Interior Decorator Business: Answers to all your questions!

You want to train decorator ? You could be for Create your business And to undertake this adventure? Only here, land a multitude of requests. You are inside Professional redevelopment ? You must therefore ask Company surveys TO professionals… despite your requests, decorative professionals do not answer you … I myself are very often contacted to answer your questions. Like many professionals of the profession, I miss the time to respond to all requests individually. Why respond to Karen and leave Laëtitia on the sidelines? It’s not right! It was then that I had the idea of ​​writing a blog article to respond to Your questions about the profession of the decorator. Happy reading to you!

Start your furniture business

What are the most important skills and knowledge to practice the profession of the decorator?

In my opinion, here is the Skills and quality which will be essential for you in yours Interior decorator activities :

• Ability to manage a project

• Good listening skills

But above all, you will exercise the entrepreneurial. To do this: autonomy, availability, perseverance, sense of communication and decision will be part of yours Best qualities.

I will not list the list of actions to do. But to summarize, I would say this: «I dare talk about your decorator activity». It’s up to you to see how you are more comfortable and in line to talk about your business. I also invite you to discover this article (article published early) : Interior decoration: why use digital communication to develop your business?

Which insurance should we contract?

To answer this question, you must take into account the type of services you will offer to your customers. I recommend the Karine Mazeau’s book: its decoration begins. In this book, the author dedicates an entire chapter on Choice of professional insurance.

For my part, I have an activity of advice in design and decoration. I do not work or monitor the site with my customers. I enrolled in the professional civil liability insurance (RC Pro). I called an insurance intermediation company when I created my business to be better supported in choosing my insurance.

Which approximate remuneration can we claim in startup?

There he is «The question» about remuneration … first of all, you have to consider, as soon as you create your business, you do not have the status of employee (except in some cases of the company). Therefore, you do not have a fixed salary at the end of each month, no paid leave or cure of tickets for the mutual restaurant, provident …

Your remuneration, in your beginnings or after several years, will depend only on you and your actions to find customers. Without a customer, no remuneration! In addition, you are now an entrepreneur, you have to keep in mind that the (turnover) Caled does not correspond to your remuneration. You must also take into account your various charges, URSSAF contributions, taxes …

To help you on this topic of remuneration, I recommend you again Karine Mazeau’s book: its decoration begins. Chapter 3 will be of great use to determine the prices of your services and therefore be able to generate your turnover and finally the desired remuneration.

For my part, I made the choice during my first accounting exercise not to pay me and continue to perceive my unemployment benefits. This allowed me to build a money. I will specify that I am not in micro-impasse but in the company (Sarl Breaths & Decora).

To prepare yourself better for the decorator, I think you must be aware that not only you will be a decorator. In fact, from the moment you dare to start creating your business, you will have different hats:

• Commercial : To find your customers, improve your offers
• Accountant / administrative : Management of quotes, invoices, VAT …
• Community manager : Marketing and communication management
• Web designer : Website management
• Corporate director : Management of your daily activity
• Decorator

Exercise the profession of interior decorator

How many hours do you work per week?

It all depends on the weeks, current projects and what I have defined upstream for my business. It is not easy to answer this question because each entrepreneur will have defined different objectives and a different level of remuneration.

Sometimes some entrepreneurs carry out their decorator activity in complementary activity. This is my case. I made this choice because it adapts to me. On the other hand, it is very useful for me to know the time I spend to work for my company. For this, I use a time tracker. This small tool also helps me to discover the time spent on my different projects. This is the tool in question: Toggl Time Tracker.

What software do you use?

Here is a list of software that I use in my daily decorator:

• Canva pro
• Sketchup Pro
• Koikaza
• Billing / accounting software : Quicksbooks (marketing stopped in France by the end of 2023); So I’m looking for a new software
• Active campaign
• Tail wind (for my decoration blogger activity)

I describe my software more precisely in this article: Interior decoration: why use digital communication to develop your business? (The article will be online very early)

What are the main requests of your customers?

When I started my business, I had requests from customers I wouldn’t have thought about. For example, my first customers called mine Breature & Decoration Agency For advice for the choice of curtains for their living room. Knowing that they had very different types of openings and that they were looking for harmony (BOA window, window support, window). This special request led me to create a «special» service to satisfy this need: it is the Decorative adviceservice that I still offer today.

To date and after 1 year and a half of activities, sometimes refusal some very specific requests. In fact, I defined two types of services for my business. Requests that do not adapt to the framework of my services at all are not accepted.

As you can understand, I have evolved my services based on the development of my business. Things are never frozen. It’s up to you to be in tune with your services. It is also important to know how to say no when you are not aligned with customers’ demand.

From my point of view (And this is only my point of view, we must not forget that we are all different and that we all have different visions)The main bond is the Constant research of customers To be successful to live from his furniture activity. I don’t have a commercial profile and it is for me the aspect of the profession that I find the most restrictive.

Knowing my weaknesses, I made the choice to practice my profession as a decorator in complementary activity. To be able to manage my two activities (employees and entrepreneurial activities), army a job for employees with modular hours. This allows me to be able to manage my customers for campers during the week and not just the evening or Saturday. Therefore, I can reconcile a good balance between my professional life and my personal life.

What advice could you give me to exercise this job as a decorator?

At a time when I write this article, I am still a beginner in the profession. However, here are my tips after 1 and a half years of activity:

• Determine your strengths and weaknesses and do not hesitate to work on these two aspects
• Prepare to be patient at the beginning, at the time to develop your network and your business
• Believe in you and your project
• Make sure to surround yourself well and do not hesitate to delegate
• Pay attention to the council of those around you. Remember that your loved ones project their fears about you!

Advantages and disadvantages of the profession of the decorator

Benefits

In my opinion, here are the main advantages of the profession:

• be able to express your creativity
• passion
• Live the entrepreneurial adventure
• Create unique and personalized projects
• be able to help your customers, which is a source of satisfaction
• Thanks to you, people feel better at home

Disadvantages

Among the disadvantages, I will say:

• work alone at home
• Working only: all administrative management takes time (customer reminder, unpaid invoices, etc.)
• The aspect of the passion of the profession that can generate difficulties in making cuts
• Balances professional life / personal life can be difficult to find
• The perspective continues to find new customers (In our profession, we do not sign a monthly contract with our customers as in certain professions)
• Constant requests for loved ones for their project, in free mode … And yes, our business affects many people because everyone has a habitat! (Small passage tips: never work for free!)

To conclude

In this article, I answered the first part of the questions that are asked regularly. The article is already long enough, I prepared an additional article in which I share my feedback from you. You can find all my articles at the work of the decorator in the category «Entrepreunariat».

I also recommend reading the article written by my young interior Victoria: A week of internship in the interior decoration: unrolled and felt. Do not hesitate to leave your comments and share the article