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

Chrissy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I studied interior architecture in graduate school. When I finished with my masters, there was a major economic recession – interior design jobs were few and far between. I found my place working in visual merchandising. I helped plan art installations, sorted product into seasonal messaging, and was accountable for driving sales through styling and product placement. The company was extremely visually driven and so design and presentation were top priority for all aspects of the business.

This role was invaluable for so many reasons. I gained perspective for large scale space planning with regard to sight-lines. I developed an understanding on how to mix materials, patterns and textures. The role ingrained a deep respect to the importance of scale and proportion. and allowed me to understand how to create inviting and inspiring spaces. But I also gained skills in managing a team, receiving feedback, evaluating business trends and so much more.

The foundation of technical work from grad school combined with the real life experience in visual merchandising and managing a team gave me a a great combination of skills to open my own firm. When I started, I was taking any and all work that came my way. I wanted to grow my portfolio and was not focused on the business side. I quickly realized that if my business was going to be sustainable I needed to focus more on building funds and scaling my team.

My visual skills were what people wanted and kept new leads coming. But I did not have time to focus on the custom experience or even invoice. I needed to hire operational support. I wish I would have done this sooner. It has given me back so much time to focus on what I do best. I’m now looking to hire design support as well.

I don’t think there’s anything to speed up my learning process as much as I should have taken the leap to start the business sooner and grow my team sooner. The fear of failing in business kept me from bringing on the responsibility of employing a team. But the team is what is supporting the success of my business.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My background is mostly in retail – visual merchandising and management. This combined with my masters in interior architecture is what lead me to interior design work.

I focus mostly on renovation and construction work. Clients are coming to me when their space does not function for them. It could be anything as small as their home is not comfortable and we need to update furnishings or as large as designing from the ground up so their floor plan flows and using the spaces makes sense. I create welcoming and comfortable environments that function for whatever needs the clients ask for. My design style consistently includes organic materials, contrast, and a polished but relaxed aesthetic. The

I’m proud of how satisfied my clients are with their projects. So many clients continually thank me for my work. I know I’m delivering beautiful spaces, but the fact that the client loves it just as much, or more than I do, that is what I aim to achieve.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I’m opening a showroom this fall. I needed a significant amount of capital to build out the space. I worked really hard for the last year to build my business and save as much as possible. I knew securing a loan would not be easy as my business is only a few years old and I currently work out of my home. So I took on as much work as possible and saved every dollar that I could. I was able to secure a loan for about 75% of the funding I need and I now have more than enough money to cover the rest. It feels very rewarding to know that I’ve earned the money myself and will continue to keep building funds for any future endeavors.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I began my design work part time. There was a startup that matched interior designers to clients. They would spoon feed clients to three designers and whoever accepted the client first, would get the contract. It was hourly and hit or miss. But it taught me to manage client expectations, budgets and timelines. I had not had any real life clients before this – and as we know school work and real life work are very different. This was an easy way to gain some practical experience. There was no fear of finding business because it was be delivered regularly.

This went on for about a year before I left my full-time job and committed fully to design work. When I moved away from NYC, I went back to visual merchandising. Eventually, I picked up some clients on my own here and there. It was during a role change that I decided I needed to commit to building my own firm. I quit my full time job, again, and I worked for my husbands photography company while figuring out how to make my own business work. My business grew faster than I expected and once I had 15 open projects, I knew I needed help and started hiring support.

Referrals were a HUGE part of growing. I had very happy clients who would refer me to everyone, plus their contractor and realtor also refer me to many people. This aspect of gaining clients has lead me to invest better into my client experience and make sure the referrals continue to come in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cnormandesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnormandesigns/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/C-Norman-Designs-61561196503474/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissy-norman-20745323/

Image Credits

Tyler Norman