Welcome to episode 8 of design, curious podcast.
I am your host and Mentor Rebecca Ward.
Today I have a wonderful interview with Andrea Reardon.
She is a designer in the Dallas Fort Worth area and has a
residential firm there that she started in 2020.
She's a self-proclaimed corporate drop out.
So she switched careers from the corporate world and then went
into design and today, we're talking about how she juggled
The transition and the recommendation she has for
people who come from another full-time job and want to go
into interior design, she has two degrees from Texas,
Christian University, one in business finance, and wanted
interior design. While she was finishing, her
business degree, she took one and interior design course, and
was hooked after graduation. She squeezed in TCU interior
design classes, whenever she could while working full-time
trading, crude oil Natural Gas. And electricity.
So it sounds like an intensive job, she loves what she does
meeting people seeing their projects and developing Design
Concepts to make their homes better?
She's a planner and doesn't like surprises.
So, she tends to work ahead and voice stressful situations, very
smart. She can keep project on time and
on budget. And as she might mention, she
once ran a two billion dollar trading portfolio of crude oil,
derivatives so she knows Her staff.
She can handle her job and she uses all of that experience for
her clients. So I'm really excited to get
into the interview today. Let's hear from Andrea.
You're now listening to design, curious a place where you
creative one are here to learn about what it really is.
Like, to be an interior designer and I'm your host and Mentor
Rebecca, Ward, if you're worried about how to succeed, In a
creative career, if you're ready to learn your next steps to
become an Interior Designer. And if you want the satisfaction
of doing something you love every day, you are in the right
place, grab a coffee, a notebook, and let's dig into
today's episode. Hi Andrea.
It's great to have you on the show today.
Thanks for being here. Thanks, Rebecca's.
Nice to talk to you. You two, aren't you?
Tell our audience where you're located and the name of your
company. So I live in Texas where in the
Dallas-Fort Worth Suburbia. So there's a lot of North Texas.
My firm is my name is Andrea Reardon design LLC.
Right. And how long have you been in
business? I formed my own.
I'll see about four and a half years ago.
I want full time into interior design.
Almost exactly two years ago. Okay, 12 years in a couple
weeks. Uh-huh.
All right. Wow.
So let's go back to when you first wanted to become a
designer, what was going on in your life when I first wanted to
come in and here tonight. Yeah.
Like, how did you know? Okay.
So how did you know I was in school?
And I mean, Because I had kind of already filled out of
engineering school and I went in my parents sent me to business
school, but I wanted to be an interior design.
They said, no, you're just going to go to business school so I
was able to take one class and interior design when I was
finishing my finance degree, which was the fall of 97, a
couple of years and loved it. So after I earned my business
degree that my parents paid for and I'm very grateful for, I
went back and over many years earned, my interior design
degree, kind of into Effort tranches and two periods of
time. But then after all of that, I
graduated in 09 and it was not a great time, right?
Being design. So I excuse the dog collar.
I went back into Finance, okay. Am I worked for a certain,
billionaire, family in Fort Worth for 18 months and then I
worked for a wholesale power company for about nine and a
half years. But during that time, I started
my company. Okay, the other side, huh?
Little side hustle. Yeah.
So was it just the class that you took for interior design
during business school that got you interested in design or did
you always have a creative bent inside of you?
Yeah, I've always had that I took drafting in high school.
I was the first student at my High School in Iowa to learn
cat. And yeah.
So I'd always kind of had that side and clearly engineering was
not for me. So, it was kind of Just figure
out the right combination of these things.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Okay. Does that make sense?
Yeah. So you're saying your parents
wanted you to kind of do engineering or business goal.
Right? So, yeah, I mean, I grew up in
Iowa in the Midwest and, you know, I can't say that they're,
you know, in our small town, there weren't a lot of
successful interior designer that your wasn't a big practice,
like it is in Dallas or engine. California or New York or you
know that just wasn't in their experience.
And I respect that they wanted me to have something that they
saw as her stable. And it certainly, you know, in
the business world, it's less cyclical kind of employment
cycle. Right?
I understand all that. So yeah, that's where they were
coming from. Well, having a business degree.
I think definitely is giving you a leg up now that you started
your own business. Yeah.
It's interesting to see how much of it does cross over, and I'm
using it a lot more than I originally thought I would for
sure and my business experience with, you know, dealing with
accounting departments and HR and IT and all these things.
