The Details About the Interior Design Business Most People Overlook

If you're working toward running your own interior design business, there are things nobody really prepares you for until you're already in it. Not the design part, the business part. How you charge, how you work, and how you think about your own value. Here are three things that make a real difference once you know them.

There are multiple ways to charge

This is one of the most misunderstood parts of running a design business. Some designers charge per square foot. Some charge a percentage of the total project cost. Some charge hourly. Some use package rates, estimating time and scope upfront. And some charge purely through markup on purchasing.

Here's what I actually believe: you should be crossing over into different methods on the same project. In my firm, we typically used a project fee broken into sub-areas, separate fees for project management and purchasing, plus a markup on what we bought. That blend kept us clear, profitable, and organized.

The important thing is to know internally what you're charging for, even if the client never sees the breakdown. Design ideation, drawings, sourcing, project management, these are different kinds of work, and they shouldn't all be lumped into one vague number.

And please, don't let a client tell you that you're doing it wrong or that nobody does it this way. Every market, every firm, every project is different. There is no one correct method. It's your business.

Most interior design work can be done virtually

People assume this career requires constant in-person visits. It really doesn't.

My company was a national commercial firm, and virtual coordination was completely normal. Measurements, photos, video walkthroughs, drawings, and finish selections, most of the real work happens remotely. If you do need to travel, that's fine, just make sure it's built into your pricing so you're not absorbing that cost yourself.

You will always be somebody's expert

This one is simple, but it changes everything. Yes, there are other designers. Yes, other people can do similar work, but nobody does it exactly like you, your taste, your process, your point of view, your way of solving problems. The faster you get confident in that, the faster you'll charge what you're worth and attract clients who want to hire you specifically.

If you're building the foundation actually to turn this into a career, the Degree-less Design Crash Course is where to start. And if you want to understand how to structure your fees and manage a project from start to finish, the Complete Workflow Guide on the site gives you a real behind-the-scenes look at how a professional firm actually runs.

XO

Shira