Setting Up Your Business

Introduction

Congratulations: you have almost finished the course, and chances are you will want to set up your own business, full time or as a sideline to a day job. Before you do, ask yourself some tough questions. This is not meant to put you off, only to be realistic. There is no point leaving your job if working for yourself does not suit your personality and temperament.

Questions to ask yourself

• Why are you doing it? Are you bored with your job, after a lifestyle change or hoping to earn more? Hopefully one reason is a real passion for interior design, which helps through hard times.
• Can you work alone without supervision? If not, being in business for yourself is probably not the way to go.
• How are you with people? Interior design is about communication and getting very involved in people’s lives, as well as creative skill. You need to be a people person and infinitely patient.
• How do you handle challenges, problems and difficult people? All will come up. Do you have the mental strength to handle them on your own, or will setbacks throw you off course?
• Do deadlines scare you? With several clients you will be up against deadlines constantly and will sometimes work long hours.

To stay afloat you will need sound business principles, including finding clients, marketing and good business practices. They can sound daunting if you have only worked for someone else, but they matter as much as design skill. This module points you to proven guidelines and away from common pitfalls.

Setting up an office

One great benefit of starting out in interior design is working from home. Once you do it, you will find it hard to imagine another working life. Keep in mind that you can work in a much more pleasant environment than the average office, so make it better than anywhere you have worked before.

• Aspect and air. Most people want a pleasant outlook and good natural light. Ventilation is vital, for comfort and because electronic equipment can overheat and fail.
• Where. A separate structure in the yard is possible, but most people convert a spare bedroom. If you have clients visiting, a separate entrance for the business feels more professional. You do not want clients walking through the kitchen or tripping over toys.
• Separating work and family life. You want peace and quiet. Plug gaps under doors and around windows, because sound travels through space. Cover the wall nearest the noise with bookshelves, which you will need anyway for samples, brochures, manufacturers’ handbooks and research. Replace a hollow-core internal door with a solid-core one to cut sound dramatically, and fit a decent lock to keep children from your work.
• Work the way you work best. Did you keep everything in one place or spread out over a desk and conference table? Diary or notice board? Did your best ideas come from scribbling on a whiteboard? Do not force yourself into a supposed model of efficiency. Thinking about how you work is also good practice for thinking about your clients’ needs.
• Furniture and image. Spend time and money on decent office furniture. Some ranges have softer, more colourful fabrics that suit a home better than a commercial office, and timber filing cabinets may suit better than drab grey metal. Think about the image you want to project. An attractive, functional home office may decide whether clients use your services.
• Ergonomics. You should be able to put your feet firmly on the ground, your screen should be at or below eye level, and your eyes should be about two to three feet from the monitor.
• Cabling and sockets. If you are renovating or starting from scratch, consider a data cable line in the wall cavity for phone and internet. Plan the number and position of sockets to minimise tangled cords.
• Room to grow. Is there room for an extra desk or two and more storage as the business grows?
• Small spaces. If you cannot give a whole room to the office, use clever screening so you are not constantly looking at your work space after hours. Working at home gives flexible hours, but keep work and home life separate so work does not hang over you.

In the early days you are unlikely to lease space outside your home. If you ever do, talk to your accountant about tax advantages and to your financial adviser to make sure you are not overstretching.

Setting up a business

Tax and money matters

Tax planning is an essential part of running a business and it is not for the faint-hearted or for amateurs. The best advice is to consult a tax accountant, because requirements change from state to state and town to town. Find a good accountant, ideally one who stays with you and handles tax and other business questions, even before you get started. As your business turns a profit you will pay tax, so put that money aside from the start.

Tax deductions

Take tax planning seriously and consult an accountant, who will know what counts as a deduction. Some deductions depend on how you set the business up in the first place, so get expert advice. This course does not cover company structure, which is complicated. If an expense is used partly for business and partly for personal purposes, divide the total cost and deduct only the business part. Similar deductions can apply if you rent space outside the home. General deductions can include:

• Depreciation of fixed assets (there are several ways to do it, so decide when you set up the business)
• Servicing of office equipment
• Motor vehicle expenses, including fuel, mileage and repairs
• Leasing costs for vehicles and office equipment
• Subscriptions to publications and business associations directly related to your work
• Salary paid, which may come later and needs your accountant’s help
• Printing, stationery and postage

Finding clients

You are set up and ready for business. You have gained a lot of knowledge in this course, but nothing beats practical experience. Clients may be individuals who want you to work on their homes, or you can look to the commercial sector: realtors, architects, design stores and interior design companies. To find them you need to market your skills.

