What You'll Discover In This Episode:
One year ago, Amy Pearson was the owner and principal designer of a successful design studio in Portland, Oregon, a loving wife, and mother of 14 year-old twins one girl and one boy. Her family was her entire world and her "why" for all of her business decisions - one of those decisions being hiring me to help her make some necessary changes in the way she operates as a business owner.
Though Amy was running a successful business, she was stressed out, burned out, and constantly feeling pulled between wanting to work less so she could spend more time with her family to wanting to work more so she could increase her revenue and afford private school for her kids. Decreasing her workload while increasing her revenue seemed like an impossible challenge to Amy but I listened to her plight, dove into her business, and was confident in the old adage where there is a will, there is a way. I remember telling Amy, “This is solvable and you are closer than you think.”
We got to work. First order of business: addressing Amy’s billing because the way it was structured- she was leaving money on the table. She was also being de-incentivized to work on her business even though that is where the passion and excitement lie, and that enjoyable work doesn’t feel like repetitive chores that aren’t profitable. She was literally floating after changing to flat rate billing. So much weight had come off of her.
Over the following year, Amy wound up flipping her business model, decreasing her unsustainable workload by hiring and training a design assistant, improving her mindset, minimizing stress, increasing her capacity and profitability, and inverting the time she worked in the business vs. on the business - huge wins that she learned to celebrate!
Today, Amy’s weekends remain protected but now she doesn’t go back to work after picking the kids up from school. She spends more quality time with them and her husband. She finds time to relax and tackle home projects. She goes on walks and to the gym. She is able to take care of herself more. And her kids? They are thriving too… in private school which Amy was able to pay for in cash. The transformation has been monumental, not just for Amy, but for her family, too. As it turns out, Amy’s challenges were solvable which has me smiling from ear to ear.
In this episode of the Small Business Straight Talk Podcast, I sit down with Amy Pearson, the Principal Interior Designer of Amy Pearson Design, to discuss her journey as an entrepreneur, the highs and lows of running her successful business, what it was like working with me, and the specifics of how she got out of survival mode and transitioned to thriving mode.
Episode Links & Resources:
About Guest:
Amy is the owner and principal designer of Amy Pearson Design in Portland, Oregon - a design studio that specializes in design for construction projects including kitchen & bath remodels, whole home remodels, and new construction design. Outside of design, Amy is also a wife and a mother of 15 year-old boy girl twins. Her family is her entire world and the center focus and "why" for all of her business decisions!
