The interior design business is probably one of the easiest businesses to start. All you need is to have passion for design and home orderliness. Once you see that you are always paying special attention to details when it comes to home decorations, arrangements, colour combinations and styles, you have what it takes to start out in the home design industry.
Someone would ask if it makes sense to start a business as such without having any money, the truth is, it is very possible. You can start this business with zero funds once you have the words and you know your stuff. All you have to do is know how to meet people who will pay for the knowledge you have. If you already have people who can pay you in your network, then you rock, Get to work!
The beautiful thing about starting out in this industry is that you don’t have to start big, you can start little by simply meeting your potential ‘partners’. You are probably wondering who those are, right? Remember all you have is the eye for details and how to create an ambience that speaks class with already made furniture/wares, yeah? OK, you don’t know how to make chairs I’m certain, neither do you know how to construct a table but I’m sure you know one or two guys in the game who are good at it.
Lest I forget, before you start out at all, be one hundred percent sure you have one of the hottest skills out there right now, ‘Negotiating skill’. If you lack this skill, it might be difficult to succeed in this business. It is a warzone out there and you can’t afford not to be ready.
Once you are certain you have the guts it takes, then no problem, you are so very good to go. What next then? Having researched your partners/suppliers and you picked the best ones that you want to do business with, study their work and the quality of the work they do so that you will be certain that you’ll be delivering quality products to your clients.
Now that you have identified the people/business you want to partner with, it is OK to seek insurance. Make inquiries about the policies that are best for your type of business in order to cover liability that might happen through negligence or greater issues like fire, flood and others.
Next step is getting to know your competition, it is important to note that you are going into a really competitive business, you’d know what’s up by the time you see the number of people doing the same thing. If you pull up search queries on Social Media for instance, Instagram especially, the number of businesses in this space could make you not start at all, yeah, you could get really intimidated. But don’t be intimidated, instead, you should monitor your competitors and their customers, pay attention to what they are not doing right and listen to what their customers are saying. Having all this information can help you make better decisions for your own business model. Note that monitoring and listening to your competition and their customers is not a one-off thing, it’s something you should do from time to time so as to know what opportunities to seize and what changes to make to your own business.
Furthermore, you must pick a niche, the interior décor business is quite wide, so in the early years of your business, it’s possible you could be a sole proprietor as you might not be able to hire people yet, therefore, it’s not that advisable to dive into all that interior décor is all about. You could start from just furniture first and expand as the business grows. Just identify the niche you are so passionate about, make sure it’s a niche in demand and start from there.
Also, make sure you don’t sleep on the power of an online presence. Get your business up on social media, have a simple portfolio website, if you can’t afford a full blown website yet, put up projects you have done in the past. Take pictures, record videos, create content that people will love. Draw your customer segment, target the right people who are in need of your products. Don’t forget to also leverage the power of social media and search campaigns, promote your brand so more people could see your business and engage with your brand.
Conclusively, make sure you don’t keep your customers waiting. Queries could come in at any time and you must be timely with your responses so that your hot prospects wouldn’t lose interest and turn cold.
So, go and prosper in your interior decor business, may the forces be with you! If you would like to request our professional interior design services, feel free to reach out or check out our previous project delivered for one of our clients.