Today Brad speaks with Tracy Morris, Owner of Tracy Morris Design. Launched in 2003, the company has “a focus on fresh, vibrant and approachable interiors”. Tracy, who hails from Washington, has had a passion for design since the age of six when she started building two-story colonials out of legos. She finds creativity and inspiration in amazing lighting, and architecture with color and texture and full of natural surroundings.

One of the most fascinating parts of our conversation was around her story—how Tracy came to be a highly sought-after designer by keeping her eyes peeled for opportunities and seizing them without hesitation. This openness and ambition allowed her to expand rather quickly, and now Tracy has business in Naples and Dallas. We also dive deep into how she runs the business while managing satellite locations and why she chose these particular locations.

Listen in as Tracy explains the dangers of spreading yourself too thin as a design company, how she chooses which clients to work with (keeping in mind that Tracy never takes on more than four projects at once), how to charge and set budgets for projects, how to set expectations with clients from the beginning to avoid conflict down the line, and how to turn a good team into a great team.

Topics Discussed:

[03:50] What separates a good design business from a great one?
[05:45] How to decide which jobs to accept and working hand-in-hand with clients
[13:38] Red flags to watch out for when vetting clients
[22:40] Tracy’s lessons for new designers
[30:27] Staying organized and on the same page with each department on a project
[32:00] Where Tracy learned the ins-and-outs of running a design business
[37:58] Opening an office in Naples, and Tracy’s various projects outside of DC
[40:59] How Tracy charges and creates budgets for projects
[50:53] Setting prospects at ease via social media and personal branding
[54:28] Nurturing a synergistic relationship with your builder, architect, and designer
[56:28] What separates a great builder from the rest?

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Key Quotes from Episode:

The trick [to building a great design business] is, just don’t move too quickly. Just do not take too much on.
I never want to overpromise and underdeliver to a client.
Make sure you give your clients a small order that says: “You may not call me for at least two weeks when your stuff has been put in, because you need to take a minute, get used to the furniture, the paint, wallpaper—whatever it is—that’s been put in place, and just breathe a minute.”
I work on retainer, because that has been much easier for me to do. I feel it’s a little bit more palatable for clients to be able to swallow the costs if they know what they have paid upfront.
The word “blame” is what makes a good team a great team if that word is crossed out.

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