Hello and welcome to episode 27 of design curious podcast.
I'm your host and Mentor. Rebecca, Ward, I'm so glad
you're here today. I know I said I was going to
talk about the value of being coached today by decide to put
it off a few weeks to have it coincide with a coach that I
will be interviewing. Instead.
Today we're going to discuss this challenging Topic at least.
It is challenging to me of finding your niche.
So, we will get into that in the episode, and I'll kind of
explain why I find it challenging.
But before we get into that, I wanted to mention that, I love
getting your ratings and reviews on Apple podcast and everywhere
that you get the podcast and listen to it.
And we had another great one out of Hungary.
Sophia says that it's great topics and they're really
helpful before starting her own career.
And so I'm so glad Sophia that's yours.
Listening from Hungary, beautiful country.
I did visit Budapest, maybe I'll go back someday.
I love hearing all of the feedback internationally as well
and seeing people from all over the world listening in and
finding out if interior design is the career for them.
So, I'm glad you tuned in today and if you would like to leave
me a rating and review, I would love that.
And you can also connect with me on Instagram at our word
design.com. I love getting In your messages
there and answering any questions you might have about
the career of interior design, or even getting into the
mentorship program that I have, my design Mentor.
All right, so let's get into the episode.
You're now listening to design, curious a place where you
creative one are here to learn about what it really is.
Like, to be an interior designer and I'm your host and Mentor
Rebecca, Ward, if you're worried about how to succeed in a
creative career, if you're ready to learn your next steps to
become an Interior Designer. And if you want the satisfaction
of doing something you love every day, you are in the right
place. Grab a Coffee.
A notebook. And let's dig into today's
episode. So I was thinking the other day
that picking a niche is actually a lot like picking a major in
college. And yes you can do liberal arts
major and get a lot of great job opportunities out of it.
However, if there's something that you're really good at a
really interested in and drawn towards, then that should be the
major that you pick that specific field.
If it's science, if it's creative, arts, mathematics or
music, most of the time people will pick a major that is in
alignment with what their goals are in life and what their
passions lie around. And I suppose some people pick a
major based on what other people think they should pick or what
they think might be the most profitable route whether or not
they like it or not. So it could be law or medicine.
A lot of those really taxing and difficult job positions.
If you don't have a passion for that, then why are you going?
To it. Why are you going to spend all
of your time and energy and effort towards something that
does not give you satisfaction and might pay the bills really
well, or you might have a comfortable life around you.
It will you have time to savor it and really enjoy it on your
off time. So that's something to think
about. But when it comes to a niche,
then for your design practice, do you have to have one?
No, of course, you do not. You can definitely get started
out the gate without a A specific Niche and a lot of
designers do. And it's probably gonna happen
because in early days, you're taking on projects that you need
to, in order to pay the bills and to stay afloat.
And you might not have the luxury of being able to pick and
choose the clients and the projects that you take on,
however, you can definitely have your marketing, your branding
and your messaging be something. You are passionate about or that
you have knowledge of or that you just enjoy doing.
And there are some designers on the other end of the spectrum
who know exactly what they want to do, what they want to nation,
and come out of the gate with that specific Niche and that is
definitely an option as well. Some people go to college
knowing exactly what major they want.
Instead of changing Majors halfway through 45 times, they
stick with the one from start to finish and that's it.
Actually, what I did in college. I know I want to be a designer
since I was young. Hello.
I did take on a side degree of French.
So I'm not sure what that says about me except that I am multi
passionate and I know that I was also considering a minor in
astronomy because I took a few classes and the only needed 12
credits in order to get a minor in astronomy and I had taken six
of those. And so then I had to decide well
don't take two more classes in order to get the minor.
Just to say I got a minor I mean I really did like astronomy.
It was definitely not going to be useful to me in my future
career, but I digress. So going back to niches.
This is a topic that I personally have challenges with.
I am, I would say a generalist. I do love all different kinds of
design. I don't like saying no to
particular types of projects and I do love the variety that comes
with not having a specific Niche claimed on my website.
