home decor business plan sample pdf

Home Decor Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Home Decor Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Home Decor business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Home Decor businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Home Decor business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

Urban Harmony Home Decor is a startup home decor company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is founded by Jasmine LeFleur, who has experience in home decor. Now, with the expertise of knowledge and business acumen, she has determined she can confidently start and effectively grow a successful Urban Harmony Home Decor company. She believes her experience of strategic growth, marketing skills, financial capabilities, and wide and deep knowledge of home decor practices will provide everything needed for long-term growth and profitability.

Urban Harmony Home Decor will provide a comprehensive array of services and products for a wide variety of clients. Urban Harmony Home Decor will be the premier destination for home decor items, providing services and products to each client while supporting the strategic goals of the company. Urban Harmony Home Decor will be the ultimate choice in Los Angeles for clients to ensure that every need of the customer is fully and completely met.

Product Offering

The following are the services that Urban Harmony Home Decor will provide:

• Home decor selections that have been curated with select partnering pieces
• A wide range of high-quality and stylish home furnishings
• Software to create home spaces and align decor within them
• Technology-driven measuring systems for homes and furnishings
• Home decor that reflects life values and unique personalities
• Handmade pieces selected to enhance the harmony of the home
• Decorative Accessories offered include artwork, vases and sculptures
• Premium bedding, curtains, rugs, and cushions are offered
• Lighting solutions include lamps, chandeliers, and ambient lighting solutions
• Superior customer service and attentive personal attention to each client.

Customer Focus

Urban Harmony Home Decor will target individuals who live in the Los Angeles region. They will target upper-economic zone homeowners throughout Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Orange County and other regions. They will target real estate agents and home designers and decorators. They will target celebrity agents.

Management Team

Urban Harmony Home Decor will be owned and operated by Jasmine LeFleur. She recruited her former administrative assistant, Ida Renoir, to be the Office Manager for the new company, in addition to being her executive assistant. In addition to select retail staff members, Jasmine recruited her friend and executive Lyon Daniels to become the new Director of Furnishings. Jasmine LeFleur is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design in New York City. She is known for her opulent and seductive urban designs, including handwoven textiles and lush applications of texture within the home walls. Her expertise was developed during ten years of experience as a home design partner with Don Dryden, a celebrity home design consultant. During those years, Jasmine learned how to use her skills and designs to bring together a series of rooms in any home.

Ida Renoir was the administrative assistant to Jasmine LeFleur for six years at the former employer’s work sites. Ida was extremely organized and talented with her customer service skills. Jasmine has hired Ida to be the new Office Manager, in addition to being her executive assistant in the company.

Lyon Daniels holds a degree in Business Applications from University of California, Los Angeles. He has over ten years of experience as a designer and operations manager in his former employment, where he garnered many compliments from satisfied clients who requested him multiple times while decorating their homes. Lyon will become the Director of Furnishings in the new company.

Success Factors

Urban Harmony Home Decor will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of Urban Harmony Home Decor
• Comprehensive menu of products and services designed to meet even the most discriminating client need.
• Personal design specialists who will offer home consultations
• Modern, minimalistic, classic and eclectic designs from which to choose
• Urban Harmony Home Decor offers the best pricing in town. Their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

Urban Harmony Home Decor is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch Urban Harmony Home Decor. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for Urban Harmony Home Decor.

Company Overview

Who is urban harmony home decor.

Urban Harmony Home Decor is a newly established, full-service home decor company in Los Angeles, California. Urban Harmony Home Decor will be the most luxurious, multi-design environment choice for individuals and families in Los Angeles and the surrounding communities. Urban Harmony Home Decor will provide a comprehensive menu of design services for any client to utilize. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive array of design options in price choices from modest to ultra-luxury.

  Jasmine LeFleur will be able to manage a staff of several employees. The team of professionals are highly qualified and experienced in home decor, fabrics, textiles, wall treatments and design features. Urban Harmony Home Decor brings a fresh, appealing to every home and removes all the headaches of trying to pull together items to create a cohesive design. Urban Harmony Home Decor ensures all issues are taken care of expeditiously for each client, while delivering the best customer service.

