Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Emma Shay. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Emma, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later?
As a kid, I dreamed big dreams, but as a timid, overly responsible, first-born daughter, naturally I chose the “safe” route when it came to my college degree: Accounting. Social media and interior design were not an option in my mind. For awhile, I told myself accounting was my dream. I’d be a CPA. But the closer I got, the less fulfilled I felt. I was craving a creative outlet.
My childhood dreams were still tapping on my shoulder and quietly whispering “we’re still here” in my ear. Backstory: I have always been obsessed rearranging and redecorating my parents’ home growing up, my friends bedrooms, and my own bedroom, of course. I still remember at the 10th grade career fair, we could choose 3 speakers to see; I chose an Accountant, an Interior Designer, and an Architect. While accounting made me feel safe and it seemed like the right choice based on the image I had built for myself (read: stellar student, a little bit shy), the interior designer and architect lit a spark in me. A spark that would take years to turn into a flame. In college, I had a mini-crisis and almost changed my major from accounting to marketing because I was craving something more creative. But still, I stuck with it.
Until 2020, when my boyfriend (now husband) and I bought our first home together. I FINALLY had my own space to decorate. A whole house! And thankfully a stable, modest accountant’s income to support my new adventure.
After about a year in our 100-year-old little bungalow, I started posting about our home on Instagram. I slowly but surely grew an audience of cozy old home lovers who loved honesty and uniqueness. And with the help of a mentor, in 2022 I started an interior design business to help others love where they live.
To be honest, I don’t have any regrets about my path to my business. In fact, I am grateful for the structure, predictability, and stable income that an accounting career has given me while I have worked on my business. But, I do often wonder, “what if?” What if I had started a YouTube channel when I was a kid? What if I had taken the leap back in college and gone to design school? What if I had listened to my gut instead of others opinions of me?
I guess we’ll never know. But I DO know that it’s never too late to grab the wheel and choose a different route. So here’s to finding yourself and your passions at any stage of life!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Emma, and my business is By Emma Shay. I am in the “home” corner of the internet, where I share all about our little 100-year-old home on Instagram and TikTok and inspire others to love where they live through thoughtful decor and simple DIYs.
I have also created a service to help people who could use some guidance on how to create a cozy home that they enjoy to spend time in. I offer one-hour phone calls where we can video call like friends, and I’ll help you overcome your biggest design dilemmas, maybe choose a rug, or give pointers for your gallery wall. If you’d prefer a bit more guidance, I offer full-room designs as well, where I’ll be your personal shopper to help pull together all of the major details of a room.
I LOVE when people send me pictures of things in their home that I’ve inspired or helped them design. If I can help just one person love their home 1% more, that lights me up.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
I am not ashamed to say that I still have my 9-5 accounting job. I’m somebody who prefers comfort, and my job has provided me the income, stability, and let’s be real — healthcare! — that has fueled my endeavors as a content creator and interior decorator. I will say, I sacrifice sleep to work on my business, but it’s all worth it for now!
You don’t have to go all-in and quit your job right away to start your business. It doesn’t make you any less of a business owner if you have a “normal” job to support you while you’re building something new.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’ve had a very slow growth experience on social media. Believe it or not, my account started as a dog account in 2020 called @ourmuttcharlie. Living in the suburbs in the Midwest, I was realizing that I didn’t fit the mold of many of the hugely popular adventure dog accounts. So I started to carve my own space by combining dogs + decor, which focused on photos and videos around our house featuring our pup.
This trend was catching on with others, and in 2021, I changed my account to @smallhousebigdogs to better reflect what I was posting about. At this time, I had around 5k followers.
I love my dogs to pieces, but I am passionate about home decor and saw an opportunity to pivot fully into a home decor account (that sometimes features my dogs) and start my interior design business in 2023. With this change, my account really started to grow. I now have nearly 40k followers on Instagram, 15k on TikTok, and 35k on Facebook.
My best advice is to be yourself. Let yourself be inspired by others, but never copy. The social media beast does love trends, but make sure whatever you put out aligns with your personality and brand. Authenticity is what I think people are craving right now.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://byemmashay.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byemmashay/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/By-Emma-Shay-100084344582667/
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@byemmashay
Image Credits
Photos with Emma in them: @kelsiebrooke_photography
All other photos: @byemmashay