We were lucky to catch up with Kevin Billings recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kevin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

The most impactful failure I’ve had in my career was with my very first client who fired me after launching my business . At the time, I had this mentality that I needed to take on as many clients as possible and try to make them beyond happy. I was living in a scarcity mindset. And with this first client, I was so scared of doing the “wrong thing” so did what I thought they wanted based off our conversations and aimed for something more “mainstream” instead of designing authentically. This not only caused me to not feel 100% passionate about the work I was doing but caused frustration to the client because I was not delivering what they were looking for. After several revisions, the client stopped responding to correspondences. I did finally hear back only for them to let me know that although they loved my work, I was not delivering what they were looking for so were not interested in continuing. Although this was certainly not an ideal way to start my business, it was a very important lesson that I needed to learn early on. Clients are hiring me for my expertise and my style so I owe it to anyone that hires me to be true to that. Authenticity in business is so important because it not only allows the world to see your brand message, connects you to your target audience but fulfills you as a business owner.

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?

I have always had a passion for interior design since I was kid when I would regularly rearrange my room. Before I started my business, I was in corporate property management overseeing several buildings in the DC area. I had already been feeling this pull to explore other careers that allowed me to be more creative and then the pandemic hit where I became oncall almost 24/7. So, I burned out very quickly in 2020 and decided I needed to follow my passions, especially coming out of lockdown. During lockdown, everyone was confined to their homes which became their safe spaces, which is something I’ve always tried to achieve for myself in any room or home I’ve been in. I wanted to help give that feeling of comfort and security to the masses so the ideas started for my own design business towards the end of 2020 and in April of 2021, I launched Dexter & Plaid Interior Design. My mission from the start has been to create inviting spaces that reflect those that use them and can accomodate them for whatever mood they’re in or whatever function they want to use the spaces for. Along with that, I’m known for my use of saturated colors, textures, layering, and heavy use of vintage and organic pieces. And in 2023, I was selected as one of the DC area’s best up and coming interior designers which felt like such an accomplishment after only 2 years in business.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I definitely would not have a business without social media as I still get 95% of my clients from it. I would say the biggest thing, is to be consistent, only put out content that reflects your brand message, and always speak to your ideal client. I would also try your best to come up with a content calendar to help keep you on track, help spread out your topics, and make it less overwhelming. And if you’re limited on a portfolio, it’s ok to recycle! Think of how you can break up an image or video into several different talking points so it doesn’t feel stale. It’s shown that people do love to see something they’ve already liked before because it’s familiar to them. Also, don’t be afraid to get in front of the camera! This allows you to make connections with your followers which in turn will help with engagement. And better engagement will lead to growth!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Since I had never worked for an interior design firm before and went out solely on my own, I had no real frame of reference when it came to pricing, expenses, or infrastructure. And after a few months in business I realized my income to expense ratio was very small, with some months ending in the red. So, I knew I needed to change some things internally which lead to a change in how I bill, consolidating expenses where I can, and learning what I can outsource, if needed. Now I check-in with billing, expenses, income, etc., at least once a quarter (sometimes once a month) to get a pulse on where things are. Luckily, as a business owner you are able to make changes when you need to so learning when something isn’t working and recognizing when something is will be detrimental to your success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dexterandplaid.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dexterandplaid
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dexteranplaid

Image Credits

Dexter & Plaid