Hi and Welcome Back to Lolly's Secrets!

Sope Opayemi Takes us through her journey of becoming an interior designer and drops some key nuggets that we will note below.

1. If you are pivoting from an existing career to move into interior design or are already in the middle of studying another course, you can always research schools that can take your grades and convert some of your scores into a master's program, the way Sope did.

Tip 1 - Work experience is very useful for dipping your feet into the pool to see if you're really interested or if it is just a phase. You get to see what a full day looks like and understand if it is really for you.

2. Relationships are important - jobs are based on the relationships between you and your client. Building on and maintaining those relationships is key to your success.

3. Your team -  having the right team is essential to any interior designers success because your team can make or break your projects

Source the through referrals, pick them by skill level, test their skills, work ethic, and willingness to earn. Incentivizing your team is important

 Tip 2 - Management skills are fundamental to any interior designer. You must have people skills and be able to get the job done regardless of the situation

4. Networking - Join your associations to meet other interior designers as well as others in the industry so that you can get chances at collaborations. However, caution is advised as some collaborations may come with their own problems.

5. Monetization - payment is normally a percentage of the budget or the project and varies from project to project.

Further monetization can be gained by using specific vendors to earn a commission depending on the partnership you have with them.

6. Involvement of a Client in the Project - a commercial project is usually 50% and residential 80%

7. How do you decide on a client? - a) budget, b) size of the project. c) client's commitment to the project, d) creative license, e) the rate at which the client pays you, f) vibe.

Some unethical practices in the industry:

A. clients holding on to your balance when you have completed the work to their specification

B. sexual harassment from clients

C. Pressure to gain clients in unethical ways

Tip 3 - Design Home App is a game on IOS and Android phones that lets you be an interior designer in the game. try it!

8. Diversify - real estate is a nice way to diversify. You can buy a property, redo the interior and flip it. Alternatively, you can build a purpose building like a resort

Tip 4 - The difference between a decorator and an interior designer is that a decorator cant effect changes to the built form. They can only make the space look aesthetically beautiful. An interior designer makes indoor spaces functional by determining space requirements and selecting essential and more decorative items such as colours, lighting, and materials. they must be able to draw, read and edit blueprints. you do not need a degree to be a decorator but you definitely need a degree to be a designer.

9. Residential pet projects can be a saviour in building your portfolio

10. No project is too small. It is all about building your portfolio.

Thank You so much for listening to the show! Don't forget to Rate and Subscribe for more content.

You can always follow me on Instagram @lollys.secrets

For more details on our guest, please see her contact details below.

Contact details for Sope Opayemi: Instagram: @niffydesignstudio, website: www.niffydesign.com

Until the next Episode... Ciao!

Love

Lolly