1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:05,320 Hello and welcome to Episode 4 of Design Curious Podcast. 2 00:00:05,800 --> 00:00:10,800 Today I have a wonderful interview with Suzanne Manlove 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:13,560 and you're going to love this conversation. 4 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:18,560 She was a graphic designer turned interior designer, and I 5 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:21,840 just loved her story a little bit about Suzanne. 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,320 She founded Man Love and company Interiors in 2007, so her 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,800 company's as old as my company. She founded on the heels of a 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,760 career in graphic design, and for the last 15 years she's 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:38,360 channeled her artistic vision and management background into 10 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:42,160 creating truly livable homes for inspired, accomplished 11 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,040 professionals. She loves the hunt for singular 12 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,440 pieces and finding new creative ways to infuse each client's 13 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:52,010 identity into their home. You can find Suzanne exploring 14 00:00:52,010 --> 00:00:56,250 new cities and art events with her husband Mark, finding her 15 00:00:56,250 --> 00:01:00,050 Zen at yoga and meditation workshops, and getting outside 16 00:01:00,050 --> 00:01:03,690 as much as possible. So grab some coffee and listen 17 00:01:03,690 --> 00:01:07,090 in as we have a great conversation with Suzanne. 18 00:01:11,930 --> 00:01:15,570 You're now listening to Design Curious, a place where you, 19 00:01:15,570 --> 00:01:19,510 Creative One, are here to learn about what it really is like to 20 00:01:19,510 --> 00:01:23,110 be an interior designer. And I'm your host and mentor, 21 00:01:23,230 --> 00:01:26,270 Rebecca Ward. If you're worried about how to 22 00:01:26,270 --> 00:01:30,310 succeed in a creative career, if you're ready to learn your next 23 00:01:30,310 --> 00:01:34,510 steps to become an interior designer, and if you want the 24 00:01:34,510 --> 00:01:38,550 satisfaction of doing something you love every day you are in 25 00:01:38,550 --> 00:01:41,750 the right place. Grab a coffee, a notebook, and 26 00:01:41,750 --> 00:01:47,090 let's dig into today's episode. Hey Suzanne, thank you for being 27 00:01:47,090 --> 00:01:49,570 on Design Curious Podcast. It's great to have you. 28 00:01:50,410 --> 00:01:51,570 Wow, Rebecca. I'm so. 29 00:01:51,570 --> 00:01:52,930 Excited to be here. Thank you. 30 00:01:53,050 --> 00:01:56,810 I'm honored and privileged to be a part of your inaugural 31 00:01:57,250 --> 00:02:01,290 conversations. Yeah, yeah, this is great, Okay. 32 00:02:01,290 --> 00:02:03,850 So I know you, but not everybody else. 33 00:02:03,850 --> 00:02:07,010 So why don't you tell us a little bit about who you are, 34 00:02:07,010 --> 00:02:09,930 where your firm is, the name of it all that. 35 00:02:10,289 --> 00:02:14,490 Okay, so my business is man, Love and company Interiors. 36 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:19,020 And we are based in Arlington, VA So we're right outside of 37 00:02:19,620 --> 00:02:23,780 Washington, DC So we service the DC metro area, so that's 38 00:02:23,980 --> 00:02:29,620 Virginia and Maryland and DC And we also do some luxury vacation 39 00:02:29,620 --> 00:02:33,380 homes on the Eastern Shore and also Virginia's Northern Neck. 40 00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:36,860 So you've got a vacation home? That would also be a great 41 00:02:36,860 --> 00:02:38,740 consideration for us. So we. 42 00:02:38,740 --> 00:02:43,020 Offer a luxury home design for inspired professionals and. 43 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:48,480 I started the business in 2007 out of my home when my daughter 44 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,720 was in preschool and now my daughter is in university. 45 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,000 So. Long time but it. 46 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,240 Really was a great way to be a professional person and have a 47 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,520 business but also be available for my family, so. 48 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,280 That was. The beginning of it, and now, 15 49 00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:11,090 years later. We have a staff. 50 00:03:11,130 --> 00:03:14,770 Of five people. And my husband Mark also joined 51 00:03:14,770 --> 00:03:18,130 the business about five years ago and he left his corporate 52 00:03:18,130 --> 00:03:23,210 job and is now helping me run the business and and he manages 53 00:03:23,650 --> 00:03:27,090 the operations side and also he has a marketing background. 54 00:03:27,090 --> 00:03:30,290 So he does all the marketing for for man love and company 55 00:03:30,290 --> 00:03:33,650 interiors. So it's really evolved a ton and 56 00:03:33,770 --> 00:03:35,570 is not really. Where I. 57 00:03:35,570 --> 00:03:38,450 Expected it to be 15 years. Later, you know when you start 58 00:03:38,450 --> 00:03:42,270 something, it's. Small and you're just trying to 59 00:03:42,270 --> 00:03:43,670 make it. Through the year and figure. 60 00:03:43,670 --> 00:03:46,590 Out what you're going to do next and and now here we have this 61 00:03:46,630 --> 00:03:50,550 beautiful business with this great team and we're really 62 00:03:50,550 --> 00:03:53,670 transforming people's homes and it's it's pretty incredible to 63 00:03:53,670 --> 00:03:55,750 see how it all has kind of come to pass. 64 00:03:56,310 --> 00:04:00,390 Wow, did you go to school for design and is that how you got 65 00:04:00,390 --> 00:04:03,620 into it? No, and that's why I thought I 66 00:04:03,620 --> 00:04:04,100 could. Be. 67 00:04:04,260 --> 00:04:07,340 Good for your audience. So. 68 00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:11,180 I have a degree. In graphic design, actually. 