Inside the Nest | Q2
You Don’t Have to Run This Business Alone
There’s a version of entrepreneurship that looks like freedom — setting your own hours, doing work you love, answering to no one. And for many interior designers, that’s exactly what solo practice delivers. But ask those same designers, in an honest moment, what it actually feels like to run their business, and a different word often surfaces: lonely.
This isn’t a personal failing. It’s a documented reality. According to the Wordmetrics Entrepreneur Burnout Report, 46% of entrepreneurs struggle with feelings of isolation and loneliness, and 39% feel like they have no one to talk to about their stress. And this isn’t unique to early-stage businesses — the Harvard Business Review reports that half of CEOs experience feelings of loneliness in their role. The higher the stakes, it seems, the lonelier the seat.
There’s another layer to it, too. As the owner, you are the last line of defense on every hard call — the problems no one else can solve, and the ones no one else wants to. Vendor disputes, a difficult client relationship, a cash flow crunch, a hiring mistake — they all land on your desk, and they land there alone. One notable entrepreneur described it simply: “Being an entrepreneur is like eating glass and staring into the abyss...” Blunt — but if you’ve been in business long enough, you know exactly what that means.
For all the community that surrounds a thriving design practice — the clients, the vendors, the collaborators — when a difficult business decision lands on your desk, there’s often no one in the next office to think it through with. Friends and family are loving but rarely equipped to engage at the level your business requires. Networking events offer camaraderie but rarely the candid, invested counsel you actually need. The result: decisions made in a vacuum, second-guessing that runs on a loop, and the quiet weight of carrying it all yourself.
There’s a better way — here’s the idea.
Build Your Personal Board of Advisors.
Not a formal corporate board, and something far more personal than any structured group program — a small, curated circle of 3 to 5 people who know your business, care about your success, and will tell you the truth. Importantly, this is not a group that convenes together. Each of these relationships works independently — you’re drawing on them one on one, in the moments when you need a specific perspective or a straight answer. MIT Sloan Management Review research makes the case clearly: the notion that one mentor can meet all of your developmental needs is often inconceivable — what you need is a network of different support roles that fits your life and evolves with your career.
Here’s how I think about the roster:
The Financial Mind. Someone who understands numbers, profitability, and can pressure-test your pricing and spending decisions before you make them. This could be an accountant, a financially savvy peer, or an outside firm with deep knowledge of your industry — it’s a role TDA plays for dozens of our clients every day. You need someone who can look at a decision and tell you what it will actually cost.
The Industry Peer. Another designer — ideally in a non-competing market — who gets the specific texture of your work. They understand the client dynamic, the vendor relationships, the project complexity. This is the person you call when something goes sideways on a job and you need perspective from someone who has been there.
The Operational Thinker. Someone who has built and scaled a service business and can help you think about systems, delegation, and capacity. They help you evaluate where your time is going, where the process is breaking down, and what structure needs to be built to support the next stage of growth. It’s a topic that comes up constantly in our work with clients at TDA — and one of the most consistently underleveraged opportunities we see in design firms of every size.
The Challenger. The person in your life who does not let you off the hook. They ask “but have you really thought about...” when everyone else is nodding. A mentor, a former boss, someone in your circle who has built something themselves and earned the right to weigh in — whoever plays this role for you is invaluable, even when they can be uncomfortable to be around.
The Encourager with Discernment. Different from a cheerleader. This is someone who genuinely believes in you and has the judgment to know the difference between a solid idea and a shiny object. They will celebrate your wins and redirect your energy when you need it.
The beauty of this is that it requires no formal structure. You’re not scheduling group meetings or drafting an agenda. You’re cultivating intentional one-on-one relationships with people who are invested in your success — and you in theirs. Research shows that people are 65% more likely to achieve their goals when they commit to someone else, and 95% more likely when they have regular check-ins. That number holds whether the check-in happens in a boardroom or over coffee.
Start with one. Who in your life right now would give you an honest, informed opinion on a real business decision you’re facing? Reach out this quarter. Tell them what you’re working on. Ask what they think. That’s the beginning.
The most successful business owners are not the ones who figured everything out themselves. They’re the ones who knew who to call — even if they were eating glass and staring into the abyss while doing it.
You don’t have to run this business alone.
Warmly,
THE LATEST in IDnest
Hello summer! We are wrapping up Q2 with a suite of powerful new updates engineered to help you manage your time better, put you in the driver's seat of your business process, and make your design and project management workflows smoother than ever. Here is how our latest features are working harder for your business:
Enhanced Workflow & Flexibility
Multi-File Column Uploads
Keeps your documents organized and in one accessible place without the hassle of single-file limits.
