We recently connected with Janiece Lonvelin and have shared our conversation below.

Janiece, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I’ve always wanted to start a business since as early as I could remember. And to be honest, I wish I would have done so earlier than I did. Starting a business forces you to focus and prioritize because you have your goals or direction that you are working towards, and you realize that only you can make it happen, which gives you a level of pressure and drive to work hard and get to that finish line. And you have a lot more energy in your twenties!

I started my interior design business in 2021. After completing my first home remodel, and with that experience, I knew I wanted to continue to transform homes and help others. Being that I was working as a fashion designer at the time and had many years of experience in the industry, it was much easier for me to utilize software to put together my design and select materials and colors that went well together. However, being in my mid 30s and trying to get a business off the ground is definitely hard, especially when you add on the pressure of being a wife and, hopefully, one day a mother.

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.

My name is Janiece Lonvelin, I’m an interior designer and owner of HONE Design Studio, a boutique interior design company located in Orange County, California. What makes us special is our exceptional customer service and design expertise stemming from 15+ years of experience in design across multiple industries and established brands throughout California.

We help local and remote clients create thoughtful and personal designs for their homes that inspire happiness and a higher and more fulfilled level of living in their home. We work in projects both large and small, in-person and virtually, and we offer highly personalized design services ranging from full-home projects to one-room refreshes. Our goal is to leave our clients with a beautiful end result and an enjoyable experience, taking the stress and time commitment off their shoulders by navigating all the details that go into planning and executing a design project.

I started my business in 2021, almost a year after my husband and I purchased and remodeled our first home. Through that experience, I fell in love with interior design and the process and transformation of home remodeling. I wanted to continue to transform homes and help clients achieve what I had achieved with my own home, which was the happiness that I felt living everyday in my home.

Prior to starting my business, I was a fashion designer for over 10 years. Through that I gained valuable experience from organizational skills, team collaboration, and most importantly, I honed my skills as a designer giving me an expertise in understanding design and being able to thoughtfully create and present my designs, which is a very important skill I use in my business today.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

This is a great question. I would say I had to unlearn being a good worker and instead learn how to be good at delegating. This is a crucial part of being a business owner because you can easily get caught up in working in the business, instead of on the business. As a business owner, your time becomes the most valuable asset you have, and you have to be very careful where you spend your time because it could easily be detrimental to the business.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

I started my business as a side hustle while I was still in fashion. I didn’t expect for my side hustle to grow as quickly as it did. Being that I was a designer for so long prior to starting my business, I was able to put together an aesthetically pleasing brand look both on web and on social media, which then led to my first real clients. Relationship building was also crucial in being able to grow my business quickly as it led to some really great projects. I worked hard to build relationships with industry professionals and learn as much as I could from them. One important skill I have gained throughout my career is being able to collaborate with different experts, knowing where my skill sets end, and how to collaborate with other professionals (without ego) to create something special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.honedesignstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hone_designstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/honedesignstudio
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/honedesignstudio
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9_EOKhHGgYg_rGj7Q2sUmw
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hone-design-studio-anaheim

Image Credits
Photographer: Jennie Figueroa