We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laquita Tate a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laquita, thanks for joining us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

Social media can be used very strategically to grow your business. Yes, it has its good with its bad, but if you just stick to why you are using it, it will be beneficial in the end. At this present time, I am managing my social media, but eventually I would like to hire this out. While working full time and owning a design business, SM can be very time consuming. I plan it out accordingly so that it won’t overwhelm too much of my time. This has helped tremendously. SM has helped to grow my brand where if I didn’t have SM, my brand would have grown much slower.

Laquita, 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?

Hi, I’m Laquita (Quita for short)! Memphis, TN is my home where I work as an educator, interior stylist, designer, and content creator for my brand, Laquita Tate Interior Styling & Designs.

I’ve loved all things design since I was very young, but it wasn’t until my adult years that I began to consider turning my passion into entrepreneurship. My journey started to unfold after I redecorated my own home room by room. I took my social media followers on the journey with me and many were so amazed at my work, that they began to hire me to style and design their homes. This outpour of support inspired me to birth my company, Laquita Tate Interior Styling & Designs.

I am a full residential and commercial interior designer. Whether residential or commercial, my approach to design is the same. I start with a comprehensive understanding of what my clients need and expect. I then build upon that. At the end of each project, I want my customers to love the space they’re in. My mission is to assist clients in creating spaces they love while creating the aesthetics they desire with pieces they already own.

I’m most proud of earning my Phd while raising a young family. I didn’t let being a teen mom interfere with my dreams and goals. I just had more reasons to keep pushing.

I am also proud that I actually stepped out there and started my business. It a lot of sweat equity to owning your own, but I knew I could do it, and I am.

I am not only an interior designer, but I am also a full time educator. I was an elementary school principal until January 2022, and now I am the Director of Teaching and Learning with KIPP Memphis. I have been married for 25 years, and my sons are now grown men.

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What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for growing my clientele is being true to my design aesthetic. If there is something a client wants me to do that is not within my niche, I simply decline the job. I believe clients respect that I don’t try to be the designer that I simply am not. When I stick to what I know, the overall design turns out better than the client expected.

Once the space is complete, I have my professional photographer come in to capture it all. These images are posted on my website and social media channels. Many clients have found me through the internet and that is via having the right images detailing my work. Also, if clients are happy, they will share your with their friends.

These have been the two most impactful strategies that grew my clientele.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson that I had to unlearn is that every client isn’t your client. I prefer quality over quantity. In the beginning and up until recently I would take on way too many clients. I do have an assistant now, but not in the beginning stages. Even still, I am the designer and had to do the initial work. Too many clients were in the same stages of the process which was overwhelming. I got to the point where I was drowning with a never-ending to do list.

I now have a full process plan in place, prices have increased, and I only take on a specific number of clients per quarter. I also make sure that no two clients are in the exact same phase of the project. Putting these things in place helped me to truly have a fully functioning business.

Image Credits
Kim Thomas of KPFusion