As an interior designer, you’ll no doubt be used to executing a perfect interior design plan for clients, but building a business from your passion is a whole other exciting world.
Whether you’re building a small and independent business or expanding your small business into a much larger empire, you’ll want to be on top of your game.
If you want to build an interior design business, here are seven top tips to get you started.
1. Build a Brand
Building a brand is fundamental to your success as an interior design business. If you’re not an established company, creating a logo using software like Canva can help you to invent an identity for your company with ease.
You may also want to design uniforms with your chosen company colours. Ethical clothing companies offer deals on their boilersuits, aprons and dungarees when they’re used for business purposes.
2. Enrol in a Business Degree
Starting a business can involve a lot of preparation and hard work, especially when it comes to navigating recruitment, administrative responsibilities and taxes to name just a few.
To get on top of your business game, you can enrol in a distance learning course from Signum Magnum College that will give you the ultimate flexibility to start up your business with minimal disruption.
Undertaking a business degree with Signum Magnum College will allow you to study around your commitment to your business without affecting your work in setting up your company.
The degree will also help you to learn valuable skills and knowledge that will assist you in running your business and protect you against common mistakes that many business owners make in their first few years.
3. Build a Website
To publicise your business and create a hub of information for your customers, you will need to build a website.
Platforms like WordPress make it easy to build a site that showcases your services, products, and company story. Pre-made templates and drag-and-drop functionality mean you don’t need extensive technical knowledge to create a professional online presence.
Include high-quality images of your work, a clear and accessible contact page, and a section about your company’s mission and values. Your website serves as a hub for potential clients to explore your offerings, view your portfolio, and get in touch. A well-designed site promotes credibility and it acts as a 24/7 marketing tool for your business.
4. Use Social Media to Advertise
Social media is one of the biggest marketing tools out there, and one of the most influential ways to market your business.
To be successful in using social media for advertising, you will need to regularly update your pages with content, use high quality photos and videos and catchy captions.
Social media is also a great way for your customers to stay in touch with the business for the latest updates, sales, competitions and much more. By posting about all your events and new releases, you’re much more likely to encourage sales and interactions through your ecommerce platform if you have one.
You could also use a scheduling tool for your content on multiple platforms to ensure that you have a consistent level of content being uploaded each day in order to produce as much engagement as possible.
5. Use a Professional Decorating Service
Whilst it might be convenient to carry out a lot of the decorating tasks yourself, it’s a good idea to hire a professional decorator to paint your homes under renovation.
When you hire a professional decorating service, it’s a good idea to pay attention to how they finish off their projects – you don’t want any painting over the lines!
Additionally, professional services are more likely to use high quality paints, and understand how different paints react with different surfaces.
6. Understand Trends
An interior designer worth their salt will need to understand how different trends can be influential to customers, and which aesthetics are currently on brand.
Not only will customers actively chase a look that is on trend and modern, but they may also ask for your knowledge of older trends or historically classic looks for their home. A good interior designer will also know how to mix traditional and modern concepts to create a whole new design that will complement the formulation of the home.
7. Use Colours Well
Colour matching is one of the most important parts of being an interior designer, and knowing which colours go well together is an essential part of creating a stunning home for your clients.
If you want to see how different colours can contrast and complement each other well, you can use tools like Pinterest to browse colour themed rooms and see how different colours can inspire aesthetics within a home.
Do you have any tips for building an interior design business? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!