Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Simms and Sondra Lagasse.
Jill and Sondra, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We started Woodlands Style House because we saw a need for more accessible interior-design in our community. Both of us had past careers and were stay-at-home moms with young kids. We realized we had a shared passion for home decorating and wanted to start something all our own.
Taking a big chance, in 2017 we launched our website and social media platforms and put the word out that we were offering home-design services. Since that moment, we have had a constant stream of clients, and our wait-list continues to grow.
So much so, that only a year after launching, we hired five more Home-Stylists. We also have our own ‘Handy-Woman,’ Painter, and Contractor who work on our team as well.
This has allowed us to reach so many more clients and expand our services to reach more people’s home-design needs.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest challenge was the start-up process. Neither of us had launched a business before so we had to learn from scratch. This included building our own website, creating an LLC, developing a brand & logo, and learning how to manage our accounting. We also do all our own marketing, advertising, PR, and charity-relations work. So we have always had to wear many different hats any given time.
As the business has grown, we were then challenged with the need for hiring and training new people. Owning your own business is never a smooth endeavor, but it’s so worth the risk.
Please tell us about Woodlands Style House.
People often ask what has contributed most to our success. We believe it’s not only our eye for design but our ability to do it without breaking the bank. We shop at both high-end AND affordable stores and are always looking for ways to save our clients money.
When renovating and decorating, there’s almost always a way to refresh a space without starting completely from scratch. We also pride ourselves on decorating for ‘any space, in any style,’ instead of repeating the same design formula on every project. We want each space we design to reflect our clients’ tastes, not our own.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
We wish we would’ve started it sooner! There will always be doubt when faced with starting your own business. It felt intimidating, and we often questioned ourselves, but in the end, we realized our idea was a great one.
There was even more of a demand than we imagined, and we are so glad we took the chance. We are very excited to see what the future holds as we continue to grow this business. Here’s to many more years of ‘bringing style home’ to our community.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.woodlandsstylehouse.com
- Email: woodlandsstylehouse@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/woodlandsstylehouse
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/woodlandsstylehouse
Image Credit:
Eliz Alex Photography
Group photo: Relics of Rainbows Photo
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