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I often say that collaboration is an important foundation for growing a profitable business. In fact, selecting the right partner to collaborate with is an absolute must! Can The Designers Collaborative help you increase your profit?
Run by two design visionaries and savvy entrepreneurs — Heather McManus and Tracey Taylor — the group provides plenty of opportunities for growth and increased profitability. To help you solve your profit puzzle, consider The Designers Collaborative.
What is The Designers Collaborative?
In a nutshell, they are your partner and are invested in your success. The Designers Collaborative is a professional buying group. And they have access to hundreds of trade accounts – at the lowest possible price point! Even better, it is also a vibrant community of interior designers – all at various stages of their careers.
I know what you are thinking.
“Nancy, there are tons of buying groups already offering home furnishings at a discounted price.”
But do any of them provide support, knowledge-sharing, hands-on learning, a sense of partnership, and real opportunities to up your profitability? Probably not.
The goal of The Designers Collaborative is simple — they help you maximize your profits on furnishings, grow your business, and make your professional life easier in general. So, let me tell you how they do that!
Power in Numbers
When you become a member of this group, you instantly gain access to trade accounts and home furnishing showrooms. As a member, you can order from any (or all) of the companies on the list (a.k.a. the holy grail of manufacturing companies for designers) at a much greater discount than if you were to order by creating an account on your own.
Why? Because there is power in the numbers. It truly is that simple. To get better pricing from vendors and manufacturers you must meet the minimum order requirement. And on your own, that can be tough to do.
But collectively? Not only can you meet, but you can also easily surpass the minimum order volume. Because as opposed to being on your own, you now have a whole tribe of other designers ordering from the same vendor. And the best part — you don’t need to open your own account but reap the benefits of having access to one.
Pay Trade Pricing Without Trade Accounts
The Designers Collaborative consists of both Members (those who do not hold nor offer vendor accounts to the Group), and Member Account Holders (those who do hold and offer vendor accounts to the Group). Both groups are equally important and add tremendous value to this community!
Do not have an account? No problem! You gain access to a multitude of top industry vendors at their lowest price, transforming your design projects into revenue generators and increasing your profit margins.
Got an account? Great! You are now the VIP client to your preferred vendors since you will be bringing a lot more business to them than if you were the sole user of that account. With that, you gain access to the lowest possible pricing (such as stocking dealer tier of pricing – typically one-third of the retail price)! Again — massive savings, bigger profits!
How It Works
Whether you are a solo designer working from a home office, or a seasoned practitioner at a larger firm, you will love this group. Here are your steps for gaining trade accounts access at the lowest price point.
- Shop the vendors you love AND those you never even knew existed. You have access to the exclusive Ultimate Sourcing Guide with furnishings sorted by trade price and style. Hello, time and money savings = higher profits! Side note, you see the price with your own eyes, instead of getting someone else to price things for you.
- Create a purchase order through one of The Designers Collaborative members who hold an account with a company you are interested in.
- The account holder handles all coordination including ordering, invoicing, tracking, shipping, status updates, customization, etc. All you pay is a small admin fee to the account holder to handle all the paperwork related to the order.
- The manufacturer ships the product directly to your warehouse when your order is ready.
- Profit time! Apply the markup — or as one of the interior designers in our industry intelligently puts it, “it’s not a markup, it’s a client discount.” Whichever way you look at it, this is your opportunity to maximize your profit margins.
The process is simple and completely transparent.
Unlock All the Member Benefits
As you join The Designers Collaborative network, you up your game when it comes to your business. The lowest possible pricing on furniture and the opportunity to increase profits is just the beginning of membership benefits. You will also have access to…
- Over 300 and growing vendors and furniture manufacturers
- Creative freedom
- Access to a highly engaged private Facebook group
- A list of online retailers with trade programs
- A comprehensive guide to vendors
- A list of receiving and delivery warehouses
- A complete list of North American freight companies, with territories they cover
- Regular member meetups
- Mentorship by experienced designers to support you in your business
- Coaching rebates to interior design business coaches and industry programs
- Industry intel on top vendors, with their headquarters and warehouse locations and ways to get product samples
- Emergency Fund – a protection plan for Members
Sounds amazing, right? I think so too.
To become a member, visit The Designers Collaborative website. And to watch a replay of my recent Facebook live with the founder, Heather McManus, click here.
Need more help? You do not have to figure it out all alone anymore. Sign up for a business strategy call, and I will help you make decisions on the next steps for you and your business.
Hop into my private FB group, the Interior Design Business Forum to get my daily inspiration, lessons, and thoughts. Let this community help you become an actionable entrepreneur!!
