Contacting organisations and seeking professional advice will ensure that a start-up business,either interior or garden, is given the fundamental building blocks from inception. 

 Having a realistic, working business plan is also essential when you are considering forming a new business. Practising professional designers will give advice, together with anecdotal evidence, on:

• The business plan, business ethics and advisors
• Market research, competitors and keeping an eye on the competition
• Legal and technical guidelines
• Fee charging
• Organisation and management
• Opening trade accounts
• Accounting and VAT
• Portfolios and website
• Marketing
• Financial forecasting
• Business development

The way in which businesses are run on a daily basis can be the making or breaking of them. This day will show what are the ingredients required to run and succeed in a profitable design business,either interior or garden.

Practical advice and recommendations will be given by practising professionals, together with personal accounts of their daily business dealings.

Subjects covered will be:

• Office set up
• Client briefing, proposal, stages of a project
• Contract
• Administration and project files
• Estimates, invoices, statements & schedules of variations
• Ordering
• Managing the client, workforce and your time
• Overview of accounts, VAT, profit and loss (to be expanded in Effective Project Co-ordination)
• Implementation of a project
• Site visits
• Site meetings and minutes
• Snagging
• Signing off
• Photographing completed projects
• Forecasting future projects
• Keeping up to date with CPDs, exhibitions, other designers

mplementing a project requires skill, organisational ability and diplomacy. Although most medium to large projects will demand a Project Manager, most designers need to be able to co-ordinate small projects that cannot justify the expense of a Project Manager.

Detailed specification and clear ordering procedures, together with advice on how to co-ordinate contractors will ensure the smooth running of a project. This day will be headed by a leading Interior Designer with the following aspects being covered:

• Sequence of a design project
• Preparation
• Responsibilities of people involved
• Legal and technical information
• Designs and product information
• Schedules of works and specifications
• Budgeting
• Tendering and contracts
• Ordering
• Implementation of programme
• Installation
• Completion and evaluation