Stop Trying to Be Better at Everything

Why Fixing Your Weaknesses Is Holding Your Business Back

There’s a quiet pressure in business ownership that no one really talks about.

If your business isn’t flowing the way you want it to, the assumption is often:
I must need to be better.

Better at marketing.
Better at systems.
Better at managing money.
Better at communicating.
Better at staying consistent.

For interior designers especially, this pressure can feel relentless. You’re expected to be creative and visionary, but also strategic, operational, organized, confident, and tech-savvy.

Here’s the truth most designers need to hear:

You don’t need to be better at everything.
You need a business that isn’t built around your weakest skills.

The Myth That’s Keeping You Stuck

Somewhere along the way, many designers internalized this belief:

“If I could just get better at this one thing, my business would finally work.”

Usually that “one thing” is marketing.

Not because you’re incapable — but because marketing feels:

• Inconsistent

• Overwhelming

• Too technical

• Hard to keep up with when client work takes priority

So you try harder.
You consume more content.
You save posts.
You buy tools.
You tell yourself you’ll “focus on marketing when things slow down.”

And then you quietly feel like you’re failing at something everyone else seems to have figured out.

But here’s the reframe that changes everything:

Struggling in certain areas doesn’t mean you’re bad at business.
It means your business is asking you to do work you were never meant to do alone.

The Real Problem Isn’t Weakness — It’s Misalignment

Most burnout doesn’t come from doing the wrong business.

It comes from running a business that depends on skills you:

• Avoid

• Procrastinate on

• Second-guess constantly

When your success relies on things you dislike or don’t naturally excel at, friction is inevitable.

And no amount of “trying harder” fixes a poorly designed system.

Willpower is not a business strategy.

A Better Way: Build Around Your Strengths

Instead of trying to improve everything, I like to look at your work in three zones.

This isn’t about labeling yourself — it’s about designing smarter.

1. Your Genius Zone

This is work that:

• Comes naturally to you

• Clients consistently praise

• Gives you energy, even when it’s challenging

For many designers, this looks like:

• Big-picture vision

• Creative problem-solving

• Client relationships

• Translating ideas into beautiful, functional spaces

• Communicating with trades and contractors

This is where your value lives.
This is what your business should protect and prioritize.

2. Your “Good Enough” Zone

This is work that:

• You can do

• Doesn’t light you up

• Doesn’t completely drain you either

Examples:

• Writing scopes of works

• Responding to client emails (not to include those tricky clients)

• Project management

This work doesn’t need perfection.
It needs templates, boundaries, and repeatability.

3. Your Nope Zone

This is the work that:

• Gets pushed off your to-do list

• Feels heavy before you even start

• Creates mental clutter and quiet stress

For many designers, this is marketing.

Things like:

• Knowing what to post

• Being consistent with emails

• Understanding funnels and lead capture

• Setting up tech tools and integrations

• Wondering if you’re “doing it right”

Here’s the key mindset shift:

This isn’t a character flaw.
It’s a design flaw.

Your business is asking you to be the marketer and the designer and the operator — and that’s not sustainable.

What to Do With Each Zone

This is where relief starts.

Protect Your Genius Zone

• Schedule this work first

• Build your offers around it

• Stop apologizing for charging for it

Your business should make this work easier to do — not harder to access.

Template the “Good Enough” Zone

• Create:

  • Email scripts

  • Proposal templates

  • Checklists

• Aim for “repeatable,” not “perfect”

Consistency beats customization every time.

I have all of my business templates, processes and templates available inside the Interior Design Business Bakery if you don’t want to reinvent the wheel.

Design Around the Nope Zone (Instead of Forcing Yourself Through It)

This is where most designers get stuck — especially with marketing.

You don’t need to suddenly love marketing.
You don’t need to master tech.
You don’t need to become a content machine.

You need:

• A clear strategy

• Simple systems

• Support with implementation

This is exactly why we created The Lead Lab.

The Lead Lab is designed for designers who want:

• Marketing that actually fits their business

• A clear plan for attracting the right clients

• Support from a marketing specialist who helps implement the tech — so it doesn’t all fall on you

Instead of marketing being this constant mental burden, it becomes:

• Structured

• Supported

• Predictable

Which means you can stay focused on what you do best — designing and leading your business.

You Don’t Need to Fix Everything — Just One Thing at a Time

This isn’t about a massive overhaul.

It’s about small, strategic relief.

Ask yourself:

• What’s one task that creates the most resistance right now?

• What would it look like to remove, simplify, or delegate that?

When one area gets lighter, everything else gets easier.

Confidence returns.
Momentum builds.
You stop questioning whether you’re cut out for this.

Final Thought: Mastery Comes From Focus, Not Fixation

You don’t need to be more disciplined.
You don’t need to be more tech-savvy.
You don’t need to reinvent yourself or your business.

You need a business that works with you — not against you.

One built around your strengths.
Supported where you’re stretched.
And refined thoughtfully, instead of constantly torn down and rebuilt.

No matter what your Nope Zone is, The Design Bakehouse exists to change that — without requiring you to become someone you’re not.