How to Become an Interior Decorator While Still in School

Back when I was an aspiring interior decorator, there was nothing more exciting and terrifying to me than the thought of starting my very own business. The thing was, I didn’t know how to become an interior decorator and start a business while I was still a student. Moreover, I didn’t know if it even made sense to start my own business before I’d completed my certification training…

Starting an interior decorating business entails multi-managing various facets. You need to consider finances and funding, sales and marketing, and legalities and staffing. But don’t panic! The good news is, you don’t need to be an expert in all of these areas in order to get the ball rolling.

Knowing when and what to delegate is a good place to start. This way, you can focus your energy on building a solid foundation for your business’s success. So, if you want to become an interior decorator and start a business of your very own, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to wait!

When you dream of becoming an interior decorator, you likely dream of working for yourself. After all, who doesn’t want to be able to create their own hours, or take vacation time whenever they’d like? But to get to the point where you can create your own hours and schedule, you’ll first need to put in the time to properly nurture your business.

Think of it this way: your business is a newborn baby. Newborn babies require a LOT of time, attention, devotion, and love. In some instances, they even require round-the-clock care. Your newborn baby (a.k.a. your interior decorator business) will require your stamina. Moreover, it’ll rely on your ability to multi-task and be pulled in many directions. You’ll need to have thick skin hear and be prepared to hear “no” often.

Interior decorators are creative individuals. Yet too often, this creativity is lost when choosing a business name. Many interior decorators choose to name their businesses after themselves. This isn’t always the best strategy, and here’s why: before naming your business, you should be considering your exit strategy.

(I know, that sounds odd, right? Thinking about your exit strategy before you’ve even launched your business? I get it!)

But here’s why I recommend this: it’s important to think about what you want to have happen with your business whenever the day comes that you’re done with it. For example, will you want to sell it? If you think you would, now you need to ask yourself this: how likely is it that someone will want to buy a business with your name attached to it? Could they run into any legal issues with that?

Instead, the better option is to come up with a business name that speaks to the creativity this industry offers. If you struggle with this, consider:

If you want to know how to become an interior decorator and actually be successful, you’re going to want to know how to create partnerships. Networking will be one of your very BEST friends throughout your career! So, research into this. Learn about the many ways you can develop partnerships with suppliers, contractors, and other vendors. Moreover, figure out how you can do this in a way that promotes a mutually beneficial relationship.

Just make sure that you go into every partnership fully prepared! It’s not uncommon for an interior decorator to be taken advantage of by contractors. You might run into one or two shady contractors who only try to use you in order to gain more clients. Ultimately, our plans are just plans without our suppliers and/or vendors. And if we’re not careful, this could lead to one-sided relationships.

The best way to avoid this is by ensuring that you outline the expectations at the onset of the partnership. This way, both parties will fully understand what is expected, as well as what both businesses should be bringing to the table.

It’s never too soon to find an industry mentor. A mentor is someone who is willing to take you under their wing and show you the ropes. They’ll act as an accountability partner and/or give you guidance as you navigate this new journey. After all, the best way to learn how to become an interior decorator is to shadow someone who already IS one!

The single greatest piece of advice I can give you is this: if you want to know how to become an interior decorator, the very FIRST step to take is to get professionally trained and certified.

By building your skill-set and experience through QC Design School, you’re setting your future business up for long-term success. From there, you can use any or all of the above tips to actually start the foundation of your business while completing your training!

Already graduated from your certification course, but still want a bit more guidance before officially launching your business? Then I recommend checking out QC’s Accelerate Your Business program! This 5-unit course is designed to help you build your business acumen. As a result, you’ll better understand how to build your interior decorating business and become a successful interior decorator.