We’re back today talking with North Bend, Washington based designer, Milissa Morgan-Ching, founder of the pacific northwest design firm, Salt + Pine.
Last week we had the opportunity to take a look at a project Milissa designed using our platform. If you missed that, you can see it on the blog here.
This week, we’re asking Milissa about the success she’s found using SideDoor, what she loves about the platform, and how she’s integrated it into her business.
Here we go!
CONVERSATION:
SideDoor: So over the last two weeks we’ve heard a little about you and your clients, we’ve seen an awesome case study of a project you designed with the platform, and now we want to know, what motivated you to hop on board with SideDoor?
Milissa: I love solving problems, and one of the problems that I've always encountered—which Lindsey Humphrey obviously solved—was logistics. Furnishings logistics is a bear. So I went to the internet and did some searching, and when I stumbled upon SideDoor, I was like, “Oh my God, I found an actual unicorn!” I reached out to them and spent a lot of time talking to Jordan, and basically was like, yeah, let's give this a go.
We got set up and did a couple of trial projects, intentionally in different spots around the country, and they were working out really good. So when my renovation clients started saying, I love my new design—can you furnish it for me? I was like, yes I can! Because I've got this amazing relationship with this company who allows us to shop a wide array of products.
SideDoor: That’s amazing! So, we all know that clients often want to shop for specific brands or retailers. Can you talk about how you get them comfortable with a trade platform like SideDoor?
Milissa: Yes, so a lot of people will say things like, “I really want everything from Pottery Barn or West Elm” or wherever. So I say, funny story about that. Let me educate you about where they get all their products from, and then you might change your tune.
And so basically I’ve sold that to my clients as: we can get you those big box retailer “looks” without the middleman. And that's gonna make your process easier, it's going to save you some money, and then obviously it's better for designers on our end. It also allows me to keep my design fees lower because then I'm making a profit off of the furnishings.
SideDoor: You mentioned to me pre-interview that you use Design Files, so a clarifying question for designers who might be considering this: You put the SideDoor items into Design Files, and the client approves them there. They then place their order through you via Design Files, and then you order the items through SideDoor?
Milissa: Yes, I always invoice the client directly [through Design Files] and make the purchases on their behalf. But, whether I have it shipped directly to them or manage the install is a mix for sure. People are all different: some don't need you to do an install and some people want you to come do an install. Some people want you to procure all items, and some people would rather just do it themselves.
One of my business philosophies in general is that I don't have a prescribed design service. I'm very much like, you come to me with a need, I'm gonna hear your need, and I'm gonna figure out within my experience range how I can meet that need. I always tell people that “We meet you where you're at, and we help you get where you want to go.”
SideDoor: For folks who may be just starting to use SideDoor, can you share a little about the language you use around the platform to help clients feel comfortable?
Milissa: Yes! I call it like my concierge service. I tell them, I have this great concierge service and they are the ones that help get everything to you. Because of that, we have the ability to shop all in one place versus you having to track things down and all these different retailers.
A lot of times, if the client is purchasing their stuff independently, they really appreciate the idea that they can go to one spot to buy everything versus getting a super extensive shopping list that they then had to place, say, 20 orders and track 300 pieces.
SideDoor: That’s really helpful. We definitely find that clients enjoy the simplicity of ordering everything from one place!
Melissa: It’s a huge issue that SideDoor solves—they take that painfulness of having to track things down from 15 vendors and have all these pieces that are coming from all over creation. It’s also nice to have as a hub for a project to get status updates on every single item, where it's in the process, and also having them be readily available to answer your questions—I don't think I've ever waited more than 12 hours for a response, often it’s within a couple of hours or even minutes.
SideDoor: How about any tips or best practices you’ve been able to discover since working with the platform?
Milissa: Yes, so in addition to creating collections for your clients projects, you can also just create collections for yourself or your team. For example, we have our own collections based categories.
SideDoor: That’s so smart! So, for example, creating collections of your go-to casegoods, upholstery, side tables so you have a shortcut to use them again and again.
Milissa: And you can also favorite your top vendors, so we have our short list of our favorite vendors that have been tried and true that we've enjoyed working with over the years. But it's also an amazing way to explore new vendors, especially for designers who are just breaking the space!
I wish I’d had SideDoor when I started—God, I mean, it's been over a decade now—I don't even know where my business would be at this point! The potential for growth and the support that they [new designers] would get from that relationship is such an amazing opportunity.
SideDoor: Gosh, thank you so much for singing our praises! We obviously love working with you, Milissa. Thanks so much for sharing your experience with our community, and we can’t wait for our live SideDoor University Q&A. See you then!
We love introducing our SideDoor Superstars to our community of designers! If you want to follow along with Milissa’s design work, you can find her website here, as well as her social media profiles on Instagram, and Facebook.
Next week, we'll have Milissa’s SideDoor University Q&A - watch out for the date announcement and meeting invite for this. We can’t wait for this community conversation!
Are YOU a SideDoor Superstar? Would you like to be featured in our series? Send an email to info@onsidedoor.com and we’ll start the conversation!
