In this article, I’ll show you how to start interior decoration business in Nigeria. The interior decoration business in Nigeria is a thriving business with a lot of room for growth. The high demand for interior decorators makes interior decoration business a very lucrative business.
What is Interior decoration?
Interior decoration has to do with beautification of inside of buildings (houses and offices) and creating of functional spaces. Interior decoration should not to be confused with interior designing, which is the coordinating, making functional design, and effectively utilize space to create functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces.
Decorating an interior of a building enhances the beauty of the interior and create functional spaces. Interior decoration is the profession while interior decorator is the professional. Interior Decorator either plans the decoration of the inside of a building or do the decoration himself or herself.
Today, I’ll show you how to start interior decoration business in Nigeria. As I earlier said, the demand for interior decorators in Nigeria is high, making interior decoration business a very lucrative one. Lots of elites are willing to pay fortune just to make their homes look stunning. Even the middle-class income earners are also willing to spend on interior decoration.
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If you’re ready to start interior decoration business in Nigeria, you have to be ready to work hard and be determine to succeed. As you know, there is no business without its own challenges and interior decoration business is not an exception.
Read: How to Start Okrika Business in Nigeria (7 steps)
What do you need to Start Interior decoration business?
Some of the major things you need to start interior decoration business include:
- An Office – this is where your clients can easily locate you. So, it need to be visible and strategically located.
- A Website – this is for your interior decoration business global presences and visibility. Your prospective clients can also find your business through your website.
- Social media page – this will also increase your online presence and serve as a means for marketing of your interior decoration business.
- Register your business – people trusts registered business than unregistered business. And it makes you professional in the business.
- Workers or laborers – you can’t do the work of interior decoration alone, you’ll need the services of those that will assist you.
- A Truck – this for the transportation of your workers and the interior decoration materials and equipment. Though, you can start by hiring truck and later buy when you make money in the business.
Now that I have equipped you with what you need to start an interior decoration business in Nigeria, let’s see how to start the business…
Steps to Start Interior Decoration Business in Nigeria
Here are steps you can follow to start interior decoration business in Nigeria:
Acquire interior decoration skills
The first step in starting an interior decoration business is to acquire interior decoration skills. As the Interior decoration business is a skilled-type of business.
You can’t just jump into interior decoration business without adequate skills and knowledge of the business. If you do that, you will leave a trail of unsatisfied customers and ruin your business reputation. So, you need to first acquire all necessary skills and knowledge of what the business entails.
While you can study interior decoration as a course in the university, that would not equip you with the basic skills of interior decoration business. The best way to acquire interior decoration skills is attached yourself to a professional interior decorator in the form of an apprenticeship.
Go for different excellent interior decorators and show your interest in learning from them. One will definitely accept you. He/she may charge a training fee but you have to put up strong negotiation and beat down the training fee. Interior decorating is a lucrative business, paying to learn the secret of the business worth it.
If you feel like an apprenticeship might be too expensive or you don’t want to spend 4 years in school just to learn interior decorating, you can try learning it on your own. This method is not as good an apprenticeship, but you can still learn a lot on your own. You can opt in for online courses that teaches interior decoration which you will have to pay for. You can also read books, articles, and watch video tutorials on interior decoration.
Conduct market research
The next thing to do is to conduct a market research for interior decoration business. Once you feel like you’ve acquired enough skills and knowledge to make it as a professional interior decorator, you still don’t dive into the business like that. You have to conduct a good market research for the business.
You need to gather the following information during your market research:
- Your location and the people around – If you live in a poor neighborhood where people are struggling to eat, you don’t need to locate your business there.
- Target audience – You need to identify your target audience. Which demographic do you think will most likely patronize your business? Then you need to thoroughly understand their needs and purchasing behavior so you can effectively market your business to them.
- Competition – you need to analyze the competition in the area where you want to locate the business. How many interior decorators are around and how strong is their brand? For example, your area might have a high demand for interior decoration, but if the market is saturated, you don’t need to locate your business there.
All these information are what you need to gather during your market research.
Develop a business plan
Once you’re done with your market research, the next thing you should do is to develop a business plan for your interior decoration business.
The importance of a good business plan can never be understated. You need to craft a detailed plan outlining your business objectives, target market, pricing strategy, marketing approach, and financial projections.
Make sure you narrow down your plan to a niche. As you can be a jack-of-all-trades. Focus on a particular area that you can be an expert in. You can choose to go into residential, commercial, hospitality, or sustainable decoration.
Any niche you choose should be well detailed in your business plan. I have this post on how to write business plan that attract investor. It will help you in crafting your own business plan.
