Quintessential Jill-of-all-trades, Jo Laurie has experienced many career changes in her life. As a young student in her native England, Jo was pushed into the empirical sciences in school and specialized early on in chemistry, physics, and math. She is dyslexic and these disciplines were meant to help her focus on her strengths with numbers and equations.
Jo was successful in the sciences and in the British system under Margaret Thatcher; she was paid to attend university (free tuition plus a stipend) and earned a BSc (Hons), a degree with honors in Psychology. While Jo was stimulated intellectually, she yearned for a more creative outlet. So she left England and headed to New York City to reinvent herself and test-drive a new world.
Millinery Mania
For two years she explored her artistic side, working a total of 17 different jobs from modeling to jewelry making and restaurant work. She taught herself how to cook and sew and she discovered a passion for making hats. Her millinery creations took off and Jo hit the big time when her hats were picked up by the exclusive three Bs department stores in New York City: Barney’s, Bergdorf Goodman and Henri Bendel, and soon after, 70 stores worldwide.
While the hat business was successful for a good while, Jo’s artistic wanderlust led her to try additional opportunities, styling props and creating environments for photographers. In her bones she knew that she did not enjoy working for other people in a corporate or structured environment. She longed to be her own boss and match her creative talents with her scientific skill set. Friends asked her to consider designing a bar for them back in London and that was the beginning of Jo Laurie Interior Design.
Values of a Dual Citizen
Jo enjoys the best of her American and English worlds as a dual citizen and her design firm is home based in the USA to capitalize on the significance of New York City on the global stage. She shared with me her frustration about the American system of a typical two-week vacation allotment for most employees in an organization and thus, she really values being in control of her own time as her own boss.
This globe-trotter doesn’t live to work but works to live. She subscribes to the continental work philosophy of enjoying six-plus weeks of vacation annually. This is the norm in Europe, Australia and Canada but it saddens Jo that most American companies offer only a paltry two-week vacation period. There has been significant research that indicates European executives are more industrious per hour, as they are more rested mentally and physically. This translates into better productivity on the job. Jo is in touch with what she values and has made priorities in her life accordingly to live these principles.
The Reality of Being Your Own Boss
Jo has come a long way from her millinery days and established a multi-discipline design company, with projects ranging from corporate and hospitality to high-end residential. Located in downtown Manhattan, she has been operating internationally for over 15 years, and has developed an extensive portfolio of award-winning projects. As an interior designer, she has developed an understanding of the specialized needs of her clients worldwide by creating visually stimulating surroundings that produce unique, flexible, and functional environments.
But success does not come easily and even though Jo prioritizes multiple-week vacations each year, she works around the clock to keep her business thriving. Ninety-five percent of her business comes from referrals and satisfied customers. Her website is a powerful marketing tool and offers a delicious taste of the types of interiors Jo has created.
Her personal Board of Directors includes an old friend who has a very successful architecture firm who helps Jo navigate the business side of interior design. This mentorship has helped Jo identify and market her special sauce in the design arena. Another friend developed her website, brand, and identity. Her team is rounded out by an accountant, a marketing specialist, and another friend who has achieved great success in the financial industry. Jo has assembled a great resource team.
Dollars and Sense
While Jo is flexing her artistic muscles, she must always be concerned about the nuts and bolts of the business. Like many creative individuals, her first passion is the creative process, which in itself was not initiated by the desire to make money. With the help of some good mentors, Jo has seen a steady increase in clients as the businesses continue to grow – even in the recession. Cultivating new business is a constant need, so she also adheres to a realistic budget and a business framework that keeps her in the black.
The recession has hit the design industry as a whole, and for Jo, it has made cultivating new business more important than ever. She is always prepared to take a risk and try new things to make her business viable. Inspired by her grandmother, who always told Jo to go for it, she believes that taking a risk forces you to go to the next level. According to Jo, “You must continue to take risks to build your business and your dream. When you fail, you pick yourself up and start again because that’s what it’s all about.”
The Belle of the Bar
While Jo has achieved international recognition for her pub and bar interior designs from Sydney to London and beyond, she remains grounded in what is important to her. Personal life situations have helped Jo put it all in perspective, keep her focus on what is important in life, and to truly live what she values.
Jo continues to travel internationally to build her clientele and her inspiration for new designs. This straight-talking modern Englishwoman, whose formal education is steeped in the empirical sciences, has found a way to blend form, function, and art to build a business that meets her values and her passion. I have every confidence that Jo will continue to grow her career in different directions because blended within her inner scientist is the true temperament of an artist.
Jo’s Advice and Action Steps:
- Unorthodox is good – don’t be afraid to be different.
- Get other people to do what you can’t so you can concentrate on what you love and what you do well.
- Develop a resource team of experts to rely on when you need assistance. It’s a worthy investment.
Quote: “Your generation of women should do because you can!” – Jo’s Grandmother
Resources:
Jo Laurie Design www.jolauriedesign.com
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/jolauriedesign
Upworld www.upworld.com/jolauriedesign
