Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alisa Culyer . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alisa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
I was born with the talent of bringing people together, embracing awkward situations, and loving style. Oddly enough…it put me into the spot I am in today. I graduated from Miami University with a Communications degree and set my sights to Chicago in hopes of a styling/design career. I was blessed to find myself working for Neimans then quickly Guess Jeans and then long term with Fossil. I was successful, traveled all over the country and knew I had a talent of color, design and fashion. Fast forward back to Cincinnati where I returned and I was forced to figure out how I would continue my dream in a smaller city setting. I dabbled in the paper/copy world for a few years and then had a hot moment with a landscape company which all lead me to take the leap to entertain owning my own business. The decision was easy but the journey has been tough. Everything that I had done to achieve this goal had taken hard work of which brought the bad with the good…sometimes even ugly. The highs have kept me going and although the lows are challenging they have built my strength and have thicken the skin. There are 2 humans who I love more than myself and are a constant reminders of why I work so hard. Their middle names are how I created the name Honor & Grace. I wanted to create a company where I would wake each morning with ease and know that what I’m doing is truly helping others. My approach to developing spaces is by sourcing items at a discount. There is no reason to be broke when decorating and everyone should have a space that they love. In conclusion this has been one of the best decisions I have made within my working career and I have no regrets.
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
I have always had an eye for design. From an early age I found myself decorating my parents house, helping them select paint color for rooms, and rearranging my bedroom furniture every month. Each of these times I realized my enjoyment and love for the industry was growing within me. As I grew within my careers, I continued to assist friends with decorating needs and within time I realized my passion needed to be full force. My goal is to capture your desired style within a comfortable budget. I find joy in sourcing beautiful product at manageable price-points for homeowners.
I truly believe that updating your home, staging your home or renovations do not have to break the bank and with patience and smart shopping skills it can be done!
I work with a group of talented contractors that have proven project after project that they are very skilled at what they do and I am blessed to have them as partners.
I am available to work in the Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati and Dayton regions.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Organically Grown from referrals To start out I was ready to do everything to gain a client and prove my worth within the design industry and more importantly the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky markets. I highlight the markets because we live in a very small but big city and it’s not always the easiest to get in to the right circles.
I had already developed a small client base due to my previous corporate working world so trust had been established. As I successfully completed those projects I was able to showcase the work on my social media page, tag the client along with the vendors which gained me exposure.
Successful projects, happy clients equals new business from referrals.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Starting a business isn’t an easy process and being successful quickly can be detrimental. I experienced having success, growing too quickly and crashing. It was one of the worst but best situations that could have happened to me. Many times I found myself crying believing I was a failure and what I realized quickly is that this happens to the best of the best business owners. After working through months of transitioning from the one company to todays business I know that my faith, friends and the drive to keep going is how I landed on my feet.
Contact Info:
- Website: Hgoak.design
- Instagram: Honorandgracedesigns