We were lucky to catch up with Eve Jean recently and have shared our conversation below.

Eve , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One deeply underappreciated facet of being a service provider is the kind of crazy stuff that happens from time to time. It could be anything from a disgruntled client attacking an employee or waking up to find out a celebrity gave you a shoutout on TikTok – the sudden, unexpected hits (both positive and negative) make the profession both exhilarating and exhausting. Can you share one of your craziest stories?

ok so imagine this you have a developer / realtor that reaches out to you in dm you know of him and also his following so not only i’m i super excited but i’m looking at it as an opportunity to collaborate with him as well as doing future projects together. I was sooo excited from our initial meeting that I didn’t bother to see none of the red flags. His demeanor and tone in which he spoke to his workers , i didn’t think to much of it until later on when I realized this is genuinely him as a person and how he treats his contractors . Well lets get to the project this was a 6 unit 3 bedroom 1 bathroom
each unit and client was turning it into an air bnb rental the entire building including hall
ways needed to be designed , this was exactly the project i’ve been wanting on the show my work and this could of easily been a 50-70k project so not only was I excited for the opportunity I was more excited about the pontential of the pay well that dreamed got knocked out quick when client informed me that he can afford to pay my fee if i work with him not only will he hire me for all future projects he will also give me amazing referrals since I knew he was in the real estate world , against my better judgment as well
as advice from other designers and mentors telling me this was a NO project i decided to take his deal. Project started in december and ended in march , imagine barely being paid your design fee, on top of driving almost 2 hours from home to get the harlem NY, and not leaving everyday until 4-5 am driving tired and going up
and down 6 flights of stairs to decorate and organize every unit (also keep
in mind there are no elevators ) spending thousands of dollars on my own credit since everytime i would reach out to client he was either busy in a meeting or couldn’t be bothered and asked for you to pay and bill
him later , and because He is well
known the last thing on my
mind was he would split on the bill …. on top of project delays due to the client being indecisive or wanting to be too involved and having his assistant micro manage you well this is exactly what was happening. After install day and making sure the units was picture ready to be put on air bnb I send him his final bill well that is were it went all downhill the client didn’t want to pay me for the items purchase thinking it came with the service after being paid barely anything for my design fee between me having a nervous breakdown from this project and being hospitalized from stressed and having to most likely hire an attorney to recoupe my funds it took weeks my credit cards not being paid . It took for my mentor
to reach out to him and explaining to him he has to pay this bill due to all the work being done and only because of her i was able to get my money for the items purchased . 3 things I learned from
my hell
project is
1. Always look out for the red flags before unboarding a client .
2. your design fee is non negotiable if you can’t afford it maybe you should not be hiring a designer
3. when a client shows you who they are from the initial meeting make no excuses for them that is how they are

after this project i changed my contracts , my unboarding process , my client questionnaire and my working hours

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?

Hi I am Eve J. I am currently residing in Long Island , New York originally from the sunshine state Miami florida . I am a mom to a teenage son , and a dog mom I am also a foodie I love to try new restaurants and love to travel and see new places my love for travel
and food goes hand in hand . I love a good spa day , jazz music and just being around positive vibes and people . prior to getting into design I worked in hospitality and the service industry for more than a decade hence were my
love for beautiful hospitality spaces started and managed a staffing company , fun fact I use to want to own a spa well
never know maybe in the future i’ll circle back to this dream , so I am a certified medical esthetician.
How I
got into design building my dream
home is were it all started we gutted , renovated and design our entire home which has been a 5 year long project , during the renovation process is when i fell in love with construction i’ve always been into interior design but the renovation process seeing the before , during and after is always a breath of fresh air so fast forward neighbors started coming by asking who did our renovation process and design and got our first client which was a neighbor doing their kitchen renovation it was first of many kitchen remodels through trial and error and learning I was able to get a 2nd client which our first commercial project it was renovating and designing and office space one of the best clients i’ve ever worked with they made the process soo
seamless. after the 2nd project I felt confident enough to say i’m
going to do this full time and that is when style my space was born we are a design & construction firm
we provide residential/ commercial/ hospitality design / kitchen & bathroom remodel as well as 3d rendering right now we service NY / Miami / Atlanta and travel to different states where are services are needed . Our motto is creating memorable spaces with lasting impression, we want our clients to love their space as well as making it functional and easy to keep up with the design even after the project is done . what sets us apart is our attention to details, listening to our clients needs and wants and making sure it incorporates with their end goal. I am
most proud of how I make my clients feel
during the process of investing into their dream space and just seeing the reviews and how my clients view me and trust me i take pride in building
my business where my clients are happy trusting and knowing my team
and I have their best interest at heart when it comes to their project and all
about building
a brand with lasting impressions and beautiful esthetical pleasing designs

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

Honestly most of our clients are referrals from previous clients . I also attend lots of networking events and also invest back in my business by going to paid networking events getting my business name
out there , introducing myself
to potential
clients such as developers, realtors, landlords of commercial spaces because let’s be honest your network is your net worth , so for me staying consistent in building relationships has been a game changer in my business the more your put yourself out there the more people will
get to
know you as well as your business

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Just by simply being my authentic self and showing up as EVE more like a take me as I am being my fun , funny , corky self and my personality a lot of people tell me im
very relatable so I feel
people like to see the real you the good bad and ugly and i’m unapologetically myself and people
love that they never have to second
guess my motives because it’s always pure and that has helped me
foster lots of relationships in my
industry

Contact Info:

• Instagram: stylemyspace_designs
• Facebook: stylemyspace designs
• Linkedin: Eve Jean
• Yelp: style my space designs

Image Credits
nicole larson photography