The Little Design Corner

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The Little Design Corner

Online courses and resources for interior designers, stylists and architects.
(5)

02/11/2026

Stories are my favourite place to create content. It’s a place to be casual, show your personality and provide value.

But I don’t feel like going ‘face to camera’ every day in my stories so it’s good to have options for stories ideas you can create without having to talk directly to the camera.

Here are 9 types of “not face to camera” stories ideas you can use.

This is definitely a post you’ll want to SAVE 💾 for later :)

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

🤝 Comment BOOTCAMP to find out more about Design Studio Bootcamp

01/11/2026

Here’s the story of what happens when you work with ‘budget’ design clients ⤵️

It takes just as much work to find low paying clients as it does to attract and convert clients who have the money to spend on creatively rewarding projects.

Although it can be tempting to go for clients at the lower end of the market, these sorts of projects are rarely enjoyable, they tend to pay badly and you end up doing the same amount of work as you would for higher paying clients (just for less money!).

If you feel like you work too hard for the money you make, perhaps it’s because you are attracting the wrong type of client!!

To upgrade the sorts of clients you’re attracting you’ll need to take a multi faceted approach.

It will require:
✅ having the technical skills and expertise required to deliver high end work
✅ a repositioning of your brand
✅ improving your online presence
✅ building a stronger network (of partners that are already working with the clients you want to work with)
✅ getting testimonials and referrals from high quality clients
✅ levelling up your pricing strategy
✅ investing in your education

If you don’t feel comfortable working with higher end clients then ask yourself why that is.

What needs to change and what do you need to improve?

Transitioning to a higher end market will require an investment of both your time and resources. But the pay off could be huge for your revenue (and your sanity!).

If you need help with any of this we cover it all in Design Studio Bootcamp. Comment BOOTCAMP and I’ll send you some info.

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

30/10/2026

If clients are always ghosting you, it’s probably your fault ⤵️

Good designers lead their clients and have a strong process that they follow.

For example they:

✅ make feedback easy and fast to respond to (not essay long emails that are painful and time consuming to read)
✅ get info from clients upfront about holidays, busy work periods and potential delays (so these can be mapped into the project timeline)
✅ explain right from onboarding that client delays affect project timings
✅ have a structured follow up system so they’re not reacting emotionally when clients go quiet
✅ constantly reinforce to the clients that they have other projects going on besides theirs. If their clients want their project to stay on track, they need to be proactively involved
✅ create accountability by setting clear response deadlines in every feedback email
✅ always share project timelines so clients understand what is happening behind the scenes and where they are up to
✅ include all of this in a Client Welcome Pack so expectations are both written and verbal

When you take control of any process with a client it shows that you’re organised, experienced and running a proper business. This gives clients trust and confidence in you (and will mean they are less likely to micromanage you).

Running a design business isn’t only about managing a design project, it’s also about managing humans!!

Comment WELCOME and I’ll send you a link to my Client Welcome Pack template.

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

🤝 Comment BOOTCAMP to find out more about Design Studio Bootcamp

29/10/2026

Comment INFO to watch my free 30 min info session about SketchUp ⤵️

“The best course I’ve ever taken” 
“One of the best business decisions I could have made”

That’s what students say once they have taken my SketchUp courses ☺️

To find out more about how SketchUp can change your design workflow start with my 30 minute info session (watched my more than 100,000 designers worldwide)

You will learn: 
⭐️ my full step by step interior design workflow using SketchUp
⭐️ how to get started with SketchUp
⭐️ what computer you will need
⭐️ what version of the software you will need

I will answer the common questions I get asked about SketchUp.

Comment INFO and I’ll send you the link to sign up for a session

(SketchUp Student Project featured here is by one of my students, Capreisha)

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

🤝 Comment BOOTCAMP to join my business program for interior designers

28/10/2026

Avoid red flag 🚩clients by asking them these questions during the sales process and BEFORE you sign them >>>

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

🤝 Comment BOOTCAMP to join my business program for interior designers

26/10/2026

A client onboarding questionnaire collects all the details of a project that can have a huge impact on your design decisions. These are things that clients often won’t think to tell you unless you specifically ask them.

I’ve always been a big believer in having a comprehensive client questionnaire as part of the onboarding process but you often end up with a very long document that you then need to sift through manually to find the information you need. So you also need a practical way of organising this info so you can refer to it throughout the project.

