We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dani Shackleford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dani, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have a hero? What have you learned from them?

As cliche as it might be, my mother is my hero. She has the best spirit of determination, and has always been a silent risk taker. She’s from a generation of doers, and I love that about her. She’s taught me that when you want something, you go after it. It’s okay to fail, but you keep trying until you get it right, or to your satisfaction. I’ve always admired that about her, and I aspire to take risks without fear of failure just as she continues to do.

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?

I am Dani of Dani Designed It. I am a one woman show, tackling the industry of interior design. At Dani Designed It, I specialize in interior design, mostly styling for now, for residential and commercial clients. How I got into this industry is a bit of a journey. It starts in elementary school back when JC Penney used to put out a catalog every year. I’d cut out furniture, make blueprints of homes, and then carefully place the furniture in its respective space using a layout that I felt best worked for the space. I was in elementary school, so drawing blueprints of homes, and watching HGTV was not the ideal activity for kids my age, but it is what I did, and I enjoyed it. I loved it, actually, and I did it for years. Fast forward to adulthood. I’ve always taken pride in my spaces, be it living or work, and realized that I could maybe ,possibly, perhaps want to get serious about this. Much like many business births, during the pandemic, I took the leap and officially started my business. While I am very much still learning and building, I am most proud of myself for taking the leap. With each client project, I am proud of myself for believing in me. I hope my brand continues to build momentum, and that when people see a product of my work, they smile and think “she did her thing on this one.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that everything needed to in perfect place before I got started. Meaning, I didn’t even think I could actually charge for my work until I “made it” to some level that never really had a mile marker. I unlearned this when I was approached by my first client. A virtual client who found me on TikTok. She’d seen the work I did on my guest room, and asked that I assist her with her home. I was beside myself that I actually had a client, and one who I’d never even met. I am still unlearning the lesson that perfection needs to come before the pursuit. I am constantly teaching myself that perfection is not even part of the pursuit.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word.Of.Mouth. Most of my new clients come to me through someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.danidesignedit.com
• Instagram: dani.designed.it
• Youtube: danidesignedit
• Other: TikTok – danidesignedit

Image Credits
Danielle Shackleford