How to Recession Proof Your Interior Design Business

If you make your living as an interior designer or decorator the current economy has got to be hurting your business. When the economy is slow, many people who might otherwise hire an interior designer or decorator are forced to move such a ‘non-essential’ service to the bottom of their priority list. If you haven’t felt the pinch yet, brace yourself as your business could take a drastic nose-dive during an economic recession. Nobody really needs interior design services, especially in have-not times.

There’s also the fact that so many of your days are spent on the business-side of design; negotiating with contractors, waiting for deliveries to arrive, billing, gathering quotes, and so on. This is all time that doesn’t directly generate revenue for your interior design or decorating business, and when client billings are already meager, this can really hurt your financial situation.

 

Maybe you’re one of the many trained interior decorators who have ended up working in retail for a 100% commission. If the economy gets worse and you’re working purely on commission, where does that leave you? Even in good times, if you work for 100% commission you might as well be your own boss and have the freedom to market yourself to new clients rather than being tied to any one store.

 

When I decided to take the reigns of my life back and do something that would allow me to profit from my creativity, I considered a career in interior design. I struggled with that option countless times across a 20 year period when I was unsatisfied in my work. I researched, and even interviewed, many interior design schools in my "former life" but for some reason I never took the step to enroll. I decided with my BA, MBA and a couple decades of experience in business, being in a classroom for two to four years with kids 20 years my junior was not something I wanted to do.

 

Never mind tuition costs and the tremendous loss of income while you’re a student. Then who knows how many years of working experience as a designer or decorator would be needed after graduation to really start earning money. I wanted to unleash my creativity and love for decorating, but I definitely needed to start making money as soon as possible. So, I started my own home staging company.

 

As soon as my business was launched, the money was coming in. Within my second year as a home stager I was making up to $10,000 per month. Compare that to the median annual salary of $36,150 a year for an Interior Designer according to Salary.com this year. I’m very happy I trusted my instincts!

 

If you’re an interior designer or decorator and you aren’t making enough money, consider adding Home Staging to your service mix or switching to a more profitable career as a Home Stager altogether.
 

Here a few ways a home staging business can be more profitable than an interior design business:

 

• As a home stager you get the opportunity to work with different types of people than you would as an interior designer. Generally, only very high income individuals hire interior designers, which limits your target market. Home stagers work mostly with clients in the middle to upper income level which gives you a much larger percentage of the population to market to, and increases the number of projects available for you to work on.

 

• Home stagers enjoy a higher volume of projects than interior designers because each one is so short in nature. One interior design project might take months to complete (especially when you factor in the wait times to have upholstery done, or furniture delivered), but the average home staging project takes only a few hours or days. There’s no way I could have decorated hundreds of homes within a couple of years as a new interior designer, the way I did as a new home stager. With such quick projects, a home stager is able to complete (and get paid for) a significantly higher number of projects per year than an interior designer who often has client work on hold through no fault of their own.

 

• When the economy is slow, people eliminate the non-essentials. Interior design or decorating isn’t really high on the "essential items list" especially when choices need to be made about what to give up, and there’s no real deadline to redecorate or renovate a room. In uncertain times, interior design moves way down on the priority list, while home staging move up. No matter how slow the economy is or how much the real estate market has declined, there will always be people who absolutely have to sell and move by a certain date. Divorce, job relocation, job loss, mounting debts, a death in the family or a birth often get people to put their house on the market even if it isn’t the best time to sell. When a homeowner is desperate to sell their house, a home stager will often be involved since the seller stands to make a handsome profit from their services. When people have less time, less money or less equity in their house, they need a home stager so they can get whatever they can out of the sale of their home! As a home stager, your creativity and talent for decorating will serve you well in slow economic times and slow real estate markets.

 

I especially love the amount of creative freedom I get as a home stager. Because my clients know I’m decorating their home to sell and not for them to live in, I am able to execute my creative vision without their interference or taking their taste into consideration. I can’t imagine wasting hours sitting with a client who can’t decide which color they want for their bathroom, or which fabric to pick for their drapes. My clients don’t care what I choose as long as their house will sell quicker because of it. Besides that, my home staging business is extremely profitable which every entrepreneur wants.

