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

Natasha, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

From as long as I can remember, I have felt a calling to be of service to others. It’s hard to explain that exact feeling. Since I was a small girl, I found great pleasure in helping people achieve their best. As a kid, I remember walking my friend Marissa around the soccer field in elementary school. She wanted to be more popular. We had a discussion on what steps she could take to make herself more friendly to her classmates. As a young adult, it showed up in listening to people’s needs behind my hairdressing chair which led to becoming an industry leader in teaching hairstylists and salon owners how to run and grow their businesses. Today, as a realtor and designer, it shows up in listening to what my clients home goals are and even life goals. I often assist my clients in finding their dream home or close to it, then design a home that reflects their deepest desires, dreams and goals and weaving them into the fabric and decor of the home through a process I call Intentional Design.

We may find a home that checks most of the boxes, then reconstruct the home to reflect the desire flow or space they are seeking. The Intentional Design portion starts as a questionnaire as to their bigger life goals. It may be owning a vacation home, traveling more, having a larger family or designing a home that brings them a sense of peace and joy when they enter it. Once their goals are clear, we use art and objects as aspirational picks to lift them up or unconsciously remind them daily to move towards those goals and dreams. For example, sticking with the vacation house. Let’s make it a beach house. We may place beautiful coral or images of oceans throughout the home. If it’s a love of Italy, we may add art with images of Italy or decorative objects from their travels. I believe that design is more than just decor, it is an opportunity live in a home that is a symbol of the life you want. As often as possible, I find hand made objects to bring a sense of soul and humanity in. When you enter a staged home, it may look pretty but you can always feel that something’s missing. In an Intentionally Designed home, you truly get a sense of who lives their and the core of who they are and it just feels good. It can’t be copied because it is true to the home owners and no one else. That, in my opinion, is what makes a home feel like a real home.

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

I have been working as a realtor for about seven years after leaving the beauty industry. My designer husband and I have done our own projects over the 20+ years we’ve been together so when it was time to make a career switch, it felt like a natural transition. Soon after, friends asked for help designing their home after purchasing and through covid, the design portion of my business really took off. Covid made the home more important than ever and anything and everything that was not right about the home stood out. The Intentional Design portion took off early covid when I dove deeper into asking my client’s questions about what they really wanted in a home and in their lives. After completing our own home at that time, we had just built a house, my husband and I committed to making our home 100% intentionally designed. It was our richest project ever and became a show piece as my office in is our home. It felt different than just another well-designed house and the requests starting pouring in to help my clients create a sanctuary that suited their life visions and has kept me busy, in the best way, ever since.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market? Well, it was one of the good things that came out of covid in my business as there was this need, that may have always been there, but became so much more pronounced. And I had the pleasure of solving this puzzle of truly loving and living in a space that inspired and uplifted the family. Bringing that bit of peace in their spaces, led to clients telling their friends and new clients reaching. So many people moved to Austin during this time so I had the pleasure of finding then designing their homes.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty? Social media is everything these days so hand picking inspiring projects and speaking to the meaning behind the image, I believe has been one way to keep my message pure. I also try to stay in touch with clients after the project is over via video text and consistent emails. We go so deep with our clients and build an intimacy that I treasure. They begin to feel like friends and it just feels wrong to not check in and see how they are. I do my best to provide value in my touch points and simply check in as one person to another, rather than just a service provider. I hope this makes them feel cared for. I think it does as most of my business is referral-based, which is always the best compliment.

Marketing is essential to every business. In my world, whatever efforts I put out today will lead to future business about 3-6 months out so I do my best to be authentic with my touch points by showing genuine interest when I reach out, whether through social media, over a lunch date or phone call. I believe it’s working because I am blessed with amazing clients and when they send their friends, they are often just as amazing as the friend that sent them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.antonioniestates.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natasha_antonioni/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natasha.antonioni.1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashaantonioni/
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/austinlifebynatashaantonioni
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/natashaantonioni/

Image Credits
Ashlea Harnden – Always Be Rolling