How a New Generation of Designers is Teaching (and Earning) Online

Original article posted at Business of Home by Haley Chouinard.

The stories of how designers came to offer workshops or courses often begin the same way: with others repeatedly asking them for advice. Whether it was fellow design professionals looking for business tips or clients interested in the decorating process, the inquiries demonstrated that there was a viable interest in their experience, which in turn meant that there was an opportunity to share—and monetize—their acumen in a more official capacity.

“I wasn’t interested in offering individual business coaching,” says Sandra Funk, who founded the Montclair, New Jersey–based interior design firm House of Funk in 2005. “But I didn’t want to ignore the hunger that I saw for this type of content, which was about sharing the real details on things like how to price a job or what language should be in your contract.” In April, after 18 months of planning, Funk launched The Interior Design Standard, an online business program for interior designers. Comprising seven modules that can be taken at the user’s own pace, the program delves into the details of running a business, from contract templates to the design fee calculator that Funk’s firm uses. “We wanted them to be able to just swap their logo out for mine, while also teaching them why we do it that way and what experiences caused us to do it that way,” she says.