Tips for Taking the Leap to Start Your Own Business

This transcript was generated automatically and lightly edited, so it may contain small errors.

Podcast Intro & Host Welcome

Have you hit a wall when it comes to growing your design business? Then welcome to Designed by Wingnut Social, helping home professionals accelerate their success with proven industry practices and expert advice. Hey kids, and welcome to Designed by Wingnut Social. I am your host, Darla Powell, interior decorator and social media marketing savant. Maybe some would say, some might say that, but my team definitely is. I like to hire people who are smarter than me, and I have a team of millennials and this is what I do. You’re looking at it. You’re very welcome. All right, guys, we have a really,

Meet Ashley Marques

really cool show for you today. Ashley Marques is an interior designer in Canada and she just launched her business, folks, in September of 2023. I’m recording this on— oh yeah, today’s Halloween of 2023. She’s been in business for a month, maybe a month and a half, 2 months as you’re listening to this, and she’s already booked with design-build projects through spring of 2024. How did she do this? And what part did Instagram for Interior Designers play in her success?

Full disclosure, Ashley is a Wingnut Academy student, and she actually signed up for our Instagram for Interior Designers course and did it, went through, took the whole course, did her homework, applied her elbow grease, and most importantly implemented what she learned. So you’re going to want to stay tuned for that. And if you want some more information on this course, Instagram for Interior Designers, just head on over to wingnutsocial.com, check out Wingnut Academy, and there’s that bad boy right there.

All right, so before I get into my conversation with Ashley Marques, you know the drill. This is a very short bio. I love you for this, Ashley. I love you for many reasons, but this is one of them. Here we go. Marques Living Co. is an interior design studio located in Ontario, Canada, focusing on a modern, organic aesthetic tailored to your lifestyle and functional needs. All right, so we’re gonna get into a lot more about Ashley than that bio. And you’re gonna see what makes her so special, why she was able to pull off this amazing launch of her brand new interior design firm.

Interview Begins

I don’t want to go on. Wingnuts, help me in welcoming Ashley Marques to the show. Hey there, Ashley Marques. Welcome to the show. How the hell are you? I’m good, Darla. How are you? I’m doing really, really well today. And I’m so excited to have you on the show. Thank you so much for your flexibility here. Because I, I can’t remember what ailment got to me. We had to reschedule, probably this migraine I’m still nurturing. But it’s okay. I’m alive. And I’m healthy. And I’m very happy that you’re here. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. No, of course.

And you and I are kindred spirits in the way that we had a previous career and we said, you know what, maybe not so much. Interior design’s looking hella attractive. Let’s go do that. Yep, exactly. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we’re, we’re soul sisters there in that. So tell us a little bit about what you used to do and we’ll get into what you’re doing now and how the hell all that happened. Sure. Okay, so my name

From Nursing to Interior Design

is Ashley Marques. I’m the owner and principal designer of Marques Living Co. Interior Design Studio. My studio is located in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. So if you’re not familiar, obviously, with that city, it is about 3 hours south of Toronto, and we are right across the border from Detroit, Michigan. I was a nurse for about the last 10 years, and how interior design really kind of started was my husband and I had built our first home about 5 or 6 years ago. And that kind of started to unleash the whole design aspect.

And as the years passed, I had friends kind of asking me like, hey, I’m building a house, or hey, we’re gutting our bathroom and redesigning it. Can you help us with that? And then it kind of helped or led to family asking, hey, can you help me with this and with that? And then before you know it, word of mouth started spreading. And then I was having random people asking me for help with their projects. And then about a year ago, my husband and I had gone on vacation. And we really had some time to sit down and talk about my career and kind of where I was heading.

So I spent the last 10 years working in the hospital, and I really wasn’t enjoying it the last few years. I had done a transition to work part-time in a clinic to see if that would kind of help, but I still really felt like my cup was really half full, and I wasn’t happy anymore doing nursing, and I really wanted to do design, but I was scared to make that jump. And then about a year ago, we had some really tough conversations, And we decided, you know what, let’s head into this direction. You know, I’m really feeling that, right? Because I did the same thing.

