Ep. 7 Certified for the Season: Do Credentials Matter in the Christmas Industry?

The Done-For-You-Christmas Business

The decorating is the fun part. The invoicing, the taxes, the "wait, did I even get paid for that?" — that's the part that burns people out. This week, Lindsay Sutherland and Holiday Heather Lundervold break down exactly how to get paid without the headache: the three job types every decorator needs to know (install only, install + supplemental decor, full design), how to price and invoice each one, and the sales tax rules most business owners get wrong. Heather also opens up about 26 years of running her business on Google Docs and a notepad — and why this is the first July of her career she isn't panicking. Plus: details on the six-week certification launching August 3rd for anyone ready to build a real Christmas business this season The Christmas Design Institute was founded by Heather Lundervold to help you become an interior Holiday Designer. Choose Your Path: Path 1: Become a certified decorator and join the designer-for-hire program Path 2: Launch your own Christmas Business. Explore both at ChristmasDesignInstitute.com [https://www.christmasdesigninstitute.com/] Christmas Callers was founded to solve one problem - Helping Holiday Professionals land commercial contracts. We pull lists, enrich data, and baby sit leads all to help you be in the right place at the right time. Book your consultation with us now at ChristmasCallers.com [https://christmascallers.com/]

Pricing Your Services: The Things Nobody Tells You

Last week we covered the basics of pricing your holiday decorating services. This week, Lindsay and Heather go deeper — into all the things most new decorators forget to charge for, and exactly how those overlooked costs quietly eat your profit margin alive. In this episode of the Holiday Pros Podcast, Heather Lundervold draws on 26 years of trial and error to walk through the hidden costs that don't show up in a basic estimate: storage, delivery, trailer wear and tear, packing time, tax planning, and the two extra hours on both ends of every job that most designers never bill for. Lindsay brings her business consulting background to the table to explain why pricing per project often protects you better than hourly billing — and how the "rule of thirds" can keep your cash flow healthy no matter how big your season gets. They also tackle one of the most common early-career mistakes: celebrating a $12,000 job before calculating what it actually cost to deliver it. In this episode you'll learn: * How to price storage — even if you're using your own garage * Why delivery and pickup labor can add up to four unbilled hours per job * The "rule of thirds" for managing your money as a self-employed decorator * Package pricing vs. hourly: when to use each and how to protect yourself either way * How to present a three-tiered proposal so clients can choose their own investment level * Why asking for a "budget range" (not a budget) changes the conversation immediately * How taxes can blindside new business owners — and what to do about it * When to charge the same hourly rate for yourself as your install team (and when not to) * Why Biz in a Box Solutions has a done-for-you system that walks you through every stage from first call to final install * Heather's book in progress: Six Figures in Six Weeks with the Business of Christmas Upcoming Events — don't miss these: * 🎄 Holiday Design Master Class — Scottsdale, AZ at Sherwin-Williams | July 17, 1–5 PM (4-part series: July, Aug, Sept, Oct) | christmasdesigninstitute.com * 🎄 Christmas Expo — Dallas, TX | July 20–25 | Heather's 3-part workshop series July 20–22, conference July 23–25 with 12 design sessions | christmasexpo.com * 🎄 Las Vegas Market — Last week of July | Las Vegas Market Center | Must have resale number; Heather's students can attend as her guest * 🎄 HollyCon — International Conference for Holiday Design | St. Louis, MO | Feb. 25–28, 2027 | In conjunction with Transworld The Christmas Design Institute was founded by Heather Lundervold to help you become an interior Holiday Designer. Choose Your Path: Path 1: Become a certified decorator and join the designer-for-hire program Path 2: Launch your own Christmas Business. Explore both at ChristmasDesignInstitute.com [https://www.christmasdesigninstitute.com/] Christmas Callers was founded to solve one problem - Helping Holiday Professionals land commercial contracts. We pull lists, enrich data, and baby sit leads all to help you be in the right place at the right time. Book your consultation with us now at ChristmasCallers.com [https://christmascallers.com/]

