Assisting Interior Designers: How to Niche as an Interior Design VA

PC: Amelia Bartlett via Unsplash

Niche, niche, niche. When you start out as a virtual assistant (VA) that’s a primary piece of advice you hear. And for good reason. Niching is recommended as a way to easily target potential clients and speak directly to their pain points through your services and marketing strategy. It also allows you to turn any previous experience in a certain industry (even if it wasn’t as a VA) into a lucrative VA business because you already know the in’s and out’s of  the industry and can hit the ground running. 

Niching Into Interior Design Virtual Assistance

But for some VAs, niching is a little more difficult. Maybe you’re fresh out of college and haven’t collected experience in any specific industry, or maybe you’re trying to get out of an industry that you don’t like. Don’t panic! There are so many areas of expertise out there and one of them is perfect for you! Try advertising yourself as a general virtual assistant first and see where your skills naturally fit. 

But if you’re a VA who already knows your niche is interior design, then welcome! In many ways interior design is like any other industry. However, there are some specific things you should know and focus on to help you excel as an interior design VA – whether you’re brand new or have been here a while. To help you get off to a successful start, I’m sharing some advice on how to niche as a VA in the interior design industry. 

Let’s get started!

Make a List of Skills

This is a super easy first step that is simply meant to get you thinking about what skills you have to offer. It’s also an exercise in self esteem as much as anything else. Simply make a list of all the skills you’ve acquired over your work and educational career – social media, tech support, writing, events, transcriptions, travel planning, etc. Even if you’ve worked in an administrative or sales position unrelated to the design world, dig deep and know that “customer service” can be distilled into “client communications liaison” pretty easily. 

Then take these skills and determine which ones will best serve interior designers*. From there, you’ll have a great basis from which you can build packages and create a marketing strategy that advertises your expertise in these areas.

*Hint: Here’s what all interior designers need help with

• Inventory management and planning

• Sales

• Copywriting

• Product sourcing

• Product expediting

• Project management

• Photo editing

• 3D renderings and mood boards

• Social media management

• Client acquisition & retention

• Client onboarding

• Client experience management & communication

• Finances - Bookkeeping, Accounting, CPA

• Marketing

• Website management

• Emails

• Schedule and calendar management

• Creating forms

• Human resources

• Data entry

Apply Your General VA Experience

If you’re already working as a VA, it’s more than likely that you’ve started as a general VA and have a wide range of experience in a variety of industries. Don’t discount any of it, because it all applies! Niching does not necessarily mean discarding certain skills and experience. It’s fairly possible that at some point you’ll be calling on all of the acquired general VA experience you have to be the best interior design VA you can be. 

The above list of areas where interior designers need help is pretty common across all fields. So if you haven’t niched before and instead have gotten your start as a general VA, hold on tight to those skills. Because an interior designer VA is just a general VA with a few extra tricks up their sleeve. 

PC: Slava Keyzman via Unsplash

Interior Design VA Education Must-Haves

Educate yourself as much as possible about the BUSINESS side of the industry. Remember, you’re not becoming an interior designer, you’re training to help interior designers with their business, so it’s critical that you know what goes into the business side of interior design. This back-end management is priceless to anyone trying to keep their business afloat, and the more you know, the more valuable your skillset to anyone looking for a helping hand. 

Additionally, it’s a good idea to get a firm grasp on the interior design process. This will help you learn the workflow and general working order of things before you start working with a studio. There are, as always (thanks to the internet), a plethora of resources out there, but don’t get overwhelmed. Find a good podcast, a solid blog, a Facebook group or other public educational group, and maybe a go-to hub of resources that you can rely on. There’s no shame in a learn-as-you-go approach, but be sure you’re ready to learn, learn, learn! 

A few resources that I like to go to are:

Podcasts

 A Well Designed Business | Designed for the Creative Mind | The Kate Show* | The Wingnut Social

Blogs

Claire Jefford | Nancy Ganzekaufer

Virtual Assistant Education

The Virtual Assistant Savvy |  The Fully Booked VA 

*The Kate Show is great for all interior designers, interior design VAs, and VAs who are focusing on marketing as a niche or sub-niche.