I had a— I was a police sergeant for Miami-Dade Police Department for 18 years, a sergeant for like 8 of that. And, you know, nursing and being a police officer, those are pretty secure jobs.

Career Change Parallels

They are, for sure. They have health insurance, there’s job security, the world’s never not going to need either of those. So the concept of Leaving that behind and going to an interior design career, much less opening your own, is incredibly frightening. It’s really intimidating. So, so what was it that— was it really just the nursing just wasn’t that fulfilling? For me, the, the police work wasn’t that fulfilling, and I felt the calling to be happy, right? You know, to do something that I loved. Is that something similar?

Was there— I feel like things kind of shifted once I had my first child and I went back after maternity leave. So In Canada, we actually get 12 months of maternity leave. So I took the full 12 months, and then when I went back, I was doing swing shifts, so 2 weeks of days, 2 weeks of night shift. And then I was leaving my husband at night with our little one, and she’d be up all hours throughout the night. I’m getting Snapchats in the middle of the night of them watching TV. And then actually we continued our family, and I had twin daughters after that about 2 years later.

So that was extremely hard going back to work after that one. And when I went back, we knew I couldn’t do full-time. It would be way too much with the kids. So I had jumped down to part-time and it was just still really hard with midnights. Midnights is a really hard one with family and with childcare. So that’s kind of when I made the jump, like, let’s try a clinic job. You know, it’s 3 days a week, it’s daytime hours, you know, not as stressful. And it worked for a little bit. I would say for about 6 months, you know, I was happy. We got into a really good routine.

I was spending a lot more time with the kids. And then it was always just in the back of my mind, like, I don’t feel excited going to work. My husband is very fortunate. He has an amazing career and I wanted something like that. Like, I’ve never heard him complain once about having to go to work and I wanted something like that for myself. What does he do? Just for those considering a career. Yeah, right. He manages a branch for, I don’t know how to explain it, kind of like for a construction company that deals with concrete manholes for underground for massive construction projects.

I don’t know, I tell people he sells concrete. Uh, that sounds good to me. But he sells holes in the ground. Yeah, basically. So, so it was, um, a fulfillment kind of

Why Open Her Own Firm

issue, um, that you wanted to do interior design but also logistics. Yeah. With 3 little kids. Yeah. Oh my goodness. Yeah. Okay. So I was always questioning myself, like, is this it? Like, you know, traditionally I was raised in a family, um, where, you know, you find your career, you do your 30 years, you get your full pension, and then you retire. I kept picturing, like, I don’t see myself doing this, you know, 25 years from now. It’s super scary to go into something, especially, um, you know, opening your own business, not, you know, really working for anyone anymore.

Yeah, so let’s talk about that a little bit, because you didn’t just say, I want to go to design school, I want to work for another interior designer. You’re just like, you know, I already have inquiries, I already have side jobs, I already am doing some work here, let’s just go ahead and open up a shingle. So that That is a huge, incredible leap. Why did you decide to just go balls to the wall there and do your whole shingle situation instead of working for someone else? Or, you know, I feel like I did have a lot of knowledge.

I feel like I’ve been very successful in the designs that I have done and the feedback that I’ve received from my clients. Yeah. And I thought, you know what, let’s give it a try. You know, let’s give it 6 months, see where I go. And worst comes to worst, worst case scenario, I can find someone to work for. And you know, if design doesn’t work for whatever reason, I’m a nurse. I can find a job anywhere at this day. That’s true. You have a very good fallback, a very good plan B. And I will say that your work is stunning.

I mean, you do not look like someone who just opened up their firm on September 1st. You’re— tell the, tell the audience where they can go to see your work on Instagram real quick. Yes, so my Instagram handle is @marqueslivingco,

Where to See Ashley’s Work

and my website is also marqueslivingco.com. Yeah, some really beautiful work. So I am not surprised at all. You’re very welcome. That you are already getting inquiries, or you’ve already already taken off. And you— speaking of taking off, the reason that you’re a guest on the show is because you DM’d us because you are a Wingnut Academy student. You actually picked up our course Instagram for Interior Designers, and you gave us some incredible feedback. Yeah, on that course.

