How to Start an Interior Decorating/Design Business
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Wow! The opportunities that await interior decorators spread across the map. This field goes way beyond
homes - think restaurants, hotels, spas, art galleries, model homes, corporate offices, even bed and breakfast
inns. You may want to select a market that interests you and specialize in that niche.
There is lots to think about when starting your interior decorating business. You want to build a portfolio,
price your service, set up an office, pick a business name, design a logo, order business cards and other
office supplies, locate furnishing suppliers and of course - find clients. Take it from an expert - don't try
and re-invent the wheel.
A good way start your own decorating business is to have an expert in your field draw up a blueprint for you
to follow. This way, you have an outline to follow with steps to take that lead you in the direction you want
to go.
An interior decorator with 20 years of experience, including owning an interior decorating business would
have lots of valuable information to share, don't you think?
How to Start an Interior Decorating Business
Interior Design and Decorating Experts, including Interior Design TV Show Host Debbie Travis, have compiled
their years of knowledge and experience into a information-packed guide for interior decorators who want to
launch their own businesses. You can't get much better than this.
How to save $100's starting your business:
- Ways to teach yourself interior decorating, with step-by-step interior decorating instructions
- Tips for creating an impressive portfolio, pricing your services, where to find suppliers and setting
up an office
- How to start with little or no money, find clients with minimal effort and do an impressive client
consultation
- How to get up to a 50% discount on decorating materials, get free media publicity to grow your business
and sample forms and documents that you can use to manage your business
- Get it Risk-Free >> Become an Interior Decorator
rated by customers
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T I P : Are You Ready to
Run a Thriving, 6-Figure Design Business?
Expert Interior Designer Nika Stewart reveals her 5-step
success process
in the Design
Success System - Home Study Program
Who is Nika?
"Nine years ago, I started my design business because I loved designing. I wanted to be my
own boss, make my own schedule, and control "my own destiny." But instead, I worked like a dog,
struggled to market myself, was constantly running around handling all my clients' needs
(and ignoring my own!), and had no time or freedom."
"Owning my own business was a chore instead of a joy. I was constantly trying to find new
ways to get more business. I wasted money on fruitless advertising, squandered countless hours
at unproductive networking events, and begged my friends and family for referrals. I even
seriously considered getting a job at a large design company so that I could work less! Have
you ever had that experience?"
 A few years later, Nika was running
a thriving business, making lots of money and working only 4 days a week. She figured out
an easy 5-step system for Design Business Success - that anyone can follow. And she shared
it with a small group of designers at her live Design Success System Workshop.
The good news is... Nika is now selling 50 "specially priced" copies of the event as a
Home Study
Version, so you can get the same insider tactics without paying the hefty price.
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Marketing Your Interior Decorating or Design Business
- Business Cards
Network with other business owners related to interior design, such as furniture stores or architects. Let
them see a portfolio of your work and offer them a referral fee for any customers they send you. Business
cards can be a great advertising tool for your business - and they're cheap! You can design your own
business cards online and save even more money. Get yours now >> 250 Free Business Cards for Your Decorating
Business
- Postcard Marketing
Do a postcard mailing to introduce your interior decorating or design company to potential customers in
your area. Using low-cost online services makes this an easy marketing task. First, decide on a special
discount offer or hold a grand opening sale. Second, design your postcards online using professional
postcard templates with VistaPrint (you can get 50% off here). And
third, get targeted leads from a lead generation company like Resource Nation.
-
Email
Marketing
If you have a website for your interior decorating business (it's a good idea to have one), you can
save even more money by marketing to your customers by email. No email list? No problem. Email
marketing companies like ConstantContact will help you build a customer list with their customizable
website sign-up form.
They also give you email
templates you can use to design professional emails. Their program delivers emails for you,
and they include real-time reporting. You can try their service free for 60 days, no credit card
is required. Start now: ConstantContact 60-day free
trial. Have a list over 100,000? iContact.com
has special pricing for larger accounts. Watch
free video.
-
Easy Email Newsletters -
"Ezines"
This is a cost-effective, convenient way to keep in touch with past clients and new prospects. But how
would you like someone else to do your monthly newsletter for you?
Yes, do the whole newsletter for you: write the articles, design the layout, include your personal
company information and email it to everyone on your list. Plus, take care of the subscriber list,
adding new ones and updating as needed. Nika Stewart offers this
service, and her professional format increases sales.
- How to Get Listed in Search Engines
SubmitExpress will submit your website to the 20 top search engines free. This way, when prospects
search for interior decorating or interior design services using the search engines, they are more likely
to find your website. All you do is enter your website address once, and their automated submission tool
will do the rest. To use this free tool, you agree to receive their free newsletter by email. Submit now
>> SubmitExpress
- Get Listed in Local Search Directories
Some people don't use the yellow pages or local newspapers or publications to find products and services in
their city - they look online, and you don't want to miss out on this source of income. Even though
shopping online, people often prefer to do business with a local vendor. Local Search is an advertising
space that is an easy, low cost way to reach your local target market.
- 29 Marketing
Techniques for Interior Decorators
Find out what promotion strategies work - from experts. Get many more low cost, easy and even free
marketing tricks with this downloadable guide >> Small Business Marketing
Strategies
Interior Decorating Business Resources to Save You Money:
10 Steps to Becoming an Interior Decorator
Imagine having a career that lets you use your creativity to make homes and businesses more beautiful and
comfortable. Welcome to the world of interior decorating!
There are few careers that offer so many
benefits. As an interior decorator you will have the satisfaction of making your vision a reality. You
will meet interesting people, and because many people who hire interior decorators are wealthy, you will
likely spend time in many beautiful homes and businesses.