Software You Should Know

While we’re on the subject of education, the one thing that differentiates interior designers from other clients is the software they use. You can recycle general virtual assistant skill sets all day, but in order to specialize your training, it’s best to get to know some key software platforms that interior designers use day-to-day.  

Indema - Indema is a fairly new software, but interior designers are hopping on board fast, so it’s a good one to have in your arsenal. Through Indema’s dashboard you can keep track of open projects, tasks, financials and calendar. It also has features that help interior designers nurse leads into signing contracts, a client portal where clients can view and approve or decline designs, selections, and estimates, pay invoices and send messages. It streamlines project management, includes a vision board creation platform, and so much more! 

HouzzPro - HouzzPro is built for anyone in the interior design, construction, design, and architectural fields. Within HouzzPro, designers can build profiles, post reviews, manage leads, track projects, advertise their services, create mood boards, and more.

DesignFiles - DesignFiles is a project-based platform that allows designers to create mood boards, source and save products, create project questionnaires, and more. Designers use this platform for E-design services, proposals, and project management.

Dubsado - Dubsado is a customer relationship management software that makes it easy to set up contract templates, contact forms, track time and expenses, send invoices, and streamline the onboarding, project, and offboarding process to make keeping track of clients just a little easier.

Honeybook - Honeybook functions in much the same way as Dubsado, with a lot of the same features and functions. When it comes to Honeybook and Dubsado, it’s usually just a matter of taste and work style preference, so it’s probably good to have a basic understanding of both.

Calendly - Calendly is an incredibly popular tool used by a lot of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and businesses who want to automate their meeting schedules. Knowing the ins and outs of this simple tool could make you invaluable in the calendar management sphere.

Industry Terms To Help You Sound Professional

There are some articles and blogs out there, as well as some useful glossaries (this one & this one, too) that will help familiarize you with common interior design industry terms. 

Of course, there are the typical furniture terms that you should know like:

• Chaise lounge

• Sconce

• Chandelier

• Built ins

• Sectional

• Vanity

As well as some more technical terms like:

• Mullion

• Finial

• Wainscoting

• Casing

• Valance

• Baseboard

There’s also some lingo regarding décor and the artistic side of design like:

• Contrast

• Complement

• Art Deco

• Minimalist

• Bespoke

• Patina

• Texture

And some miscellaneous terms that might come up:

• Egress

• Floor plan

• Elevation

• Mood board

Additionally, it’s helpful to be well-versed in things like the 4 phases of interior design:

1. Research

2. Development

3. Procurement

4. Installation

What VAs and Interior Designers Have in Common

Though the interior design industry has many moving parts, processes, and intricately linked creative and business sides, being a VA means you’ll already have an idea of the service-based model of business.

First we have a discovery call, then to move forward we send a contract, and invoice for payment before we do any "service" such as consults and presentations. Just like a VA, a designer asks to be paid for their service up front, and extra products or services are an extra charge. We send proposals with items and services to approve, and the client typically pays for items before we start procuring them. As a VA specifically serving interior designers, you’ll be able to pull on your own business know-how, with the added commitment of learning the workflow and progression of the design process as a whole and how the industry works.

Always Remember...

Interior design is a luxury service, in a luxury industry. That means that interior designers are selling their services using specific language to cater to a specific audience. But more than that, interior designers are selling a lifestyle and client experience that you are hired to support. This is one of the biggest things to keep in mind as you go through your daily tasks.  

Ready To Start?

If you’re ready to bring on clients, check out LIAISE. Avoid the Fiverr and Upwork battle and enjoy a networking platform specifically designed to connect interior design VAs with Interior Designers. Once you’ve niched your business and determined your packages, join LIAISE’s interior designer-specific directory by creating a profile and start building a client base!