Editable "Ship To" Addresses on POs
Allows you to specify exact departments or personnel for deliveries, ensuring high-value items arrive in the right hands, every time.
Landscape or Portrait Business Documents
Gives you total control over your presentation layout, letting you choose the orientation that best showcases your data and fits your needs.
Flexible Item Ordering in Proposals & Invoices
Rearrange and move items up or down instantly while editing, allowing you to curate exactly how costs and concepts are presented to your clients.
Deep-Dive Reporting & Data Control
Area Metrics on Expediting & Tracking Reports
Groups tracking details by specific project zones or rooms, making it seamless to check the status of an entire space at a single glance.
Global Tag Export to Excel
Extracts your custom sorting and organizational system into spreadsheets for external analysis, reporting, or advanced filtering.
Sortable Vault Folder Columns
Eliminates the digital treasure hunt by letting you sort every single column in your Vault folders to locate files in seconds.
Financial Mastery & Accountability
Multi-Rate Billing Per Team Member
Set multiple billing rates for a single employee based on the specific task or project type, maximizing profitability and billing accuracy.
Comprehensive Audit Trail Tracking
Delivers absolute transparency by logging changes to item statuses, tracking milestones, and client or vendor payment details—giving you an airtight transaction history.
Coming Soon: AI, Meet IDnest.
Connect your ChatGPT or Claude account directly to IDnest and unlock a smarter way to work. Ask questions about vault files, project details, and more — all within private, permission-based threads that respect your existing access settings. Your data, your questions, your answers — right where you need them.
YOU’LL WANT TO Check these out
1. Bored One Minute, Overwhelmed the Next
I came across this and immediately thought — yes, this is the problem. Neuroscientist Amishi Jha describes what most of us already know but can’t quite name: our ability to focus has become one of our most depleted resources. For anyone running a business, managing clients, and trying to think clearly at the end of a long day, that’s not a small thing. Her Big Think Class is built around a twelve-minute daily practice that strengthens attention and quiets the noise.
2. The Building That Took 144 Years to Finish
Antoni Gaudí spent 44 years of his life designing a church so structurally complex that it could not be fully built until the invention of computers. Even then, engineers in the 1990s found no need to change a single calculation he had made by hand. This month marks 100 years since Gaudí's death, and the Sagrada Família in Barcelona has finally been inaugurated as the tallest church in the world. For anyone who believes that great design is worth the long game, this one is worth your time.
3. How to Know a Person — David Brooks
David Brooks has a gift for taking ideas that feel abstract and making them land in a very human way — and this book is a good example of that. He argues that the most important skill any of us can develop is the ability to truly see another person and to make them feel seen in return. It is not a business book. It has nothing to do with business specifically and everything to do with being a person worth knowing.
4. The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant
Brené Brown and Adam Grant launched this podcast earlier this year and it is unlike anything else I’ve found. There is no shortage of genuine disagreement, push back and landing somewhere unexpected from these two sharp minds of human behavior. The episode on self-knowledge alone is worth the subscription. If you are a small business owner trying to lead well and think clearly, this belongs in your rotation.
Say Hello to Debra Barfield
Debra brings her bookkeeping expertise to The Dove Agency clients with meticulous transaction input and management and accurate account reconciliations. Read on to learn more about her and the dedicated work ethic she brings to our team.
What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy week?
Spending time with my favorite people—my daughter and my friends! I love meeting up for dinner, catching a movie, visiting a coffee shop, attending a music event, or playing Mahjong. I also enjoy brewing a great cup of coffee or tea and settling in with a good book.
What motivates you when things get busy or challenging?
Motivation for me comes from completing tasks and seeing the end product. When things are busy or challenging, I feel the need to organize my tasks and check them off a to-do list.
Click below to learn more about Jennifer in our Q&A.
How is Your Brand Doing in 2026?
Your brand is operating in a different landscape than it was even a year ago. So we made something to help. We've been building a tool that does the heavy lifting for you. By answering a few questions, you'll have a digital brand audit, complete with actionable priorities and a clear path forward. Stay tuned for more.
New TopBranch Episode is Live!
In this episode of the TopBranch podcast, co-hosts Ruth Ann Janson and Beth Bender interview team members Natalie Forehand and Blair Ryan from The Dove Agency to discuss strategies for finding and retaining talent. You'll learn about their personal career trajectories within the firm, detailing how they successfully navigated major life milestones by maintaining open communication and utilizing the company's flexible work environment. Additionally, the conversation highlights valuable advice on balancing salary against flexibility, building strong peer-to-peer relationships, and thriving within a remote agency structure.
Watch now on the YouTube channel at the button below.