Urban Harmony Home Decor History

Urban Harmony Home Decor is owned and operated by Jasmine LeFleur. As a former home decor designer for several years, she developed a unique capability to find the decor items and furnishings that clearly reflect an urban, chic, California-style home. She has managed design projects for home and commercial projects alike and has now determined she is ready to take her skills and knowledge to venture out on her own by starting her own company. She has gained the trust and commitment of several clients in advance of opening her business and will sign contracts with each when the company launches.

Since incorporation, Urban Harmony Home Decor has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered Urban Harmony Home Decor, LLC to transact business in the state of California.
• Has a contract for a 10,000 square foot design studio at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include Urban Harmony Home Decor in new design projects.
• Began recruiting designers and office personnel to work at Urban Harmony Home Decor

Urban Harmony Home Decor Services

The following will be the services Urban Harmony Home Decor will provide:

• Superior customer service and attentive personal attention to each client

Industry Analysis

The home decor industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $62277M. The growth will be driven by an interest fueled by the pandemic years when design and decor did not grow at all. The fast pace within the home decor industry now has triggered a renewed drive to design and add home decor to small and large homes, businesses, commercial areas and government buildings. The growth will also be driven by the increased availability of exotic international textures, fabrics, lampshades, lighting fixtures and other decor items. The doors are open to new designs and new rooms to place those items with flair and urban coziness.

Costs will likely be reduced as technology moves more toward optimizing daily tasks so that company personnel can avoid mundane work. Costs will also likely be reduced as design pieces and decor, along with furnishings, will once again ship through internationally to fill design centers will plenty of inventory, which will reduce prices. The availability of lower-than-expected textiles and fabrics from India has also led to prices being reduced with, possibly, further price reductions in the future from that area of the globe.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

Urban Harmony Home Decor will target individuals who live in the Los Angeles region. They will target upper-economic zone homeowners throughout Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Orange County and other regions. They will target real estate agents, home designers and decorators. They will target celebrity agents.

Customer Segmentation

Urban Harmony Home Decor will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Residents within certain areas of Los Angeles
• Upper-income homeowners throughout select regions, such as Beverly Hills
• Real estate agents
• Home designers
• Home decorators
• Celebrity agents

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Urban Harmony Home Decor will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

Classic Living Decor

Classic Living Decor located in Orange County, California, was started by Tina Murray in 2019. She is a home design expert, having graduated from the Chicago Institute of Design and practicing her craft for over 15 years. Her style of preference is the “classic” decor with a balanced design that tells guests one lives in California. This translates to cool blue, tangerine, white and other beach colors, all designed within classic lines of furnishings. Tina was personally designing for friends when she realized she needed to start her own company. The company is highly-profitable and currently Tina has seven executive personnel on staff, fifteen clerks and design assistants, along with two retail locations specializing in classic home decor design.

Handmade Home Specialties

While on a buying trip for a retail employer, David Landon realized the beauty and sustainability of international textiles. In Egypt and India, he located multiple suppliers of those textiles and returned home to start his new company, Handmade Home Specialties. He currently has one retail store and two design specialists who work with select clients to develop photos or illustrations of the textiles desired. Those are then sent to the country best suited to create the textiles and the clients wait for finished pieces to be sent.

Handmade Home Specialties has handmade textiles for every buyer, from modestly-priced to opulent, with the idea that textiles bring warmth and comfort to every room and should be found in every person’s home.

Townsend & Hatch Home Decor

Marc Townsend and Darlyn Hatch are co-owners of the Townsend & Hatch Home Decor company. Founded in 2018, Marc and Darlyn were formerly employed as designers in a large upscale department store who determined that they would be able to become more profitable and enjoy their life experiences more as business owners. They started the new company in a warehouse in midtown, where it quickly grew to over 20,000 feet in size.

Because of the extremely reasonable prices for home decor and the extensive experience Marc and Darlyn carried, the company has grown to become extremely competitive with other home decor stores.

Competitive Advantage

Urban Harmony Home Decor will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

Urban Harmony Home Decor will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Highly-qualified team of skilled employees who are able to provide a comprehensive home decor plan
• Unbeatable pricing to its clients; they will offer comparative pricing to the competition

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for Urban Harmony Home Decor is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Jasmine LeFleur has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to her clients. The contacts and clients will follow her to her new company and help spread the word of Urban Harmony Home Decor.

