931: Balancing SECURITY and PASSION for a thriving design business w/ Kristen Pipal

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Hey, what is up?

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Welcome to this episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

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As always, I'm your host, brian Lofermento, and today we have got an awesome entrepreneur that has built a beautiful business.

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Honestly, from the second I laid eyes on her website, I thought to myself how intentional and thoughtful and beautiful is this brand that she's built?

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Because not only can I tell that this entrepreneur loves what she does, which is interior design, but it almost seems like she's just as passionate, if not more, when it comes to making her clients happy.

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So we're all going to learn so many different things from today's guest.

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Her name is Kristen Peipel.

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Kristen is the owner and principal designer of KP Home, which is a boutique interior design firm based in Chicago.

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Her affinity for design started at a young age and she always had an eye on the world of interiors as she got her business degree from Indiana University.

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With 12 years working her way up in software sales, the lifelong dream of becoming an interior designer never diminished.

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So she took the leap and merged her business side with the creative side to start KP Home.

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She believes in living a more authentic life and knows that your surroundings play a big part.

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That is so true.

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I love the emphasis and importance that she places on that, because, even aside from the business stuff we'll talk about today, it's important for us all to remember that our spaces not only are reflections of us, but they really reflect and guide our moods, our productivity levels.

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So much good stuff.

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When she's not designing, kristen loves to play tennis, travel and spend time with family and friends.

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I'm super excited to learn from Kristen here today.

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We're all in for a treat, so I'm not going to say anything else.

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Let's dive straight into my interview with Kristen Peipel.

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All right, kristen, I am so excited that you're here with us today.

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First things first.

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Welcome to the show.

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Thanks, bart, I'm so excited to be here.

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Heck.

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Yes, obviously you and I were geeking out a little bit about tennis before we hit record here, but I'm going to use that as a segue for you to take us beyond the bio.

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Tell us who Kristen is.

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Software sales, interior design, a degree in business, all sorts of cool angles that you've been able to intersect but who's Kristen?

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How'd you start doing all this stuff?

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Yeah, it's not your typical path to interior design when people ask how I got started or if I went to design school, but growing up I have always just had a creative interest.

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I took a bunch of art classes.

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It's kind of runs in my family and thought I wanted to go to interior design school and then when it came time to make a decision of where to go to school, it was a little bit more of let's just pursue something that's kind of more traditional and went to business school.

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But that creative kind of sound in the back of my head was always there and I was doing stuff for myself.

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Just kind of sound in the back of my head was always there and I was doing stuff for myself, just kind of keeping up with the industry, and really had a successful career after college in the software world.

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I worked my way up from a small startup to a company that was kind of growing rapidly and just reached a point of like is this really what I want to be doing?

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Is this really where I'm happy, I'm successful?

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I have a lot of benefits from coworkers and experience?

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But it just wasn't scratching that itch.

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So I ended up working with a business coach and really uncovered what was next for me and that really was the catalyst to exploring what a career in design could really look like, especially as an entrepreneur.

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And I feel really fortunate that I had the business experience and all of that kind of leading up to the design career.

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That really kind of helped set me up for success and really transition into running my own firm.

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Yeah, I love that overview, Kristen, especially because I've always loved that term golden handcuffs and hearing you talk about your career.

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You had it good.

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You obviously were excelling there.

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You have a lot of skills that you brought to the table in that position that helped you flourish in that role, and obviously when we think about business, we think about having benefits and a salary and all these good things that come with a nine to five life, but not everybody breaks free of those golden handcuffs.

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So, kristen, what is it about it?

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I know you talk about.

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You know that entrepreneurial bug was dormant inside of you.

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That itch to get interior into interior design was always there.

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It's something that's never faded.

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What actually pushed you to take that plunge, though?

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Um, great question.

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I think, like the golden handcuffs is truly the exact terminology that I would use.

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And it kind of became a way of like I have all this stuff on the business side and the corporate side.

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That just felt safe.

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And then starting to kind of open up and talk about really loving design and if that was a path that I could actually pursue felt very scary.

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But I ended up kind of working through that with this coach of like what is it that I, what is it that is scaring me in this side of things and what are the risks.

