How To Start an Interior Decorating Business
Your sense of style? Flawless. Your Pinterest board? Stocked with ideas. Your drive for success? Infinite. You have all the right stuff inside of you to start your venture into the world of interior décor. The only things you are missing are your first steps. And though the journey to starting any business isn’t easy, those first steps for how to start an interior decorating business are a great place to start.
Find Your Business’s Identity
Designer or Decorator?
You can’t start an interior decorating business without knowing what the business’s goals are. And knowing the line between interior designer and decorator will help you recognize what does and doesn’t fall under your jurisdiction as an interior decorator. Although the two businesses are similar, there are a few key differences between what interior designers and decorators do.
Interior design:
Involves formal training, often including a college degree, professional experience, and licensure
Improves the style and function of a space
Works with architects toward the beginning of a building project
On the other hand, interior décor:
Requires no formal training
Focuses primarily on enhancing the visual appeal of a room
Works more directly with homeowners and business managers
Although there are many things that interior designers and decorators both do, the bottom line is that, as a decorator, you’re primarily focused on furnishing the space rather than the design of it.
Design Angle
Although interior decorating may seem simple when compared to interior design, there is still a myriad of angles within it. As a decorator, you may focus primarily on homes, businesses, or both. You may focus on decorating certain rooms and not others. You may choose to offer organization services or simply decorative services. As a decorator, it’s up to you to decide what specific services you want to offer to your clients.
Collect Tools and Resources
Though it may be hard to purchase tools before you have a decorating project in mind, you can begin accumulating several tools that you will need for common projects. For example, you will most likely have to paint a room at some point, so it may be useful to invest in essential tools for painting a room. You can also start identifying vendors who supply quality fabrics, furniture, or brands of paints that you prefer.
Cultivate an Online Presence
To effectively market online, you need an online portfolio, website, and social media accounts. Because your career focuses so much on creating an aesthetic, the visual appeal of these sites is essential. This may require hiring a professional photographer and web designer to ensure the quality of the photographs. However, even the most well-designed website won’t be effective if it doesn’t target groups that are likely to utilize your services. For example, you may choose to target real estate agents looking for staging help, new homeowners wanting to personalize their space, or business owners in a certain zip code.