For in-demand millennial interior designer Victoria Holly, success in a competitive industry comes down to efficiency, quality control and leveraging technology. This week on Disruptive Design, Victoria Holly sat down with DNN Editor in Chief Courtney Porter to share her strategies for scaling operations while keeping standards high. Click play on the video below to watch the discussion:

Design as a second career

Holly was always drawn to interior design, but her path to creative entrepreneurship was indirect. After majoring in fine art and PR/marketing in college, she worked in advertising, where her experience in client management and business processes helped lay the foundation for her to eventually scale her own business. 

She also worked for another interior designer prior to branching off to start her own firm. Together this experience gave her a great foundation to not only be creatively successful, but to run her business as well.

“When you’re helping another interior designer, you’re getting experience in design and how to pull together a room,” she said, “But you’re not necessarily getting client management as an intern.” 

Scaling Challenges and Solutions

As her business grew, she needed to figure out to delegate responsibilities. To scale, she identified tasks she dislikes or that don’t require her personal touch, then hired and trained staff for those roles. Holly’s first hire focused on operations, coordinating with contractors and managing on-site logistics. Of course, the real challenge was relinquishing control.

Designers are more relevant than ever before

As the interior design industry increasingly moves online, Holly believes designers will remain crucial in helping clients navigate the overwhelming amount of options and interpret product specifications.

“I get a lot of feedback from all my clients, regardless of [which] generation [they belong to], that it’s just so much and they get overwhelmed,” Holly said. “All the measurements and the weight is listed online, but that doesn’t mean anything to them because they don’t know the right measurement for what the piece they need is anyways.”

For luxury interior designers looking to grow their businesses, Victoria Holly’s approach offers valuable lessons in balancing growth with quality control, leveraging technology for efficiency, and maintaining a client-focused mindset.