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And then ultimately, when I kind of laid all that out in front of me and looked at the difference of like what I was continuing on and where I wasn't really feeling fulfilled to like this kind of scary side of things, but like what are the opportunities that could be presented, I really reached a point of like if I don't try, I'm going to regret it, and taking that leap and giving myself a runway to say like this is what I'm going to do, I'm going to try it for a certain amount of time and if it doesn't work, I'll be proud of myself that I tried and I can go back to what I was doing before, but if it does work, then I'm off to the races, and this was all worth it.

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Yeah, I think that's such an important conversation for us to have publicly within the world of entrepreneurship.

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Is that the worst case scenario with all of our businesses, of course, is that we fail, that we don't make enough money, and then the outcome there, if we do fail, is we get to go back to a job, whether it's a job that we already liked, maybe, or a job that we potentially will like even more.

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So I really love the fact that you took that leap of faith, and especially knowing that interior design was a lifelong love for you.

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My question to you is this, kristen, because having that passion, having that lifelong love, is one thing, but actually doing it for work, for your business, charging people, that's a totally different thing.

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What did that transition look like?

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Had you done projects in the past and helped out family and friends, or what was your first paid project like?

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It was an interesting transition for sure, especially of just having fun with it.

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Before I did stuff for myself, I was always rearranging my own room or asking my mom to paint my room when I was little, and then doing stuff for myself, as I got my own condo in Chicago and then actually the coach I was working with she ended up buying a house in the midst of our sessions and I did kind of a mock-up presentation and that wasn't a paid job but it was still just like the first one to be like, okay, if I'm going to do this for somebody else, how does this kind of come together?

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And then it was really just leveraging my network, so a lot of friends and co-workers that are in the area.

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I was doing kind of more smaller, kind of consulting type jobs for people that were buying new houses and moving.

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And then it kind of just took off from there.

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I had a friend who was building a house in Wisconsin Wisconsin and that was like my first really big paid job that we did from the ground up, a brand new full build from the foundation to the last piece of furniture.

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So it's been a really interesting transition.

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I think that like there's a little bit of again.

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I keep going back to like the fear of it, but like it's just kind of you, don't it's the fear of the unknown really right?

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And like will.

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I still love this when I'm doing it for other people and I can tell you that every time I get a new project and I'm walking through somebody's house, the like, true excitement that I get of being able to build something for them is is really cool yeah, I'm gonna tack on to that, kristen, because before you and I got together here today for this episode, when I was looking into your work and I teased it at the top of the episode that it seems to me like you equally love the client service part of the so-called job, as you do their interior design.

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It's just as someone who, the second I landed on your website, I was like man, kristen really wants to take care of me when it comes to my space, and not just because of the space part, but because of the me part.

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It just seems like you put such an emphasis and a passion on the service part of it.

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Talk to us about where that comes from and has that evolved over time?

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Because obviously it's one thing to have good intentions when you start your business, which clearly you did, but it's another thing to grow in that passion for the tasks that come along with service.

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Yeah, I think you know something that in my previous career life I was an account manager for some really big accounts at the software company and something that I really really loved as part of that job was the service part of it and kind of getting to know my clients, understanding what their needs are and then really delivering kind of the bespoke service and response to them based on their business.

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And that was something that I felt passionately about and, I think, really afforded a lot of great connections, which then kind of translated into the success of it.

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But it's something that I've just always really cared about.

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And then kind of moving that into the success of it but it's something that I've just always really cared about and then kind of moving that into the design side of things.

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I think you know there's design is all over the place in terms of Instagram and TV shows and all this stuff and it's it can be seen kind of cookie cutter, I guess, and I really strive to make sure that my clients feel heard.

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I think we all have a very unique story and when you kind of tap into that and own who you are and kind of make that a reflection of yourself in your space, it can be really powerful.

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And so I think that that, to me, is the really cool part of it, that it's not just being able to pick all these cool colors and fabrics and stuff, but it really translates to like who this person is and what that does for them every day, waking up and walking into their kitchen.

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That feels like a reflection of them feels kind of silly to say, but I think it can have a really big impact.

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And for me, as I kind of evolved the business I think it has started in one area and has just continued to grow and I kind of try to think like how do my clients want to be taken care of throughout this process?

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Because it is very personal and that's something that I'm to kind of look beyond your own little sphere and see like how people are doing service and where can I kind of implement some of that stuff into my process.

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So it's ever evolving but it's fun.

