Business of Home | A 6-figure salary is just the starting point for designers in this coaching program

Article by By Siobhán McGowan | BOH Brand Studio

Even the most creatively inspired designers can struggle with the financial component of their business. Kimberley Seldon learned this the hard way: While her star shone bright as one of the first design personalities on HGTV Canada soon after it launched in 1997, behind the scenes she was utterly stymied by just how to complete her projects—and she frequently found herself getting (gently) fired by her clients. Her impostor syndrome got so bad that she seriously considered quitting the industry. Luckily, she stuck it out, saved by a few strategic changes to her systems that turned things around.

Determined to help other designers facing similar challenges, she has spent the past two decades giving back to the community by sharing her keys to success with industry colleagues at all different stages of their careers through her online learning platform, Business of Design, and its BOD 15 Step Project Management Strategy. Seldon, who divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles, spoke with Business of Home about the early days of her eponymous design firm, her brass tacks business philosophy and one of the most important steps in her program for sustained profitability: paying yourself a six-figure salary from the start.

You’re well-known from hosting three of your own shows on HGTV Canada, and you run a thriving design firm; what made you decide on a sideline as a career coach?
When I graduated in the early 1990s, there was a terrible recession and no jobs, so I ended up going into business for myself, which was a tragic error. I’m not someone who was highly motivated by money—I was imagining grateful clients and my projects in magazines. I went into it pretty naive. I figured, “How hard can this be?”

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