The Lake Hazel Handbook & Operating Library
An interactive reference for Lake Hazel Design, Build, Collective, Home, and Digital—covering culture, memberships, assignments, workflows, quality, and brand standards.
Lake Hazel at a glance
This portal applies to team members, independent contractors, Collective members, and industry partners working under or alongside the Lake Hazel name.
Mission
Make exceptional design more accessible while creating meaningful opportunities for designers, builders, makers, tradespeople, and clients.
Vision
Build a recognized, connected design ecosystem in which beautiful spaces, strong systems, craftsmanship, scalable products, and real professional careers reinforce one another.
Guiding principle
When in doubt, remove. Restraint reads as luxury—in design, communication, presentation, and operations.
Core values
Thoughtful designOwnershipClarityCollaborationGrowthIntegrityEvery interaction should feel organized, polished, warm, calm, intelligent, and deeply considered.
The Lake Hazel ecosystem
Lake Hazel is the master brand. Every division shares one visual identity, one service standard, and one reputation.
LH Design
Interior design, consultations, space planning, remodels, kitchens and baths, furnishings, selections, color direction, mood boards, 3D concepts, Designer by Your Side, and full-service support.
LH Build
Remodel and renovation coordination, contractor collaboration, project management, trade communication, permit support, site visits, change orders, and design-build partnerships.
LH Collective
Professional membership, education, business systems, mentorship, directory access, referrals, and project assignments for designers and industry partners.
LH Home
Curated vintage furnishings, custom pieces, original furniture, maker partnerships, shoppable rooms, affiliate products, decor packages, and home collections.
Lake Hazel Digital
Templates, guides, checklists, room bundles, presentation tools, and scalable digital products for designers, builders, contractors, remodelers, and homeowners.
One connected standard
No matter which division you work within, you represent the full Lake Hazel brand. A weak handoff in one division affects every division.
Choose your growth path
Each path is designed for a different stage of the interior design journey—from gaining first experience to building a scalable company or entering a strategic partnership.
Launch
$149/month
For aspiring interior designers ready to gain real experience inside a working design firm.
Build
$299/month
For working designers who need stronger systems, better clients, and a business that pays them consistently.
Grow
$499/month
For designers ready for qualified opportunities, larger projects, deeper support, and scalable growth.
Partner
Custom equity partnership
For established designers, firms, builders, contractors, and creative businesses ready to build something bigger with Lake Hazel.
For aspiring interior designers ready to gain real experience.
Launch replaces fake practice projects with real client work inside an active interior design firm. Members receive mentorship, build a professional portfolio, learn professional workflows, and develop the confidence that comes from completing actual work. Greater participation can lead to paid Lake Hazel assignments, although earnings are never guaranteed.
What's included
- Lake Hazel Designer Residency
- Real project assignments based on skill level
- Weekly live design critiques
- Group coaching and mentorship
- Portfolio development
- Co-branding on approved completed projects
- Private designer community
- Resource and template library
- Paid opportunities for completed Lake Hazel tasks
- Clear advancement path into higher membership levels
Your goal
- A professional portfolio
- Experience on real client projects
- Confidence presenting design ideas
- Workflow experience inside a professional firm
- References and credibility
- The opportunity to continue growing within Lake Hazel
You're already a designer. Now you need consistent clients, better systems, and a business that actually pays you.
Build adds the business side of interior design: pricing, contracts, onboarding, marketing, sales, and repeatable workflows. Members continue receiving everything in Launch while gaining the systems used inside Lake Hazel to operate a more organized, profitable, and scalable company.
Includes
- Everything in Launch
- Weekly business coaching
- Pricing calculators and profitability tools
- Client contracts and legal templates
- Proposal and onboarding systems
- Client process workflows
- Marketing resources and content library
- Vendor and trade directory
- Design templates and business documents
- Sales and consultation frameworks
- Keep 100% of revenue from self-generated clients
For designers ready for more clients, larger projects, and a business that can scale.
Grow is for designers moving beyond simply finding work. Members receive everything in Build, plus priority access to qualified Lake Hazel opportunities, project teams, certification, administrative support, and advanced coaching.
