How This Interior Designer Went From Winging It to Running Million-Dollar Projects

Six years ago, Ching Tan was taking calls from her car, second-guessing her pricing, and trying to piece together a process for her interior design business.

Today? She’s leading a full-service design firm, working with custom builders, managing projects with budgets that reach $1 million+, and confidently standing behind her designs, her pricing, and the way her business operates.

In this episode, Ching is back on Resilient by Design to talk about what changed.

And spoiler: it wasn’t that she suddenly became a better designer.

She built structure underneath the talent she already had.

We talk about the transition from winging projects to having a clear process, why pre-qualifying clients changed the way she works, how she learned to confidently lead conversations with clients and trades, and what it takes to step into full-service design when you’re still nervous about getting it wrong.

Ching also shares what she has learned from working with both homeowners and custom builders, how she approaches budgets on large-scale projects, why communication has become such an important part of her process, and why the systems behind your design work matter just as much as the creative work itself.

If you’ve been wondering whether you’re experienced enough, confident enough, or “ready” enough to take on bigger projects, this conversation is an important reminder: confidence doesn’t always come first.

Sometimes, you build the process first. Then the confidence follows.

Episode Highlights

How Ching’s business has transformed over the last six years
Going from winging projects to having a repeatable design process
Building the confidence to lead clients instead of hoping they like you
Working with custom builders versus residential homeowners
Pre-qualifying clients and recognizing when a project isn’t the right fit
Why Ching moved toward full-service interior design
Managing budgets on $900K–$1M+ custom builds
Advocating for the design when clients, trades, friends, and family have opinions
Pricing projects by phase
The client communication systems Ching uses throughout a project
Why your process should continue evolving as your business grows
Getting past the fear of taking on bigger, more complex projects

Episode Resources

Episode 28: What you need in your business to gain your clients’ trust
Find Ching at www.taninteriors.ca and on Instagram @taninteriorsds

Ready to stop winging your projects?

Inside Power of Process®, I give you the framework, tools, templates, communication systems, checklists, and step-by-step process to confidently lead your interior design projects from beginning to end.

Because you shouldn’t have to spend years figuring everything out by trial and error.

Learn more about Power of Process®

This episode is sponsored by Programa.

Programa is project management software built specifically for interior designers. It’s designed to save you hours every week and reduce the errors that come from managing projects across scattered documents and systems.

Use code RBD25 for 25% off annual Programa plans. Click to learn more.

October 6, 2026

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