Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Rundell. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jennifer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?
Knowing in your heart that you really love to do something and getting paid to do it are two very different things! However, in a perfect world these two worlds collide in a beautiful, profitable way.
And that is my story of how my business got off the ground!!
We were living in a condo in downtown Milwaukee at the time. I had officially launched my business, aka, registered my name, set up a website domain and printed off some business cards, but hadn’t really begun any marketing or done any networking to promote what I was doing.
It was a sunny, winter Sunday afternoon and I was out taking a walk along the river. I noticed that there was a condo for sale on the other side of the river. I decided to take a walk through, just out of curiosity. The realtor showing the property was very welcoming and we chatted briefly when I first entered the condo. We continued our conversation after I had taken a walk through the property, and somehow it came up that I had recently started a new business venture. At that time, I was solely focusing on providing home staging services for residential property owners who were placing their house on the market. The realtor stopped and said “oh, we’re always looking for good home staging services”. She then asked me if I happened to have a business card and for some strange reason, I had exactly one rumpled business card in the back pocket of my jeans that I was able to share with her.
As lovely as our exchange was, I really didn’t expect to hear back from her … and certainly not within the week!!
I was shocked when she called me several days later and mentioned that she had a client who needed a fresh set of eyes to help her sell her home. It had been on the market for a while and just wasn’t getting any traction. I told her that I would love to come and take a look and the rest (as they say) is history.
This first “real” staging job was exciting, terrifying and very gratifying!! I showed up at the house, armed with a small bouquet of flowers for the client, thanked the realtor for inviting me to be part of the sales process and began my very first staging consultation.
Afterwards I got in the car and simply couldn’t believe that somebody was actually paying me to have this much fun!! To this day I’m extremely grateful for that one rumpled up business card in the back pocket of my jeans on a sunny winter Sunday.
In my wildest dreams, I never would have imagined that it would allow me to dive right into my first long-term project where I worked side by side with my client … pitching and purging, painting and organizing, staging and rearranging and preparing her home for a quick sale as she prepared for the next new phase of her life.
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 have always had a passion for design! From the time I was little, I have been rearranging spaces in order to create a more harmonious FEEL. While my friends were playing dress-up with their Barbies, I was busy setting up the furniture and accessories in Barbie’s home, so she’d be ready to entertain when Ken and his cool friends stopped by for a visit.
Lucky for me, I’ve found a number of ways to incorporate my love for design into both my life and my career. For many years I worked in the non-profit world as a fundraising and special event specialist. This was a great opportunity for me to combine my ability to quickly assess what was missing from a space with my knack for finding just the right item needed (at a fraction of the cost) to create that desired feel. Soon I became the “go-to” gal for setting up successful events, creating a unique client experience at fundraisers and helping businesses highlight their best features.
A pivotal moment for starting my own business occurred while working at the Milwaukee Bucks Training Center. In addition to coordinating some fabulous in-house events, I was asked to redesign both the coach’s locker room and the player’s family room experience. The well received result was a great reminder to me of how much fun it really is to create an environment for others where they can truly thrive!
So, after many years of helping friends, family members and co-workers redesign their homes, businesses and special events, I decided that it was time to take the leap and launch Rundell ReDesign.
Since I first opened my doors, I have worked with homeowners to stage their properties for a quick sale, helped small business owners elevate their client experience by redesigning their spaces, shown vacation property owners how to increase the number of guests and improve the quality of their stay, collaborated with community members to help cancer patients redesign their healing experience, and perhaps most importantly, educated the masses about the beauty of creating a specially curated FEEL in their space, that delights all of their senses.
While every project that I work on quickly becomes my new favorite, mostly because of the fabulous clients that I’ve worked with over the years, I’m currently working on a long-term, high impact, community project that really has my heart!! The Redeem and Restore Center of Southeast Wisconsin has recently acquired a property for women who have been victims of exploitation and human trafficking. I have been invited to help them redesign their space … turning the old, tired house into a beautiful, restorative home (maybe their first real home ever!), where hope becomes a possibility, and their healing journey has a place to begin.
Owning my own business has not only given me the freedom to help my clients reimagine their best lives by redesigning where they work, live and play, it has also opened up a world of incredible collaborative opportunities and ways to have a positive impact on my community.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Long before the word pivot became a buzzword (thank you CoVid), my business took a series of twists and turns that would definitely fall into the pivot category.
When I first opened the doors to Rundell ReDesign, my primary objective was to help homeowners sell their homes quickly, while maximizing their profit. This was achieved by offering home staging services that focused on creating the FEEL that their ideal prospective buyers in mind when looking for their perfect home.
Shortly after I started my business, some of my networking colleagues asked me if I could help them uplevel their client experience by updating their places of business. This was my first pivot, where I expanded my business to include commercial redesign in addition to home staging services.
During the winter season, a business owner invited me to help her create a festive feel in her shop. This was my second pivot and the beginning of my “holidays with heart” campaign, where I came in and decorated small businesses during the holiday season. Part of their decorating package included a special tree with hand-made ornaments (created by local artists) that their customers could purchase. A percentage of the proceeds of these ornaments was then donated to the specific charity that business owner had chosen. The first time a pivot focused on one of my core values of giving back to the community.
