How Do Interior Designers Become Rich?

How do Interior Designers become Rich?

While starting a career as an interior designer, many think of becoming the best professional in the country. We all do! There’s no harm in dreaming, but dreams can become a reason for stress if you do not work in the right direction.

And when one follows their passion, money is bound to follow suit. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary an interior designer draws is $57,060 per year or $27.43 per hour. Is it enough?

How do interior designers become rich? That is the question we will answer today. Our discussion will revolve around the things you need to do to make it big in the interior design industry. Sounds exciting? Well, let’s get to it then.

Read also – How Much Do Interior Designers Make?

People leverage their talents and display them on the internet to earn money through these forums. Social media networking platforms are free to access, and you can use them to share your designs and ideas to get attention. 

As an interior decorator, using social media might not lead to direct employment but you can start by building your audience and then monetize it to earn money.

You need to show your skills, designs, and talent to get the viewers. As your followership on social media platforms grows, you will start getting more referrals, customers, leads, and conversions. 

Working on social media for better business is a process. Be patient and keep hustling to get the intended response.

Read also – How To Start An Interior Design Business?

Image Credit: searchenginejournal.com

You are in a customer-oriented industry. Here you need to make sure that more people know about what you do, how you do that, and how your work will benefit the customer. 

One of the ways to get in front of your customers is by joining community platforms. Being a part of these online communities, you will understand your customer’s requirements and opinions.

As you build an understanding of your customers, you can provide them with the required services. Interacting with the community via answering their queries, and sharing how-to(s), tips, and other content will further help you build a reputation with the audience. As more people know you and your work, you will be on their list whenever they need an interior designer or need to refer one to their friends.

Read also – 7 Best Interior Design Communities

Image Credit: ezoic.com

One of the oldest money-making tricks in the diary is saving money to make more money. How do interior designers become rich with this method?

If you regularly buy from a specific vendor, distributor, or supplier, you can negotiate a discount on the purchased items. The discounted price is called “dealer pricing.”

The difference between this dealer price and the seller price may not be huge, but it’s a start you need to make quick money. Another way to leverage this arrangement is negotiating an annual refund based on a particular amount of sales.

This way, your supplier will be confident that you will be buying from them for at least a year if you do it this way. Once you’ve reached an agreement, you can offer the things to your consumers at full price and keep the difference.

Read also – 10 Best Pricing Strategies for Interior Designers

Image Credit: gwm-global.com

Have you ever thought about why a cardiologist has a higher annual salary than a general physician? This is because a cardiologist has learned more about the heart than any other doctor.

Similarly, if you start specializing in one of the areas related to interior design, you can make more money. Becoming an expert in one domain is one of the ways to increase your interior designer salary.

You can become an expert in interior architecture, corporate designing, hotel interior design, commercial space designing, home design, or any field of your niche. Going even further, you can start billing yourself as an expert, a mid-century modern designer, or an eclectic chic designer.

In other words, there are several areas of specialization, and this will help you build your brand around a specific category. This specification gets you more money and hype.

Image Credit: smallbizclub.com

When your client has hired you for a job, they trust your judgment and styling preferences. Leveraging that trust, you can recommend some add-ons to your clients that will bode well with the design.

For instance, you can ask them to add extra storage space in the kitchen or bathroom or install a closet in the kitchen. You will benefit from additional sales, and if the client says no, then there’s no harm in it, you are still getting the stipulated money.

To quote the right price, you can check out the prices of the products from home-decor-specific platforms.

Read also – Benefits of Hiring An Interior Designer

Image Credit: readytrainingonline.com

Creating your blog and sharing your insights with the readers is also a good way to make more money. But how to make money as an interior designer by running a blog? As you start writing to build your blog, you will garner attention from your readers, and the blog will become a way for them to discover your ideas and thought processes.

Yes, not every prospective client will read your blog; that’s why you must use social media to share your blogs and increase the number of visitors. Besides more readers, popular blogs also earn revenue with online advertisements. So, you can rent out ad space in your blog to earn money from other businesses.

Read also – How To Make Money On Etsy As An Interior Designer?

Happy customers are always good for business, and another solution to how do interior designers become rich. However, shaking hands and bidding farewell to that pleased customer should not be your last interaction with them. 

Instead, send them follow-up emails a few weeks or months later to see how things are going and whether they’re still happy with the outcomes.

Keeping in touch with satisfied clients ensures that they will remember you when a friend decides to redecorate their home. They won’t forget about you when they start working on their tasks.

However, do not stalk your clients as it amounts to bad PR. A couple of casual emails, a Christmas follow-up email, or a greeting card works well.

