The Interior Design Bussiness Handbook: A Complete Guide to Profitability

Abstract

Design creates change. Designers are therefore leaders in the progress of the world. But being a leader has challenges of its own. Today’s designers are under great pressure to perform at a high level, often faster than ever before. This means de- signers’ business procedures must complement their creativity. These procedures are key to our success—whether in developing products or services or in communicating with clients. When we use the right procedures, the business portion of our organizations can complement the creative process beautifully. We deal with business issues every day. We engage in business development when we seek new clients. We deal with finance every time we handle money. We sign contracts and letters of agreement, address personnel issues, and seek out new resources. We cope with masses of paperwork, including specifications and orders. To stay in business, we have to understand business. We don’t have to earn busi- ness degrees or be personally capable of performing every business function, but we do have to be able to talk with and understand the people who are specialists in these fields. We must relate to other industries, including the financial and legal entities that are part of the business world. A good, basic understanding of specific business functions is necessary for every staff member, not just the person running the design company.