We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Montgomery recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

I don’t know if I could have started my business any sooner having not grown up with an entrepreneurial example or abundance mindset, I never really saw this for myself. I was about 10 years into my career as an artist/designer and the company I was working for doing product design was no longer creatively challenging, although I was able to hone in on leadership and project management skills. I was looking for a change and started following another local designer who made the shift to interior design in her early 30’s. I started consuming information on the business of interior design and considered going back to school or working for a firm. The options were limited since I couldn’t afford a pay cut so I went through the process of starting a business while working full time. I had my own home professionally photographed and created a website, blog and instagram. I started getting referrals from other local designers and did Homepolish for a time. After about 18 months of working and running the business part time I made the leap.

I don’t think anything could or should have happened sooner. I find that each hurdle to overcome with scaling a business can be like starting again. Investing in the business, hiring, saying no to the wrong projects. It’s constantly evolving.

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

I’m the owner of Sarah Montgomery Interiors, a boutique residential interior design firm based in Chicago. I grew up doing art and studied textiles at Savannah College of Art and Design. After school I worked in window display, art installation and set design for a few years until getting a job as a product designer with a luxury bedding company. I worked there for about 8 years before taking the leap to run my business full time.

We do full service interior design and construction, and are known for our use of color, pattern and mix of styles. Clients come to us because they want something unique and personal to them. People respond to our design because we incorporate vintage, local and custom pieces and our spaces look collected, rather than furnished from scratch over a short period of time. There’s modern functionality mixed with personalized refuge. We pay homage to a home’s history while creating space for a new story to unfold.

There is so much to the client experience beyond creating a beautiful space. We bring our trusted resources and trades and try and manage expectations upfront. We understand how personal, invasive, expensive and long it can be for a home project to complete. We handle everything from ordering, coordinating trades and project management to final install and art hanging.

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

I like to keep in touch with clients in a natural way like I would a friend. I don’t buy big onboarding or parting gifts, it feels a bit forced to me. You can really get to know someone working closely with them in their home so there are usually multiple touch points to keep the relationship going. I strive for authenticity so I will get a gift for someone if it feels personal to them. I might buy an accessory that they would not have splurged on or a coffee table book based on their interests. Often it’s just a quick message saying hi and checking in, telling them I was thinking of them.

I should probably show myself as my brand more on social media, but it’s a constant struggle. I don’t want to be tied to my phone, letting the world know every little thing I do. I like to show up in person and make organic connections. What you put out there comes back, but sometimes in ways you don’t expect so it’s always worth the effort.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Before becoming an interior designer, I was in the industry designing bedding and other soft home furnishings for a luxury, to the trade manufacturer. Having this inside knowledge of manufacturing and trade vendors and having attended a lot of trade shows gave me a bit more confidence going in. One thing I did early on while working for the bedding company was invite local designers in to tour the factory. This was how I aligned with designers who then went on to refer me to projects they couldn’t take on. I also connected with other local trade vendors who do a lot to support their customers by hosting events, lunch and learns and even trips. I think if you show up consistently and authentically you can stay top of mind.

I also think my work builds a reputation itself. People who follow me have a good sense of my style and interests. I use a lot of color, pattern, vintage and quirky art and accessories in my work. Lots of people other than my clients respond to this and I’ll get comments from people on Instagram saying, “oh that’s so you”… Again it goes back to consistency and authenticity. I’m not saying I’m on Tik Tok making videos in the car showing people the “real me”, That would never feel right to me and I think you can still build a reputation while maintaining a bit of mystery and privacy. Then when you do share something personal, like your own home projects, people feel privileged to be getting this inside look. At least that’s how I feel when I look to other designers who are super successful and their work stands on it’s own.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sarah-montgomery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmontgomeryinteriors/

Image Credits
Photographer Frank Frances Studio and Liv Demetros, styling by Cate Ragan on images 1 and 5-7 Photographer Margaret Rajic on images 2 and 3 photographer Ryan McDonald on image 4 and styling by Kimberly Swedelius