69 00:04:11,180 --> 00:04:16,260 So I had a career before this career and I was a ultimately I 70 00:04:16,260 --> 00:04:19,220 started out as a designer and I became a creative director and I 71 00:04:19,220 --> 00:04:23,700 had a corporate job and I was doing a lot of photo shoots and 72 00:04:23,860 --> 00:04:27,900 managing A-Team again, but it was more in graphics and print 73 00:04:27,940 --> 00:04:33,590 and digital marketing and then. When I had my second child, my 74 00:04:33,590 --> 00:04:36,950 daughter, so I have a son who's also at university right now. 75 00:04:36,950 --> 00:04:40,110 But when I had two kids, I realized I needed to kind of 76 00:04:40,790 --> 00:04:43,630 make a change so that I could be a little more available for 77 00:04:43,630 --> 00:04:46,590 them, because the corporate job was a lot. 78 00:04:47,270 --> 00:04:52,590 I tried a couple different things, and I tried teaching for 79 00:04:52,590 --> 00:04:56,590 a little while at the Corcoran and DC and I I taught graphic 80 00:04:56,590 --> 00:04:58,070 design. I got my real. 81 00:04:58,070 --> 00:05:04,560 Estate license and I. Worked with a brokerage and kind 82 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:06,200 of got my. Feet wet with that. 83 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:11,520 And realized that I really did not like all the paperwork and 84 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,520 all of the weekend showings and all that. 85 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,160 I thought it was going to be a little more flexible, but it 86 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:17,800 didn't really provide that for me. 87 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:22,880 But what I did really love with my real estate job was helping 88 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,040 the people get their homes ready to sell. 89 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,800 Yeah, I liked working with the clients, and I liked going into 90 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:32,880 their homes and figuring out how to make them look better. 91 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:37,000 And a friend of mine at the time, who had a lot of influence 92 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,040 on me was running a staging business. 93 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,600 And she was. Very successful in her business 94 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:46,600 in another state, and she recommended that I try a staging 95 00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:48,520 business because she knew I was trying to figure out like what 96 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,400 to do with myself because I knew I needed to. 97 00:05:51,110 --> 00:05:54,230 Start making some money and start running a business of some 98 00:05:54,390 --> 00:05:56,230 sort. But I didn't want to go and work 99 00:05:56,230 --> 00:05:57,870 for someone else anymore because I really wanted that 100 00:05:57,870 --> 00:06:01,470 flexibility. So I decided that I would become 101 00:06:02,070 --> 00:06:05,230 a stager and work with people who were selling their homes and 102 00:06:05,230 --> 00:06:06,750 getting them ready to put on the market. 103 00:06:07,230 --> 00:06:10,550 So I created Arlington Home Interiors, which. 104 00:06:10,550 --> 00:06:12,470 Worked pretty well. And I did a couple of those 105 00:06:12,470 --> 00:06:16,150 staging jobs and I I realized, gosh, I really don't want to be 106 00:06:16,270 --> 00:06:19,650 prepping homes. For them to be sold, I really 107 00:06:19,650 --> 00:06:22,370 would like to be working with people who want to stay in their 108 00:06:22,370 --> 00:06:24,410 homes because then it's a lot more personal. 109 00:06:24,410 --> 00:06:28,650 You know, staging is a great business, but it's more about 110 00:06:28,650 --> 00:06:33,730 kind of depersonalizing a home and also moving really quickly, 111 00:06:33,730 --> 00:06:36,730 spending as little money as possible for the biggest bang. 112 00:06:37,050 --> 00:06:41,530 So it's satisfying in some ways, but it's not really the 113 00:06:41,730 --> 00:06:46,090 lifestyle business that I wanted, so I just decided that I 114 00:06:46,090 --> 00:06:49,200 was going to be. A decorator and designer like 115 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:50,760 pretty much. OK, well I'm doing. 116 00:06:50,760 --> 00:06:53,880 Graphic design, I can do interiors, they're not that 117 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,720 different. I was doing 2D space and now I 118 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,920 can work in a 3D space and I will. 119 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:01,440 Figure. It out I will learn. 120 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:05,080 So that's after 16 years in like a corporate setting. 121 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,760 So I had a lot of project management skills. 122 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,080 I knew I worked really well with people and I loved meeting new 123 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:14,000 people. I knew that I could manage. 124 00:07:14,390 --> 00:07:18,830 A team, because I had been doing that for a long time, so I just 125 00:07:18,830 --> 00:07:20,350 kind of jumped in with both feet. 126 00:07:21,070 --> 00:07:23,390 Wow. And what I think so interesting 127 00:07:23,390 --> 00:07:27,110 about this industry, and a lot of my colleagues in this area is 128 00:07:27,110 --> 00:07:30,670 so many of them, so many of them did go to school and that's 129 00:07:30,670 --> 00:07:33,510 great that they had the foresight to do that when they 130 00:07:33,510 --> 00:07:39,230 were 18 or 22 or 32 or whenever they went back to school, but so 131 00:07:39,230 --> 00:07:41,750 many of them. Came from somewhere else. 132 00:07:42,350 --> 00:07:48,110 Came from PR or marketing or business management, like lots 133 00:07:48,110 --> 00:07:50,790 of different backgrounds. And then they started doing 134 00:07:50,790 --> 00:07:53,670 this, so it's not necessarily the smoothest. 135 00:07:53,710 --> 00:07:57,610 Path. Being a decorator, but it is. 136 00:07:57,730 --> 00:08:01,090 A path, yeah. And it worked for me. 137 00:08:01,330 --> 00:08:03,010 It definitely. You know you never. 138 00:08:03,010 --> 00:08:09,130 Know where you're gonna end up. They were good. 139 00:08:04,690 --> 00:08:07,130 But it was definitely the real estate path. 140 00:08:07,130 --> 00:08:10,650 And then the staging was a. Stepping stones for me to get to 141 00:08:10,650 --> 00:08:15,410 here, how was your mindset as you were launching into being 142 00:08:15,410 --> 00:08:18,890 interior decorator? But did you have confidence in 143 00:08:18,890 --> 00:08:22,490 your design abilities or I mean because he had graphic design so 144 00:08:22,490 --> 00:08:24,330 you knew you had an eye and all that. 145 00:08:24,330 --> 00:08:28,250 But as far as like getting the client and selling your design 146 00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:30,930 to them and having them spend all this money, did you have the 147 00:08:30,930 --> 00:08:33,409 confidence there when you jumped in with both feet? 148 00:08:33,970 --> 00:08:40,049 No, not necessarily. I think that it grew as I did 149 00:08:40,049 --> 00:08:43,169 more things, one of the things that I did. 150 00:08:43,370 --> 00:08:46,530 To. Help me with the pieces that I 151 00:08:46,530 --> 00:08:51,720 didn't know was I created a. Group of designers. 