How to Open an Interior Design Agency in Dubai, UAE
1. Decide on the services to be offered
You could be someone who just offers interior design services alone, or you could be someone who is also willing to remodel the interiors as per the design agreed upon.
You could even be a specialist at say, office interiors or living room decor. Someone looking to remodel his/her kitchen is more likely to search for a specialist in kitchen remodeling than an interior designer who provides kitchen remodeling as one of his/her services. A client who wants his entire home redone, on the other hand, is likely to look for a designer who can take care of everything.
So it is best if you have a business plan in place, so you can position yourself accordingly – this will help you to get more clients.
2. Register your company
You can either use your own name for your company, like James Spade Designs or a more formal name – this is up to you.
It is recommended that you enlist the professional help of a business setup consultant, who will run a search to see if the name you have in mind has already been registered. This name search can also throw up the names of similar-sounding businesses as well, so you can name your company accordingly. Otherwise, you would find the similarly-named company reaping the fruits of your work.
It is suggested that you have terms like Designs, Spaces, or Interiors in your trade name, so that it can stand out – and be easily identifiable – as an interior design firm.
3. Build a website
One of the best ways of attracting new clients is have a tastefully done, aesthetically pleasing website that shows your work.
The advantage here is that not only will prospective clients be able to decide better if they want to hire you, but also find you faster. With the help of a digital agency, you could easily rank for keywords like “best interior design firm in Dubai” or “best interior designer in Dubai”. Always make it a point to use only high-resolution images, and have mood boards as part of your portfolio.
If you are an upcoming designer without much of a portfolio at present, use representative images to show people how spaces can be transformed. Another option to achieve the same objective is to have 3D renderings of spaces on your website.
4. Decide your rates
One of the key questions that clients have when interacting with an interior designer is “How much is this going to cost me?”
If you are a specialist who is into, say designing kids’ bedrooms, then it is more or less easy to offer a flat rate for your design services, as they all tend to be around the same size. But if your interior design services extend to the entire property, you might want to offer a rate that varies according to number of square feet for which you will have to do the interior design.
If you also offer remodelling services in addition to design, you have to carefully calculate how many hours it is going to take, and then add a margin of 10% to 30%.This way, you can still honour your contract even if it takes longer or costs more than expected.
5. Promote your business
Dubai is a hub for international events, conferences, and exhibitions. There is always more than one trade expo where you can land orders. All you have to do is be a part of the right event, and you are more than likely to find a client looking for someone like you.
Build relationships with building contractors and suppliers. There is always the off-chance that they will recommend you to a client who is in need of interior design services. Talk to cabinet suppliers, counter top suppliers, flooring suppliers and appliance distributors. It always helps if you have ordered from them, but even otherwise, it doesn’t hurt to hand them your business card.
Make sure that you are active on social media, talking about the latest developments in the field – this establishes you as an expert.
Why Choose FlyBiz for Opening an Interior Design Agency in Dubai, UAE?
At FlyBiz, we have years of experience helping establish businesses in Dubai. We have been of assistance to clients from 100 countries around the world so far. Our team speaks multiple languages, and they have all been handpicked for their expertise in Business Consulting, Tax Advisory, Legal and Corporate Finance. For more details, call +971 55 113 4789 or email info@flybiz.ae