How to Start Your Own Interior Decorating Franchise

Cara Squires, writer

Published at 29/11/2021, Updated on 04/05/2022 , Reading time: 5 min

How to Start Your Own Interior Decorating Franchise — Photo © How-to-Start-Your-Own-Interior-Decorating-Franchise.jpg

If you’d love to be your own boss, but you’re put off by the high risk level associated with starting a business from scratch, why not start an interior decorating franchise instead? As a franchisee, you’ll be fully trained, fully supported and fully insulated from risk. You’ll enjoy a proven business model and an established customer base, and you’ll find that if you’re always willing to listen and learn, you can be on your way to profitability in no time.

When you begin to look into how to start an interior decorating business, you’ll discover that as of this moment, the interior decorating industry is immense and continuing to grow. With a market size of £1 billion and just under 6,000 interior design businesses in operation across the UK, there’s definitely room in this vast sector for you to find your professional passions and make a career change with an interior decorating franchise. Here’s how.

What does an interior decorating business do?

Interior decorators work to transform and brighten up interior spaces. Some franchises work for domestic clients, sprucing up their homes. Some work for commercial clients, changing office spaces and other publicly trafficked spaces for the better. Some do both. If you’re contemplating whether a career spent running an interior decorating business is right for you, here’s a better idea of what the role will entail. During a day in the life of an interior decoration franchise owner, regardless of the niche area you’re working in, you will:

Meet, negotiate and communicate with clients, discussing requirements and ideas
Develop, draft, edit and refine plans/ideas/work
Schedule and budget out projects/work to be completed
Advise clients on things like colour schemes, space suitability, fabric choice, etc.
Cultivate and maintain strong client and supplier relationships
Manage your business and your time/the time of a full team of employees

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Why consider running an interior decorating franchise?

The advantages of franchising have largely been covered, but they should be a huge consideration as you make this decision. In what other way can you achieve that ideal balance of freedom and support? Of flexibility and direction? Beyond the benefits of the business model, interior design is also a hugely in-demand service right now, and the industry is in a growth phase. Even more advantages to running an interior decorating franchise include:

The room to specialise and find your perfect niche
The availability of low-cost investment options
The ability, in some cases, to work from home (lower overheads, less time consuming, etc.)
The dynamic, varied and exciting working life
The opportunity to be creative at work
The limitless room to grow and expand your business with time
The many chances to promote your business on the go (while your branded van is sitting in customer driveways, for instance)

Interior design is traditionally associated with up-market houses and luxury offices. But thanks to the Changing Rooms generation it's now about improving the feel of a space – any space. And if you have an eye for what makes a room look good then there are a number of franchises out there that could be for you. - Startups

How to start an interior decorating franchise

Think of the sections above as step one and step two. Step one: Understand the basics of what an interior designer does, and what it’ll mean to become one. Step two: Understand the benefits of running your own business in the interior decoration industry right now, and determine why you might want to become a franchisee. What follows are the final three steps you should take, pre-investment, to ensure you’re making the right choice for your professional future and heading into your investment fully informed...

1. Consider your skills and find the right franchise fit

With an understanding of what you’ll do as an interior decorator, and an understanding that this interests you, you’ll then need to do two things: Figure out if you have the appropriate skills, and find your niche within the industry. To thing one, are you creative and stylish, with an eye for detail and strong customer service skills? Can you lead and work with others? Can you think on your feet and perform effectively under pressure?

To thing two, what would you like your daily life as a franchisee in the interior design sector to look like? Would you like to work with a professional spray painting franchise like ColourHaus? Or an architectural planning franchise like Happinest? Or a premier hardwood shutter franchise like Plantation Shutters Company?

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2. Dive more deeply into researching the interior decoration industry and the sub-sector you’re about to enter

You’ve already skimmed the surface, but what more is there to know? What’s the current state of play in the interior design world, and what’s the current state of play within your specific chosen niche? The more you understand about the industry - the behaviours of consumers, the behaviours of your close competitors, and so on - the more equipped you’ll be to start thriving as a franchise owner right off the bat. Don’t rely solely on info from your franchisor. Dive into research headfirst, and gain this important knowledge firsthand.

3. Do your due diligence prior to investment

While it can often seem like an overwhelming prospect, due diligence is vital during the franchising process. It’s important that you complete this step in order to protect yourself and ensure you get exactly what you’re paying for in actuality. Follow this definitive due diligence checklist to be certain that you’ve done everything you need to do:

Review the FDD
Analyse the franchise opportunity in full
Discover your expected turnover (after a year, after two, etc.) and the time it’ll take you to recoup your investment
Speak to the franchisor and get answers to any questions you have
Meet other franchisees and gain a sense of their experiences with the network
Seek legal advice on the contents of the franchise agreement before signing on the dotted line

Become a franchisee with an interior decoration franchise and start running your own business today

If you’re definitely interested in interior decorating as a career path, and this article has only spurred you further on, stay on Point Franchise and continue your industry research. Dive into sub-sectors, too. If you’ve got an eye for detail, for instance, why not discover insights from the painting and decorating sub-sector, such as how to start your own painting franchise, the top painting franchises in the UK and five tips for marketing your painting franchise?