We recently connected with Jessica Freeman and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, thanks for joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

I hate to brag, but I have to say that my parents, Mark and Ashlie Freeman, are simply the best… And I’m not just saying this because I’m their daughter. You could ask anyone they know from employees, to coworkers, to friends and family, to the cashier at the grocery store, or the Starbucks barista. I think that my parents influenced my younger brother and I effectively because they led by example. Note that I’m saying “influenced” not “taught”. I’m not saying that my parents didn’t teach me, because there’s no doubt they did… but their influence has had more power to inspire me than anything else.

All it took for me to understand how to be successful, full of happiness, and a leader was to watch them. More than just teaching me, my parents showed me firsthand what success, happiness, and impact look like. Subconsciously, they challenged me time and time again to go after what I wanted in life. They challenged me not to care what other people thought along the way, and that the biggest obstacle to get past was my own self-doubt. The path in life to get to where you are happiest will not necessarily be a straight one, but the detours, turns, and hazards will be part of our stories. True success is found when we identify how we can serve other people with our gifts, and in doing this, find our own happiness. I would argue that my parents have both found massive success in life by this measure, and seeking this kind of fullness is what inspires me daily.

My dad launched his own staffing and technology firm, Provisions Group, almost 20 years ago. A lot of things have stood out to me over the years but I’ll share just a couple of tidbits. I can remember an early hire that my dad made many years ago when I was growing up. He was a smaller guy in his early twenties and I remember my dad sharing that he had low confidence because of his size. He was making a go at a role in sales with my dad’s company, but didn’t have any clothes that fit him well, so he was shopping for suits and dress clothes in the kids section. My dad intuitively could see this affecting his confidence. I remember one afternoon, my dad took him to a department store and set him up with a salesperson who helped him put together a full new wardrobe of nice men’s clothing. He bought him all new clothing for work and had it all tailored to fit him perfectly. My dad would never share this story to anyone but our family and never mention it to this employee again, but this small act of being extremely gracious inspired this young man in such a way that he started showing up to work with an entirely new sense of confidence. This was a small act but an example of a story that shows that my dad continuously finds ways to pour into people and inspire them to be better. The other thing I’ll share is that my dad’s business has been around for nearly twenty years and has been very successful. One thing that I find inspiring is that my dad shows up at his office and leads 150 plus employees but is never too good to take out the trash. While I’ve seen the world’s measure of success lead some people to believe that they’re too good to do things as simple as taking out the trash, my dad is the kind of exemplary lead who leads humbly and takes a lot of pride in his business.

My mom is truly an angel walking around here on earth… Seriously, ask anyone who knows her. My mom has always shown us that our hearts and how we serve and love the people around us is the truest measure of success. And like I mentioned earlier, we don’t have to measure success by worldly standards. Our family’s measure of success has always been based around serving others with our gifts and finding happiness through this. My mom worked as a speech pathologist with the geriatric population (people who have had head injuries, strokes, etc.) for years and did it because she loved being an advocate for people’s health and well-being in senior living facilities where people are often neglected and mistreated. Today, I’m lucky enough to say that I get to work alongside her in my business where she’s joined my team. Even in a completely different work environment, she’s still finding ways to encourage, serve, and love. No matter the job description or place, she’s the kind of exemplary leader who finds ways to share her gifts everywhere she goes. And trust me, she is a gift!

Jessica, 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 the owner and principal designer at Jessica Freeman Interiors. I like to think of myself as a guide for those who are trying to make their homes a true reflection of themselves. We are a full service interior design firm based in Nashville, TN and accepting clients all over, with services ranging from furnishings and design to renovation and new construction. In other words, our clients range from those who are overhauling their current spaces and need everything down the the lamp to those who are starting with a blank slate in a new build process. We work alongside architects, builders, landscape designers, etc. to dream up client’s dream homes, making edits to plans, and selections for nearly everything the eye can see inside and out of these new build homes. We also work with a handful of builders on speculative residences. We serve most of our clients right here in Nashville but are consistently working with a handful of out-of-state clients remotely (and sometimes in-person) as well. Our clients range from builders to Instagram-famous influencers to working professionals and busy families and everyone in-between.