152 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:54,520 I met a lot of people and I love meeting new people and making 153 00:08:54,560 --> 00:08:56,680 friends. And it was really an exciting 154 00:08:56,680 --> 00:08:59,920 new time because it was a whole new career and let me learn all 155 00:08:59,920 --> 00:09:03,600 about furniture and go to the showrooms and go to the design 156 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,440 center parties and and really pick up as much as I could. 157 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:11,520 And I created a coffee. Group of designers to get 158 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,280 together and talk about work and talk about vendors and contracts 159 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,480 and how we were. Doing what we needed to do and 160 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:23,120 everybody that I invited it was somebody who had more experience 161 00:09:23,120 --> 00:09:26,320 than I did. So I was able to surround myself 162 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,760 with this wonderful group of ladies who would could really 163 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:34,480 support me in moving through learning of the business. 164 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:37,440 And and I think that was a that was a big piece of it was 165 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:42,280 creating the resources so that I had people to ask the questions 166 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,000 for and then I also. I hired a couple coaches. 167 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,240 Actually, the first coach I hired was more and I know you 168 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,520 are a coach. Advocate as well, so. 169 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:53,480 Understand where I'm coming from. 170 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,720 With this but the. First coach that I hired was 171 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,320 somebody to really help me transition my lifestyle from 172 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:02,720 being. I had been home for more than a 173 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:06,280 year as a stay at home mom and how to transition from that to a 174 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:09,760 business owner and what did that look like running it out of my 175 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:12,520 own home? So it was more life coaching. 176 00:10:13,670 --> 00:10:18,510 I'm looking at how do I manage my day and how do I get to sit 177 00:10:18,510 --> 00:10:20,790 at my desk in the morning instead of doing laundry and 178 00:10:20,790 --> 00:10:23,470 unloading the dishwasher. And like getting into the 179 00:10:23,470 --> 00:10:27,190 mindset of being a business owner, which I think really 180 00:10:27,390 --> 00:10:30,670 contributes a lot to your confidence with everything. 181 00:10:31,390 --> 00:10:33,310 So that was really, really helpful. 182 00:10:33,430 --> 00:10:36,110 To work through. Some of those barriers that I 183 00:10:36,110 --> 00:10:40,430 might have had and some of those ideas that I wasn't good enough 184 00:10:40,430 --> 00:10:43,270 or. Impostor syndrome, because I 185 00:10:43,510 --> 00:10:47,950 didn't have the degree and I think also just starting smaller 186 00:10:48,750 --> 00:10:52,790 and then building up and doing a little bit more every time. 187 00:10:53,310 --> 00:10:58,430 So the first few years I did a ton of color consults and I did 188 00:10:58,430 --> 00:11:02,990 a lot of like room in a day sort of projects where I would go. 189 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:06,480 To a client's home who needed help and I would spend 2 hours 190 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:09,280 and I would just download everything I could think of 191 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:10,320 that. They could do. 192 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,480 To improve their dining room and their family room and you know 193 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:19,800 draw sketches and look up things really quickly at pottery barns 194 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:24,120 website and like give them some tangible ideas that they could 195 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:29,120 then execute themselves moving furniture around so very much 196 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:32,520 like on the fly figure. It out as you go. 197 00:11:33,030 --> 00:11:37,470 But what I learned from that was that I already had so much more 198 00:11:37,470 --> 00:11:39,270 knowledge. Than. 199 00:11:39,510 --> 00:11:44,550 These people who hired me had so they were benefiting from the 200 00:11:44,550 --> 00:11:47,790 experience that I had and and from my ideas and so that gave 201 00:11:47,790 --> 00:11:51,310 me the confidence to build on that and then delve into like oh 202 00:11:51,310 --> 00:11:53,470 let me figure out window treatments and how am I going to 203 00:11:53,470 --> 00:11:56,470 do that. And then let me ask my friend 204 00:11:56,470 --> 00:12:00,190 who has a great workroom and maybe I can start working with 205 00:12:00,190 --> 00:12:02,390 her workroom and they can teach me some things and. 206 00:12:02,760 --> 00:12:06,120 You know, it just really builds on top of the other pieces and 207 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:10,040 it's just kind of foundational and before you know it you're 208 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,920 doing whole houses. So it just. 209 00:12:12,760 --> 00:12:15,560 It takes time but. I've been doing this for 15 210 00:12:15,560 --> 00:12:18,240 years now, so it's a. Long path. 211 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,160 But there's been growth every year for sure. 212 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,000 Yeah, wow. Yeah, that's really incredible. 213 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:29,490 And I think actually whether you have the degree or not, you 214 00:12:29,490 --> 00:12:32,490 still face that imposter syndrome like you're starting 215 00:12:32,490 --> 00:12:35,490 out like can I call myself a designer even though I have a 216 00:12:35,490 --> 00:12:37,930 degree in it? Everybody faced that. 217 00:12:37,930 --> 00:12:41,130 But I think it was really smart of you to get that lifestyle 218 00:12:41,130 --> 00:12:45,690 mindset, coaching early on so that you can have the right 219 00:12:45,690 --> 00:12:49,010 attitude, like I can do attitude to learn the things that you 220 00:12:49,010 --> 00:12:50,970 didn't know. Absolutely. 