We recently connected with Jamie Bryant and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

I think the biggest mistake you can make as a designer is to miss the entire point of design itself. Design is different from decoration. Design is about the clients— not myself, and not my business’ portfolio. It’s about a challenge of a particular space and how to solve for that. I like to get to know my clients, their businesses, and their goals for the space. Once I understand what they’re looking for, I work on a concept by creating a mood board with actual furniture, fixtures, colors, and materials that reflect their goals. Throughout the process, I work closely with clients to get their feedback and make sure they’re happy with the direction of the design.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I began my independent career as co-owner of Plum | A Lifestyle Boutique, before founding Plum’s design arm, The Alessie Group in 2019, but design has been a staple in my everyday life for much longer than that. As an aspiring designer in the field of golf and master-planned community marketing, I worked on projects varying from high-end residential to a vast array of multi-million dollar commercial projects around North America and the Caribbean from 2006 on. That background laid the groundwork for me in eventually merging my lifelong passion along with my education and entrepreneurship.

I went on to become the Strategic Director of Marketing & Communications for a private school, and they are now one of my biggest design clients. I quickly picked up another commercial client in higher education, and that rounded out an already full plate of residential projects in various phases of the design-build process.

I’m extremely proud of how quickly I’ve been able to grow my small business, and the variety of projects I’ve been able to amass in the past few years; from renovations to new builds, lake and mountain homes, downtown condos and townhomes; from 2,000 sq ft to 12,000 sq ft spaces, and commercial projects spanning schools, Universities, healthcare, retail/restaurant, and multi-use spaces. It’s been incredibly rewarding and there is always something to look forward to.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

It’s important to me that my clients have a sense of my true character and that we establish a meaningful connection. I try to be a clear and timely communicator, dependable, trustworthy, and ethical in the way that I operate my business. I also try to be a good steward of their money. That’s very important to me. I have a ‘Rolodex’ so to speak of vendors with whom I have trusted relationships with, many of them are now my friends. A network of the right partners is essential, and I think that says a lot about a person and how they conduct their business.

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

Managing cash flow effectively just might be the trickiest part about owning a small business, at least for me, and probably the most vital to its success. I’m learning that balance and how to manage my cash flow successfully and strategically.

I missed payroll once, and thankfully had some very understanding employees who were happy to wait an extra few days for their checks to process! The thing about making a mistake like that is that once it happens I learn from it, and I will not let myself repeat it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @plum.lifestyle