What you'll get
- Everything included in Build
- Qualified Lake Hazel client referrals
- Placement on Lake Hazel design projects
- Priority listing in the designer directory
- Advanced design reviews and project coaching
- Backend administrative support
- Client onboarding assistance
- Proposal and presentation support
- Lake Hazel Designer Certification
- Revenue-sharing opportunities
- Collaboration with senior designers
- Priority access to specialty projects
- Opportunities to lead project teams
Before
- Constantly searching for the next client
- Working alone
- Limited by personal marketing reach
- Handling every business function alone
- Unsure how to reach higher-end projects
After
- Receiving qualified project opportunities
- Working on larger, more profitable designs
- Supported by an experienced team
- Building a respected reputation
- Growing beyond a one-person business
For business owners who do not just want to own a business—they want to build something that lasts.
Partner is a selective, application-only relationship for established designers, firms, builders, contractors, and creative businesses. Lake Hazel works alongside the company to strengthen operations, develop the team, create new opportunities, and make strategic decisions that support long-term growth.
Problems we help solve
- Day-to-day operational overload
- Stalled or inconsistent growth
- Weak systems or infrastructure
- Team structure and accountability gaps
- Pricing, positioning, or revenue-planning challenges
- A business that remains too dependent on its owner
Partnership may include
- Business strategy and long-term planning
- Operational systems and infrastructure
- Pricing, profitability, and revenue strategy
- Team development and leadership support
- Marketing and brand positioning
- Lead generation and business development
- Client-experience and delivery systems
- New services, products, or market expansion
- Lake Hazel resources, relationships, and opportunities
- Executive-level guidance and accountability
Investment structure
Each partnership is customized according to the company's needs, growth potential, revenue, and the level of Lake Hazel involvement. Structures may include monthly advisory or management fees, revenue sharing, profit participation, equity ownership, or a tailored combination.
Roles & project assignments
Working levels describe the complexity and independence of project work. They are not membership tiers.
Associate Designer
Supports defined tasks, sourcing, documentation, revisions, and selections with closer direction and review.
Lead Designer
Runs standard projects or project phases, manages client communication, and coordinates deliverables with moderate oversight.
Senior Designer
Handles complex, high-value, technically demanding, or leadership-heavy projects with strong judgment and limited oversight.
Assignments are based on project type, demonstrated skill, experience, reliability, communication, availability, location, and the level of oversight required. Membership date alone does not determine assignment priority.
No member is guaranteed leads, assignments, income, territory, or a minimum volume of work.
- Founder & Principal Designer: vision, brand, major client decisions, partnerships, quality, and final escalation.
- Membership & Onboarding Coordinator: ClickUp, Zoom, agreements, access, orientation, follow-up, and onboarding completion.
- Operations / Integrator: turns vision into priorities, manages accountability, improves systems, and keeps work moving.
- Administrative Support: scheduling, documentation, data entry, communication, and file management.
- Sales / Partnerships: lead follow-up, memberships, proposals, builder and contractor relationships, and business development.
How we work
Clear documentation beats heroic memory. Lake Hazel work must be traceable, defensible, and easy for the next person to understand.
- Use ClickUp or the assigned project system for tasks, deadlines, decisions, links, and status updates.
- Use email for formal communication, approvals, and records; use chat or text for urgent brief coordination.
- Attend required meetings prepared with updates, roadblocks, and next actions.
- Communicate delays before a deadline is missed.
- Every meeting should have a purpose, agenda, decision, and owner for next steps.
- Standard design rate: $150/hour; common 10-hour block: $1,500.
- Assigned designer compensation: 30% of the applicable block; Lake Hazel retains 70%.
- Billing and contracts flow through Lake Hazel unless approved otherwise in writing.
- Track time by client, project, date, and task with notes that explain the value delivered.
- Do not round up, duplicate, shift time between projects, or work beyond approved scope without authorization.
- Obtain written approval before reimbursable expenses and attach receipts with business purpose.
- Be prepared, punctual, appropriately dressed, calm, factual, and solution-focused.