Professional Associations and Networking

The staff at Urban Harmony Home Decor will join the professional associations throughout the region to spread the word of the new company. They will also join national trade organizations and international collaborations to ensure they receive textiles and decor that complement their styles throughout the company.

Print Advertising

A direct mail piece will be sent to select individuals and companies prior to the launch of the company. A champagne launch party will be held on opening day of the company with select guests present.

Website/SEO Marketing

Urban Harmony Home Decor will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services that Urban Harmony Home Decor provides. The website will also list their contact information and display various pieces of home decor for consideration. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “home decor company” or “design near me,” Urban Harmony Home Decor will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of Urban Harmony Home Decor will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for Urban Harmony Home Decor. Operation Functions:

• Jasmine LeFleur will be the owner and president of the company. She will oversee all staff and manage client relations. Jasmine has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Ida Renoir will be the administrative assistant who will manage the office administration, client files, and accounts payable.
• Lyon Daniels will be the Director of Furnishings, all client oversight, inventory selection and furnishings specialist

Milestones:

Urban Harmony Home Decor will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the Urban Harmony Home Decor
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for Urban Harmony Home Decor clients
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into Urban Harmony Home Decor office
• 7/1/202X – Urban Harmony Home Decor opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Urban Harmony Home Decor are the fees they will charge to clients for their products and services.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff Urban Harmony Home Decor. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Urban Harmony Home Decor is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its home decor company. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Clients Per Month: 70
• Average Revenue per Month: $45,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, home decor business plan faqs, what is a home decor business plan.

A home decor business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your home decor business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your Home Decor business plan using our Home Decor Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Home Decor Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of home decor businesses, some examples include: Complete home decor service, Restore or replace decor service, Online home decor service, and Home decor accessory service.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Home Decor Business Plan?

Home Decor businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Home Decor Business?

Starting a home decor business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A Home Decor Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed home decor business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your home decor business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your home decor business is in compliance with local laws. 3. Register Your Home Decor Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your home decor business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your home decor business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 7. Acquire Necessary Home Decor Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your home decor business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your home decor business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.

Home Decor Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Home Decor Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their home decor companies. 

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a home decor business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Home Decor Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your home decor business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Home Decor Business

If you’re looking to start a home decor business or grow your existing home decor company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your home decor business to improve your chances of success. Your home decor business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Home Decor Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a home decor business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan (hand it to them in person or email to them as a PDF file) and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for home decor companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a home decor business.

If you want to start a home decor business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide and sample below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your home decor business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of home decor business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a home decor business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of home decor businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. 

• Give a brief overv iew of the home decor industry. 
• Discuss the type of home decor business you are operating. 
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. 
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. 
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of home decor business you are operating.

For example, you m ight specialize in one of the following types of home decor businesses:

• Complete home decor service : Full-service home decor design and placement. This type of company utilizes designers who visit in-home clients for consultations and recommendations through the home decor replacement process.
• Restore or replace decor service: Clients request partial home decor service for one room or one area of the home, often with restoration goals for furnishings. Designers visit in-home to fulfill these requests.
• Online home decor service: This service includes online consultations and recommendations for customers via video or by photos submitted. Designers make recommendations for online or in-store purchases.  
• Home decor accessory service: Customers may choose to change interior accessories to suit special occasions or seasons. Designers may offer in-home visits and recommendations with follow-up visits.

In addition to explaining the type of home decor business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of home decor clients served, or reaching X$ revenue generated through sales. 
• Your legal business structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the home decor industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the home decor industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your home decor business plan:

• How big is the home decor industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your home decor business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your home decor business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals or families.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of home decor business you operate. Clearly, homeowners in high-end homes would respond to different marketing promotions than homeowners in starter homes, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers. Ideally you can speak with a sample of your target customers before writing your plan to better understand their needs.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are othe r home decor businesses. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes furniture-restoring companies, department stores, furniture stores, paint or wallpaper outlets, upholstery stores, etc. You need to mention direct competition, as well.

