We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kelly Shannon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kelly below.

Kelly, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

On the final day of the year in 2016, I sent my letter of resignation to my boss at my old job. I’d worked in the Marketing department for a luxury automotive brand for several years. My physical and mental health was deteriorating, and I realized I was the only person who could help myself get out of a toxic situation and turn things around. I had no job I was leaving for, so I ended up staying for the majority of that year doing my normal day-to-day job, finishing up projects, hiring and training my replacement, all the while frantically anxious on what to do with my life. I grew up with an Interior Designer mother, and my friends had told me repeatedly over the years that I should be doing design. So finally, I listened.

Kelly, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After I’d quit my previous job and I was still working part-time, a dear family friend called and invited me over to see their new home in Laguna Beach. Knowing that I wanted to get into design, she asked me to finish decorating their house for them. And that’s how I got started. I started to build off that, and some more friends reached out with projects for me. Some as small as updating pillows and chair cushions, or fining a few pieces to tie their Living Room together. But it just grew and grew from there, now decorating and designing entire homes from start to finish.

The support I’ve received from my friends over these past six years has been incredible. They’ve referred me to so many people, and most of those referrals have become clients and friends. There is just such a bond you create with someone when you’re working with them on their homes, and that is definitely one of my favorite parts about this job.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

This is one thing I’m terrible at keeping up with because of the time it takes…. It’s a job in itself. I know a lot of people dog on using hashtags, but when I actually look at the metrics, I get a lot of views from hashtags. Creating engagement (asking questions, taking polls, etc.) has never been my thing, as I prefer to post and move on with the other 200 things I need to do that day. I think the best thing to do is not worry about it, just have fun with it, and do what you can do with the time you have.

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

I think I’ve referenced this book in almost every interview I’ve done: The Alchemy of Architecture by Ken Tate and Duke Tate. A big take away for me was simply trusting my intuition and letting it guide me. If I feel strongly about something, I will express it. When I feel something is off, it usually is. And I’ve taken those words with me in every sense of having a business. Anytime something isn’t connecting, it has to change.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kshandesign.com
• Instagram: @kshandesign

Image Credits
k shan design