The Interior Design Business Handbook: A Complete Guide to Profitability

thank you

Really great 'bible' for a beginner interior designer. Lots of wise advice. Although I am in NZ this reference book still has a large amount of relevance.

This is a thorough and clearly written guide to beginning and running an interior design business. The chapters cover and are entitled: 1. Finding Your Place in Interior Design 2. Starting or Changing Your Business Type or Structure 3. Planning for Profit and Growth 4. Setting Up a Design Studio 5. The Design Team 6. Business Development 7. Charging for Your Services 8. Succeeding in Project Management 9. Working with Sources and Contractors 10. Managing Your Office 11. Managing and Securing Your Financial Position 12. Growing Your Firm and Your Professional Skills The author also speaks to the personality of designers and qualities that would help their effectiveness in different aspects of the design business. The book also contains several sample ASID contracts. There are also templates for project managements sheets, budget sheets and sample invoices. In the back of the book is a comprehensive list of schools, by state, for studying design, professional associations, and a thorough glossary for terms used in the book. My only criticism is that because this is a book aimed at the visually-inclined, the book's design could have been a little more colorful and creative - perhaps with some illustrations. That said, this 549-page tome is a good, straightforward guide to the business.

Detailed and comprehensive text on ID profitability.

This book pretty much covers everything you need to run an interior design business. I currently am not in the interior design business but was thinking of getting into the business. This book starts with what kind of interior design do you want to focus on. Then it goes into hiring your team and then leads into marketing and business development. The section on project management is good too. I think the only section that probably needs more detail is the managing your finances section. That is probably another topic for another book. There are also quite a # of useful templates that you can use or at last get ideas from. Overall this is a great book for someone looking to get into interior design or for someone already in the business.