We recently connected with Shelly Nupp and have shared our conversation below.

Shelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I have always been a risk taker, a dreamer! From the time I was a little girl, I always wanted to be nurse. When asked what I wanted to be when I grew up that was always my answer. As an adult I went on to achieve that goal and worked my husband, Justin through collage. It wasn’t until we started our family that I really felt a call to something different. I had always loved decorating our home and doing small projects that would make a big impact. Being a young family we didn’t have a lot of extra money so most of the time I had to do these project with little to no money. It really taught me to be creative and think outside the box. After doing just about everything I could to our personal house I asked my mom if she wanted to “flip” a house. Naturally, isn’t that the next step? Like I said, I am a risk taker and don’t put much, if any thought into failure. Long story short, we ended up purchasing a house to renovate and filmed the entire process for the show ” First time Flippers” on DIY Network. It was SO fun! I took all my earnings and paid off all of Justins student loans. It was awesome! After that show aired, I had friends ask me to help with projects around their house. In the meantime, Justin and I decided to continue renovating houses part time. At this time he was still working full-time. We would work on the houses in the evenings and bring our 2 young boys with us to every job-site. They love to help! There are several years that could be unpacked there but eventually Justin left his engineering job of 10 years to work with me full-time. Hard work has paid off! As a result we have launched 3 businesses. First, Centsible Designs. We have grown and shaped that business over the past few years but mostly now focus on hospitality and short-term rental design. We work with a lot of cabin owners in the Smokies as well as owners of Airbnbs to do new construction design, furnishing and helping them create unique spaces to maximize their earning potential. Second, Restored Home and Design Co. Two years ago I decided to take the leap and become a Licensed General Contractor. We do client renovations, Full home restorations and ground-up construction. We also work with several out of state investors helping them with their local investments. Lastly, this year we launched a short term property management company called “The Modern Wave”. We are excited to really offer a full circle opportunity for some of our investors, as well as others that may need help with their properties. Overall the risks I have taken over the last several years have been 100% worth it. I can’t wait to see where the future takes each of these businesses.

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?

I am really just an ordinary girl from East Tennessee who loves to try new things and use my gifts to help others. With our design business we saw a huge need for out-of-state investors in the short term rental world to have a boots on the ground person that they could trust and would walk alongside them through the entire process. Being so close to the Smokies there is a-lot of opportunity to be helpful. We really pride ourselves in offering a unique experience for each client. They become more like family and 100% of the time become repeat customers. If you treat people well I think you can be successful at anything you start, I want my clients to know that I am dependable and will always have their best interest at heart. It’s not just business for me. It’s rewarding when each one knows that they are important.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I think building a social media presence if just about authenticity. Mine grew pretty organically. I don’t spend a ton of time on content. I don’t really have the time. My thing is Instagram stories. They are effortless and I can quickly catch a video of whatever we have going on at the moment. I have some loyal followers and I’m truly so glad they follow along and encourage me daily. My love language is words of affirmation and seeing kind messages come into my inbox makes a world of difference. I think they are there because they genuinely care and love to see what we are doing, Although I have grown a pretty decent following I am all about quality not quantity.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Open your mouth and start talking. Tell everyone you know (and even those you don’t) what you do and what you need. Networking is HUGE! Stay consistent. Starting a business is hard. Really hard. I promise if you don’t quit you will succeed. Have some grit and don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and get to work!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.centsibledesigns.com
• Instagram: centsible_designs
• Facebook: Centsible Designs