ABOUT THE INTERIOR DESIGNER’S
BUSINESS SCHOOL
Being an interior designer is a truly rewarding, creative, fun and dream job so we want to help you love your work as much as we do
START YOUR OWN INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESS
FEATURED ONLINE SIGNATURE PROGRAM
ABOUT OUR SCHOOL
“Our manifesto was created whilst working in the studio. We got calls daily from interior designers trying to find work. They were willing to work for free or at a very low rate in order to get a foot in the industry. Many of them were fully qualified interior designers or professionals in another field, interior design course graduates, mums whose children had started school or working in other industries hoping to transition into the field.”
The Interior Designer’s Business School is for anyone who wants to start an interior design business to freelance or work for themselves. The service we provide as interior designers really lends itself to the laptop lifestyle and many of our students’ aim is to work for themselves from home. We really tried to find ways to fit our programs around busy lives and we tried to find ways to help our students actually succeed and not just do another course.
We thought that studying online and getting used to the online lifestyle was a great way to build the school but we knew that we wanted results and not just online courses that people purchased but never completed. So that’s where our idea stemmed from – finding ways of sharing our knowledge in interesting, social, fun and interactive ways. Now we have students from all over the world including across the UK, Europe, Egypt, Australia and Canada.
With our signature program 90 Days to A Freelance Life, we bridge the gap between learning, interior design and getting experience. In a way, we have more of an old-school approach that is based on a tradesperson’s apprenticeship – teaching and mentoring whilst working, but we do it our way.
We aren’t a typical school. Interior design schools traditionally focus on design and theoretical projects and students are required to submit a portfolio in order to be accepted for courses. We know that interior design, although creative is very practical and experience-based, so we understand that transitioning from another field gives you other skills which will make you unique and help you succeed. We help you to develop your existing talents and help you to grow, learn and be yourself because we understand that everyone is different and if you wanted just another design course, you’d go to just another design school.
For this reason we do a lot more soul searching and self expression in our courses rather than trying to fit your mould into a particular shape, style or type of designer. Our courses create the opportunity for you to develop your own style and skills whilst giving you the basic tools and skills to provide a high quality service as a professional.
About Jo Chrobak
INTERIOR DESIGNER’S BUSINESS SCHOOL
Jo grew up in Sydney, Australia and spent her whole childhood dreaming about, reading about and thinking about buildings. In 1999, Jo started a liberal studies degree majoring in geographical sciences. She left after her first year and moved to Brisbane, Queensland to study Architecture. In her final year of her undergraduate degree, she started her first architectural design company with her friend Matthew Anderson (Managing Director of the Steinlia Norway) and before graduating her first degree had 3 completed projects under her belt.
She graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Design Studies (the prerequisite at the time to the postgraduate architectural degree in Australia) and moved to England for two years to undertake her practical experience with a London Architect (Peter Thomas De Cruz). In that time she travelled across Europe and managed to get an amazing amount of experience working on small and large domestic projects across London.
After returning to Australia, Jo spent a few months working with architect’s in Sydney, then moved to Perth to continue her Bachelor of Architecture Degree at the University of Western Australia. She moved back to Sydney, missing the buzz of the city and decided to finish her postgraduate studies at The University of NSW in Sydney instead. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2007 with first class honours and top of her graduating class. Her talent landed her a job with an award-winning architectural firm Collins and Turner.
In 2008, Jo moved back to the UK and spent a few months travelling and working with architects in Norway. She spent a couple of years working with an international design firm, designing hotels, convention centers, airports, villas and master planning destination cities. As she was always doing at least two things at any one time, alongside triathlons, running and travelling, Jo decided to train to become a yoga instructor and graduated as an Ashtanga yoga instructor with CYS in 2009.
In 2010, Jo set up her own business and started working as a freelance designer. She worked on a variety of projects, helping developers and architects to win contracts with her designs, doing 3D rendering and modelling, technical drawing, small-scale master planning for development sites and working on a multitude of projects from schools to churches and listed buildings.
The director of Attol Architecture And Interiors, Mark Tavener and Jo met one weekend whilst on a surfing and camping trip in Wales. She spent the next 5 years working for him and that is where her passion for interior design grew. Mark happened to also be a director of a family owned high-end joinery business, so whilst working on some of the most lucrative London projects, Jo learned all about fine joinery and luxury interior design.
Jo’s thirst for knowledge took her down a path to study a business and coaching certification program with an American Life and Business Coach Gina De Vee. The year-long coaching and business training certification program gave Jo the skills to run and sustain a lucrative business, learn about branding, sales, marketing, online marketing and e-commerce. Whilst building her architectural and interior design studio, Jo undertook her final role as an architectural designer in a corporate firm adding health care and high-density housing projects to her repertoire.
