We recently connected with Michele Wilson and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Michele, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I left corporate 6 years ago. The company I worked for at the time downsized. I found myself stepping in as admin support for a plumbing company. I grew that company’s business to 30%. I learned WAY more about the inner workings of a toilet than I ever wanted.

I grew up in the trades. My dad is a master electrician and firefighter engineer. He taught me how to recognize quality skilled work within the trades. And my mom taught me, my work ethic.

I sorta fell into the rest of it by helping clients manage their home renovation projects when I lived in the suburbs of Washington DC.

I didn’t think I would ever actually run my own business doing it but fast-forward to 2019 and it became a reality. And then I started over when I moved to the Raleigh area.

I decided to name my company based on a word I randomly read one day.

Sonder – I was reading the book The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig and I came across the word Sonder. The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own – populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries, and inherited craziness – an epic story that continues invisibly around you. It was like a lightning bolt hit me, and I knew at that moment that Sonder had to be in my company name. It’s a made-up or new word but its meaning has such a powerful punch behind it.

Luxe – I believe in providing 5-star all-encompassing service for my clients and that we all deserve to live a luxurious life if we want it.

Solutions – Solving problems and finding solutions is who I am. I’ve done that for most of my friends, colleagues, and former employers. I’ve always been the one they naturally turn to for help.

Michele, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Solving problems is my expertise. I’ve worn many hats throughout my career, Wedding Planner, Executive Assistant, VP of Finances, Consultant, etc. After years of dishing out a high level of blood, sweat, and tears, I finally decided it was time to harness all those skills and build something new for myself.

I’ve always had a passion for home projects. In college, while living at home with my folks, I used to surprise them with makeovers of their bathrooms, bedrooms, and living spaces, any time they were out of town for an extended period. I’m not sure they loved the surprises as much as I did, but they rolled with it.

In recent years, I noticed a trend in the industry where homeowners were increasingly frustrated about contractors taking advantage of them, projects not being completed, or the budget skyrocketing out of control. I want to change this.

I’m on a mission to flip the script of what’s happening in this industry. After all, your home should be your sanctuary, and full of peace. Three years ago I started helping clients vet contractors for their home repairs and updates. I’ve done projects involving flooring floods, getting french drains added to the yard to help with water flow, or updating outdated interiors that were stuck in the tiring age of the early 2000s, or even the 90s.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Resilience is a beautiful word and I have had to rely on my own resilience my whole life. I was adopted from the slums of Brazil as a young baby born with a cleft lip, and raised by wonderful parents.

I’ve faced a lot of adversity and bullying in school over the years. I struggled with my grades as well only to learn as an adult I had undiagnosed ADHD. In the ’90s, it wasn’t as easy to determine that in girls.

I was never a straight-A student, but I persevered and graduated with my BA in undergrad.

I think for me resistance means I don’t let my background or my struggles hold me back. I push through them. If anything those struggles makes me more compassionate and understanding toward my clientele.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Throughout the course of my education and career, I was taught and groomed to work in the corporate world. I realized in 2017 that wasn’t for me. After almost 7 years in that environment, circumstances happened where I was forced to make a change.

I got out of corporate before getting out of corporate was the movement it is now. And I didn’t realize it at the time. I made the decision that if I was going to work those long hours, through all the tears, stress, and angst, It was time to do it for myself.

That pivotal moment restructured the journey of my whole career. Fast-forward to 2022 and I own my own business and know I can never go back.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sonder-luxe.com
• Instagram: @SonderLuxeSolutions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SonderLuxeSolutions/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-w/
• Other: https://www.sonder-luxe.com/blog-posts

Image Credits
Michele Wilson