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

Hi Nancy, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

In 2019, my youngest daughter graduated from high school and left for college. It was the mark of the end of a twenty year stay at home mom job that I loved. I thought I would sail into retirement and be remembered well for my volunteerism at their schools and hands-on dedication to raising two beautiful new additions to society. While in theory it sounds great, when I got to this point, I realized that I still had dreams for my life and now had more bandwidth to start chasing them. I watched my grandfather pursue with great passion the hobbies that interested him (sport hunting and Model A car restoration) and at his Celebration of Life in 2020, I got to hear from his friends about how he had inspired them as well. My grandfather left me a small inheritance and the best way I could think to honor him in spending it was to pursue my hobbies and dreams with the passion he did. I enrolled in design school and started a small business. After meeting with a few clients and getting the business growing, I realized that helping others create a beautiful space in their home brought both my client and myself such joy. I saw there was a need in designing for organization and went back to school to earn my Professional Organization certificate. Now while designing spaces for clients, I am also educating them on how to keep their spaces organized. My clients receive a peaceful, inspiring space, and they are also getting the necessary tools to keep that feeling for more than just a moment. It has been 4 years since opening my business and I am thankful for the relationships made and the spaces transformed.
My hope for the future is to continue to grow my business to a level that would allow me the opportunity to work with my daughters, my husband and create a legacy of an inspiring family business that could be passed down. Inspiration, helpful and peace are the words I want to come to mind when you hear Nancy Deanne Decor.

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?

Nancy Deanne Decor is an Interior Decorating Firm that specializes in interior styling and organization. The business began in 2019 as an online decor shop and grew to include interior decorating, design and professional organization. Our specialty is our flexibility. Not everything needs to be demo’d and purchased new. We are skilled in balancing current pieces with new accents and creating peaceful rooms with color, texture and organization. No project is too small; often times simply organizing one space can have a big impact on someone’s life and love for their home. We are most proud of the feeling our clients have when we have finished a project that has made the difference in the way they live and feel in their home.

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

A few years into building my business, I met another woman in a book club that introduced me to the book, “Business Boutique, A Woman’s Guide for Making Money Doing What She Loves”. The tips, strategies and encouragement in this book was refreshing and fueled my passion to keep going. The book covered basics such as building a solid business foundation to topics on reaching the right audience and learning how to make an impact in business. I appreciated the author’s practical tips on taxes, operations and pricing as well as her honesty in struggling with imposter syndrome and self-doubt.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

My best source of new clients for me has been 3-fold. 1. Word of mouth from friends and prior clients. I do my job well, communicate clearly and kindly and the design speaks for itself. Happy clients are usually more than happy to share who they have worked with in their home decor. 2. Staying active in groups – Bible Studies, book clubs, happy hours, etc. The more I stay in the mix with groups that give me an opportunity to meet and socialize with new people, the more I am able to meet potential clients. 3. Social media – the before and after photos/videos are what new clients reference the most. It’s fun to show how far a room has come on-line and people connect with it visually more than just looking at a proposal with ideas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nancydeanne.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancydeanne_decor/

Image Credits
3 images were taken by PreviewFirst.com