We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Susie Prince a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Susie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?
When I was very new in my business, a few other designers took me under their wings and invited me to lunches and networking events where I met other people in the industry. I’d heard in the past that the design industry was very secretive and difficult to get into. What I found instead was a group, of mostly women, who supported one another and cheered for one another. This was huge for me as someone who is highly social and struggling being all alone in my new business. It meant the world to me that people who were already very successful took the time to reach back and help lift me up. In those lunches and networking events I learned valuable information about how this business works and how important the community is to our success. Some of these same designers referred clients to me when they were too busy to take them. These clients became some of my very first and helped me to build portfolio I’m proud of. I’m certain that my business would not be where it is today and I would not be as happy doing what I do had it not been for this community. I think about their kindness often and it informs many of the things that I do in my business day to day. It’s important for me that I pay forward their kindness by continuing to do the same thing to the generations behind me.
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 background and context?
I am an interior designer based in Atlanta, Georgia. I primarily work in residential design, focusing on creating homes that reflect the personal style and distinctive uniqueness of each client. My designs all feature a little bit of a “wink”, meaning that they do not take themselves too seriously and are not too fussy. They, like my clients, are unique and clever and even a little cheeky. I started this business after leaving my job in the corporate world in 2015. I had the support of my family and friends and my then-boyfriend who is now my husband. He got me a big computer monitor as a gift early on in my business, which meant so much to me because it showed me that he believed in me and knew that I could make this a success. I am very proud of the homes that I’ve created with my clients. Each is very unique and a true collaboration with my clients from concept to implementation. Many of my clients are also animal lovers like me so most of my designs include considerations for the family pet. I have two rescue dogs named Scout and Brownie who are my pride and joy and there is also often a foster dog in our home as well. In fact, Scout and Brownie are both former fosters we ended up adopting. I volunteer every weekend at Lifeline Animal Project in DeKalb County. This is a passion of mine and so it is important to the way I do business as well. Animal welfare is important to me and so I do my best to consider our animal friends and the environmental impacts of my designs.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
The best and practically only source for new clients has been word of mouth. Referrals from other designers started my business, and referrals from clients keep it healthy and growing. I’m so thankful for every referral and good review from my clients and I know that the success of my business is in large part due to their trust in me and by them sharing their good experiences.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Early on I felt like I needed to be someone different than who I am. Like I needed to be someone fancy and impressive in order to be successful. I would come to a new client meeting and try to project a certain type of polished authority because it felt like an area where I was lacking. But I think clients could see through that. I wasn’t being myself and I was trying to be too formal. When I wasn’t acting like myself, I was not confident and I felt like a fraud. Authenticity is very important to me. I’ll never be able to walk into a room and be the person who is the most polished or serious. I will always be making jokes and baby talking the dogs at my clients’ houses. I just have to hope that it will resonate with them because I can only be me. Since my business is so personal, personalities and fitting together is a really important piece of the puzzle. It was difficult to learn this at first because sometimes I would feel like I had just acted like a dork at a new client meeting and that they surely would not like me. So many times I convinced myself that I had done a bad job at the consultation and said something dumb so that they would surely never want to hire me. But then those were the people who seemed to trust in my vision the most and made for the best client relationships. I’m so thankful for a business that allows me to truly be myself and where my authenticity is something that brings true value to the process as well as the end result. If a client is looking for someone who is super polished and doesn’t make jokes or laugh during a meeting, then I’m probably not their designer. And I’ve learned to understand that that’s okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.susiemaedesign.com
- Instagram: @susiemaedesign
- Facebook: Facebook.com/susiemaedesign
Image Credits
Christina Wedge Photography