You will also need great organizational and business skills to handle jobs competently and efficiently.
You may need to take on jobs for free at first in order to expand your portfolio. Making sure your portfolio translates to an electronic form is critical. In order to get the most out of your portfolio, you will want to create a website that highlights your work and keep an active blog to promote what you’ve done. Utilize any and all popular social media sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or Wanderfly. These sites are great spaces to share your work and engage in discussions with other people interested in interior decoration.
It may be helpful to meet with your local Small Business Development Center. SBDC’s provide help during all of the stages of a business’ life cycle and can help you put a business plan together. [4] X Research source Address your customer base. In your business plan, you will need to identify how you will drum up business. With interior decoration businesses, word of mouth and local advertising are effective ways of building a customer base. [5] X Research source Address your financial situation in your business plan. Depending on how large or small you want to go with your interior decoration business, you may need to rally investors to support your efforts. In order to get others to invest in your business, you need to determine how much money you will need, how much you will generate, and how you will pay back any investors. [6] X Research source If you think your business will need employees, make sure to discuss hiring tactics and what these employees will cost you in your business plan. [7] X Research source
Your interior decoration business will most likely require a “Business Occupancy License”. These licenses are acquired from your city or township, are fairly inexpensive and do not require site inspections.
You absolutely must have a business card in this line of work. Make sure your cards look professional and hand them out liberally. Leave cards with every client you work with. [9] X Research source
In many states, you need to pass the NCIDQ (National Council for Interior Design Qualification) exam to receive your license to practice interior design. California has its own certification process overseen by the CCIDC (The California Council for Interior Design Certification). You will need to identify the licensing process for interior designers in your state, as practices and exams vary widely.
It is wise to be able to convert your portfolio to an electronic format. This will be helpful when applying to jobs or promoting your skills on the internet.
