What Covid Taught Me About My Interior Design Business

Since the day I hung out my shingle over thirty years ago, any notion that design meetings and presentations could be conducted other than in-person would have sounded ridiculous. But, Covid taught me something about my interior design business that I never saw coming: design meetings can be conducted virtually!

I always believed that face-to-face design meetings were the only way to build the atmosphere of trust so critical to the success of our projects. Our clients are primarily condo and coop boards and committees that hire us to renovate and redecorate their lobbies and hallways. It’s a complex process involving many different players and crucial decisions.

When the lock-down hit, I was, understandably, in a bit of a panic. How would my firm be able to meet with our clients who were already under contract? And, how on earth could we present to prospective clients if we could not be in the same room with them? (Surprisingly, we were still receiving inquiries during lock-down.)

I needed to figure out a way to conduct design meetings virtually. My staff had been using Zoom for supplier and vendor meetings for several years. But, we had zero experience using it with clients who need to see colors, touch materials, and view renderings. We were determined to figure out a way to make it work.

Today, virtual design meetings are a vital tool in working with our clients – and they love it. Gone is the stress of getting a board or committee together on the same day at the same time in the same room. My staff loves it, too. No more stress trying to get to a meeting when you’re stuck in traffic or on a delayed train.

And, here’s a big silver lining: Zoom allows my firm to accept projects outside the NYC region for the first time, and that has always been my dream!

Our website, Sygrove.com, is well-planned, well-written, carefully curated, and easily found on Google. When someone searches for a condo or coop lobby and hallway interior designer, we come up. Consequently, we receive inquiries from out-of-state condo communities all the time. They can see from our website that we have the expertise they’re looking for, and the fact that we’re based in NYC, we’re good at managing boards and contractors. I have almost always had to turn down those projects because, as the lead designer for the firm, I simply can’t be in two places at one time.

But thanks to Zoom, we now work with clients around the country. Now that it’s safe to travel, I can visit properties, meet the players in person, carefully vet a boots-on-the-ground team, and bid contractors. Then I come back to New York, and my team and I can run everything from our NYC office.

I pray we never again have to experience the trauma of another pandemic. However, Covid taught me how to make my interior design business more resilient. Our carefully thought-out virtual design meeting process turns out to be wonderful for our clients, incredible for my staff and is giving us the ability to reach my dream of accepting projects around the United States.

What’s next? The World!!