Crises everywhere across the world are challenging. Many people are in financial distress, and many more are afraid they may be next. On the other hand, a downturn may provide an opportunity for a select group of professionals to thrive and grow.
According to Azizan Osman, a Business, Marketing, and Transformation Leadership Mentor at RichWorks International, many businesses that survive recessions either produce goods or services that grow in demand as a direct result of the recession, provide less expensive alternatives to luxury or large expenditures, or have demand that is mostly resilient to income changes.
“Some businesses benefit as clients cut spending using substitute goods and other comparable solutions. Here is an example of a fast growing firm that has been growing exponentially through our mentoring programs.”
IDr Lokman Hakim Ahmad Subki and IDr Rabiatul Adawiyah Rasol, the founders of IDW Design & Build, believe design is more than just a profession. It is their passion to make a difference in people’s lives and workplaces. The couple started their journey while studying interior design at UiTM and took on their first project when they were both 21 years old.
They transformed two adjacent semi-d homes into a home that exceeded their client’s expectations despite the fact that they were still students and had no expertise. They founded IDW Design & Build in 2007 and have been steadily expanding their portfolio and business since then.
This has included everything from serving as the primary consultant at KFC College, which consists of 80,000 square feet of commercial space, to developing residential projects of all sizes that embody IDW’s tagline of “Transforming Space and Transforming Life.”
Today, IDW has also won state interior design honors in Selangor, Malaysia and completed projects in Mauritius and Brunei. Not to mention attaining their IDr status as a professionally recognized business from The Board of Architects Malaysia in 2018 and featuring in a number of national TV makeover programmes for transformation of architectural spaces that have been shown statewide.
Most businesses have slowed down, but IDW has experienced the contrary.
When they came to me for business advice during the pandemic, they asked, “What opportunities do you see? Will the expansion of the business be sustained?”
My advice to them at the time was, “During a pandemic or economic crisis, people are more inclined to share living space with their parents or other family members and friends. And it was crucial to analyze the clients’ immediate needs at that moment.”
In Malaysia, there are numerous prospects for interior designers to advance their careers. Malaysians are becoming increasingly conscious of the value of interior design. Because all activities have changed dramatically from public locations to their houses, this awareness grew primarily during the pandemic.
In addition, businesses have been impacted by social media. We all know that individuals nowadays communicate mostly through the internet, and making a great online presence is crucial. As our society becomes more house-proud and design-conscious, the residential interior appears to be potential area for interior designers and decorators.
If you wish to use social media as a marketing tool, you’ll need to improve your social media appearance and display, especially now that social media has impacted businesses. According to Azizan, we don’t know how the world will change overtime, but we do recognize that interior designers will be essential as long as they are committed to addressing people’s needs about their living spaces.
Azizan Osman
Richworks International
https://richworks.com/
karini@richworks.com
+6019 244 2244