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Last Updated on June 29, 2018 by Work In My Pajamas
So, you love interior design and want to turn your passion into profit. You have an eye like no other and you have an inclination for making things look good. If this is the case, then you may be ready to jump into this business.
A wonderful thing about this business is the fact that you can start at any age. Now, this market is pretty crowded with the rise of networks like HGTV and these home design shows. It’s great that people are discovering their passions, but this does create more competition for you. However, do not worry, we will give you some tips to help you set yourself apart from the bunch and make you a big fish in a small pond.
Get a website
This will be the hub for your business. This is how your clients will get to really know you before you actually speak to them or meet them in person. A good website should practically sell your services for you. It is also a requirement if you plan to use any form of digital marketing like AdWords, Facebook Ads, SEO or social media. If someone hears about your business, you want them to be able to go to your website and view your portfolio and see everything you have to offer.
Make sure that you include some type of offer or discount on your website that will encourage visitors to give you their email addresses. This allows you to remarket to them free of charge via email marketing. This is invaluable because those customers are “warm leads” and much more likely to end up converting and using your services. Make sure you latch on to them. There are plenty of great low-cost tools that make it easy for you to design your own website if you can not pay a professional to do it.
Take great photos
Visuals are the bread and butter of the design industry. People expect you to create beautiful environments and photography really is the best way to show your work to potential clients.You can not really have a portfolio without photography unless you are talented enough to draw it, I suppose. The general idea is still the same though and it’s so much more effective when people are able to see real photo images of the type of work you can do for them.
This is also something that you do not want to do yourself unless you absolutely need to. Remember this is the bread and butter of your business. This is a representation of your business and your work. You want a beautiful, accurate representation of your designs. A good photographer is an investment and the photographer will be able to make your designs appear magazine-ready.
Not every client is a good client
It can be very exciting to get that first client, you may have been too eager and you may have even sold yourself short to get that client. However, keep in mind that not all clients are worth your time and some clients can actually have a negative impact on your business. Imagine that you have a client with a low budget who wants you to make their living room look unrealistically amazing. You spend all of this time trying to work within their budget but find it difficult. The client is now angry because their expectations were not met and she is now giving you bad reviews to her friend. This all could have been avoided by turning that client down.
Now that you are an interior designer you may have the equipment and design pieces to transport. You may want to rent a passenger van to allow you to transport everything you need.