221 00:12:51,090 --> 00:12:53,050 I. Do think mindset is such a big 222 00:12:53,090 --> 00:12:56,350 piece of it and. That's a lot of the things that 223 00:12:56,350 --> 00:13:00,430 we even explore today when we go to retreats together and we work 224 00:13:00,430 --> 00:13:04,150 with coaches. It's all about what you believe. 225 00:13:04,150 --> 00:13:06,430 You can do. And then of course also 226 00:13:06,430 --> 00:13:10,270 following through on it and doing an excellent job bringing 227 00:13:10,270 --> 00:13:13,830 in the right people and and you know following through on on 228 00:13:13,830 --> 00:13:16,510 being successful and what your commitment is, but. 229 00:13:16,930 --> 00:13:20,570 I think that you have to have the mindset first, yeah, to get. 230 00:13:21,050 --> 00:13:24,330 And that's where I feel like the coaching piece has been a really 231 00:13:24,370 --> 00:13:27,330 integral part of my growth personally. 232 00:13:27,970 --> 00:13:30,930 So definitely would recommend that for anyone who's kind of 233 00:13:30,930 --> 00:13:33,250 trying to figure out what to do with else. 234 00:13:33,650 --> 00:13:34,410 Yeah. And. 235 00:13:34,530 --> 00:13:37,970 And another interesting aspect you have is that your husband is 236 00:13:37,970 --> 00:13:43,330 a part of your company now and does he also have a like are you 237 00:13:43,330 --> 00:13:46,290 the visionary for your company or does he also want to kind of 238 00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:51,620 grow it and see where it can go? It's definitely a collaborative 239 00:13:51,940 --> 00:13:53,820 effort to. To. 240 00:13:54,100 --> 00:13:59,260 Plan every year we get together and actually plan like an off 241 00:13:59,260 --> 00:14:02,500 site where the two of us will go somewhere and work on the 242 00:14:02,500 --> 00:14:04,950 business. And of course explore wherever 243 00:14:04,950 --> 00:14:08,230 we are that's beautiful and go on nice meals and things like 244 00:14:08,230 --> 00:14:10,270 that. But we we set our goals for the 245 00:14:10,270 --> 00:14:13,470 year and then we have business meetings where we revisit those 246 00:14:13,470 --> 00:14:17,350 goals throughout the year to see how we're doing against them. 247 00:14:17,750 --> 00:14:23,070 I would say I'm more of the dreamer of the couple and he's 248 00:14:23,070 --> 00:14:28,550 more the the practical planner. And so there's a good. 249 00:14:29,070 --> 00:14:31,110 Kind of yin Yang compliment there. 250 00:14:31,390 --> 00:14:35,110 To get the work done. So I'm always pushing for more 251 00:14:35,430 --> 00:14:39,430 like well what we did this and let's try this and and he's more 252 00:14:39,430 --> 00:14:43,190 the reality and also because he's more managing, I mean we 253 00:14:43,190 --> 00:14:46,110 manage the funds together, but he's really looking at the 254 00:14:46,110 --> 00:14:50,070 budget all the time and and doing all the accounting. 255 00:14:50,510 --> 00:14:53,470 There's a good balance there too on like what's realistic and 256 00:14:54,150 --> 00:14:57,670 what can we set a goal for, for the future or for six months 257 00:14:57,670 --> 00:14:59,880 from now? So yeah, it's it's definitely 258 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,200 joint. Yeah, I'm sure 15 years ago he 259 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:05,480 didn't envision himself working at interior design firm. 260 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,520 No, no. And then I was looking more I 261 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:14,000 think to my peers and the business stuff and the planning 262 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:17,800 cuz he had his own business and career that he was working on. 263 00:15:18,580 --> 00:15:20,780 You know, we'd get together at the end of the day and talk 264 00:15:20,780 --> 00:15:23,540 about what was going on kind of more like that, but not as much 265 00:15:23,540 --> 00:15:25,620 in the way that we would do it now, right? 266 00:15:25,900 --> 00:15:28,900 Yeah, He has an inside look at everything. 267 00:15:29,420 --> 00:15:31,620 Yes, yes. But we work pretty 268 00:15:31,620 --> 00:15:34,260 independently. I think that especially with 269 00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:37,260 being with somebody that's married to, it's really good to 270 00:15:37,260 --> 00:15:41,100 each kind of have your own track on what you're doing so that 271 00:15:41,380 --> 00:15:43,100 it's we're not together constantly. 272 00:15:43,140 --> 00:15:46,020 Like, he's in his office, not mine, and it works out really 273 00:15:46,020 --> 00:15:49,670 well. So when you go to hire designers 274 00:15:49,670 --> 00:15:54,070 now for your own firm, are you looking for them to have degrees 275 00:15:54,070 --> 00:15:57,230 in design or because you don't have one yourself? 276 00:15:57,230 --> 00:15:59,790 Are you more open to seeing the possibilities? 277 00:15:59,790 --> 00:16:03,350 Or as a as a businessman, how do you, what's your perspective on 278 00:16:03,350 --> 00:16:06,230 that? That is a really fascinating 279 00:16:06,230 --> 00:16:09,830 question. We did just hire somebody who 280 00:16:09,830 --> 00:16:11,510 has a degree. Yeah. 281 00:16:12,470 --> 00:16:14,590 And then our other designer also has a degree. 282 00:16:16,030 --> 00:16:17,790 I think that it would really depend. 283 00:16:17,790 --> 00:16:22,990 I think in the case of me coming from another industry, I was the 284 00:16:23,030 --> 00:16:26,150 only one. So I was figuring out as I moved 285 00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:29,350 along and grew. I think for like hiring a 286 00:16:29,350 --> 00:16:33,230 designer, it was important to us to have somebody who had design 287 00:16:33,230 --> 00:16:35,590 experience. So it was not critical that they 288 00:16:35,590 --> 00:16:37,830 had a degree, but it was critical. 289 00:16:37,830 --> 00:16:41,230 That they had experience and that they had been in an office 290 00:16:41,230 --> 00:16:43,950 performing the duties that we wanted them to perform. 291 00:16:44,330 --> 00:16:48,370 That they could come in and be ready to go and yes, learn about 292 00:16:48,370 --> 00:16:51,970 our process and our ways, but not I'm not going to train them 293 00:16:51,970 --> 00:16:55,210 how to do interior design. So I think that that was 294 00:16:55,210 --> 00:16:59,450 important, but that experience could have come from another job 295 00:16:59,450 --> 00:17:02,770 that then turned into a design job at another place and then 296 00:17:02,810 --> 00:17:06,730 they came to me, But you know, definitely we were hiring for a 297 00:17:06,730 --> 00:17:11,609 more senior level. We needed that time already in 298 00:17:11,609 --> 00:17:14,450 place. But I definitely would be open 299 00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:19,210 to bring on somebody like we hired an operations assistant. 