Every year factories and workshops across the country use the week between Christmas and New Years to close their production. Usually the workers still come in for part of the time – but the focus is on planning and doing some deep cleaning.
While the workers get everything cleaned and ready for 2022, here is a list of things you, the interior designer, can be doing this week to prepare for 2022 as well.
Get a Jump Start on Purchasing
If there is one thing you can be certain of in 2022 – it is that lead times won’t be shortening. The last couple of years had been a surprise for everyone that the furniture you wanted to order wasn’t available.
But going into the new year this is the new reality. And as such its a great idea to start your shopping lists early with the assumption you’ll be doing a lot of re-selecting.
Make Your Own ‘Our Design Firm Wrapped’
Spotify makes a big splash at the end of every year by crunching each users data and presenting it to them in a fun way. You can do the same with your firm and present your achievements in a similar way to your team.
Whether it is looking at completed projects, items purchased, or new clients added – treat your yearly accounting as a fun exercise. And your team will love to see what their hard work has achieved.
Set Your 2022 Goals
After you have had a chance to look at what you achieved in 2021 it is a great time to see where you want to be at this same time next year. How many new clients do you want to bring on? Any new projects you want to take on like starting a line? Set your goals for the year and check in each month to see how you’re progressing.
Catch Up On Industry News
Things have been so busy this year and you are way behind on reading. Take this slow week to peek outside your own business and see what the industry has been doing.
Some of my favorite places to catch up on news are Business of Home, Home Textiles Today, and Furniture Today.
Catch Up On Podcasts
Although the interior design industry doesn’t have a ton of podcasts, the ones that do exist are very high quality. You can use this time to scroll back through your feed and see what you might have missed throughout the year.
My favorite podcasts are BOH with Dennis Scully, BOD with Kimberley Seldon, A Well-Designed Podcast with LuAnn Nigara, and Clever.
