Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Margie Kaercher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Margie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the toughest parts of scaling a business is maintaining quality as you grow. How have you managed to maintain quality? Any stories or advice?

I take pride in being a boutique design firm and the exceptional level of customer service that comes along with it. No matter how much my brand may grow in the future, I always want to be, or at least feel like to our clients, a boutique firm. I had a business mentor once tell me that your clients should feel like they’re your only client, and I really strive to make mine feel that way. Even simple things like remembering little details about their family and pets and consistent follow-up and feedback make your clients feel like their project is your top priority.

I started off as a one-woman show and have worn every possible hat in running an interior design business. In order to grow and scale though, I’ve had to learn exactly what my strengths and weaknesses are, and how my time is best spent as a business owner. I’ve had to let go of certain responsibilities and learn to delegate and trust people who are more skilled in certain areas than I am. Naturally, as my brand has grown, so has my team – but the high-level service that my clients expect remains the same as well as my promise to deliver exactly that.

There are so many details, documents, and specifications in the our line of work that it’s extremely important to stay organized with systems and processes. While these practices do become even more important the more you scale, it’s crucial to implement them early on in your business so they become ingrained as habits. My team has both internal and external systems and processes to streamline the client experience, improve work flow, and maintain strong communication with both each other and our clients throughout our projects.

Margie, 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?

My name is Margie Kaercher and I’m a Florida-based Interior Designer who specializes in residential and vacation rental design. Combining my experience, industry knowledge, and natural-born gift, I help busy professionals take the guess and stress out of their design projects and curate spaces that feel like a never-ending vacation.

My journey to becoming an interior designer was different than most. I went to school for strategic communications and psychology, and I’m so glad I did because it gave me the exact tools I needed to launch my business and market it to the right people. After school, I worked in sales as an Account Manager in the staffing industry where I further expanded my toolbox and picked up a lot of useful skills along the way. My passion for design was always there, even though the career path wasn’t exactly a straight shot. Looking back though, I’m so grateful for the way my journey has unfolded and the experiences I’ve had that have perfectly prepared me for where I am today. Although I’m certain there’s a lot valuable things I would have learned in design school, I don’t think my business would be where it’s at without my sales and marketing education and experience. My creative gift isn’t school-taught, it’s God-given.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My number one goal on social media has always been to inspire and be inspired. I’ve created so many genuine connections through my platform that have helped my business tremendously and expanded my reach to invaluable resources. My focus has been quality over quantity content, fostering authentic relationships with fellow design peers, and providing my followers easy-to-understand tips and tricks that improve the look, feel and function of their space.

While number of followers has never been a main priority for me, it’s become more of a factor as I dive deeper into the world of brand collaborations as that’s just the nature of the game. The bigger the following, the bigger the brand deals are. I’m currently handling all social media myself, but plan to start delegating some of it in the near future to someone who is better, faster, and more passionate about it than me because as a business owner, my time is best spent designing and interfacing with clients.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

I always helped friends and family with their homes – well before I was doing it as full-time career. The truth is, I finally worked up the courage to turn it into a business because the family/friends favors started turning into favors for acquaintances and strangers and as I started to see the value I brought, I realized I shouldn’t be doing it for free! My advice to anyone who is unsure about taking the leap on a career or charging your worth – I PROMISE there is someone out there, who is less skilled than you, and charging more than you to do a job you could’ve done better.

Shortly after starting my design business, I connected with someone who I call my “golden ticket”. Her name is Kirsten Fisher and she owns a very established home organizing company. I originally connected with her just to network because I assumed there would be an overlap with clients who could use both of our services. While she didn’t immediately refer me to one of her clients, she did immediately hire me for her own house. Once she was able to experience firsthand what it was like to work with me and see the magic we created in her space, she started referring me like rapid fire to her clientele.

From there, it was kind of a domino effect and my marketing strategies quickly pivoted to all word-of-mouth – which is the best kind of advertising there is.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hearthandhoneyhomes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/hearthandhoneyhomes.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/hearthandhoneyhomes
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/margiekaercher

Image Credits
Photography: Kris Holman Design: Hearth and Honey Homes