300 00:17:19,290 --> 00:17:21,450 Who? Didn't work an interior design 301 00:17:21,450 --> 00:17:23,369 firm before. And. 302 00:17:23,490 --> 00:17:27,210 Have a degree in that, but she's doing a lot of different support 303 00:17:27,210 --> 00:17:31,610 roles for us, including doing all of our our CAD drawings. 304 00:17:32,490 --> 00:17:35,450 She came from a different entity, but she's a great hire. 305 00:17:35,450 --> 00:17:39,250 We're thrilled to have her. So it just kind of depends on. 306 00:17:39,780 --> 00:17:42,940 How people fit and and what the job description is really, 307 00:17:42,980 --> 00:17:44,940 whether right. If it's a senior job, then they 308 00:17:44,940 --> 00:17:47,020 would need that time, right? Right. 309 00:17:47,020 --> 00:17:48,060 For sure. Yeah. 310 00:17:48,060 --> 00:17:50,620 It's just interesting. I wanted to get your take on it 311 00:17:50,620 --> 00:17:54,940 because some of the people that I mentor, they are, you know, 312 00:17:54,940 --> 00:17:56,740 they've already gone to college and they don't necessarily want 313 00:17:56,740 --> 00:17:58,980 to go back to school to get their design degree. 314 00:17:58,980 --> 00:18:02,060 So they're trying to figure out how they can work for a designer 315 00:18:02,060 --> 00:18:06,800 without having that degree or, you know, maybe necessarily the 316 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,000 experience. So often they'll start as an 317 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,320 intern or an assistant or something like that and work 318 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,840 their way up. But, and I suppose that could 319 00:18:14,840 --> 00:18:19,000 happen in your firm as well. Absolutely, and I think that 320 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,680 there may be some tools that they would need to learn. 321 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:25,480 To really? Ultimately do the design 322 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:27,080 position like learn? CAD. 323 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:28,880 Yeah. But those are. 324 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,400 All trainable. So if you. 325 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,100 If you have a desire, you can. Figure it out. 326 00:18:34,100 --> 00:18:36,260 You can learn it. You could do classes at night. 327 00:18:36,260 --> 00:18:38,260 You know, it's there's definitely a lot of different 328 00:18:38,260 --> 00:18:42,500 ways to get those skills. And I think the Handson piece is 329 00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:45,340 so important. We have an intern right now who 330 00:18:45,340 --> 00:18:49,340 just graduated with her inter design degree from VCU. 331 00:18:49,660 --> 00:18:53,460 She's in our office doing all the things we need her to do and 332 00:18:53,460 --> 00:18:56,700 it's going to give her a really good sense of what her next step 333 00:18:56,700 --> 00:18:59,620 might be, whether she wants to do residential or commercial. 334 00:19:00,590 --> 00:19:03,870 She helps us with presentation, She helps us with CAD. 335 00:19:13,590 --> 00:19:16,510 Filing like, it's just every single thing you could ever 336 00:19:16,510 --> 00:19:19,950 imagine, but that's really a great way to get your feet wet 337 00:19:19,950 --> 00:19:22,790 and see what it feels like to even be in that environment. 338 00:19:04,270 --> 00:19:07,750 She also has organized our storeroom and all of our samples 339 00:19:08,150 --> 00:19:11,030 and she's going to run to the stores and pick up some 340 00:19:11,030 --> 00:19:24,860 accessories for us later this. And I think that that's a good 341 00:19:24,860 --> 00:19:27,220 stepping stone for the next thing because now she can say 342 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,180 I've had this experience with Man Love and Company Interiors 343 00:19:30,180 --> 00:19:34,180 and I'll write a nice referral letter for her and that's going 344 00:19:34,180 --> 00:19:37,820 to be a great piece for her. So I think that it's definitely 345 00:19:38,300 --> 00:19:40,500 an important step. I think is just getting in the 346 00:19:40,500 --> 00:19:42,980 environment. Yeah, for sure. 347 00:19:43,220 --> 00:19:45,980 What would you say it was the most challenging part of the 348 00:19:45,980 --> 00:19:49,260 career for you as you were learning your way through it? 349 00:19:49,660 --> 00:19:53,140 Good. I think the confidence piece is 350 00:19:53,260 --> 00:19:57,940 always in the background when you're moving up to the next 351 00:19:57,940 --> 00:20:02,260 level, because I'm always trying to grow and learn more and 352 00:20:02,260 --> 00:20:06,540 stretch myself. And so there's sometimes things 353 00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:10,900 I'm doing that I've not done before or it's a home that's 354 00:20:10,940 --> 00:20:14,620 bigger than we've ever touched before or we're working with 355 00:20:15,020 --> 00:20:18,460 some unique design need that it's like, well, that's 356 00:20:18,460 --> 00:20:19,500 interesting. I've never. 357 00:20:19,870 --> 00:20:22,150 Actually done this. Let me figure out how we're 358 00:20:22,150 --> 00:20:26,710 going to do it and so. You have to really believe that 359 00:20:26,870 --> 00:20:31,430 you have good systems in place and good support and that you 360 00:20:31,430 --> 00:20:34,110 can achieve it. So there's always that 361 00:20:34,110 --> 00:20:36,830 confidence thing in the background and I definitely have 362 00:20:36,830 --> 00:20:40,470 grown a ton in that arena and I feel, I feel very confident now. 363 00:20:40,470 --> 00:20:42,430 But it's always. I don't know. 364 00:20:42,430 --> 00:20:44,270 I think that's always lingering in the background. 