Do you want to start an interior designing business or as a freelancer? It is a creative business opportunity for you that offers major perks at work. A career as a freelance interior designer or an owner of an interior designing company requires you to be creative and have the imagination to decorate a house. It is not a job for all hence has high business opportunities.
But even the interior designing market is not free of pros and cons. Here will have the advantages and disadvantages of being an interior designer, the cost of setting up a business, and the scope of earning, so that you can make an informed decision.
Advantages of Being an Interior Designer:
1. Creativity:
It is a process to show off your creativity as an interior designer and mesmerize house owners or company employees. In short, doing a business in this business promises satisfaction at the end of the day. It is a business where you enjoy your work and get appreciated by your customers.
2. Advancement Scope:
Your capability as an interior designer determines your scope of advancement in this industry. As a freelancer, you will have the power of moving up without worrying about impressing your boss if you have the talent. All you need to care about is pleasing your customers, and you will get more references.
3. Interaction Opportunities:
A freelance interior designer gets opportunities of meeting and interacting with different types of clients. The business provides you with the privilege of designing different arrays of houses. The job offers enough challenges to keep you focused as you need it to please different types of clients.
Disadvantages of an interior designing business
1. Payments:
As a freelancer or business owner, you are likely to set your charges for interior designing ideas. But the income is relatively low in the initial phase until your work earns a reputation. You must remember the market is quite competitive for interior designers.
2. Client Handling:
Though interior designing offers satisfaction to a creative designer, handling a difficult customer is not always that rewarding. As a freelance designer or business owner, you need to acquire people skills before you start. You will have customers who will want unrealistic interior designs, and some are difficult to work with. Patience is the key to handle them with a smile.
3. Work Stress:
No matter how rewarding a freelance interior designing work is, it is not without stress. There is always a chance of coming upon difficult customers, unduly long working hours, deadlines, and more. It ultimately leads to stress and exhaustion in most cases. Success in this industry comes only when you are dedicated and prepared for the hardship of the business.
How much Does it Cost to Start an Interior Designing Firm?
For freelance interior designers, starting a small-scale designing firm requires a modest investment of a few thousand dollars. You can choose to work from home, save on establishment costs, get an online certification, and create a cream client base to support your business running expenses.
The owner needs a formal degree certification in interior designing, a proper office setup, skilled employees, and necessary tools for a major interior designing firm. Apart from that, there is always a cost for business promotion.
Until you have your first customers, a full-scale business requires an initial investment of $2,000-$5,000 per month. Be prepared for an expense of $12,000-$30,000 in the first 6-months of starting the business. You need to meet other monthly expenses initially, like utility bills and transportation costs for your client visits.
Even a home-based interior designing firm might have a monthly $2,000-$3,000 expenditure. For a decent office setup, the monthly expenditure can shoot up to $20,000 after considering the staff salaries and utility bills.
How Much Can you Make from an Interior Designing Business?
As mentioned earlier, a freelance interior designer or business owner sets their own price for designing a house, and it varies with the complexity and vastness of the work. On average, freelance designers charge $75 per hour for their services. The leading interior designing firms with celebrity clients even charge millions of dollars for designing interiors. Usually, a business owner or partner can earn about a million-dollar every year from such firms. A regular freelancer earns anything between $80,000 to $1,44,000 per year.
