We recently connected with Ritch Holben and have shared our conversation below.
Ritch, appreciate you joining us today. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
Am I happy that I went out on my own? Absolutely. Do I question the trade-offs of having someone else be responsible for getting the clients, doing the billing, managing the endless daily hand-holding that is essential in my business and be able to simply focus on the creative side of my profession? Absolutely. And as one who’s consciously chosen to remain a one-man shop (to avoid even more time lost managing others, checking their work, etc), I have to take care of everything from bill paying to retirement planning. It can be exhausting, and without much inter-professional guidance, it’s hard to know when Im making the best choices…how do I know what I don’t know? That said, and it’s been a long time now, the trade-offs of having that very special one-on-one relationship with each of my clients is worth it. Im never left wondering “what is management thinking?”, and if a mistake is made, it’s mine to correct. And if accolades come in, they are mine to hold. Could my business been run much better in regards to what others may see as successful? I’m sure it could. But everything I’ve accomplished, I’ve done so on my own and that’s proven to be worth it. Both my husband and I are self-employed, and we always say the best part of it is that we love our boss.
Ritch, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am lucky in that I knew in 10th grade that I wanted to be an architect. (Thank you to The Fountainhead). Having that clarity at a young age helped me focus on getting on track with the right college education from step 1. I went to a reputable but affordable state university which gave me the flexibility to tailor my experience and education to my own particular interests. And as I learned later, the best thing about their curriculum was that they taught me how to THINK for myself, generate my own ideas and then defend them, tear them apart and refine them. We weren’t mini-me’s of a particular dean’s particular school of thought. After college, (and most important for me, the chance to study in Europe then travel around there a bit afterward thanks to winning some design competitions) I interned in Philadelphia and learned the ropes of a large firm. I moved on to NYC and joined a smaller design-oriented firm for 5 more years, then Boston where I started the transition to being on my own. That’s where I met my husband and with blind faith moved to the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and both started our own businesses full-time. It was a leap for both of us and looking back could not have made a better decision. We have been here now for 26 years (with a 14 year snow-birding lifestyle in Miami tucked in there till 2022). As for my client work, I mostly focus on residential design. When I first moved here, my clientele was mostly weekenders from NYC as the Berkshires are basically an escape for the well-to-dos who prefer the mountains to the beach. It’s often called the Thinking Man’s Hamptons. My business grew from renovations and additions to a mix of new construction now, and for some reason, I seem to be in the “lake house” niche. That wasn’t intentional, but is a development that’s made me very happy. Lake people just seem to be happy people. I’ve also gotten to help out some of my local cooler businesses, designing chic cocktail bars, cafes, fromageries, real estate offices and the like, which always makes “going into town” a fun experience.
I think one of the things that sets my design services apart from most is my passion for listening. I have apparently developed my questioning skills to a point where I can often meet a client, ask the right questions, pay attention to the things they aren’t saying and more often than not, provide them with a design solution that “hits it out of the park” on the first go. Then, when all goes well, I’ve heard more than once that the space/p[ace/home that I’ve created for them exceeded their exceptions, changed their lifestyle, gave them an awareness of good design that they didn’t have beforehand. My credo for my business is “Live Beautifully”…and I strive to bring that to every project.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
As I mentioned, my credo is “Live Beautifully”. It’s a simple phrase that keeps me on track. It crosses from how I treat my clients to what I create for them on paper and then work with contractors to make real. Although I’m usually working on 12 -16 projects at a time, (up to 24 during covid as the demand was so high…and that was crazy!), I always strive to make each client feel like they are my only one. I always reply to emails asap, keep things civil and light-hearted, even when issues arise (and they always do in construction). And I always stay focused on the fact that I am helping to create THEIR home, not mine, and my job is to translate what I see in them into a 3 dimensional representation of what can help them be their best.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Financial planning. Back to an earlier question I saw here, one of the best things my parents ever taught me was this…Don’t owe anybody anything. Basically, don’t have debt. It came from their simple country roots (which are mine as well, I guess). It’s not necessarily a savvy way to build and grow a business, but it’s not a bad way to live one’s life with much less stress. That said, I always wished I had some – ANY – business background. My college education didn’t offer anything in this arena, and in my 12+ years of working in other large and mid-sized firms, I wasn’t exposed to how they actually kept the business afloat! So I’ve made it all up as I went along, from working out my billing strategy to retirement planning. I’m sure that if I had better advice, or any advice at all, during the more formative stages of my career that I would be in an even better place, financially, than I am now. But would be have even more grey hairs? Maybe.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.RhDesign.me
- Instagram: RitchHolben