365 00:20:44,270 --> 00:20:47,590 And that's why I like coaching a lot, because it helps me get 366 00:20:47,590 --> 00:20:52,660 through the hurdles. I think another piece that is 367 00:20:52,660 --> 00:20:55,700 challenging and I know in talking to my colleagues that 368 00:20:55,740 --> 00:20:58,140 this comes up for everybody is just really managing clients 369 00:20:58,140 --> 00:21:03,500 expectations and talking to them right now about how it may be a. 370 00:21:03,500 --> 00:21:08,460 Year from beginning to end of the furniture actually arriving 371 00:21:09,180 --> 00:21:12,300 whereas before it might have been six months and just kind of 372 00:21:12,300 --> 00:21:16,300 set up what to expect from us and our organization and how 373 00:21:16,300 --> 00:21:17,820 we're going to build and all of that. 374 00:21:18,060 --> 00:21:22,060 I think that is a part that we are constantly improving and 375 00:21:22,340 --> 00:21:24,300 working on. How are we going to communicate 376 00:21:24,300 --> 00:21:28,700 this and what's in our script and what's our messaging and and 377 00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:32,060 just being consistent with that. I think that's another one, But 378 00:21:32,060 --> 00:21:35,020 that we've learned a lot and we've grown a lot, and it's 379 00:21:35,300 --> 00:21:40,580 really satisfying to listen to a podcast about design or read a 380 00:21:40,580 --> 00:21:44,220 book or something and be able to check off the boxes and say, OK, 381 00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:46,220 we do that now, OK, we've got that figured. 382 00:21:46,220 --> 00:21:50,660 Out, whereas maybe five years ago we weren't doing like weekly 383 00:21:50,660 --> 00:21:53,020 reports and now we do weekly reports to our clients. 384 00:21:53,020 --> 00:21:54,900 And so there's there's a lot of growth. 385 00:21:55,220 --> 00:21:59,140 I think the human tendency is to look at what we're lacking and 386 00:21:59,140 --> 00:22:03,500 not to look at how we've grown. So I try to stop and recognize 387 00:22:03,820 --> 00:22:07,240 the development there too, so that it's not just like how can 388 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:12,840 we do better or we're too small or whatever about the growth 389 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,040 piece. And surrounding yourself with 390 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:19,080 people. You, Rebecca, Who are also 391 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:23,200 growing and reaching and silly stretching is really satisfying 392 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:26,400 and and that's another thing that I like to do, is to be with 393 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:29,560 other, you know, female entrepreneurs who are really 394 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,600 pushing themselves and that I feel like I'm with my people and 395 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,620 so I don't feel uncomfortable. Right. 396 00:22:36,940 --> 00:22:40,180 Yeah, I'm, I'm so such a collaborative person that I'm 397 00:22:40,180 --> 00:22:43,540 like bring you know we all work with individual firms. 398 00:22:43,540 --> 00:22:46,860 It's like we all are kind of in this together, you know like 399 00:22:46,900 --> 00:22:50,100 yes, the rising tide, you know with all the boats. 400 00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:54,660 So it's just a great, great advice to reach out to those 401 00:22:54,660 --> 00:22:59,620 that are around you are like minded and try to really connect 402 00:22:59,620 --> 00:23:03,180 with them and you'll be growing together side by side. 403 00:23:03,580 --> 00:23:07,780 Yes, yes. And so like local organizations 404 00:23:07,780 --> 00:23:12,300 and coaching groups and things like that is a great place to 405 00:23:12,460 --> 00:23:15,180 find that sort of support. That's really that was like an 406 00:23:15,180 --> 00:23:18,140 intentional thing that I've been doing the last few years is 407 00:23:18,140 --> 00:23:21,660 finding more business owners like myself to connect with. 408 00:23:21,700 --> 00:23:24,550 So that. I can have people who stretch me 409 00:23:24,550 --> 00:23:28,110 more and then like if I see you doing something then I think, Oh 410 00:23:28,110 --> 00:23:30,910 well, I can try that too because she did it and it worked out for 411 00:23:30,910 --> 00:23:33,430 her or she's charging that out so I can check that amount. 412 00:23:33,870 --> 00:23:38,070 And it's not a competition. It's more just like believing it 413 00:23:38,070 --> 00:23:40,550 and seeing it. That really helps me, right? 414 00:23:40,550 --> 00:23:42,790 And I like that collaboration for sure. 415 00:23:42,870 --> 00:23:45,750 Yeah. I think that is a shift from 416 00:23:45,750 --> 00:23:49,390 when we started even like 15 years ago that designers are 417 00:23:49,390 --> 00:23:52,250 willing to. Share all that information with 418 00:23:52,250 --> 00:23:54,610 each other, what they're charging, cuz I I feel like 419 00:23:54,610 --> 00:23:58,530 before a lot of designers would just have their blinders on and 420 00:23:58,530 --> 00:24:02,010 just work in their own space and this is what I do. 421 00:24:02,010 --> 00:24:04,610 This is how I work with clients. But not comparing at all what 422 00:24:04,610 --> 00:24:07,450 they're doing with other designers around them, no. 423 00:24:07,450 --> 00:24:10,770 And I feel like some of that may have changed, even with social 424 00:24:10,770 --> 00:24:14,810 media and podcasts, cuz I know so many of us are listening to 425 00:24:14,810 --> 00:24:19,250 the same podcasts and they're talking about all these things 426 00:24:19,250 --> 00:24:21,530 and how to run a business and pricing. 427 00:24:21,530 --> 00:24:24,250 And then you bring in somebody and you ask them questions and 428 00:24:24,250 --> 00:24:26,570 you like I'll hear something on a podcast. 429 00:24:26,570 --> 00:24:28,970 And I'll think, oh, I'm going to try that with my business 430 00:24:28,970 --> 00:24:31,690 because this person did it and it was successful for them. 431 00:24:31,690 --> 00:24:36,170 So there's an openness there that didn't exist before 432 00:24:36,170 --> 00:24:38,490 because. I think we just know it was out 433 00:24:38,490 --> 00:24:41,290 there. It was not those environments to 434 00:24:41,290 --> 00:24:44,490 share that information. So that's not to say there's 435 00:24:44,490 --> 00:24:48,020 probably still some designers that are more quiet or closed 436 00:24:48,020 --> 00:24:50,420 about the way that they work. Yeah. 437 00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:54,940 But I feel like there have been so many people in in in the DC 438 00:24:54,940 --> 00:24:56,420 area that I really connected with. 439 00:24:56,860 --> 00:24:59,620 It's been really great. Going back to your story, I 440 00:24:59,620 --> 00:25:03,820 thought something about how you know you were in graphic design 441 00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:07,540 and then you eventually transition to interiors because 442 00:25:07,540 --> 00:25:11,860 you're looking for that flexibility as a mother and 443 00:25:12,340 --> 00:25:15,100 working out of your home and things like that, did it not? 444 00:25:15,540 --> 00:25:19,540 Appeal to you to start a like an independent graphic design 445 00:25:19,540 --> 00:25:24,420 company that would maybe have also afforded that flexibility. 