How do I start my own professional christmas tree decorating service?

Of course, as an Interior Decorator, I already had my foot in the door of this one client. She hosted an annual neighborhood Christmas cocktail party and she was stressed for time, so I was delighted she asked me to decorate her house for the Christmas holiday. I used all of her decorations and she was so pleased at my creativity using her holiday decor in a way she had never done so before.

The next year, two of her neighbors consigned me to decorate their houses. And now, three years later, I am decorating five houses in that neighborhood. My point: Seeing is believing and word of mouth is the best advertising.

Now, I take inventory prior to decorating day and set a prearranged budget for new ornaments/decorations/lights. I love shopping for this stuff, too.

For you, I would: Make a portfolio. Have references available.

Have a brochure printed (without prices because each job is individual). Circulate the brochure to local establishments: hotel management, restaurants with foyers, golf courses, yacht clubs and the like. You have to market yourself and get the word out to anyone who will listen. Contact decorators to see if they could use your services for their clients.

Business cards are the single most inexpensive and most effective way to advertise. At Overnightprints.com you can design your own cards starting at $39.99 for a thousand cards. Hand these out to everyone you know and post them for private clients at the golf courses, yacht clubs and so forth. Leave stacks of cards at stores who sell Christmas decor and artificial trees. Don't forget the Christmas tree farms, too.

You can do this and have so much fun along the way. I wish you luck.

EDIT: unless you have the capital to invest in the actual Christmas decor and the space to store it all for 12 months a year, then I would suggest you use the client's decorations and they pay for and store their own decorations. I have several themes for my Christmas tree and I am running out of space to store it all.

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How do I start my own professional christmas tree decorating service?

How do I start my own business in decorating christmas trees for local businesses, homes, and open-house nights? I've never done someones tree that wasn't family or friend... I just don't know where to start!

Obviously the first thing you need to do is get licensed,then figure out if you will have an inventory or purchase the supplies with a down payment from the client. You will also need to know how you are going to show people that you know what you're doing. Do you have photos of trees you've decorated in the past? Once you figure all of that out, advertise. Advertising really depends on your budget. It could be as simple as visiting some local businesses and introducing yourself and leaving a flier. You could do the same thing with realtors. As for individuals you could stick to posting the information places they might see them, just make sure it's places that people could afford your services would be. For example, don't place the ads in a run down laundromat, as those people probably don't have the budget to hire you and you've just wasted one flier = the opportunity for more qualified clients.

As you gain clients you shouldn't be shy to ask for testimonials or taking photos of their trees. Make sure you set your prices reasonably and get started asap, you should have a pretty good thing going.

Really interesting question, looking forward to going through the answers

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