How to Start an Interior Design Business
Looking to start your own interior design business but not sure where to begin? I’ve got you covered with the 7 things you need to do. You bring your mad design skills, I’ll bring the know-how.
let’s dive in!
Number one: get to know your Ideal client
The first thing you’ll need to do is figure out who your ideal client is and how you can help them. Are you wanting to work with young couples on their first home together or retirees looking to remodel their vacation home?
There’s no right or wrong answer here, but simply the one that works best for you and your design aesthetic. Once you know who you’re serving and how you will help them bring their dream home to life, you can work on building your business.
Number Two: develop your Website & Online Presence
Now that you know who you’ll be serving, it’s time to bring them into your world. Attract them to you with a solid online presence, and convert them with your website. Set your social media platforms up for success with well-written bios about who you help and how you help them, along with quality, consistent content that inspires them to take the next step with you. That next step should lead your website, which will ideally have high-quality portfolio imagery, client testimonials, and more information on how to book your services.
freebie alert!
Need some help planning out your Instagram profile and grid?
Download our free grid planner to help you kickstart your winning social strategy.
number three: hire a bookkeeper
A less fun but equally important (if not more so!) step is to hire a bookkeeper. They will keep you on track with your business finances so you know how much revenue you’re bringing in, how many expenses are going out, and if your business is financially healthy overall. People often put off this step until later on in their business, but it’s worth at least chatting with a bookkeeper in the beginning so you can hire them as soon as you’re ready. It will save you time, energy, and probably even money in the long run!
Number Four: create your process and set your fees
Now it’s time to craft your design process and set your fees. Create a plan for how you will work with clients, from the initial meeting to walking them through their newly-designed home.
Consider these questions as you create your process and fee structure:
What makes you unique as a designer?
How much do you want to pay yourself?
How would you describe your ideal client process?
How do you want your clients to feel?
Your design process will play a big role in your reputation, so make it a good one. If you need some more help with this, get your hands on the ASR Design Process template.
number five: create a branded experience
From your initial emails to the mood boards you send to your clients, each step of your client process should be branded. This not only helps you show up in a more professional way, it inspires trust with your clients throughout the entire process. Bonus points: It also allows you to charge a more premium price.
Don’t forget about these as you create your branded experience:
Email signature
Invoices
Client communication portal and documents
Design presentations
Questionnaires
Want to see our library of branded templates for your interior design biz? Check it out here.
Number six: outsource what you can
Your time is precious. Between new client meetings, organizing contractors, and your actual design work, you will be busy. Bring in outside experts to help take things off of your plate, from marketing to taxes and everything in between. We’ve outsourced things like social media, copywriting, website design, and SEO in order to focus on what we do best — designing dream homes for our dream clients. It has freed us up to stay in that zone of genius and ultimately grow our business.
Number Seven: be transparent about billing
Finally, work into your process a way to share all of the billing info with your clients. To do this, you’ll want to learn and present costs for things like labor, furniture, and any other fees involved with the project. What you want to avoid is your client not knowing or understanding the cost of the entire project, and letting you know later on that they actually cannot afford you.
Consider these things in your billing conversations:
What your design fees are throughout the process
Whole project costs and monthly fees
Retainers and how you use them (for example, a furniture retainer is needed before you start purchasing their goods. Do you not purchase any items for your clients home with your own money.)
Expected contractor costs — they will bid for these, but you can offer a ballpark
Go over costs for things like lighting, flooring, tile, etc.
Ultimately, your clients will be happy that you gave them clear cost expectations. This also goes a long way in building trust for a successful partnership and a solid reputation.
there you have it, friend! The 7 things you need to do to start your interior design business.
Want to take it a step further? We put together a free guide with more detail for starting and scaling your successful interior design biz. Get your hands on it below.
