Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer: The Business of Interior Design

Lies

There is a disturbing trend within our industry that has gotten me thinking about how we all do business.  I have heard from more than one source pro forma payments being taken by vendors then being told the item or fabric is no longer in stock.  Even more disturbing are vendors taking payments in full for items then going out of business.  Those of us that continue to operate with open accounts as much as possible are protected from that type of theft but I worry about designers who have operated as pro forma accounts for years and now find they may be in jeopardy.  At this time dealing through the showrooms just might be a better choice to ensure your deposit or in-full payment money is used for the items you want to purchase for your client.  If that’s not possible you might ask for written confirmation of the status of any item you intend to order.  You might also consider payment in the form of a credit card.  At least you have the card company to fall back on should the order be mishandled or in some way not filled.  If the company goes bankrupt you might not get any money but you will have legal recourse.  Protecting your money and your clients is an important part of project management and being aware of a possible challenge is just good business practice.  As for those designers who take money from clients and use it for any other purpose beyond buying the products ordered, well…. !!!   Once a client gives you deposit money you are under contract to deliver the goods.  Don’t even think about diverting the money to other areas.  So what do you do if the unthinkable happens and your deposit money is taken without delivery of goods?  You need to be able to tell your client something but you might not want to divulge exactly what happened.  Be aware the deposit money just may be coming out of your account to cover the damages.  It isn’t the client’s fault and they are entitled to the deposit money back.  You, after all, are the one who contracted with the vendor, not your client.  So, yes, you get caught holding the stick.  It’s easier said than done to know your vendors.  The business, which has always been a fractured group of small to medium vendors, is even more so now.  Be very aware of new businesses with whom you haven’t done business before.  Ask for some sort of security before you send them all the money.  Think it out or go to another vendor.  Moving the client to another product might be the best choice to protect everyones assets.  Watch out for delays.  If it starts to sound as if you are getting the run around ask for your money back.  This may the time to get your attorney involved.  If the worst happens and you loose money to an unscrupulous vendor make sure everyone in the industry you know hears about it.  Talk to the showroom representative and ask who else might have been hurt by the vendor’s dealings.  It’s a strange and tough economy right now but people are still doing business.  Try to work with those vendors in whom you have confidence and with whom you’ve worked before.  Always check to make sure items are in stock before ordering.  Keep checking on the items until they arrive at your warehouse.  Until then you just don’t know for sure what’s going on.  Don’t practice the same type of deception with your clients, showrooms or vendors.  We are, after all, above that; aren’t we?

Open a New Window

With renewed hope in Washington, DC and a sense of optimism I am looking forward to the coming year.  We have been working on a couple of new projects and believe more will be coming our way soon.  Change is once again in the air and I’m happy to see other design professionals breaking out of their set ways and looking for new opportunities in their communities.  We, too, are trying new doors and windows to find out where the opportunities lie in our area.  One thing for sure, strategic alliances will continue to be the contacts we will make.  We’ve been meeting with realtors, builders and contractors to enlighten them about what we can do for them and their business.  At the same time, of course, we will enhance our business.  Working together will bring all of us business.  We’re expanding our marketing to include smaller ads in the local newspapers and we are planning another seminar in March.  We traded listing the hotel in our advertising for the use of the room and the set up.  We were going to spend money to advertise anyway so we just got a deal on the use of the room for free.  The general manager is happy we will mention the hotel and we’re happy not to have to pay for the use of the space.  It’s just another look at how to spend less to create more.

I’ve also been spending more time writing and developing ideas for second book.  Although there are a ton of books about how to decorate little is being written about the business.  Our book comes out in May and I am beginning to start thinking about where I want to have book signings.  We’ve already received a couple of invitations from showrooms in San Francisco and, of course, a number of businesses around here would like to participate.  So, all in all we’re off to a better start than last year.  I know we can all work together to keep up this great sense of time and place. 

Anything Goes

By the middle of last week I had completed closing out the books on 2008.  Boy, it wasn’t pretty.  Our income was down by almost 70% and we’re both feeling the pinch.  On Saturday I spent a few minutes talking on the phone with a colleague in Sacramento.  She agreed her business was down and she was taking a long hard look at how to manage with the reality of today.  With all of that we both agreed there were some bright spots in 2008 we shouldn’t ignore. 

We were able to find a publisher for our book and that will come out in May of this year.  We got married.  We were able to sell a condo we had without loosing our shirt.  We met some very interesting and resourceful people.  We joined a new organization and hope to meet contacts for future work.  Most of all we decided to close our office after 8 ½ years and move into our home.  We have a lovely new studio and a separate office space and are ready for the new work which is sure to come in this year.  As for what’s happening now we are going to try anything we think of to create new business. And we really mean that.

We are looking at advertising in ways we’ve not tried since heck was a pup.  Just an old saying that means not in a long time.  We are considering black and white print advertising in the local newspaper.  A reduction in large, full color ads in glossy magazines that just haven’t brought the work we thought they might.  We are going to every industry function we get invited to in the area.  Heck, we’re even going out of the area.  We just want to be sure we are seen out in the community.  People still need to know we are alive and well and doing business.  Oh, yeah, we have an installation today and a meeting with the whole office of a local contractor very well known for his renovation work.  And we met him through NARI.  He also let us know he doesn’t have a designer on staff and he questioned how we might work together.  Hence the meeting today in our office with all his staff.  We are going to do our dog and pony show to let them know just how valuable we could be as a part of their team. 
We just keep looking for anything that will promote us and the business; just like we used to do when we first started.  That’s OK we are having a good time and we find going out again really does revitalize the juices for getting out there and creating business.  So, heaven knows, anything goes.

Who's Sorry Now?

With my nose to the grindstone I’ve been asking a lot of questions about what came before and what will come tomorrow.  Certainly there were mistakes made and Robert and I are in the process of analyzing the areas in which we can improve.  We had a long discussion about bringing someone on board to help with the marketing but in the end decided it was still something we could do ourselves.  It will require cold calling and both of us would rather do something else.  Still, it is what has to be done.  We’ve also created a new brochure/flyer for two distinct segments of the market place.  We are directing our energy toward real estate agents in the area and, of course, to builders and contractors.  Both are in direct contact with clients who are in the process of buying, building or remodeling.  Certainly these are the people we want to contact.  Am I sorry we didn’t do a lot of this before?  You bet.  We began to depend on one very strong alliance with a builder who has not sent a referral since late 2006.  Not good.  So, its times like these that help us refocus our energy to contact the optimum client.  I’ve been writing a lot about optimum clients lately and how they can be defined and what a designer can do to make them clients of their firm.  So, with the New Year and certainly with the start of this week everybody is back in the saddle and ready to make 2009 so much better than 2008.  We are looking forward to our conference with Designing Profits, Inc in February in Palm Springs and seeing the designers with whom we have ongoing contact about the business.  So it’s back to work with wonderful memories of Christmas and New Years ’08.  We’ll try to not make the same mistakes this year as last and we certainly won’t be sorry to see most of 2008 fade into memory.