 

If your interior design business isn’t doing as well as you hoped, it’s not too late to make a change towards living a more creatively fulfilling career that is also more profitable. Do some research into the home staging field. It’s a career that is virtually "recession-proof".


 

by Debra Gould
Image by StockSource

 

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with 900+ Graduates worldwide. She is the author of Staging Diva Ultimate Color Guide: the easy way to pick colors for home staging projects, and Staging Diva Ultimate Guide: Creating The Perfect Portfolio to Sell Your Home Staging Services. Debra also offers a Directory of Home Stagers to help homeowners and real estate agents locate home stagers who will decorate homes to sell quickly and for top dollar. To learn more visit http://www.stagindiva.com/

Designer, Decorator, Staging or Redesign: Explaining What you Do to Your Clients

Interior Design vs Interior Decorating vs Home Staging vs Interior Redesign – What’s the Difference?

The other day a real estate agent whose listings I stage for sale introduced me to someone as a “designer”. I didn’t want to take the time to correct him, but I thought to myself, “This isn’t the first time I’ve heard people use ‘designer’ erroneously. It’s often used to label someone who’s an interior decorator. So, why does everyone lump us all in one category, when we all clearly do something different?”


To put the differences succinctly:


Interior Design involves, among many other things, the preparation of documents often by a licensed professional for the construction of an interior space such as plans and elevations, and details and specifications, including lighting, power and communication locations, materials and finishes, and furniture layouts. Interior Decorating involves the adornment of surfaces in the interior space, such as fabrics, wall coverings, furniture, decorative accessories, flooring, light fixtures etc., and takes into account the lifestyle, taste, needs and preferences of the user of the space. While interior designers may decorate, interior decorators don’t design. Home Staging is preparing the home for sale through updates and “decorating” so that it appeals to the broadest range of buyers for the market that the home is in. Interior Redesign is often done by home stagers for homeowners not currently selling because it employs many of the same principles that home stagers use, such as primarily using what furniture and decorative accessories the homeowner already has, with an eye towards the future sale of the home.


Now, let’s explore each one more in-depth.


Interior Design


According to the National Council for Interior Design Qualifications (NCIDQ):


Interior design is a multi-faceted profession in which creative and technical solutions are applied within a structure to achieve a built interior environment. These solutions are functional, enhance the quality of life and culture of the occupants and are aesthetically attractive. Designs are created in response to and coordinated with thebuilding shell and acknowledge the physical location and social context of the project. Designs must adhere to code and regulatory requirements, and encourage the principles of environmental sustainability. The interior design process follows a systematic and coordinated methodology, including research, analysis and integration of knowledge into the creative process, whereby the needs and resources of the client are satisfied to produce an interior space that fulfills the project goals.



The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the leading organization for interior design professionals. Certain levels of its members must meet certain education, work experience and examination requirements administered by the NCIDQ. Further, some states have licensing requirements for interior designers which include the passage of this exam. ASID also has continuing education requirements for its members.


Interior Decorating


No wonder people often confuse Interior Decorating with Interior Design. Even I had trouble finding a definition for Interior Decorating. Often it said “see interior design”.


Perhaps its best to understand interior decorating as it exists in contrast to interior design:


An interior decorator would select floor coverings based upon the tastes and lifestyle of the client, whereas the interior designer would take it a step further and look at usage, sound transference, flammability, etc. An interior decorator would select lighting fixtures, whereas the interior designer would plan for the location of lighting and ensure that it is in compliance with building and safety codes. An interior decorator does not need to have any formal education and/or work experience, testing or licensing, whereas an interior designer does.


Home Staging



Home staging is the art and science of preparing a home for sale so that it appeals to the broadest range of buyers in order to sell quickly and for top dollar. The objective is to make the potential buyer fall in love with the home, envision themselves living there and aspire to the lifestyle the home portrays.


According to the Real Estate Staging Association’s Consumer’s Guide to Home Staging, it is a “systematic and coordinated methodology in which knowledge of real estate, home renovations and creative design principles are applied to attract a buyer.”


