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

Caroline, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?

I have always been drawn to creative entrepreneurs and worked for many throughout the years (I should’ve taken a hint that maybe I wanted to be one!). I spent the first 10 years of my career helping other creative entrepreneurs build their businesses across all different industries from interior design, to non-profits, fashion and more. The most important lesson I learned in working closely with these business owners, was to learn how to wear every single hat. Now that didn’t mean I had to like all the hats, or be good at wearing them all — but to me, I think that kind of scrappy, ground floor experience in switching from the errand runner to creative to sales to marketing to inventory and so on, was invaluable for me and my professional growth and ultimately what built up the confidence for me to start my own business.

There were lots of times where switching between the hats wore on me, but in retrospect, all of it cumulatively was a teaching me and leading me to what I get to do now. When I decided to dive in and start building my own business, I realized that I knew how to do a lot of it from all of the years of helping other entrepreneurs build their businesses and wearing all those hats. I call this concept the Mr. Miyagi effect, (I like analogies).

Let me try to explain. There were moments where I felt discouraged and thought, “how is this experience getting me any closer to my long-term career?” — similar to how the Karate Kid felt when Mr. Miyagi promised to teach him karate, but first told him he needed to wax the cars, paint the fence, scrub the floors. When he finally looked up in frustration because he felt like he hadn’t been learning karate (as promised), Mr. Miyagi told him to wax on and wax off. As he’s acting out these movements from all these small tasks he’s been doing, he realizes that all along — he was in fact learning how to practice karate.

I try to remember this — to just always continue to learn and never be above any task. Wax on, wax off!

Caroline, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Interior design has been second nature to me since I was a little girl. At the age of four, I would steal my mother’s coveted copies of Architectural Digest, only to rip out the pages and piece together my very own design book of all the patterns, textures and pieces that I loved. I’d spend weekends rearranging furniture with my mom, going to open houses just to study different homes, and lining up outside of resale shops to hunt for treasures. I was always studying the art of design, often without even knowing it.

I had the opportunity years ago to work in the design industry and test out the waters early on in my career. I loved it, but I let the lack of formal training discourage me, and I also wasn’t sure where exactly I fit. I felt intimidated by much of the design world. And I learned that my love for design was pretty pure and didn’t require that I did it for a living. I knew I would be devoted to interiors even if I never had an audience to design for. And I made peace with that.

Further along down the road in my professional career, I slowly (& unintentionally) made my way back to design after many years in PR & marketing. Interior design felt like the ‘one that got away’ — and this was my chance. Not many people get a second shot in life, and not many people have the opportunity to do what they love to do. So I didn’t want to pass it by. I tried to throw fear and imposter syndrome to the window and go all in. I took it and I haven’t looked back!

Today, I own my own small Interior Design business – Koukla Collective, named in honor of my mother’s greek roots – and provide full scale interior design services near and far. I believe everyone has the right to feel at home where ever they live, no matter if it’s a forever home or a rental, no matter how big or small. Design is far more than material things and marble everything. It’s really about the feeling that you get, and it can have a lot of power over us. Whether we are aware of it or not, our environment affects our state of mind. Home is the place that should provide rest, reinvigoration, inspiration, and comfort — and getting to help create these kinds of environments for clients of my own is a dream.

I also believe work should be fulfilling, or we’ll burnout. My goal is in the not too distant future, is to create a non-profit branch of my business, where I get to design these kinds of spaces for people who cannot afford to on their own, (stay tuned for more to come on this). I know that hiring an interior designer is a luxury – but living in a home that’s comfortable and safe shouldn’t have to be. If I can help make one individual or family feel at home where they live, my cup will runneth over!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I always felt like to be legitimate and recognized at something — I needed the appropriate titles, accolades and certificates. I was looking externally to be authorized to do what I love. It dawned on me one day, that I all I had to do was authorize myself. I read a quote that went something like this: “if you write, you are a writer. If you sing, you are a singer. If you create, you are an artist,” and so on. I realized that I have been designing my whole life, and just because I didn’t have the formal training, my love for this field and my drive to learn the ins and outs of it was all I needed to stand on. I decided to authorize myself. And in the same breath, I also decided not to pay any mind to people who disagreed with that sentiment. To be clear, I have an incredible amount of respect for those who do have earned titles and licenses. That just wasn’t my path, and I wasn’t going to let that deter me any longer from pursuing what I loved. I was a Designer, I am a Designer — I don’t have to explain why I don’t have the degree or why my work isn’t featured in a magazine, I just have to step into it and do what I love to do. My hope is to encourage others to do the same. Turn down the noise, turn up the volume on what you love to do, and don’t put too much stock in titles. Your work will do the talking for you.

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

I worked for many years in marketing and have a lot of brand social media experience. Running my own personal social media has been a different experience, though! We live in an age where social media likes and followers, or better yet – a blue check, hold a lot of clout. Would I love to have a great big following and audience? Sure! Does that really matter though if it’s not the right audience?

I try to remember that ^ when I’m hoping to attract new clientele, particularly with regard to my social media presence. I remind myself that quality over quantity wins every time, and people crave real over perfect looking Instagram grids. I also try to stay consistent and true to my voice and my values, (which is my brand voice & values since it’s just me running the show!).

If I get 10 likes, and 1 of those likes is a potential long term client — then I’m thrilled. If I were to get thousands of likes but I’m not attracting the right client, then those numbers are just vanity metrics. Authenticity is attractive, so I try to remain authentic and set aside the drive for likes or followers and just focus on hopefully attracting the right client by being myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kouklacollective.com
• Instagram: kouklaco

Image Credits
Photo by Rachel Alyse Photography