- Do not promise pricing, availability, installation dates, permits, or completion dates without verification.
- Do not independently solicit Lake Hazel clients, redirect leads, accept undisclosed referral fees, or bind the company without written authority.
- Escalate conflict, safety issues, scope changes, budget concerns, and repeated communication problems promptly.
- Protect client names, addresses, access codes, budgets, family information, contracts, plans, photographs, and payment details.
- Use approved platforms and secure passwords.
- Do not put confidential information into unapproved public AI tools or personal accounts.
- Lake Hazel templates, systems, training, proposals, drawings, presentations, brand assets, and databases are protected company property unless an agreement states otherwise.
SOP status index
If a process happens more than once—or affects money, client experience, brand quality, member experience, or legal responsibility—it belongs here.
| Area | SOP | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Onboarding | Membership and onboarding — 10-step process | Complete |
| Onboarding | New-member technology and access provisioning | Drafting |
| Onboarding | Member profile and directory setup | Drafting |
| Onboarding | Member offboarding and cancellation | To build |
| Retention | Renewals, retention, and referral outreach | To build |
| Clients | Lead intake and consultation booking | To build |
| Clients | Client onboarding and ClickUp setup | Drafting |
| Projects | New project kickoff | To build |
| Projects | Design workflow and deliverable standards | To build |
| Projects | Kitchen and bathroom finish package workflow | Drafting |
| Projects | Client presentation, approval, and handoff | To build |
SOP governance
- Every SOP has one accountable owner.
- Review quarterly and whenever software, pricing, staffing, or workflow changes.
- Update the version date and communicate changes.
- Prioritize revenue, client experience, member experience, and risk-control SOPs.
Standard SOP format
Title · owner · last updated · purpose · trigger · tools · exact steps · done checklist · notes and exceptions · related templates and systems.
Interactive onboarding checklist
Progress is stored in this browser, so team members can leave and return without losing their place.
Project quality control
Every deliverable should be beautiful enough to represent the brand and clear enough to support a real purchasing or construction decision.
Before release
- Confirm field dimensions before orders, cabinetry, built-ins, or final specifications.
- Document manufacturer, product, finish, dimensions, quantity, link, price, availability, lead time, and alternate.
- Separate concepts, preliminary selections, client-approved selections, and final specifications.
- Run the required checklist before every client-facing delivery.
During the project
- Save approvals and decisions in the project record.
- Do not relocate, rename, overwrite, or delete shared files outside the approved structure.
- Report damaged, delayed, discontinued, unavailable, or incorrectly priced products immediately.
- Escalate scope, budget, safety, and schedule issues early.
Brand guidelines
The brand is refined restraint: generous space, elegant typography, a controlled palette, excellent imagery, and confident language without coldness or hype.
Typography
Cormorant Garamond for display moments and editorial headings. Jost for practical copy, labels, navigation, and details.
Imagery
Use editorial photography with believable materials, natural light, calm composition, accurate color, and authentic lived-in detail.
Do
- Lead with warm white, space, and hierarchy.
- Use deep slate for depth and taupe as a controlled accent.
- Keep layouts calm, purposeful, and easy to navigate.
- Connect every division to the master brand.
Do not
- Crowd the layout or fill every open area.
- Use off-palette colors, extra fonts, gradients, shadows, or trendy effects.
- Publish low-resolution, over-edited, distorted, or generic imagery.
- Use vague marketing language when a clear outcome can be stated.
Core systems & source of truth
Do not quietly create a second process. Use the assigned platform, flag gaps, and improve the official system.
Work management
ClickUp for tasks, owners, deadlines, status, onboarding, handoffs, and accountability.
Design work
DesignFiles for project design, sourcing, product organization, and client-facing selections.
Files & communication
Google Workspace and Drive for documents, formal records, shared files, and email. Zoom for onboarding and meetings.
Creative & publishing
Canva for approved visual assets and Squarespace for public-facing web and commerce.
Web application stack
Vercel for deployment and Supabase for approved backend data and records.
Community & sales
Skool for community and education, Gumroad for digital products, and BoldSign for agreements.