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

More, More, More

We all keep looking for way to increase business and the amount of what we sell.  Putting a trim on an otherwise simple pillow, some trim on a simple window treatment or banding an area rug are all examples of “add-on” sales.  There is value for your clients here and extra income for you and your business.  You aren’t tricking your client as the pricing is out front before you order whatever the item might be.  But add-ons are a great way to help your bottom line without trying to go out and find new clients.  Work with the ones you have.  As you select the things you plan to show a client gather those items which could, if you wanted, be omitted.  Add them in then, if you get any resistance from your client, you can easily delete them.  But, and this is the best part, in general the client will want to keep the add-on.  Why? Well, because once they see what the piece will look like without whatever it is you added they will be disappointed and want the original selection.  It is an easy task for you when you are preparing the presentation and one with wonderful rewards.  You’ll make more money, the client will be thrilled with the selections and the space will look that much better. 

Think about all the areas in which an add-on could work.  Extra stuffing for a sofa or complete down if you think the client would like that.  Adding trim has always been, for me, one of the easiest things to add on.  Trim on dust ruffles, trim on bedspreads, trim on sofas, pillows, pillow shams on beds, headboards, even lamps.  Yes, lamps.  Have you ever considered creating your own lamp shades?  When you do you get to select the fabrics and the trim.  Believe me, it’s fun.  So, now you know a little bit about add-ons.  Get out there and add, add, add, more, more, more.

The Morning After

It seems as if new housing starts were up 17% for the month of May.  Wow!  Imagine getting actual uplifting news from the media.  Ok. I shouldn’t whine, and I won’t.  It is good news.  Unemployment is also down.  Yes, gas is creeping up but it’s also prime time for driving and there has been a reduction in refining.  I won’t even go there.  Still, it looks as if we are on the mend.  If so, it’s time, now, to start thinking about what will come.  As astute business men and women we have continued to market our services and let people know who we are and what we do.  If you feel as if you just cant’ hang on for another minute, tough up.  Now would absolutely be the worst possible time to leave the business.  Amateurs, non-professionals and those who thought interior design was an easy job have left the field in droves.  What that means for those of us left is more business.  Even with less demand the men and women practicing interior design are far fewer than two years ago.  So, even though we might possibly see fewer clients there are also far fewer designers to service them.  At the same time there is a tremendous amount of pent-up demand.  We’ll be busy.  Isn’t it just wonderful news? 

Now, for the other side of the equation.  Business is going to be different from what we did before.  First of all, clients with money aren’t going to be throwing it around willy-nilly.  They will want to be less flamboyant with how they spend.  They will be interested in how and why they should work with you at a time when many Americans are still trying to make ends meet.  Particularly the rich.  They stayed rich through this downturn and they will remain rich.  For most upper middle management types and many business owners these past few years have actually taken far less a toll than for many other Americans.  Ostentatious displays of wealth, however, are definitely out.  One of the best ways to persuade clients to spend might possibly be to remind them of the huge increase in planet friendly items we use every day.  Fabrics, lighting, flooring and wall coverings have all seen an explosion of “green” product.  One of the best ways to show you are aware of your clients need for moderation is to explain how very important the use of these “green” products is to the environment.  It probably won’t surprise you to learn that many of the products are also a little more expensive than standard products. 

I hope you won’t be surprised to learn during the past two years many products have seen cost increases.  Whether you practice transparent pricing or stated pricing your profit of margin is going to go up.  That, too, is a good thing.  So, you will be helping in so many ways.  You will be helping your client spend their money more wisely, you will be helping the environment and you will absolutely be helping your bottom line.  What a great way to cure a bad financial hangover.

It's Not For Me To Say

I’ve been spending a great deal of time lately working on my new book.  I have a deadline of June 30th for the first manuscript and I am on schedule and almost ready to submit.  As I have been writing, this time about client management, I have once again learned a few things about how I operate my business and what just might be the optimum way for a lot of designers to operate theirs.  Now, as the title says, it’s not for me to say what might be best for you and your business but I certainly can give you a few ideas.  I’ve been in this industry for over thirty-five years and if nothing else have learned a thing or two.  Actually, I’ve learned a lot.  Most of it by trail and error.  Boy, did I make mistakes in the past.  Oh, yeh, have I told you about the mistakes I made just last year.  All of us make mistakes but its how we use the experience to our advantage that makes us successful business men and women.  There is no way we can go without mistakes now and then.  We’re human, or haven’t you heard.  Within these mistakes are the jewels of knowledge we will take away with us as we move on.  It’s also important to forgive yourself those mistakes and get on with your business and your life.  You will remember the lesson learned and incorporate it into the daily routine of your business.  That’s how experience works.  It becomes a part of your very being.  Whether your experience is good or bad ensure you view it for what it is.  Experience.  Nothing more.  It doesn’t’ mean you are better, wiser or saner than the rest of us.  You just have more experience.  I am also a believer in letting others benefit ones own experiences.  That is why I continue to teach business practice for the interior designer at Monterey Peninsula College and why I created a proposal and sold it to Allworth Press, Inc. for the new book, “Interior Design Clients The Designer’s Guide to Building and Keeping a Great Clientele”.  I know it’s a long title but how else could I tell you what it says inside?  Now that all of you are laughing out loud remember to keep your mistake experiences in perspective.  The experiences are just another learning tool, nothing more.  They are not the end of the world; they are just a part of living in the world.

I Say a LIttle Prayer for You

As most of you know and I certainly have said enough times, our book “Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer” was released on May 19^th and we are happy to say first sales results are encouraging.  I am now in the process of getting a speaking tour off the ground.  As I have discovered, most speaking bureaus are not really interested in speakers unless they charge more than $ 7,500 per engagement or aren’t high profile personalities.  Now I certainly believe I have a lot to offer with the book and I know I can hold an audience but high-profile I am not, at the moment.  All that said, I do know the book and what I want to speak about is empowering, especially for women between 25 and 55.  The whole idea is to help people create a business in the interior design profession and be successful at it.  The success, actually, is what it’s all about.  I recently discussed my dilemma with a mentor and friend and we’ve come up with a few ideas to get clubs, organizations and colleges interested in what I have to say.  First and foremost I am not asking whether or not any of you want to go into the interior design profession.  I already know the answer.  Now, actually, I believe is a time of great opportunity in our field of endeavor.  I’m saying you should go into the business.  Yes, you should go into the business of professional interior design.  Why not?  This offers the best chance to work in a field you love can earn money in and practice the art you find wonderful.  I could give you more than one hundred reasons why now is the best time.  Rents are low, advertising is more inexpensive than it’s been for years and many other designers and wanna be designers have dropped out of the field.  See?  It’s as if the universe was just waiting for you to jump in and fill a void.  And believe me, there is definitely a void of qualified professional interior designers working in the field right now.  Many of the old guard is unable or unwilling to change with the times.  They will stay in business but they won’t be picking up new and younger clients.  They, the younger clients, more than anything will be your market.  So, I’ll send a little prayer your way, know you have the savvy to create the best possible marketing campaign and yes, I’ll be here if you have any questions.  Oh, and by the way, buy my book.  Believe me, it will help.