I got into this industry years ago when I realized that I wasn’t going to be happy sitting inside a cubicle all day, and that if I was sitting inside a cubicle all day, I would have a second tab open on my computer where I would be dreaming up beautiful spaces. Seriously… I used to do this before I got into the design industry. Mid-way through college, I tried picturing myself working in a marketing job after finishing business school and I couldn’t do it. I knew I loved interiors so I decided to seek out some of my favorite designers and try to connect with them to see if they would let me shadow them. I messaged one designer who I followed on Instagram and asked if she would get a cup of coffee with me. From that meeting I offered to work for her part-time for free as a chance to be around the industry and ended up working almost every different role in the design industry with that firm. I quickly fell in love with designing and learned Autocad and some of the software I would need as a designer. I am grateful to have been able to work my way up to this point and experience so many different sides of the design industry.

A few things that clients should know about me… I have a love for working one-on-one directly with clients, builders, vendors, and makers to execute the process and like to say that I’m one of the few designers who has a strong left AND right side brain. I have a business background that balances out the creative in me and love the details, processes, and lists (if you know me you know I love a list)! I will also say that I am not the typical designer that is sometimes depicted in shows and movies who isn’t approachable and only buys $10,000 rugs. My heart is to meet clients and understand who they are and what they’re about so that I can capture who they are through the spaces we design. We are all about sourcing functional, real life pieces for all different kinds of clients. We love creating custom pieces and getting to work with our amazing vendors but we’re also they type who believe that we can find an $800 couch or a $8000 rug. Our services are completely tailored to you. My personal style includes neutrals, lots of texture, modern furniture with antiques and one of a kind pieces mixed in; but we like to say that we don’t design to a specific style, we just put our spin on your style to make your space feel very “you”.

A platform for rating businesses, Peerspace, named us #1 design firm in Nashville and we’re proud to have just wrapped with HGTV on a very special project that we hope to see airing in the US soon. There are lots of exciting and fun things in the works at JFI!

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

We’ve found that the biggest compliment in the entire world is when our clients refer us to their friends and family. Post-covid we experienced some crazy delays from vendors we order from on items from windows to curtains and more. These delays were frustrating and difficult on clients, but we’ve found that by being very transparent upfront and throughout these situations, our clients have been so appreciative and gracious with us. To work with a client who waited for a year before their sofa arrived and still have them refer us to others after the process speaks a lot to how we’re trying to be in relationship with our clients. Put simply, doing a good job, being honest throughout the process, and being kind go a long way in referrals… Plus, if you like your current clients and they refer you to their friends, you’ll likely end up with more great clients! Keep this in mind with vendors and suppliers as well- You never know how your kindness, professionalism, and a job well-done may lead to a referral years down the line.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I’ve been listening to the “How I Built This” podcast hosted by Guy Raz since I was a teenager. I can’t tell you how much I’ve gleaned from hearing other entrepreneurs share their stories of where they started and what their journey looked like to get to where they are today. On days when I’m looking for some encouragement, I go back to old episodes and re-listen to the same ones over and over again. The story of how the business, Soul Cycle, came to be is one of my favorites! I also listed to the Mindset Mentor and Business Made Simple podcasts regularly. Rob Dial hosts Mindset Mentor and gives what feels like mini pep talks a few times weekly. I love how he discusses pushing past our biggest obstacle, our own minds, and provides steps to accomplish goals and find success. Donald Miller’s, Business Made Simple, does a great job of putting listeners into real life work situations to give advice on how to run a successful business. I also love the books “You are a Badass” and “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck”- I am a huge lover of any kind of motivational or self-improvement book, podcast, etc.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jessicafreemaninteriors.com
• Instagram: @jessicafreemaninteriors
• Linkedin: Jessica Freeman

Image Credits
Headshot: Jessica Amerson Photography Additional Photos: Allison Elefante Photo