It's interesting for. Yeah, yeah.
Then let's talk about when you see, you got your business
license and you started your side, hustle your worries, still
working full time for your other job.
Yeah, okay. I was and it was a really
stressful job and I was working more than 40 hours a week in my
clients and my other job would call me in the middle of the
night, all hours and expect me to tell them how to run their
power plants and I mean a wrong call could be a six-figure
mistake and it was just it was really stressful job but I
really enjoyed it and enjoyed the people on the clients and
everybody, I just really wanted a more Balanced Life and I want
Something a little more creative to.
So that's where I really decided to move over.
Now, my younger son was in first grade at the time and he's a bit
of a business. Expert told me, it was a really
bad idea, like you can't get more time, but having two jobs
Mom, I'm like, well crap. You know?
Yeah, it's just, it's a temporary situation, right?
I'm sorry it's dude is he cute well yeah he was stating the
obvious that you know. It's you only have 24 hours in a
day. So if you're working 50 hours a
week, you know, for this one job, where would you find time
to fit in starting to build your practice while you are doing
that? Much for the other job?
Yeah, it was a crazy move. I know, I would just sit down
every Sunday or And I would take a sheet of paper and I would I
knew all the things that I had to do for work and those were
just non-negotiable, I get it but I would take and I would
make columns for each day of the week and I would fit in the I
would try to slot in things like one phone call.
You were online thing. I had to do some time during
Monday and one thing to do over lunch in here and over lunch and
one thing I could do after work and I would also try to plot it,
you know, when can I exercise one?
Could I, you know, Do all the kid, things one can do
everything, but I would just try to swat in and see where the
pieces would fit because there's more time in the day than, you
know, I think we know, sometimes we realize sometimes and I think
a lot of interior design is just making the pieces fit, but I was
like, well, if I'm going to do this then I have to make the
pieces all fit. Yeah.
But I would make it, I guess
just get blank piece of paper and so I could leave it on my
desk at work and no one. Like oh, what's that?
All right Andrea. Yeah, like a pretty stationary
or something cute. Yeah, just then scribble.
But yeah, yeah, something that would just blend in.
Yeah, I would just mad about my time and see where I can make
things fit. And I would also, you know,
offer people appointments over lunch or nights or weekends,
especially if you have had a dual career families are
Housewives, then that would work and I would I'd pack like a
protein powder shake and just be like ready to run out the door
when yeah. Time for me to go to lunch and I
Dash to Dallas season showrooms right.
You know, look at Granite or tell our sofas or whatever and
dash back. And I had an agreement with my
boss that, hey, I know lunch is supposed to be an hour, but if I
go in our 15 or an hour 30, I'll just make up the time on the
back end of the day. Like, I'm getting my hours in
and she was cool with that. She knew and she nice, I was
getting my work done. Yeah.
So that was nice. That I can have a conversation
with her. Yeah.
And she knew that you were kind of trying to build a business on
the side where they okay with that.
Or did they not know? I did have a conversation.
Good question with her about that and I didn't, I don't know
how to start the conversation. So I was like, huh?
I'm selling Tupperware and she was like, what?
I need some type of work. I was like, no, no, wait, I'm
not actually selling Tupperware. But I'm trying to communicate to
you that. I hide the side hustle.
That doesn't compete with this business.
Hmm. And she's like, where can I get
some Tupperware? She was not very concerned,
okay. Yeah.
It's not a competing field or anything like that, so it wasn't
to be concerned, but as long as you're getting your job done,
getting the hours that they were requiring from you.
I think it would be fine. So exactly.
Yeah, that was the one I was trying to make.
Yeah. Well, that's good.
I mean because some I don't know I mean I guess in your industry
maybe I don't know if people usually go off and start a side,
hustle out of finance and you know if they do it's a little
unusual especially in interior design.
But you know, this company had they have the handful of people
interesting Lele for this or that more women than men just
telling interesting. Yeah.
In question, but they seen that from time to time and I kind of
wonder if my boss under what I might do long term but they she
was really sweet about it and she'd known me in the industry
for 20 years at that point. More than 20 anyway we don't
need to get into math about how old I am.
