We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Katie Davis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Katie below.
Katie, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
It took a long while, I can’t lie! I actually don’t have a degree in Interior Design – I went to school for something else and then had a career pivot later in life. For that reason, I always had the “I’m an imposter” thought in the back of my mind.
I was confident in my work, and truly believed the quality and skill level was there. But where the imposter syndrome really took over was when I spoke about myself and my work to others. The imposter syndrome made me feel like I had to downplay what I was doing, constantly using phrases like “it’s no big deal, just a side thing” and “it’s just for fun, nothing serious.” Even when I was working 7 days a week in over my head, and grew my business to 6 figures, I STILL felt the need to tell people it was “just a side thing.” All because I didn’t have a degree?! Crazy!
I eventually had to overcome this – and I did that by really trusting Client feedback. I had to constantly remind myself that if this many people continually WANT to work with me, WANT to pay me for these services, and continue to have excellent experiences and are beyond happy with their finished product…. surely I’m doing something right. Surely this is where I’m meant to be and what I’m meant to be doing. When those “imposter” thoughts creep in (and they still do!) I have to remind myself that my work speaks for itself, and just because this is not the career I THOUGHT I would have, that doesn’t make it less legitimate or real.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I own a NYC-based interior design company called Spruce. We take on a huge array of project sizes – everything from suburban new builds to pilates studios to small studio rental apartments! We love the variety, and really enjoy how vastly different each of our projects can be, but I think our true “bread and butter” are the smaller spaces. We really specialize in helping New Yorkers navigate those tough “small space living” quirks and make the most of their space.
Interior Design, in the past, has remained a very exclusive, luxury service and most firms will only take on very large scope projects with massive budgets. I first got into this because I truly believe that everyone deserves to have a home their proud of, and that brings them peace – but I know not everyone has the time (or patience) to make that happen!
Most New Yorkers live a fast-paced, busy lifestyle and it’s so important that their home serves them – both functionally and as a safe haven where they can recharge. I always say “life and work are stressful enough, your home shouldn’t stress you out on top of that.”
I think Spruce really took off because we serve ALL types of clients, with all types of budgets. We just.. make it work. No matter how small or temporary your space may be, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice style or function. After I started Spruce, I quickly realized there really isn’t a market for affordable, smaller scale interior design – especially in Manhattan. It felt like it was either top dollar firms, or nothing. Our mission at Spruce is to make high-end interior design accessible to all, blending cost-effective finds with beautiful upscale designs.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Humility/Grit –
Ask any entrepreneur – starting a small business is NOT glamorous. Or fun. Or easy. LOL. There are more downs than ups in the beginning, and you have to be okay with that. And most importantly, you have to realize that it’s 3x the work for almost no profit at the beginning! I think some people romanticize owning their own business – dreaming about flexibility, making their own schedule, calling the shots, and “doing what you want.” When in reality, quitting your corporate job to work for yourself means you’ll be working twice as much. Of course, it’s not like that forever! But for the first “phase” – I think people underestimate the amount of hats you have to wear and how long it takes to start to see profit. It takes a lot of resilience to stick with it, and I think a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs give up too early for that reason.
Versatility/Adaptability
My BIGGEST piece of advice is to start before you’re ready. Just do it. “Build the plane while flying it” as the saying goes. Because you can plan and strategize all you want, but it won’t go according to plan. You just have to see what happens and whatever is the most successful – whichever products are selling the best, or whichever services clients are choosing the most – that’s what you’ll run with. You can never guess how sales or profits will go in your first few months of this journey, so don’t try. Don’t try to guess, just collect the data as you go and run with whatever is working best! You could plan for years how your new business might run, and then it will play out completely differently than you thought – and that’s okay! You adapt, and be ready to serve your clients in whatever way brings you the most business!
Self-Discipline
The main difference between your regular “corporate job” and working for yourself is obviously self-discipline. Sure, your boss is not pressuring you to meet deadlines.. but your clients are! Sure, you can set your own schedule.. but there’s no such thing as PTO! This is another aspect I think people romanticize about working for yourself. The grass is always greener, after all! Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but I don’t think it’s “easier” just because I have control over my own schedule. It takes real self-discipline and grit to survive as a small business and you are ALWAYS learning something new from every client experience.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Completely unrelated to Interior Design – I think I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons about “entrepreneurship” – whether that means working for yourself, starting a new business, or freelancing. If there are people out there interested in learning from my mistakes (LOL) I’d be more than happy to host some sort of panel or session or seminar for people to ask questions about branding, marketing, and/or launching their new endeavor!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sprucedesignnyc.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiedavis_spruce/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