Read also – 15 Ways To Improve Customer Service for Interior Design Business

Image Credit: coxblue.com

You cannot build a giant wall by laying all the bricks at once. The right way is to lay every brick as perfectly as possible and then move to the second one. Similarly, start with small projects when you want to build your interior design career.

Famous interior designer Vicente Wolf’s first job was working in a living room. Today, his name comes in the 10 best influential designers list, and his interior design services are highly demanded. 

Do not let go of the small projects to wait for a big opportunity to knock at your door. Instead, start working, building client relationships, getting referrals, and moving forward in the industry.

Read also – Which Interior Design Jobs Have The Best Pay?

Image Credit: unsplash.com

New business owners offer freebies to attract customers. In your domain, you might be offering “free consultation.” This is good and relevant, seeing that you want to build your reputation in the market.

But as you move forward and have more projects in the bag, stop giving freebies and start charging for them.

Initial consultations usually last an hour, and if they’re held at the client’s home, they’re likely trying to get some free advice.

Why shouldn’t you charge for your time spent offering guidance on their upcoming job, be it a commercial interior project or residential? If you insist on providing free consultations, keep them short.

Read also – 12 Expert Tips To Get New Clients For Your Interior Design Business

Image Credit: thehindu.com

Working at a design firm or for a busy interior designer is the quickest method to gain practical experience.

It could be an internship, an assistant role, or an administrative post to begin with, but seize the opportunity to learn and advance. You’ll understand how the firm operates, which suppliers interact with the industry, and the key rules and processes, which will help you start your own business and become a successful interior designer.

Read also – 10 Different Types of Interior Design Jobs with Salary Info

Image Credit: lakecountyil.gov

Social media, website, blogging, etc., all some ways you can use to build your business. Besides these, you must also leverage the software and solutions developed to help interior designers specifically.

For instance, you can use design software like Autocad or Foyr to create designs besides just using pen and paper. In addition to this, there are a series of tools you can employ to run a successful interior design business. 

Software like Foyr helps you build 3D floor plans offering a complete and immersive user experience. Using a digital solution is the fastest way to create a visual representation of the design and show them to your clients before starting with the actual work.

Read also – 15 Best Free Interior Design Software and Tools

Image Credit: bigthink.com

How you communicate with your clients and express your ideas makes a huge difference in growing the business. If your existing sales pitches are not working, learn new selling strategies or analyze what isn’t working in your sales process and make changes if you’re having trouble landing the eagle.

Ensure that your customers understand your perspective. More importantly, make sure that you are well aware of your thoughts while explaining them to the client.

If the customer can see how their space will appear after you’ve outlined what has to be done and you’re inside their budget, you are more likely to get the work.

Read also – How To Get More Sales Qualified Leads For Your Interior Business?

Image Credit: franchetti.com

Again, you are in a customer-oriented market. The more you network, the better business you’ll get. Plus, as a business owner, your prerogative is to be active on social media and visit various events and conferences.

The purpose is to meet more people. As you meet new prospectives, always have your business card and contact information ready and hand them out to new acquaintances.

Building a network lets you contact professionals in adjacent fields such as architects, lighting designers, and suppliers. For client projects, many architects select or promote favoured designers, and this helps you move ahead in the career path.

Read also – 10 Powerful Networking Tips for Interior Designers

Image Credit: entrepreneur.com

A portfolio can start with a simple website containing sketches or photographs of your work, even if it’s just a room from your apartment.

Don’t miss any chance to show your work to a client. Your clients need to see proof that you can do the job they require. So, your portfolio containing your designs and past work is one of the best ways to get more work.

Read also – How To Create A Successful Interior Design Portfolio?

Image Credit: pinterest.com

Your clients expect to get the best service and the latest designs in their homes. They will expect you to stay updated with the industry news, trends and changes.

How do interior designers become rich? By following trends. Besides staying updated with these aspects, you can also improve your networking skills and use the latest technological tools for better outcomes.

Following the above solutions, you can make a lot of money as an interior designer, and your journey from plinth to paramount will become more enjoyable and shorter. However, every interior designer has access to the same tools, clients, market, vendors, and the like. But how they harness each of these elements decides the future.

Read also – 23 Best Ways To Market Yourself As An Interior Designer

Image Credit: aspiremetro.com

Building your interior design business is a process. It takes time, effort, and the right skills to build a business. For interior designers wanting to know how do interior designers become rich, the 15 points given above will help you work in the right direction.

You may have brilliant ideas and concepts to design a home, office, or hotel, but it may not work if you don’t have the right audience. 

A well-off interior designer was also a beginner in the industry at some point. All you need is to work in the right direction and take one step at a time.