Meet Andrea Ritten

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Ritten a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I grew up in the corporate world, and two years ago took a massive risk to become an entrepreneur. In both, I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome and have had to dig pretty deep to overcome it. I have almost always been in a leadership role, it’s something that feels very natural for me. However, being a young female in a predominantly male corporate setting triggered all sorts of insecurity. Whether it was self inflicted or real, I felt like sometimes I wasn’t taken seriously. I always knew what I was capable of, but doubt is a tricky thing for most women in business.

One thing I realized about 10 years into my career is that even at the highest level, you can struggle with imposter syndrome. I attended a leadership seminar with C-suite executives and had an ah-ha moment when a female CEO of a fortune 500 company admitted to not always knowing the right answer and sometimes didn’t feel qualified for her role. It felt so eye opening to me! We’re all just here winging it, and all of a sudden, I had permission to “not know”. I think a lot of imposter syndrome stems from feeling like we’re supposed to have it all figured out, when the reality is nobody does, and nobody ever will. Life is a never ending learning curve. The ability to embrace what you don’t know, fail faster, and come from a growth mindset has changed the game for me. Whenever I feel a little bit of that doubt creep in, I remind myself that I belong here. Another mindset I adopted early on was “fake it till you make it”. I swear it works, and will continue to use that in areas that I am building confidence in!

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’m a corporate leader/project manager turned entrepreneur and interior designer. I joined the great resignation during the pandemic, and it might have been the riskiest (and best) choice I ever made. When the pandemic hit, I was forced to slow down, and sit with where I was at in life. I think I was spinning so fast on that hamster wheel I didn’t even realize how unhappy I truly was. The awareness that came with being forced to slow down is something I’m extremely grateful for. There was a point late in my corporate role that I had to take a leave of absence for mental health. I reached a point of extreme burnout (with selfies to prove it).

I have always been an aesthete (a person who has or affects to have a special appreciation of art and beauty), and knew in my soul I needed to pursue something that fulfilled my creative side. With my strong business background, I also knew that starting a business was going to be the best way for me to have control over my future. I’m a pretty independent person, I like to be able to make decisions and ensure my work has an impact. Entrepreneurship has called to me from a young age. For years, I had a sticky note taped to my laptop with a quote from a friend that said “Start your own business and i’ll come work for you”. I think that was my way of manifesting my new role, and it totally worked. I still think about that note even though it’s no longer taped to my laptop.

I now own a business called Andrea Rose Design Co. (my middle name is Rose). It’s a dream come true. I get to create beautiful spaces for beautiful people who want their home to be a reflection of themselves. Every single project I take on is unique because I tailor my designs to my clients personalities. I get to connect with people on more than just a surface level because I’m in their personal space really getting to know what they like and don’t like.

When I first went into business people told me how hard it would be. I anticipated challenges, but I don’t think anyone who hasn’t started their own business will ever truly understand how hard it really is until they are in it. It’s incredibly challenging both physically (as a solopreneur) and mentally. You come face-to-face with any insecurities when you’re starting a business. You have money fear? It’ll show up… You have imposter syndrome? Yep, that’ll show up too. It’s a wild ride, but honestly makes the wins that much better. I absolutely thrive with making my own schedule. I’m a naturally motivated person (hello, enneagram type 3 – achiever!) So having the flexibility to create my own schedule and be able to balance the things I care about most in life – family, friends, my dog, etc. is something I’ll be forever grateful for.

What’s next for me and my business is to expand my team. I’m attracting really amazing clients; so much so that I have a waitlist for my services. I’m very intentional with the projects I take on. I want to make sure I give my full attention to the people hiring me to renovate and/or decorate their home. I’d like to be able to take on more projects at a time which requires pulling in the right creative individuals that align with the Andrea Rose Design Co. vision. Eventually, I’d also like to expand outside of Minnesota. I’m a sunshine gal at heart, and these winters are tough! Ideally, I’d like to take on west-coast projects during the winter, so that’s a long term goal of mine. I have a few really amazing projects in the works at the moment, and will plan to publish those in the coming months – follow along on my Instagram to get those updates – @andrearosedesignco.

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?

Looking back, I think the three qualities that were most impactful were:

1. Adaptability – You just have to be able to roll with the punches, and be open to new/different opportunities that come up. Also, saying yes to things I was afraid to say yes to propelled me forward in every area of my life.

2. Leadership – Man, if you can learn leadership skills, you’ll be unstoppable. I could spend hours just talking about what I believe makes a good leader. If I had to pick just one, I think the most critical leadership skill is how you mitigate conflict and overcome challenges. There will always be hard things and difficult conversations, it’s how you are able to diplomatically respond to them that will set you apart. Not taking things personal and removing the ego from a situation is so critical.

3. Self Awareness – In life and in business, you should be able to identify both your strengths and weaknesses. If you know your strengths, you can capitalize on those, or as I like to say “feed the fast horse”. But knowing your weaknesses is even more important. We all have weaknesses, we’re all human. When you start to accept and tend to them, you become a much stronger person.

The absolute BEST advice I can give for anyone wanting to change their life is “Take messy action”. Do not wait for the perfect moment, or until you have the knowledge, or finish that degree, or read that book, or until you’re in perfect shape. Whatever it is, and wherever you want to go, take messy action. You’ll be surprised with how much your life changes when you stop waiting and just start.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

I’m a huuuuuge book nerd. I absolutely love to read, and a book I read every single year is “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson. Essentially, this book is a reminder of how small choices over time lead to change. In a world that loves instant gratification, this is such a great reminder of what consistency can do to change your life. I believe true success lies in the tiny, insignificant moments, and those that can make the right choices consistently are those that end up most successful. This quote from the book sums it up perfectly:

“The right choices and wrong choices you make at the moment will have little or no noticeable impact on how your day goes for you. Nor tomorrow, nor the next day. No applause, no cheers, no screams, no life-or-death results played out in Technicolor. But it is precisely those very same, undramatic. seemingly insignificant actions that, when compounded over time. will dramatically affect how your life turns out.”

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Image Credits

Lindsey Photography
Nicole Spangler Photography

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