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

Hi Desiree, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

We were blessed as we had a whole team from day one. When we transferred ownership to us, we managed to keep the whole team with us. As the years went by, we had to recruit new team members as some of our artists graduated from college or moved. The recruiting process has always felt (knock on wood) easier than it should be as there is always a new artist looking to join the team. Our interview process is extensive as we want to make sure we bring the best and brightest people to our team. Our introduction session is done by our senior artist who has been working at Pinot’s Palette for over 11 years. We are so grateful for having such a wonderful team. We couldn’t do it without them!

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 am originally from Lima, Peru, and moved to Breckenridge, Colorado when I was 16. It was quite a change from the start. After spending some time there, it was time for me to get into college. I knew wanted to go to Colorado State University and thankfully I got accepted and found a way to finance it on my own. My educational background is in Accounting and Business. I had the opportunity to finish my Master’s at CSU and I am glad I finished it. Afterwards, I was blessed with the opportunity of working with great employers throughout my career. I am currently at a company in which I feel at home and who is always supportive of our personal goals. Although accounting is my career, art is my passion. It allows me to scape to a stress free zone where creativity and fun take over. I am glad my husband and I had the opportunity to start this new venture together where we are surrounded by art. We are also surrounded by a great team and love seeing them flourish in the art world.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner is my life partner. We met back in 2015 at the office where we both worked at back then. We have been married for 4 years now. When the opportunity to own a business together arose, we met up to see if we could do it. Even though we knew it was probably going to make our life a bit more hectic, I am so glad we went for it. We know how to work together as we have done that in the past and know how to not bring the studio into our home.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Although we use all of the other channels as advertising, social media, pop-up markets, etc., the best source is definitely word of mouth or referrals from current attendees. We found that providing an excellent experience for one person brings more people to the studio. All attendees automatically get a post-session survey so they can rate their experience and we read them all. When we find out there are things that can be updated or if there’s a specific note about an artist we address it immediately.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pinotspalette.com/fortcollins/events
• Instagram: @pinotftcollins
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Pinotftcollins
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pinots-palette-foco

Image Credits
2nd Photo – Pinot’s Team 4th Photo – Desiree and William Rich