BIID Essential Business for Interior Designers
The BIID Essential Business for Interior Designers (EBID) course is a comprehensive three-day workshop designed for pre-startup and early stage/establishing interior designers. The course covers key business aspects to help interior designers establish and grow their practices while avoiding common pitfalls. The course focuses on various stages of interior design practices and offers guidance on strategy, marketing, client management, team management, financial management, and more.
EBID has been developed by the BIID to complement our flagship course, Essential Professional Practice for Interior Designers (EPPID) a 5-day intensive course introducing designers on how to set up and manage a professional interior design project.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Key highlights of each day
Day One:
- Focuses on business planning and marketing strategies, including short, medium, and long-term objectives.
- Explores sector analysis and marketing to establish enduring specialisation within the interior design market.
- Discusses building a reputation, leveraging referrals for repeat business, and creating a marketing plan.
Day Two:
- Emphasises time management, project costing, and setting up a team that aligns with the overall business strategy.
- Covers human resource management, including employing and managing freelance teams and external consultants.
- Teaches client management, setting boundaries, and handling client expectations throughout the project life cycle.
Day Three:
- Deals with financial management, creating financial plans, and understanding profitability.
- Provides insights into accounting, bookkeeping, and working effectively with accountants.
- Explores personal and business financial planning, taxes, and annual financial reviews.
WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH
Sessions run from 10:00am to 4:45pm with breaks and lunch provided, allowing delegates ample time to engage with the course material and develop personalised plans for their businesses. The course aims to equip interior designers with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their business ventures.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
The course is limited to a small group of 12 designers to ensure individual attention and interaction. Delegates are provided with questionnaires before the course to tailor the content to their specific needs and experiences. Essential reading materials include BIID and RIBA documents, while additional references and recommended readings are provided during the course.
Whether you are self-employed, working as a freelancer, or working in a design practice as part of a team, all designers are welcome. This includes recent graduates and those running their emerging interior design businesses. Member and non-member rates available.
This course has been tailored to work alongside the BIID EPPID course, teaching business fundamentals to complement the project fundamentals taught on EPPID.
ABOUT THE TUTOR
Rachel Smart provides a unique combination of services for architects and designers including management consultancy and professional practice seminars. Her knowledge is informed by:
- the understanding of a designer’s aspirations having trained in interior design for five years
- the experience of being director of a leading London architectural practice
- the rigour of a Master’s in Business Administration at Durham University with a specialisation in design business strategy
- the specialist knowledge of PhD research completed at Birkbeck focusing on successful design entrepreneurs and their firms
- the practical knowledge gained by helping small design and architecture businesses to thrive since 2000
- working with BIID since 2003 to develop professional practice for interior designers
Rachel offers a range of services to start-up, run and grow small design and architectural businesses for more profit and less stress. “Creative people want to get on with the job and not worry about management and paperwork. My intention is to help designers enjoy their businesses more and optimise their financial success.” Rachel Smart
OUR VENUE PARTNER
The European Experience Centre in London is Lutron’s European home for the design and specification community and their customers. The state-of-the-art, 585 m2 (6,300 ft2), space showcases a full range of Lutron commercial and residential solutions, including total light management with daylight integration, advanced LED compatibility and control, and scalable, expandable retrofit options for single rooms through entire buildings. It also features a guestroom showcasing cutting-edge integration for comfort, style, and energy efficiency, and a model home equipped with a variety of sleek, innovative Lutron products that incorporate the latest in smart-home technology. Three meeting rooms provide training and collaboration for up to 60 people. The European Experience Centre - like its associated facilities in North America - invites customers to talk with a Lutron professional about all their design and enterprise needs.
Additional information
The advertised price does not include VAT.
Attendance to this event equals 18 hours of Structured CPD
If you have any queries, please email the office at info@biid.org.uk or call 020 7628 0255.
All BIID events are subject to standard terms and conditions which can be viewed here
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