For each direct competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of home decor business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide cost-saving decor ideas for individuals in starter homes?
• Will you offer digital room-mapping services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a home decor business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type o f home decor company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide brand name accessories at reduced prices, reupholstered furnishings, upscale room designs, or rewards for frequent customers?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of yo ur plan, yo u are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your home decor company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your home decor business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your home decor marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and upscale magazines
• Reach out to websites 
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your home decor business, including setting appointments, planning and providing home decor assistance, invoicing clients and paying bills, etc. 

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth client session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your home decor business to create a franchise.

Management Team

To demonstrate your home decor business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing home decor businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a home decor business or successfully running a home furnishings department in a retail store.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance s heet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 5 new clients per day, and/or offer home decor parties within certain neighborhoods ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your home decor business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a home decor business:

• Cost of decor and furnishing samples, photography, videography and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of contracted clients you serve.

Writing a business plan for your home decor business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the home decor industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful home decor business.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Home Decor business plan?

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Interior Design Business Plans: The Ultimate Guide

As an interior designer, you already understand the importance of creating plans. Design plans, project plans, floor plans—they’re the foundation upon which your creative vision takes shape. But did you know that creating a business plan is also a pivotal step in building a successful design firm? 

An interior design business plan documents your vision, goals, strategy, and blueprint for growing your business. Think of your interior design business plan as a roadmap, guiding you forward, step by step. 

In this post, I’ll dive into exactly why interior design business plans are critical for the growth of your firm, and how you can create one that sets you up for success. 

Table of Contents

Why do you need a business plan as a designer?

You might be asking yourself this question, wondering if it’s really worth the effort. The answer is a resounding yes. It’s not enough to be an excellent designer. You also need to know how to run a business. And trying to run a business without a plan is sort of like driving to an unfamiliar destination without a map or GPS. You might have a general sense of where you’re headed, but without precise directions and landmarks to guide you, the journey becomes fraught with uncertainty and unnecessary detours. 

By creating a business plan, you can hopefully avoid those detours and move forward with conviction and purpose.

A well-crafted business plan, which documents the goals of your business and strategies and timelines for attaining those goals, will provide you with the scaffolding necessary to build the design firm of your dreams. It will also help keep you accountable. By regularly referencing back to your business plan, you can quickly get a snapshot of your progress and what still needs to be done.

A business plan is also a great way to stay aligned with present and/or future team members, ensuring everyone is on the same page and headed in the same direction. And if you decide to seek investors at any point, having a business plan on-hand will be incredibly useful.

How to write an interior design business plan? (11 steps)

Crafting an interior design business plan requires thorough research, strategic thinking, and a clear understanding of your objectives. Here are the essential steps to help you create a comprehensive and actionable plan for your design firm:

1. Define your vision and goals

Start by digging deep and articulating your long-term vision for your interior design business. Establish specific, measurable goals that align with your vision, including financial objectives, timelines, and growth milestones. This process involves envisioning where you see your business in the next 5-10 years and setting tangible targets that reflect both your aspirations and the realities of the market.

Check out our workshop on getting paid what you’re worth with Gail Doby to help you unleash your business vision and goals.

2. Identify your target market

If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to conduct a detailed analysis of your target market—their needs, preferences, and demographics—and get it down on paper. This information will help you tailor your services and messaging to consistently meet the needs of your ideal client, and serve as a North Star, which you can keep referring back to in the future. Understanding your target market is crucial for effective marketing, service development, and client acquisition strategies.

Grab our detailed guide on getting crystal clear on your ideal target client .

3. Outline your services

When defining the range of services your interior design business will offer, you must consider the preferences and requirements of your target market, your own bandwidth, and your financial goals. Once you’ve landed on the services you plan to offer, provide detailed descriptions and breakdowns of each. You also want to ensure that you’ve created a pricing strategy for each service that reflects both the value you provide and the market demand.

Get our ultimate pricing guide to help set accurate prices for your services .

4. Plan your finances

Develop a comprehensive financial plan for your interior design business, including revenue projections, expenses, and profit targets. Determine your startup costs, ongoing expenses, and revenue streams. Set clear financial goals and establish strategies to achieve them, such as pricing strategies, budget allocation, and revenue diversification. You’ll also want to think about your tax strategy and explore potential sources of funding or investment to fuel your growth.

Watch our workshop with Megan Dahle on managing and understanding your finances like a pro .