And I was— you were something to— I’m paraphrasing, but something to the effect of, I just want you guys to know that I launched my business on September 1st after being a full-time nurse and making that leap, and I already have signed huge projects after taking your Instagram for Interior Designers course. Yep. And I was like, whoa, yes, this is great. This is, this is, this is what we do.

How the Instagram for Interior Designers Course Helped

This is why we do this. So you just launched your business on September 1st. Yes. So tell me how the Instagram for Designers course has helped you with that and what kind of ROI you’ve received from that already, because I think it’s pretty, pretty big, right? It is. Yep. And I’ve had really great engagement since launching my page and I’ve had a ton of leads come in. And I’ve landed some pretty big projects for spring of 2024. And I really don’t think I would be here today if I didn’t take this course. Wow. Yeah. That isn’t— yeah, that’s incredible. And you completed the whole course.

You got your certificate. I didn’t get my certificate. I think I’m missing like little bits and pieces here and there, but I have gone through pretty much everything. Yeah. Yeah, right. So you are one of those people. I always like to say there’s 2 types of people, right? There’s the people that’ll roll up their sleeves, you know, get the elbow grease out and just dig in and DIY it, take the notes, and do all the research and do it like what you’ve done here. And then there’s the clients who are just like, okay, this, this looks great. You do it for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So you’re the type, you’re the type that we created Instagram for Interior Designers for. And you’re just— I can’t— I’m just— I’m amazed. So when you say huge projects for spring of 2024, what’s the scope? What do they look like? Like you’re knocking a house down and you’re building it right back up. Yeah, the whole house.

Full-Home Projects Booked

The whole house. Yeah. So they’re keeping the foundation. I’m not sure how it works in the United States, but in Canada, if you want to keep your property taxes low, you have to keep at least a few existing foundation walls and you can build off of that. And yeah, a lot of people are kind of leading into the more renovation era instead of a new build construction. Holy cow. Yeah, I mean, interest rates these days are a little crazy. So using home equity for sure. You know, that’s true.

And that’s a good point because I know a lot of interior designers are a little concerned about the economy and some of the economic indicators. And I had a conversation with Warren Shoulberg about the state of the furnishings industry. This is just a quick aside.

Market Snapshot: Renovation Demand

And my perception, right, of things going on is kind of like COVID light, because people are keeping their houses, not buying new houses, not refinancing new houses, that they’re looking inward and still restoring, remodeling, and refinishing. And all the design-build firms that I know and pool, you know, manufacturers, painters are booked. They’re booked for people doing just that. And there is, there’s work for everyone still. I don’t really feel like it’s slowed down in regards to renovations. I think in our area, new build construction has slowed down a little bit.

But we do get a lot of clients that are coming from the Toronto area that are making, you know, $1.6 million on a 2-bed, 1-bath condo. And then they’re taking all of that money and building a house here for, you know, a portion of that price. Yeah, that’s all. That’s awesome. And you— so it sounds like you fired up at just the right time. Yeah.

You know, I spent really— once we made this decision that you know, we were going to, I shouldn’t say we, me, I was going to open a studio with my, you know, with my husband’s support that I spent this entire last year just business planning from, you know, A to Z of the business to make sure that I had every aspect of my business situated. And, you know, first impressions are huge to me and I wanna make sure that when I opened, I didn’t seem unprofessional or I didn’t have any of my processes together.

So really spent that last year and the Instagram for Interior Designers course really helped with that. That’s incredible. I love to hear that. And I have to say, that is where we part ways because I didn’t plan that well. I was just like, screw it, I’m done being a cop. Here’s my 2 weeks. And, uh, all right. I mean, we did— I did do some side stuff and I started the business, but systems and processes and all that, man, what did we learn the hard way. So I love that. So my advice, and I’m sure yours would be as well, is to not just say screw it, give your 2 weeks, but to plan that out.

Yeah, I mean, the original plan was next spring I was going to launch, and And actually it was just later in the summer, I knew my position was going to be changing a little bit and I’d be working with a different population and it’d be a different location. So we kind of thought like, you know what, I have pretty much everything together. I was just waiting for some last-minute photography to come in. But you know what, like, let’s do it. Like, I’m ready. Like, you know, let’s take the next step. And now look, you have projects lined up, right? So that worked out. Exactly, yep.

