We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christyn Ford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Christyn, 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 wasn’t easy, I can tell you that. Being a woman in the trades my work gets judged harsher than my male peers at times. For the first 10 years of my career I hated every install I worked on. I would go home and obsess on all the things I did wrong. I was honestly afraid to ask clients for reviews because I figured they didn’t like my work either, but were just being polite. It’s only been in the last 3 years that I am able to step back and look at a project and be happy with my work. To get to that point took a lot of hard work and learning on my part, I am always striving to get better at my craft. I think having imposter syndrome makes me better at what I do. I don’t think anyone ever gets over imposter syndrome 100%, There will always be a part of me that will slightly pick apart my work, but that is what helps me be better at my craft. I will never settle for “good enough”.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am a tile installer. I install all aspects of tile, from flooring to showers to custom mosaics. I am an artist through and through, and the artistry of this particular trade is what I fell in love with.
I started in the trades in 2008 in San Diego, California. I worked as a helper for a woman that was a tile installer. Over time I was made part owner of that business, and became the companies lead installer. I experienced a lot of success with that company, we had a crew of 15 working for us, we worked on some of the most prestigious homes in Southern California. The Razor house in La Jolla is one of the better known homes we worked on. In 2018 I decided to dissolve our partnership over issues we were having, and packed up my life and moved to Golden, CO. That is where I started Lotus Tile. I made the decision to focus on smaller projects that were more artistic when I started this new evolution of my career. Recently I have started to work on more custom made mosaics. Last year I tiled a pizza oven for the Woody’s Pizza food truck, be sure to check it out if the truck is in your area! That was probably one of the most fun projects I have worked on. I would love to ultimately move my career in that direction and do mostly custom work like that.
I also have a passion for teaching. I am working with 2 local shops to start hosting hands-on DIY classes for anyone who would like to learn to install tile. Classes where you will actually get your hands dirty and install some tile. One set of classes will be focused on teaching young women who are interested in getting into the trades. My goal and dream with this is to one day have a trade school for women. The first class will be for anyone wanting to learn, we will be going over the basics of how to install a subway tile backsplash. this class will be on July 20th at The Tile Shop. If anyone reading this is interested, please contact me for more information and to register.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. Being around that kind of mindset from an early age helped me in my journey to be my own boss. They instilled a strong work ethic in me, and helped me see that I can do anything I put my mind to. they gave me the skill set to persevere when others would quit.
Prior to getting in the trades I worked for a college developing and running a non-profit program for foster youth. There I learned how to run a business. I use all of those skills today. Something I hear from clients often is how impressed they are with how organized and professional I am. Many of my peers in the industry do not have a “office/ Professional” background. they may be great installers, but they don’t know how to treat people.
The number one thing that has helped me is my education. I studied psychology in college, and thought when I got into the trades I would never use that education. Turns out I use it every single day. Knowing how to talk to people and how to vet them without them knowing is invaluable. I rarely work for terrible people because I can usually spot them before an estimate is even sent. that saves everyone a lot of time and headache.
If you are early in your journey, take a couple classes at a community college. Take a couple classes on psychology and business.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
In the last year I have been working on being more present and still. One of the downsides to being self employed is constantly focusing on the future. Not taking time to appreciate what is happening in the moment, or taking time to be thankful for how far I have come, and the success I have achieved.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lotustile.net
- Instagram: @Lotus_Tile
