We were lucky to catch up with Ashton O’Neal recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashton , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Being that I started my company from ground up during a very difficult time in my life, I believe being successful takes patience, perseverance, determination, and most importantly strength.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my interior design business at what most people would say “a difficult time in my life” but looking back, it could not have been more perfect. The year 2022 was hard for me because I lost two of my best friends- something that no one is ever prepared for. I mentioned to both friends that my dream in life is to decorate and design people’s homes, and without surprise, they both told me to go for it.

Months go by and I am absolutely terrified, but excited to take a leap of faith and announce my business to the public. I prepared for months, took courses, had my nose in decorating books, studied famous interior designers, learned many things about becoming an entrepreneur, and redecorated my house over and over to the point I knew I was ready to take on real clients…I think my husband was more excited for me to start since he came home every night to everything rearranged.

In October 2022 I officially started my design services and named my business House of Victoria Design. The name came from the help of my late friend, and Victoria is my middle name. I started advertising everyday on social media. Marketing came easy to me because I graduated college in 2020 with a bachelors in public relations. Not even a month into my business I received my first client. Once that project was completed, then came another and another. My dream was becoming a reality.

The services House of Victoria Design provides is full in-person decorating/ room renovations, e-design services for clients who need a blueprint of their space without me coming into their home, and multiple services tailored to any specific project. I start out each service with a consultation to understand the client’s vision, budget, design preferences, etc. Once I get an understanding, I move to the next step which is designing the client’s space on a digital software or e-design. I am most proud of learning this software and teaching myself majority of the skills I use in my business. Honestly, this was not an easy software/skill to learn, it look time and tons of practice but I am confident in my design digital design ability.

I want readers to understand that interior design is more than making a home beautiful and improving the space, to me it is so important because a home is where families come together to celebrate, to escape from the busy world, to become a sanctuary. My purpose is to make your home a safe haven and evoke happiness. That is truly what makes a home beautiful to me.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Ever since I was younger I have always considered myself to be creative. The most rewarding aspect of being an interior designer is knowing this is my passion and that my designs make people happy and creates a safe haven in their home. I do not think of my job as a “job”, although it has been a lot of work, I enjoy what I do each and every day.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is very important when it comes to almost any starting business, especially as an entrepreneur. As mentioned I graduated college with my bachelors in public relations so I thankfully learned how crucial social media is and how it continues to grow. My best advice when it comes to growing a business on social media is stay consistent, learn your target audience, and be unique when it comes to content. What helped me is creating a social media calendar which is a rundown of your upcoming posts organized by date and time. This will help you get the most value and also save time by creating all of your posts in advance.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/houseofvictoriadesign

Image Credits
Allison Oliver Photography