Get the required capital
You can start the interior decoration business with zero capital after acquiring the needed skills. But if you want to take your business to the next level, you can choose to pay for advertisement, rent an office space and hire some workers. All these will cost some money and can be as high as one million naira (N1, 000,000).
However, if you do not have much capital at hand, you can choose to start with the little you have and then acquire the rest of things you need as you grow.
You can also choose to source for fund to start the business. Any there are many ways you can go about. For example, with your business plan or proposal; you can go for a loan or angel investor.
If you need more information on how to get capital for your interior decoration business, you can read our article on How to Raise Capital for Business in Nigeria.
Register your business
Not every interior decorator registers their business. But you have to if you want to make it big in the interior decoration industry.
Having a registered business and good branding will attract big real estate companies to your business. It will boost the reputation and trustworthiness of your business. And it will show that you’re really serious with business.
When registering your business make sure you choose a business name that is catchy and easy to remember. With also, a logo that stands out. Register your business with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and obtain the necessary licenses and permits to operate legally.
You can get started with your business name registration by reading this our post on How to register your business name with CAC in Nigeria.
Build your portfolio and establish your brand
Compile a collection of your best ideas, some decorating work that you have done, and pictures. This will give your clients confidence in your skills and increase your market value. When you are just starting, you may not have a lot of experiences to add to your portfolio, so it best you try decorating your own house, the houses of your family and friends, or doing some free work for others. The better your portfolio the higher your chances of being offered well-paying opportunities.
Social media and the internet can do a lot of wonders for your business, so leverage on it. Create a website or a social media page where you share information about your portfolio, services and content information. Post your best decoration work and the best of your ideas on them. This will help you attract quite a lot of customers to your business. With the internet, you can reach a wider audience and promote your business.
In terms of Branding, develop a unique brand identity, including a brand name, a logo, a colour palette, and a visual style that aligns with your brand story. Your brand identity will attract customers so make it catchy and unique. The brand name should be short and easy to remember and your logo and color palette should stand out.
Promote your interior decoration business
A cheap way to promote your business is to build a strong online presence of your business. If you have a lot of followers, then you would reach a wide audience without spending a dime.
Alternatively, you can pay for online advertisements. You can reach out to popular social media influencers or bloggers in a similar niche to endorse your brand for you.
You can also reach out to advertising companies to help you with the promotion. You can use billboards, and fliers to raise awareness of your business.
Consider attending industry events, joining local business networks, and collaborating with complementary professionals, such as architects and contractors, to expand your reach.
Encourage satisfied customers to spread awareness about your business and refer others to you. Your family and friends also assist you by telling others about your business.
Get Clients
If you know people who are into real estate, you can reach out to them if they would like to form a partnership. These people can easily refer their clients who needs an interior decorator to you. This way, you will have access to a vast client pool.
When given a contract, it is important you communicate regularly with your clients to understand their needs, preferences, and budget constraints. Create a comfortable environment between you and your clients so that they can be honest with you. Show them that you listen and that you care about them by making use of their advice and making changes as they desire.
Set your prices well
There are a lot of things to consider when deciding how to set your prices. These include your niche, your location, your skills and your expertise. If you’re not sure how to set your prices, just set similar prices as other interior decorators around you.
When you’re just starting, try not to set your prices too high as you may discourage interested clients. Once you have built your reputation to an extent, then you can begin to charge higher.
Ensure that you budget effectively to maintain stability and increase profits. Make a list of all the materials that you may need before giving your customer a price. Discuss with them when choosing the materials and ensure that everything you use to decorate their homes is to their taste. Your budget should always be more than the price that you charge and try as much as you can to only include materials that you need.
Keep Record of every transaction you made
Keep a record of every transaction that you make with your customers to ensure transparency. Track your expenses so that you will not overshoot your budget. If mistakenly done, you will lose the trust of your clients.
Stay organized by keeping track of everything that you do to ensure that you are aware of every client that you have and the profit you are making.
Conclusion
In conclusion, starting an interior decoration business is a profitable venture in Nigeria. As there are a lot of people that are willing to pay a significant amount of money to beautify their homes.
It requires careful planning and effective utilization of resources and opportunities. By following the steps outlined above, you can start a profitable interior decoration business in Nigeria that caters to clients’ needs and earn you huge profit all the time.
Is Interior Decoration Business Profitable in Nigeria?
Yes. It is a highly profitable business in Nigeria. One big contract can earn you big profit as much as N 300, 000 – N500, 000. And one good thing about the business is that you can start it with little or no capital and still make money in the business. Those who into this business are making money big time
Wishing you luck as you start your dream interior decoration business in Nigeria. If you have any question relating to interior decoration business, feel free to use the comment box below to ask your question.