We recently connected with Heather Krout and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications and a minor in English. I have always loved to write. I once thought I wanted to be a television news reporter after college, but quickly realized that “being willing to relocate” were not words I would use to describe myself.

Turns out, I am the literal opposite of relocation material. I am a homebody.

I love my hometown and I love the rustic Christmas tree farm I grew up on that is 20 minutes away from where I live now in suburbia Bel Air, Maryland, with my husband, Shawn of 17 years, and our three daughters, Eve (13), Maci (11) and Livvy (9).

After graduating from the University of Delaware, I spent my 20s as a rep in the pharmaceutical industry with Wyeth & Pfizer, and then after Shawn and I started our family I left my pharmaceutical career in an effort to work from home. I spent my 30’s raising babies and earning a flexible income as a Stella & Dot stylist, My business grew and grew along with our babies and I became a Founding Leader and Executive Leadership Coach to hundreds of women across the globe that represented the Stella & Dot fashion and accessories brand.

In early 2020, during pre-pandemic times, I decided to intentionally pull back a bit from leading the multi-million dollar sales team that I had built with Stella & Dot and I created a decidedly quiet and mindful season. I created white space in my day to day and took time to “get down and get low,” really leaning in and listening to the gentle but very present nudges I was feeling to follow a calling to write in the form of beginning a blog.

I launched my Lifestyle Blog unknowingly the week before COVID pierced and halted our everyday life. The timing turns out, was meant to be, as people were stuck at home, with more time on their hands than ever before. My blog slowly grew with hundreds of readers subscribing and soaking in the weekly words I was publishing ranging from DIY home projects to bits and pieces of encouragement during what was a very scary and trying time in our world.

Today my blog readership continues to increase and grow daily. The Home with Heather blog community that is growing nationwide is something I am truly proud of. What I am finding from both the blog comments and in person conversations I am having with my readers, is that my blog posts that are arriving in their inboxes, are serving as a bright spot in their day and a much needed breath of fresh air, in a hustle and bustle world. Readers will often share that they love reading my home decorating posts with easy shopping links while enjoying their morning coffee or they love to savor a more prayerful post filled with encouraging words as they wind down at night. When I share real life stories and family life inspiration on the blog, it feels as though I am sharing our story with dear friends…and I love that.

Rewind back to my very first year of blogging, loyal readers began to comment and message me requesting that I come to their homes to decorate for them and help them rearrange their own homes, as they were tuned into the multiple home projects my husband, Shawn and I was tackling during quarantine. A total DIY demo and kitchen remodel along with a love of shiplap to name a few projects!

The blog celebrated it’s first “Blog Birthday” in Feb. 2021 and it was then, that I leaned into my reader’s requests and nudges on my heart and decided to launch “Home with Heather” Interior Styling & Consulting the following month in March 2021.

Today, I spend my days writing and posting on the blog: www.heatherkrout.com where I share helpful home decorating tips and inspiration along with timely doses of encouragement. While also decorating client homes in the Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware areas as well as conducting virtual consults for clients who are at a distance. Clients and readers are also loving the “Shop My Home” links on my website for easy “get the look” styling to click and order for their own homes as well as my Amazon Storefront.

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?

I am a lifestyle blogger and self-taught interior stylist / home decorator, with a knack for refreshing rooms through simple rearranging of existing furniture, and redecorating on a budget. I am known for an ear for listening to what clients want and need in their spaces. The best compliment I receive is when my clients tell me during their home decorating consultation: “I never would have thought of that!” This comment makes me smile as I know that I have been able to bring value to my client in the form of fresh ideas that are often easy to implement.

My Home with Heather styling services range from budget-friendly basic in-home and virtual consultations for someone who is overwhelmed with where to start and wants to discuss options, bounce ideas, or rearrange existing furniture to help them make the most of their space, whether that be in their home or business/office setting.

The majority of my work is known as a “Room Re-Think” in where I spend time helping a client, one on one, by helping them rearrange a room, and refresh their homes using what they already have. We also may edit out pieces that are no longer serving them well or wind up moving them into another space while also bringing in a handful of new decor to revive the space.

More full-service options that can be added to any basic initial consultation such as mood board designs, personal shopping, product selection and sourcing, and installation of furniture and decor placement.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The decision to leave my founding leader role with Stella & Dot in Feb 2021, just before I launched my Home with Heather business was VERY much a difficult decision. I had poured my heart and time into building a booming personal business as well as coaching a team that I had grown extremely close to.

I took a Starter Kit that was $199 and turned it into an income that far exceeded 100K, making over what I used to make as a pharmaceutical sales rep with Wyeth and Pfizer, My husband and I enjoyed all-expense-paid tropical vacations that I earned every year to destinations like Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Bahamas.

So yes, leaving that financial security and all the glamorous perks all to follow the nudge to invest more time in blogging AND to launch a brand new business was a lot like leaving your security blanket and walking down the street naked!!

But, it was time, I knew it was a time when God dropped this thought on my heart “Delayed obedience is not obedience at all” I knew I had to make the difficult decision to move on.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think the main ingredient of building my reputation within my market would have to be consistency in who I am as a person.

As a writer with a blog, I tend to share authentically and vulnerably from the heart. There are things that I struggle with, or times when I have self-doubt and I do not shy away from sharing those inner emotions as a writer on my blog.

At the end of the day, I want my Home with Heather clients to feel as though they have just “phoned a friend” when they call me to schedule a consultation to get my advice on how they should decorate their home. I want to be their girl next door, an approachable, authentic friend who will give them trustworthy advice. Also, I try to help them take the pressure off of having the perfect home or rooms. Because life and our homes don’t have to be picture perfect in order to be wonderful.

Also, the willingness to say YES to things that scare you!! I was recently asked to be a “Celebrity Dancer” in a fundraising ballroom dance gala in front of 500 people, to support our local Center for the Arts. While my knee jerk reaction was to say: “NO!” and run away, as I have ZERO dance experience. I followed the conviction on my heart to show up for myself in the same way that I encourage our 3 daughters to do every day. Looking back now, 6 months after the ballroom dancing fundraiser I am so thankful that I said Yes to new experiences and doing something I have never done before! It was a thrill and joy to make space for fun and all for a wonderful cause! I made a brand new group of new friends whom I love to support in their businesses and they also love to support me right back! It’s a wonderful win-win, when you support others!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heatherkrout.com
• Instagram: @heather_krout
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomewithHeatherLLC

Image Credits
Breanna Kuhlmann