three things i did to start my styling business

Welcome back! I hope you had a beautiful holiday! I know I did :) I spent 3 days by myself in downtown Los Angeles and had an absolute blast. I had omakase sushi for the first time at Takeda Sushi (11 out of 10 stars), got some cool clothes down at The Row, visited the LACMA, Broad and MOCA, discovered my favorite new cocktail and generally gave myself a good social media and work break. In fact, I had such a good time, I vowed to spend at least one weekend alone every 2 to 3 months somewhere in LA that I’ve always wanted to explore.

Recently I’ve been toying with the idea of teaching budding interior stylists how to get started. Even admitting to oneself your true passion is a daunting task, let alone trying to make a go of it. For me, it took me 40 years, a handful of grey and white flips, a dead dad and a pandemic to realize my true calling. And even then, I had to wade through a mountain of self-doubt to finally have that “Come to Jesus” moment. You can read more about my story here.

But then I realized, the last thing I want budding dreamers like myself is to spend more money. Money that could be used on advertising, building a website, coaches, home decor for their portfolio, etc. I also didn’t want to suddenly become an interior styling coach and divide my already precious time even further! There are so many others that will be better teachers and I am happy to refer you to them. I had to stay close to my truth on this one. And my truth is that I am way better at teaching people how to style their home vs. how to succeed in business.

So, being in a generous mood, I’m going to give those who are just starting out a quick guide to getting on their feet. It won’t be as comprehensive as a full on 8 hour course that gives you all the nitty gritty, but it’s a great start and it’s FREEEE.

get a business coach

Yup, you read that right. Get a business coach. You will want someone who knows quick tips on how to setup your Instagram account, find your brand/voice/niche AND has major connections in the PR world to help get you published once you have some paying clientele.

My business coach was Dawna Jarvis. Dawna is straight up ballsy and fearless. She does not pull any punches when it comes to achieving your dreams. If you’re being stupid, she’ll tell you. I mean she’ll tell you in a nice way, but still she’ll confront your negative talk and challenge your doubts. This is what you need if you’re starting out on any business venture. If you reach out to her, tell her I referred you to her. This is not a sponsored post whatsoever, but I love paying it forward as does she. Her success is my success and vice versa. That’s the kind of gal she is.

She told me the most important bit of advice I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I had asked my mother (a woman who has historically been dismissive about everything in my life that made me happy) to weigh in on my interior styling idea. As per her nature, she hit me with all the negatives and reasons why I personally would fail. I nearly gave up on the idea, but Dawna very succinctly told me “Don’t give the microphone to someone you know is not supportive.”

Another reason it’s a good idea to get a business coach: it signifies that you are ready to make the step into your new business venture. By plopping down that fee, you are saying to yourself “I am taking this seriously and I’m ready to dive right in.” You need that mental jolt to signify intention and commitment. This can be done in many different ways, but a good business coach will actually make you accountable for your next steps, mentally and financially.

It also means that you understand that any new business venture requires capital. If you find it difficult to pay the fee, you might not be ready to invest yourself into this business. Sure, there are lots of stories of people starting with nothing and working their way up. However, interior styling/design is not an inexpensive venture, especially if your first client is yourself and you want to make an attractive portfolio.

Start at home

There’s no way around it — my first client was myself. Through years of flipping homes and redoing kitchens, I knew my way around a remodel. But I had never ventured far into the world of color for fear the proverbial “future buyer” would not like it. Then my world changed, as did everyone’s, in 2020. Thankfully, I landed on top in a beautiful home and thought to myself “Let’s go.”

At first, I started with my typical color choices, and didn’t venture too far outside my comfort zone. In fact, the famous red dining room was a very beautiful dark green.

Something inside me knew I needed to make a bold choice. So I went for it. And went for it, and went for it. Through a period of trial and error, I quickly found things that worked and didn’t work for my style. This was a wonderful cocoon time, where I felt free to pick things and fail without the pressure of trying to build a business. I know some of you reading this might say, “That sounds expensive.”

