Samantha-Jane Agbontaen is the founder and CEO of House Designer, a UK based online interior design platform dedicated to ensuring that elegant and sophisticated interior design services are accessible and affordable to the wider market.
Samantha attended the British Academy of Interior Design and has honed her skills in Web development. House Designer, winners of the ‘Best Online Interior Design Company 2021’ award is acclaimed for being the first UK online design company to integrate 3D design in their packages. Samantha is a hardworking, tech entrepreneur whose aim is to inspire and empower female entrepreneurs.
What is House Designer all about?
Established in 2020, House Designer is an online platform for interior and garden design services. We are a team of professional designers based in London (UK) on a mission to make home design affordable and accessible for all.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company.
I come from an entrepreneurial background. Prior to interior design, I had my own fashion business. After several years in the fashion industry, I concluded that it just wasn’t the right fit for me with the rise of fast fashion. I knew that I wanted to continue being an entrepreneur, but I wasn’t sure what my next move was going to be.
My friends and family have always commented on how stylish my home is and would always ask my advice on where to buy certain furniture or how to design their own homes. One day I asked a friend if she would pay £150 for somebody to design a room in her house for her. She immediately answered yes that would be an excellent service that I would definitely pay for. I then decided to experiment with designing a website for online interior design services and found ways to develop the concept further. This was the beginning of House Designer.
What would you say are the top 3 skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur, and why?
The top three skills to be a successful entrepreneur include consistency, hard work, and patience.
- Consistency is crucial as an entrepreneurial skill because it is needed to reach your goals. Routinely working each day will help to achieve better results than sporadically working extra hard. Being consistent also helps to build trust in others such as your clients and your team.
- There is no easy route to success! To be successful, an entrepreneur needs to get out of their comfort zone and work hard, not being afraid to sweat. This hard work is what makes the reward even more satisfying.
“The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit. Be patient and stay the course”
– (Anon)
This is a quote that I use to remind myself of the importance of patience in being a successful Entrepreneur. No matter what goal I have set for myself or my company I know that patience is paramount. There is no overnight route to success and without patience it becomes very tempting to give up when things are not going the way I intended. Giving up is not an option!
What are your plans for the future, how do you plan to grow this company?
Future goals for House Designer include building a strong self-reliant team that can cover all areas of the business without the need to outsource any services. I believe that one team with a shared work ethos will make for a stronger more successful business. I also would like to upscale the business to the international market, eventually making our services available on a worldwide scale.
How have the pandemic and Lockdown affected you or your new business?
The pandemic and lockdown were a very trying time for many people. Because I try to see life as positively as possible, I used the time for self-reflection and found ways to rebuild myself. It was in fact during this period that I was able to do a soft launch of the business. Operating solely online was perfect for the business and the pandemic did not restrict its development. This was a time when home became the clients everything so finding ways to improve their homes was a welcoming distraction from the world’s events.
How do you separate yourself from your competitors?
Having unique traits that differ from your competitors is important for any successful business. House designer is currently the only online platform that offers both Interior and Garden Design services. We continue to strive in innovation with our realistic 3D renderings.
What were the top three mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from them?
When I started the business, the top three mistakes that I made was not spending enough time on developing the social media presence of the business, being too ‘soft’ with clients, and not delegating enough to team members.
- As an online business social media platforms are powerful tools that can be utilized in building the business as a brand and giving it its identity. However, this is a full-time job which takes a lot of time and planning. I did not realize this in the early days and the business was initially slower in having a presence on social media platforms.
- Clients would demand a lot of time and attention and with my eagerness to ensure that clients were satisfied, I would spend excess time trying to meet unrealistic expectations.
- Having started the business solely on my own, when I began to employ team members, I didn’t delegate enough to them. As time has gone on, I have learnt to become less self-reliant which has in turn enabled the business to grow more efficiently.
What are you learning now? Why is that important?
I am currently learning User Experience (UX) design. UX design ultimately ensures users of your services remain loyal to your brand. It covers the psychology of what makes an interface attractive and engaging to a client. As an online business, I feel it is important for me to personally understand and define our customer’s journey whilst using our service.
If you only had $1000 dollars to start a new business, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
If given $1000 to start a business I would use 50% on marketing and branding and the other 50% on physical products such as furniture/accessories. I think that the 50/50 split is necessary as without marketing the products will have no audience and vice versa. Being that I am able to build an e-commerce website from scratch, I should be able to put the business online in no time.
What is your favorite quote?
My favorite quote is
“Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”
– Buddha.
I find that being in the present is very important to my success I try to focus my mind on today, the present. This gives me the ability to improve and achieve more as I am not exhausting any energy on yesterday or the future.
What helps you stay driven and motivated to keep going in your business?
To keep myself motivated and driven I have an unwavering faith in God, exercise regularly by attending the gym and I have a hunger for success. These three things help to keep me grounded and focused on my goals.
Can you recommend one book, one podcast, and one online course for entrepreneurs?
My favourite podcast is ‘The Diary of a CEO’ by Steven Bartlett. His podcast features inspirational stories and tips from grassroots entrepreneurs that find relatable.
Principles by Ray Dalio is a very good book to read. The author is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world and he his secrets on what got him to where he is today. Very interesting and informative!
What valuable advice would you give new entrepreneurs starting out?
For any entrepreneur, I would encourage them to do an online course in social media and marketing. The course is easy for anyone to do and will prove to be one of the most valuable skills to learn for an entrepreneur in today’s world.
How can readers get in touch with you?
My personal website is samanthajane.com you can find me on Linkedin or Instagram. Do also check House Designer out at housedesigner.net
