Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Hannah Collins . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hannah , appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us a story about a time you failed?

I have rebuilt the structure of my business twice now. Each time felt like a total failure and each time felt wildly out of my control. In hindsight they weren’t failures but total opportunities for change where my business blossomed in a whole new way, once I was on the other side of the rebuilding. Each time was an opportunity to grow and change personally but also, allowed me to level up to things I had been wanting. In general I think failure can feel insurmountable in the moment but if you keep going, and my advice is just keep going, you will see how life is generally working in your favor and pushing you in the direction you have been asking for.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Hannah Collins and I am the principal designer and founder of ROY hospitality design studio. We focus on branding, graphic design and interior design for all types of hospitality clients nation wide. I started my business 12 years ago as a small interior design studio and have grown it today into something much larger than myself. I grew up in the restaurant industry and went to school for Interior Design and Architecture. After college I was able to combine my love of hospitality and design by starting my own studio pretty young. Our clients range from first time entrepreneurs launching their first restaurant concept to larger established hotel and restaurant brands. We also work in anything adjacent to hospitality or any industry wanting to infuse more hospitality into their brands. Right now we are building a carwash brand as well as a Non-alcoholic beverage brand so there is a lot of potential for us to play in the spaces in and around hospitality. We always start by building a super tight concept for our clients, it is our job to bring their vision to life. By being complete experts in the hospitality industry and having helped guide the design and opening of over 250 restaurants at this point, we have a really good grasp on what works and how to approach things. We see ourselves as true allies to our clients and believe their success is our success so we try to build concepts that will last, and endure the challenges of what it means to operate in today’s industry.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

When I first started my business 12 years ago I was working at a high end residential firm which I knew just the right fit for me long term. I wanted to design restaurants and I wanted to find a way to do so quickly. I cold called multiple design studios in SF who I knew were working in the hospitality sector and didn’t hear back from a single one of them. I was finishing my last semester of college and bartending at night to pay rent so I could intern during the day at the design studio I was at. One day I overheard the owner of the restaurant I was bartending at discussing a new location he was going to open so I asked him if he would be willing to look at my portfolio in an off chance he would be open to some design help. He agreed and took the time to sit down with me a few days later, he wasn’t willing to hire me but I offered to work for free just to get a chance to be a part of his process. I would do things like sketch ideas, run and get samples, take notes in the meetings, anything I could do to support the designs. He ended up firing the designer he was working with and he and I finished the project out ourselves. Over the course of the next 10 years, he continued to hire me, and went on to open more restaurants in the bay area than any other restauranteur. It was a little right place right time, and a lot of courage that got me the opportunity and enough work to launch my own studio. I learn best by doing so being an entrepreneur has always been easy for me, although you have to be ok with not getting it right the first time.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I should have been more vulnerable with people about what I needed. I could have certainly used more mentors in my early days and I wish I had reached out to people and asked for more help. I think in general people are really happy to help, especially if you come to them with a problem to solve. I think mentorship is something we could all use more of in our careers. I didn’t go to a school that really lended itself to great support groups or even peer groups that were beneficial and I think being a young women, trying to build a business solo was an immense challenge to overcome. All that said I should take this advice even today and connect with more women who have been here before me.

Contact Info:

• Website: thisisroy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hospitablyroy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-collins-b64981103/
• Twitter: N/a

Image Credits
Erin Ng