CYA-order of the day

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I'm creative and I love what I'm doing. But just because I love what I'm doing doesn't mean that I don't have to follow the most important rule of the interior design (or for that matter, any) business. CYA-Cover Your Ass.

I recently have had a flurry of requests for my services. Despite the fact that everywhere you look the economy seems to be on a horrible downward spiral, I seem to be getting consistent business. Believe me, I'm thrilled. The downside to the attitude of some seeking my services however is that, BECAUSE the economy is grinding to a near halt, they expect that I'm going to 'deal' or 'give away my services.' Heh, I would be totally lying if I didn't admit that I've been guilty of the same thing with some of my vendors....but the thing is, my vendors aren't dealing in any significant way, so unless I want to earn less money-which I don't-I can't deal either. I've noticed that in these hard times SERVICE has become much better with almost all of my vendors across the board-my guess is that since there is so much less business coming their way, they have more time to give to the clients who are placing orders.

It's hard to resist any business that comes your way in tough times and it's tempting to go ahead and cut your profit in order to get a job, but the bottom line is the economy is going to come back and if I 'bare-bone' my profits now, will my clients expect me to do that....forever?? And the CYA rule is still in effect. I still make measurement mistakes ocasionally, the workroom still calls with concerns on fabrication that add more money to the project that we just can't pass on to the client, shipping costs exceed our expectations. The CYA rule is that you keep that margin in your quote to cover those unexpected costs.

So, I debate: do I cut my prices to get the business and risk making nothing, or worse- risk losing money? Or do I keep my prices at the same level and just hang in there waiting for things to improve, while at the same time concentrate on improving my service to my clients?.....The latter argument seems to ring true in my gut and I'm pretty consistent in following my gut. My gut has always told me that operating with honesty and integrity and fairness keeps my clients coming back to me whatever the economic conditions and if the current economic conditions give me a little more time to add better service to that list, well, isn't that lucky for my clients? And if I have to work a little harder and have a little more patience in getting those orders, well that just makes me a little more appreciative of the business I do have. Looks like there is a way to create a win-win even now.