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

Eliana, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with what makes profitability in your industry a challenge – what would you say is the biggest challenge?

People don’t know all that goes on behind the scenes in the furniture refinishing business

Eliana, 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?

Why Not reDesign has been in business for 10 years. Started as a hobby in 2012 and turned full time business venture three years later and I am still going strong and loving what I do.
I refinish/makeover your existing furniture or you can purchase pieces I have sourced myself and given them new life
My workshop is in Justin, Tx and my retail location inside Frisco Mercantile in Frisco, Tx.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

It all started with a French Provincial dresser bought at a garage sale that I decided to paint mustard yellow and place at my home entry. It became the topic of conversation for everyone who came in. It didn’t really go with anything else in my house but it went so well with everything in my house! It was a hit.
Everyone began to ask me to find them a piece and paint it for them. Next came a small booth in Canton, Tx and another at an antique mall in Lewisville. As more and more people asked me to paint their own pieces or source one for them and I delivered each time; my commissioned work grew and so did my retail shops.
I expanded into Denton and another location in Lewisville then Frisco.
Eventually, as WNR continued to grow, I decided it was time to tame back the shops and keep the most profitable ones.
At the same time, my job in corporate America laid me off and this helped me make the hardest-scariest decision to give WNR my full time energy; this was back in 2015
Gratefully, I haven’t look back yet and my full time business is thriving since.
It’s not easy to succeed in a field everyone thinks of as a hobby.
Takes resilience, hard work and literally blood, sweat and tears.
This business it’s not just buying and piece and throwing some paint on it or flipping it as many call it.
To make sure your pieces are different from everything out there and everyone else’s it begins with finding it, driving to it, buying it, loading it, storing it, creating a design, supplies, repairs, cleaning, sanding, cleaning again, priming, painting, top coating, staging, photographing, listing, marketing, promoting it, negotiating, when/if it sells: plastic wrapping, care kit, delivery.
After all that when it’s set and done, hoping you sold it for a profit and moving on to the other pieces you have in inventory and doing it all over again.
I am lucky enough to also do commission work and it all goes thru the same steps with the exception of selling it.
Marketing it’s a must and this means putting your portfolio all over social media, that alone becomes at least a part-time job
I want everyone to understand when a furniture artist makes this a full time job and for myself, my passion; we take it seriously; it’s not just a side hustle or hobby
Your support means the world to each of us.

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

This is a hard one for me as my Instagram was recently deleted from the system without notice, warning or reason given. 10 years of work simply gone and I have no answers as to why.

I am starting over again from zero and will do all the things I did previously.

Post daily
Create meaningful posts/content
Friend bigger accounts and ask them to repost your work/mention you
Comment on bigger accounts in your niche; your account will be seen by others and they will follow you
Respond to your followers on comments

I am starting over and will be doing all those things as I always have.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.whynotredesign.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.Com/why.not.redesign
• Facebook: www.Facebook.Com/whynotredesign
• Twitter: @Whynotredesign
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCOxZuRfF8oa0rgxOujVaUSw

Image Credits
CPGrads-Vanessa Hendrickson for personal picture