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

Hi Wennevill, thanks for joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

As a mother of 5 I would highly recommend that our children have the proper education on finances, savings, budgeting for expenses, retirement, investments, etc. I also feel our children should get educated on customer service, building relationships and proper communication. and last but not least proper etiquette. I feel these are all important topics our children are lacking in preparation for a fulfilling and successful life.

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?

Hi! My name is Wennevill, but everyone calls me Wendy. I’ve had an eye for design since the tender age of 7. Growing up my moms friends and family would borrow me to help decorate their homes and birthday parties. I worked in corporate after becoming a teenage mom at the age of 17 and later obtained my degree as a paralegal because I wanted to be the next Erin Brockovich, lol.

I soon learned working in an office was not the right fit for me. After leaving the firm I struggled to find my purpose. I’ve always been told by friends, colleagues, and family that I should pursue my design talent and put it to work. I often decorated homes for friends and family for fun, but I have always been my worse critic and didn’t think I could make it a career. It was one night I was praying for guidance and not even half an hour later I got a call from a church friend. She asked me what I was doing for work, and I told her I was trying to pursue my dream of being a designer but didn’t know where to start.

She said she had just seen someone on Facebook looking for a Christian designer to do her home. I answered, I’m a Christian and a designer, but I have no work experience and my home is my only portfolio. She set up a meeting with the individual in my home the next day. The client fell in love with the way I decorated and hired me to complete her whole house. I completed a total of 10 rooms in her home. It was then that my career started and I began to do professional staging, organizing, decorating and design. For the past 7 years, I have self-taught myself.

I have taken online classes, researched materials, furniture, and decor, attended seminars, and worked for a local designer to learn all the ropes. I have since been hired to do homes and businesses in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, California, Florida, and the Dominican Republic, I’ve had the honor of speaking at seminars regarding the Importance of staging a home for sale and recently invited to collaborate on a Real Estate based book to feature a section on staging.

I run a faith-based business and pray upon every home I enter. I build relationships with my clients, many become “friends”. I believe God has a purpose for me in every home he sends me to. I’ve been told by many clients that I have done more than just decorate their house, I have helped make their house a “Home”.

How did you build your audience on social media?

When I started staging properties I wanted to do something no other stager was doing. I not only wanted to go above and beyond for my client, but I also wanted to stand out to promote my business. During this time Facebook had began allowing you to do Facebook Lives. I decided to utilize this new concept to gain followers and potential clients for my business. Most stagers go into a property, stage the home and leave (job is completed) I decided I wanted to help out the sellers and realtors by taking an extra step. I took the real estate class so I can learn what I can legally say or not say about a home I had worked on and staged before getting on camera. Then I started to go “Live” on Facebook after I completed each staging job to tell the audience all my favorite features of the the home and how I as a designer would decorate it if I lived there. I also have learned to be myself when filming, people love for you to be authentic, fun and entertaining. Don’t be afraid to be yourself and show how proud you are of your work, I make sure to post all my work and even some of my personal experiences. People feel more comfortable about hiring you if they feel they can relate to you on a personal level. This has all helped me immensely in my career.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I believe in any field its important to build relationships. I attend at least 2 networking events a week. Meeting people face to face and telling them about my services helps people feel more comfortable about hiring you for the job. At the same time you are meeting individuals in other fields that can potentially be a source of service you may need. You can refer clients to each other. In the end, you are getting your business name out there and the more individuals you meet, the more people will know about your business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wennevilldesignsandstaging.com
• Instagram: www.instagram/wennevilldesigns.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wennevilldesigns/