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Yeah, really well said.

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And you introduce it's one of my favorite words in business and marketing and you've already said it, I know that you're a big fan of this as well is stories, and it's right there on your website.

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I'm going to pick on this because it's very prominent.

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The second you scroll down, it's the first thing you'll see where you say my story might sound a bit like yours and you talk about how your career felt out of alignment.

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You've shared so much of that with us here in today's episode and you equate that.

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I love analogies.

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You equate that to people feeling like their space is out of alignment.

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It's not a reflection of their lives, because maybe, well, we're all busy.

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Maybe it's just a reflection of, hey, I'm busy, and this is the way that the mail settled when I got home from work and this is the way that my sunglasses just settled, wherever they may go.

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Talk to us about that, because does that come from your sales background?

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Does it come from your studies in a classroom in business school?

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Where does that come from?

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Where you realize the power of telling that story and using that as a connection tool with your clients?

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It's a great question.

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I think I personally have just always felt I'm very curious about people and stories and I think, from like, I've had a big passion of traveling and understanding other people's backgrounds and culture, and whether that's just from another kind of domestic city in the US to somewhere international, and I think it's just really important to kind of understand people and it's just something I think I've been inherently had in me for as long as I can remember and building that community.

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I think I've been surrounded by community from growing up to college, to the friends and co-workers that I've made throughout my corporate career, and I think establishing that community is just really important, which I think kind of translates into helping people tell their own story.

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And I think there's an example that I keep thinking of really is some of the things that, like, maybe you don't think of on a day to day basis just because they become kind of just second nature to you.

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But I had this client that we were doing a bathroom and she was like I hate it in here so much and when we ripped it down to the stud she was like it actually feels better than it did before.

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So if that gives you any indication of how out of alignment she felt in her own space.

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And then what we transitioned it to is like yes, it's a bathroom, but it's where you get ready every day, and I think we kind of infused her and her husband's story and how they live and what they enjoy into that and it feels like it's a place where you can just really feel your most authentic self and then that kind of sets you up for successes as you go along.

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But not sure if that answered your question.

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Yeah, it does answer.

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It actually leads me to a bigger question, because I'm hoping you can make more sense of this than the way that I've tried to articulate in the past, because that example story that you gave us with the client who rip it all down to the studs and she likes it even more than I feel that way a lot of times in my business and in my marketing campaigns where, for example, I'll sit down to write a marketing campaign and, kristen, I just do not like it, I will command a select all and delete the entire thing.

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And if someone one of my business partners or someone on my team says, well, brian, what did you not like about it?

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I really struggle to articulate what I didn't like about it because the answer is I didn't like anything about it and it just seems easier to start from scratch.

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I'm sure you deal with this a lot with your clients, especially in that example where they know they don't like it but they don't know what it is that they do want.

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How do you guide them down that path?

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I feel like that's such an under-discussed and underrated skill that people like you have, kristen, so I'm hoping you can articulate it and give us some powerful insights there.

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Let's hope so.

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I think, honestly, it comes from a lot of questions and that's another thing that I took from my previous career.

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Life was just be very curious, and I think that's kind of another common theme that I'm talking about here today is just really being curious about people and and who they are and kind of what makes them tick but also what gives them joy.

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So a lot of that is it's kind of a phased process, but it's really kind of peeling back the layers.

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So things like I have like an 80 question questionnaire at the beginning of the process to say like what?

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Just all sorts of things about their lifestyle, their preferences, and then as we go through the process I kind of keep uncovering that and asking questions.

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And then it's not only listening to what they're saying but also kind of listening to how they're reacting to things and their body language and their facial expressions and things like that Just kind of having to be pretty in tune to how they're responding and then again asking questions of like okay, I'm not seeing a ton of excitement from XYZ, is there something that's kind of feeling off and just giving people kind of a platform to feel like they can truly express it?

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And I know sometimes it's hard to put that into words, but it's really kind of just trying to be a guide and pulling that out with a lot of curiosity and compassion really.

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Yeah, I like that you brought that up, because obviously we've had so many business coaches and strategists here on the show and it just seems to me like part of their superpower toolkit is asking questions.

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So hearing you talk about this within the context of interior design, I think it just shows that this stuff transcends industry.

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This is just what it means to deal with and serve and help, and the magic word that I think you shared with us is guide.

