We recently connected with Judith DeMasters and have shared our conversation below.
Judith, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think it takes to be successful?
Everything you do, do it out of kindness and respect. Life comes in many layers all simultaneously: you have your own self, your family, friends, career… and many different things happening within each one of those aspects of your life at once. The definition of success will vary for each particular project and endeavor, but If you have a strong moral compas and make sure that everything you do has been done respectfully and with kindness, you will constantly be building strong relationships, building healthy environments and creating positive experiences. These will all be paving the road to success, along the journey and through completion.
Judith, 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’ve always been a creative and artistic person, since I was a little girl the best christmas presents would be the big boxes of crayons and different types of paper! Architecture gave me the space to be creative with the perfect balance of art and structure.
UP&Co started solely as an architectural design firm, very soon my husband’s construction background gave us the opportunity to expand our services from design through construction. As UP&Co grew, our projects grew bigger, our clients trusted us more and they gave us more freedom to create and required us to be involved in more of their projects.
Very organically we transitioned into a full service design firm. What does that mean? For most of our projects we are involved from the early stages with the architectural design, we develop the interior design, we build what we’ve designed, and once completed we handle furnishings and decor.
With over a decade in the industry we have identified and solidified our aesthetic: modern, grounded by natural textures and neutral colors. We love the contrasts of dark and rich, with bright and airy. We create spaces that feel fresh, current and modern, but that remain inviting, warm and cozy.
Construction and design can be overwhelming, but having a single point of contact from beginning to end allows us to facilitate and tailor the process to make it an enjoyable experience.
Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
There’s nothing more valuable than investing in yourself AND having a strong network.- It took me way too long to understand this. I think investing in yourself as a small business is scary because of the investment: monetary and time-wise. But there are 2 main reasons why I learnt this was extremely important:
1. As an entrepreneur you will learn that you”ll have to wear many hats, but reality is: you cannot be the best at everything. Educate yourself enough to be dangerous, and then you will know what and how to delegate so you can focus on what you truly enjoy doing.
And then, once you are at that point where you get to focus on what you love doing: keep learning about it and always be current! Always be learning.
2. Again, as an entrepreneur there will be periods where the grind and hustle will take over. You will get so caught up on the growth and in the moment that you might feel tired and burnt out. As important as is to invest in your self professionally, it is to invest in yourself personally.
Reconnect with your why, get inspired, and take care of your health and your family. This is the only way to become the best leader you can be.
On having a strong network: You cannot even measure the value on having strong partnerships with vendors and contractors, they will be 100% influential in your growth and the product you will deliver.
Also as a mentoring and support network, having friends within your industry that you can get and give advice, a safe space for mentorship, input and even to get parameters and resources! I didn’t understand how important this was, and today is one of my mosts valued secret weapons!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Most times your strongest qualities can also be your biggest weaknesses, like you can’t have x, without y. I am a people’s pleaser, I love making people happy and I will move the moon and the stars if I need to. Unfortunately i learned the hard way that more likely than not, I won’t be able to move the moon and the stars and I will probably end up over committing and not delivering.
I had to learn to say NO and set boundaries. It was tough and scary, but guess what… It made me more confident, it allowed me to guide my clients better, they trusted me more, therefore… I was able to deliver more and better!
I can’t change who I am, and my clients know I will put my soul into every one of my projects. I will always go above and beyond and do my very best, because… that’s who I am. But i have set up tools to help me define my process and I am very straight forward from the beginning, and this has helped me build healthier relationships and also has made me a better business woman.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.upandco.homes
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: up_and_co
- Facebook: UpandCo1
- Other: Pinterest: UP&Co
Image Credits
Paola Longoria, Evelyn Photography and Rick Garza