EP #6 Your Design Contract: The 5 Must Have's

Let me ask you a question? Are you confident and comfortable with your current contract? Perhaps you call it a letter of agreement that’s all good. In today’s episode I want to discuss with you the 5 parts to your contract that you cannot leave out of your agreement. Let’s talk about it.Hey it’s, Adam Scougall of the So You Want To Be An Interior Designer podcast, and welcome to EPISODE 6. This show really is for mid-career aspiring interior design or decorating solopreneurs that need support in building their own interior design business whilst working 9 to 5. My aim is to help you balance your time and make more money whilst being able to choose the projects you want to work on rather than ones you have to take to pay your billsBut first, whether you are just checking if you are the right fit for a new career in design, or wondering how you can improve what's going on in your current design career*Take the quiz over at soyouwanttobeaninteriordesigner.tv/quizOk, now back to the 5 must have’s1- You design process outline·      A roadmap to realizing the full vision of your project·      Must include how the design phase works and what they will expect. When you will engage other trades, when. Any construction will start etc and what the finish line looks like.2- Your scope of work·       Your scope of works is where the designer details a comprehensive list of items that the design will cover·       This helps you stick to what you agreed to do within your design fee and avoid ‘scope creep’·       Scope Creep has happened in almost all projects, so you must document this and explain that there must be a new agreement or hourly that kicks in if requests for extensions are requested.3- Your deliverables!·       Understanding what your client will be getting from you regarding floor plans, elevations, sketches, 3D Renders, physical models, and samples is integral for many reasons.·       Not that long ago, I charged a good friend a nominal fee and didn’t take them through my normal contract process, which means they did not understand the limit to the deliverables. I could have kicked myself! Because I left myself open to not specifying how many revisions were allowed in the design concept, she kept requesting changes because there was no impact to her cost wise! You can bet that I have not repeated this again and stay strictly to my terms of one revision only to the original design concept.4-Your fee structure·       Be transparent about how you and your contractors will charge. It’s good to understand how all trades charge and also set expectations to them about what you’re and the client understand in terms of how they will be billing.·       Do you offer trade discounts? If so, what split are you offering? If you aren’t offering trade discounts, which I have recently moved away from, then do they do not pay anything more than retail. If you contract does not stipulate you offer discounts, then your client can’t expect you to offer them halfway through the project.5- Your legal·       You want your contract to be a handbook that both you as the client and the designer can refer to if anything issues may arise during the renovation process.*Take the quiz over at soyouwanttobeaninteriordesigner.tv/quiz Wondering if you're charging enough?Download my free Solo Designer Profit Guide™ and discover what interior designers are charging in 2026 based on 50+ research interviews across Australia, Canada and the USA. You'll also learn how to calculate the hourly rate YOU need to charge based on your own business, projects and financial goals—not someone else's.Download your free copy:turnkeydesignsuccess.com/profitguide If this episode raised questions for you, or you’re feeling stuck in your solo design business, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.I offer a 30-minute clarity session where we can talk through where you’re at, what’s getting in the way, and whether I can help.Email me at [email protected]