies on our visual references ensured all opinions were heard but also kept our conversations focused and concise.

When working with visual references, it is useful to pinpoint specific elements of an image such as colour, texture or subject to ensure everyone is clear on the project the direction is heading. Our method of stickie correspondence meant fewer revisions were required to the final design—given our limited time scale, this efficiency was key.

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A platform to facilitate collaboration

Establishing a clear vision amongst ourselves was one thing, but in order for the event to come together we needed to clearly and efficiently communicate that to our brand collaborators. We bookmarked the websites of homeware and lifestyle brands that we felt matched our brand aesthetic in our Art of Gathering Hub, then set about proposing a collaboration with them. In our initial outreach, we attached a set to convey the mood, colour scheme and delicateness that we wanted to emulate at our event—after all, a moodboard speaks a thousand words.

The best part? Sets made in Visualist can be shared directly with just one click—recipients don't need a Visualist account, which meant there was no barrier to viewing—an important factor in the high success rate of our outreach. Here is what we shared...

Our set was coherent and clearly communicated our vision, which made the rest of the process simple and efficient—our brand partners required very little help with shortlisting products they felt were suitable for our event.

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A home from concept to completion

Winnie married all the elements of her design in a set in Visualist. The infinite canvas mimicked a table on which she could lay out all her tablescape ideas and play with potential arrangements. Here, Winnie could illustrate exactly how she envisioned each aspect of the design entwining and we began to see the vision come to life. Winnie's final sets detailed furniture layout, the function of each space and the particulars of the decor—down to the finest of details—which were then shared with the entire Visualist team ahead of the big day. The detailed preparation and clear references meant that when that the set-up ran as a fine-tuned operation. Every box checked, everything in order—not a leaf out of place!

Et voila! A beautiful event brought to life in Visualist!