how do i start an interior styling business

How do I start an interior design business?

Create a set of personas who you believe to be your target audience. Next up is setting the name of your interior design business, it’s not uncommon to keep it very simple in the interior design industry and just use your own name, potentially followed by ‘Interior Design’ to make it clear what you do.

What are some tips to become an interior stylist?

The amount of emails I get asking about tips to become an interior stylist (stylists style photoshoots and film for brands) when what they actually want to do is be an interior decorator (and work predominantly decorating people's homes). 5. Know your ideal client You have to have an absolute clear cut vision of who your ideal client is.

How do I start my own personal styling business?

If possible, practice your personal styling skills on friends and family before starting your own business. Try to get consent from some early clients to create very striking “before/after” images that you can advertise with to show how you can transform someone's image.

What are some tips for a first-time interior designer?

The first tip is most important: Get paid fast and make it easy. Figure out what your strategy is around credit card or ACH payments and offer that convenience. Tip two is equally important: Share what you do, but only show what’s awesome. I had a “Coming Soon” splash page with Drew McGukin Interiors logo for my entire first year.

How do I start my own interior style?

My top ten tips for getting into interior design and stylingFind your confidence. ... Immerse yourself in design. ... Pick your style and stick to it. ... Do you. ... Be original. ... Build up a portfolio. ... Let people know what you do. ... Reach out and seek advice.More items...•

How do you become an interior stylist?

You don't need any specific training to become an interior stylist and there are many roads that lead to this career path. There are courses, the only one I've heard of (but have no personal experience of) is the Interior Styling course at Central St Martins.

Is it hard to start an interior design business?

Starting an interior design business is a popular move for people who study the craft of creating a space that's both functional and aesthetically pleasing. The combination of expressing yourself and executing your vision for clients is tough to pass up, despite the obstacles that small business owners often face.

How much can you make owning an interior design business?

How much profit can an interior design business make? The total profit depends on the number of interior designers working for the firm and that there is enough work to keep them all busy. Each designer should generate enough billable hours at $75 per hour to bring in revenues of $80,000 to $144,000 per year.

What does interior styling include?

There are several elements involved in interior styling such as:Creating a new colour scheme to suit the space.Adding new textures into a room.Implementing clever storage solutions.Optimising the layout of the room.Adding new furniture or replacing existing furniture with more suitable alternatives.More items...•

What is the difference between interior stylist and interior designer?

Both an interior designer and interior stylist focus on making the end result absolutely perfect, but the interior stylist's main role is to focus on the end result, whereas for an interior designer, the styling part is usually the final result or the icing on the cake and usually, a lot of work has been undertaken to ...

How do I find my first interior design client?

12 Expert Tips to Find New Clients for Your Interior Design BusinessAsk Your Network for Help. ... Develop a Basic Digital Marketing Strategy. ... Use Social Media to Reach Prospects and Gain Followers. ... Use Traditional and Digital Advertising. ... Establish a Brand for Your Interior Design Business. ... Practice Professionalism.More items...

How do interior designers charge?

Most interior designers charge for their time by the hour, anywhere from $50 to $500 depending on their experience. On average you can expect to pay $100 to $200 per hour, typically totaling around $5,200 in design fees, not including the cost of furniture.

How do I become an interior designer with no experience?

How to become an interior designer without a degreeLearn a designer's duties. ... Learn the required skills. ... Work for an expert. ... Start as a contractor. ... Build your portfolio. ... Build your network.

How do I start a freelance interior design business?

10 Steps to Help You Start an Interior Design BusinessDetermine what services you'll offer. ... Focus on your style & specialty. ... Choose a catchy business name & register it. ... Build a beautiful website. ... Build a portfolio. ... Set your rate. ... Promote the heck out of your business. ... Start a blog.More items...•

What does an interior stylist do?

When you work with an interior stylist they ensure every angle of your home is picturesque. Finishing touches are the be-all and end-all for these interior specialists. They can focus on styling a room, like within a home, or style products for a photoshoot, like furniture or kitchenware.

How do interior designers get rich?

Marketing your business plays an integral role in helping you put your business (and yourself) on the map and making more money as an interior designer.Be active on social media.Use paid advertising.Get a pro account on Houzz.Revamp your website.Start a blog.

How to charge an interior designer?

This is probably the easiest way to charge since all you need to do is multiply the number of hours you work by your hourly rate. This is especially useful for a new interior designer because you won’t know exactly how much time each job will take until you have a few under your belt. The real challenge is setting your price to be fair to your clients whilst also ensuring your business is profitable (we’ll come to working out your hourly rate shortly).

What are the services that interior designers offer?

The days of straightforward interior design services only are long gone (although that is still an extremely lucrative service) with many new services being offered such as e-design, product sourcing, renters room styling and home staging to name a few. Let’s take a look at a few of the main options:

What is home staging?

Another growing service offered by interior designers who are diversifying their service portfolio is home staging – the styling of a property to make it as sellable as possible. It’s liked by many interior designers as the styling approach offers additional revenue to their business.

How to charge flat fee for interior design?

It can be worked out by multiplying your hourly rate by the number of hours you think you’ll take to complete the project (plus any expenses). However, the risk with this approach (particularly with new interior designers) is that you may end up underestimating your time and end up losing out on a lot of money on some projects – this will swiftly put an end to your interior design business.

Why is online interior design important?

One of the most important factors of online interior design is ensuring you get the valuable information often obtained through the initial face-to-face consultation.

