Interior design networking events to find clients

Networking is a critical part of the success of any small business as it provides you with opportunities for new income and growth. As an interior designer, networking events can help you learn more about the industry trends and interact with potential clients. But you may wonder what events you can attend and how to make the most of them. 

This guide will discuss interior design networking events, including: 

• Where to find networking events 
• What types of events to attend 
• How to make the most of these networking events 

To find the best interior design networking events, you need to know where to look. There are a few places where you can get started finding these events.  

LinkedIn is one of the best places to find networking opportunities, which is business-focused. This platform can help grow your professional network by connecting with people in your industry. By building a LinkedIn page for yourself, you can sell your skills and experience and build relationships with people doing things similar to you. 

As an interior designer, you can also connect with professionals that could become clients. Consider posting regularly to the platform about your finished products or insights on the industry. Then, try messaging potential clients or other interior designers to form relationships and start conversations. 

To find events, follow your growing network closely to see what they post about or find events they may be attending. Also, join relevant groups where people might post about interior design events. 

Aside from Linkedin, you could use social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter to find other networking events in your area. By joining groups or following relevant organisations on Facebook, you may come across useful events. Plus, you can use Twitter hashtags to find opportunities. 

You can also look into interior design associations to join or follow. Groups like The Society of British International Interior Design or the British Institute of Interior Design offer great event opportunities. 

Joining these associations can also help you meet people within interior design and promote your business. Aside from the bigger societies, there could look for smaller and more local options. Keep in mind that some of these associations may come with membership fees or regulations. 

As you use these platforms to find interior design networking events, you may find a few types of events to attend. 

Trade shows or exhibitions are one type of event you may attend. These events are often full of people in the design industry or beyond. Professionals often bring tables where they exhibit their skills and services to attendees. On top of this, experts in the industry may give presentations and demonstrations. 

Also, trade shows are great for growing your audience and learning more about the industry. They’re typically larger events where you can meet plenty of people.

A smaller and more personal event you might attend is a meet and greet event. These events may be smaller and more local to your area. You could meet other interior designers doing similar work to you. Getting to know them can be a helpful way to inform your business practices. Plus, you can interact with potential clients on a more one-to-one basis. 

Talks and lectures are also popular networking events. These are usually target events presented by leaders in the interior design industry. Attending lectures can teach you about trends and shifts in interior design. In addition, they can show you how to better your business.

At these events, you can interact with other attendees. Also, posting about your attendance can show that you work to grow your industry skills and knowledge.

As an interior designer, you may also attend virtual networking events to interact with potential customers. These events might come in different forms, such as webinars and meet and greets. 

Attending events online might come with more challenges when it comes to being memorable and growing strong relationships. Still, with the right effort and preparations, you can make the most of them. 

To make the most of these interior design networking events, you need to prepare ahead of time. We’ll cover a few tips on how to make the most of these events. 

Before attending these events, consider how you’ll interact with people to build strong relationships. You may want to write down conversation topics and think about what information would be useful to potential customers. How can your services help people? What’s the best way to describe what you do?

When thinking about conversations at these events, keep your target audience in mind. Then, you may want to put together an elevator pitch, or a brief introduction to your business. With this pitch, you can appear professional and prepared at networking events. 

At these events, try to be friendly and approachable. Go out of your way to approach people and stand out. 

Strong conversation and personable skills can make you be memorable at these networking events. But if you want to convert these conversations into business, you’ll need to make yourself accessible. So you may want to bring business cards so you can pass them out to people you meet. This will give them something physical to contact you with. 

As an interior designer, your business cards should showcase a bit of what you can do. If design them well, they can help you draw in more clients.  

As an interior designer, networking can help you find new clients, which means you’ll have more money to manage. But, financial management can be stressful and time-consuming when you’re self-employed. That’s why thousands of business owners use the Countingup app to make their financial admin easier. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.