How to Start a Home Decorating Business

Monday, March 18, 2013

How to Start a Home Decorating Business

If you have a love of transforming homes through creative decorating, a home decorating business may be for you. While interior designers must be certified, decorators can start businesses on their own without certification. Before you start taking clients, practice on the homes of friends and family, assemble a portfolio of your work and license your business.

Step 1

Write up a business plan for your decorating business. Determine whether you will be a product-driven designer who conceptualizes the design and sells necessary products to the client, or simply a consultant who does not sell products. Designers with less experience usually begin as product-driven designers. Research other decorating companies in your area to see what they specialize in, how much they charge and what their designs look like. Consider how you can set yourself apart from other design companies by offering a different style of design, specializing in certain types of design, such as Colonial, offering lower prices or by specializing in specific areas such as window treatments or use of color and light. Make a list of equipment you’ll need to get started and determine how much capital you will need.

Step 2

Apply for a business license. Go to your local city hall and fill out an application. Wait for your approved license to arrive before designing clients’ homes.

Step 3

Gather design equipment and supplies. Purchase specialized design software so that you can present professional designs to your clients. Invest in office supplies, such as a computer, telephone and word processing software. Buy books of wallpaper, paint and carpet samples from manufacturers. Negotiate with sales representatives to get the best deals on these books. Avoid wallpaper and fabric companies that require you to purchase samples each month.

Step 4

Prepare a portfolio. Start by redecorating your own home and taking before and after pictures of the improvements you make. Experiment with a variety of techniques to create a varied portfolio. Volunteer to redecorate for friends and family and take pictures of these projects as you work. Choose 15 to 20 photographs that you feel best represent your work and put them in a photo album. Add letters of recommendation from those whose homes you have worked on.

Step 5

Connect with suppliers. Research companies who manufacture flooring, fabrics, carpet, wall coverings and furniture. Also contact painters and carpenters to find out their rates for designers. Interior decorators can get discounts of up to 50 percent from certain manufacturers, so shop around to find out who will give you the best deals. This way you can pass savings on to your clients.

Step 6

Market yourself. Network with other professionals, such as architects, real estate agents and home furnishing businesses who may offer you business referrals. List your business in your local phone book and in print and online versions of local newspapers and other publications. Create a website and post pictures from your portfolio. Create brochures and business cards to hand out to potential clients and make sure to take your portfolio with you when visiting interested clients.

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2 comments:

Home Decorating BusinessDecember 13, 2013 at 7:19 PM
Home Decorating, Home Decorating Business, How to Start a Home Decorating Business
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AnonymousMarch 15, 2014 at 4:47 PM
I know this if off topic but I'm looking into starting my own weblog and was wondering what all is required to get set up?
I'm assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty
penny? I'm not very internet smart so I'm not 100% positive.

Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

Also visit my web site; kitchen remodeling ()
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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.

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Monday, March 18, 2013