Do you prefer more flexibility, but also more control over your work, than a classic 9 to 5 job can give you? Have you always had an interest in interior design, but haven’t had the time to explore it?
Have you considered starting an interior design company?
An activity in this area will definitely tempt you, but it is important to make such an important decision in the most informed and organized way. You will have to make many decisions before you can offer your services to someone. From the value proposition and the target audience, to the initial financing method.
Discover the steps through which you will have to go to work as an entrepreneur in the field of interior design:
1. Freelancer or team leader
Before starting an interior design company, you need to decide on the form in which you want to carry out the economic activity. Do you have a more independent character and prefer to work outside of a team, as a freelancer? Or, on the contrary, do you want to open a company, hire other people and expand?
This decision impacts the services you can offer, but also the upfront costs. As a freelancer, you can choose a niche, a very specialized aspect related to interior design or a consultant.
As a company founder you have several options and can also focus on more general services. However, it is much easier financially to operate as a freelancer. Otherwise, you will need larger investments.
2. Clearly defines the services offered
To determine what services you will offer, it may help you answer more questions, such as:
- Do you prefer to focus on houses or apartments?
- What is your interior design style?
- Do you want to provide rigorous services for interior spaces or include outdoor spaces?
- Do you want to focus on the arrangement of some rooms (kitchen, bathroom, children’s bedroom or even dressing rooms) or entire houses?
- How digitalized do you want your services to be? Currently, the range of services offered in the field has significantly expanded due to the online environment. Therefore it is possible to provide classic services or adapt them for at least partially digital provision. Find out in the special dedicated article which interior design applications you can use.
Clearly answering such questions will help you grasp the essence of the services offered, for example: “I organize apartments effectively in a minimalist style” or “I organize original and creative children.”
3. Identify the ideal customer for your company
By identifying the target audience of your interior design company, you will tailor their services and promotion, so as to have increasingly satisfied customers.
The ideal customer profile should include at least age, family status and financial possibilities, for example young couples with an average budget in the urban environment.
4. Determine prices and some expenses
When it comes to pricing, you will need to take a number of factors into account:
- Aspects about the services offered
- the profile of the ideal customer
- Fixed expenses (one-off, monthly or annual costs such as telephone and internet subscriptions)
- and variable ones (costs per order or per service provided)
For example, a central, spacious location might be attractive, but its impact on prices, which would increase, and the financial pressure on the company could be good reasons to choose a cheaper one.
Especially at the beginning it is better to be very prudent with your expenses, when you do not yet have recommendations from customers and a clear response to your market.
5. Branding elements for your business
First of all, you will need a name for your business. In order to register a company it is necessary to take into account a series of factors REGULATION Pursuant to to guarantee the originality of its name. Added to these are recommendations that the company name is easy for customers to remember and use and, ideally, would suggest certain branding elements of the company, such as its domain, activity, style or approach.
Then you will need a visual identity. When opting for a logo, consider how you use it. Make sure it looks clear when displayed in a small size and is suitable both online (website, social networks, promotion platforms) and offline (business cards and posters).
6. Integrating technology into your business
To optimize project and customer relationship management, you can use customized software solutions that will make your business more efficient. For example, Softp It offers software development services tailored to business needs in the field of interior design, helping to automate processes and improve customer experience. A well-structured mobile platform or application can make all the difference in attracting and managing projects professionally and efficiently.
7. Identify the financing
At the beginning your business will have to incur a number of expenses (from costs to marketing), so you will need a budget to cover them.
Whether it is savings or loans, you need to be very organized, so that you can last a few months, giving you the time necessary to start the lucrative activities of the company and collect the first income.
8. Register the company
Once these aspects have been developed, it is time to set up an interior design. Depending on the decisions in the previous points, you can opt for a PFA or an SRL.
Don’t worry about bureaucracy; There are numerous companies that deal with the creation of commercial companies and can offer you advice if you need it.
9. Write a business plan
It may seem premature, but writing a business plan will help you enormously. Have a clearer idea of the business and achieve success faster.
In addition to the business description, you will need to include a competitive analysis, a market analysis, where you focus on the customer and several plans, especially operational and marketing ones.
10. Get experience
To trust you, every client will want to see what you’ve worked on before. For beginners, this is often a problem.
The simplest solution is to offer your services for free a few times, so you can build a portfolio of projects to show to future clients.
11. Take care of the network
Create connections with industry professionals, with whom you can collaborate on your projects. Some of them may be providers that are not accessible to the general public.
Also take part in specialist courses, which will strengthen your knowledge and professional image, but which are also opportunities to create new connections in the field.
12. Promote your business online or offline
Make sure your business knows as many potential customers as possible. In the online environment, promotion could involve active presence on social networks, creating a website, paid promotion, optimizing the site for search engines, registering on professional portals and more. Added to these are the classic offline methods, such as presence at professional fairs or street banners in strategic places.
Any method of promotion has a cost, be it an opportunity. Consuming your time, be it financial, consuming money and other resources. Therefore, it is important to establish a clear strategy, as effective as possible in relation to the specific results you desire.
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