To help with this part of the process I’ve put together a complete AI workflow to accompany my Client Onboarding Questionnaire template, including new video trainings, copy and paste prompts, an editable design brief template and completed examples.

The idea is to make it easier to collect detailed client requirements AND turn them into a practical brief you can refer to throughout the project.

Comment QUESTIONNAIRE and I’ll send you a link to find out more.

(And if you’ve already purchased this template from me all the new resources are available in your portal right now at no extra cost).

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

🤝 Comment BOOTCAMP to join my business program for interior designers

25/10/2026

Most issues with design clients happen due to a communication breakdown. The Friday Email is one way to avoid this.

Proactive communication is the easiest way to keep your design clients happy.

Remember…you’ve done all of this before, they probably haven’t!

You know what the next step is in the project, they probably don’t!

Just because you know that mistakes happen in every project, they are unlikely to realise this and could fly off the handle at you the first time something goes wrong.

So to avoid all of this starting sending The Friday Email.

By taking a proactive approach to communication clients always:

➡️ feel up to date on what is happening
➡️ feel like you are in total control of what you’re doing (which builds trust and means they will leave you alone)
➡️ plus it’s good risk protection and record keeping for you, just in case anything goes wrong with the project down the track.

This is one of the many systems you will implement as part of my business program for designers.

Comment BOOTCAMP to find out more.

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE for more info on my templates and courses

22/10/2026

Don’t waste your time on free ‘discovery calls’ or offer free design consultations! You’ll end up spending half your day on calls or in free (time-wasting) meetings and most of them won’t go anywhere.

Serious clients (i.e. those that aren’t just tyre kickers or time wasters) are more than happy to spend some money on an initial meeting with you.

Once you get too busy to meet with all potential clients that message you (which will happen as your business and brand grows) then make sure to set a minimum project budget. This will allow you to take on better projects over time and keep increasing the calibre of your client base.

If you start charging for all your initial meetings with clients and then you do a good job of pitching yourself and soft-selling during that meeting you’ll find that you can convert 90-95% of those potential clients into full projects.

The reason I know this strategy works is because it’s exactly the way I built my own design business. :)

If you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE and I’ll send you templates for every stage of a client project

21/10/2026

Your competitors are using SketchUp, you need to learn it too ⤵️

Your design documentation should be so detailed, accurate and clear that a builder/contractor/cabinet maker could pick it up and build from it without needing to call you with questions.

That obviously won’t happen in real life as you’ll still be on site and there will always be things that need clarifying in person, but that should be the aim.

If you’re charging clients for design work a professional set of documentation is part of your deliverables (it will also protect their investment and protect your business).

If you’re still drawing by hand or avoiding 3D modelling because it feels “too techy,” you’re missing out on better clients and more revenue. To win the best projects you need to be able to product accurate floor plans, elevations, sections, details and 3D views that leave nothing to interpretation.

If you can’t produce this level of work, you need to do something about it.

The good news is that SketchUp isn’t hard to learn, it just needs someone to teach it to you properly, in a way that makes sense for our industry (not generic YouTube tutorials that waste your time).

My SketchUp courses are designed to get you confident and producing professional documentation as quickly as possible.

So….
✅ Learn SketchUp properly so your documentation does your design work justice
✅ Produce drawings that builders can actually build from
✅ Stop losing credibility (and money) because your deliverables don’t match your talent

Join more than 17,000 design/build professionals in my SketchUp courses and I’ll teach you how.

A great way to get started is to watch my free 30 min info session all about how I use SketchUp in my design workflow. It’s been watched by more than 100,000 design/build professionals worldwide.

Comment INFO and I’ll send you a link to sign up.

20/10/2026

If you’re sick of clients texting or calling you all day and night then here’s how to fix it

And if you want a really simple, immediate upgrade to how you’re working with clients then check out my Client Welcome Pack template.

More than 4,300 designers have implemented this into their business with immediate results to the way they are working with their clients.

Comment WELCOME and I can send you the link to find out more

Also, if you’re new here:

👋 Follow Dr Clare Le Roy | Courses + Templates for Designers for practical tips you can use on your next project

🏡 Comment SKETCHUP and I’ll send you the link to my SketchUp courses (17,000+ students)

💻 Comment TEMPLATE and I’ll send you templates for every stage of a client project

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Website

http://www.thelittledesigncorner.com/

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