The Business of Interior Design... 7 steps to starting out

After you have gone through a formal training and you are certified, you can either choose to work with an interior design firm or start out on your own.

Below are the steps required for starting out

1.  Determine your own niche and area of specialization

The field of interior design is quite wide; you could specialize in one or more of the following; residential interior design, commercial interior design of retail spaces, corporate spaces, institutional spaces, recreational or exhibition spaces. This could be determined by the kind of training you had, your flair or your business prospects.

2. Draft a business plan

Every business should begin with a documented plan for success. You should make it as simple as you can. Feel free to search for, and use available templates online which are suited to your business model.

3     Name your Business

This name should represent your brand and the type of company you are setting out.

4    Create a design portfolio and find your target clients

The initial portfolio you will create might not necessarily include jobs that you have done before as you are just starting out. However, it should include some of your proposals in 3d- models that will present your design philosophy to prospective clients.  You could also re-design your own personal living space and present the before-and –after photographs, showing that you can have the hands-on knowledge of how to bring proposals to life.

With this portfolio, you can employ the social media in advertising your abilities, you can also walk up to your - clients show them what you can offer them.

5        Implement jobs with professionalism

Be professional from day one; job one, no matter the size of the job or the relationship that you have with the client; follow proper contract administration procedure and do project documentation. This will prepare you for more corporate and bigger contracts.

6. Create a business portfolio

Now you can start to build a business portfolio, documenting before-and-after pictures of your projects. Be as detailed as possible because the portfolio is actually your true resume, the pictures say everything about your abilities that mere words cannot describe.

7    Start small and grow big

As you progress, recognise the time to expand; identify and hire the human resources that you need to carry out bigger projects as your project scope and client–base enlarges.