40 Pros & Cons Of Starting An Interior Designing Business (2024)

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a interior designing business costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 35,923.

Rewarding work

Starting a interior designing business can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Interior Designing Businesses have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Control of workload

With starting an interior designing business, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you.

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Unlimited income potential

With starting an interior designing business there is no cap as to how much income you can make. The stronger your business skills and the more energy/time you put into your career, the more you'll make.

Daily physical activity

Interior Designing Business's typically involve a much greater degree of movement than other lines of work. Most days, you will spend your day walking, running errands for your business, and performing a multitude of tasks. This can have a positive impact on energy levels and your overall health.

You are your own boss!

With starting an interior designing business, you are the one to make decisions for almost all of the operations. Calling the shots can be empowering and liberating!

Local Community

One of the best parts of starting an interior designing business is that you can develop a local following by selling your products at craft shows, farmers' markets, or even local storefront businesses! This gives you access to additional revenue streams and loyal customers.

Predictable income stream

Your businesses income stream tends to be predictable based on the number of customers you have signed up. This makes financial planning and outlooks much more seamless!

Higher likelihood of getting referrals

This business is all about referrals, which can be a a very impactful way to attract and retain customers. It's critical that you have a great referral program in place that incentivizes your customers to tell their friends about your product.

Face to face interaction

If you are the type of individual that thrives on human interaction, then this is the business for you! With a interior designing business, you will be hands-on with customers and or employees every day.

Simple business model

A interior designing business has the advantage of a simple business model, which makes launching and building the business more seamless.

Greater Income Potential

With this business, the sky is the limit in regards to your income potential.

You get to do something you truly love

With starting a interior designing business, you get to put your energy into something you are truly passionate about! You'll find yourself devoting as much time and energy as possible into the business to make it successful.

You can decide who you work with

Gone are the days of working in a toxic work environment with employees that you may not vibe with. As a small business owner, you get to decide who you work and surround yourself with.

Strong Demand & Relatively Recession Proof

The demand for interior designing business is increasing year over year and the business is known to be relatively recession proof.

High Hourly Pay Rates

On average, the hourly pay rates are high for your interior designing business - which means quality of clients is often superior to quantity of clients.

You establish yourself as an expert

With starting an interior designing business, you establish yourself as an expert in your niche, which builds your credibility. In return, customers are more likely to trust you and refer you to other friends and family.

Can build solid foundation of clients

It's unlikely you will have one-off customers as a interior designing business. Typically, you have a solid foundation of clients that use your product and services regularly.

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A interior designing business can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Work can be inconsistent

As a interior designing business, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Lack of benefits

With a interior designing business, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

Taxes

As a interior designing business, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

No safety net

Typically, as a interior designing business, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

Stressful work

This line of work can be stressful for both you and your clients. This type of transaction is a significant financial decision for your client, so expectations are very high for you. Although this career path can be very rewarding, it also comes with its challenges and stressful moments.

Work can be repetitive

You may find creating the same product over and over repetitive and tiresome. One way of avoiding this is to diversify product lines and revenue streams - this will keep things interesting!

Time commitment

With starting an interior designing business, all responsibilities and decisions are in your hands. Although this is not necessarily a negative thing, work life can take over at times. This can place a strain on friends and family and add to the pressure of launching a new business.

Be prepared to get out of your comfort zone!

Although this is exciting for some entrepreneurs, it can be a big challenge for others! You may find yourself in uncomfortable social and business situations, jumping into tasks and responsibilities you aren't familiar with, and pushing yourself as far as you can go!

More of a challenge to run your business from home!

Running your business from the comfort of your own home is a big appeal for many entrepreneurs. With a interior designing business, you are more likely to run your business out of your office or storefront space.

Work is not always glamorous

With starting a interior designing business, you may need to get your hands a little dirty. Although it may seem glamorous from the outside to start this business, the work can require a lot of physical activity and repetition.

The job can be demanding

This is one of the major disadvantages starting a interior designing business. It's important to understand that you may need to make yourself available on a 24/7 basis.

High liability

Running a interior designing business involves a lot of liability, which means the cost for insurance premiums may also be high.

Equipment Breakdowns

Over the years, your equipment can get damaged, break down, and may need repairs which can be expensive. It's important you prepare for these expenses and try to avoid damages/wear & tear as much as possible.

Answering Phones

The interior designing business is still considered a traditional business, which means answering phones is a big part of the job. If you or your team miss phone calls, you could be missing out on potential revenue opportunities. If you are unable to attend to your phone throughout the day, it would be in your best interest to hire a call center or an employee dedicated to this.

You'll spend a lot of time in the car

Many interior designing business offer their services outside of their office or home, which means you'll be spending quite a bit of time behind the wheel. You will also need to consider traffic and delays, which can be time consuming and take each job longer than expected.

The job can be dangerous

Your interior designing business can have its dangerous moments, which puts you and your employees at risk. It's important to consider all liability and put processes and procedures in place that will prepare you and your team.

More challenging to earn passive income

It can be more of a challenge to make passive income in this business. Often times, the amount of revenue you bring in is limited by the amount of time you have in the day.