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

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Oh my goodness-anyone who has chosen a name for anything knows how hard it is! Whether you are naming a pet, your children or even your robot vacuum! When I started my business I wanted to be very intentional about the name. I wanted a name that I would personally connect with and one that would inspire and propel me forward. Starting a business is hard and it’s scary, especially doing it alone. There is a lot of second guessing, at least there was for me. When you are thinking of how your business will show up as you are marketing and how people will talk about your business you are really down a deep rabbit whole of “what if this name is confusing, will I have to explain it, what if the name itself is off putting”. I went through several mockups of names and logos and although I liked them I didn’t love them. So I finally said to myself why are you going into business? And the answer was my kids. I want to be in a fulfilling career and show them that anything is possible. When I centered myself there I knew having a bit of them with me in my business would serve as a great inspiration. Emme and James are my girls middle names, I put them together for Emme James Studio.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Early in my career I worked in interiors but I stepped away for a career in corporate leadership. Covid changed things for all of us and for me it brought a change in career. Like many my corporate role was eliminated following Covid. That was hard because I did enjoy it and it was fulfilling. I am a look at the positives person and the positive in that situation was having the opportunity to reinvent my entire life in my work. I have remained passionate about home and interiors so I took a leap and went in full force. I began with virtual design services which were a great option for clients looking for someone to design their space without a huge financial commitment. I provide links to purchase so it’s pretty simple for them to execute on their own. I love seeing pictures from clients once they have executed the vision on their own. I then branched into holiday styling which has been so fun. I do something as simple as one Christmas tree up to whole house holiday decor. I am currently working on a whole house Halloween which has been really fun to work on with my clients. As I continued to market and build my client base I integrated in home design services which is really me taking everything off the clients plate in terms of making these big decisions alone, ordering everything, selecting contractors etc. Then as if all of that wasn’t enough I got my real estate license! I really started to see my business form into an “all things home” I am very loyal to the people I work with because I build a trust with them. When it comes to home I hope that my clients feel they can reach out to me for all of their home needs whether that is buying a new home or investing in their current home to make it everything they want it to be.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Honestly the most effective client building for me has been reaching out to my immediate network. A big struggle for me is I tend to want to think big first so I began by marketing on a larger scale, just putting things out online hoping people would see my business and connect and reach out. And that did work to some degree but not nearly as much as making sure everyone I know knows what I do. I think that can be challenging for a business owner because no one wants to be that person that is pestering their friends, neighbors or acquaintances constantly so it’s a delicate balance of dropping some breadcrumbs and reminding those around you of who you are, what you do and how you bring value.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I am a big fan of Blinkist. It is an audio synopsis of all of the great books out there (on any subject really) but I love it for business building. Often they are 10-20 minutes in length and they give you all of the most important nuggets from that book. If it’s particularly great I can invest my time learning more by getting the full book. Often I get some really great tips that I can quickly execute.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.emmejamesstudio.com
• Instagram: @emme_homes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melissa.maxwellmcclellan?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

Kendall Paige