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I think this is part of what it takes to fulfill that role with all client services and obviously you come from a sales background.

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You obviously went to business school, so you've seen this in all different capacities.

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I'm curious to hear the types of questions that you ask, because there's so many.

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You talked about the 80 question list.

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There's different types of questions that we can ask, but what I'm hearing when you talk about questions is that that's just the starting point.

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The question doesn't necessarily give you the answer.

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It's the way that you listen and what you know, how to deal with it and how to get to the real stuff there.

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So I'd love some insights into your question asking process.

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Sure.

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So I think it's kind of multifaceted of.

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You know, I initially have a conversation with a potential client on the phone I try to do it over Zoom just to get that kind of face-to-face connection and that one is really high level, like what are you looking for in a project?

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What kind of is your timeline?

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More of the logistics and then when I get into this questionnaire it really breaks it down to like, okay, what's your favorite snack, which is very, you know, detailed?

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What's your favorite drink in the morning?

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What's your favorite drink at night?

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How do you celebrate?

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What are some of your favorite hotels?

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What's a favorite place that you've traveled?

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Are there any organizations that you care about?

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What are your hobbies?

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I think really kind of getting to know the person behind the name more so than like what's your favorite color?

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Are there any patterns that you don't like?

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Um, I think a lot of that stuff is kind of an unknown and a little bit scary on like the actual design side.

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So there are some of those questions, but it really kind of digs into who they are as a person and like what they're passionate about really.

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Yeah, Kristen, this leads me into.

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I have no idea how we're going to navigate this next topic that I'm so excited to ask you about, and that is branding, because something in your answer just there I'm using that as the segue because you talk about the person behind the project and when I look at your brand, KP Home what you've built is obviously I sung your praises at the top of this episode about how beautiful your brand is, but what I really appreciate about your brand is how much you personally are woven into it.

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It's right there on your website, Behind the designer, my favorite morning beverage.

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I'm most inspired by my guilty pleasures.

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I love the fact that you have found this balance of a brand that has its own life and its own identity, but also how you are weaved into that, and it's something that I struggled with for probably gosh the first five or six years of my first business, where I asked myself you know, we look at the Tony Robbins's of the world and I was like that's a personal brand, but then also I want to build something that's bigger than me, so I want a business brand.

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Kristen, you seem to have found that balance so delicately and I so appreciate the intentional work that's gone in behind it.

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Can you talk to us about the development of that brand and how these?

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Obviously, I'm just giving you my reflections and perspective on this, but I'd love to hear how you worked it out in your own head.

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Sure, and if you don't mind, I'm going to just kind of give a quick kind of starting point of a story that kind of goes to the like person and the questions that people can ask and kind of what you can draw out.

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But part of the business coach that I was working with at the time I had not set out to actually make the transition into interior design.

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I was working with her to try to figure out what was next in my corporate career, whether I wanted to move into upper management or into some other industry, and we were teasing all of that out.

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And then ultimately she asked me one day if you could do anything, what would you do?

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And I had been hesitant to even tell people just because it felt like, oh, I don't know if I'm qualified, I don't know if this is an actual real opportunity, but I would love to do interior design.

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And she was like your entire demeanor and body language just changed when you said that and that was her hearing kind of my story there and pulling that out.

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And then that was honestly the trajectory of taking this into where KP Home is today, which I think kind of just proves the question asking and getting to know the people behind a face and a name and can be really impactful.

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So that kind of was the catalyst.

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And then I ended up I'm trying to kind of create a brand and I started with a logo.

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I was working with a friend of mine who does kind of graphic design and I reached a point of like I just got to start somewhere.

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This is what I'm going to put together, and that I had an initial kind of brand suite.

00:21:18.263 --> 00:21:23.882
And then, as I started to evolve, it was really to your point, brian of like okay, I want to.

00:21:23.882 --> 00:21:29.021
You're looking at like kind of the top people of your industry and being like how do I get there?

00:21:30.431 --> 00:21:41.201
And what really ended up, kind of becoming KP Home, was an internal reflection of like who do I want to serve, what do I want to serve, why do I want to serve them?

00:21:41.201 --> 00:21:46.952
And then how does that kind of translate into who they're going to work with?

