So You Want To Get Into interior Design? Start Here

Interior design can be a pretty good business to get into. For a start, it’s evergreen. Meaning people will always need certain spaces designed and decorated, more to the point, they’ll want other people to do it for them, hence the need for business. You can specialise in industry or residential space, and even dial even further into a specific niche or keep it wide and open. Each designer starts somewhere different. Maybe you’ve always had an eye for design and art and want to go into business, or perhaps you’ve worked for someone and want to try it yourself. Whatever the case, you can make it a success if you’re careful. As everyone is different, what works for you might not for someone else. So try some trial and error and try to apply advice in a bespoke way so it suits yourself.

Know The Industry

You might not be liaising too much with mortgage brokers, surveyors, estate agents etc but it’s really important that you know the industry as best possible. This is especially the case if you’re working to deadlines and trying to get homes designed before people move in, or if you’ve landed a contract to help out with apartments that haven’t been built yet, you need to know how they’re going to look and be formed. It’s worth knowing how everything is tied together, Mercury Network is a good place to start. Each country operates to different laws and speeds too, sometimes different places in each country differ widely in terms of rules and governance, let alone the country. Read up on the industry. It’ll help you get some of those bigger commercial clients and ensure that you can put your best foot forward in terms of your business.

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Work On Your Brand

You want to be known for something. Whether it’s futuristic interiors or those with a rustic traditional feel. Becoming known for something is important...it’s like the voice of an author. If a developer likes it they’ll use you again. The trick is in being able to use your brand in a way that fits into a customer’s requirements. Sure, sometimes you may not be able to use your branding at all and have to fit it into their wants, but being able to show them unique matchings and styles will set you aside from your competitors. A lot of design work is quite similar so you’ll find it difficult to come up with something totally unique. However, putting your own spin on a design element is what it's all about. Look at some of the leading designers in your field for inspiration.

Your Website Must Be Majestic

It has to showcase your best design. This means you need good photos, but more importantly you need a great website theme. There are a lot to choose from, some are free, some are not. If you’re using Wordpress you can customize your theme really easily. Go for one which leans heavily on photo based posts. The landing page has to of course be inviting but also showcase what you do best. You need to tell people what you do, including your services, along with key contact information. Price lists are usually used but design jobs can vary dramatically so it’s important to be open ended with these. You can hire a website developer for you if you’ve got the funds, otherwise there’s no harm in putting it together yourself, it’s easier to do these days than it used to. Then you need to work on bringing people to your website. A blog is necessary, imparting all of your design wisdom to those who have decided to read what you have to say.

Look After Yourself

It’s a busy business, but you have to remember to look after yourself throughout it all. Especially if you’re taking multiple jobs with competing timelines. Focus on what makes you money. Your eyes. You use your eyes to see colour matches and to design tweaks etc. It doesn’t matter if it's dry eyes, cataracts, or degrading vision, you need to get it seen right away by a medical professional. If you don’t it’ll only inhibit your ability to work. Amongst all of this you need to ensure you get the right levels of sleep. Take time away from your desk and the materials so you can get refreshed, it often works wonders. Building up an all important network helps too. People you can ask for help and bounce ideas off of. It’s probably the most important thing you can do, because if you don’t look after yourself and something happens a sa result, you won’t have a business at all.
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