If you’re looking to grow your firm’s revenue and profit, consider diversifying into other areas. That can take many different forms, depending on your interests, creativity and the opportunities that come your way. But be careful. A new enterprise can become a distraction and put a strain on your business. You want to choose those that support the main business and increase its value as well as its bottom line. In this episode, Gail talks with Julia Kirkendall, owner and principal designer, Kirkendall Design, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Julia has been practicing design for more than 40 years and has operated her own firm for more than 30 years. Over the years she has explored various ways of diversifying into other enterprises to generate more revenues and higher profits, including opening a retail store, offering design/build services, and, most recently, creating a studio space that hosts design and lifestyle events and activities. Gail asked Julia about her biggest challenges in starting and growing her own business. Julia said her main challenge was figuring out how to understand the value she provided to clients. Related to that, she said, was changing her mindset towards money. She had assumed clients would be more focused on price. She soon discovered, though, that “clients weren’t looking for something less expensive. They were looking for me to do a really good design job.” That gave her the confidence to charge what she felt her services were worth. The other lesson Julia said she learned along the way was to stop trying to fix every problem that she came across in her interactions with her clients. “There are a lot of similarities between being an interior design and being a counselor,” she said. She realized for her sake and her clients’ sake, she needed to just provide a service and not involve herself in other peoples’ problems. Julia said one of the reasons her business has been so successful is that she decided to seize opportunities when they came along. “You have to be bold,” she said. “You have to look for opportunities and jump in.” She encouraged other designers to do the same. “Don’t be afraid to walk through those doors.” Gail asked her what other advice she had for designers looking to grow their businesses. Julia said to recognize that growth and change are good things. Also, work hard at building the team that supports your dreams, and then work hard at supporting their dreams. Toward the end of their conversation, Julia talked at some length about her latest project, The Studio at KD. She emphasized the importance of diversifying into different revenue streams, but also ensuring that those ventures support and reinforce the main design business. “Feed the mothership” is her motto, she said. For more details about The Studio at KD and more insights from Julia, listen to the entire podcast. If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, view the full shownotes here: https://thepearlcollective.com/s10e5-shownotes Mentioned in This Podcast For more information about Julia and her firm, visit the website at kirkendalldesign.com. Learn more about The Studio at KD here. Julia mentioned a tool that Gail had introduced her to for evaluating whether to undertake a new project or venture called an impact filter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NB3yuXn5FU Episode Transcript Note: Transcript is created automatically and may contain errors. Click to show transcript Well, welcome, Julia. I'm so glad to have you on the podcast. And I'd love for us to just start and talk a little bit about how you got into interior design. Sure. You know, it's been a long road. So that's been over 32, probably closer to 40 years. But I've had Kirkendall design for 32 years. So of course I was doing it part time way before then. And realized I was in a whole other career path and realized that design and creating home was a natural gift for me and that after coaching and helping a...