446 00:25:24,820 --> 00:25:28,860 I had done graphics for about 16 years and I had really moved 447 00:25:28,860 --> 00:25:34,020 into management, so I was more the vision again and the art 448 00:25:34,020 --> 00:25:37,420 direction, but I wasn't actually implementing myself. 449 00:25:37,420 --> 00:25:41,220 Anymore, I was not sitting at the computer and in design and 450 00:25:41,220 --> 00:25:45,180 like laying out things. I was working with the client 451 00:25:45,860 --> 00:25:48,860 and then bringing it back to my team and saying okay, this is 452 00:25:48,860 --> 00:25:50,380 the plan, this is what we're going to do. 453 00:25:50,780 --> 00:25:53,380 And. That's basically what I do now. 454 00:25:53,380 --> 00:25:57,540 I go out and I I get the work and I meet with clients and I 455 00:25:57,980 --> 00:26:01,580 get really excited about the potential of the transformation 456 00:26:01,580 --> 00:26:04,860 and I learn more about their lifestyle and their collections 457 00:26:04,860 --> 00:26:07,980 and and what they do with their families and their vacations and 458 00:26:07,980 --> 00:26:10,780 all of that. And then I'm able to translate 459 00:26:10,780 --> 00:26:14,830 that into the space and so I work with my. 460 00:26:14,830 --> 00:26:18,150 Team to kind of make all their dreams come true in that 461 00:26:18,150 --> 00:26:22,710 respect. So it's a similar role, but just 462 00:26:22,710 --> 00:26:25,590 in a different medium. Right. 463 00:26:25,870 --> 00:26:28,990 And also you have the autonomy as the business owner. 464 00:26:28,990 --> 00:26:31,510 Take time off for your kids when you want to. 465 00:26:32,350 --> 00:26:34,430 Yes, yes. And things have changed. 466 00:26:34,430 --> 00:26:36,750 Of course the kids have grown and they're at school now and 467 00:26:36,750 --> 00:26:39,150 Mark and I have time to really dedicate to the business. 468 00:26:39,150 --> 00:26:42,070 So it's we're entering a different phase of our lives 469 00:26:42,070 --> 00:26:44,630 right now where we're entering nesters for the first time and 470 00:26:44,630 --> 00:26:50,030 we're figuring out how to work hard and be successful and also 471 00:26:50,030 --> 00:26:54,910 how to take the time off when we want to to go and rest and play. 472 00:26:55,230 --> 00:27:00,110 The nice thing about interiors is that you can go somewhere and 473 00:27:00,390 --> 00:27:03,320 it can still be a your work when you're looking at a beautiful 474 00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:08,200 hotel or you're traveling and you're seeing amazing arts and 475 00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,000 architecture and buildings. And I think that that is 476 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,960 actually really important part of our work to get that 477 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,600 stimulation and that exposure because then we can take that 478 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,080 and bring that back into our work. 479 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,920 So travel and going pretty places and all of that is 480 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,000 actually really important I think, so that we don't get 481 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,450 stagnant and stale. Yeah, for sure. 482 00:27:29,450 --> 00:27:32,810 Travel is always inspiring to me Like like, oh, I never thought 483 00:27:32,810 --> 00:27:36,330 about this or you know, just exposes you to so much more that 484 00:27:36,330 --> 00:27:38,530 you can then bring it back. Because how many times have we 485 00:27:38,530 --> 00:27:40,770 had clients who also have been traveling? 486 00:27:40,770 --> 00:27:43,730 And they're like I stayed in this hotel and I saw this light 487 00:27:43,730 --> 00:27:47,050 fixture and you know I'd love to have that in my house type of a 488 00:27:47,090 --> 00:27:49,050 thing. So absolutely. 489 00:27:55,570 --> 00:27:50,250 For sure. So yeah, that's a nice it's, 490 00:27:50,290 --> 00:27:52,370 it's not an excuse. It actually really helps the 491 00:27:52,370 --> 00:27:54,970 business to be able to get out there and see other beautiful. 492 00:27:56,610 --> 00:27:58,750 So I. Feel like there was in some ways 493 00:27:58,750 --> 00:28:01,670 the translation in role from graphics. 494 00:28:01,950 --> 00:28:06,670 To interiors wasn't that difficult for me in terms of my 495 00:28:06,670 --> 00:28:09,550 skill set. It was more about learning the 496 00:28:09,550 --> 00:28:11,670 furniture industry and the trades. 497 00:28:11,670 --> 00:28:14,870 And learning like window treatments and window treatments 498 00:28:15,270 --> 00:28:17,190 were challenging in the beginning because I had never 499 00:28:17,190 --> 00:28:21,200 done anything like that before. But I'm really good at calling 500 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,280 on experts to help me. And so if you have somebody who 501 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,920 does really good windows, those, that's the person you call. 502 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,360 And then you find a really good tile person and a great general 503 00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,960 contractor. And then your job becomes so 504 00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:36,720 much easier because you can trust and believe in the people 505 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,720 that you're hiring to work with you and do a great job. 506 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:42,400 Right. Do you have any other advice 507 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:45,120 you'd like to give someone starting out in interior design? 508 00:28:45,570 --> 00:28:51,250 Yeah, you don't have. To have like a design degree so. 509 00:28:51,650 --> 00:28:54,890 I think figuring out how to transition into it is more of 510 00:28:54,890 --> 00:28:57,730 the the approach and like what's the best way. 511 00:28:57,730 --> 00:29:00,930 But I think that you definitely don't have to have that and and 512 00:29:00,930 --> 00:29:02,930 I think that you you don't have to know. 513 00:29:03,290 --> 00:29:06,970 Everything like I was talking about calling on your experts to 514 00:29:06,970 --> 00:29:10,690 help you I feel. Like people feel like they have 515 00:29:10,690 --> 00:29:14,410 to have everything all figured out and you can give yourself 516 00:29:14,450 --> 00:29:18,890 the time and grace to learn things if you have people that 517 00:29:19,010 --> 00:29:22,090 you can lean on to support you. So you're not going to know 518 00:29:22,090 --> 00:29:24,370 everything on the first day. And I didn't know everything at 519 00:29:24,370 --> 00:29:28,050 all at all on the first day. But there's, you know, baby. 520 00:29:28,050 --> 00:29:31,330 Steps like the doing the paint consults first, because I felt 521 00:29:31,330 --> 00:29:34,050 confident with that and getting to know people and getting to 522 00:29:34,050 --> 00:29:36,090 know their homes and they're just building slowly. 