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

Do You Believe in Magic?

There are times when the most unexpected things can happen.  You organize your business and your life and begin to think there is nothing that’s going to really surprise you.  Think again.  I am continually surprised by what clients will and won’t do and what they will and won’t ask.  Lend an ear, listen to the following and, like me, learn something.

     We had worked with a client to complete a whole house renovation and had continued to keep in contact.  About eighteen months after the completion of the initial project I heard from another designer my client had signed with a firm in 

San Francisco

to renovate an apartment they had just bought in a condo there.  Yes, I was surprised.  Almost immediately the client called to ask about selections of fabrics we had made for the previous project.  She explained she was starting a new project with another design team and they wanted to look at what she had done before.  I told her we would call back with the requested pattern numbers before the close of business that day and, with her permission, contact the other design team to offer any help they might need from our office.  The design team never returned my telephone calls.  I didn’t hear from her for almost four weeks and thought she must have been well on her way to a completed design for the new condo.  The next day she walked into my office without an appointment and in tears.  Fortunately I wasn’t working with another client and ushered her into my office.  The whole awful story spilled out.  She had gone with these designers because they were referred by the realtor.  It’s a good reason.  Many realtors work with designers for referrals to purchasers.  The new design team was young, excited about the condo and persuaded her they could create the space of her dreams within her budget.  You know the rest.  They wanted only to create what they felt was right for the space and not the client.  They would not listen to any of her thoughts and continued to override any attempt on her part to be involved in the process.  Now, she was in my office crying on my arm and wondering if I would work with her.  She was under a time deadline and needed a lot of decisions very quickly.  Of course we complied.  We never spoke of the other design team and her new project moved forward in a timely manner and with a minimum of complications.  She explained months later the only reason she even considered coming back to us was the very professional and prompt way in which we answered her request for fabric information when she decided to work with someone else.  She said she knew we would respond to her current crisis in the same professional manner.  I was glad to help and also glad I didn’t try to burn a bridge with her because she chose to try another interior design firm. 

Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying

I heard the most astounding thing on television this morning.  A real talking head actually said she believed the worst was behind us and there was light at the end of the tunnel.  This from the media?!?!  What usually comes out of all those talking heads is the doom and gloom scenario.  So, what does this mean for us?  Well, actually, nothing.  If we have all been doing the things necessary to stay in business and we have all been increasing our marketing, advertising and promotion spending we will be alright.  If not, now is absolutely the time to get the word out about your business.  We are on the verge of a release of pent-up demand and with a little more help from the media, which, by the way, helped get us where we are today, we should see an up-tick very soon.  Are we out of the woods?  No.  Are we headed in the right direction?  Yes.  So get ready for some action out there.  Don’t get caught with your pants down.  Be prepared to talk about your business to any and all that will listen.  Continue to go after speaking gigs and letting people know how personable and professional you are.  Run a few more ads in the newspapers or magazines and start up or continue the direct mail campaign.  All of this is now more important than ever.  Don’t let this coming demand catch you standing on the side lines and wondering how you can ride the wave.  As with so many other things that happen in this business the train is loading and you better be on board before it leaves the station.  Have you been thinking about possibly hiring someone as a part-time assistant?  With wages at low levels and lots of people looking for a job now is the time.  I’m not saying to take advantage of someone’s misfortune but you just might find someone who is willing to work with you the first few months until things level out.  There are a lot of very talented and experienced men and women looking for work and some just might be in your neighborhood.  Look around.  I know it’s been hard on all of us to be able to predict just the right time to spend more money.  I think we are there.  Certainly if we aren’t there we are very close.  A recession is self-filling.  There is a slow down in spending and things slow down.  One of the best ways to get things moving again is to spend a little.  Don’t break the bank just add a little something you’ve been holding off on.  In the long run it will help you and the economy.  Now might also be just the right time to approach your bank about a loan or line of credit.  There is money to be had and you want to have access for those future marketing campaigns.  Even if you have no plans to spend any money you might get from a line of credit just get it in place.  Knowing it’s there is good for your business soul.  Now, get to work and continue to create the best business you can.  It’s the dawn of a new era and way of doing business.  Have you noticed how they keep coming along every seven to ten years?  Pay attention to what is happening now and remember what came before.  You’ll be ready for the next big change.  It’s coming.  Trust me.

