People who want to take the risk and start their own businesses are entrepreneurs. The dictionary definition of an entrepreneur is, an organizer or promoter of an activity, or one that manages and assumes the risk of business. Risks are a necessary portion of any future business success. To be a successful business owner, you must be willing to take risks. If you do not have the necessary business management and marketing skills, the risks involved in owning a business are multiplied several times over. Your goal, then, is to minimize these risks.

Find out where your strong areas of interest are and find out which areas you need to get educated in before attempting to start your own business. Once you start getting your business off the ground, you will not have much time to attempt to educate yourself in your weak areas. Your best sources for gaining needed education are local community colleges for courses in entrepreneurial studies for marketing, record keeping, starting a business, insurance needs, legal issues, etc. Books are published and available for each of these areas. Your local Small Business Administration (SBA) and Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) offer seminars and information for small fees. Take advantage of their experience and knowledge.

The information in this report has been excerpted from our new book, Start Your Own Interior Design Business and Keep It Growing!; Your Guide to Business Success. The goal of this new book is to give you comprehensive interior design business knowledge and to teach vital business management skills for those of you who are considering starting your own interior design business. Do not feel discouraged if you feel unqualified or like you lack the confidence to make your business a success. After reviewing and absorbing the information in this book, you will feel more assured and your management skills will be enhanced. Although this book is targeted at new business owners, the information provided can help already successful businesses double or triple their profits. This book is invaluable for struggling or failing businesses, providing them the tools necessary for a fresh start. Review the description of what this book covers at the end of this report and for an overview of what owning and growing an interior design business entails.

You are in the business to earn money. You want to achieve financial independence and improve your quality of living. In order to provide these benefits, your business must provide a positive cash flow. This book will help you, the entrepreneur, to overcome the problems you will face and to help you to create a successful business. Since design work usually requires considerable expense, clients want to be sure they are spending their money wisely and that the person they select to do the job will create an outstanding design plan suited to their needs. What your prospects see in your studio, the picture albums shown them, your portfolio, and your attitude and personality should relay "This is the designer to do the job for me."

Meet market needs with your services and the money will follow. If you enjoy being your own boss and don't mind hard work, owning your own interior design business can be an exciting, profitable career.

After spending a few years gaining experience working for a well-run business, you may feel that you could do a better job than your boss. You may be very tired of just collecting a portion of the design project's profit in commissions. Since you are already probably paying for all the mistakes you are making out of your commission, you may feel you should just as well add on a bit more work and go ahead and start your own business.

Realize that opportunities do exist for you to go on your own and start your own business. It may be just a matter of courage to get your nerve up to do it. Your goals in starting your own business should be to make as much money as possible, while retaining the money you already have. The errors and problems must be minimized and avoided in order to do this.

The Profile of an Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs usually have the following characteristics:

They are usually risk-takers who are willing to take chances; they have the ability to determine the risk factors involved in their decisions.

They use judgment in weighing the positive and negative points of a proposition. They proceed accordingly, usually with favorable results.

They have adequate experience in the business they are considering starting up. Even related experience may be adequate for success in their endeavor. (Problems arise when a person has no specific or related experience and knows little about the business they want to start. This person should gain on the job experience, take all available courses, and read as many books on the subject as she can to gain the lacking experience and knowledge.)

They have a take-charge type of personality. They are able to make decisions about money. The faster the decisions can be made along the way, the faster the money will come in.

They are willing to work long, hard hours.

They have creativity. This includes imagination and all-around abilities for selection of everything from the logo and name to advertising and product selection. You need to be able to visualize the concept of the desired business, and visualize how all of the various parts will come together successfully. Plan the ends and outs of every detail that you can think of, to put into practice later.

Owning and Running Your Own Business

There are many benefits to owning and running your own interior design business. You will reap all of the financial benefits after the initial start-up phase. You will be in control of and responsible for the day-to-day decisions that will make or break your business. The personal independence and freedom of owning your own business are major benefits. You are now the boss and have no one to boss you around. You come and go as you please.

All of the creative ideas you've had about merchandising your products and marketing your business may now finally be put to work. If you are a real entrepreneur at heart you will love running your own small business, and reaping all of the profits for your business. After the overhead and commissions are paid, the rest of the money is all yours.