But yeah and you know I think she saw it coming on some level
but it's so is kind of you know, just a surprise and then the
real surprise was the very next day they're sitting on the
train. Floor and knows had all the
screens up with all the prices that all the nodes of power and
CNBC was up and they said covid-19 is kind of into the us
only really the very next day. So that was the little man but
as you know the industry actually was better off in the
wet for. Yeah, it for sure.
Yeah, that was interesting. Now I didn't have my salary
entirely replaced when I did make the cover but it It just
was time to. Yeah.
Say a prayer and leave and do it.
So it was the right time for for me and for our family but still
kind of scary. So it all worked out.
How did you manage those fears of like, going off on your own
and, you know, trying to not being able to replace your
salary, you know, I'm a spreadsheet person.
Yeah. So there are a lot of Reggie's
about, you know what our expenses were and how much we
were paying. Church sitters and kid dreams
for teaching and all of those things.
So I mean have to keep in mind like there's some avoided costs
of not having some, some extra help and some extra things and
just kind of cutting back on the extras for a bit.
And it's all worked out. But mmm, I did look at, you
know, going part-time with the power company that can only be
ultimately. They thought they were open
button and they weren't but it all.
That would have been a really tricky thing.
Trying to get my time between one and the other not really
Doing either. Yeah, that be a real task on
your brain. I think, like, trying to switch
gears for half a day, you know, and not just like before where
you're just fitting design in, but really, most of the time
tuned to your business. There are two bad company.
So, yeah, any other advice, you have for someone who's starting
out in the career, or something that you wish you had known.
Now that your two years in before you'd gotten started,
it's hard to know where to start.
There's so much research. You in so many things, but just
make a list and it in time for him and find your peer group.
Yeah, I think that's really important having that Community
who can support you as you're getting your feet wet, you know,
like, if you have a group of designers that you can call and
be like, hey, I need a art hanger or, you know, painter or
something like that. And that they're able to share
some sources with you that really helpful.
Yes, absolutely. Yeah.
There were a couple people I reached out to eat Even just for
that, they didn't have time to meet or anything, but I could
reach out like that and that was, that was really helpful and
some of the Facebook groups and everything else can too.
Yeah, I did like that book. I found it a little bit late for
me, but it's called dumb. Keep your day job by Kathy
Haller. So, I wish I'd found that a
little sooner. Do you find that interior design
is one of the more common or as a second career, it's pretty
common. But what I'm buying it is I
think the top two Is what I've heard anecdotally.
I haven't seen it on any real, you know, Wall Street Journal
job, survey or anything, but I've heard the talk to our
real-estate agent and interior designer for like, sitting
careers. Yeah, I know a lot of I mean,
obviously being in the industry, I know a lot of people who have
chosen interior design of the second group are also real
estate. Now that you mention it as has a
lot of pull for people, it is and you now it's a little more
flexible. You can find times to fit it in.
Obviously still have to do a lot of work, but I think it's
interesting for People like that.
Yeah, great. Well, we're can everybody.
Find your beautiful portfolio or reach out to you?
If they have any questions Facebook and Instagram and all
the places Andrea in a last name.
Spelled funny. Ari ORD am great and will
include that in the show notes so everybody can find it.
Okay. Well, thank you so much.
Yeah, thanks for coming on. It's great talking with you and
hearing your story. Thanks, good to see you too.
Bye. So as we heard from Andrea, it
is possible to go from one career to interior design.
And she told us how she transition.
She had was working 50. Plus hours a week, I heard a job
and still was able to launch her design company because of her, a
can-do attitude and I really admire that.
And she has some great advice that she mentioned in the
podcast and we will put her contact information in the show
notes, they can check Her out. And if you have questions for
her, you can reach out to her about how to transition.
If that's something you're looking to do yourself.
One of the recommendations she mentioned in the podcast was
Kathy Heller's, don't keep your day job, how to turn your
passion into your career, which is a book but Kathy also has a
podcast of that same name and I have listened to it myself and
it's very good. So shout out to fellow podcaster
Kathy Heller. You guys can go check her out as
well. So that's it for this week.
Stay In for another great episode in the design, curious
podcast. Next week, all the information
can be found on my website are award designed.com.
If there's a topic you like me to discuss in the podcast.
Go ahead and reach out to me and an email podcast at our war
design.com. And we will be back next week
with more information for you. Curious one.
On if interior design, is the career for you, thanks for
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