If you worry about how your home looks and feels when you walk in the door, you’ve probably experienced what William Brown calls “decorating distress.” Here’s where he wants to come to the rescue.
“Acknowledging that our souls need spaces to replenish and renew away from the many distractions of life, my passion and purpose is to rescue those in design and decorating distress to find their way home,” says the founder of Will Brown Interiors.” I’m an intuitive designer with a strong calming presence and a sharp aesthetic eye that can cut through the clutter to uncover beautiful potential.”
Brown likes to start by listening to how clients want in live in their spaces and then he helps them bring an aesthetic style to the lives and stories of a home’s inhabitants. He uses a homeowner’s collections and items from personal experiences like a vacation or road-side flea market find to help tell a family’s story. His likes his designs to have a “collected-over-time” look.
“I believe a well-appointed space should become the backdrop allowing life’s best moments to take center stage,” he said. “I curate a master vision by first listening to key triggers of how clients wish to inhabit spaces and then bring in aesthetic style by researching and intuiting to make a room feel collected and connected to you and your family.”
Brown has more than 20 years of experience in design fields, including as a creative leader for two Fortune 500 companies. When he decided to start his own design firm, he turned to the Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) for guidance.
During startup mode, he was balancing his enthusiasm for taking on new projects while still holding a full-time job.
“In order to maintain sanity and a life, I had to learn to say no to some projects, even though I felt that I was leaving opportunities on the table,” he said. “I began to focus instead on the projects that had future potential growth with the clients, rather than a quick turn-around project, in order to focus my limited time on creating the best quality results that could lead to additional projects later and often a referral.”
Brown received an Urban Business Growth Initiative (UBGI) scholarship to enroll in the SBTDC ELEVATIONLAB New Venture course and began charting his business direction. UGBI helps empower entrepreneurs who live or work in the urban core. In fiscal year 2018, UBGI helped business owners in Kansas City, MO achieve more than $2 million more in sales and helped create 58 new jobs through SBTDC courses and business coaching.
Brown also received business expertise and ongoing coaching from Rebecca Gubbels, SBTDC business and program development consultant, and Joel Barrett, a SBTDC contract business development consultant.
“SBTDC provided me with tools to think through and develop a marketing and business plan. Although I continue to fine-tune my plan, it opened my eyes to think about growth and profitability more than just doing this because of my passion for interior design.” Brown said. “Passion alone won’t pay the bills, so I’m developing more of the left side of my brain. SBTDC also helped me think of myself more as an entrepreneur than just someone with a side hustle.”
Contact: William Brown
Will Brown Interiors
816-582-6607
