Category: business

DIY home décor: Transforming your hobby into a profitable venture

DIY home décor: Transforming your hobby into a profitable venture

In recent years, the DIY movement has spread like wildfire, allowing individuals to unleash their creativity while giving their homes a personal touch. From handmade wall art to custom furniture pieces, crafting has become an enjoyable pastime for many. But what if your love for DIY home décor could also bring in some extra income? In this blog post, we’ll explore how you can transform your hobby into a profitable venture and turn your creative passion into a thriving business.

1. Identify your niche

Before diving into the world of DIY home décor entrepreneurship, it’s crucial to identify your niche. What type of décor resonates most with you? Are you drawn to rustic farmhouse designs, modern minimalism or Bohemian chic? Perhaps you have a talent for upcycling charity shop finds or creating personalised gifts. Defining your speciality will help you stand out in an increasingly saturated market and attract your ideal customers.

Tip: Research trends and analyse competitor offerings to find gaps in the market or unique twists to existing products.

2. Develop your skills

While you’re already a DIY enthusiast, refining your skills can make a significant difference in quality and appeal. Take workshops, follow online courses or watch tutorials to learn advanced techniques. Investing time in honing your craft will not only improve your products but also boost your confidence as you embark on this new venture.

Tip: Practice on projects that excite you; showcasing your best work is key to attracting customers.

3. Create a business plan

Every successful venture starts with a solid business plan. Outline your goals, target audience and marketing strategies. Determine the costs involved in materials, tools and potential overhead expenses. Additionally, consider how you’ll price your products – make sure to account for both material costs and labour to ensure profitability.

Tip: Include short-term and long-term goals in your business plan. This will help you stay focused and motivated as you grow.

4. Build an online presence

In today’s digital age, having an online presence is essential. Create social media accounts on platforms like Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok, where visual content thrives. Share your creative process through behind-the-scenes footage, tutorials or showcasing finished products.

Tip: Consider starting a blog or YouTube channel to share DIY tips, tutorials and home décor inspiration. This will help position you as an expert in your niche and attract future customers.

5. Set up an online shop

There are numerous platforms available to sell your creations, such as Etsy, Folksy, Amazon Handmade or your own website. Choose a platform that best suits your products and audience. Ensure your shop stands out with professional photos, engaging product descriptions and clear pricing.

Tip: Offer a mix of products at different price points to cater to a broader audience. Consider seasonal items or limited-edition pieces to create urgency among buyers.

6. Sell at local markets

While online selling is a great way to reach customers, don’t underestimate the power of in-person interactions. Look for local craft fairs, farmers’ markets and pop-up shops to showcase your work. These venues offer an opportunity to engage with customers directly, get real-time feedback and build a loyal local following.

Tip: Have an eye-catching, well-designed stall that reflects your brand aesthetic. Provide business cards and flyers with information on where to purchase your products online.

7. Embrace feedback and adapt

As you embark on your entrepreneurial journey, be open to feedback from customers and peers. Constructive criticism can be invaluable in improving your products and service. Monitor sales trends and adjust your offerings based on what resonates most with your audience.

Tip: Consider running polls or surveys via social media to gauge interest in potential new products or designs.

8. Scale and expand

Once you’ve established a steady stream of sales and built a customer base, consider ways to scale your business. This could mean expanding your product line, offering workshops or classes or collaborating with other local creatives. Explore wholesale opportunities or retail partnerships to reach an even larger audience.

Tip: Cross-promote with other DIYers or home décor businesses to combine audiences and boost visibility.

Conclusion

Transforming your DIY home décor hobby into a profitable venture is not only achievable but also incredibly rewarding. With passion, dedication and strategic planning, you can create a thriving business that lets you share your creativity with the world. So gather your tools, set your sights on your goals and start crafting your entrepreneurial journey today! Your dream of turning passion into profit is just a project away.

Interior design marketing videos: 5 content ideas for a designer’s business

Interior design marketing videos: 5 content ideas for a designer's business

Are you an interior designer with a professional website and accounts on various social media channels? If so, you may regularly post highly targeted content to attract new leads and generate more sales. But do you get positive results from all those marketing efforts? Probably not, because SEO takes time and effort to gain results.

Social media marketing isn’t that effective until you choose the right social media platform and post various types of content. Also, you need to use a video marketing strategy and implement it on these social channels.

Because video marketing is a very effective marketing tool that 96% of businesses have planned to increase their budget to maintain or improve video marketing strategies, and almost 99% of businesses have found video marketing a very effective tool. It’s easy to create, requires less investment and engages well with the audience.

Implementing video marketing is a very effective method that allows you connect with the end customer. You can post service video promos and help your targeted audience contact you easily.

If you have any niggling questions, reading this post will benefit you and your business; it outlines the top 5 content ideas that have helped interior design businesses to grow faster.

