We recently connected with Stephanie Thomas and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk-taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

We’re trading the daily grind of corporate America for the pursuit of a new dream – one rooted in southern hospitality and sharing a good many things around the fire with new friends.

It all started in 2017 when the frustrations we encountered in our own travels inspired us to create a design-forward bed & breakfast that caters entirely to dog owners.

We had an idea at the time: sell everything and travel the country to get clarity about our future. We stumbled into Charlottesville unexpectedly and quickly realized this was an area to which we could belong. From the food and beverage scene to the Blue Ridge Mountains, there’s a never-ending list of fun to be had. The region encompasses everything we love and are interested in – where better to build a business?

After years of planning and saving, we took the risk of new jobs, a big move from Charleston, SC, to Virginia, and a long construction project for the future Indigo House.

In hindsight, we went through a lot of risk and disruption in just a year: new jobs, new city, new home, starting a business, building a house, and re-building a community. I am not sure I would recommend it, but, for us, it worked.

Now, we spend our days working in tech and our weekends making it easy for our guests to explore and connect with the many people and places to love on the Nelson 151 (and beyond)! Has the risk paid off yet? Honestly, it feels too early to tell but we’re pretty faithful that it will.

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

We’re Kyle and Stephanie Thomas. We’ve been married for over 10 years. Stephanie’s always wanted to run a B&B and Kyle has always wanted to be his own boss. So we put our goals together to open the Indigo House.

A modern bed & breakfast for outdoorsy humans and kind dogs. With interiors inspired by the great outdoors, relaxing hang-out spaces, and convenient access to Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Charlottesville’s best vineyards and breweries, the Indigo House is a fun and fresh take on the traditional B&B experience. Dogs are welcome to stay at no additional charge.

As a family-run business, the Indigo House is passionate about supporting the local economy and preserving the land, all while providing a memorable experience from the moment you arrive on the property.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

I wish this was a sexy, exciting story. For us, we raised the startup capital with good old-fashioned diligent saving and calculated risks. One owner took a high-paying job (with solid commissions) despite the stress and lack of fulfillment. The other owner thought strategically and started a company to cut out the middleman and maximize profits. We also made day-to-day compromises so that every dollar would add up. This looked like very limited vacations or trips, eating out only once a week, cooking most meals at home, reducing alcohol consumption, and saving, saving, saving!

We gambled that the years of doing the hard thing would pay off in the long run and because of this dedication, we were able to purchase the land, then finance the house, and pay for everything required to start.

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

This has been a slog for us. We’ve gone from 6 followers to over 1k in a year. Our engagement and support are amazing- I would rather have a few friends than many strangers. My advice for anyone who is starting out is to be consistent. An algorithm is a machine and you have to feed it. Don’t let it suck the life out of you.

But if you find yourself overwhelmed and blocked from creativity, I found a lot of inspiration (and still do) from Jasmine Star.

She has so many applicable and easy tips for generating sales via social. I just got my first booking simply by DM-ing a new follower and offering to help if they needed anything. I continue to send these little intros and our virtual friends seem to really appreciate the outreach. Little wins and conversations like this keep me motivated to consistently connect with my following in ways that feel fun and comfortable for me. 

Contact Info:

• Website: info@indigohouseva.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/indigohousevirginia/

Image Credits
Xiaoqi Li Harleigh Cupp