00:21:46.952 --> 00:22:13.816
And really looking at myself and being like who am I and how do I show up here and I have an opportunity to really create something that doesn't have to fit in like a corporate bubble, but it can just be like my true, authentic self showing up and that's who they're going to interact with, and I want that to be the experience from the second that you hit my website to the time that we have a first phone call, to the last meeting of our project.

00:22:13.816 --> 00:22:17.343
So it was a really intentional process.

00:22:17.403 --> 00:22:20.115
I worked with a brand team.

00:22:20.115 --> 00:22:23.002
I think that's the other kind of lesson throughout.

00:22:23.002 --> 00:22:33.270
All of this is, um, leveraging other people and their kind of like zone of genius to help tell your own story and set up your business.

00:22:33.270 --> 00:22:35.938
Um, and I think that can evolve.

00:22:35.938 --> 00:22:46.770
You know you don't have to do it all right out of the gate, but recognizing when you want to hit that kind of next growth goal and what it will take to kind of get there.

00:22:47.593 --> 00:22:54.498
Yeah, listeners, I'm going to call this out for all of you, because how many episodes, how many incredible guests do we have on where it's that word evolve?

00:22:54.498 --> 00:22:56.583
It's an evolutionary process.

00:22:56.583 --> 00:22:58.074
It's never set in stone.

00:22:58.074 --> 00:23:09.244
And, kristen, as much as I love your brand today, I'm sure that when I check back a year from now, two years from now, it's going to evolve even further, the more that you grow, both personally and as your business continues to grow.

00:23:09.244 --> 00:23:18.490
So I really appreciate those insights from your perspective and the fact that you so transparently share that process with us, because I think it's really encouraging for all entrepreneurs of all levels.

00:23:18.951 --> 00:23:24.683
And I want to ask you about going a little more deep into your actual industry of interior design.

00:23:24.683 --> 00:23:33.240
You talk about how much it played into your mind and your decision making of who is it that I want to serve and how do I want to show up for those people.

00:23:33.240 --> 00:23:38.743
We hear a lot of different advice when it comes to niching down Within the world of interior design.

00:23:38.743 --> 00:23:41.613
It seems like there are a million different ways to niche down.

00:23:41.613 --> 00:23:48.994
So how do you articulate how much of an intentional thought process and strategy is that as to who it is that you serve with your business?

00:23:50.890 --> 00:24:02.089
Yeah, you know, I think kind of related to that is when I, as I kind of started to get further into this and ultimately left the corporate world to pursue this full time.

00:24:02.089 --> 00:24:12.329
I think something that's kind of key is and part of this process of identifying that ideal client is what is my definition of success?

00:24:12.329 --> 00:24:17.146
I think there can be so many different ways that people define success.

00:24:17.146 --> 00:24:32.539
From an entrepreneur standpoint and it's easy, especially coming from a corporate world it was like you hit your milestones, you had your performance review, you have the next title change and it's very easy to kind of quote unquote, track that success.

00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:36.560
But when you're an entrepreneur, it's like it's all up to you.

00:24:36.971 --> 00:24:37.855
And what does that mean?

00:24:37.855 --> 00:24:42.890
Do I want to be somebody that is on the cover of a design magazine?

00:24:42.890 --> 00:24:44.696
Do I want a TV show?

00:24:44.696 --> 00:24:54.138
Do I wanna just like work with people in my community in Chicago to create spaces that are super meaningful for them?

00:24:54.138 --> 00:25:19.701
So that was a lot of kind of reflection and ultimately I was writing down stuff about myself and then kind of taking that and saying, okay, I want to work with somebody like me, but they're 10 years ahead of me and what's kind of important to me and where do we kind of align on our values, because that will ultimately create a really nice connection.

00:25:19.829 --> 00:25:21.778
And this is again such a personal business.

00:25:21.778 --> 00:25:30.085
People are bringing me into their homes, giving me access to their homes, letting me tell their story and telling me about their personal lives.

00:25:30.085 --> 00:25:33.193
I think that was kind of.

00:25:33.193 --> 00:25:46.249
The key component is finding this persona that has a lot of the same values and passions that I do, because there's a relation there.

00:25:46.249 --> 00:25:50.682
And obviously that doesn't mean that has to be the only driving factor for finding the client.