If you start your own decorating business you can enjoy the freedom of being your own boss. And perhaps most
importantly, your "work" will be fun, interesting, and rewarding.
As long as you have the desire, you can become an interior decorator. No special education or experience is
necessary to break into this career and succeed. (Unlike becoming a certified interior designer which has
strict requirements including two to five years of post-secondary education in interior design.) You can become
an interior decorator immediately.
If interior decorating sounds like the career of your dreams, here are 10 steps to breaking into this
fabulous job, based on the FabJob Guide to Become an Interior Decorator:
1. Train your eye
Since you are interested in a career as a interior decorator, chances are you already have a "good eye" for
design. In other words, when you look at a room you can see what looks good, and what could be improved. But no
matter how naturally talented you are, you can continually "train your eye" by studying what people consider to
be good design.
Seek out beautifully decorated interiors to look at. You can find numerous examples of beautiful interiors
in design magazines or in your own community by visiting show homes, open houses for sale in wealthy
neighborhoods, furniture showrooms, historic homes, art galleries, and offices of professionals such as
interior decorators and corporate lawyers.
2. Educate yourself
Interior decorators are expected to know about the various elements involved in decorating such as: space
planning (how to arrange furniture and other items within a particular space), use of color and light,
furniture and decorating styles (for example, Colonial or Southwestern), floorings, wall coverings, window
treatments, and use of accessories such as pillows and art.
You can learn decorating basics through courses, books, web sites, and even by speaking with retailers of
products used in home decorating (paint, carpet, lighting, hardware stores, etc.)
3. Practice at home
Most interior decorators get their first
decorating experience working on their own homes. Even if you have just one small room to experiment with,
you can get "hands-on" experience with a variety of decorating techniques.
For example, you can make a dramatic change to any room, quickly and inexpensively, simply by rearranging
the furniture or painting the walls a new color.
Give it a try! Experiment with techniques you wouldn't ordinarily use. Consider this room your "research
lab" where you can try things out before recommending them to a client.
4. Volunteer your services
Your friends and family members may already have asked for your advice about decorating, but if they haven't
yet asked you to actually decorate their homes or businesses, why not offer?
Some occasions your family or friends may want to redecorate are when they experiencing transitions in life,
such as: marriage or co-habitation (help them merge two households into one), moving into a new home,
childbirth (offer to decorate the baby's room), hosting a special event such as a wedding or dinner party,
starting a home business (you could decorate their new office), and selling a home (explain how a well
decorated home can attract buyers).
5. Prepare a portfolio
A portfolio is a collection of samples of your work, plus any other documents that can help show why someone
should hire you. The most important part of an interior decorator's portfolio is photographs of interiors you
have decorated, so make sure you take "before" and "after" photos of every space you decorate. Choose 15-20
photographs of work you are proud of, and arrange them in a photo album or portfolio case.
Your portfolio can also include letters of recommendation and "design boards" (poster boards onto which you
have pasted pictures and samples of materials such as fabrics, flooring, wallpaper, etc.) to show clients what
you recommend to decorate a particular room.
6. Get a job
Even if you plan to start your own interior decorating business, you can learn about the business and meet
potential clients by starting with a job in the industry. Companies that hire people with decorating talent
include home builders, manufacturers of furniture and housewares, hotel and restaurant chains, retailers
(furniture stores, home improvement stores, antiques dealers, housewares stores, etc.), plus interior design
and decorating firms.
To get a job, you will need to prepare a resume that emphasizes your experience with decorating plus any
other skills the employer is looking for, such as customer service or organizational ability.
7. Start your own business
Many interior decorators dream of being their own boss. If that's your goal, you'll need to decide on
business matters such as your company's name and whether to incorporate or not. Free basic business advice is
available from organizations such as SCORE and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Many interior decorators choose to work from home when they start their businesses because it saves on the
cost of an office and, unlike many other types of businesses, you won't be expecting clients to come to you -
you will usually be going to their homes or offices.
8. Establish relationships with suppliers
Suppliers are companies that supply the products and services you need to decorate. They include
manufacturers of furniture, wall coverings, flooring, fabrics, etc. as well as contractors who do painting,
carpentry, installation, etc. When you go shopping as a professional interior decorator, you are entitled to
"designer discounts" of up to 50% off the regular retail price which you can pass on to clients.
While some decorators charge an hourly rate or a flat fee, others charge "cost-plus." For example, if your
cost for a product is 40% percent below the regular retail price, you could charge the client your cost plus
20%, thereby saving the client the other 20% they would pay to buy the same item at a retail store. This
opportunity to save money on decorating may convince clients to hire you.
9. Get clients
Your potential clients could include home builders, new home buyers, wealthy home owners, professional
couples, advertising agencies, art galleries, bed and breakfasts, boutique stores, corporate head offices,
hotels, law firms, restaurants, spas, and many other types of businesses.
One way to market your services is by networking with professionals who can refer business to you, such as
real estate agents, architects, antiques dealers, art dealers, home renovators, and owners of businesses that
sell home furnishings. Other marketing techniques include putting up a web page with photos of interiors you
have decorated and getting publicity in the homes section of your local newspaper.
10. Grow as a professional
Successful interior decorators continue to learn new decorating techniques. Once you have started a business
you can continue to develop your skills by attending trade shows, reading decorating magazines and books, and
joining professional associations. You can also impress clients and have an advantage over your competition by
becoming certified as a professional interior decorator.
Based on the FabJob Guide to Become an Interior Decorator by Tag Goulet. The complete guide gives detailed
advice on how you can get paid to decorate homes and businesses, be hired for a job in the decorating industry,
or start your own interior decorating business. Visit www.FabJob.com/decorator.asp for
information.
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