It's Not For Me to Say

I have continued to say now is a great time to get into the business of interior design if that’s what you want to do.  Many many designers have left the business for a number of reasons and there will certainly, eventually, be a release of the pent-up demand for services.  So, how do you decide if you have what it takes to create your own business?  Help has arrived.  Robert and I developed an entrepreneurial test for our first book and I’m going to reprint a part of it for you now.  Over the next few weeks I will post a question or two for you to consider.  There are twelve questions and we help with the answers but like all things in life the ultimate decision is yours. 

Get ready, these are the questions you are going to have to ask yourself if you are going to consider getting into the business.

The Hale-Williams Entrepreneurial Test Part One

Let’s say you’re a young, talented designer who can boast sky-high ambition, solid financing, and an out-of-this-world business model or product design idea. You want to enter the design business, not as someone else’s design assistant, but as the proprietor of your own practice. We think that’s phenomenal and wish you the best of luck. Just one question: Do you realize that running a business is the design equivalent of walking a tightrope without a net? We hope you’ve got some cushion if you fall.

     We’ve compiled twelve broad questions to help you determine whether or not you’re ready to start your own design business.

     Question 1: Can You Beat the Odds?

Nine out of ten interior designers agree that, right out of the design chute, young entrepreneurs will have the toughest time with the following real-world factors:

·       Generating the capital to start a business

·       Knowing what kind of business you want to operate

·       Building a winning business model

·       Knowing the type of clients you want to attract

·       Attracting clients

·       Knowing how to run a business

 

     If being an entrepreneur sounds like a gamble, that’s because it is. Starting your own business is likely to be the biggest risk of your life. If you “deal yourself in” too soon at the professional designer’s table, you’d better have a few aces up your sleeve. Straight shooters in the design community will tell you that only one in five hundred designers coming out of design school has what it takes to build a successful practice.

     But that doesn’t mean some of you riverboat gamblers can’t beat the odds. After all, you’re you! The world has never seen anyone like you, right? So put your poker face on and get confident, because if you don’t believe, no one will.

     To “make it” as an entrepreneur, you have to be confident that you will stand out in an arena full of proud peacocks and daring design divas. How do we know? We’re living proof! We’re two regular guys who “did it our way” largely because we didn’t believe all the naysayers. We believed in ourselves and had the benefit of two intangible factors on our side. The question is: Do you have them, too?

     Question 2: Do You Have the Two Intangible Factors?

Much of your success as a design entrepreneur will hinge on whether or not you can tap into two powerful, sometimes magical forces. What are these two factors? We’re going to tell you.

     The first entrepreneurial intangible is the “it” factor. Whether a new designer has “it” or not will play an enormous role in the success of his or her career. Not only does a designer’s “it” factor attract clients and generate good buzz; the power of “it” often starts the branding process for a designer’s burgeoning business. Like a film director with a signature style, a designer’s “it” factor can be a calling card that’s the ticket to name recognition in this industry.  But what is “it,” really?

     Everyone has a different opinion, but we see “it” as a blend of blinding design talent, supernatural charm, and unbending intent. A potent dose of “it” in the right (industry) places can literally turn a hot “it” girl with taste into a hot “it” designer on the scene. It sounds like a fairy tale, but such stories actually happen. 

     If any of you are packing a strong “it” factor in your designer suitcase, you’re already light years ahead of the pack. Why? Because so many in our industry clearly do not have “it.” You may not be able to describe your own professional mojo to a tee (yet), but trust us: Clients know when they see it. So believe in yourself and strut your “it” factor for anyone who will listen. Maybe one day you’ll become an “it” designer overnight. How badly do you want “it”?

     Once you wake from your designer daydream, know that only a narcissistic celebutante would start a business based on “it” factor alone. There is another intangible factor that’s just as important: Will you shrivel up and die if you don’t become a designer? If you answer Yes to that question, you may be in the right classroom.

     In anything you do, your desire to succeed must be on par with your talent, business acumen, and charisma. This means that, if you’re not tenacious in this industry, you’re not trying hard enough. 

     Just ask any entrepreneurial designer about what it takes to be successful in the competitive side of the business, and watch a seemingly nice, sweet-talking person turn into a pit bull in sheep’s clothing. If you don’t believe us, then you don’t know many entrepreneurial designers.