1. Am I already an Interior Decorator?

If you’re in your home or study, look around. What do you see? Do you see your personality reflected back at you? Do you see beautiful matched furniture with pops of coloured accents, a clear style or a simple relaxed surrounding? Or do you see mismatched pieces without personality, clutter, a paint job that was done before your time, peeling wallpaper or an area without a purpose?

If your home is already a reflection of your style then you’ve already got a head start. You know you’ve got the passion, now you need to know whether to take it further. If, however, you see the latter, a room without a focus then perhaps interior design isn’t really your calling but don’t lose heart, perhaps you simply don’t have the time or money. The next question is to ask yourself why it’s not decorated to your tastes. If you can find a clear answer other than simply because you haven’t wanted to, then you still may have the drive and passion to make this thing work.

2. Am I a people person?

Granted, you don’t need to be an extrovert to be a fantastic Interior Designer or Decorator but you will need to have excellent communication skills. A lot of your work will be liaising with clients, interviewing them, being the interviewee and of course selling yourself. Selling yourself and your service is a huge part of what an interior designer or decorator does. Unfortunately, you can’t simply create all day long. You also need to book the gigs in the first place!

3. Do I have business skills?

Many Interior Designers and Decorators work for themselves or even when working for a larger company still need to have relevant business skills, essential for acquiring clients, keeping the books, marketing themselves, etc. If you’ve already got business skills to boot then you’re really flying through this however if you don’t ask yourself if you’re willing to get them. Are you interested in taking a business course to get yourself ahead of the game or even an interior design/decorating course with a business edge?

4. Can I create outside my own style?

One of the most important things to ask yourself is whether you can cater to all tastes? Granted, if you’re lucky you may have the opportunity to turn certain, particularly tricky clients down, but that can only come later, once you’ve established yourself as a successful interior designer/decorator. For now, ask yourself whether you’re able to look outside the box, to work with someone else’s tastes no matter how bad they may be. Will you be able to work to client specifications or do you only enjoy working within your own style parameters?

5. Am I qualified?

Before you can begin a successful career as an interior designer/decorator you’ll need to be qualified to do so. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication prior to getting your first job. If you’re already qualified, then great, you’ll most likely know at this point whether you’ve got what it takes to succeed or not. However, if you’re not yet qualified, then the next question to ask yourself is whether you’re dedicated and interested enough to get qualified and next which course should you take?