Running your own business is much more gratifying and satisfying than working for a large corporation that seems to care less about you. They rarely pat you on the back for the large sales that your work pulls in. You don't hear from the corporate office unless your sales are down. They rarely recognize you and thank you when you are working extremely hard and surpassing the goals. Working for a corporation does not secure your future. Many people work for corporations for many years, expecting the corporation to look out for them later, as they have done for the corporation. There are no guarantees in life. You may quickly be out of a job, given one masked excuse or another, just as you are approaching your retirement years.

It is far better to build your own business, whose successes you are able to proudly take credit for and whose failures you have the ability to control. You will experience pride and prestige in owning and running your own interior design business. People who own their own business are generally highly thought of by society. By finally taking the plunge into starting your own business you are fulfilling a dream that you may have harbored for many years. Turning a dream into a reality is the most fulfilling aspect of having your own business.

Profile of the Successful Businessperson The successful businessperson:

Has experience in the field of her business endeavor.

Is very good at the work she does.

Has a love for her work.

Is an ethical person.

Loves the products and services that she is providing.

Sells service and product value rather than a "cheap" price.

Has clearly defined realistic goals, but is not in a hurry to achieve them.

Plans ahead and is ready in advance.

Is a "quick study."

Is detail oriented.

Is a hard worker.

Is cool, cautious, and calculates risks carefully.

Delegates work among and motivates her employees.

Provides uncompromised service and quality.

Has good financial perception.

Expands the business by vertical integration rather than horizontal integration.

Sticks with one business rather than expanding into and taking on other types of businesses.

Profile of the Unsuccessful Businessperson The unsuccessful businessperson:

Doesn't get experience before starting a business.

Is impulsive.

Will not test the market before leaping ahead.

Is overconfident that the business will make it.

Is in a hurry to grow fast.

Tends to be overly optimistic.

Doesn't make prudent decisions.

Tends to be unhappy in her work.

Goes for high-risk opportunities.

Runs more than one business at a time.

Is diversified, rather than specialized.

Selects personal preferences, not what will sell.

Doesn't focus on quality, focuses on "cheap" price.

Repeats mistakes. Doesn't seem to learn from mistakes the first time they happen.

May be overly ostentatious.

Ways to Minimize the Risks of Owning Your Own Business

Avoid taking unnecessary or high-risk gambles that have low potential.

Use the talents of your employees to perform functions that you might otherwise have subcontracted out.

Start your ID business with enough capital.

If market conditions change, be able to change with them. Don't lock yourself in to a specific plan, be flexible.

Have backup material, labor, capital, distribution, and management sources ready and available should you need them.

Constantly request feedback from your customers, suppliers, and employees on ways to improve your business.

Ways to Maximize Your Business Opportunities

Study and research all aspects of running a small business.

Ascertain your portion of the interior design market segment.

Know who your customers are and find out what their needs and habits are.

Know as much as you can about your competitors.

Recognize your products and services by the customer wants and needs that they satisfy.

Protect and keep quiet about your business ideas. Be guarded about who you tell your plans to.

Keep your business plans flexible and have alternate plans to turn to should your original ideas not pan out.

Constantly monitor market conditions through your employees, trade publications, and customers.

Know what your strengths and weaknesses are and work on strengthening your weak areas.

Network with other people in the interior design field. Become friendly with competitors - both direct and indirect.

Your Potential for Success

Do you fit the entrepreneur profile? If you answer the majority of the following questions with a "yes" or with a positive response, the chances of succeeding with an interior design business are good.

Are you very experienced with and enjoy the interior design business? Does this business really interest you?

Is this the business where you can best put your interests, abilities, and talents to work? If you really enjoy your work, you will tend to be more successful with it.

Are you comfortable with this type of business. Does it "feel" right?

Are you both physically and mentally healthy? Are you a high-energy type of person? Starting an interior design business is like many other types of businesses. It take long hours at the offset to make it a success. You will be taking the business home with you at night.

Are you a "people" person? You will need to enjoy all types of people from every economic level.

Are you a decision maker? You will be making most of the decisions with your interior design business. Sometimes you will be required to make quick decisions.

Do you have the needed self-motivation that it will require to be successful in running your own business? Are you a self-starter? If you are not strongly motivated, you will probably not be successful. Your motivation and determination to succeed will be what keep you afloat during the slow times.

Do you enjoy setting goals, obtaining them, and setting more goals for yourself? You should enjoy the effort as much as accomplishing your goals.

