We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Heather Cleveland. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Heather below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.

I was the manager of the IKEA kitchen design department and wanted to move into more design and less retail. I had a degree in interior design from FIDM is SF. I decided to leave IKEA and started my firm 21 years ago. My very first client came before I even had a business name or cards! One of the kitchen designers that worked for me sent me a referral almost immediately! I had no idea what to charge and ended up charging her only $35 an hour! The going rate then was $125. Pretty quickly I figured out that I needed to change that!

Heather, 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?

For more than 26 years, Heather Cleveland has been helping clients define their vision for home and bring it to life. Her work and process is informed by her diverse industry experiences—including, specialty kitchen design, home staging, and professional organization services. The result is an inherent ability to create spaces that balance beauty and functionality and feel tailored to her clients’ unique lives.

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Heather’s signature style is best described as Scandifornian, a warm, textural, and relaxed approach to modern interiors. Despite her recognizable style, each of her designs feels entirely fresh with elements of the unexpected and the essence of her clients woven throughout.

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Heather prides herself on the thoughtful process she has developed for her clients. She is a true partner in design—centering their needs during the experience as much as in the end result. Heather and her team work with clients across the Bay Area and beyond, impacting their lives with personalized service and luxury design.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Being a female raised in the 70s and 80s, I had been conditioned to always say yes to anything that was asked of me. This left me overwhelmed and often frustrated as it landed me in many situations that I did not want to be in. It took about 15 years of this before I finally realized that I was the owner of my own firm and could therefore set bounderies and rules that worked for me and the way that I wanted to run things. And it turns out that clients were fine being told no, as long as it was done with courtesy and in a professional manner.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

As someone who had no idea how to run a business, I jumped right in with no understanding that I would need any capital. Enter: credit cards! I racked p a LOT of debt in those early years. Luckily my business took off and I was able to fund my business with actual capital pretty soon after. NOT the best plan!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heather-cleveland.com
• Instagram: @heatherclevelanddesign
• Facebook: Heather Cleveland Design
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/heather-cleveland-67614331

Image Credits
Steven J Magner photographer Rachel Wanty Stylist