Home staging involves any or all of the following:


Evaluating what furniture and decorative accessories (throw pillows, artwork, decorative objects, lamps, knickknacks, etc.) the owner has, and:


- eliminating some of the furniture and/or decorative accessories, otherwise known as decluttering as well as depersonalizing (removal of family photos, trophies, collections etc. so the buyer can envision living there)



- arranging the furniture and accessories for optimal placement to enhance flow (the ability to walk freely through the room), focal point enhancement (e.g., emphasizing a fireplace or a beautiful view), balance (are there too many or too large pieces in the bookcase or on only one side of the room?) and the positive aspects of the home while downplaying the negatives



Carefully selecting for purchase or rent, if necessary, the appropriate furniture and accessories for the style of the home and it’s market. Recommending, implementing and/or arranging for enhancements, updates and repairs such as painting, flooring, sink fixtures, lighting fixtures, window treatments, landscaping, etc.


Interior Redesign


As stated above, interior redesign is like home staging, however it enhances the home for the homeowners rather than for potential buyers. And it does so with an eye towards its future sale. It is like home staging in that it primarily uses the client’s existing furniture and decorative accessories to transform the space, and may also involve the purchase of additional furniture and accessories as well as updates to the wall colors, window treatments, lighting fixtures etc.


Summary


To summarize the differences:


Interior Design involves the planning of all aspects of interior space often by a licensed professional. Interior Decorating involves the adornment of surfaces in the interior space. Interior designers may decorate, but interior decorators don’t design. Home Staging is preparing the home for sale through updates and showcasing so that it appeals to the broadest range of buyers for the market that the home is in. Interior Redesign employs many of the same principles that home stagers use, such as primarily using what furniture and decorative accessories the homeowner already has, with an eye towards the future sale of the home.

Courtesy of  Promua/www.promua.com

Fix & Flip Network Launches New Website

New Site Features Thousands of Home Improvement Videos and Enhanced Interactive Map System to Help Homeowners & Home Buyers Find Local Resources.

Milwaukee, WI (Vocus) --National Fix and Flip Network, the leading online information resource for homebuyers, homeowners, suppliers, and real estate investors, launched its new website (http://www.fixandflipnetwork.com) today making it even easier for users to access, find, and share a wealth of home improvement tips and information.

“The site has grown tremendously over the past year, and our new design reflects and supports that continued trend. ” notes Vice President, National Fix & Flip Network, Eric Dale. “The new website allows us to provide a broad range of interactive content to anyone interested in buying, selling, or fixing real estate. Our site now includes discussion forums as well as links to our communities on popular social networks such as; Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/fixnflipnetwork), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/fixnflipnetwork), and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/fixnflipnetwork), where our audience can interact, share articles, discuss ideas, and meet other homeowners or suppliers. ”


Some of the exciting new features and information now available at http://www.fixandflipnetwork.com include:



• Thousands of how-to and home improvement tips videos including the “HOMEwork” (http://fixandflipnetwork.com/homework/) Show



• Interactive map and search system to help users find homes for sale, foreclosure listings, rental properties, mortgage lenders, real estate agents, or contractors within 1 mile of desired location



• Daily tips and articles on do-it-yourself improvements, repairs, decorating, financing, and more



• Targeted directory listings available to contractors and suppliers that put their message and service in front of hundreds of thousands of site members



• Newsletter full of articles, tips, and advice



• “Fix-it” forums and discussion boards including a classified ad section for members



• Contests – including Fix & Flip’s $150,000 “Fix for Free” Giveaway and the $50,000 “Fix My Ugly Room” Contest, many others are added regularly
The new website also includes discounts, coupons, and special offers for anything related to home buying, investing, or improvement. There is also a section featuring entertaining online games.



About National Fix & Flip Network

National Fix and Flip Network is the leading information resource for homebuyers, homeowners, suppliers, and real estate investors. The website features instant access to real estate news, home improvement tips, articles, how-to guides, discounts, contests, sweepstakes, success stories, and thousands of do-it-yourself videos. Homeowners, Real Estate Agents, and service providers can easily search our nationwide listings of agents, classifieds, building suppliers, available properties, mortgage lenders, events, and more. The National Fix & Flip Network is a "one-stop" shop that helps you "do your homework" and buy like the pros! For more information visit: http://www.fixandflipnetwork.com.