5. Develop a marketing strategy

While you may want to consider creating a separate marketing plan, you should also factor marketing into your interior design business plan. Outline your strategy for attracting clients, identify the channels you’ll need to reach your target audience, and develop a plan for creating messaging and branding that will communicate your value proposition effectively. This involves leveraging various marketing channels, such as social media, your website, networking events, and partnerships and collaborations, to build brand awareness and generate qualified leads.

Check out our guide with 9 proven ways to get clients (+tutorials!) .

6. Build your team

Assess the team you will need to support your interior design business, considering factors such as expertise, skills, and workload. Determine the roles and responsibilities required to operate your business efficiently, including designers, project managers, assistants, and external contractors. Consider the hours per week required from each team member to meet your business objectives, and consider whether you need to invest in ongoing training and development to optimize your outcomes.

7. Define operational processes

Establish operational processes and workflows to streamline your interior design business operations. Define protocols for client communication, project management, and quality assurance to ensure consistency and efficiency. Determine the hours per week needed to manage various aspects of your business effectively, and leverage technology and automation tools, like the ones you can access with DesignFiles, to optimize your workflow and enhance productivity.

Watch our workshop on advanced project management strategy with Kimberley Seldon .

8. Assess and mitigate risk

Identify potential risks and challenges that may affect your interior design business and develop strategies to mitigate them. Consider factors such as economic fluctuations, market competition, and project delays. Implement contingency plans and risk management strategies to minimize disruptions and ensure the continuity of your business. 

9. Set milestones and timelines

Break down your goals into actionable milestones with specific timelines for achieving them. Establish measurable criteria for success and track your progress regularly. Determine the hours per week required to meet your milestones and allocate resources accordingly to stay on track. Regularly review your timelines, and adjust if needed to reflect changes in market conditions, client feedback, and internal priorities.

Watch our live hotseat coaching sessions with Nancy Ganzekaufer to get inspired on your next goal .

10. Monitor and adapt

Continuously monitor your interior design business’s performance and adapt your strategies as needed to capitalize on opportunities and address challenges. Stay flexible and responsive to changes in the market, client preferences, and industry trends. Regularly review and update your business plan to reflect evolving circumstances and ensure alignment with your goals. 

11. Seek feedback and collaboration

Seek feedback from mentors, peers, coaches, and other industry experts to refine your interior design business plan. Don’t shy away from leveraging external insights to enhance your business strategy and drive growth.

Looking for a pro community? Join the DesignFiles Facebook group with over 10,000 interior designers.

3 sample interior design business plans

Check out these examples to inspire your own business plan.

1. Interior design business plan example by Wix

This sample business plan does a great job of outlining all the key areas of the business in a clear and succinct way. By keeping it concise, this business plan is easy to follow and digest. 

We recommend diving a little deeper into topics such as target market. If you can get more specific in creating your personas—for example, getting clear on the age range and kinds of budgets of your ideal client—that will help you be more targeted in all your strategies. We also recommend going into more detail with your competitive analysis as really digging into what your competitors are doing will help you strengthen your own plan.

Finally, going into more detail about your marketing and financial plans will help give you a clearer direction for moving forward. While you can certainly create separate more detailed documents for each, where you get into the nitty gritty, it’s still helpful to include as much detail as possible in your overall business plan so everything is in one place.

2. Interior design business plan example by OGS Capital

This more substantive business plan example  goes into much greater detail, including graphics and cost breakdowns. While you don’t necessarily need to go into this level of granular detail in your business plan, it’s always helpful to look at different examples and approaches so you can tailor yours. Ultimately your business plan needs to be unique to your own business, needs, and goals. 

3. Business News Daily business plan template

Ready to create your own? This business plan template from Business News Daily is a great resource to help you get started in creating your own interior design business plan. 

As you get started on crafting your interior design business plan, remember it’s more than just a document. By investing the necessary time and reflection now to create a solid plan, you’re laying the foundation from which the rest of your business will grow and evolve. 

In addition to outlining the tangible elements of your business strategy, your business plan also embodies your vision and values, serving as your compass as you move forward.

Ready to grow your design business? Create a strong foundation with the most intuitive software and save dozens of hours each month. Learn more about DesignFiles.

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