Hi there, welcome to my blog! It's been a while since my last post, and this one may be a little bit different than what I normally post. I'm hoping this post will inspire others to go for their dreams, try out new things, and not be afraid to fail. If I hadn't done each of these, I wouldn't be where I am today in realizing my exact passion in this industry.
As most of you know, I am a Virtual Interior Design Assistant, meaning I assist designers with tasks from afar (Ohio to be exact!) Typically I help with renderings, drawings, mood boards, and sourcing. I do help one local designer from time to time as well, she has me meet her for measuring job sites and then creating renderings. But, this isn't exactly how my business started. When I first started my business, like many interior designers, I was just trying to get out there and gain experience so I could get some clients and build my portfolio. This is a very challenging hurdle for many, as there is a lot of competition out there. Also, being on the less experienced side it was hard to come by clients who truly appreciate what we do and are willing to pay the fees. But as a mother I was determined to make it on my own and leave my job at the time so that I could be there for my son more. I learned the hard way that the companies I was working for just weren't cut out for me as a young mother. I found myself using up the few sick days I had for him, working late and missing seeing him before bedtime, and dealing with the world of breastfeeding and pumping while working full time. It was hard, ya'll! But I kept at it and worked my butt off. However, around the time my son turned 1 1/2 I was totally ready for a change. And then a few months after quitting my job, I got pregnant with my 2nd son! It was a total whirlwind.
I started out with a few of my own clients, and those projects were wonderful experiences for me. Lots of learning, working hard, undercharging (oops), and late nights working. A few months after having my 2nd son though, I was burnt out trying to juggle it all. It was around this time that I had my 'a-ha moment'. I saw another designer in one of my facebook groups asking if she could assist anyone with tasks like mood boards. The comments were through the roof! And of course that is something I really enjoyed working on (the visuals for a project), so I started looking into this grand idea. Once I put myself out there for it, I saw the huge need for design assistants in the industry. I could have used one myself!
I began design assisting at the end of 2018, and haven't looked back since. I have stayed busy and continued to grow, so much so that there have been times where I've wondered if I should hire another team member! At some point I might need to, but recently I've been discovering other ways I can help designers. My current adventure-- releasing my first training tutorial course: Photoshop for Interior Designers. It was a lot of hard work and lots of learning, but I am proud to say that I did it and it's ready for purchase in my shop! It is just another one of the many ways I found that I can assist designers in making their business the best it can be. If I can share some of the skills I've learned over the years with just one designer and help them grow their business, then I feel like I have accomplished something great! I plan to continue releasing training tutorials, I really enjoyed making the videos and showing each step on how to create mood boards, vignettes, editing renderings and images, and giving tips and tricks along the way. I hope you'll check them out, see below for the examples of what we learn to create in the course.
I'd like to end this post by thanking all of the wonderful designers who have trusted me to assist them with their projects. You helped me realize my true passion and I am extremely grateful! I also want to thank everyone who has purchased my training tutorial so far. Enjoy!
xo,
Staci