Meredith Smyth is the ultimate lady boss (not to mention, she was actually my boss in advertising). She is the person who comes to mind when I hear the words: hustler, fearless, work hard play harder and empowerment. Pretty much anyone who knows her would agree – you probably want to be her when you grow up (no matter how grown you are).
Meredith SLAYED the advertising game as an Ad Executive for 15+ years working on brands like Target, Gatorade, Oscar Mayer, Aveeno, Coors Light, and many more. Despite excelling in her job, she always found herself gravitating toward creative side hustles that enabled her to be her own Creative Director. Outlets where nothing was ever the same and invention was the heartbeat of the project. Insert jewelry design, photography, brand design, product development and a transformational wardrobe company. But it wasn’t enough…she still had an itch to scratch. After some self reflection, she found her passion in interior design and has quickly launched her own thriving business. Here’s a little bit about her experience switching industries well into her career and starting her own business!
How did you realize it was time for a change?
I’ve always had this creative “itch” which is why I got into advertising, but got slightly pigeon-holed into the business side of it because it’s where I first started. You can be in a career and moving up the chain, and before you know it, you might be doing a job where you aren’t doing what motivated you in the first place. The itch for creativity is something that has perpetuated throughout my life and as I progressed in my career, my role was less and less around creative.
How did you approach starting a new industry and starting a business in that industry?
I was talking to a friend about feeling stagnant and not creative – I wanted to take a class or something. She pointed me to our mutual friend Kate Taylor Interiors who had posted on Instagram that she was looking to hire someone. I obviously didn’t have any interior design experience, but I messaged her anyway. She ended up hiring someone else, but she said she could use my help too.
I helped her with pretty much anything she needed – I was not precious about the things I did.
I couldn’t help with everything because I had a full-time job, but did what I could, whenever I could. After working with her, I learned so much and realized this is something I could do – she really encouraged me to just go for it.
How did you get people to give you a chance without much experience?
I did two projects for free.
The first was for my aunt and uncle. They had not touched their house in 20 years and just started process of updating it. I could tell they were completely overwhelmed. At the time, I hadn’t made a logo or setup an LLC yet, but I saw this process was going to take them a long time and could sense they didn’t know where to turn. I told them I was just starting out with my interior design business and asked to let me help them. I told them it would be mutually beneficial as I’d work through my process and use them as my guinea pig. Despite being family, I wanted this to be formal. I brought them formal presentations, they had to make formal decisions, and we treated it as a business transaction. It gave me the opportunity to test drive my service and work out kinks (I’m still working them out), which was super helpful.
The second was my friend Stacy, who is a life coach. We traded life coaching for designing her house. After experience with working on my aunt and uncle’s home, I was much more confident with her.
Based on Stacy’s project, which I documented on social media, I got a whole bunch of clients! At that point I started charging, but gave discounts initially. I remember the first time a total stranger took a chance on me. I had met her at a meeting for entrepreneurs and told her about my new venture. Despite knowing I was just starting out, she took a chance on me with something as personal as her home, so I gave her a massive discount. From there, I continued to receive more clients and have changed pricing accordingly.
Side note – don’t be afraid to charge friends. I know it feels weird, but your friends would have probably paid a stranger to do the same job. They would be happy to hire you as you’d likely be someone who would work their butt off for them and take their budget into consideration more than a stranger would.
What challenges have you faced since starting?
HA – so many.
A lot of the challenges come in the unknown – things you don’t anticipate until they happen to you. In advertising, I never lost sleep over things, but I do sometimes lose sleep now because it’s all on me.
I think it’s important to give yourself permission to fail.
This week I had a really expensive failure. I kicked myself for the mistake and told myself I should have anticipated it.
The truth is that mistakes make you better. You learn from them and while they totally suck in the moment, they shape you. My most challenging clients have been the ones I learned the most from. You just need to learn, quickly move past them and move forward.
What advice would you give someone who is considering trying a new industry and/or starting a business in a new industry?
< Insert Nike Swoosh> Just Do It:
Just try it. Don’t try and solve for the end, remember its progress over perfection. No one will remember your first project. Everyone has to start somewhere. Surround yourself with people who take chances. Lean into the people who are your cheerleaders and be a cheerleader yourself. You stand nothing to lose by trying. Maybe it’s not something you do forever – and that’s okay. I can’t stress it enough, if you have the itch to do something different – just do it.
Consider timing:
It has to come at the right time. It will never be a perfect time, but consider outside factors. Many times I wanted to take a leap, but I waited for the right time based on my finances, location, etc. If you’re not able to go for it full force, try it as a side hustle. You will at least get a sense of if you like it. You will never think you have enough time, but you will always make time for the things that are important to you.
Don’t compare yourself to others:
When you start and look around at other people or businesses, it looks like perfection everywhere and its hard not to compare yourself. It’s hard to see if its good enough, but you must ask yourself…who are you racing against? I heard a great quote on a design podcast – “don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle or end”. The only people whose opinions matter are the clients I’m working for – did they like the project and are they happy?
Don’t be precious about the work you do:
My goal this year was to wear all the hats in my company because it will help me learn all aspects of the business. It would have been easy (and so great!) for me to hire someone to do the finances or order the inventory, but how can I trust someone else to do a good job if I haven’t done it myself?
Work hard, but don’t forget to make time for yourself:
Admittedly, I’ve been really bad about this. I’ve prioritized my new business over myself and it’s taken a toll on my energy. What’s that quote floating around Instagram – “remember to fill up your cup, because you can’t pour from an empty one”. I’ve started taking 45 minutes everyday for myself and it’s made a difference.
I may be biased, but I think Meredith is pretty amazing and inspirational as a person and her business reflects just that! Check her company out at www.meredithsmythdesignstudio.com and follow along on Instagram @meredithsmyth as she changes people’s lives with her business!
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