523 00:29:36,370 --> 00:29:40,090 So I think that we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have it 524 00:29:40,090 --> 00:29:41,810 all figured out in the beginning and. 525 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:45,240 Especially people who are drawn to this field, we tend to be a 526 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,360 little more perfectionistic and we want it to be perfect in the 527 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:52,040 beginning, but there's just stages and it's it's gradual. 528 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:56,280 So you're not going to just snap your fingers and be doing a 6000 529 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,240 square foot house, but give it time and. 530 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,800 You will grow and learn and every year can be better than 531 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:05,880 the year before and that's how it worked for me and I do 532 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:07,440 believe in coaching. I think that's a. 533 00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:12,670 Big part of kind of fast tracking your experiences so 534 00:30:12,670 --> 00:30:17,470 that you're not having to learn everything from the ground up. 535 00:30:17,710 --> 00:30:20,950 There's a lot of people out there who are willing to share 536 00:30:20,950 --> 00:30:25,310 their experience with you and help you get to the solution a 537 00:30:25,310 --> 00:30:27,510 lot faster. And I think coaching 538 00:30:27,510 --> 00:30:30,270 specifically and interior design can really help you with that. 539 00:30:30,630 --> 00:30:32,870 And then it also really helps you with the mindset, which I 540 00:30:32,870 --> 00:30:37,060 think is kind of the key to like succeeding in anything is the 541 00:30:37,060 --> 00:30:38,740 right mindset. For sure. 542 00:30:38,940 --> 00:30:41,420 For sure. So that was like 4 things. 543 00:30:41,460 --> 00:30:46,300 Yeah, that's great. I have a lot to say. 544 00:30:46,820 --> 00:30:48,220 That's great. Is there anything else that you 545 00:30:48,220 --> 00:30:49,980 wanted to touch on before we wrap? 546 00:30:51,220 --> 00:30:54,780 No, I think I kind of covered the big moments. 547 00:30:55,620 --> 00:30:58,780 I definitely would invite your audience to come and check out 548 00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:05,900 our website if they want to at manloveandcove.com it's MANL. 549 00:31:05,900 --> 00:31:10,900 OVE and if you hear this and have any questions or anything, 550 00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:13,860 I'd be happy to respond. So you can just send a note 551 00:31:13,860 --> 00:31:17,100 through the website. And we'd love to hear about 552 00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:20,860 different people who are trying out this field and and you know 553 00:31:21,060 --> 00:31:23,260 what they they have any questions about, you know, what 554 00:31:23,260 --> 00:31:26,700 we're doing or any of that stuff, I'd be happy to respond. 555 00:31:27,180 --> 00:31:29,020 And can they find you on Instagram too? 556 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,600 Yes, manloveandcompany.com for sure. 557 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,480 That would be great too to check it out. 558 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,400 Yeah, I always like to look up people after I hear them talk. 559 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,960 So that I can learn more about their business. 560 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,040 So yeah, you're welcome. We would love that. 561 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,480 Yeah. And we'll include those links in 562 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:47,440 the show notes as well, so everybody can find that easily 563 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:52,000 if they're driving right now and yeah. 564 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:55,520 Well, thank you so much. Just wonderful talking to and 565 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:57,360 hearing your story. I actually didn't know that you 566 00:31:57,360 --> 00:31:59,160 were a graphic designer first, so. 567 00:31:59,710 --> 00:32:01,510 That's great. I went a lot today. 568 00:32:02,150 --> 00:32:03,390 Oh good. I'm so glad. 569 00:32:03,390 --> 00:32:06,670 It was really fun. Rebecca and I wish you the most 570 00:32:06,670 --> 00:32:08,630 success in this. I think it's going to be awesome 571 00:32:08,630 --> 00:32:13,230 and I'm going to add you to my. Podcast playlist so we can geek 572 00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:14,750 out on all the podcasts together. 573 00:32:14,950 --> 00:32:16,710 Awesome. Thanks so much. 574 00:32:16,710 --> 00:32:18,310 Yeah, that'll be great. Well, thank you. 575 00:32:18,870 --> 00:32:20,150 All right. Bye. 576 00:32:20,230 --> 00:32:30,340 Bye. So wasn't that great? 577 00:32:30,460 --> 00:32:32,700 I just loved talking with Suzanne. 578 00:32:33,420 --> 00:32:36,620 She and I have been friends for several years, and it's always 579 00:32:36,620 --> 00:32:40,740 so fun to catch up with her. She's an inspiration to me in 580 00:32:40,940 --> 00:32:45,900 her desire to improve her business and grow, and it's fun 581 00:32:45,900 --> 00:32:49,660 to have a colleague who's on the same path with you, and Suzanne 582 00:32:49,660 --> 00:32:52,020 is like that for me. So I hope you enjoyed the 583 00:32:52,020 --> 00:32:53,980 conversation with her as much as I did. 584 00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:57,800 Again, if you want to check out her company, Man Love and Co, 585 00:32:57,800 --> 00:33:01,200 you can find all the links in the show notes and that will be 586 00:33:01,200 --> 00:33:05,680 on my website rwarddesign.com and I'll see you next week. 587 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,600 Thanks for listening. If you love this episode, please 588 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,360 leave a rating and a review. This helps me reach other 589 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:17,120 curious creatives like you. If you have a topic request or 590 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,400 would like to contact me, simply head over to my website 591 00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:26,780 rwarddesign.com or e-mail me. At podcast at R wardesign com.