How to Make a Career Change With an Interior Decorating Franchise

If you’re passionate about design and looking to launch a new professional adventure, why not start your own interior decorating franchise? There’s nothing more fulfilling and enjoyable than working in a role that you truly enjoy while also turning a profit. Make your transition into running an interior decoration business as smooth as possible with this career change focused article.

If you’d like to invest with one of the best interior decorating franchises in the UK, there’s never been a better time to make your move. The industry’s revenue is on track to increase by 11.2% between 2018 and 2023 [Business Gateway], and post-COVID, more customers are looking to refresh their living spaces than ever. Read on, and discover exactly how to launch your interior decoration franchise with a flourish.

Why consider making a career change with an interior decorating franchise?

It’s no surprise that after so long spent indoors over 2020 and 2021, customers are ready for a change at home and turning to interior designers and decorators to make that happen. The interior decorating market in the UK is now worth a whopping £1 billion, and employs over 14,000 people [IBISWorld] - and these figures are on the increase! Along with the wonderfully high level of demand you’ll enjoy if you choose to invest in this area, there are many more advantages to running an interior decorating franchise, such as:

• The ability to choose your specialism 
• The availability of low-cost investment options
• The lower overheads caused by working from home/the homes of others
• The fun, rewarding and dynamic working life
• The never-ending room to grow, learn and develop within a supportive network
• The ability to benefit from on-the-go and word-of-mouth marketing opportunities

In 2020, the veil has well and truly been lifted and now – especially after six months of being very much at home – we’re seeing the face of the once-elite interior design industry morph to meet wider consumer demands. Interior design isn’t just having a moment, its DNA is changing as we speak.
- Megan Murray, Stylist

How to make a career change with an interior decorating franchise

If you’re longing to take the leap and make a career change with an interior decorating franchise, don’t let anything stop you. But do make sure you get everything you’re dreaming of professionally from that transition by completing the following three steps prior to signing a franchise agreement...

1. Assess your skills and qualifications

In most cases, you won’t need any qualifications or prior experience in the interior design industry to thrive as a franchisee. Your extensive training, courtesy of your franchisor, will cover any knowledge gaps. If a qualification is something you’d like to attain prior to investing (even if just for your own peace of mind), you should consider a BA, A2 Level or BTEC in Interior Design. 

Even beyond experience and qualification, however, there are certain soft skills that would make you better suited to a career in interior design. Before you head any further down the path towards an investment, make sure you determine whether or not you possess these important transferable abilities. Ask yourself:

• Am I creative?
• Do I have style and an eye for detail?
• Can I provide excellent customer service and communicate effectively?
• Am I a good leader and can I work well in a team?
• Can I think on my feet and perform effectively under pressure?
• Can I make changes and adjustments quickly and gracefully?
• Can I manage people?
• Can I manage a business?
• Can I manage my own time?

2. Research the industry and find your ideal niche

When you know that you’d fit the industry, it’s time to dive more deeply into the world of interior decoration and find your place. There are many different kinds of interior design franchise operating in 2021, and every franchise has its own take in terms of operational structure, day-to-day operations and more. 

But what suits you? What appeals to you, among the myriad of options? To get your research started, here’s an idea of what a day in the life of an interior decorator is likely to entail regardless of the company you invest with:

• Meeting, negotiating and communicating with clients
• Discussing requirements and ideas with clients
• Developing, drafting, editing and refining plans/ideas/work
• Scheduling and budgeting out projects/work to be completed
• Advising clients on things like colour schemes, space suitability, fabric choice, etc.
• Cultivating and maintaining strong supplier relationships
• Cultivating and maintaining strong client relationships
• Managing your business and your time/the time of a full team of employees

3. Narrow your list of potential investments down based on practicalities like cost

The final stage before you find that ideal franchise opportunity, do your due diligence on it and get to work is this: The narrowing-it-all-down bit. Paying attention to the practicalities isn’t always very fun, but having enough funding to support your franchise is essential to its success, and overinvesting is a really bad choice. 

Understand your situation, and if your dream is outside of your means, look carefully into funding options. Never try to paint a false picture of your own finances to a potential franchisor. Here are some cost examples from the interior design world, to give you an idea of what you’ll be working with:

• The Christmas Decorators - To become a franchisee with The Christmas Decorators, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £25,000, with advertising and royalty fees charged at 2% and 10% respectively.

• ColourHaus - To become a franchisee with ColourHaus, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £12,500, with a total investment cost of £25,000 and a royalty fee charged at 10%.

• Raison Home - To become a Raison Home franchisee, you’ll need to make a minimum initial investment of £10,000, with franchise fees of £12,500, a total investment cost of £22,495 and advertising and royalty fees, both charged at 5%.

Start a franchise in the interior decoration industry today

If, after reading this article, you’re more ready than ever to become an interior decorator, why not stick around on Point Franchise? Check out some niche areas of interior design and the opportunities available within them, from kitchen renovation all the way to installing custom blinds and shutters.