Business Spotlight: You've Got the Right Stuff Interiors

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by Laura Scott|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Contributing Writer|ret||ret||tab|

sbj@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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For Heather Goller, happiness is having a business and doing what you love. As a medical assistant in a doctor's office, she was only going through the motions, she said. There was no joy in her work, no time to attend her children's activities and no energy to enjoy family life.|ret||ret||tab|

"I was not happy at my job," Goller recalls. "It was a lot of hours and not much pay. My husband, Phillip, and I sat down one day and made a list of other things I was good at."|ret||ret||tab|

The list included decorating, so Goller decided to look into interior design. In her research, she found Lauri Ward, a nationally recognized designer who teaches courses on her successful system, "Use What You Have."|ret||ret||tab|

"It teaches the system Lauri has perfected for over 20 years," Goller explained. "It was one week of all-day sessions; in-home consultations that gave me experienced learning. It included redecorating New York City apartments by helping people re-use what they already had."|ret||ret||tab|

After completion of the course, Goller became an Interior Refiners Network member and opened You've Got The Right Stuff Interiors in October 2002. "I specialize in coming to your home and pulling it together quickly without a lot of cost," Goller said. "I go in and give a design plan, even on empty spaces. There are many things you can do to make a beautiful space. I make a checklist for my client that they can use as time and budget allows. One month you might paint, the next month (you might) add window treatments and so on. The checklist helps my client to stay focused, and it's timeless. It will still get the end result you want."|ret||ret||tab|

Goller's clients range from newlyweds combining two households of furniture to single adults just out of college. Some are renters and others own their homes. She sees an average of three clients a week.|ret||ret||tab|

"Often I will do one room at a time for a client," Goller said. "Once they have it done, they have me come back to do the next room."|ret||ret||tab|

One of those clients, Hazel Lauderdale, sought Goller's assistance in helping her put together the rooms in her new residence after she moved to the area from Colorado.|ret||ret||tab|

"I had unpacked and put my stuff out around my house, but it never really presented itself well. I didn't have the time to do it all, so I looked in the phone book and found Heather," Lauderdale said. "I called her and asked her to do an estimate. We started in the bedroom and bathroom, then I asked her to do more. She rearranged things and made it look much better. All we bought were some plate hangers, tapered candles and a basket." |ret||ret||tab|

Before long, Lauderdale had asked Goller to redo her home from the basement up. |ret||ret||tab|

"She is well worth what she does," said Lauderdale, a church secretary. "She's very good at it. She said, Tell me if you don't like it,' but there was nothing I wanted to change. Before she left, she gave me hints of things I can do later on."|ret||ret||tab|

Common decorating mistakes include having an uncomfortable conversation area in the living room and having an off-balanced feel to a room. Goller helps correct those mistakes. "A lot of people have looked at the same things for so long and never move around what they have," Goller said. "I talk ideas and plans over with my clients and learn their taste and style. It's not about my taste and style. It's what makes you happy."|ret||ret||tab|

Popular shows like "Trading Spaces" have inspired more people to consider a home makeover. Goller said many people don't realize how affordable it can be.|ret||ret||tab|

"I can work with any budget and I can help people save money just by picking the right colors," said Goller.|ret||ret||tab|

For rooms with the longest wall less than 19 feet, Goller said she will advise on every detail for $200. Rooms with a wall less than 24 feet in length cost $300 to redecorate, however Goller does offer multiple-room discounts. "I help you determine your budget and we go from there," she said. Goller also works with clients who are getting their home ready to sell or who are about to move.|ret||ret||tab|

"When a client is moving to a new place, we go over their floor plan and decide what things can be sold and what things they can keep before they move," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

With interest rates low, Goller's business began to fall off in the area of getting homes ready to re-sell. "Homes were selling fast and my re-sell ready service business was falling off," Goller said. "I had to change my target market to adjust. I changed to seniors, helping them move into a new place."|ret||ret||tab|

The holidays can also slow down business for Goller, but she's learned that offering her services to help decorate for Christmas boosts her business. "With every obstacle, I have to think of a new (way to diversify)," she added.|ret||ret||tab|

"Some people have us redo their child's room as a treat for good grades or to encourage the child to have more responsibility for their room. |ret||ret||tab|

"When you help a child decorate a room to his or her taste, they have more pride in their room and it encourages them to hang out at home."|ret||ret||tab|

For this mom of two boys, ages 11 and 14, the flexibility of owning a business and running it from her home is a great advantage.|ret||ret||tab|

"I love being able to do in-home consultations without having the overhead. I have no employees as of now, but I'd like to hire a receptionist to answer the phone rather than having voice mail," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

"I work hand-in-hand with the popular do-it-yourself industry," she explains. "I provide sources to my clients as to where things are on sale, or I can help them find a good painter."|ret||ret||tab|

Goller doesn't feel that conventional interior designers are her competition. "If you can afford it, go for it," she said. "I'm there for the average person with a budget."|ret||ret||tab|

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