Top 5 content ideas for a designer’s business

Let’s discover some of the most useful interior design content ideas that can improve your online brand authority and credibility.

How-to videos: approach to interior design project

Sharing your interior design work process among the audience is a great content idea for video marketing. It gives a positive impression and helps you look professional, knowledgeable and confident.

You can record discussions with the team and footage of bringing resources, tools and other things you use to complete your interior design project.

If you’ve worked in this industry for years, you may have noticed that many interior designers do this to build trust among their customers and increase brand authority.

Don’t think creating a service promo video is a tough task, as easy-to-use promo video maker tools are available online. You’ll feel at ease using these applications even if you don’t have professional video-making experience.

Post differentiator videos to hook new clients

Why should your client hire you for your interior design services? There are lots of interior designers and agencies offering the same services.

Hence, you need to share your USP, x-factor or differentiator videos to stand out from these.

These marketing videos give your prospects reasons to get your highly skilled services. For example, you can share some behind-the-scenes clips where you’re engaging with prospective customers to understand their needs. You can showcase that you’re passionate about your work and aren’t afraid to take on challenges.

Going live and talking with dream clients are also a great idea to hook the new audience. You’ll definitely gain some new leads and projects to work on if you have a strong portfolio.

Provide interior design footage at various levels

Updating your audience about projects’ various accomplishments is another way to hook them through service promo videos. You can also mention contact details here so the next leads can find you.

Sometimes your team may be willing to share beautiful design concepts or participate in discussions with you and other staff members. You could create a 3D walk-around and upload it to the website and social channels. It’s one of the best ways to produce unique content and publish it online.

This way, viewers can discover new design concepts and even small details that they can implement in their homes. Also, they can learn how you transform an idea into a real project.

You can create a compilation of testimonials from different clients using promo video-making tools. It’s another way you can benefit your interior design business to increase sales and profit.

Bust interior design myths and latest designs

Another great way to stand out from other interior designers and attract new leads is by busting interior design myths. You could advise the audience how to decorate their interiors using innovative approaches – busting design myths at the same time.

Additionally, you could create your interior design marketing videos on the subject of the best ways to organise a kitchen or how to decorate a bedroom for couples or kids. You could examine many different topics and start making stunning service promo videos for your audience.

Moreover, you could recommend to viewers how they can minimise home renovation costs and complete their renovation tasks in less time.

These marketing videos not only help your audience find answers to their design questions, but also help them find out about your services. So, if any prospective clients require interior design services, they may hire you without looking elsewhere.

Post design transformation case studies

Design transformation case studies illustrate how you helped your design client to solve their problem.

Here’s a scenario; let’s say your previous client obtained design services from another interior designer. They made many promises in their brief; however, when all was said and done, none of the previous design team’s attempts delivered the desired result. Ultimately, your client approaches you and shares their problem and asks your team to help. After considering the instructions provided by the client, your design team work tirelessly to produce an exceptional design project that finally pleased your client.

If you have experience of cases such as this in your interior design career, you could create a video about it to share it with your audience. It’s a great idea to pick the pain point of potential customers and attract them to take up your services.

Wrapping up

These are the top five interior design video marketing tips you could use to grow your business. If you have implemented a range of marketing activities yet haven’t achieved successful results, you should add video marketing to your next campaign and create a few quality service promo videos. Such content is evergreen and can drive ongoing results.

If you use these tips correctly, the content ideas could exponentially grow your interior design business. Thus, we hope you have shaped an idea of how you could create useful interior design videos for your audience.

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How to get business premises that work for you

How to get business premises that work for you

Your business premises are more than just a place for you to do your work. It’s an extension of your company, influencing how both customers and employees view your organisation. It can also impact the quality of the work done, too; people work better when they’re in an attractive and comfortable environment rather than one that’s a little more uninspiring. Therefore, it’s worthwhile looking into whether it’s worth upgrading your business location. In this post, we’ll run through some useful tips that’ll point you in the right direction.

Pexels – CC0 Licence

Where do you need to be?

Location is more important to some business types than others, but all need to think about it. It’ll impact how easy it is to reach the space, how easy it is to connect with other businesses, how customers view your business (some addresses are more prestigious than others), and so on. You’ll need to decide whether you want to be in the centre of town or whether being slightly further afield will work for you. There are advantages and disadvantages to both!

How much can you afford?

If your business premises are to work for you, rather than against you, you’ll need to ensure that the space is in line with your financial situation. No company wants to spend more money than is necessary on rent, and they positively don’t want to run the risk of financial problems because of overspending on their premises.

Five years’ time

You’ll hope to be in your premises for a while, so it’s a good idea to think about the plans for your business. Where will it be in 5 years’ time? If you’re planning to add a lot more employees or make the move to remote working in the future, then that should influence your decision.