00:25:50.682 --> 00:26:08.066
But it really helped to kind of put that to paper and say like these are the type of people that I want to work with and then the projects will come from there, versus defining the type of project that I would want and backing into the person.

00:26:08.890 --> 00:26:13.442
Yeah, I really appreciate that insight into your strategic mind because I think it's so brilliant.

00:26:13.442 --> 00:26:15.355
It does give us an unfair advantage.

00:26:15.355 --> 00:26:48.653
I know that obviously, I've got a few different businesses in my portfolio, but when it comes to serving entrepreneurs because that's me I understand the things we all dream about, the things we wish for, the things we aspire to be, the things that are beneath the surface, and so it's so easy for me to write towards me, and that's what I'm hearing about you and the world of interior design is that you're passionate, not only about the projects, but especially about the people, because in many ways, they're a reflection of your own passions, your own desires, your own interests.

00:26:48.653 --> 00:26:49.315
So I really appreciate that.

00:26:49.315 --> 00:26:49.635
I also want to.

00:26:49.635 --> 00:26:49.957
I'm a big fan.

00:26:49.977 --> 00:26:53.770
I believe we can learn from every single industry, and you said right there, and we all know it, interior design is such a personal thing.

00:26:53.770 --> 00:27:02.438
You are coming into people's homes, into their spaces, and recrafting it from ways that they probably can only imagine in their minds, and you bring it to reality.

00:27:02.438 --> 00:27:03.922
What's that process?

00:27:03.922 --> 00:27:04.603
Like Kristen?

00:27:04.603 --> 00:27:10.075
Does it start with a walkthrough?

00:27:10.075 --> 00:27:11.218
You already talked about the questionnaire what?

00:27:12.101 --> 00:27:14.086
does an actual project look like for you from start to finish?

00:27:14.086 --> 00:27:18.198
Sure, yeah, the first kind of most important step is doing a walkthrough at a client's house.

00:27:18.198 --> 00:27:39.625
So after that initial call, we kind of align on making sure that it feels like a good fit just from the basics, and then I will go to their home and ask for a walkthrough, ask for a tour, essentially and I tell people, don't clean up before I come Like, show me how you actually live.

00:27:39.625 --> 00:27:52.039
This is a judgment free zone, but I really just kind of want to understand them and what their current house and workflow looks like or not, workflow, lifestyle looks like.

00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:54.873
And so we walk through every room.

00:27:55.074 --> 00:28:10.650
I ask questions of, like, what do you like about this room, how do you use it, what are challenges in this room, whether that's like functionality, storage, layout, and really just have them take me to the entire space.

00:28:10.750 --> 00:28:41.037
So even if we were only working on you know they only reached out for, like, a bathroom renovation, let's say I still have them take me on a tour of their whole house just to again understand who they are, how they live, um, and what they like and don't like about their current space, um, and then from there we create, um, I create kind of a report that gives some high level suggestions, so, and a proposal for actually hiring me for the design services, um.

00:28:41.037 --> 00:28:48.076
But the report can also kind of give them a roadmap to say, like, if you're looking to do stuff in the future, this is kind of what I would recommend.

00:28:48.076 --> 00:29:02.301
And then, if they decide to sign on, we go into the actual design piece of it and do an onboarding meeting and kick off and dig even deeper into their design preferences and desires for their project.

00:29:02.301 --> 00:29:15.422
And then I get to work behind the scenes, picking up the fun stuff and creating all the renderings and bringing that idea to life to then present to them and see what the possibilities can look like.

00:29:16.310 --> 00:29:29.237
Yeah, I love that and it does sound like fun and, I will say, similar to what your business coach experienced with you, I can see your eyes totally come alive and light up when you talk about you said it right there the fun stuff, and it's so clear that you really enjoy this stuff.

00:29:29.237 --> 00:29:34.781
So, kristen, towards the end of these episodes, I always love to zoom out and ask you this question, entrepreneur to entrepreneur.

00:29:34.781 --> 00:29:36.630
And that is about time horizon.

00:29:36.630 --> 00:29:48.519
I always find it intriguing to hear how different business owners view the future, and obviously, I always argue that 2020 totally changed our perception of future planning, because pretty much every plan went out the window in 2020.

00:29:48.559 --> 00:29:50.875
And so, with that in mind, you and I both went to business school.

