Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer contains all the necessary tools and strategies to successfully launch and grow a professional design business in the competitive world of interior design. Drawing on the authors' extensive experience, this book includes case studies, and personal anecdotes that help teach you how to: - choose a design field - obtain and keep clients - garner referrals - market and position your business - bid competitively on projects - manage sales - organize a budget - manage start-up costs and cash flow - promote your business - branch out into product and architectural design - design within a retail environment - set pricing guidelines - sell to your target demographic - set up your office. Readers will find a history of the business side of interior design as well as various career tracks available to today’s budding entrepreneur. Any early career interior designer or student looking for practical advice on the ins and outs of running a design firm will need this one-stop guide. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Starting Your Career as an Interior Designer contains all the necessary tools and strategies to successfully launch and grow a professional design business in the competitive world of interior design. Drawing on the authors' extensive experience, this book includes case studies, and personal anecdotes that help teach you how to: • Choose a design field • Obtain and keep clients • Garner referrals • Market and position your business • Bid competitively on projects • Manage sales • Organize a budget • Manage start-up costs and cash flow • Promote your business • Branch out into product and architectural design • Design within a retail environment • Set pricing guidelines • Sell to your target demographic • Set up your office Readers will find a history of the business side of interior design as well as various career tracks available to today’s budding entrepreneur. This updated second edition also examines the current state of the interior design industry, and what's in store for the future of firms. Any early career interior designer or student looking for practical advice on the ins and outs of running a design firm will need this one-stop guide. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

A revealing guide to a career as an interior designer written by New York Times bestselling author Kate Bolick and based on the real-life experiences of the cofounders of the acclaimed Brooklyn firm Jesse Parris-Lamb—required reading for anyone considering a path to this profession. Becoming an Interior Designer takes you behind the scenes to find out what it’s really like, and what it really takes, to become an interior designer. This artful profession combines visionary creativity and taste with architecture, engineering, and business savvy. Acclaimed Brooklyn-based studio Jesse Parris-Lamb specializes in crafting warm, textured room designs shaped by the people that inhabit them. Bestselling author Kate Bolick shadows founders Amanda Jesse and Whitney Parris-Lamb to show how this dream job becomes a reality. Visit their studio as they as they map out new projects. Watch as they inject beauty and atmosphere into open air lofts and historic brownstones. Decide on the perfect shade of blue that will complete a serene reading room. Gain professional wisdom as Bolick traces the founders’ paths to prominence, from attending design school and starting a studio, to building top-tier clients and planning landmark redesigns.

Clients are the lifeblood of any interior design firm and a sound understanding of how to manage those clients is essential. Interior Design Clients is an informative yet fun read for entrepreneurial designers interested in gaining a better understanding of how to build and manage their clientele. Tom Williams, designer, author, and blogger, deconstructs the pitfalls and challenges that can waylay even seasoned designers. As many professional designers learn, clients can be intimidated by interior designers and sometimes can even be fearful of the process. This unreasonable intimidation can often hinder the designer-client relationship and can even stop clients from asking for what they want. This leads to clients being unsatisfied and then walking away with a negative impression of their designer. Learning why clients fear their interior designer and developing strategies to allay those fears is essential for gaining and keeping a satisfied clientele. Everything from good client, project, and time management to interview techniques and staff and paperwork organization can all lead to making client interaction as rewarding as possible and are important aspects of the business rarely addressed by the interior design community as a whole. Interior Design Clients covers the subjects rarely taught in design schools such as specific presentation and interview skills and how to sell to market. Through frank discussion and practical examples, Williams weaves the art of selling into his lessons on interviewing, presenting, and pleasing the client as a natural part of the design process. Becoming a residential or commercial interior designer is not an easy undertaking, but Thomas Williams’ Interior Design Clients: The Designer’s Guide to Building and Keeping a Great Clientele provides the fundamental lessons and innovative solutions to help designers succeed in the ultra-competitive world of modern interior design. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

Book & CD-ROM. An active real estate market has turned interior design into a boom industry in recent years. Interior designers owning their own firms have a median income of $75,000. Tens of thousands of homes are for sale in the United States today, and many need the help of an interior designer to be sold. Interior designers create the spaces where we work, play, and live every day. Whether it is a private residence, corporate office, retail store, or a zany restaurant, interior designers use their creativity, as well as their knowledge of colour principles, architecture, and design, to make it work and look amazing. As a result, they are well compensated for the work. This guide provides readers with an understanding of the basic concepts of starting their own interior design business. This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of interior design. You will learn everything from the initial start-up decisions to working with clients. If you are investigating opportunities in this type of business, you should begin by reading this book. You can build a highly successful business using your talent and understanding of colour and architectural features, while providing a much needed service to home owners. If you enjoy working with people and have that creative knack, this may be the perfect business for you. Keep in mind that this business looks easy but, as with any business, looks can be deceiving. This complete manual will arm you with everything you need, including sample business forms; contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; setting up your office; and dozens of other valuable, timesaving tools of the trade that no business should be without. While providing detailed instruction and examples, the author leads you through every detail that will bring success. You will learn how to draw up a winning business plan (the companion CD-ROM has the actual business plan you can use in Microsoft Word® and about choosing a name; getting Started; the who, what, when, why, and how of interior design; equipment; selling your other services to your present customers; home staging and interior redesign; how to build a portfolio; how to get your first clients; how to attract and bid on new jobs; contracts and billing procedures; advertising; insurance; legal matters; basic cost control systems; market research; getting new clients; tax laws; zoning laws; pricing; leads; sales and marketing techniques; and pricing formulas. You will learn how to set up computer systems to save time and money, how to hire and keep a qualified professional staff if necessary, how to meet IRS requirements, how to manage and train employees, how to generate high profile public relations and publicity, and how to implement low cost internal marketing ideas. You will learn how to build your business by using low and no cost ways to satisfy customers, as well as increase sales and have customers refer others to you. You will learn the basics of accounting and bookkeeping procedures, auditing, successful budgeting, and profit planning development, as well as thousands of great tips and useful guidelines. This manual delivers innovative ways to streamline your business. Learn new ways to make your operation run smoother and increase performance. Successful entrepreneurs will appreciate this valuable resource and reference it in their daily activities as a source of ready-to-use forms, Web sites, operating and cost cutting ideas, and mathematical formulas that can easily be applied to their operations. The companion CD-ROM contains all the forms found in the book, as well as a sample business plan you can adapt for your own use.

In this book you will discover how to teach yourself interior decorating (includes step-by-step decorating instructions), how to get discounts of up to 20-50% on furniture and materials, how to create an impressive portfolio even if you have no previous paid decorating experience, how to get a job with a home retailer, home builder, or other interior industry employer, how to start an interior decorating business, price your services, and get clients.

Have you ever dreamed of starting your own home-based interior design business? Have you been hesitant to put your business plans into action? This book contains all the necessary tools and success strategies you need to launch and grow your business. An experienced designer shares her experiences and advice on every aspect of setting up and running a thriving home-based interior design business. Learn how to develop a business plan, estimate your start-up costs, price your services, and stay profitable once you're in business. Read all about getting clients and referrals, outshining the competition, bidding competitively, establishing your daily schedule, organizing your business, getting paid and much more. The book is packed with worksheets, including products and services charts, a sample balance worksheet, a profit-and-loss worksheet, a cash-flow projections worksheet, a weekly accounting ledger, a vendor sale sheet, and a bid sheet.