If you’re wondering how technology can enable you to get more clients and run a more efficient business, you could find it helpful to attend one of our Designer Academies. At these informative workshops, you can connect with other designers and gain insights into how to use Houzz Pro management software to streamline processes, collaborate effectively with clients and smoothly run a profitable, stress-free business.
What is a Designer Academy?
These workshops are an opportunity to connect with fellow professionals and discover how Houzz Pro tools and features can help you run your business.
Interior designer Froso Kakaletri of Blue + Green Interiors attended a workshop and said she found it valuable to learn about the technology in person. “You don’t only gain a better understanding of the tools, you also get to ask a lot more questions, interact with other designers and many times go off-topic,” she says.
“I learnt so much and met very interesting designers who, just like me, want to be more efficient and transparent, get more exposure using the CRM system Houzz offers, and potentially get more leads,” Adriana Rodrigues of Redoit Projects says. “Everyone was very helpful and professional. The features are vast and I felt so much more confident afterwards.”
Here are just four things you’ll learn at a Designer Academy:
1. How to up your project management game
Ever feel as if you’re wearing too many hats while running your design business? Admin tasks are crucial, of course, but they can take over and leave little time for creativity to flow. So in this part of the workshop, the team show you how to make managing a project as streamlined and effortless as possible.
The key is to make the most of automated functions within the Houzz Pro technology. 28% of renovators who responded to the a previous UK Houzz & Home Study said the speed of receiving a quote influenced their choice of professional, so a proposal template that can speedily be converted into an invoice is a useful tool. You’ll also discover how to use the Product Clipper tool, which allows you to easily upload items from various vendors to your own Library.
Other topics covered in this section include how to schedule and log payments, as well as setting up a Client Dashboard to enable constant collaboration between yourself and the customer.
2. Tips for making a powerful impression online
According to a Houzz Study, 36% of renovators find their professional online, so it makes sense to ensure your web presence shows off your firm at its best. That’s where your Houzz profile and website can really come into their own.
In this section of the Design Academy, you’ll discover the key elements that make up a truly effective website. And if you don’t have the capacity to optimise your site yourself, you’ll find out how the Houzz Website Services team can create a custom site for you instead.
3. Ways to help your client visualise a project
It can sometimes be tricky to communicate ideas to clients, particularly when they can’t quite visualise the final design. In fact, 18% of respondents in a UK Houzz & Home Study said this was one of their biggest challenges during a project. So this element of the workshop shows you some tools that will make the process much easier.
Find out how to quickly create a moodboard that can be shared easily with your client, and see a super-easy way to put together a 3D floor plan. You’ll also discover how to turn that floor plan into an augmented reality walkthrough for an even clearer visualisation of the finished project.
4. Advice for keeping teams and projects on track
It’s important to make your whole team aware of all aspects of a project in order to ensure things run smoothly, so this part of the workshop is dedicated to doing just that. You’ll gain valuable insights into how technology can help you share timelines with your team, allocate tasks and resolve issues across all your projects.
There will also be an explanation of the Project Tracker tool to help you gain an understanding of why it’s the central part of any project.
