We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristen Fiore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Kristen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
Success can be subjective and vary greatly depending on individual goals, values, and circumstances. However, there are a few keys I believe help contribute to your own personal success.
1. What are your goals? Define where you want to go and how you want to get there and laser focus on this. Be clear and specific and set achievable goals that keep you motivated.
2. Let’s face it, hard work and determination are probably the 2 ingredients that you MUST possess. The 4 hour work day is not the way to make your millions, despite wishing it was. You must put in the hard work be dedicated and persist in the face of challenges and setbacks. I like to think of setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow and be better the next time.
3. Never stop learning and improving yourself. Seek t new knowledge, skills, and experiences to stay relevant and adapt to changing environments.
4. You have to be resilient. If you can’t bounce back from failures and setbacks you will sabotage yourself into going nowhere.
5. Be open to new ideas and stay adaptable. Consider how much more successful you are when you listen to another person’s perspective or ideas. There is always an opportunity to do something better
6. Success built on a foundation of integrity, honesty, and ethical behavior tends to be more sustainable and fulfilling in the long run.
7. Finding work that aligns with your passions, values, and sense of purpose keeps you motivated towards the end goal.
Kristen, 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?
I grew up in an artistic and creative family, so my exposure to art, color, style and fashion were very front and center as a young adult. Naturally, I loved galleries and museums and made it a point to spend free time exploring all that NYC had to offer. When I wandered into the reproductive hall at the Met and marveled at the Frank Lloyd Wright installation, or the 18th century French Palace, a spark ignited. Years later, I remember the day I found myself in the D&D Building when love really struck. I was like, wow, this is amazing, this is what I want to do!
It took a really long time before I finally made it happen and created Kristen Elizabeth Design. I dabbled with Extension classes at UC Berkeley’s Interior Architecture program to get an idea of what is was about. Life had another path though and family life became my focus. ( If I had only listened to my heart way back then!). When my kids went to school, I decided it was my time too. I turned that page hard, right into chapter 2. I knew this was my calling. I went back to school full time at night to earn my degree in Interior Design, graduated at the top of my class, set up the LLC and got my first client. It has not been easy. I made a lot of mistakes and learned the ropes on my own. That was 8 years ago. I can proudly say, we made it and are thriving! We provide Full Service Interior Design for Medium to Large Residential Projects that focus on high end, original design, furnishings, textiles, art, and of course, service.
We help clients visualize spaces differently, inspire them and introduce them to products and emerging styles not yet on the radar but destined to be classics. We are grounded in classic design principles and blend those cohesively with newer, materials, shapes and objects. We listen to our clients, really listen and understand their wants and needs, understand their tastes and preferences but also, know when to push the envelope forward into what might be a little uncomfortable, but ultimately what creates a wow moment in the spaces where they live. We source furnishings and decor from local craftsman and artists and actively seek out emerging workshops and trends. I am really proud of how we are able to create vastly different styles and feelings of rooms that you enter. No 2 are ever the same, we craft them specifically for those who live in them, for those who want a highly personalized space that reflects who they are at the core. We want our clients to come home and love where they live. I think this goal and drive is really what defines us as a team and helps us go the extra mile until everything we have designed feels in our guts like a big YES, for everyone. We definitely go the extra mile.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
Interior Design was my pivot in life. I had a successful ( not fulfilling, but successful) career in Fundraising, Cause Marketing and Special Event Production. The event side of things were fun, the fundraising, not so fun. It sucked the life out of me. I could not make this my entire life’s work. At the time, I had little kids and was fortunate enough to spend those young years with them. When they went to school, I went to school. It took about 2.5 years to complete my second degree.
During that time our family began experiencing significant financial hardship. My husband’s business dissolved. It was difficult to pay the bills, even buy groceries. Our family helped us out. The possibility of bankruptcy was real and it was really stressful. I had to help in any way that I could. I was a certifiyoga teacher and landed my first gig at a big new club and a local studio with a strong following. I worked early in the day, and into the night. I launched Kristen Elizabeth Design in the in-between with the last $10,000 in my pocket. I did not ever doubt that I could make this work, I believed in myself – the vision, the talent, the drive and ambition. If I fall, I get up. I learned from my mistakes, made improvements and corrections and did not stop. I profoundly believed that I will make this business a success. Not just because I wanted to but because I had to.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Early on with Kristen Elizabeth Design, we experienced a big learning oppotunity with a client. He taught me the importance of processes and policies the hard way. I was eager and naive and hungry for a rock star portfolio. The project was one of the first high end and larger scale homes we had the privilege to work on. Everything was great, until the very end of the project when Covid hit full force. The last of our products were heavily delayed and shipping costs were trippleing. The husband got involved and made horrible and unjust accusations at the integrity of our firm. He began making slanderous online reviews. Lawyers got involved quickly. Because I did not have proper systems in place I allowed the client to control, intimidate and bully me into delivering product prior to collecting the full amount due. So, they stuck us on the last bill, a signigicant bill. It got me pretty down. I couldn’t eat or sleep and was very disillusioned. I was out a significant amount of money and just felt like an idiot. In the aftermath, it was my lawyer is who helped me get back on my horse and giddyup. He gave me a pep talk, told me who this guy really was and set me up with a killer contract.
The lesson learned here was threefold- 1) Put your ego away and stop being so eager to please 2) Set up your systems and policies and stick to them. Don’t let someone push you around! 3) get a good contract. After the experience, I hardened up and wised up a lot. I took the emotion I attached to each project out of the project. I on board with a meeting recognizing our core values and how we expect to mutually respect and treat each other. I say no. I treat my business like a business and clients as clients, not friends. I learned a lot of hard, valuable lessons in that experience and hope that the safeguards I have added as a result prevent another like it. We are still here and stronger than ever!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kristenelizabethdesign.com
- Instagram: @kristenelizabethdesign
- Facebook: @kristenelizabethdesign
- Linkedin: Kristen Elizabeth Design
Image Credits
Amber Shoop Photography – People Stephanie Russo- Navy Blue sofa Kat Alves- bathroom Ellen Vanessa- coral barstools