So let’s go back a little bit and tell me about your self-taught.

Education Path: Diploma & Self-Teaching

Designer, right? Okay. So tell me a little bit about that. How did you learn enough to get the confidence to go into do a design firm, to open up your own firm to do this for other people? So I did receive a diploma from the Interior Design Institute. Okay, nice. So it’s a 12-month online kind of self-led project. Yeah. And I’m telling you, every single day, if I was home, I was on that computer. We agreed that, you know, take a little bit of sacrifice and we had put our children into daycare a few more days a week. And I worked day in and day out.

Like I worked into, you know, wee hours of the morning to get it done. And I had finished the program in just over 2 months. I worked extremely hard on it while working with 3 kids. So I mean, if I can do it, anyone can do it. You’re what we call an overachiever. Yes. And you know what? It just, I’m very goal-oriented and I knew like, you know what, this is what we’re going to do and I’m going to give 100% of my effort into it. And did you apply what you learned at the Interior Design Institute to the decorating and design of your own home that you put on social, or was that before?

It was, it was kind of a mix of both. So I have work from beforehand and I have work during and after. Um, I feel like it was important for me just to have a piece of paper just to show that I have some sort of credential. Did I really need it? No, I don’t think I really did. There are some things that I learned for sure, but a lot of it was educating myself. You know, on my calendar every single week I had a topic that I wanted to self-research. So if it was learning about windows, one whole week I spent researching windows.

One whole week I searched hardware, kitchen hardware, bathroom hardware, faucets, doors, lighting, anything you can think of. I had researched every single topic. Yeah, that’s crazy. You’re incredibly committed and diligent and sounds very disciplined. Yeah, I have really big plans for, you know, my business. And I know where I want to see it go. So, you know, I just have to grind and, you know, really prove myself to the community that I know what I’m doing and, you know, I can give you a great end product.

Regulations & Title Protection in Canada

Yeah, for sure. Now let me ask you, in Canada, because it might be different, I don’t know— in the United States, having to have a degree or a license or your NCIDQ is different from state to state in order to have an interior design business. In Canada, where you are, did you have to have that, that that certificate or that degree? So, um, what they have in place here is they have a title protection law. So I can’t walk around and call myself an interior designer. I can call myself a principal designer, a designer.

Um, I can’t communicate with clients saying I am an interior designer, but I can communicate with my clients that I offer, um, interior design services, um, interior home decorating services. Uh, semantics. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But definitely semantics as well. But yeah. Yeah, I know that there’s— it’s touchy over here sometimes in the States because you have interior designers who did the full 4 years and they have their NCIDQ. And then you have people who are self-taught like me who might offhand say interior designer, interior decorator.

So that does get a little touchy and sometimes we get lost in the semantics. And of course we mean no disrespect at all. It’s just some— it’s just, it seems to be casually thrown around, but it’s not. It’s not a casual thing. No. And I take it very seriously and I respect those that went and got their degree in interior design. I did actually inquire with a few different local interior designers who have their degree, and I kind of, you know, told them what I want to do and, you know, what kind of route I should go in.

And a lot of it was, if you’re planning on going into hospitality or commercial industry, you want to have your degree. But if you’re saying residential or small business style, that’s okay. But what I always do is, if I have a larger project, I make it very clear I can’t stamp my own drawings. My drawings are for reference only. And they need to consult with an architect or an engineer. All right. That’s what I did as well. Right. But I also hired interior designers who were certified under my umbrella.

So in case I decided, you know, hey, can we, you know, do something insane, they could keep me in check. You know, big picture kind of thing was, was how I did

Team, Outsourcing & First Hire

it. So speaking of, have you— is it just a team of one right now? Have you already hired? It’s just me. I do hire out certain services virtually if I have clients that want hyper-realistic renderings, I give them my renderings and have them turn to a realistic form for them. But otherwise, right now I’m doing everything by myself. I do feel in a few years I want to do larger scale projects, so I would like to hire on, you know, a couple members of my team. You know, one that can help with just, um, uh, with reception, with just phone calls and emails, and then also having an assistant.

