e recently connected with Erin Lester and have shared our conversation below.

Erin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?

I absolutely love what I’m doing! I only started my business last year, and before that I worked in more “traditional” jobs, so I can compare pretty easily.

In late 2021 I was feeling totally burnt out. Between the pandemic, a cross-country move, parenting a toddler and running a team of ~150 at a tech startup, I needed a break. So, I took the nuclear option, gave notice, and for the first time in a decade took a career break. This may sound like the dream – to just quit and do nothing – but for me it wasn’t the easiest transition. I’m a type-A overachiever. I attended law school, worked at a corporate law firm for several years, and held senior positions in government and tech. I’ve always been so focused on a certain kind of career, it felt like: “now what?” I knew I needed a break, but I also knew I needed a career to feel fulfilled.

At the same time, I wanted different things at this point in my career than when I was younger. I wanted a role that would allow me to keep learning and growing, but I also craved flexibility, autonomy, creativity, and community. The beauty of running my own business is that I’ve really been able to design it around me – what energizes me, and what reflects my values. In the past, I’d try to block out time on my calendar (which was always stuffed with meetings) for things like eating lunch, taking walks, etc., but inevitably work would run over and I couldn’t prioritize these much-needed moments of quiet. After Elevate started to get busy, I decided to take more control over my time. I sat down and wrote out priorities for myself like: What daily rituals do I want to create time for? How much time do I want to spend connecting with my community? In nature? Working out? And now those are the recurring holds on my calendar! I’ve also had the flexibility to donate time to families impacted by the Marshall Fires, and I spend a lot of time networking with local moms, which has given me an incredible community of women that truly understand #momlife. Instead of planning my life around work, I now plan work around my life, and that’s a tremendous gift.

Erin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the owner of Elevate Home Decorating, an interior decorating company based in Boulder, Colorado that specializes in affordable, flexible, and family-friendly design. When I moved to Boulder from NYC a few years ago, I had to furnish my home largely from scratch, so I went on the hunt for an interior designer to help me. I wanted style, but I also wanted to source a lot of pieces from affordable stores like Target and Wayfair, and I needed practical solutions – dining chairs I could clean with a sponge, lots of toy storage, you get the idea. What I found was that there are many incredibly talented, high-end designers in Boulder, but for someone like me, who wanted a beautiful, functional home but was also on a budget and had young kids, it was nearly impossible to find someone to work with. So, fast forward a few years, and I decided to do it myself!

With so much access to interior design inspiration these days, all of us want an Instagram-worthy home, but full-service interior design can be out of many people’s price range. At Elevate, we really flex to fulfill each client’s unique needs. That means we identify the personal style of each client and design around that; incorporate the needs of the household, such as young children or pets; and take on projects of any size, with no minimum hours requirement or furnishing budget. We also work with any budget, frequently shop at affordable and well known stores, and give clients full transparency on all of the items we recommend, including source and price.

Furnishing or renovating a home is a tremendous expense, and for most of us, our home is our largest financial investment, the center of our family life, our full-time office, and the place we spend most of our time. Given how much money and time we devote to our homes, it makes sense to maximize their look and utility. I’m thrilled to be able to offer this to a wider client base by taking what can be a cost-prohibitive service and making it available to more families.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I think clients evaluate two things when meeting with me to discuss working together: first, is this service something that fits my needs and aligns with my values, and second, will I enjoy working with this person? I really try to make the process with my clients fun and relaxing, and I think that approach has landed well. Most of my clients have shared that they found the design process fun, and that working together felt more like hanging out with a friend than doing work. I also think there are some unique elements of my business that resonate with clients, such as a willingness to take on smaller projects, flexibility around budget, transparency around the price and source for recommended items, and a willingness to design around clients’ personal tastes rather than the latest trends or my own personal style.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I first launched Elevate, I needed design experience, so I put out an offer in my local Facebook group to take on unpaid projects for a few initial clients. I wound up taking on two projects, and I did about 60 hours of work between these two projects – all unpaid. In some ways, this was a great experience – I was able to work out the logistics and processes I wanted to use in my business, from the software I use to how and when I present designs to clients. However, because neither of these clients were paying me, they also weren’t deeply invested in the outcomes. One wound up ghosting me and we never met to talk through the designs for her home. The other met with me and gave me a lot of helpful feedback, but also told me that in total the value of what I created for her would probably be about $300 – effectively less than minimum wage, given the time I put in. Yikes! Keep in mind this was the only design client meeting I had ever had at this point, and I had no idea if I had a workable business plan, so hearing this was terrifying, and I wondered if I was just wasting my time. Fortunately, I listened to my gut and kept going, but I also learned a valuable lesson: different people place a different value on certain things, and the services I offer won’t be something everyone values. And that’s okay!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.elevatehomedecorating.com

Image Credits
Headshot – Bailey Ashlynn Portfolio photos – Clark Miller