Solo designer's struggle: When admin work buries creative passion
Alexandra 'Sandy' Hartley, founder of Alexandra Hartley Interiors, is struggling to balance her workload as a solo designer. With her calendar packed but filled with admin tasks rather than design work, she now faces a key decision: where to invest her time, money, and energy for growth. The challenge mirrors those of many small business owners—juggling too many roles while trying to scale. Sandy’s days are consumed by invoicing, order tracking, and half-built systems instead of design and client relationships. Every admin task, procurement decision, and project follow-up lands back on her desk, creating bottlenecks. To improve cash flow, she has already shifted from fixed pricing to hourly billing, but more changes are needed.
Before making further investments, she plans to track her time to identify which tasks drain her the most. This clarity will help her decide where to focus next. One option is hiring back-of-house support, such as an admin or operations assistant, to streamline processes before they are fully documented. The DesignDash community, where firm owners share real business challenges, offers a structured approach to growth. Members tackle issues like messy software, unclear hiring, and overloaded schedules. Through Growth Studio, they develop a six-month plan to build a seven-figure firm by addressing practical hurdles—just like Sandy’s. The goal is simple: help owners take the next concrete step toward a business that doesn’t rely on them for every detail. For Sandy, this could mean delegating admin work to free up time for design and larger projects.
Sandy’s next move may involve hiring support to reduce her workload and refocus on design. The DesignDash community provides tools to turn these decisions into action. With a clearer plan, she can build a firm that runs smoothly without her handling every task.