00:29:50.875 --> 00:29:57.951
Professors always told us you know, have a five-year plan, a 10-year plan, and now that I'm really in it, I'm just like you, can't plan for 10 years.

00:29:57.951 --> 00:29:59.474
That's such a silly amount of time.

00:29:59.474 --> 00:30:07.057
I'm a big fan of 30, 60, 90 day focus areas, but I'd love to hear, business owner to business owner, what is your view of the future?

00:30:07.057 --> 00:30:08.102
How do you plan?

00:30:08.102 --> 00:30:11.030
How do you look towards your own expansion and growth?

00:30:11.030 --> 00:30:12.555
How do you navigate those waters?

00:30:13.997 --> 00:30:19.674
Yeah, it's a tricky, it's tricky waters, um, but I think to your point.

00:30:19.674 --> 00:30:22.903
It's like looking out five to 10 years is way too far.

00:30:22.903 --> 00:30:26.652
I think kind of back to what we were saying before too.

00:30:26.652 --> 00:30:50.442
There's like always an evolution and a growth and I think the cool part of being an entrepreneur is that you have the opportunity to pivot when it feels like you need to, and I think sometimes kind of creating those like full, you know, super long term plans just kind of get thrown out the window just because there's so much that can change and evolve in that timeframe.

00:30:50.442 --> 00:30:57.923
And again, having that freedom to kind of feel out what makes the most sense for you and your business.

00:30:58.244 --> 00:31:02.674
I'm definitely in agreement on the shorter term planning.

00:31:02.776 --> 00:31:15.330
When I set out, I quit my corporate job and gave myself 18 months to kind of figure out how this could evolve into and really transition into a full time thing.

00:31:15.351 --> 00:31:23.634
That was probably too short of a timeframe, if I'm being honest, and now I'm two and a half years into doing this full time time and it's been going well.

00:31:23.634 --> 00:31:43.201
But I think, shortening that horizon to say like okay, in the next month quarter, what do I want to do, what do I want to work on and what's going to ultimately drive towards the goals that I set out for two years in the future, and so it's also setting aside dedicated time for that.

00:31:43.201 --> 00:31:54.029
I think, as an entrepreneur and I know you've talked about this with other folks on the podcast is where do you put your time and energy and how does this all come together?

00:31:54.029 --> 00:32:15.380
And I think, dedicating some time to really sit back and look at your goals, look what's working and being honest about what is working, what doesn't feel like it it's not, you know, producing the results that you're hoping for and then making some changes and adjustments and, um, just knowing that it's a continual process.

00:32:15.420 --> 00:32:44.942
I have to remind myself of that a lot yeah, really well said, though, and I think it shows not only in in what you're sharing with us, but really your attitude towards it, and I think that it's something that, the more that we embrace it as business owners, it's flexibility, it's adaptation, it's evolution, it's all of these key traits that it sounds like you and I are really aligned in the way that we view these things, because we like actionable timeframes, and so kudos to us for breaking free from all the things that we were taught inside of business classrooms Now that we're in the real world.

00:32:44.981 --> 00:32:56.390
Kristen, I love hearing your insights, not only about your industry of interior design, but clearly you also love business, and that's why it's so fun for me to have you here on the show and so grateful for you to share all this stuff with our audience.

00:32:56.390 --> 00:33:01.676
But it also means I have no idea how you're going to answer this last question, which is what's the one takeaway?

00:33:01.676 --> 00:33:01.936
What question?

00:33:01.936 --> 00:33:02.617
Which is what's the one takeaway?

00:33:02.617 --> 00:33:15.038
What's that one piece of advice for listeners who are tuning in, and they're at all different, varying stages of their business, and a lot of them are getting this unique inside view into the world of interior design from you and thinking I want to steal some of these strategies from you, kristen.

00:33:15.038 --> 00:33:19.455
I want to implement it in the way that I do my own projects and the way that I service my own clients.

00:33:19.455 --> 00:33:23.622
What's the one thing that you hope everyone walks away from today's episode with?

00:33:31.829 --> 00:33:53.156
I was thinking a lot about this and it might be a twofold answer, if that's okay to cheat the system, but I think the overall thing is to just start and I think that can be as much as like ask reaching out to somebody in the industry that you want to work in and asking them questions and being curious about it to if you have established your business and are kind of on that path.

