When AI makes things up...
The case for honest, human connection PLUS doors to IDI membership opening soon (and how to sneak in at the old price).
Hello,
Urgh. August. I’m about done with it (and it with us). It’s likely an unpopular opinion, but I always feel like August is heavy, stagnant.
Last year I was recovering from illness and took the whole month off - and it was blissful. Downing tools in August and moving at a snail’s pace is grand. Working through it is HARD (for me at least).
September is my favourite time of year - well Autumn really. I want the break in the weather to arrive (not rain - I’m enjoying all the sunshine - but it’s too still). I need a zip in the air. I’m waiting, impatiently, for the zing and freshness, the energy up-tick.
Could just be my hormones. Menopause. Is it just me? Or do you feel this too?
Community & connection
As I HAVE been working my flip-flopped feet off this August - let me share what’s in store for you! There are changes happening in the Interior Design Insiders (IDI) membership. Good ones.
I set the membership up in 2022 and we had a great first year. Unfortunately, ill health meant I stepped away for much of 2023 and 2024 (I know I’m a sickly child!). But in 2025 I jumped back in and we’re building again.
What can you expect?
The same brilliant culture and amazing members. At it’s heart, it’s about community and connection.
Yes, there are industry expert sessions to polish up your knowledge. We’ve got reference guides, handy cheat sheets, designer pathways, a sourcing library, workshops and courses - but most of all there is community.
Why do I think that connection, community, membership is so blimmin’ important? I’ll give you a few reasons…
Doing things on your own sucks.
The flip side of running a business from home is no office chat. No water cooler moments.
Plenty of opportunity for isolation, questionning your ability, the rise of your inner critic and a lack of focus.
I won’t labour the point. It’s lonely.
Connection quiets the inner critic.
My business buddy Leila has done some brilliant research on Imposter Phenomenon and online communities.^
Two relevant findings for me :
‘women with Imposter Phenomenon who are members of an online community benefit from deeper online connections with peers’ and
‘the buffering effect online communities have from the visibility trap of social media’.
It’s interesting stuff. At last - research to back up my often repeated message that running a business in community is MUCH easier.
Essentially, being in a membership helps normalize the ups and downs.
In community, you see behind the scenes of other people’s businesses - not just the glossy bits on Instagram.
You stop thinking you’re “doing it wrong” just because you’re struggling.
The rise of AI (and the relevance to community)
I feel like AI is a pre-adolescent. Suddenly growing very quickly, lots of gangly limbs, it’s unexplicably taken to lying and/or always telling me what it thinks I want to hear.
Case in point, I asked ChatGPT to tell me what I’d find if I googled for ‘memberships for interior designers’ (bit of market research)… and wouldn’t you know it served up Interior Design Insiders - right next to BIID!
Fab…. soooo exciting…
….oh, hang on a second…
Dear ChatGPT - would I really appear in a google search or are you just showing my membership in the results to make me feel good? Ahem. Yes - just including it to boost my mood. *Rolls eyes*
Then there was the time that I was writing some copy for a new offering and getting a little help from AI with the structure and flow. It included 3 lovely testimonials from previous clients.
But…wait a minute… I only recognised one of them.
Uh-huh…ChatGPT made two of them up. WTF??!! When questioned it said “but it sounds like something your clients would say about you”. Hmm, not really the point. Did I really have to chastise the robot and tell it YOU CAN NOT MAKE SHIT UP!! Yes, I did.
The point to all this is that with AI ensconced in every crevice of our lives - lying, making stuff up, filtering things through a certain lens - it’s hard to know where the truth lies. Writing becomes less authentic - community feels very removed.
You think, am I talking to a human, or is this a clever bot? It makes forming connections just that little bit harder.
AI can help with admin, but it can’t replace connection.
I believe interior designers need community and connection. When you step into a membership like Interior Design Insiders it’s very definitely humans you’re talking to. Warts and all.
There’s no automated responses. No filters. It’s me in there, along with other lovely interior designers. You get real support from people who get it.
A place where connection, honesty and growth happen.
Relationships, collaboration, shared inspiration – that’s where the magic is.
Doors to the membership will be opening again soon (I’m still polishing and tweaking!).
You can sneak in now for the old price (£250 annual membership*) - but be aware I’m still making things pretty. When we officially re-open the price will be £300 for an annual membership.
*the price you sign up at is the price you’ll pay on-going!
Could you strengthen your connections this week?
How about messaging an old client? Comment on a peer’s post, reach out for a coffee chat with a colleague, or attend a networking event? Or, message me! I love getting your emails and reply to every single one.
Until next time,
^ REFERENCE: [Ainge, Leila & Newman, Kristina. (2022). ‘There’s no comparison’ The experiences of women entrepreneurs with Imposter Phenomenon in online communities. 10.13140/RG.2.2.20875.98089.]