How to Price Your Decorating Services: The Full Breakdown

Pricing your holiday decorating services is one of the most common questions new designers ask — and one of the most expensive mistakes they make when they get it wrong. In Episode 9 of the Holiday Pros Podcast, Lindsay Sutherland and Heather Lundervold pull back the curtain on exactly how to price your services as an interior holiday designer: from the initial phone call all the way through installation, takedown, and everything in between. Heather has spent 26 years learning this the hard way — undercharging, forgetting to bill for takedown, giving away consultations for free — so you don't have to. She walks through her complete process step by step, including what she charges, why she charges it, and how she handles clients who push back. Lindsay brings her sales and business consulting expertise to the conversation, unpacking the psychology behind pricing with confidence, how to position your value in the luxury space, and why the mindset shift of "they want this" changes everything when it comes to closing a client. In this episode you'll learn: * How to decide what services to offer before you price a single thing * The step-by-step client process: phone call → in-home consult → mood board → proposal → deposit * What Heather charges for consultations ($200) — and when she waives the fee * Why you should never email a proposal before getting paid for the design work * The #1 mistake designers make when building proposals (and how to pad for it) * Why forgetting takedown can cost you an entire day's pay * How to handle clients who say "I'm already paying you $12,000 — why is there a consultation fee?" * The key difference between pricing for residential luxury clients vs. resort and commercial bids * How Biz in a Box Solutions takes the guesswork out of the entire process with pre-built templates, stages, and proposal verbiage * Why shopping services are one of the most fun (and profitable) offerings in the business Whether you're just setting your rates for the first time or you're ready to stop undercharging, this episode gives you the full picture. The Christmas Design Institute was founded by Heather Lundervold to help you become an interior Holiday Designer. Choose Your Path: Path 1: Become a certified decorator and join the designer-for-hire program Path 2: Launch your own Christmas Business. Explore both at ChristmasDesignInstitute.com [https://www.christmasdesigninstitute.com/] Christmas Callers was founded to solve one problem - Helping Holiday Professionals land commercial contracts. We pull lists, enrich data, and baby sit leads all to help you be in the right place at the right time. Book your consultation with us now at ChristmasCallers.com [https://christmascallers.com/]

Social Media for Holiday Decorators: What to Post & When

If social media feels overwhelming, inconsistent, or just plain out of place when you're posting about Christmas in June — this episode is for you. In Episode 8 of the Holiday Pros Podcast, Lindsay Sutherland and Heather Lundervold break down exactly what holiday decorators and Christmas business owners should be posting, when to post it, and how to stop overthinking the whole thing. Whether you're brand new to social media or you've been flying by the seat of your pants (Heather's words, not ours), you'll walk away with a clear, actionable framework you can actually use. Lindsay draws on years of social media consulting across nonprofits, startups, and contract companies to lay out a step-by-step process tailored specifically to the Christmas industry — including tips for capturing content on the job, what to do when your clients don't want cameras in their home, and why B-roll footage of your work is more powerful than any polished talking-head video. Heather shares real-world lessons from her own journey as a luxury holiday decorator and what she's learning inside a high-level social media coaching program — including why you should post before you're ready, why consistency beats perfection every time, and why the algorithm is actually your friend when you stop fighting it. In this episode you'll learn: * The "spaghetti approach" to posting 3–5x per day and what to do after 90 days * Why niche, consistent content outperforms variety every time * How to create a month's worth of content from a single job * The tripod hack that makes filming on-site effortless (and affordable) * Why B-roll + voiceover beats on-camera talking for most decorators * How to use scheduling tools (including Biz in a Box Solutions) to post all year without the stress * Why you should be building on multiple platforms — not just one * The Hook Point principle: you have 3 seconds to capture attention * Personal page vs. business page: what actually works on Facebook This one's packed. Grab a notebook. Christmas Callers was founded to solve one problem - Helping Holiday Professionals land commercial contracts. We pull lists, enrich data, and baby sit leads all to help you be in the right place at the right time. Book your consultation with us now at ChristmasCallers.com [https://christmascallers.com/] The Christmas Design Institute was founded by Heather Lundervold to help you become an interior Holiday Designer. Choose Your Path: Path 1: Become a certified decorator and join the designer-for-hire program Path 2: Launch your own Christmas Business. Explore both at ChristmasDesignInstitute.com [https://www.christmasdesigninstitute.com/]

Ep. 7 Certified for the Season: Do Credentials Matter in the Christmas Industry?

Did you know there is no college curriculum, no degree program, and no formal training anywhere in the world for holiday design? Not even a single course inside a four-year interior design degree. Until now, this has been an entirely self-taught industry — and this week, Heather and Lindsay dig into what that means for you and your business. In this episode they tackle certifications, professional associations, and credibility markers — what they're worth, why they matter to clients, and how they give you the confidence to walk into any room and close the deal. Heather shares a behind-the-scenes look at her recent conversation with Scottsdale Community College about bringing holiday design into academia, and why the Professional Association of Holiday Designers is filling a gap that every other industry has had for years — except this one. They also get into a conversation that might just change the way interior designers think about their business model entirely: why pairing holiday design with interior design creates the holy grail of recurring revenue, stronger client relationships, and the freedom to be picky about the projects you take — sooner than you'd think. Plus, Heather's coaching gold for anyone who's ever talked themselves out of a big job before even trying: stop asking "Can I do it?" and start asking "How can I do it?" — because if Heather can land an 11-year resort account without knowing what she was doing on day one, so can you. The Christmas Design Institute was founded by Heather Lundervold to help you become an interior Holiday Designer. Choose Your Path: Path 1: Become a certified decorator and join the designer-for-hire program Path 2: Launch your own Christmas Business. Explore both at ChristmasDesignInstitute.com [https://www.christmasdesigninstitute.com/] Christmas Callers was founded to solve one problem - Helping Holiday Professionals land commercial contracts. We pull lists, enrich data, and baby sit leads all to help you be in the right place at the right time. Book your consultation with us now at ChristmasCallers.com [https://christmascallers.com/]