We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Fiel a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sarah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you scale up? What were the strategies, tactics, meaningful moments, twists/turns, obstacles, mistakes along the way? The world needs to hear more realistic, actionable stories about this critical part of the business building journey. Tell us your scaling up story – bring us along so we can understand what it was like making the decisions you had, implementing the strategies/tactics etc.
We relocated across the country on a whim, without knowing a soul in our new state. With the uncertainty of the COVID job market, we decided to bet on ourselves and opened a small husband and wife owned Design + Renovation Company in our new hometown. Although we had 20+ years of experience in various aspects of construction and design, this was the first time we both jumped into self employment full time. From the beginning we made a commitment that we would focus on quality over quantity and personalized attention and care for every single client, even if that meant we would always stay a smaller company. Our standards of excellence meant our process was slower than other companies, but the details and results spoke for themselves. Clients showed off their new kitchens and baths to their neighbors and the phone calls started coming in for more and more projects. We realized quickly that we solved a pain point for many people- we actually called clients back. We gave accurate estimates. We listened. We did exactly what we said we would, when we said we would. Integrity and communication are our backbone and the lifeblood of our business. It’s also how we’ve grown our business by more than 10 times over in less than a few years. We realized quite quickly that we needed to hire help. The interview process for hiring was grueling for us. We knew we were hiring for genuine honest character and the construction industry isn’t inherently known for this. Today, we’re thrilled to have a team behind us that we know like family, like as people, and fully trust. This allows us as Business Owners to stay true to our original promise of being on-site at every single project, taking care of our client’s personally, and producing work done in excellence every single time. Construction doesn’t have to be a numbers game, pushing through project after project like a conveyer belt. We’ve found that when you make it about the people, the home, the memories that will be made in the new space, the business grows itself.
Sarah, 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?
We’re Home Theory, a Boutique Design + Renovation Company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Eric is our General Contractor. He’s been wiring, framing, and all things construction related since he was a teenager, almost 30 years ago. I am both a Professional Organizer and Interior Designer, creating a unique opportunity for clients to get the best of function and aesthetics. We have a midwest work ethic that doesn’t stop and a heart that truly sees our clients as people, not a number on a spreadsheet. Our favorite projects are definitely kitchen and bathroom remodels- the difference that can be made in these spaces over the course of a few months is astonishing. It’s so amazing hearing from past clients about all the parties they’ve hosted in their new spaces, memories made baking holiday cookies together in their new kitchen, and the amount of relaxation they now have with their at home spa bathrooms. It’s not just about pretty houses for us, it’s about improving people’s lives.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
The best source of new clients is honestly, the previous ones. There’s nothing better than a person to person referral. No amount of money on advertising can hold the same weight as a happy client sharing their experience with someone they love. When you take care of your clients, they’ll take care of you.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Our best advice for managing a team is by being a leader you’d want to follow yourself. Management can sometimes feel more like big brother than a team environment. Although we own this company and ultimately are the decision makers, we involve our team wherever it makes sense. We don’t see every minute of their workday so they’d know better than anyone if it’s time to invest in a new tool, attend training on a new product, or adjust something in the daily operations. Because we’ve hired a team who display solid character, we trust their judgement on these things. We are also huge advocates in empowering people through frequent and timely feedback using a format of “what’s working, what’s not working, what shifts do we need to make?”. This process is effective for personnel concerns, workplace adjustments, employee requests, and even between management when discussing goals for the company.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hometheoryliving.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/hometheoryliving
- Facebook: Facebook.com/hometheoryliving
- Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/home-theory-llc
- Other: pinterest.com/hometheoryliving