I have something very unpopular to say to you right now:

It was. Being an interior stylist or designer is not a cheap endeavor. It’s the polo of creative professions. Do you know WHYYYYY polo is expensive? Well, as my 10th grade teacher told me as we were reading The Great Gatsby, polo requires not one but multiple horses to play. Interior design requires that you understand quality and design for high end clients (in other words, people who have enough disposable income to afford someone else to style their home).

Whereas most artists just need to be able to afford paint and canvas, an interior stylist needs to be able to afford tons of high end touches that cost way more than $5. Sure, there is DIY and vintage. But I’ll tell you one thing: any time I’ve cheaped out on anything, I’ve always paid for it in the end somehow or another. And the last thing you want to do is cheap out on a paying client and pay for THAT. Learn where to save money and where to invest in something long-lasting.

One of the designs that really become a viral success was my Pierre Frey chair. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t going to reupholster this chair because it had been expensive to buy in the first place. It’s a vintage Wehman bucket chair and it was in pristine leopard velvet fabric. I was going to use the Pierre Frey fabric on another chair, but this bucket chair just wasn’t going to work out in the other room. So I decided to use the fabric for the other chair on this chair. And boom. Instant MTD classic born out of an accident.

I want you to guess how much all of it cost. I’ll give you a minute.

Tired of guessing? Around $3500. The fabric was $1200 alone. That’s because beautiful things sometimes cost a lot of money. If I had cheaped out with some other fabric, would this chair be as popular? I will never know, but I do know that somehow this fabric and this chair got attention from some of the most famous designers and influencers in the world. In fact, nearly ALL of my most popular posts and designs feature something very high end. And they were nearly all unplanned successes.

Even if you do not care about high end style, you will still spend some money styling your own home at the beginning. Wallpaper costs money. Quality sofas cost money. Countertops cost money. This is just a fact!

Speaking of, thanks to Dawna, I did something else outside of my comfort zone. I posted it on Instagram and blogged about my process.

Even though the reaction was extremely positive on IG, I knew a few likes would not be the key to building awareness.

yes, i advertised

Gone are the days of social media where you can just post an image of a pretty dining room and expect it to go viral. Those days were gone as of 2020. There is so much competition, noise and, let’s face it, nonsense on social media even the most beautiful of designs cannot stand up against the algorithm.

So I’m not ashamed to say that I invest a bit of my hard earned money into advertising. Number one, I started out with zero clients (excluding myself). It’s important to note paying money to advertise is not some sort of shortcut or trick. You have to have the portfolios and content to attract interested parties. Just because you take a picture of your bathroom and advertise, does not mean you’re buying a follower. They will not follow just because they’re asked. The content has to be good. Or at least the content has to have some value to who is viewing it. That’s why I stress that you create your own content and experiment constantly. Figure out your niche and then advertise the most popular successes. In fact, that’s how most of you are here.

If you are worried that your designs or content won’t resonate, don’t let that stop you. Keep trying until it does. There are all sorts of people out there, with different tastes and different ideas of beauty. There is a lid for every pot.

The ugly truth

I see a lot of coaches on social media who advertise FREE growth following their secret steps. The ugly truth of it all is that, yes, there are free things you can do to build your brand and awareness, but it is cold hard money that moves the needle. For me, life is too short to waste it on free get-rich-quick gimmicks that actually lead to shelling out some money, DIY hacks that end up going south and slogging through all the doubt and failure without support. All of that just to do what I love.

The even uglier truth is that not everyone has been as lucky/blessed/privileged as me to be in a position to spend money to do what I love and follow my dream. There are all sorts of ways to pursue your life’s passion, this is how I did it. I’m sure there are many out there who have alternative methods, but those methods often mean more risk and more time investment. As I see it, my way has the most predictable result simply because I employ what I know about sales, attracting high end clientele and what I feel is right for me.

Also, think about how much money you will be save by not getting an official interior design degree! God speed, young interior stylist grasshoppers!

Additional Resources:

Claire Jefford - Free Resources to Build Your Interior Design Business

JBC Facebook Ads Bootcamp - https://www.jbctrainings.com/facebook-ads-bootcamp-video

If you have anything to add, please let me know below.