How to Establish an Interior Design Business

Monday, March 18, 2013

How to Establish an Interior Design Business

Interior designers renovate, furnish, decorate, and plan living and business spaces. Whether you're interested in residential or commercial interior design, starting your own interior design firm can be lucrative and rewarding. Before establishing an interior design business, you will need to research the laws governing the profession in your state.

Step 1

Recognize the difference between an interior designer and an interior decorator. Decorators arrange spaces and change the aesthetics of a room without altering its architectural structure. Designers have the knowledge needed to be able to plan changes to the structure of a building.

Step 2

Learn the law in your state concerning the use of the title “interior designer” by contacting your local board of professional regulation. Some states regulate who can use the title, and many require that interior designers have a four-year degree and pass a board of engineering exam. For example, in Texas, the title “registered interior designer” is regulated and one must have a degree and pass a licensing exam to use it, but the title “interior designer” is not regulated in Texas and can be used by anyone.

Step 3

Obtain the degree necessary in your state to be called an “interior designer,” if necessary. You will take courses such as art history, drawing, CAD, architecture and furniture design to complete the degree.

Step 4

Consider taking an interior decorating or design course from a local college to further your design knowledge, if you are not required to get a degree in your state. Some companies offer online interior decoration and design courses as well. These courses typically offer lessons in color theory, space planning, lighting, decorating styles and history and entrepreneurship.

Step 5

Focus on a niche for your interior design business. For instance, you can specialize in residential, commercial, modern, contemporary, luxury, budget, or one-day interior decorating or design.

Step 6

Build a portfolio for your interior design business to show clients--if you are earning an interior design degree or certificate from an interior decorator's course, this should be apart of your curriculum. Otherwise, make over your home, or those of your friends and family, take photos and place them in a photo album. Placing the photos online is also helpful, especially if you decide to launch a website or blog.

Step 7

Name your interior design business. If you are not a registered interior designer, you can still use the phrase “interior design” in your business name, but you cannot call yourself an interior designer.

Step 8

Get the permits needed to open a service business in your state--what you will need depends on where you live and the business structure you choose. For example, to open an interior design business as a sole proprietor in Houston, you would need an assumed name certificate from the Harris County clerk's office.

Step 9

Pick a place to operate your interior design business. You can use your own home if you have room for an office and are willing to keep it pristine at all times for client meetings, or lease an office in a commercial building.

Step 10

Join an interior design group, such as the Interior Design Society or International Interior Design Association, to network with peers, connect with contractors and vendors, and find potential clients. You may also have the chance to gain continuing education or attend industry conferences, depending upon which group you join.

Step 11

Showcase your portfolio, information about your training or education, credentials and associations on a website. Consumers looking for interior design services are increasingly looking online to find a designer to work with, and you may miss out on business if you do not have web presence.

Step 12

Build a network of subcontractors by contacting professionals in your area, getting referrals from them and looking at examples of their work. This will be necessary to complete work you cannot do as an interior designer or decorator, such as remodeling, architectural planning and electric wiring.

Reference:click here

1 comment:

Interior DesignDecember 13, 2013 at 8:00 PM
How to Establish an Interior Design Business, Interior Design, Interior Design Business
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Please don't spam. Spam comments are not approved

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Easy Tips and Ideas to Start Business

Although anyone can start a business, many people fail because of a bad product or improper research. If you want to start your own business, you can improve your chances for success before you even begin. In order to make your business successful, start strong and make sure that your idea will hold out for the long haul.

Have a Good Product

Ensure that you plan to sell something useful. Although you may think that your product is important or special, that doesn't mean the general public will agree. Ask friends, family and strangers what they think of your product. If they don't seem that interested, ask them why. With their suggestions, you can either improve the product or scrap the idea completely. According to Brad Sugars of Entrepreneur magazine, most small businesses fail because they sold a product that didn't have an adequate market. This also applies to small businesses that provide a service. A lawn-care business might be useful for part of the year in a northern state, but it is in-demand year-round in the south. Consider whether people will actually want to use your service and get constructive advice from those not afraid to give their opinion.

Research Local Businesses

Research local companies before starting up your own business. This will not only give you an idea of the amount of competition you will have, but it will also help you price your product or service. If you're looking to start a wedding photography business, you may find during your research that the market is over-saturated in your area. If not over-saturated, you should contact each business and ask them for a price list. Alter your prices so you can stay competitive with the competition in town. Researching similar local businesses will also help you decide where to locate your business location. Try not to start up a store or office close to another business of your type. If your small business is located away from similar business types, this will cause locals to choose you over businesses that are farther away from where they live.

Get Professional Advice

You may know someone who has started their own successful business. Ask him for advice and listen to his stories of how he started his company. You may gain useful advice on the good and bad ways to start a business. Local entrepreneurs can also introduce you to local product providers or advertisers that you may not have met without their help. Accept any advice with open arms, especially if the advice is coming from someone successful in the area.

How to Calculate Business Start Up Costs

Starting a business in no easy endeavor. It takes a great deal of research, perseverance and hard work. While sweat equity will make your small business more successful, you will most likely need real capital to get the business started. Before you start raising capital and/or investing your own funds, the first thing you need to do is determine the total start-up costs.

Step 1

Determine your costs of sales. For most small businesses this means inventory, the cost of raw materials, manufacturing equipment, shipping, packaging, and warehousing. However, not all businesses sell products. In this case, the cost of sales is primarily the direct labor involved in making the sale. For example, to open a small shoe business entails purchasing enough inventory ($10,000) to stock the store.

Step 2

Determine professional fees. Planning your business structure, i.e., limited liability corporation or general partnership, means hiring an attorney. There may also be the need to pay an attorney for help with establishing trademarks, copyrights, and patents. In this scenario, that puts total professional fees at an estimated $20,000.

Step 3

Determine technology costs. Technology can greatly reduce the cost of labor for small business if used effectively. Most small businesses require computers, printers, cell phones, website development, Internet access, software applications, information security, data storage, and outsourced information technology (IT) consulting. If the cost of technology is $10,000 to start, add an additional $5,000 a year for maintenance (hint: maintenance is not included in start-up costs).

Step 4

Determine administrative costs. This varies with business types and may include items such as business insurance, office supplies, product packaging, parking, rent, express shipping, desks, chairs, fax machines, phones, or anything else necessary to operate the business daily. A good estimate for start-up administrative costs would be $5,000 for the first six months.

Step 5

Determine initial sales and marketing costs. Now that you have your product, you need to let folks know about it. Sales and marketing costs generally include marketing materials for presentations, printing stationery, business cards, advertising, trade show events, and public relations. These initial sales and marketing costs can add up to $3,000.

Step 6

Determine the wages and benefits needed to secure a staff. This includes employee salaries, benefits, workers compensation, and payroll taxes. Let's put the cost of wages and benefits estimated at $20,000 for the first three months of business.

Step 7

Add all costs associated with starting the business for a total. Be sure to only include business start-up costs that will be incurred in the first three to six months of operations. For this example, the calculation is: $10,000 + $20,000 + $10,000 + $5,000 + $3,000 + $20,000 = $68,000.

Pages

Monday, March 18, 2013