On this week’s From the Tap Podcast, we welcomed Cheryl Kees Clendenon, owner of In Detail Interiors in Pensacola, Fla. We talked about an important part of running your business – effectively managing your resources – your employees and your time.
After about three years in business, Clendenon realized she could not do all the work alone, and she wanted a team. She says the hardest and smartest thing she has ever done is to give up total control over every little part of the business.
Her first step was to find someone who could manage the day-to-day activities – resource planning – and then to have a system in place to manage the capacity of the firm as a whole. Her team consists of multiple roles with specific tasks, and she has learned how to delegate over the years and let others do some of the heavy lifting.
Clendenon talked about overcoming the expense part of hiring the right team, as even a solopreneur can find the means to make this happen. She explained all the roles of her employees and how they work to improve the business and help it succeed. And she spoke of some ways in which she incentivizes her team – a good practice for making everyone feel fulfilled. Effectively managing your resources also frees you and other team members up to concentrate on other profit centers and responsibilities.
The designer also talked about the benefit of taking on smaller projects, as the larger ones create such a heavy lineup. She does not have to be as involved in the smaller projects, which allows her to spend time coaching peers and employees.
A valuable piece of advice she offered is to hire employees before you are completely overwhelmed but not before you have some processes in place. Clendenon also suggest picking up a legal pad and starting a basic outline start to finish; you can organize it later if need be.
To learn more, listen to the podcast on Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Pandora and other outlets.
To listed to Cheryl Kees Clendenon’s podcast, “Damn Good Designer,” on how to balance all the moving parts of a full-service interior design firm, click here.
By Chelsie Butler
Photo credit: Sarah Coleman Photography
