If I’ve learned one thing from running my interior design firm for the past 14 years it’s that I *always* regret it when I don’t listen to that little voice that says “don’t take this project.” Ugh! 😩

If you’ve ignored that voice, then you know what I’m talking about! It doesn’t necessarily mean that the client is a bad person, or the project is a bad fit… but *something* about the client or project just isn’t aligning.

In this post, let’s talk about 5 different (and important) reasons you might want to say “no” to a client.

5 REASONS TO SAY NO TO A CLIENT

#1: Design Style / Aesthetic Mismatch

Hopefully your clients actually *looked* at your website before they called you up, but sometimes (especially if folks come by referral from a past client or from a colleague) they *haven’t* always looked at our website, and it turns out that what they want is sometimes completely different from what we do!

If you find that there is a big mismatch between what you do and what they want, you have an important decision to make. If you think that the project would stretch you professionally and enhance your portfolio in a positive way, it’s okay to say “yes” BUT!! Please make sure you can deliver the goods! If, in your heart of hearts, you know that another designer would do a better job, or at least have more resources, for this project, then you *owe it to the client* to suggest they work with another designer. Don’t worry – there are plenty of clients to go around – focus on what YOU are good at, and let your colleagues do what THEY are good at!

#2: Timeline Mismatch

Sometimes the perfect client brings you the perfect project, but needs it sooner than you’re available. Should you squeeze it in?

Most of us have fallen victim to the squeeze-it-in situation at least once. 🙈 Maybe you just couldn’t turn down the cool project, or maybe the design fee was just too profitable to turn down. But you have to be really careful. First, you have to ask yourself if you can sincerely give the client the service they deserve. If not, you owe them a “no.”

Second, you have to ask yourself if it’s *healthy* for you to take on this client. Sure, you can pull a couple all-nighters and survive, but do that too many times in a row not only will your health suffer, but so will your kids, your cat, your social life, and/or your marriage… Is the paycheck worth the price?

#3: Budget Mismatch

A budget mismatch can show up in two different forms:

1. Someone’s budget might be too low for the scope of their project
2. Someone’s budget might be too low *or* too high for your service structure

The first scenario is pretty clear. Based on your experience, you know that what they want will cost more than they want to spend. If you aren’t able to get on the same page with the client, then it’ll be nearly impossible to end up with a happy outcome. Either they’ll spend more than they wanted (and blame you) or they won’t fully execute the project (or execute it at all) and feel like their design-investment wasn’t well spent. No matter what, you end up the bad guy.

The second scenario might surprise you… maybe a budget can be too low, but how can a budget be “too high?” Well, if you’re like us at Seriously Happy Homes and you’ve built a company designed to serve “real people” rather than the luxury market, then, like us, you can definitely have someone come to you with *too high* a budget. Sure, we could help them spend all that money, but we don’t do a lot of custom-design furniture, or source multi-thousand-dollar light fixtures… it’s just not in our wheelhouse. So just like a luxe-level designer would struggle to put a living room together for $10 or 20K, we might not be at our best trying to help a client source at the luxe-end of the market.

It all comes down to asking yourself: “Am I the best one to help this client get happy in their home?”

#4: Service Mismatch

If you’ve been in business for a while then you’ve probably nailed down how you do what you do.

But have you also nailed down what you *don’t* do?

In our company, for example, we offer two kinds of services: Quick Action Sessions for folks who just need some design guidance, and The Works for folks who need a full design plan. As part of defining these services, we’ve gotten clear on a few things:

• We only do in-person design within 10 miles of our office in Greenlake.
• We source retail and make NO purchases for our clients.
• We create fully executable design plans, but we do NOT execute them (ie, you will not find project management listed in our services).
• We focus on homes that are 3000 sf and smaller.

Do we have clients who ask us to work outside those boundaries? Sure!

Do we stretch those boundaries? Sometimes, sure!

That’s the joy of owning your own company – you can choose when to bend your own rules. But by setting the rules in the first place you can easily say no to projects that aren’t a fit, and then *carefully* say yes when there is something about the project that is just too delicious to pass up.

Just remember: if you’re going to say yes when you “technically” should have said no, make sure you have the resources (time, skills, confidence, etc) you need to truly deliver for your client. Otherwise, you owe them a “no” for their own benefit!

#5: Personality / Communication Mismatch

This is the trickiest one, because it can feel “slippery,” but sometimes you just feel like you didn’t connect. If you *didn’t* click, please listen to that voice inside you. We almost always know the right answer, even if we can’t put into words *why* it’s the right answer. Trust your instincts!

👉 Just try to be as honest with yourself as possible!

It’s far too easy to “yes” to a project for the wrong reasons. Maybe you feel like you “have” to take the project because it was a referral from a valued client or contractor. Maybe you feel like you should take the project because no one else is willing or able to help the client (perhaps due to a tight budget, fast timeline, or challenging personality). Sometimes it’s simply because the design fee is so tempting… I mean, we’ve all got bills to pay, right?

But saying “yes” when it should be a “no” leads to dissatisfied clients and unhappy designers. In the end, it’s just not worth the price you’ll both pay.

The GREAT NEWS is that by saying no to not-a-fit clients, you leave room for the fabulous-fit clients, and EVERYONE ends up happier in the end!!

Convinced it’s time for a “no” but not sure how to say it? Check out this post on “How To Say NO to Client.” And watch for my post on how to turn a “no” project into a “yes” project by getting clear on your processes and boundaries!

You’ve got this! 💕