What is the most important part of a business?

Your brand is probably the most important part of your business, it needs to clearly define who you are, what you stand for and be recognisable. There are multiple parts that form your brand which includes everything from your business name, domain, logo, website, social media, etc.

Do you need to get some smaller projects in place before you go hard on your marketing?

So, you need to get some smaller projects in place before you go hard on your marketing.

How To Start An Interior Design Business: A Step-By-Step Guide

Interior design is an art form. It may not be about picking up a guitar, brush, or any conventional art form that we revere, but putting together an entire house to reflect the homeowner’s personality is nothing short of talent. If you have an innate gift from God to do something better than everyone, you cannot let it go to waste.

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How Much Money Do You Need To Start A Business?

Starting a business is always a challenge. While creating a new business, there are several things to think about and do. You need to find the right legal structure, get an idea of your market, decide on your business model, and invest in marketing.

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How do interior designers get their work?

Despite all of the fun social media stuff out there, the way that most interior designers get their work is via word of mouth or SEO (search engine optimisation).

How to get interiors journalists to feature your work?

Go along to press events and meet interiors journalists. Make efforts to connect and shmooze with them online and in person. It takes time to see any results as they're not just immediately going to feature your new project in the newspaper, but when they have a story or an angle that works they might just come to you for some shots. Remember those photographs? This is why they need to be great. Feature these shots on your instagram and Pinterest accounts.

How to show people you are designing a room?

Make sure to do instagram stories and show people what goes on behind the scenes of designing a room. Show them that you're at the interiors exhibitions like Salone del mobil, London design festival or Maison et objet. Prove over and over again that you are ahead of the curve and you live and breathe design.

How to get past clients to refer you?

Ask any past clients to refer you and offer them an incentive to do so. Provide great customer service to any clients you do have - perhaps you could send them flowers on their birthday or anniversary or take them along to a preview of a new art show. Keep them in your good books and they will be ranting and raving about you to their network because everyone loves to be the one who recommended something awesome!

Why is finding furniture and finishes that look great on budget so much time?

Because finding furniture and finishes that look great on budget takes so much time that even though you might be able to work within their budget you will not be factoring in your time being paid for and that my friends, means you are working for free and therefore do not have a business.

Do you need to know your brand?

Of course you need to know your own brand values and style in order to go about attracting those ideal clients. If you don't know this or you're not sure then you have a LOT more work to do before you go out there and launch your business.

Is interior design hard to do?

Starting an interior design business is tough. It's a saturated market and it's hard to stand out. Here are ten ways that you can launch your business and cut through the rest out there to develop a strong client base!

Do interior designers do kitchens?

Some interior designers only do kitchens and baths, while others can take on an entire house. Have a clear vision for the work you intend to do, focus your time and resources towards building that for your own business, and find the ideal clients for your niche.

Is interior design competitive?

The interior design industry is a competitive field, especially more so in recent years, where an abundance of renovation shows have inspired people with their own home or commercial design project ideas to try their hand at it.

How to charge interior designers?

The cost of all furnishings and subcontractors is added to this total. To the total, you add a percentage that is agreed to with your client as your fee. This is a standard way of charging by many interior designers. However, this reduces the total amount you get. The cost of the products you accept from your client will determine how much you charge.

What is the most common payment method for interior designers?

Interior designers can choose from a variety of payment options. The most common are PayPal or Bank Transfer.

What is PayPal for interior design?

PayPal is becoming an increasingly popular payment option for interior design professionals. It allows them to accept credit card payments quickly without payment processors, card machines, or other payment methods. PayPal charges fees for payments which should be considered as additional expenses.

Why is it important to establish contacts in the interior design industry?

It is important to establish contacts in the interior design industry. These contacts can be used to refer clients or source the right products.

What to do after you forward a job to a business owner?

Simple, after you forward the jobs off to a business owner and he makes some money off of them, you simply ask to make the deal beneficial for each other.

Do you have to spend a lot to start a business?

You don’t have to spend a lot to start.

Is interior design a one off service?

Interior designers have many options for services that they can offer their clients. It is long past the time when interior design was a one-off service. But, that is still a very lucrative service. Now, there are many options available such as e-design, product sourcing, and renters room styling. Let’s have a look at the main options:

How can I help myself as a stylist?

It helps me to have even more beautiful stuff to shoot and it pushes me to give them some great images, and then they may consider using me as a stylist one day. Once you have a few images of your own and some images from where you've been assisting you can start pitching yourself as a stylist to small brands and companies.

Why do I say "small" in styling?

I say small because it logically makes sense to start here - they will be more open to having new stylists in, especially if you will do it for free or for an affordable fee. They may not have worked with a stylist before, and the same as what I said about networking applies here. That small brand you start out styling for now could be the coolest interiors shop or magazine in a few years. People can get big really fast, and if you've been there from the start then you'll be in good line to get that work. Look for people who have a product that fits within your signature style (if you don't know what that is then work on it), so that not only will u have the bigger name stuff from where you've been assisting but also have some cool more indie stuff that really showcases where you want to go with your styling work in the future.

Can you do proper styling on set?

If you're lucky and make a good impression on set you may be allowed to do some proper styling. I was trusted to make up this bedding shot before the brilliant stylist added his finishing touches. I am so proud that it made the M&S Spring Summer 15 catalogue! I also got to make some pancakes that I think ended up in a shot too. MY FOOD IS FAMOUS, PEOPLE.