If you're planning a career in interior design, you should promote yourself as if your career and your future depend on it.
Because they do.
Self-promotion skills are every bit as important, if not more so, than space planning know-how, remodeling acumen or color expertise. You can't overemphasize the significance of personal marketing in a highly competitive job market.
Interior design schools and programs do a commendable job of providing students with insights about topics like project management, furniture placement, lighting trends and universal design. But many of those schools do an inadequate job of teaching all-important personal marketing skills.
As you think about your first — or next — step in launching your design career or business, think about this: The most important sale you'll ever make is the personal one.
Here are 12 career concepts to consider when applying for a job with an interior design firm, or starting your own in the months ahead:
1. You're in sales. First and foremost, you're not selling sofas and space planning. You're selling yourself.
2. You’re self-employed. No matter who signs your paychecks, you're the CEO of your own personal corporation.
3. Your work doesn't sell itself. Lots of design professionals haves lots of nice images in their portfolios. Nowadays, that's not enough. Success takes more than pretty pictures.
4. Create a killer commercial. Spell out your "specialness" and value in 60 seconds or less, by explaining who and how you help.
5. Sell "Now!" as well as "Wow!" Explain why this is the best time to hire you — or invest in your design services.
6. Spread the good word. It doesn't matter how good you are if only you know. Make sure people know all you do, all you have done and all you can do.
7. There's strength in numbers. Add mentors, coaches, financial advisers and others to your personal team.
8. Think big. It's as easy to catch the cahunas (the super employer or client) as it is to mix with the minnows.
9. Don't try to be "busy." "Financially independent" makes more sense. Make the most valuable and productive use of your time.
10. Consider the questions from hell. Prepare answers — ahead of time — for the questions you least want to hear, such as "Why don't you have more design experience?"
11. Ask! You probably won't get what you don't ask for: a job, a raise, a promotion, a sale, etc.
12. Don't quit. Quitters never win. Winners never quit. The most successful design professionals are the most persistent.
One thing I've discovered after coaching and training design professionals for more than 30 years is that those who are most financially successful aren't necessarily the "best" designers. They may not have the most design degrees, nor the most experience, nor won the most awards.
Those who are the most financially successful are simply the best personal promoters. Maybe that's not right, and maybe that's not fair, but that's fact.
Promote yourself, as well as your design skills and services, and you'll have little trouble landing the interior design job and/or clients you want and deserve.
