We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Zoe Grant & Madeleine Biache a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Zoe Grant & Madeleine Biache, thanks for joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
It really started with building a house in Maine for Zoe and her husband. That was a big leap of faith and then realizing that Zoe and Madeleine enjoyed working together and could see this taking off. We started with an Instagram and a social media presence and jumped into client work soon after. We then set up contracts, logos, business cards and a framework of how this business would operate. The first week was giddy fun and then we settled into the real work of building something sustainable.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
We are a short term rental and residential interior design firm and we work largely in the Orlando area but are nationwide. We are very hands on and enjoy working closely with our clients -many of whom have become friends.
Our style is best described as whimsical luxury, with a large focus on color, pattern and through lines without being overwhelming. We try to shop sustainably whenever we can and always have our clients lifestyle at the forefront.
We love to collaborate with artists, brands and other designers because we feel that it’s a great creative community and we’re lucky to be part of it.
Have you ever had to pivot?
We actually started as a medical sales firm. We sold medical supplies to hospitals for several years and brokered deals between large hospitals and manufacturers. This was an excellent crash course in supply chain logistics that has served us well in buying items for our clients. Nothing is ever late or delayed with us!
We decided to pivot after experiencing some burnout. Zoe and her husband and Madeleine by default built a home in Maine and the design work was so much fun that it was a natural choice to pivot. The medical industry had settled as well from the peak of COVID and our place and role was changing. It was a good time to switch lanes.
The lesson we learned is that it’s never too late and you’re never too far in to make a change. We are thankful every day that we pivoted.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
We built our audience gradually and with a lot of work to build community. We’ve been fortunate to connect with so many great clients and partners who are aligned with us creatively and it’s a fun, happy community on our Instagram (@dbdlifestyles). We have learned a lot about how the algorithm works and have learned a lot about photography, editing, timing and videography.
Our biggest takeaway even though it’s hard is to not focus on how many followers (which I need to take to heart!) but to focus on what’s engaging.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.dbd-lifestyles.com
- Instagram: @dbdlifestyles
