We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tara Santee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tara below.
Tara, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar your business earns is always special and we’d love to hear how your brand made its first dollar of revenue.
Wallace was working full-time as a firefighter and Tara worked full time as a registered nurse, and Wallace had the desire to own our own business and remodeling company but also there was a need to supplement our income as we were raising a family. Wallace had acquired fairly decent painting skills years prior from working part time. So what better way to supplement, than to put the paint brush and the skills to work. Wallace printed flyers and passed them out in different neighborhoods in our surrounding community. One day, a gentleman in one of the communities, called for an exterior painting job. Due to my strong desire to obtain repeat customers and grow the business. I hand painted his home without any assistance and from that one client, Wallace obtained several more jobs in the same neighborhood, 13 to be exact, many are repeat clients to this day. From that day, the business has grown but has undergone some transformations in an effort to elevate the company.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
We are Wallace & Tara Santee of A.R.T. Consulting & Designs, a total home remodeling and renovation company. We are dedicated to servicing the needs of our clients by giving them added value in their homes. Wallace started in this industry to create supplemental income while working full time as a firefighter. In the public safety industry, there were many colleagues that were business owners. and he soon developed the desire to start our own construction and remodeling company. Starting the company actually came easy due to Wallace’s love for working with his hands and creating something beautfiful from nothing. He has always had a knack and an eye for building things.Tara has a love for design and brings a great deal of creativity to any design and renovation projects that we undertake. We collaborate with the homeowner to bring their dreams and desire to fruition. A.R.T. (Aesthetically Remodeling Transformations), works to achieve solutions for homeowners that may range from simple design which consist of new paint, new flooring, light fixtures, etc. Some of the more complex solutions involve transforming an unlivable space into a new room that can now be utilized as well as entire home rehabilitations. We have had several clients seeking a change however they didn’t know where to start or what they would like. The trust from our clients to allow us to design a space that they are pleased with is paramount. This trust enables A.R.T. to build somewhat of a partnership with each of our clients.
We are most proud of the relationships that we build with our clients. By going above and beyond in our work, we leave the client happy and pleased with the finished product which often results in repeat clients and of course new clients just from the timeless method of “word of mouth.”
A.R.T. Consulting & Designs strives to help people love where they live by transforming their personal spaces. Our mission to help others have a desirable and enjoyable living space transcends to our missions work internationally. A.R.T. works globally to help others, one of our main focus is working with an organization in Guatemala to build stable housing for families that translate to improved health and education.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Growing up, we both endured different challenges in our childhood that has helped us become resilient. As a business owner, drawing from those past experiences equipped us to be tenacious in our efforts and our journey of developing and growing our business. There were often times where we did not have employees to start a job or complete a job which placed a great workload on Wallace to complete all of the manual labor. While many business owners often take on the task of completing work solo, it can weigh heavily on you and cause you to reconsider your decision as a business owner. We are deep rooted in our faith and through prayer and resilience, We have been able to overcome the thought of “giving up” and continue to trust that God will and does provide as he stated in Matthew 9:37-38. He not only provides the work but he will send reliable, trustworthy help. There were many sleepless nights and deadlines approaching, where we weren’t sure how we would complete things, but we have remained steadfast and pushed through despite the lack of help when it was needed the most.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
We are a husband and wife team. We have been married for almost 24 years, We met 26 years ago while we were both attending college and Wallace visited Atlanta one summer. We maintained a long distance relationship for ~ 2 years before Wallace relocated to Atlanta and we later married. Wallace was working full-time as a firefighter and Tara worked full time as a registered nurse. For several years prior to starting A.R.T., Wallace worked with a close friend’s father in his painting business to help support Tara through nursing school and to supplement our income. Tara has always been very crafty and loves design but more specifically, intricate details. Tara would often gift friends and families something hand made, often being called “Martha Stewart in the family.” When we purchased our 1st home, we placed a great deal of our own personal touches on the space to enhance the aesthetics. Upon purchasing our second home, we did a major undertaking of completing our unfinished basement. The business was born out of the idea of helping others transform their spaces but also enhance the aesthetic of any space. We love helping others and serve in international missions by building homes in Guatemala. Our business helps fund the international trips to work with the people of Guatemala and create better housing for them. Our shared interest and the individual skills and qualities that we both possess have helped enhance our business partnership.
Image Credits
T.J. Carter Photography