27 Jul Celebrating 15 Years in Biz – 6 Top Tips for Success!

Last week, our studio Deborah Main Designs, celebrated 15 years in business at a local showroom, Sparrow Interiors + Gifts, and boy was it fun!  On that day, thanks to our web developer Beth Been of Groovee Fortune, we also completely re-branded the business as The Pillow Goddess, launched a brand NEW website with expanded services, and changed to a new fun logo designed by artist Stewart Anstead.  If you’re an interior designer, artist, or someone like me with a creative passion, or even if you’ve had a business but want to jump start it further, our paths may be different, but in many ways our journeys are the same, as I share below. But first our NEW logo which we are so excited about!

 

Based on my humble 15 years of experience, please enjoy several photos from our “Cocktails + Pillows” event, while I walk you through 6 Pillow Goddess Tips, to help you budding entrepreneurs.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #1 – Follow Your Passion.

As The Pillow Goddess, obviously my passion is making beautiful pillows. I did not follow a “normal” business plan, but instead let my business evolve due to personal reasons. If you want to read more about “Why Pillows?” please check out my Personal Story on the new website HERE. 

Below are a few Couture Artisan Pillows I design and sew and then many of our modern pillows our Design Studio team custom creates for individuals, interior designers and our retailers. It was wonderful that Sparrow Interiors + Gifts generously hosted our celebratory event, as their showroom has beautiful deep sofas and sales assistant Chloe Bush did an outstanding job arranging them.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #2 – Network. 

One of the most important things I did in the beginning of my business was to network. Oh, I know, many of you dislike this word and dislike doing it. But it is a MUST!  And now you don’t have an excuse, because you don’t always have to do it in person, because of the impact of social media.  Many mentors and close design friends I haven’t even met in person!  But eventually it really helps to meet in real life (#irl). Do you think I was confident when I first started networking? NO, in fact the exact opposite…I was shy! (I know, hard to believe, right?!? LOL)

Below is Cheryl Bemis of Fashionably Austin, who has been a long time supporter and friend.  I first met Cheryl when she was covering Austin Fashion Week and we both have seen each others businesses grow and evolve and change.  She’s a top notch photographer and much more. Cheryl started (along with another dynamo entrepreneur, Melissa Shea of Fashion Mingle) Fashionably Austin, and this was my very FIRST networking social I started attending regularly and where I met a lot of fashion, design, photography industry creatives that helped start my career.

From that time, for $35 I entered Austin Fashion Week (AFW) because, lucky for me, they had a Home Accessories category.  Who would have guessed that I would win Best Home Accessories Designer (the Golden Boot below) 3 years in a row. (After that, they retired the category and founder Matt Swinney changed the biz model to Fashion X, expanding in other cities, and now he is the founder/CEO of Fashion For Good. You can read about how Matt started here.) Infinitely connected to pioneer entrepreneurs, all the experience I gained “shyly” putting myself out there, doing events and networking, was invaluable to lay the foundation for my business growth today.

In many ways it’s really hard to believe that I’ve held on for 15 years because most businesses fail in the first 3 years. I’ve had countless days, weeks, months where I have failed and was ready to quit. Because being an entrepreneur is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart. It’s one of the hardest jobs, yet at the same time, it is one of the most rewarding.

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #3 – Show up.

Remember that saying “Half of life is just showing up?” Well it’s true. Attend every event and tradeshow you can, even some not directly in your field. The networking I shared above was at the very beginning of my business and let me tell you, it continues today.  I started showing up at Austin Fashion Week, then moved onto the Doris Sanders Showroom at Dallas Market Center, then Atlanta market, then I spent many years networking and meeting national interior designers.  While I’ve never gone to Highpoint Market, the largest tradeshow in home industry, my pillows have.  And I was fortunate enough to attend Vegas Market where I met many top interior designers and brands like Global Views and Christopher Guy.

Below is Jim Wilson, the Austin publisher for Luxe Interiors + Design Magazine, with me and Mellen Hunter, one of the owners of Sparrow Interiors + Gifts.  I met Jim, and have known him for several years now, because I “showed up” and have been involved at Luxe events for many years.  I started attending Luxe events when I didn’t know anyone in the luxury industry. I learned, and continue to learn, so much by being there, meeting new people, and reading their fantastic magazine, about the luxury industry. It’s the gold standard of them all!

