We were lucky to catch up with Laurie Roberts recently and have shared our conversation below.
Laurie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
My story consists of two risks…The first was starting my own business with the emotional support of my late husband and his willingness to do whatever job he needed to do in order to help me succeed. He was an artist, with unsteady income. I was the main supporter, but I had to try, the worst thing that could happen would be getting a job working for someone else. It was terrifying. My Dad had instilled a strong work ethic in me and I knew I could do it, but it would not happen overnight. That business is now going on 18 years. The other risk was taking my late husbands art, creating a rug line derived from his paintings and launching it this year. That fear of failure, financial risk and the sleepless nights, brought back all of the anxiety, stress and excitement from the past to the forefront of every move I made. After learning what works and does not work from my previous launch, it is the “impatience” that has been the hardest thing to overcome. Going from a successful business with an amazing clientele to a “start up” has definitely been a challenge. Keeping your spirits up, working hard, making the hard decisions and envisioning where and how you want to achieve your goals is my best advice. Always be ready to shift and pivot, cut out what’s not working and keep those whom share your passion and positive attitudes close, they will only help fuel you.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Larry Roberts, he is the start of my story. I met him at 19 years old and he forever changed my world. He was an artist that taught me how to grow my mind. He passed away in 2019, but his words, spirit and art continue to inspire me everyday. I have always been driven to have my own business, mainly due to the fact that I was not happy with the way I saw people treated under many other employers. My first real business was started by happenstance. It occurred after an employer was so verbally and physically threatening to his team, that I left crying, phoned Larry and said I have to quit this job. His answer, “start your own”. Wham! That was actually a brilliant idea…why not! We came up with the name Primo Interiors and launched the business. It was myself and one other person, both working out of our homes. For those of you not familiar, Primo Interiors is a High Quality Drapery Workroom that caters to the Interior Design Industry.
After 6 months in business, going to every event and networking like a mad woman, I was able to rent a Studio space and hire another person…fast forward 18 years later, and there are 12 of us and we do work all over the Country. We do not advertise, it’s all word of mouth and repeat clientele. We are very fortunate to have the amazing Designers that partner with us and I may be biased, but we are exceptionally good with not only our Customer Service, but our Quality…being nice is also a plus!
After my husband passed, I took over his Art, which I was always a part of managing, discussing, etc….My incredible Team and I took his art and had it made into a gorgeous one of a kind rug line…Larry Roberts Chicago – Rugs. Creating art was a part of his dna…it was his therapy and he entrusted it to me. Now I have the distinct honor of carrying it forward and sharing it with the world. November of 2022, we opened the Larry Roberts Chicago Showroom. This gave us the venue in which to share his rugs, that are custom made/orderable, some of his art and to educate people on who he was as a man, artist and human of this planet.
As Larry was always one to encourage others to be creative, via: art, writing, music, I wanted to continue his legacy by giving back, therefore I started The Larry and Laurie Roberts Foundation for the Arts, NFP. This was created to provide classes and art kits to those underserved, offer scholarships in the field of Art, Music and Writing…50% of Larry Roberts Chicago net proceeds will be donated to the Foundation. We are just beginning this journey, but hope to award our first scholarships for the Fall 2023 school year.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Primo Interiors reputation was built honestly one job and interaction at a time. Starting a new business with no reputation is daunting. These are the key points:
*customer service
*customer service
*customer service (yes, I intentionally pointed that 3 times, it is truly that important)
*be kind, yet firm when you have to (this applies to your team, clients and vendors)
*hire the best and give them their due praise
*partner with the best – forge those relationships
*let people know that your word is gold (don’t agree or promise something you cannot deliver, honesty)
*take a moment to get to know people, create those bonds where people want to be loyal to you
*quality, never short it and always demand it of yourself and your team
*mistakes happen, it’s how you handle it and fix it that leaves a lasting impression
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Losing my husband, best friend and partner for life was the worst thing to ever happen to me. He was the one I spoke to about everything. One hug from him after a long day and the world slipped away. My biggest fan and most ferocious protector. How do you continue on after that…..one step at a time. Larry never wasted a minute of his life…he was always working/creating…learning…His passion was infectious. He left me with his legacy…I had my entire Team that needed/counted on me…Do I curl up in the fetal position or do I stand up and continue? The only choice was continue…take a shower, step outside, eat something, drive to the Studio to just be around those who make you happy, slowly let your Clients, whom have been so supportive, know you are back…take that first appointment…see the sympathy in peoples eyes when they see you…understand they don’t know exactly what to say…say the words, “widow” – “late husband”…breathe and take another step forward…continue to move, until one day you can take his art out of storage and start thinking about the future without him physically, but with his energy and beauty he left the world…a smile returns to your face and you keep walking down the path wondering where the journey will take you next…no matter the obstacle, you have faced the worst, get up, shake it off and proceed…
Contact Info:
- Website: larryrobertschicago.com, Primointeriors.com, www.larryrobertschicagorugs.
com, thelarryandlaurierobertsfoundationforthearts.com - Instagram: @larryrobertschicago, @primointeriorschicago, @llrfoundationftarts
- Facebook: Laurie Roberts (Laurie Wentworth-Roberts), PrimoInteriors, LarryRobertsChicago
- Linkedin: Laurie (Larry Roberts Chicago) Roberts
- Twitter: @RobertsLchicago
- Youtube: Larry Roberts Chicago Showroom