Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sonia Carlson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sonia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Owning a business isn’t always glamorous and so most business owners we’ve connected with have shared that on tough days they sometimes wonder what it would have been like to have just had a regular job instead of all the responsibility of running a business. Have you ever felt that way?
I have asked myself this question multiple times during my unpaid “maternity leave” from running my own business. Nobody has given me a pay check; there were clients to wrap up and make them feel like I hadn’t left them high & dry; and somehow the ball had to continue rolling in my absence, giving over some control to my small team and learning to delegate. This has been the hardest season as a business owner! Giving up some of the control to someone else; trusting that things will get done in my absence to a level of quality that I would strive for if I did it myself. I have often said “paid maternity leave with an office door closed tightly behind me would be nice”. My “office” so to speak sits in my family room safely out of reach of my toddler but also still within my view; reminding me, “hey maybe you should check up on that one thing”. It’s never out of sight out of mind, and it’s very hard to unplug. I also obviously have to oversee billable hours at the end of the month; as well as being there for my teammates for questions that come up. I tell myself that it’s worth it, or will be worth it, but a “regular job” certainly wouldn’t look like this during maternity leave! It’s a really hard balance!
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?
Sonia holds a B.Arch. from the University of Oregon, where she focused on interior architecture and historic preservation. She brings a sophisticated eye to interior remodels and building restoration.
After putting in some hard work at architecture firms, furniture design shops, and boutique hospitality firms, Sonia decided to take the leap of faith to go out on her own under her own brand name. It took a while (6 years) to decide what that looked like but we think our team has finally found its niche!
What sets us aside is our attention to detail. Not all interior design firms take the time to get to know a client; hosting after hour video calls as necessary to accommodate busy lifestyles, for starters! By asking ourselves why a person lives the way they do, what their personality traits are that are driving them to be hesitant to make a decision, or even applying gentle guidance to a client with quite literally no idea what their taste should be. Having a gentle hand with design is something that again, some artists and interior designers struggle with; because it doesn’t pair well with design ego. It’s not about what we want or have been trained to say; it’s about the best outcome for the client’s pocketbook, lifestyle, family, location, & longevity in the home.
During her twelve years in the industry, Sonia has designed for a wide range of residential, boutique hospitality, and corporate clients, and she has completed more than 100 distinct projects. Most notably, Sonia pioneered the vision for a multimillion-dollar residential project in Burlington, Vermont, where she worked alongside a highly established architect to realize her client’s dream home and was picked up as a feature project in New England Home Magazine.
She brings that level of focus to every project but is especially excited to help potential clients envision new construction. Let’s turn dreams and Pinterest boards into reality of home and space!
Sonia lives and works in lovely Bend, Oregon.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
I have a team of 4 women; two of us currently on maternity leave and the other two are mamas to young children. We are a kid-friendly company, for sure! I have found it is extremely helpful to utilize Slack, not only on my computer but as an app on everyone’s phones. With busy mom schedules it’s hard to connect with questions about certain projects; Slack has allowed us to create useful Threads per topic/client, and the DM aspect is also extremely helpful. Shifting away from casually texting a task to my employees has made it easier on everyone!! I like to feel casual and friendly, but Slack has helped us keep a level of professionalism where we can safely organize tasks and not have as much back & forth of questions. It also helps with morale as busy working moms if we keep a flexible meeting schedule; sometimes meetings have been in my house with toddlers running around playing games, and other times video meetings have been interrupted for infant naptime schedules. Keeping focus on our #1 goal of being good parents has made the #2 goal of running a successful business something that comes easily.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Finding a select few new construction or higher budget projects has really helped us establish a “look” and “brand” that attracts more like-minded clients. Having photo content of completed projects is crucial; having persistent follow-up with past clients to produce those pictures is another feat of itself. I have tried to maintain a level of expectation for all of my projects that we will deliver whatever it is the clients needs because whether they know it or not sometimes their needs lean heavily one way or another; physical material samples, visual aids, high-quality 3D renderings. I believe we are building a reputation of being able to help clients find their strengths and weaknesses in the design process and to trust us with gently guiding them through those moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soniacarlsondesigns.com
- Instagram: @soniacarlsondesigns
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoniaCarlsonDesigns
Image Credits
Julia Duke Photo