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #4 – Build long-term relationships.

I’ve come to realize that there really are 2 magic ingredients to having a successful business. –  relationships and confidence.  The first is important because no matter how much we often say “I’m a solo-preneur” because frankly you do most of the work yourself, there are countless people who inspire us and help us along the way. It truly takes a village, a community, several communities to build a business. And the 2nd, confidence, takes time to build, but it is crucial.

NOTE: Two dear friends that could not attend my event are both long-time women entrepreneurs that I learned so much from in the beginning of my business and I want to take a moment to thank them here. Jane Clarke of Amelia’s Retro-Vogue & Relics and Laura Del Villaggio of Milli Starr. For without them teaching me everything I know about vintage and cheering me on at every point, well, I frankly don’t think I’d have my business.

Below, is James Leasure of Modern Architecture + Design Society. who is producer of Modern Home Tours. (check out the 2019 schedule HERE where Houston is next, Sept 21st.)

I met James briefly in 2010 when he was working with one of Modern Home Tour founders Matt Swinney, at my very first Modern Home Tour, where I staged an entire new home with Deborah Main pillows. But I only reconnected with James 2 years ago when I realized he was behind all the new Modern Home Tours I started to see crop up not just in Austin, but all over the country. Since then stager Ruby Cloutier of Vazzo Spaces has featured several of our studio’s pillows in homes on the tour. Also, the interior designer of one home I fell in love with on last year’s tour, reached out to me this year and I custom made 9 pillows for her client.

My point in highlighting these connections, is that you never know where they lead. Long-term relationships and even new relationships form collaborations and partnerships that help your business and theirs.  It’s a win-win! James and I are now working on developing Austin’s first “Kitchen Tour” which I can’t wait to share with you soon.

So glad to be on hand to celebrate the Pillow Goddess – what a fun evening! Great meeting all of your friends and colleagues, and Sparrow Interiors was an inspired choice, a great setting for featuring your ongoing work. I can’t believe 15 years has gone by so fast – now on to the NEXT fifteen! Keep it up! – James Leasure, Producer/Partner, Austin Modern Home Tour

 

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #5 – Collaborate

Sometimes I feel like collaborate is my middle name. It is crucial to small businesses and I have collaborated with many in 15 years.  Below is Mellen Hunter, one of the owners of Sparrow Interiors + Gifts, who hosted my BIG 15-Year Celebration. I met Mellen through my friend, interior designer Jak Kesterson (in photo below) a few years back.

Well, when I embarked on the Spring 2019 One Room Challenge this year (See blog posts HERE), Mellen said, when I walked into her showroom looking for accessories, “Take anything you want for your photo shoot. Chloe will help you. If something doesn’t work, just bring it back and check out another item.” To be honest, I was floored she was SO generous!

Then Mellen was all in in hosting my 15-Year Anniversary event!

I support local artisans to preserve the Austin way of life – Deborah’s colorful pillows are locally made and we were thrilled to host her event. That’s what makes our city different – local businesses supporting other local businesses. – Mellen Hunter, co-owner of Sparrow Interiors + Gifts.

Please be sure to stop by Sparrow this summer to not only shop for our custom pillows, but their pillows too, and all the incredible assortment of home furnishings they carry. Their shop carries EVERYTHING! And if they don’t have what you’re looking for they’ll find it for you. Both owners are interior designers with incredible talent for finding unique items for your home.

Below is my meager attempt, with Chloe’s help, of trying to set up a vignette using some of the items from the BOLD Blue + White Bedroom I did for the One Room Challenge.  (You can see the image by Gregg Cestaro below it.) Mellen loaned me the gorgeous silver Florentine mirror, those are my antique Limoges lamps and several of the blue and white pillows I made for the room.  It would have made sense if I had had a large photo of the blue + white bedroom desk, but I ran out of time.

 

We’ll also be collaborating sometime in 2020 with home furnishings industry leader, Kravet, through Trade-only Austin showroom, Stockton Hicks & Laffey, as we’ll be partnering up with them for textiles for our kitchen/living room remodel. More coming on that later. Very excited about this collab coming up next year!