Word of mouth

For most professionals, word of mouth is the best way to get commissions. A satisfied client is the best advertisement and will recommend you to friends and associates. Your first client may be a friend or relative. Treat them as professionally as anyone else so they can recommend you with confidence, but if you do not feel comfortable mixing business and friendship, do not do it. Photograph every job you do, however small. A portfolio shows your capabilities to prospects and measures your own progress.

Direct mail

Unless a friend or relative gives you a chance on your first job, you may need to market in other ways before referrals start. Direct mail is any method of reaching your target audience directly.

Advertisements and flyers

We are all bombarded with ads and flyers, so make sure yours does not end up in the bin.

• The headline is the most important part. It is the selling point, and it must grab attention and make people read on. The simplest headlines are most effective, and in a small classified ad you have no room to be anything but concise. Do not try to be clever, because readers will miss the point. A headline grabs attention by offering or promising something, such as “Bathroom Updates” or “How to Smarten up Your Bathroom”. Set it in a bold, simple typeface, as large as the space allows.
• The body should also be simple. Think about your audience: what they like and dislike, their aspirations and worries. Target the ad at them and include one element that makes your service unique. For example: “Sick of your tired old bathroom? Jenniez Designs can help you breathe new life into the space, for less money than you think.”
• What readers want. Something that makes life easier and more pleasant, that makes them feel good about themselves, that projects the right image to friends and colleagues, that makes them comfortable and secure, and helps them feel successful and happy, ideally without spending huge amounts.

Getting the tone right

Tone is the impression you make with your words. In copy for an ad, flyer or introductory letter, you are speaking to one person. Your words are meant to reach the select few who could use your services, so write with one person in mind and use no fancy words you would not use when speaking. You want to impress prospects with your reliability, warmth, honesty and professionalism. As a designer you will be getting very close to people’s lives, so think of the person you would let into your own home: warm, friendly, trustworthy and capable.

• An introductory letter gives you as much space as you need. The same letter can go out whether solicited or not. If an unsolicited reader is not interested, they will not read past the first paragraph, but if they are, they will keep going. Do not be repetitive, but do give detail about your business and services.
• Tell the prospect exactly why they should use you, and give the benefits, the more the better. Work from your strongest points first.
• Describe what you offer, list the benefits and detail special offers, for example a free first consultation if they call before the end of the month. Include a guarantee if you can, and testimonials from satisfied clients.
• Use lots of “you” and “your”. Everyone wants to know what is in it for them and is not interested in “I” or “me”. Keep it simple, clear, concise and logical.

Public relations

You can sell yourself as much as you like, but nothing is as valuable as other people saying good things about you. Happy clients spread the word, and you can reach further through local and regional media. Newspapers and magazines are hungry for material and as keen to publish interesting stories as you are to get free publicity. You need not have done anything monumental to make it into the local press, because editors look for good local stories, so think about how your work fits. The same goes for radio and television. Design trade magazines also look for experts to comment on topics, so put yourself forward. Find journalists’ bylines and contact them directly, since most are happy to make new contacts.

The internet

At some point, consider a website. Since you are promoting good design, it makes sense for the site to be well designed: simple and easy to navigate. You can hire a web designer or use a website template. A website will probably want:

• A compelling homepage, possibly with examples of your work and your logo
• Your biography and the history of your business
• News releases and media comments
• Comments from satisfied clients
• Membership of any professional association
• Photos of your design projects and details of your capabilities
• Frequently asked questions about interior design and your business
• Links to favourite websites, a traffic counter, a privacy statement and a guest register
• Contact details, including a street address

The internet lets you meet prospective clients you might never otherwise have found, beyond your local area. You can communicate electronically, which is often more time-efficient than face-to-face meetings. It raises your profile and puts you ahead of competitors who are not as technology-savvy, and information about your business is out there every hour of every day.

In all business, great communication skills take you a long way, and nowhere more than interior design. You will talk to clients about money, try to talk them out of a fabric choice you know would be a disaster, discuss fairly intimate aspects of their lives, and deal with tradespeople who may think, rightly or wrongly, that they know better than you.