I would say Although over the years, I have come to realize
that I do in a sense have a niche in overtime in with
working with coaches, I have found that the niche that I do
present myself with is that basically comes from my life
experiences. So, I gear my services towards
busy families to which I can relate, they can relate to me
and clean fresh and contemporary design styles.
So, that is something that I enjoy working with in.
And I think, for a long time, I thought that if I stated boldly
and directly what my Niche was, I would then alienate people
from my services, which is kind of the point of Niche, but I
thought it would just be so limiting and produce like a
scarcity around my business, that no one with a thought.
Thought of having a slightly different design style or
someone who maybe didn't have kids would ever reach out to me
for my services, which is not the case.
Of course, people will see your work on your website and like
it, whether they feel like they align a hundred percent with
your Niche or not, they'll still reach out for your services
because they might like you as a person, they might like your
aesthetic and everything like that.
So what are some areas that designers might Niche themselves
into Well, you could do kitchen and bath design, a very common
and specific Niche. Where you focus only on
remodeling or building new kitchens and bathrooms for
people. And in that case, you likely are
not going to do a whole house, remodel whole house Furnishings
decorating and things like that. However, if that's something you
enjoy on occasion and your client asked for it, then you
can offer it to them. Another area of machine is with
your specific design style. So I'm going to be like to do
modern Farmhouse or you like to do Bohemian mid-century modern
and you can definitely promote your Niche by having projects in
your portfolio. That only show those Styles.
And so if someone came to your website and saw that, your
portfolio, only has mid-century modern style of design in there.
They will assume that that is what you do.
That's what you're Good at. And if that's what they're
looking for, they should hire you because that's something
that you're very experienced in. You can also Niche, with the
function of the room. So, it could, like I said,
kitchen and bath, but you also do like nurseries kids rooms
exercise rooms Outdoor Room. So that's definitely a specialty
can get in to do another. Good one is feng shui and I do
know a local designer who does has learned and practices.
Sway and on occasion. I'll have a client call me and
say that they are really interested in applying Fung shui
to their home. And if I have any experience in
doing this and I will say no, I have not learned it.
I picked up one or two things along the way, but I definitely
prefer those people to the other designer who is a specialist in
that area and really can understand the practice of feng
shui. So knowing something like that,
could definitely be a niche. If that's something that you
really I really enjoy and believe in and you want to help
your clients practice that in their homes to get the most out
of it. That's a great Niche to have and
you might be overthinking. And so how I said that I speak
mostly to families and that's because of my own life
experience. So you can draw on your own life
experience to Market to your ideal client.
Perhaps you lived with your grandparents for a long time.
Then you really understand what it is to age in place and that
you can Becoming Aging in place expert and really help people
get the most out of their homes as they are aging.
All right, so let's turn to you and as you're thinking about
what the possibilities of machine looks like for you and
maintaining that abundant mindset that like as you are
exploring something that you're passionate about, it will come
through in your messaging and people pick up on that in the
authenticity of it and really be drawn and attracted towards it.
It and then you will be repelling people who might not
be the ideal fit or the ideal client.
And that is okay because you want the most satisfaction out
of your projects in your job that you can get and way to do
this is by nice Sheen so let's look at the possibilities.
So you might want to consider project scope so you can limit
it to only doing furnishings and accessories or only remodels
only editions only new builds depending on what your Ian's is,
you can definitely start gravitating towards these.
I myself really focus on remodels up because I've had
very few new builds and I have worked with an architect on
doing auditions. But again new builds and
additions are not my expertise. I have done a few, but I would
say that there are challenges that come along with him, that
sometimes I really don't feel like facing and so remodels or
something that I could do night and day and I really I love it.
And so I do focus on remodeling for those busy families.
You could also focus on the client lifestyle, so I could
pick bachelor's or professional couples without children.
You could gear it towards young families with children.
You could also do empty-nesters multi-generational families
living in one home or families. With special needs Aging in
place. Like I said, so lifestyle of the
client opens, a huge range of possibilities.
And again, you will want to draw from Your life experience and
what your expertise is or what your passions are towards.