I Will Survive

I was watching The Today Show this morning and Elizabeth Edwards appeared talking about her new book “Resilience”.  An apt title for this time and about her life.  Irrespective of the challenges life, our clients and the economy will throw at us I know each and every one of us has the ability to survive.  At this particular point in time you may feel the challenges of running a business will overwhelm you.  Don’t believe it.  There are opportunities around each and every corner.  Just keep your eyes and ears open.  Listen to the news not to find out what the Dow is doing but to hear what the world is doing.  There are all sorts of options out there.  Listen to some of the advertisements on the TV, read the paper, look to the internet for even more information.  Sign up for one of the social networking sites.  Heck, sign up for three or four.  Don’t spend all day on those sites; let them notify you when something of interest comes along.  I signed up with Writers Mafia, a group blog for writers.  All sorts of good questions and answers for those of us trying to become more professional as writers.  This sort of thing may not bring lots of money in but it will keep you abreast of what is happening.  Knowledge is power.  Now is not the time to crawl under the covers and hide your head.  Get out to some mixers in town.  Meet with other business owners.  Either go into their space, if they have one, or email and get together for a cup of coffee.  Create your own network of friends and business owners on whom you can rely.  Get together and talk about the business.  Not the lack of business but how to best create new business.  Try direct marketing.  Try advertising.  Try calling past clients.  Try writing a blog.  Try writing a newsletter.  Try standing in the middle of the street and yelling at everybody that comes by how good you are at design!!  Only kidding.  The point is not to dwell on what could be but what is.  Work the current problem.  Don’t try to figure out how you got here just work on how to get out.  That is, on how to move forward.  You will survive.  You will succeed and you will prosper.  Your might just live long, as well.

Catch A Wave

I know many people believe our business is all one of trends and what the next current style, color, shape or pattern will be.  I’ve never really worked from that principal and believe the designs we all create should be as timeless as possible.  No matter what word you use to describe this style, (chic, sophisticated or architectural); its inherent tastefulness will keep it within the realm of good design.  I believe the trends we do have to pay attention to are those that will stand the test of time.  I know, you can’t always be sure, but being able to discriminate between kitsch and classic is important.  From the standpoint of running a business it is also important to maintain a good eye for that which will sell and that which will sit on your shelf.  Even the samples you choose for your library should be selected with the same eye for detail and longevity.  At the same time, I know how exciting it can be to see a new trend, style, color or shape and just know it’s going to be the next hot ticket in interior design.  To be able to define whatever it is and run with it is so much fun.  Being the first in your area to have access to and understand some new trend is invaluable to your positioning in the community.  It will once again set you apart from your peers as an expert in your field and prospective clients will be coming to you for design services, information and expertise.  That’s a wonderful thing and very exciting. 

I don’t know how to tell you to recognize a “new trend” or style or item but keeping current by visiting the showrooms, reading the shelter magazines and simply watching what’s going on around you will help.  As with anything, I don’t suggest you spend your last penny trying to corner this particular market but try to find out as much as you can about the item, or whatever, to make an educated guess about it’s chance of almost universal appeal. 

It’s also possible to spot a trend in what your current and prospective clients are excited about in the world of interior design.  The easiest one of the moment is the Green Movement.  Sustainability is the catch phrase and recycling is the mantra.  That’s great but by now nothing new.  What else is your client interested in?  The new lighting trends?  New fabrics made from bamboo?  Recycled fabrics?  Manufactured flooring?  Keep an eye out for those types of trends and be ready to speak about them.  Learn all you can about Bamboo flooring and start making the rounds talking about the product and how it impacts the environment.  Once you have a portfolio of ideas and trends you can surf the wave of increased public interest in what you have to say.  It helps position you as a professional interested in the community and the planet.  That is a wave of enthusiasm we can all enjoy riding.  Go out there and listen to what they are saying they want to know.  Then, offer it.