We were lucky to catch up with Chioma Ikoku recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chioma, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

If time travel was a reality, I would recover the ten years I lost to ‘Imposter Syndrome’ by registering my business straight out of college.

I started decorating for friends and family when I was about nineteen, for no reason other than I felt called to it. I could walk into a room and visualize three different ways to optimize the space. In those early days, no one in my circle had a budget for decorating, but I was an eager learner, so I would work for free and use the opportunity to learn new DIY (aka
cost-saving) techniques.

In time I learned the fundamentals of design, color, proportion, and emotion through trial-and-error — lots of error — and my projects became more elevated. However, I had established myself as the neighborhood DIYer who could be paid in meals, and I convinced myself that I was “still learning,” so I had no right to charge people for my services.

Years passed and I learned how to use rendering software, flatlays and story boards to communicate design plans in a professional way. Designing with me was was no longer a project but an experience. But again I convinced myself that no one would actually pay me for this work. After all, I had an engineering degree, not a design degree. They would see me as a fraud…so I ‘stayed in my lane’ and continued to work as an engineer.

On and on it went until one weekend I re-read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. It dawned on me that the only reason I was not a professional interior designer was because I had chosen not to be a professional interior designer.

A few months after that revelation I registered Casa Diem Life and went through all the motions of starting a business. Now, you would think that was my happy ending, but, no. I convinced myself that I had to learn how to actually run a business, systemize my processes, and have the answer to every single question that could possibly come up in this life and the next.

For a year, I hid behind the veil of ‘administrative tasks’ instead of screaming to the world, “Hey! Look at me! I’m really good at something and I’d love to share my talents with you!”

It’s taken a lot of time, coaching and mindset resets to come out from behind the veil, and I do wish I had started sooner. The truth is, I’ll always be learning something about design and entrepreneurship, and that doesn’t make me an imposter. It just means I’m evolving and my clients are benefitting from my growth.

Chioma, 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?

I’m Chioma Ikoku, the founder of Casa Diem Life, a full-scale interior design company based in Houston, Texas.

I describe myself as ‘The Traveling Interior Designer’ because I’m equal parts homebody and globetrotter. I travel to unique places to find inspiration for life at home. This company is an ode to my love for both being home AND away.

I started traveling the world as a toddler with my family, and never looked back. Travel has always been my favorite way to learn and expand. However, as the realities of adulthood, motherhood, wifehood and all the other hoods crept in, I noticed that I was traveling to escape and not to explore.

When The Great Pause had millions of us holed up in our homes for extended periods of time, my interior design philosophy began to evolve. I realized that our homes should be our favorite places to escape to, not a place we need to run from. Home is the sanctuary where we reset, reconnect. It’s where we express ourselves freely and, in so doing, invite others to do the same.

My designs center on being warm, inviting, and easy to maintain. I work with clients to develop a signature home experience that uses sights, smells, textures, and even sounds. I consider it a job well done when my clients say their homes allow them to slow down and linger for a while.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I funded my business by saving earnings from my corporate job. I created a line item in my household budget for business expenses. It is an automatic transfer into a business account, and goes out before I can even think about it, just like my mortgage payments, cell phone bill, and children’s tuition. For me personally, the power of consistency and time cannot be overstated.

I do recognize that as an interior designer I work in a business with a relatively low overheard. My regular expenses are marketing and software licenses, and the initial start up costs were mostly handled by saving the money I was already earning.

I did also open a business credit card with 0% interest for 12 months in order to register for a number of well-researched courses and masterminds that have shown a good ROI.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

My most high-value clients have come from direct referrals. Social proof is so important these days, and having one or two clients who are happy to sing your praises can be a catalyst to some amazing opportunities.

While my best clients come from referrals, I do get a large number of inquiries from social media — Instagram to be exact. Unfortunately the volume doesn’t come from my ideal clients and so the conversion rates tend to be rather low with social media leads. There is so much that needs to be delivered ‘just right’ on social media in order to reach that ideal client. It’s a little to easy to get caught up in your social media presence and forget that you’re actually running a business.

Contact Info:

• Website: casadiemlife.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/casadiemlife
• Other: Pinterest.com/Casadiemlife

Image Credits
Chioma Ikoku