So if for whatever reason I can’t be there that I have someone that’s going to, you know, back me up and do those site visits or, you know, finish up those projects for me. My first hire was a bookkeeper. Do you have one of those? I don’t. I am the bookkeeper. But what I did, what I did do is we have a small business association for my area. So I had reached out and it’s a free service that they offer, kind of certain things that you should be aware of when opening a business as well as going into the Um, into the accounting portion. I do have all of my own separate accounts.

I don’t have anything that’s related or like tied into my home. It’s all separate business accounts. And my husband’s actually really great with numbers, so that kind of helps as well. That’s, that’s always good. It’s important to be good with numbers, of which I am not all the time. I have a fractional CFO for that. Yeah. Okay, so let’s— I’m going to back up a little bit because you did say that you reached out to fellow interior designers in the community.

And my experience when I launched my firm in 2017, 2018, I can’t even remember, was that the— my fellow interior designers were incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and giving. It wasn’t in person, it was in the forums, on the Facebook groups, you know, on the business-to-business Facebook groups. Did you have that same experience? Did you have a mentor in particular that helped you out? No, I didn’t have anyone in particular that helped out. It was just kind of more in the beginning phases of really learning if I should go the degree route or do a diploma.

But other than that, no, I just found, you know, kind of researching and, you know, looking at other people’s social medias, their websites, and their services. Rebecca Hay, she’s from Toronto, and yeah, she’s been a huge help as well. I am on her designer meetups forum on Facebook. So it’s really hard to find communication with designers in Canada. I find it’s easy to communicate with American designers. But I find in Canada there’s a little bit of a lack of communication between one another.

And I don’t know why that is, but Rebecca Hayes’ Facebook group has been extremely helpful for you folks who are uninitiated. Rebecca Hayes has been on our show. That’ll be in the show notes at wingnutsocial.com. And I actually just recorded an interview again for her show that’s coming up. She is good people and she knows her stuff. I love her. Yes. And she, she wants all the designers— they want— she wants them to know everything. She wants wants them to know all the processes, how to price everything, um, you know, dealing with conflicts and resolutions.

And she really is there to really help everyone in the community. All right, if you guys want to find out more information about Rebecca Hay— sorry, I said Hayes. Rebecca, I still love you. I hope you still love me. rebeccahaydesigns.com. You can find out everything there. She’s the real deal, folks. She’s super, super smart. And let me tell you something, a great interviewer. I wish I had her interview skills. She’s so good. Okay, so you mentioned that

Community & Mentors

you found help in your area, but maybe not so much. But here in the States, on, on the Facebook groups, I had a lot of help Like Ivy, who was a software, an interior design software. I think they’re now with Houzz. They had a, they used to have a really good Facebook group and everybody was so incredibly helpful. That made a huge difference. So as you know, probably know, systems and processes, you know, having everything consistent and having a really well-organized process for working with clients, especially if you’re doing a design-build, right? Are super important.

So is it, is it Rebecca that gave you the resources for your, all of that, that setup, or? It’s not. It was all just self-researching and kind of seeing, um, you know, how I want my process to, processes to look. Um, for all of my documents, I want them to all look, um, the same and I want them to blend well. So I purchased templates from ID.co Studio and that’s for all of my investment guides, my welcome guides, where I really fully detail all of my prices and my processes, how to communicate with me. And I use the same for all of my trades and builders as well.

And I use Dubsado for my CRM management applications. And a lot of it is just honestly just guessing and hoping and doing my research to see which apps are the best. And, you know, like I said, I spent the last year really perfecting my processes. So, you know, all of my documents are in place. Even, you know, when I meet with a new trade or a new contractor, I have welcome guides for them that I completely customize based on the type of trade that they’re offering. And, you know, having those templates has really helped me for sure. Yeah, for sure. Well, you had all your ducks in a row.

So when we say you launched September 1st, I mean, that was a year in planning to September 1st. Yes. Okay, so let’s get

Systems & Processes

back to your Instagram account and the fact that you’ve mastered that thanks to Instagram for Interior Designers, shameless plug. How many leads are you getting from

Instagram Leads: Volume & Conversion

Instagram? How is, you know, what does that look like for you on a weekly or monthly basis? So since I just opened, I didn’t have any leads my first 2 weeks. So I would say from September 1st to September 14th, I didn’t have any leads come in. But then after September 14th was my, my first lead. And then it seems about 1 to 2 per week. And some, some aren’t great fits. You know, I do offer a complimentary discovery call and I do interview my clients to make sure that we’re a great fit for each other. And, you know, I really want to give them the end product that they deserve.

