david shepherd, mba / univ. Professor
When You're Ready to Take Your Interior Design Business—and Your Future Seriously
Over 4,000 Interior Designers Agree
David began his study of how interior design firms work in 2001, and in 2004, launched the seminal Business of Design Conference in Las Vegas.
Over the next decade:
- David created more than 40 live events in major cities including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Palm Springs, San Antonio, Chicago, and Cancun.
- More than 4,000 interior designers attended these events with some individuals attending 10 or more events.
- Drawing from repeat attendees, David built the Best Practices Network and The Edge, two executive coaching networks for principals of firms large and small. David gained access to the financial statements and business strategies of more than 400 members.
Business of Design Conferences were so revered by attendees, that many lifetime friendships were formed.
From the Faculty to the Field...
Making Critical Concepts Easily Accessible to Non-Business Creatives
For over 25 years, David taught courses designed with future small business owners in mind. He was able to take the best of high-level advice designed for the Fortune 500, and make it accessible and valuable to even solo practitioners.
- Taught strategy and small-firm finance at the University of Texas at Austin
- Taught value creation at the Institute of Science and Technology
- Taught small firm finance and strategy at Texas Christian University
- Developed 100s of audio and video products specifically for interior designers
Here's the truth:
It doesn't have to be this way
Interior design is one of the most complex businesses on earth to run. There are countless moving pieces, and many designers are actually trying to run three (or more) separate business, such as time billing, product, resale, and project management.
Managing one business is hard enough! Add to this that few designers receive (nor want) a formal business education. So they rely on advisors who may know accounting or marketing, but often know nothing about what interior designers really need to know!
David Shepherd can go one-on-one with your marketing guru, your CPA, your lawyer and anyone else and make sure you get the information you need to make good decisions—your critical job.
"A true genius. David gives you a
roadmap for exactly what to do."
corinne brown, Brown Design Group
Stop the Clinical Trials!
Is it Possible to Work 1-on-1 with David?
You've heard the story of a clinical trial of a new drug being so successful, that they cut the trial short in order to rush the drug to market for those who need it.
That's what David Shepherd has done. After more than 20 years of offering a wide variety of coaching and consulting services, he discovered that his proprietary ActionMaps Framework was an order of magnitude more valuable than the others.
Today, the 8-week strategic planning process is all David offers, at least as an entry point. The ActionMap process includes:
- A renewal and refreshing of the things that personally drive you most.
- A definition of the Value Proposition you would like to offer
- Selection of the Ideal Clients that will find that Value Proposition irresistible
- The choice of your 5 "Critical Cores," those skills you must master
- The specific actions you must take to master these "cores" and build a business that is simple, fun, profitable, and irresistible!
"It's not just a strategy, it's a whole new business."
"The ActionMaps process is billed as a 'strategic' framework, but to get there, the designer has to look at every aspect of her business from marketing to technology to HR and beyond. I've never understood my business so well!"
— Jeannie Gillis-Smart
What fun to finally realize my accountant is wrong!
"David makes it clear that he is not a CPA, but after working with more than 400 interior design firms, he knew more about what I needed to know than my own CPA! And it was simple stuff, just like the rest of the ActionMap solution."
— Amanda Bernard
Real talk, my friend
Is it Your Time to Design the Future of Your Dreams?
Facing reality is often not comfortable, yet David Shepherd knows of no other way to help you build the business—and the future—that you want and deserve.
You can always wait another year, and another... But if you think now might be the time for you to commit to a different way of doing things, learn more about David's proprietary ActionMaps Framework today.
Here's what's waiting for you on the other side:
- A dramatically simpler business with fewer problems
- A laser-like focus on the skills that your ideal customers covet
- Clear and dependable measures...not like your current accounting system
- An improvement in your bottom line so significant that you can start taking "Excess Cash" out to invest for the day when work will become optional!
