We were lucky to catch up with Jennifer Ma recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?
I structured my business and service offerings in a way that allows me to work from anywhere. With my most popular design service, aka virtual design services, I can virtually decorate your home, no matter where you live.
Working remotely works for me because I can also hire anyone within the U.S and they do not necessarily need to live close to me. I love the liberty of having a business that I can take anywhere and if my family and I decide to move, it would be a non-issue.
Jennifer, 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?
After moving into a brand new “cookie cutter” home in San Diego, I started an Instagram account to document my love for customizing and decorating my home. My goal was simple: Create a space that felt cozy, finished yet functional.
As Jennifer’s online readership grew, so did her requests for interior design projects. Soon, she was being asked to design spaces–and entire homes–by online fans & followers from across the country. With that, Dwell & Oak was born; a design company grounded in my firm belief that a home can be both beautiful and comfortable.
In the years prior to launching my design company, I had already built and owned a thriving kickboxing franchise business from the ground up after being 12 years in luxury beauty marketing in NYC. I do believe my experience in marketing, how to manage a team and client experience has all helped my interior design business grow. Alongside that, the pitfalls and challenges of running a 7-figure business in the past helped me learn what I can do better in the future to best serve my clients and team members.
Now, I run Dwell & Oak from the SF Bay Area and specialize in a transitional/california modern aesthetic for busy families. We serve clients locally in the Bay Area and nationally through our virtual design services.
My motto is, what you eat, sit or sleep on should be your biggest investment. Just because you have young children or pets, doesn’t mean you can’t have the bright and airy home you’ve dreamed of. My clients deserve a space that they feel good in and that means there shouldn’t be a sacrifice because you have children or pets.
What I am most proud of is the care and attention that we apply to each project and client satisfaction until the very end. (yes, even virtually!). I truly make sure that my clients get the best results and transformation that they trusted me for from the very beginning. They deserve that.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have had many “lives” before I started Dwell & Oak and when I tell you that I pivoted…boy-I pivoted more times than I can count on one hand.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, I started working as a line cook at the Grand Central Oyster Bar serving over 200 people during rush hour. I realized I did not want that lifestyle of working weekends, night shifts and holidays when I became a Mother. I wanted the flexibility of staying at home; this is something I thought about at the age of 22.
Career lesson #1: Ask yourself, “What do you want your life to look like?” Seriously, what do you envision doing every single day? Think HARD on that.
I then honed my marketing and branding skills for 8 years at some of the largest beauty firms in NYC; Clarins and Shiseido. But when I was working as a brand manager at Shiseido in New York, my Mom passed away from pancreatic cancer and it was really difficult. This led me to focus my attention on exercise and I joined a local kickboxing gym near my house. I saw how many members there were and said, “I want to open up one of these”. So…I did.
Career lesson #2: You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.
Fast forward, I dove into full on construction and permitting mode of a 4,800 square foot space in Brooklyn and opened up something I am really proud of to this day; a fitness franchise called iLoveKickboxing. I spent a huge investment on this business, from designing the space, hiring my first team of 8 team members that consisted of a manager, assistant manager and 6 kickboxing instructors. We maintained a pretty consistent member list of 400+ members at a time with a well-trained staff that implemented a strict sales and customer service process from our corporate office.
Career lesson #3: Automating and streamlining processes are not an option, they are a MUST. If you do something more than 2x, it must be automated somehow.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I have two top tips for obtaining clientele:
1) The more you GIVE, the more you GET; have an abundance mindset. The more information you give out for free to help others, the more money you will make. You’re probably thinking… “Well, if I tell them how to do something for free, they aren’t going to buy into my services and I won’t get paid.” This is not true and in fact, this is the opposite. You will be seen as an industry leader and truly, doesn’t it feel good to help others? I know it does for me. It will pay off in the long run and you can thank me later. For me, I give applicable tips for interior decorating through Instagram posts for everyone to reference and use.
2) Do not to be afraid to show up on social media. Be raw, honest and you-no one cares if you don’t have makeup on, or if you have wrinkles… just go for it! People buy into people, not just the product/service that you sell. Your followers want to get to know and connect with you, get to know your personality, values and energy. You need to show them that they can know you, like you, then they can trust you, in that order.
3) Paid ads: I learned how to run Instagram ads from my experience with my kickboxing studio and honestly, learned by watching YouTube videos. I bring in at least 2-3 leads per week for my virtual design services and invest $250 a month on ad spend-this pays off twofold. I focus on Instagram stories specifically and funny enough, most clients forget how they found me because it feels so organic.
Contact Info:
- Website: dwellandoak.com
- Instagram: dwellandoak
- Facebook: dwellandoak
Image Credits
https://jamesfurman.com/interior/ is my photographer.