The Thing You Keep Avoiding in Your Interior Design Business

You already know what it is.

You don't need to do an audit or a deep reflection exercise to find it. It's the thing that pops into your head when someone asks how your business is going and you give the polished answer instead of the honest one. It's the thing on your mental to-do list that never makes it onto the actual one. It's the thing you've been meaning to address for six months — or a year — or longer.

Every designer has one. And almost nobody talks about it because admitting it feels like admitting failure.

It's not failure. It's just the thing. And until you name it and look at it directly, it will keep sitting there quietly costing you.

What "The Thing" Usually Is

It's different for everyone but it tends to fall into a few categories.

The business structure thing. You've been meaning to update your contract. Or set up a real invoicing system. Or figure out your pricing model properly instead of just winging it project by project. You know it needs to happen. You know it would make everything smoother. And somehow it keeps not happening.

The marketing thing. You know your Instagram hasn't reflected your actual work in months. You know your website needs updating. You know you should be showing up more consistently online. And every week you tell yourself next week.

The client thing. There's a client relationship that isn't working and you've been avoiding the conversation. Or a scope situation that's gotten out of hand and you keep absorbing it instead of addressing it. Or a project type you keep taking on even though it drains you because you haven't figured out how to stop.

The money thing. You know you're undercharging. You've known for a while. And every time you think about raising your rates you find a reason to wait a little longer.

The direction thing. Deep down you're not totally sure your business is pointed in the right direction. The work is coming in but something feels off — like you've been building something without being totally sure you want to end up where it's headed.

Any of those give you that little gut punch or lump in your throat?

Why You Keep Not Addressing It

Here's what I've found — the thing you keep avoiding is almost never actually as hard to address as the avoidance makes it feel.

The avoidance creates a weight around it. Every day it doesn't get addressed it feels heavier, more loaded, more consequential. So you avoid it more. And it gets heavier. And the cycle continues.

But underneath most avoided things is usually just fear of a specific moment — the awkward conversation, the number you'd have to say out loud, the decision you'd have to make and commit to. That moment is almost never as bad as the anticipation of it.

The avoidance is doing more damage than the thing itself ever would.

How to Actually Move On It

You don't need a perfect plan. You need the smallest possible first step — specific enough that you could do it today if you decided to.

Not "fix my pricing." That's too big and too vague.

The smallest step toward fixing your pricing might be: write down what you actually want to charge for a full-service remodel project. Just the number. Nobody has to see it yet. Just write it down.

That's it. One step. Something that takes five minutes and moves the needle from avoidance to action.

The rest unfolds from there. It always does. The hardest part is always the first move — and the first move is always smaller than you're making it.

The Real Cost of Leaving It Alone

Here's the honest truth about the thing you keep avoiding: it's not sitting still. It's actively costing you — in mental load, in the low-grade stress of knowing it's there, in the decisions you're making (or not making) around it.

The designer who keeps undercharging because she's avoiding the conversation about her rates isn't just leaving money on the table. She's building resentment into every project. She's attracting clients at a price point that doesn't reflect her value. She's making it harder to change because every month she doesn't, the status quo gets more entrenched.

Avoidance isn't neutral. It has a cost. And at some point the cost of avoiding it outweighs the discomfort of addressing it.

You're probably already there.

One Thing to Do Right Now

Name it. Out loud or on paper — just say what it is. Not the perfect version. The actual thing.

Then ask yourself: what's the smallest possible first step I could take toward it this week?

Write that down too. Put it on your actual calendar. Give it a time slot.

That's it. That's where it starts.

Episode 2 of Part One in The Mābella Method is called The Thing You Keep Avoiding — we name yours, look at the fear underneath it, and find the smallest possible first step toward it. You'll walk away with a specific action for the week.

Or if you want to work through it with someone in your corner, that's exactly what a Brand Clarity Session is for.