Interior Designing Business

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Tips for Building a Portfolio for Interior Designing Jobs

Building a Portfolio

Ask Friend or family to let you design a room in their house, and take pictures of your work for the portfolio.
Get your friends and family to write letters of recommendation for you or list themselves as references.
A leather binder, or photo album can be used to hold all of this information until you have better resources.
If you have them, copies of your credentials should be placed at the front of your portfolio to assure your future clients that you are qualified.
Put your best work forward. Do not show any work that you are not proud to have done.

There are of Course a couple of items that Interior designers always have on hand at all times. These are rather necessary, even if you are just starting out or want to get started.

Here is a list of some of the things that will be invaluable to you as you start your own Interior Design business. They are simply ways of helping you know what to do to get a possible client base.

Sell yourself: You will want to sell the public on your services and abilities. Do as much promotion as you can. Go everywhere that you can think of that hosts design events, and set yourself up as a contender.

Mingle: Try to meet as many different types of people as possible. Go to golf and country clubs with a load of business cards on hand. Be sure to have your portfolio on hand in case you get any bites. Go to all of the popular events in your area and start talking to people.

Establish your Position: You want to ensure that you can let your community know that you are out there. Handing out flyers, offering special discounts or free services to your neighbors can let the people get a sample of your work. It is a good way to get your neighbors to spread the word.

Build your Clientele: I cannot express too much, the importance of approaching homeowners and businessmen with your ideas for refurbishing their spaces.

Quick Tips on Pricing your Services

Every Interior Designer has to learn how to price their services. You have to do this so that you can give proper estimates to your clients. This will be invaluable to you as a service provider.

Many people find this to be a very difficult process because they don't want to over price their clients, nor do they want to lose money on the deal. This can be very frustrating and stressful. However, if you know how to break down the costs it

gets a lot easier, and helps you break it down to the client so that they are comfortable.

Since every job is different, every invoice will be different as well. There are different types of invoices that you should have. They each require a different layout and outline. This makes it easier to break down later for calculating the costs.

Costs and Labor: This type of invoice is for designers that have to hire outside contractors to help with the work. (usually when you need to hire people to do drywall for construction work etc)
Costs: This type of invoice is generally just for the costs of the extra furniture and accessories or lighting fixtures that are needed. It also covers the agreed upon extras like paint and wallpaper.
General: This is the type of invoice that only covers your prices as the designer. It deals with the work that you do alone. This invoice is always included with one of the others.

When trying to decide how to put a value to your services alone, that is pretty much up to you. It is best not to price yourself too high in the beginning because you are not a bankable name yet.

Next: Places Where you can Find Work

Interior Design - What does it take?

What does it take to be a Interior Designer?

Different Types of Interior Designers

How do I Choose a Specialty?

Is Interior Designing Right for Me?

How much Money can I expect to earn?

How to Start your Interior Design Business?

Tips to Building your Portfolio

Places where you can find Work

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