Should your designers earn a commission, bonus, or a share of the profit?

In this Asked & Answered episode, Cheryl breaks down how to build an incentive plan that rewards the behavior you actually want inside your firm. She explains why bonuses should be based on profit instead of total sales, how participation should affect the percentage, and why a simple system helps team members think more like owners. Because revenue may look impressive, but profit is what stays in the bank.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

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Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

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• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
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Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Cheryl has spent 25 years building systems around the way her design firm actually works. So what happens when AI suddenly gives her the ability to build the software around those systems, too?

In this episode, Cheryl shares what happened when one irritating business problem turned into building her own app through “vibe coding,” what she’s learned along the way, and why knowing your processes matters more than knowing how to code. AI can help you build almost anything, but it will also happily automate a bad process.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review

Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

Join our FREE Facebook Groups

• Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

When clients ask questions or make requests that rub you the wrong way, it doesn’t always mean they’re trying to take advantage of you. Sometimes, they simply don’t understand what designers actually do. In this Designer Drama episode, Cheryl explains why designers need to get better at communicating their value instead of constantly protecting it and why your value can’t rest on gatekeeping sources.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review

Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

Join our FREE Facebook Groups

• Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

One of our top episodes of Season 3!

The confusion you accidentally create long before the proposal ever hits your clients inbox is the real reason clients hesitate. Your price is not the problem. You can unintentionally create confusion through discovery calls, the way you talk about freight, receiving, vendors, timelines, your value, etc. This causes your clients to be constantly collecting clues about whether saying yes to you feels SAFE or SCARY. Learn how your language, tone, and timing shape the emotional architecture your clients make decisions in, and why being clear is your most powerful sales tool.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review

Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

Join our FREE Facebook Groups

• Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Price is one of the first questions designers hear, but it is often the wrong conversation to lead with. Cheryl explains why posting big budget numbers and focusing on square-foot pricing can create the wrong expectations, intimidate potential clients, and reduce design to a transaction. Instead, she shares a better way to communicate value. By helping clients understand the thinking, process, and decisions behind the investment, they can then make informed choices with confidence.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review

Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

Join our FREE Facebook Groups

• Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***

Visibility matters, but posting yourself in your bath robe is not the same thing as building authority and for designers this can backfire fast.

Because design is not an impulse buy. Clients are not hiring you for constant access to your every thought, errand, emotion, and car-confessional. They want you to lead expensive decisions, protect their investment, and bring a level of taste, judgment, and discernment they do not have on their own.

Cheryl makes the case for more thoughtful marketing that reinforces expertise instead of making designers look frantic, interchangeable, or too accessible to command premium fees.

Have a question--click here to ask us.

Loved this episode? Click here to leave a 5⭐ review

Damn Good Workshops - Website

View our upcoming workshops!

These workshops are 2–3 hour deep dives (some more than one day) built for creative entrepreneurs who want to lead with confidence, price with authority, and grow with intention. We created this workshop series with tracks that cover the challenges we know designers face: pricing, sales, client relationships, project management, marketing, and leadership.

Each workshop is designed to stand alone — so you can choose the topics that matter most right now — while still connecting to the bigger picture of building a profitable, sustainable design business.

Damn Good Designer - Damn Good Designer - Website

• The best multi-faceted business coaching for Interior designers—seriously. This is not some wham-bam glamathon; It is the real deal you have been looking for and what is missing from the business coaching marketplace today.

The Paradigm Quick Start - 3 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Shift - 6 Month Custom Coaching Program

The Paradigm Intensive - 12 Month One on One Immersive Custom Business Coaching

Join our FREE Facebook Groups

• Small Business - Think Big - Facebook
• What They Didn't Teach You in Design School - Facebook Group
• Subscribe to our newsletter

Cheryl Clendenon is the host of The Damn Good Designer Podcast and an award-winning interior designer, writer, and business coach with 26 years of full-time industry experience. With a prior career in media and radio sales, she brings a rare blend of creative thinking and business acumen to the design world. Cheryl was named KBB Person of the Year in 2021, is a nationally published industry voice with a monthly column in Home Accents Today, and regularly speaks on pricing, scope, process, and profitability. Known for her fast pace, contrarian instincts, and practical insight, Cheryl helps established design firms build stronger businesses and define success on their own terms.

***Any use of this page and its content to develop or train artificial intelligence or to do computer analysis is prohibited.***