How and where do you present?

Alessandra prefers to present, concept boards, client dashboards and design development presentations in person, but if not online is available too. "If I can always in person. If I'm working on a remote project and that's not possible, then we'll do it online, but I do prefer to do all my meetings in person."

How do you send the client questionnaire?

"I use Google Forms for questionnaires and then I can upload the questionnaire, to the project. So when you click into project settings, there's, two toggles. One is client dashboard. You click into client dashboard dashboard, and you can upload anything that you can't embed directly into Programa. So because my questionnaire isn't on, Canva, it's a Google form, I can attach it to the client dashboard through the settings related to the project."

How do you forecast your budgets?

"I will put together an arbitrary figure for all freight related costs at the concept stage, and then that figure gets refined at design development. So at design development, before I go into that meeting, I will send off bulk quotes." "So I can, in real time, while I'm sitting there with the client, change the quantity. So I'm presenting three sofas. So rather than saying one vs one, I can put in one next to the sofa that's my favorite and have zero quantity for the other two. And then in real time, if they tell me, actually, we like the other sofa, I can change things around really quickly and be able to update them on where their budget is sitting."

How do you track your in person meetings?

"So I like to lock in all of my meetings with a client at the briefing meeting. So when I attend the briefing meeting, I will schedule in when we plan on having our concept presentation and when we have our design development presentation scheduled, and I will send them invites using my Google Calendar." "And then I'll put those dates also into project management. So I have them as key milestones. So I can see when I'm looking at timeline view, making sure I'm not doing too many big presentations all in the one week."

How do you feel about hard copies?

"I don't like to deal with paper, so no no hard copies. I will upload the warranty as an attachment in the schedule." "Because I give my clients full access to the schedule, they can click on that particular contract or piece. If they scroll down, they will see the warranty attachment there."

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Alessandra's 6-Stage Workflow

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Programa

Sep 24, 2025

The turning point that changed everything

Alessandra's journey began in an unlikely place. After ten years as a pharmacist, she pursued her passion for interior design, launching Alessandra Smith Design in 2022 during an economic downturn. What started as passion-driven chaos—intimidating spreadsheets, scattered client communications, and manual admin consuming precious creative time—evolved into a sophisticated 6-stage framework that now powers every project.

Today, Alessandra manages 8 active projects simultaneously while maintaining the quality and creativity that built her reputation. Her secret? A systematic approach to project management that puts Programa at the centre of everything.

The results:
4x project capacity without hiring additional staff
50% reduction in client email back-and-forth
Complete visibility across all projects at any time
More time for creativity and less time chasing spreadsheets

Alessandra Smith

Principal Designer, Alessandra Smith Design

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Meet your host

Alessandra founded Alessandra Smith Design in 2022, specialising in high-end residential interiors. Her mission? To make the design process transparent, collaborative, and stress-free.

Watch Alessandra's showcase

In this exclusive live webinar, Alessandra has shown you behind the curtain on her exact workflows

Her 6 Stage Process

How she structures every project from briefing to install using Programa's tools

The Client Dashboard Magic

"What I love about Programa is the Client Dashboard — everything is organised and clients love how professional it looks."

Real Workflow

Watch Alessandra's Snug Club project live inside Programa: moodboards & presentations, schedules and timelines.

Scaling Without Burnout

"As a solo designer, it's so important to know what my pipeline looks like. Programa's timeline view is a lifesaver."

Live Q&A

Get your specific workflow questions answered directly by Alessandra

Watch Alessandra's showcase

In this exclusive live webinar, Alessandra has shown you behind the curtain on her exact workflows

Her 6 Stage Process

How she structures every project from briefing to install using Programa's tools

The Client Dashboard Magic

"What I love about Programa is the Client Dashboard — everything is organised and clients love how professional it looks."

Real Workflow

Watch Alessandra's Snug Club project live inside Programa: moodboards & presentations, schedules and timelines.

Scaling Without Burnout

"As a solo designer, it's so important to know what my pipeline looks like. Programa's timeline view is a lifesaver."

Live Q&A

Get your specific workflow questions answered directly by Alessandra

Wk 1

Foundation

Setup your CRM for inquiry management Create your first Project template with your own 6 stage structure Begin Web Clipping or using Add from URL

Wk 2

Client Integration

Launch client dashboard for pilot project Upload concept presentations via Canva embedding Train clients on approval workflows

Wk 3

Optimization

Implement timeline view for pipeline management Standardise schedule project types Track your time routinely to help with quoting

Mth 2-3

Scaling

Replicate your new system across all new projects Develop your project and image libraries Use historical time tracking data and refine your processes