The Idea Economy™
How to price your intellectual capital, position your expertise, and sell what clients can’t touch.
Your creativity is the product. Not the hours, not the markups and for sure not a "discount".
The Idea Economy™ is about putting brainpower, strategy, and leadership at the center of how you price your projects — and, more importantly, how you project revenue to grow.
These workshops show you how to make the intangible tangible: turning ideas into numbers, proposals, and models that clients respect. You’ll build a business model that protects profit and gives you the confidence to hire, expand, or even take a break — knowing the revenue is there to support it.
When you stop apologizing for your fees and start owning them, clients stop shopping and start trusting.
👉 Scroll down to see when the next workshop begins.
(more workshops coming in The Idea Economy™!)
JOIN US!Workshop one
Pricing the Invisible (Two Days!)
FEBRUARY 25 & 26, 2026
Translating your ideas into a flat-fee framework that holds up. This is by far, the best education you will ever get on how to calculate flat fees accurately and without ambiguity.
Designers don’t struggle with the concept of flat fees — they struggle with the calculation and the mindset necessary to implement it. How do you turn design work into a number that’s profitable, repeatable, and defendable?
Flat fees force you to be a better business owner.
But unless you can build a fee that’s structured and enforceable, you’ll keep leaving money on the table and be unable to project out the future profit necessary for growth.
This workshop walks you through the math and mechanics of flat-fee pricing — how to calculate it, safeguard it, and present it with confidence so clients see value instead of hours.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
- What goes into calculating a flat fee and how to do it including how to factor the complexity of each project.
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Why a shift from hourly billing to outcome-based pricing creates more client respect. ( we dive into this much more in The Buyers Brain workshops!)
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The must-have clauses that protect you when scope creeps or projects stall. (and that is a very BIG deal lately!)
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Guardrails to keep nickel-and-dime requests from eating profit. (and help you to learn how to say "sure let me add that to our contract!)
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Language that positions flat fees as stewardship and leadership, not a "discount." {shudder}
- Please have your average fees charged for a typical space and the number of hours you estimate. If you use square foot calcs please have that too.
Purchase 5 workshops and receive a 10% consideration on all!
CODE: WORKSHOPS5
Workshop TWO
The Minimum Expenditure: Why You Need to Project Profit for Success
march 4, 2026
Designers get trapped in feast-or-famine because they price project by project without projecting the profit required to sustain growth. The minimum expenditure model changes that. It secures profitability from the start, anchors client expectations, and protects you from being shopped.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN:
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How to set a minimum expenditure for each project — tied to scope, not just “to get started.”
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The exact verbiage to convey to clients that makes your minimum feel natural and non-negotiable in client conversations.
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Why presenting this model intentionally is mission-critical for buy-in.
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The ripple effect: how projecting profit impacts hiring, cash flow, office upgrades, and even your next vacation.
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Understand how minimum expenditure impacts your future growth by being able to project out your profit---you will know you can add that new person, move out of your home office or book that vacation!
- Please have your gross profit margin on product sales and an idea of what it takes to furnish at specific spaces at your level.
Purchase 5 workshops and receive 10% consideration on all! ( even if is not a set date yet!)
CODE: WORKSHOPS5
SELLING BY DESIGN™
To view more info about additional workshops, click below to read more about our workshops on how to build a strong sales system that positions you as the obvious choice, and closes projects without discounting or second-guessing.
WORKSHOP IN APRIL 2026!
DESIGN DELIVERED™
Click below to read more about our workshops on how to to turn your goals into defined deliverables, describe them in a way clients understand, and move projects from kickoff to install with a signature process.
PROJECTS WITHOUT PANIC™
To view more info about additional workshops then click below to read more about how the right project management tools, you’ll prevent rework, reduce stress, and lead the process with confidence that sets you apart.
WORKSHOPS START IN FEBRUARY 2026!
Heather M.
TDP DESIGNER
"I just moved from a 200sq ft office to a 1200 sq ft showroom and am hiring another person. I'm running my business more intelligently, have a better grasp on the numbers, and have been able to obtain consistent growth. If you are serious about growth, then Cheryl is who you need. It's paid for itself so many times over."
Monica G.
TDP DESIGNER
"We achieved one of our big picture financial goals for this year and our current WIN--we are about to close out our second largest revenue month in a row. We're up 99.8% in revenue from Q1 compared to Q4 last year. "
Sunita R.
TDP DESIGNER
"From being a loss making firm to now paying taxes in high 5 figures, yeah I would say, you should be called ‘Cheryl - The Transformer’"
No other coach is as invested in their students' business as you and no one has gone beyond three sentences about minimum expenditures!
Success is for those who are willing to put the time and effort into being prepared and learning how to run a business. And not let the business run them.
Meet Cheryl Clendenon
A serial entrepreneur and owner of In Detail Interiors, a 7 person, multi-million dollar design firm based on the Gulf Coast. In addition to winning dozens of industry awards throughout her 25 years in business (proving she's a dang good designer who knows her stuff), she also has actual knowledge and experience in business that head and shoulders above the rest of those who currently coach and teach within this industry.
That’s why, instead of bringing you more fluff about how to sign luxury clients or social media marketing (🙄), she is going to teach you what you really need and WANT to know, which is how to increase your bottom line WITHOUT adding more to your workload.