Entrepreneurship is an exciting but scary journey to get stuck into. You might have an idea and a gift for your niche, but putting that all together into a successful business can seem daunting and confusing.
Interior design can be a rewarding and lucrative niche to get started in, with professional variety and often a wide range of creative freedom. With guidance from the Woodyatt Curtains team, let’s look at how you can go about starting your dream interior design business.
Setting up your company
The first step to getting started will be setting up a company. While you can operate as a sole trader, it might in time become limiting to your growth, and won’t afford you the same protections that a limited liability company will provide.
Choose a name that you think will represent your brand well, and then register it at companies house with your businesses. You can check to see if the name you’ve chosen has already been taken here. When choosing a name, it might be worth considering the way that it will affect search engine results.
Setting up social media and your website
Now that we’ve fully entered into the digital age, almost all of your marketing will be done online. This means that you need a website and, ideally, a presence on several social media channels.
Website
For your website, you can either hire a web developer or design the site yourself using a website design tool like Wix or Squarespace.
Web developers can be expensive, but it might help to avoid issues in the future and they’ll likely be able to do a much better job than you can, if you have limited experience. If you’re up to the challenge though, making a website can be a fun process.
Social media
Social media can be a great way of getting new clients and keeping people up to date with the work that you’re doing. Try to post regularly about things that your followers are likely to be interested in, driving outreach organically and gaining followers.
Form and develop professional relationships
A significant part of your day-to-day business as an interior designer will be sourcing bespoke fittings and furniture, helping people to choose things like curtains and lights.
This process is made a lot easier when you have professional relationships with bespoke companies; you might be able to get a discount, and you’ll likely be able to gain access to a wider range of products.
Remember – Enjoy the process!
It might be easy to get caught up in the stress of starting your interior design business, but try to enjoy the process.
You’re in control and you can take the business in whichever direction you want; trying to find clients that you get along with might be tricky but it will 100% be worth it in the long run. Interacting with people you see eye to eye with on a daily basis will help you fall in love with your new career and take it to new heights.
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How to start an interior design business