If you really have a heart towards special needs kids and
families that have to deal with it and understanding the extra
things that might go along with designing a bedroom or kitchen
for someone with special needs. Then that could be your focus
and you'll really attract people within that Community.
We could also consider clients budget.
So if you really love designing on a dime and you're great at
finding the bargains repurposing.
Seeing things and helping your clients stay within a very fixed
budget, which is great for first-time homebuyers and young
families. Then that can definitely be
something that's not something that I'm great at.
I have referred potential clients to other designers, who
I know are great at designing on a dime.
That's not something that I've, I really excel at it.
Many could work with a client's budget, being moderate, or super
high-end luxury, if that's your experience as well.
The types of residents, you could also focus on so whether
it's apartment, apartment, living high-rise condos in the
city first-time homebuyers historic homes.
And there's definitely a need for designers and architects who
understand the difficulties of restoring an historic home and
also the parameters that are placed around them when you're
dealing with an official Historic Site.
You'd also focus on vacation homes, Country Homes, Beachside
home, depending on the location Mountain Home.
And then you can what people must naturally.
Think of, when they talk about nation is do the design Styles,
like I said Farmhouse you could do Zen boho chic mid mod
maximalist or minimalist and oftentimes you'll develop your
own design Style Niche over time as people see your portfolio and
then they're drawn to that and then they you do more of those
types of projects and that's kind of how I developed a lot of
my portfolio as well. So next, what you will want to
do once you have landed on a niche or Niche, direction is
explore a little more with visualizing.
The type of client that fits within that Niche.
They want you to have a really good idea.
Really good Avatar of your ideal client.
And what is really recommended is to write down a whole
description of that person. What was their upbringing?
Where did they work? What kind of Lifestyle do they
live? What are they like?
What are their Hobbies? What are their pain points that
your design will solve for them? So you have a really good
picture in mind of who you're marketing towards and then you
start working on your messaging and you do this one way is like
to write a list of words that describe your ideal clients
project in feeling and aesthetic.
So you might use words like warm or Fresh or cozy, clean vibrant,
casual elegant sophisticated. So, these descriptive words can
be a driving force of your marketing for your Niche and
you'll want all of your social media platforms to be
consistent, with these words and images that you're using to
create your portfolio. And to start to attract your
ideal client within that Niche. And then the last thing to
remember, is that you're not married, Your Niche forever, if
it is not working out for you so you might want to try it out for
a year or two and see if you're liking the direction that you
chose. If you're attracting people that
you like to work with and if you discover that it's not working
for you. No big deal, change your
marketing change, your messaging and pivot to another Niche.
That you might like, I mean you have to maintain that abundant
mindset that there's more than enough people out there who want
to work with. Thew and you just have to get
your messaging right to find those people.
So if it's not working for you and Niche, you're too just like
changing your major, you can always change it and go toward
in a direction that really aligns with what you're feeling
and what you love to do. So there you have it, kind of an
introduction to niches and machine in an interior design
business. I would say I still have to do
some self coaching and get coaching around the idea of
machine because I find that I am just resistant to it sometimes
or at least just embracing the label of having a niche.
So if that's something that you are also struggling with, I am
happy to help you walk. Through that process based on my
experiences and my learning. And sometimes it's easier to
tell someone else what to do than it is yourself.
So if you would like help with it, you can always come into my
design mentor and I can work with you on this finding your
Niche and other areas of launching Your Design career,
and you can find the information for that in the show notes.
You can also visit my website are word design.com.
There you can find all of the show notes.
You can find information about my design.
Mentor. The other courses that I have,
you can also see my portfolio and the messaging that I put out
there to my client. So that might be something you
want to take notice of. So that's it for me this week.
I will be back next week with a wonderful interview with a
designer who is Niche to into the kitchen and bath and a
strange. She talks about how she started
and how she got into that. So you'll find that very
interesting, still come back. Next week for that until then
stay creative. Thanks for listening.
If you loved this episode, please leave a rating and a
review. This helps me reach other
curious creatives. Like you, if you have a topic
request or would like to contact me, simply head over to my
website, our Ward, designed.com or email me at podcast at our
war design.com,