And, you know, some are great fits for, for me. And every single one of my leads have come from Instagram. Yeah, then that’s insane. So what would you say to those interior designers who are saying they are just not getting leads from Instagram, it’s useless. You know, before I opened up my business Instagram page, I feel like I’m quite a tech-savvy person, and I’ve had Instagram since, you know, they first opened. And even though I’m great with a personal account, I am not great with a business account, and they are 2 totally separate programs.

And, you know, having the course really taught me just how to, just simply filling out my bio, I would have never known how to get my phone number and my email to be put into the contact information. Like when I learned how to do that, I told my husband, I’m like, just that little bit of the 2-minute part of that course has paid, has paid for itself 1,000 times over because I would have never known how, how people can call me or email me without accessing my website. So that’s huge. Wow, good to know. So basic from really basic. So that was helpful. Just super basic.

And I am quite tech savvy. It’s just little things that I, I wouldn’t have known. Yeah, I love it. That’s, that’s— yeah, because we take it for granted because we know we do it all day long, that, you know, people really don’t know how to walk themselves through with optimizing their bio and setting everything up. So yes, yeah, the bio was another huge one, you know. Um, I had my, my username is Marques Living Co., and, you know, making sure that no one else pops up, I wouldn’t have guessed how to, you know, how to do that.

Or, you know, plugging my name in because I know at one point I had Marques Living Co. as my name on the page, but I shouldn’t have to pop up twice. You know, people need to know what my name is. You know, who do they call me by? You know, my name is Ashley. So, you know, what I offer, you know, and those certain lines, you know, having my link in bio. There’s so many things that I wouldn’t have known to, you know, improve my search engine optimization on Instagram. I love it. And are you going in and engaging and keeping it, those fires stoked. Yeah, it’s a lot of work, right?

Engagement Strategy & Ads Manager

Yep. And every week it is a lot of work, but you know, every week I kind of test, test the algorithm a little bit. Um, you know, I’ve just started getting into like engaging more with my followers. Um, I’ve actually sent private messages that are a little bit more personalized to some of my followers who have liked consistently, um, my photos and, you know, reaching out to them. And I have a few things written on here. Yeah, my engagement strategies, even the Ads Manager is a really big one. I would have thought just to promote my posts on Instagram, I had no idea about Ads Manager.

And I’ve been creating different campaigns to kind of see which ones do better. And yeah, on a weekly basis I do different campaigns to kind of see which one had a higher engagement rate. And I find sometimes Instagram, it’s a little bit of a test. But I think, you know, as the months go on, I’ll get, you know, a little bit more comfortable with which ones do better, like what should I post. And yeah, where did you fall on that? Like how much percentage original work and/or testimonials or video part? Did you get that mix figured out?

I, I try and post a picture of myself once every 3 lines, like typically once every 9 posts. I want people, when they open my profile, they see at least one photo of me, and I feel like people are a little bit more relatable. I want them to feel like they know me. And the rest, it’s all 100% my work that I’m posting. I feel like I have a lot of content to share, so at this point I don’t really need to, you know, borrow posts from anyone else to repost their stuff. I feel like I have enough on my own to do.

And, you know, that’s part of, you know, the, the creation content planning is really planning ahead of time what I’m going to be posting. I have, you know, the next 3 months planned out what I’m going to be posting. That’s very rare because usually interior designers who are so brand new don’t have content. That’s always a challenge.

Advice for Designers Considering the Leap

So kudos, terrific. Thank you for sharing that. So my last question before we get into the fire round is what would you say to the listeners who are listening right now? I guess that’s redundant, who are thinking about taking the leap but just quite haven’t had that Um, I think the first one is financials. Obviously, you don’t want to quit your job today if you don’t have the financials to support yourself for at least the next 6 months. Um, but I really do suggest, you know, take that leap if you already have enough knowledge in the field and you have already, um, existing customers.

