Hiring Help Without Hiring Staff: How to Scale Your Interior Design Studio Without Payroll Headaches

Interior designers looking to scale their business or manage a growing workload often consider bringing in freelance help or staff. But making that move comes with a host of questions, from legal responsibilities to interpersonal dynamics.

This guide is for designers who are growing fast but don’t want to dive headfirst into employment. It offers insight into systems, services, and freelance support that can help you expand your capacity - without the pressure of a permanent hire.

Why Hire Help (Even If You’re Not Hiring Staff)?

At a certain point in your interior design journey, growth means letting go. Whether you’re scaling from 'maturity' to 'stardom', managing increasingly complex projects, or simply feeling stretched too thin, you can’t do it all alone forever.

Hiring help - without taking on permanent staff - can be a smart, flexible way to scale. You might: 

• outsource lower-fee tasks like digital content or SketchUp
• bring in project-based support for big installs
• fill specific skill gaps like FF&E 
• hand over admin to a freelance virtual assistant/office manager so you can step into your true role as visionary director

This kind of support also creates space for junior designers to gain real experience, and it lets you stay agile without the stress of payroll, holiday cover, or long-term commitments.

In short: you stay focused on high-value work, while other people help get it done.

1. Start with Systems: Productivity Without People

Before you consider hiring anyone, take a look at your systems. Could better tools and processes solve the problem?

Here are a few game-changers:

• OpenAI / ChatGPT: Draft emails, client notes, social posts, proposals - even brainstorm supplier lists or presentation wording. I’m running a workshop on using AI for the BIID in October 25. AI has made me at least twice as productive, it touches every aspect of my business. 
• Canva: Build branded templates for everything - client docs, presentations, moodboards - so you don’t reinvent the wheel each time.
• Xero / QuickBooks: Automate finance tasks like invoicing, expense tracking, and VAT.
• Notion / Trello: Organise your entire business-client journey steps, internal SOPs, to-do lists, and project pipelines.

Outsource everything you can - especially the tasks you don't want to charge your full hourly rate for. These systems will take weight off your shoulders and prepare your studio for the next level of growth.

2. Professional Services: Hire the Expertise, Not the Employee

Hiring doesn’t have to mean staff. You can build a powerful team of professionals on a flexible, freelance or retainer basis.

Common roles include:

• Accountants and Bookkeepers: They’ll save you time and stress - and possibly money too.
• Virtual Assistants: For inboxes, diary management, form-filling, research, and general admin; a more experienced (more expensive) VA can take on aspects of office management for you. 
• Marketing Support: From strategy sessions to someone who actually posts for you.
• CAD Technicians & 3D Renderers: Delegate the hours you’d rather spend on concept development and client management.

These services are especially helpful as you build up strength during the ‘maturity’ stage of your business. At this level, your role should evolve in preparation for the ascent to ‘stardom'. You become the face of your brand, attracting new business and nurturing client relationships, while you learn to allow other people do the work.

What do freelance professional services cost?

Freelance help varies widely in price depending on the type of service and level of expertise. A good Virtual Assistant typically charges £25–£35 per hour for general admin, and £35–£50+ for specialist tasks like CRM management or social media. A qualified bookkeeper may charge £30–£45 per hour for regular support, or £45–£60 for more complex work like VAT returns or software-based reporting using Xero or QuickBooks. If you’re outsourcing CAD drafting, expect to pay £25–£45 per hour for remote freelancers, depending on the complexity of the drawings, level of detail, and whether 3D work or renderings are involved. Many of these professionals offer monthly packages or per-project pricing, which can help you manage cash flow while expanding your team’s capacity.

3. Freelance Designers: How to Get It Right (and What Not to Do)

Hiring freelance design help can transform your capacity. But it comes with responsibility.

A seasoned freelancer put it well:

“I’ve worked with designers who had no idea what help they needed, so nothing ever got off the ground. Others were so controlling it was almost impossible to contribute. And sometimes people just disappear. There’s got to be more respect - and a more thoughtful approach.”

Here’s how to get it right:

Why Bring on Freelance Help?

• Scaling up without the stress of PAYE
• Filling skill gaps - technical work, FF&E, digital content
• Managing big time-limited projects that are too much for one person
• Delegating tasks you don’t want to charge your top rate for (e.g. SketchUp, sourcing)
• Offering opportunities to juniors looking for portfolio work
• Maintaining flexibility without long-term employment commitments
• Avoiding burnout by not trying to do it all

In my career I’ve seen the economic cycle blast through our industry with hurricane force on a couple of occasions, in 2008/09, and again during COVID. Adding in freelance support and hiring professional services works well if you prefer to keep your business model lean, working with teams of people for projects, rather than employing staff.