 

STRETCH BREAK (Caution: read at your own risk. I mention “fun” SIX times because it’s such a fun word.)

Since we’re almost at the end of The Pillow Goddess 6 Tips (you know I had 15 and had to cut it down or I’d never shut up!), let’s take a stretch break while I share more fun photos from the event.  It was so much fun and I thank everyone who came out to celebrate with me. A BIG thank you to our host Sparrow Interiors + Gifts, dessert sponsor, The Celia Jacobs Cheesecake Experience, and sponsors of our gift drawings, Sparrow, Aviary Kitchen, and Peacock Alley.

I wanted to kick off this next 15 year chapter with a fun event to go along with our fun new logo, so I made some colorful, pom-pom journals at the sign-in table for our guests. Also because Sparrow had a wonderful display of summer pom pom straw tote bags and hats that were perfect for our vintage souvenir scarf pillows. (If you want a mini-pom pom journal let me know….they’re perfect in your handbag or by your bed for notes.)

It’s summer! We’re supposed to have fun all year long, but particularly in summer.  So I used my Golden Boots (from Austin Fashion Week awards) for vases and served Italian Aperol Spritz cocktails with my husband as bartender on Sparrow’s to die-for green marble bar cart.  If you haven’t tried an Aperol Spritz, it is THE perfect summer drink!

Aperol Spritz Recipe: Prosecco, Aperol (which gives it its summery orange color), and a splash of club soda over ice. Garnish it with a slice of orange and you’re all set!

 

 

I think everyone had a lot of fun! I know I did. I really appreciated everyone coming out to celebrate with me. Many thanks!  We had 6 winners of the sponsored drawing gifts.  Congratulations to all!

 

 

 

 

 

PILLOW GODDESS TIP #6 – Be fearless and flexible.

Last, but not least, I cannot stress this last tip enough.  As I mentioned, one of the biggest things I’ve learned in 15 years is it’s all about your own confidence.  One store owner years ago told me these wise words of advice “It takes a long time to build a name for yourself.”  And for me, that’s been 15 years!

You have to accept failure and rejection over and over again and pick yourself up and keep going.  You have to learn to be FEARLESS AND BOLD.

I’ve had three pivotal moments for me in the last 5 years.  One was when I shyly attended my first bloggers tour at Dallas Market in 2014. Back then, I would hardly even call myself a blogger, but I mustered the courage to attend and you know what?  I found almost all of the attendees were at the same starting point I was.  And my attendance resulted in the second pivotal moment in my business when I was invited on Modenus’ NYC Luxury Blog Tour.  (Now called Design Hounds.)

By being fearless and willing to try new things that really stretch you out of your comfort zone, you learn to step up to the next challenge in your business, whether you’re ready or not.  And sometimes other people know you’re ready before you do.

The 3rd pivotal moment was when I received a call from Julia Molloy, founder of BOLD Summit, the Business of Luxury Design, inviting me to showcase my work at the 2017 conference.  I was scared, and felt so not ready, but Julia knew I was ready, and you know what? She was right.  I learned so much more of what being BOLD really means in business and because of that conference I have been pushing the envelope ever since.

And I’m very proud to have made it 15 years and celebrate the beginning of the next 15 year chapter. Another important tip is to be a life-long learner. I’m finally getting the time to take an intensive business course that I am very excited about. You may notice different wording on my new website and that is a direct correlation from all that I’m learning. I already have my first social media client under my new website.  Watch for more about this local brand coming up next week.

Please PIN this image to share my 6 Top Tips for Success with other entrepreneurs. Thank you!

Lastly, please watch for a feature this fall on the talented artist Stewart Anstead, who answered my Instagram contest to design our new logo.  Stewart, a painter who works closely with interior designers on custom work, has been following my business for about 4 years.  I couldn’t be more grateful and happy at how he captured the essence of my brand, thank you Stewart.   Below is one of his pieces from his urban-inspired mixed media collection. (Stewart does commission work; contact him at 801.787.0474 or ansteadarts@gmail.com.

Till next time, I’m going to celebrate all year long, so sign up for our quarterly newsletter to keep up with all the exciting happenings at The Pillow Goddess studio.  XO PG

Note: All photography is by me and Chloe Bush, sales associate at Sparrow Interiors + Gifts.  Opinions my own.