Getting the lease

You’ll have identified the location and can see that it’s the right place for your business to be for the years to come. Now, you’ll need to get your hands on the lease. Since commercial rentals work a little differently from residential rentals, it’s recommended that you work with solicitors such as Beyond Law Group Solicitors to thrash out the details. This will be doubly important if you’re planning to buy the space that you’ll be occupying. Working with legal experts will ensure that your lease doesn’t come back to bite you in some way later on down the line.

Smooth transition

Moving into a new office isn’t as stressful as moving home, but it’s not far off. You’ll likely have a lot of equipment and furniture to move into your new premises, plus it might take a few days before you’re fully up and running. Since it’s important that your move doesn’t disrupt your work operations, it’s best to either move into the new office slowly (transitioning from old space to new) or to pick a quiet time of the working year. That way, you’ll have time to settle into your new space without it having an impact on your customers.

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How to rent a business warehouse

How to rent a business warehousecredit

Are you planning to rent business warehouse space? As organisations expand, many of them need a larger space to store their products and inventory.

Warehouses provide the necessary space and conditions for storing various types of products. Nevertheless, there are multiple factors to take into account when choosing such a unit, including square footage, property features, accessibility, lease type and length of tenancy etc.

If planning to rent a warehouse near you, follow the tips below to make the best choice.

Huge empty warehouse

Consider the square footage

The initial point of consideration when renting a business warehouse is square footage. Business owners should calculate the amount of room they need for their products and whether it’s feasible to stack them. Additionally, if there is no forklift access, you should reconsider the space you’ll need to stock all products at ground level.

Moreover, it’s important to determine if the current square footage amount will be enough after several months or a year. Make sure to ask the landlord whether you’ll be able to rent more space on short notice. Also, it’s important to determine the way in which the landlord calculates the square footage, as you should only pay for the space you use. It’s important for the walls not to be considered as part of the price per square foot.

Large business warehouse with multiple conveyor belts

Check the property features

Another important factor to take into account is property features. It’s essential for the landlord to provide parking spaces in order for employees to have where to park when they arrive at the location. Some lessees require a storefront with more visibility, such as having glass doors and windows, whereas others need the traditional one.

Air conditioning is of vital importance for warehouses, as some products require such a system to keep the products in optimal condition. If your stock is likely to be affected by cold, heat or humidity, there should be a HVAC system. Not many landlords offer climate-controlled storage units, meaning you should discuss the installation of the system with the agent. Find out more about the way in which HVAC systems work.

Furthermore, warehouses usually come with overhead doors, which is convenient for lessees planning to use machinery and trucks to go inside and out of the unit. Therefore, make sure to get informed on the height and width clearance of the unit. If your business involves constant loading and unloading of materials, you would need a loading dock.

Additionally, it’s paramount to check whether the warehouse has energy-efficient lighting, as it can reduce your costs significantly. Each unit should be equipped with a fire-prevention system, such as alarms and sprinklers. These systems are essential for preventing fire damage to your stock.

Warehouse and green forklift

Consider the lease type and length

The lease type should be tailored to fit your business, which is why business owners need to go through a process of negotiation. There are two types of commercial leases, gross and net leases. For instance, gross leases require tenants to pay a higher monthly rent, including taxes, maintenance, insurance, utilities and other costs.

In the case of gross leases, lessees are required to make a single payment, while the landlord will be in charge of dealing with the building. Nevertheless, you should ask which types of maintenance and janitorial services are provided, as well as check whether you will be responsible for paying for utility consumption over a given limit. Follow this URL https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gross-lease.asp#:~:text=A%20gross%20lease%20is%20a,office%20buildings%20and%20retail%20spaces., to learn more about the types of gross lease.

Conversely, net leases require tenants to pay a base rent on a monthly basis and a pro-rata share of the other costs related to the building, depending on the amount of space they occupy. Nevertheless, you should also pay for your own utilities and janitorial services. In theory, net leases are less expensive due to the savings in operating expenses. The monthly rate, however, is prone to fluctuating and more difficult to budget.

Potential tenants should also keep the lease length in mind by making forecasts. For example, if you need the space just for a couple of months, there is no need for a long-term commitment. Anyhow, if you plan to use the warehouse space for years, you can negotiate a longer term of five to ten years and take the price down. Business owners who aren’t looking for commitment should find a landlord that offers month-to-month renting.

After deciding on a lease, you should request the landlord to provide you with a copy of the document. Make sure to examine it closely by looking at all expenses and hidden fee provisions. Tenants are advised to review the document with a commercial real estate attorney prior to signing anything.

Stacks of wooden storage pallets

Final word

Make sure the space is designed for maximum efficiency and has 24/7 security. Don’t make unnecessary commitments!

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