You know, take that jump, take that risk, and then, you know, always have a fallback plan. You know, if it doesn’t work, give yourself 3 months, 6 months, have that fallback plan that if it doesn’t happen, then you have that fallback. But it’s a week-by-week basis. I’ve questioned myself probably 1,000 times over the last year. Is it going to work? No, it’s not going to work. And then one week, yes, it’s going to work. And you know what? You don’t know unless you take that risk. And I’m so happy that I took that risk because I don’t know if I would have ever opened ever.

I think I would have stayed in my career and I would have never been and fully happy and doing what I’m doing every day. I love it. Very inspirational, Ashley. I, I just absolutely love it to see someone who took that leap and who’s killing it. And a lot of solopreneurs or potential business people get that paralysis by analysis, right? But you took that year, you studied, you got everything in a row, and now look at you. And it’s not to say everything’s going to be perfect, probably, or there’s not going to be some learning curves, but you are— you have set yourself up for success.

All right, Ashley, now I have to ask you, are you ready for the What

What Up Wingnut: Rapid Fire

Up Wingnut round? All Okay, here we go. What would the hashtag on your tombstone be? Everything happens for a reason. It is a motto that I have stood by for years and years. Um, you know, my husband and I have fallen on hard times before, and you know, you really question things that you’re doing. And we have always said everything happens for a reason, and you know, things have always turned around for us. Yeah, that’s perfect. Okay, you’re stuck on a deserted island, but you can have your one food forever— your favorite food, I should say. What it? Lasagna.

You have your protein, your carbs, and your dairy all in one. You are a survivor. All right, last but not least, please recommend a book that’s impacted you either personally or professionally. So I’m not a huge book reader, but over the summer I did read a book called Make Life Beautiful by Syd and Shea McGee, and it was extremely inspirational to see where Shea McGee really started in her career way back into her college days and seeing where she’s ended up now. And it’s a brutally honest book.

It tells you all the mistakes that they’ve made and all their financial hardships and then seeing where they really are successful today. Yeah, they are a success story. They truly are. And I would not be surprised to see the Ashley Marques Show sometime on some channel somewhere. Yeah. So we’ll keep our eyes peeled for that. Ashley Marques, thank you so much for joining us. Please tell the audience where they can go to find out more about you again and we will call it a day. Okay. You can find me on Instagram at Marques Living Co.

Closing: Where to Find Ashley

Facebook, Marques Living Co., and my website is marqueslivingco.com. Thank you so much for reaching out with that DM about the course. I love it. Take the course. It’s well worth it. I never knew Ashley Marques before this. She reached out, she DM’d us, and I’m like, oh my gosh, not only is your story amazing in and of itself, you just opened up this firm, you’re booked, you have the size of the projects for a brand new interior designer blows my mind. I’m just— that’s incredible. All right. That’s the first thing.

And then the second piece, of course, is that our course, our course that we produced here at Wingnut Social, Instagram for Interior Designers, played a key role in this happening for you. My goodness. You can imagine the happy dancing that went on when I received that DM. Just so incredible. And of course, I was like, we have to have you on the show. First of all, how the hell did you do this? This is crazy that you’re booked out this far. And of course, self-servingly, I want to tell you guys how impactful Instagram for interior designers is. It is the real deal.

We, we held nothing back in that course, and you can find out more information about that at wingnutsocial.com. That’s Wingnut Academy. I don’t really have to say anything else. Ashley said it all for us. It works. It works. It’s a no-brainer, folks. All right, that’s enough of shameless plugs, but it is a shameless plug that is gonna help you make money. So is it a shameless plug? Maybe still yes. All right guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Remember to tune in every Monday and Wednesday for new episodes.

And until next time, get out there, get uncomfortable, and you know what, what the hell, be great. You’ve reached the end of this

Outro & Contact Info

episode of Designed by Wingnut Social, but that’s only the first step into accelerating your business the Wingnut way. Head over to wingnutsocial.com or call us at 786-206-4331 to see how we can help take your business from meh to amazing. We’ll see you on the next episode of Designed by Wingnut Social, your digital marketing tightly fastened.