The advice I would give a beginner in the design industry
Starting your own interior design business can be a great way to have more control over your career and the projects you take on, but it also comes with its own set of challenges.
Here’s some advice I would give a beginner just starting in the industry.
Have a plan:
Before you start your business it's important to have a clear plan in place.
This should include your target market (the type of client you want to work with), your pricing strategy, marketing ideas and financial projections.
Don’t spend too much time on this but do make sure you have an idea of what you want to do with your business and where it is headed. This will help you stay focused and on track as you launch.
Here’s some headings you may like to include in your plan:
1. Executive Summary
Business Name and Location
Mission Statement
Business Structure
Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
2. Company Description
Business Goals and Objectives
List of Services
Market Positioning
3. Market Analysis
Industry Overview
Market Trends
Target Market Description
Client Needs Assessment
Competitive Analysis
4. Management
Business Ownership Structure
Organisational Structure
Team Profile
Roles and Responsibilities
5. Services
Detailed Description of Services
Pricing Structure
Value Proposition
Supplier Relationships
Design Process + Delivery Process
6. Marketing and Sales Strategy
Marketing Objectives
Marketing Strategies (including digital marketing)
Sales Process
7. Financial Projections
Revenue Projections
Expense Projections
Profitability Projections
Cash Flow Forecast
Break Even Analysis
Develop a strong portfolio:
Your portfolio is often the first thing a potential client or employer will see.
Make sure to include a diverse range of projects that show your skills in different design styles and spaces. Keep your portfolio well organised and easy to navigate and include detailed information about each project (e.g. the scope of work or materials used). Also make sure your portfolio is online so it can be easily accessed by anyone.
Remember - your Instagram page and your website are both examples of an online portfolios!
Build a strong brand:
Your brand is the image and reputation of your business. Develop a unique brand identity that reflects your design style and philosophy. This will help you stand out in the market and attract the right sorts of clients.
To find more information on how to improve your brand - check out these other resources.
Get the right insurance:
As a business owner you'll need to protect yourself and your business from potential liabilities. Make sure you have the right insurance coverage (e.g. liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance).
Reach out to to insurance brokers who are experienced working with other designers and get at least 3 quotes (as they do tend to vary quite a bit from insurer to insurer).
Don’t DIY your legal work
So many designers DIY their client agreements or copy these from others they find on the web.
The problem with this is you have no idea whether what you have copied has the correct legislation in it for:
your type of business
the types of services you offer
the jurisdiction you work in
your local laws and legislation
Yes, it costs money to get a lawyer to prepare your contracts and client agreements, but trust me, if you ever need to rely on these in a lawsuit you are not going to want to have made these up yourself!
Be prepared for cash flow fluctuations:
Starting a business can be financially challenging and you will most likely have periods where you have more expenses than income. It's important to have a solid financial plan in place and be prepared for fluctuations in cash flow.
The best way to avoid what I call the ‘feast of famine’ of work is to be doing consistent, daily, proactive lead generation.
For more ideas on lead generation - check out this page of resources.
Document what you’re doing:
One big regret I have from my early years in business is that I have very few photos, posts or videos that document what I was working on. I would love to be able to look back now at what I had been doing and how I thought about things. It would show the full progression of my business (and myself) over time.
So I would strongly recommend you start documenting everything you’re doing on Instagram, a blog, a YouTube channel or another social media platform. It will make great content for your community and will be a record that you can also look at as your business grows over time.
For ideas on what to post on social media - grab this free guide.
Improve your communication skills:
Communication is key in any profession - but is critical in design.
As a designer you will be responsible for liaising between all sorts of people - from clients, to suppliers, to trades and contractors on site.
Develop clear communication strategies that will avoid misunderstanding later on and make sure to keep your client informed of the progress of the project and any changes that are made.
Here’s some ideas:
document any verbal meetings in writing and send out to all parties involved - e.g. write a quick email summary and send out after meetings. It may feel like overkill or extra work, but it creates a paper trail in case you ever need it down the track (e.g. if something goes wrong and you need something written to refer to). This is a huge risk mitigation strategy for your business.
keep clients up to date each week with a Friday email (find it in my email scripts database)
over communicate - although you’ve done this process many times before your client may not have. Let them know what is happening every step of the way.
be upfront about any issues or mistakes - everyone is eventually going to find out anyway, so make sure you are upfront about anything that goes wrong and what plan you have in place to fix it.
Be yourself:
Starting a business can be challenging and stressful but it's important to stay true to yourself and your design style.
Don’t feel the need to try and be like other designers you see in the industry.
The way you will stand out is by being yourself!
Thanks for reading and catch you in my next post :)
Clare x
Dr Clare Le Roy
Courses and Templates for Designers and Architects
DO YOU WANT TO….
Improve your professionalism?
Find more clients?
Bring in more revenue?
Create better systems and processes?
Then check out my business courses and templates for designers and architects.
These courses and templates leave you with work done - not just a long list of things you need to do next. We have a really strong focus on taking action and getting things created that improve your business.