00:33:55.291 --> 00:34:07.901
I was stuck in a hamster wheel of like I got to have all these things in place before I can actually launch this and put this out in the world, because if I don't, it's not going to seem legitimate and I'm not going to be set up for success.

00:34:07.901 --> 00:34:16.815
And if I look back and it wasn't that long ago, but if I look back I wish I would have just put it out there in the world sooner.

00:34:16.815 --> 00:34:23.255
And you build the plane while you're flying it a bit and you'll figure it out.

00:34:23.255 --> 00:34:33.893
And I think we can kind of get caught in this cycle of like I got to have it all together before I can make this a real thing, because otherwise that won't be equal success.

00:34:33.893 --> 00:34:40.494
And I think the ultimate thing is is just start and follow, kind of where your, your gut is telling you to go.

00:34:41.237 --> 00:34:48.195
Um and it, it will all come together gut is telling you to go and it will all come together.

00:34:48.195 --> 00:34:48.657
Yes, really well said.

00:34:48.657 --> 00:34:49.119
That's the real stuff.

00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:53.737
I wish in business school we were taught these things instead of all the theoretical, philosophical things that we were taught.

00:34:53.737 --> 00:34:58.639
Kristen, I so appreciate those insights that you're sharing with our audience, and I'm personally very excited.

00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:06.721
I always say success leaves clues, and I'm so excited for listeners to check out your website and actually see this stuff that we've talked about so much in today's episode.

00:35:06.721 --> 00:35:08.364
See it with their own eyes.

00:35:08.364 --> 00:35:11.806
I know that a lot of listeners are on the go, so drop those links on us.

00:35:11.806 --> 00:35:13.331
Where should listeners go from here?

00:35:14.594 --> 00:35:15.215
Awesome, thanks.

00:35:15.215 --> 00:35:20.224
Yeah, you can follow me on Instagram at kphome underscore.

00:35:20.224 --> 00:35:25.298
You can check out my website at kphomeus.

00:35:25.298 --> 00:35:28.452
You can also find me, kristen Peipel, on LinkedIn.

00:35:28.452 --> 00:35:30.757
I would love to connect with you all.

00:35:31.579 --> 00:35:33.443
Yes, listeners, you already know the drill.

00:35:33.443 --> 00:35:40.418
We are making it as easy as possible for you to find all of Kristen's links down below in the show notes, wherever it is that you're tuning into today's episode.

00:35:40.418 --> 00:35:43.976
Her business website is at kphomeus.

00:35:43.976 --> 00:35:44.800
That's kphomeus.

00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:46.773
You don't have to remember these links.

00:35:46.773 --> 00:35:48.298
Scroll down, click right on through.

00:35:48.298 --> 00:35:53.931
It'll take you directly to her website, her social media links, her LinkedIn profile, so don't be shy in reaching out.

00:35:53.931 --> 00:35:59.733
Otherwise, kristen, on behalf of myself and all of our listeners worldwide, thanks so much for coming on the show today.

00:36:00.934 --> 00:36:02.478
Brian, thank you so much for having me.

00:36:02.478 --> 00:36:04.302
This was really fun to chat with you.

00:36:05.331 --> 00:36:10.873
Hey, it's Brian here, and thanks for tuning in to yet another episode of the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast.

00:36:10.873 --> 00:36:14.842
If you haven't checked us out online, there's so much good stuff there.

00:36:14.842 --> 00:36:24.081
Check out the show's website and all the show notes that we talked about in today's episode at thewantrepreneurshowcom, and I just want to give a shout out to our amazing guests.

00:36:24.081 --> 00:36:32.858
There's a reason why we are ad free and have produced so many incredible episodes five days a week for you, and it's because our guests step up to the plate.

00:36:32.949 --> 00:36:34.918
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00:36:34.918 --> 00:36:36.496
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00:36:36.496 --> 00:36:40.001
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00:36:40.001 --> 00:36:50.972
They so deeply believe in the power of getting their message out in front of you, awesome wantrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, that they contribute to help us make these productions possible.

00:36:50.972 --> 00:36:59.449
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00:36:59.449 --> 00:37:00.791
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00:37:00.791 --> 00:37:05.418
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00:37:05.418 --> 00:37:06.820
Initiate a live chat.

00:37:06.820 --> 00:37:16.248
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