Do you enjoy solving problems? You cannot be afraid of problems and need to have the ability to solve them immediately while learning from them to help prevent them from happening again.

Are you very organized? You will need to be with this type of business.

Does this type of business provides the level of status you are seeking? You may be expecting more status from the ownership of this type of business than the amount of status there actually may be. The benefits may not outweigh all of the hard work and insecurity found in an interior design business. You may be better off starting a business that has fewer potential problems.

Do you have plenty of capital or the means to get capital to stay afloat while you are getting your business off of the ground? Where will you get this capital? Set a limit on the amount of money you will risk on your business venture. Does an interior design business meet your investment requirements?

Do you have enough money available to start a sound business? Are you comfortable with the amount of risk involved?

Does an interior design business meet your financial needs? Will you be able to generate enough money from this business to live comfortably several years from now?

Have you considered keeping your present job for the next two years and working your own business part time while in the start-up phase?

Have you selected a prime location for your business, with plenty of walk-by traffic? Is this location near your home?

Is the interior design business climate experiencing growth, rather than experiencing down sliding?

Are you good at buying and negotiating prices?

The ability to account for and keep money under control is vital. Are you profit motivated? Can you spot opportunities for doing things better, faster, and less expensively?

Is your personality an enthusiastic, positive optimistic one, rather than negative and pessimistic?

Evaluate your previous work experience, education, and hobbies that you have had. Did you enjoy the marketing, buying, planning, record keeping, management, displaying, and merchandising of the products, etc? What areas did you especially enjoy that you would like to expand on in the future? What were your weak points? Strong points? Are you willing to become better educated and develop your weak points? Are you being realistic about your abilities? Do you expect to delegate these less favorable areas to someone else? (When just starting a business you will be the one performing the vast majority of the required jobs. You will be responsible for everything.)

Are you an entrepreneurial, all-around creative type of a person, very interested in constantly marketing your business?

Are you a self-starter? Can you get the work done without someone hanging over your shoulder cracking the whip? True entrepreneurial types hate being bossed around by anybody. They wouldn't have it any other way.

Are you able to train and keep your decorators motivated to increase their sales monthly?

Are you willing and able to keep accurate records on your business at all times?

Having your own business means planning ahead and planning for the unexpected. Do you presently demonstrate these abilities?

Does your family/spouse agree that this it the right business for you and them to start?

Does an interior design business fits your lifestyle? Are the hours (after the business is underway) are right for you? You will be going on appointments in the early evenings and on weekends, if you are making house and business calls.

Other ideas:

Consider starting an interior design business that you can eventually retire from but remain as a consultant because it is run by your children. Set up the business where your whole family can reap the rewards of secure employment with you.

Consider franchising the business if it should become a successful endeavor.

Plan the business to include imported products that you can take buying trips to purchase while you see the world.

Consider setting limitations on the amount of hours you will work on your business and the amount of money you will pour into your business. You do not want to lose your family, social life, and security in the process of attempting to get your business going. Start small.

Instead of paying for your mistakes along the way as they occur and wasting your time and money, read the book where this information has been excerpted, Start your Own Interior Design Business and Keep It Growing!, and absorb the information contained in it. One of the smallest mistakes (even a slight ordering error, let alone a legal mistake) that you could possibly make will cost many times more than the price of this book. This book will move you in the right direction, page after page, and head you off at the pass before you make errors and watch your profits evaporate before your eyes.

About the author: Linda M. Ramsay is owner and president of Southern California-based Touch of Design®. She has a well-rounded business and educational background in the interior-design field and is the author of Secrets of Success for Today's Interior Designers and Decorators: Easily Sell the Job, Plan It Correctly and Keep the Customer Coming Back for Repeat Sales, Start Your Own Interior Design Business and Keep It Growing! Your Guide to Business Success, Interior Design Furnishing Directory of Discounted 800-Number and Hard-to-Find Companies, and available in May, 1997, Successful Window Dressing and Interior Design: Your Guide to Achieving Excellent Results!

Having spent 18 years in the interior design field running her own business and also working for other companies, Linda, an entrepreneurial type, feels there is a definite lack of available information and sources for both consumers and design professionals on where and how to get better prices and higher-quality products and services.

Turn Your Business into a Thriving Success with this New Book!