In 2017, after a having been slowly building her business on the side, she started working in her business full time. She worked with over 60 happy and paying clients in her first year after creating a low-cost, online design service which enabled her to provide interior design and architecture to a whole new market, that previously couldn’t afford a designer.
Late in 2017, Jo started mentoring interior designers, helping them start their own businesses using the same method she used to grow her business from scratch. She launched her first online, mentorship program 90 Days To A Freelance Life in March 2018 and it was a huge success. Later in 2018, Jo and her husband Darius joined forces and created The Interior Designer’s Business School.
Having worked across the world on international projects, Jo has used every program under the sun and has a secret super skill and ability to use and teach any CAD or design related software program in an easy to understand and motivating way. Her obsession for interiors and architecture are only exceeded by her passion and drive to help her students succeed.
About Jo Chrobak
INTERIOR DESIGNER’S BUSINESS SCHOOL
Jo grew up in Sydney, Australia and spent her whole childhood dreaming about, reading about and thinking about buildings. In 1999, Jo started a liberal studies degree majoring in geographical sciences. She left after her first year and moved to Brisbane, Queensland to study Architecture. In her final year of her undergraduate degree, she started her first architectural design company with her friend Matthew Anderson (Managing Director of the Steinlia Norway) and before graduating her first degree had 3 completed projects under her belt.
She graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Design Studies (the prerequisite at the time to the postgraduate architectural degree in Australia) and moved to England for two years to undertake her practical experience with a London Architect (Peter Thomas De Cruz). In that time she travelled across Europe and managed to get an amazing amount of experience working on small and large domestic projects across London.
After returning to Australia, Jo spent a few months working with architect’s in Sydney, then moved to Perth to continue her Bachelor of Architecture Degree at the University of Western Australia. She moved back to Sydney, missing the buzz of the city and decided to finish her postgraduate studies at The University of NSW in Sydney instead. She graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 2007 with first class honours and top of her graduating class. Her talent landed her a job with an award-winning architectural firm Collins and Turner.
In 2008, Jo moved back to the UK and spent a few months travelling and working with architects in Norway. She spent a couple of years working with an international design firm, designing hotels, convention centers, airports, villas and master planning destination cities. As she was always doing at least two things at any one time, alongside triathlons, running and travelling, Jo decided to train to become a yoga instructor and graduated as an Ashtanga yoga instructor with CYS in 2009.
In 2010, Jo set up her own business and started working as a freelance designer. She worked on a variety of projects, helping developers and architects to win contracts with her designs, doing 3D rendering and modelling, technical drawing, small-scale master planning for development sites and working on a multitude of projects from schools to churches and listed buildings.
The director of Attol Architecture And Interiors, Mark Tavener and Jo met one weekend whilst on a surfing and camping trip in Wales. She spent the next 5 years working for him and that is where her passion for interior design grew. Mark happened to also be a director of a family owned high-end joinery business, so whilst working on some of the most lucrative London projects, Jo learned all about fine joinery and luxury interior design.
Jo’s thirst for knowledge took her down a path to study a business and coaching certification program with an American Life and Business Coach Gina De Vee. The year-long coaching and business training certification program gave Jo the skills to run and sustain a lucrative business, learn about branding, sales, marketing, online marketing and e-commerce. Whilst building her architectural and interior design studio, Jo undertook her final role as an architectural designer in a corporate firm adding health care and high-density housing projects to her repertoire.
In 2017, after a having been slowly building her business on the side, she started working in her business full time. She worked with over 60 happy and paying clients in her first year after creating a low-cost, online design service which enabled her to provide interior design and architecture to a whole new market, that previously couldn’t afford a designer.
Late in 2017, Jo started mentoring interior designers, helping them start their own businesses using the same method she used to grow her business from scratch. She launched her first online, mentorship program 90 Days To A Freelance Life in March 2018 and it was a huge success. Later in 2018, Jo and her husband Darius joined forces and created The Interior Designer’s Business School.
Having worked across the world on international projects, Jo has used every program under the sun and has a secret super skill and ability to use and teach any CAD or design related software program in an easy to understand and motivating way. Her obsession for interiors and architecture are only exceeded by her passion and drive to help her students succeed.
About Darius Chrobak
INTERIOR DESIGNER’S BUSINESS SCHOOL
Darius grew up In Bielsko Biala, a mountain town in the South of Poland and spent the best part of his teens and early twenties travelling across Europe as part of a national championship radio orienteering team.