As my home staging and now commercial redesign services began to grow, several people asked me if I could come into their homes and help them redesign their personal spaces. This was my third pivot and another expansion opportunity for Rundell ReDesign. Residential redesign services proved to be an ongoing, steady need for my client base.
Another pivot and expansion opportunity came from the ever growing home rental industry. As Airbnbs and VRBOs were popping up all over, property owners needed a way to make their property stand out online. I was able to show them how to redesign their spaces to create the desired feel for their ideal guests and designate a picture-perfect spot where their guests could essentially offer free marketing by sharing their experience with their friends and family through social media.
Once CoVid hit, the desire for in-home services took a slight hiatus and I recognized the growing need for small business owners to redesign their spaces in order to make their customers feel safe again. This was my fourth pivot and the launch of my “Safe Social Distance Staging” services for business owners, offering tips and tricks for furniture placement, PPE products and signage. Helping my fellow small business owners get back to business was such a gratifying experience!
Because giving back has always been one of my core values, I have longed for a way to “redesign” the patient experience for those going through cancer treatments. As a breast cancer thriver, I knew first-hand the importance of healing mind, body and spirit. As a designer, I also recognized that the FEEL of a space where patients are receiving their treatments is every bit as important as the meds they are receiving. While my initial idea was to focus on the layout and design of the clinics themselves, CoVid caused the clinics to pare down and focus on their new PPE regulations. So, we provided comfort in a time of crisis in a different manner. This was my fifth pivot and the creation of my IMOK program. IMOK stands for Independent Makers Offering Kindness. I designed portable comfort bags filled with little bits of hope to share with breast cancer patients, not only in local clinics, but eventually throughout the U.S. These bags had beautiful handmade soaps and lip balms and bracelets and soft socks and notes of encouragement and journals (and more) that were donated by local “makers” and sponsored by small business owners who became the caring community behind my desire to redesign the patient experience.
As our company services were expanding and my business took a few more twists and turns, it became apparent to me that it was time to pivot once again and release the staging portion of my business. Although this was my original baby, and the place where it all started, I was ready to close out my warehouse, sell off my staging items and focus on the other areas of redesign. This was where my “Sip N Shop” event was born. Last fall I set up all of my inventory, invited current and past clients as well as fellow stagers and realtors to come and shop from my staging stash. What an exciting way to close one door and open another.
Selling off the staging part of my business freed up time, energy and resources for me to pivot once more as I focus on my current long-term, high impact, community project. I’m working with a local non-profit to help redesign their healing experience by creating a beautiful, restorative home for women who were victims of human trafficking and exploitation. Serving as the Lead Designer for this transformation is the perfect combination of all of my past design experiences and my desire to pay it forward in the community!
While the road has been long and winding, with plenty of twists, turns and pivots, I feel as though I’ve landed exactly where I was meant to be all along! My business is now fully engaged in helping residential, commercial and vacation property owners (and their clients) reimagine their best lives by redesigning where they work, live, heal and play.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
The craziest sales experience I’ve ever had occurred last year while vacationing in Hawaii.
My husband and I were visiting Hawaii for the very first time. Our original plan was to connect with extended family members who were vacationing in Kona on the big island, and then take a few extra days to explore Honolulu on the Island of Oahu.
After spending a day in Honolulu, we decided (very last minute) to try to squeeze in a day or two exploring Maui. In order to make that happen, the following things needed to happen, all within a one-hour period.
We needed to secure a place on Maui, cancel our current reservation in Honolulu, reschedule our departure out of Honolulu to Maui, secure a flight from Honolulu to Maui, secure a car in Maui, pack up our belongings and get to the airport.
Amazingly, we made it to Maui without a hitch!
While walking along an extremely beautiful stretch of beach, I said aloud to my husband “wouldn’t it be great if I could work from a place like this?”
Here’s where the magic really unfolded.
The following morning, I was watching the sunrise at our rental and having a casual conversation with a guest I had just met, who also happened to be from the Mid-West. A third woman came along and joined in our conversation. She inquired about our stay, what I did for my career and what brought me to the island. When I mentioned that I worked with vacation property owners to elevate their client experience, she exclaimed “really?? would you be interested in helping me with my property next door?”. Naturally, I chuckled and said “sure, I’d be happy to come back some time and help you with your rental property”.
Thinking this would be the end of the road, I was surprised when she told me to stay right where I was and quickly hustled off to grab one of her business cards. Upon returning, she asked me how much longer we were staying on the island. When I informed her that we were leaving that night, she asked if I could squeeze in a quick walk-through of her property later that afternoon.
We discussed my procedure, payment and the other details of our potential meet-up. Later that afternoon, after spending the day at the beach, I met her at her rental property in my swimsuit and flip flops and we had our initial design consultation. She was thrilled that I could help her redesign her space! I was amazed that this had really happened, when I truly wasn’t even supposed to be on that island in the first place, and it all happened with just enough time for me to change clothes and drive to the airport to head back to Milwaukee.
Truly, despite all the odds, I secured a paying vacation property redesign client while vacationing in Hawaii.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rundellredesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rundellredesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063499513380
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-rundell-7b904a19/
- Youtube: @rundellredesign9185
Image Credits
Abbie Miller: Stories Framed Photography Katie Soyka: Katie Soyka Photography Mackenzie Bryant: Mac Bryant Photography