Welcome to our "Meet the Mom Monday" blog series. Here you'll be introduced to moms that have made the decision to start their own business and are excited to tell you about their journey and everything they've learned along the way!
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Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you support the Charlottesville community? Hello, everyone! I was so excited when Ashley reached out to me! I’m an interior designer and focus on remodels and renovations. We focus mainly on whole home design and renovation as well as full kitchen or bath remodels. My firm is full service which means I handle all aspects of design and project management on every CED project. I work with an AMAZING team of contractors, artisans, tradespeople, and vendors that I’ve built positive and productive working relationships with over the years. They allow me to deliver client projects that consistently progress on time and on budget. They allow me to create custom spaces that don’t look like anyone else’s home. I want my clients’ homes to be ecstatically them. I also offer cabinet painting as a stand alone service to clients. I absolutely adore my job and getting to work so intimately with local families to make their homes more functional and beautiful. If we want to support you and learn more about your business, how can we find you? I am on all social media channels @caseyevesdesign where you can find lots of project photos and pictures of my cute kids. My website is www.caseyevesdesign.com What inspired you to start your own business? Anyone that knows me personally would describe me as “in-charge”. I was never truly happy working for someone else and I always knew I wanted to start something of my own. Owning a business is challenging. I work more now than I ever have but I love that I’m in control of which projects I take on, who I work with, and the growth strategy for the business. It wasn’t until I had both of my children though that I decided to take the plunge. So I guess it was truly being a mom that made me realize I can do anything. What advice would you give to another mom looking to start her own business? My best advice is to start before you’re ready. If you wait until you feel like you know everything, it will never happen. You will make mistakes. You’ll learn along the way. And you’ll get better. You have to be confident but also have a beginner’s open mind. Other advice would be: 1. Make your first hire a bookkeeper 2. Cville is a word of mouth town. Give away your services to a few people in exchange for their positive reviews on google. 3. Learn to your website and social media strategically. There is no need to pay for print ads. 4. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. How do you manage home life and work life? I don’t! Honestly, I have an amazing wife, a nanny, and cleaning people (shout out to Smith Sisters Cleaning!!) I spend a ton of time with my kids, grocery shop and I cook dinner most nights. Other than that, my wife handles 99% of the home responsibilities including cleaning, homeschooling, paying bills, etc. She's not at all involved in the business but this allows me to keep a lean operation with very low overhead. I would like to make some strategic hires soon but I’m pretty happy with the way things are running right now. I do try to finish work every day by around 3 pm so that I get to maximize time with the kids after they finish pre-school and homeschool. It’s not always possible but having that as a goal allows me to structure my schedule. I also always say no to meeting in the evenings or weekends. I totally get that it can be more convenient for clients but I’m a business and I run on normal business hours. Most clients are able to be flexible and go into work late, take a lunch break, etc. to meet with me. Add “learn to say no” to the advice in the previous question! What are your top 3 must dos in the Charlottesville/surrounding area? 1. Wineries, obviously 2. We keep annual passes to Monticello 3. Eating delicious food What is your favorite Green Bean product and why? I’ve had an abundance of pregnant clients lately and I always buy them a pair of Kickee Pants zipper pajamas and a pair of the Snow and Arrow slippers. Tell us one of your favorite “mom hack"! Once your kid is 6ish, teach them to do their own laundry. It’s more work for you at first but will quickly take a load off your plate. They legit think it’s the coolest thing ever and I promise, if they can work an iPad, they can do their laundry. Share one of your family’s favorite recipes! When I was breastfeeding, all I wanted was chocolate chip cookies. I searched high and low for the recipe that was exactly what I was looking for: firm, but soft, sweet, but a little salty, and this is it, my friends: |
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