In his late teens, Darius taught himself to play the guitar and performed as the guitarist for a few rock bands in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
In his early twenties, Darius started (but never finished) an electrical mechanical degree, he decided, instead, to go into the Police Army to train soldiers as a corporal!
Once out of the army, he moved to London and worked his way up from a labourer to a site manager on building sites with specialist trades in electrics and plumbing. During that time, he taught himself to speak English fluently and worked on projects all across London for almost 10 years and one day, decided to follow his passion and started teaching the guitar.
Darius dabbled in building his own websites after having been disappointed with the quality and standard of everything he had seen. By the end of 2012, Darius was proficient in Joomla, WordPress and had taught himself to code.
Using his music and technical skills, Darius mastered the art of high-quality audio and video recordings and started a You-Tube channel teaching the guitar online.
In 2013, he added SEO skills to his repertoire and built a membership online guitar teaching website (www.guitarcouch.com) and drove free traffic to it using YouTube and Instagram. In amongst building his online business and his 1 to 1 guitar teaching, Darius was also renovating their first property, mastering yet another few skills – plastering, carpentry and joinery.
In 2017, helping Jo with her various projects, Darius added web development to his portfolio of skills and built the first few courses for Jo’s mentorship programs.
In 2018, he joined Jo to build The Interior Designer’s Business School. He is an integral part of the IDBS team providing years of construction knowledge and experience, adding his input on unique teaching angles (from teaching guitar to builders, to soldiers), video and audio recording expertise, tech support, website and SEO help and considers the IDBS website his baby!
About Darius Chrobak
INTERIOR DESIGNER’S BUSINESS SCHOOL
Darius grew up In Bielsko Biala, a mountain town in the South of Poland and spent the best part of his teens and early twenties travelling across Europe as part of a national championship radio orienteering team.
In his late teens, Darius taught himself to play the guitar and performed as the guitarist for a few rock bands in the late 80’s and early 90’s.
In his early twenties, Darius started (but never finished) an electrical mechanical degree, he decided, instead, to go into the Police Army to train soldiers as a corporal!
Once out of the army, he moved to London and worked his way up from a labourer to a site manager on building sites with specialist trades in electrics and plumbing. During that time, he taught himself to speak English fluently and worked on projects all across London for almost 10 years and one day, decided to follow his passion and started teaching the guitar.
Darius dabbled in building his own websites after having been disappointed with the quality and standard of everything he had seen. By the end of 2012, Darius was proficient in Joomla, WordPress and had taught himself to code.
Using his music and technical skills, Darius mastered the art of high-quality audio and video recordings and started a You-Tube channel teaching the guitar online.
In 2013, he added SEO skills to his repertoire and built a membership online guitar teaching website (www.guitarcouch.com) and drove free traffic to it using YouTube and Instagram. In amongst building his online business and his 1 to 1 guitar teaching, Darius was also renovating their first property, mastering yet another few skills – plastering, carpentry and joinery.
In 2017, helping Jo with her various projects, Darius added web development to his portfolio of skills and built the first few courses for Jo’s mentorship programs.
In 2018, he joined Jo to build The Interior Designer’s Business School. He is an integral part of the IDBS team providing years of construction knowledge and experience, adding his input on unique teaching angles (from teaching guitar to builders, to soldiers), video and audio recording expertise, tech support, website and SEO help and considers the IDBS website his baby!
Both Jo and Darius continue to study and keep expanding their field of knowledge. As their interests and passions grow, they hone their unique skills so that they stay abreast of the industry.
They both continue to study and undertake continuing professional development courses, programs and continue to work in their separate industries alongside running the school.
ACCREDITATION
IDBS is accredited by ICOES / Accreditation number 00763-IDBS-3021X
ALL INTERIORS BLOG
How To Use Paid Advertising To Get Interior Design Clients In 5 StepsJuly 29, 2021 - 6:33 pm
Strategies To Start Or Grow Your Interior Design Business | Part 1July 21, 2021 - 10:40 am
How To Build An Interior Design Or Architecture Portfolio (When You’ve Never Had A Client)May 14, 2021 - 11:31 am
Myths About Becoming An Interior DesignerFebruary 10, 2021 - 10:17 am
What’s The Best Course To Do To Become An Interior Designer?December 15, 2020 - 10:24 pm
How Do You Get Interior Design Clients Without A Portfolio?October 5, 2020 - 2:11 pm
How To Find Hotel Clients As A DesignerAugust 23, 2020 - 11:30 am
PRODUCTS & SERVICES
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Online Mentorship Interior Design Program £1,850.00 — or £330.00 / month for 6 months -
After Hours | Online Weekly Interior Design Workshops £15.00 / month -
90 Minute Consultation Call £650.00