Step One - BEFORE: Get Your House in Order

Before inviting someone into your business:

• Organise your files - use shared cloud systems and naming conventions
• Create step-by-step guides (even basic ones) for recurring processes
• Define your expectations - how do you want things to look, be presented, get done?
• Get legal assistance with drafting simple contracts 

This upfront work creates a better experience for everyone - yourself included.

Before you begin the search for a freelance designer, you could hire a VA to help you get your systems and information in order - especially if this kind of admin challenge isn’t a strength.  

Step Two: Define the Role Properly

Don’t wing it. Write a brief or job description that covers:

• Scope: What exactly will they do? Be explicit about the kinds of task you want help with.
• Format: Ad hoc? Weekly hours? Fixed term? For a specific project?
• Working style: Independent? Collaborative?
• Payment: Hourly rate? Flat fee? Pay schedule?
• End point: Will the project wrap up? Review and renew?

Avoid this mistake: offering the promise of 'design work', and then using your freelancer like an office assistant. Be honest. Respect their expertise. Pay accordingly. 

Step Three: Onboard and Support

Even a short-term freelancer needs induction.

• Introduce them to your systems
• Walk through your expectations
• Clarify preferred formats, styles, communication
• Offer regular check-ins, especially early on
• Be kind and patient, if someone feels they can't ask questions...this is how errors can occur. 

Designers who don’t enjoy managing people often skip this step. But the truth is: if you’re hiring, you’re managing. Make peace with it - and do it well. And yes, you will have to pay your freelancer while you train them in your business and systems, so budget for this as part of the process. 

Step Four: Be the Client You Wish You Had

This one’s important. Don’t behave toward your freelancers the way nightmare clients behave toward you. 

• Don’t ghost people when projects dry up
• Don’t vanish for months then ask for 'just half an hour' of help
• Don’t withhold credit or portfolio images unfairly
• Don’t treat them like staff if they’re not - no daily check-ins or surveillance - give them tasks, agree delivery dates and deliverables, leave them to it. 

Good freelancers want to work. But they also want respect. Consider offering:

• A fair rate of pay - don’t expect freelancers to help with things that are ‘above their pay grade’, in particular if you expect them to interact with valued clients, or to place high-stakes orders (high value orders that you’ll assume responsibility for later), this isn't basic work. 
• A longer-term contract (if there’s ongoing work).
• Transparent project relationships, with a mix of tasks and real creative contribution.

Step Five: Know the Risks (and How to Mitigate Them)

• Bringing people in means letting go of control. That’s hard. But manageable - if you plan for it, and if you are self-aware
• Turnover happens: Freelancers may move on to launch their own thing
• Clients can be poached: Use contracts with non-solicitation clauses
• Mistakes occur: Assign responsibility carefully and check early work
• Insurance matters: Make sure your PI insurance covers subcontractors, or insist they have their own
• Legal limits apply: Freelancers must be genuinely self-employed, set their own hours, use their own tools, and not be managed like staff

And don’t forget your own privacy. If you work from home, having 'someone in your house every day' might not suit your rhythm or lifestyle. Consider whether remote collaboration or project-by-project help is a better fit.

Where to Find Freelancers

• Word of mouth within the design community
• Private Facebook groups and online forums
• LinkedIn
• Alumni boards of design schools
• Your existing network

There are good people floating around, especially newly trained designers looking to gain experience. Many are eager to prove themselves and build their portfolios.

VENTURING INTO HIRING TERRITORY

Do you actually need an Office Manager (freelance or part-time) - someone whose specific aspiration is to be a respected and fairly-rewarded office manager might stay longer in a role than a frustrated designer who views your role as a rung in the ladder that leads to a design position. A good office manager is someone you can collaborate with long-term, building the business and keeping operations flowing while freeing you to be the 'visionary director'.

Final Thought: Be Strategic, Not Spontaneous

Hiring freelance help ad hoc might solve your short-term bottleneck.

If you want to scale:

• Be intentional about what and to whom you outsource
• Invest in and build repeatable systems that others can use
• Strengthen your network so you’re not alone when the next big job lands
• Plan for growth - not just survival

Treat freelance hiring as a long-term strategy, not a last-minute solution. You’ll attract better people (and keep them longer) when you invest in the relationship.

You don’t have to grow alone. But if you want to grow well, you’ll need systems, support, and above all, clarity.