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speaker • CEO • commercial DESIGNER • BUSINESS COACH
The design business advice that comes from someone still running one.
Katie Decker-Erickson built Color Works from a part-time passion project into a multimillion-dollar commercial design firm working in more than 20 states. Now she teaches designers how to build firms that scale without swallowing their lives.
2026 IDS National Conference Speaker
Recognized nationally as an IDS Designer of the Year Awards Judge and Conference Speaker, Katie Decker-Erickson is known for her thoughtful design philosophy, meticulous eye for detail, and unwavering commitment to creating homes that feel both inspired and intuitive.
1500%
revenue growth in a single year
20+
states with active projects
$MM+
multimillion-dollar firm, built from scratch
20+ years
teaching design at 4 universities
WHY KATIE
She doesn't teach theory. She teaches what's working in her own firm this quarter.
Most business advice for designers comes from people who left the industry, or never worked in it. Katie is still in it. Color Works manages large-scale portfolios for billion-dollar Real Estate Investment Trusts, across hundreds of properties, with a fully remote team.
She built that in a corner of commercial design few designers ever enter. And she built it while raising two young daughters, which is why her talks are about scaling to your life, not just your revenue.
Add 18 years of undergraduate and graduate teaching, and you get a speaker who knows the numbers, has lived the chaos, and can explain both so the room actually uses it.
Interested in booking Katie as a Subject Matter Expert, Keynote Speaker, or as a Podcast Guest?
speaking topics
Talks built for design firm owners who are ready to grow on purpose
1.
Scaling Your Business to Fit Your Lifestyle
2.
The Power of Process: Streamline and Succeed
3.
Mindset & Confidence: Shifting Your Interior Design Business to Six Figures and Beyond
4.
Contract to Completion: Mastering Client Communication
5.
Empowering Your Team and Clients: Strategies for Success
What Clients have to say
"I had the pleasure of working with Katie as I built my business. I could send her ideas and talk through them to develop a process of implementation, or realize it's not the right fit for my business. As a fellow entrepreneur/mom, I felt like she had my best interest at heart and I could connect with her. I have a hard time seeing the big picture and she helped guide me."
Andrea Black
Get the advice from the stage,
applied to your firm.
A talk gives you the principles.
The Business Health Diagnostic gives you the one that matters most right now.
In thirty minutes, Katie names the constraint holding your design firm back and what to do about it first.
Wenatchee, Washington 98801
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