Today we’d like to introduce you to Miranda Collier.
Hi Miranda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a small town called Minden, Nevada. It has miles of roaming cows and farmland surrounded by the lush Sierra Mountains, hot summers, and beautiful glistening winters. We spent our summers going up to Lake Tahoe to swim and spent our winters playing outside in the snow. It was a great place to grow up, but there wasn’t a ton going on as far as business was concerned. From the time when I was little, I always knew entrepreneurship was in my future; I would sell little trinkets that I made to all my neighbors, I’d pretend I owned an art shop and sold paintings to my sweet parents, things like that. My passion for design also started early on because my family built almost every house we lived in and flipped a few houses that we would either sell or rent out. While growing up, I spent most of my allowance money on décor for my room. I would ask my mom to switch bedrooms every year or so, and I would repaint it, redesign it, and see how many ways I could fit the furniture in the same space. In middle and high school, we would visit California for my cheerleading competitions, and there was a small voice inside me every time we visited that said, “this is where you belong.” But how did I get to San Diego, you ask? Well, out of the blue, my friend Sarah from school called me towards the end of my college career and offered me a compelling sales position in San Diego. Immediately I knew in my heart it was the ticket to my dream. I jumped in and moved there right after finishing college.
When I first arrived in San Diego, I lived for free in a townhome with three other guys, sleeping on a mattress on the floor that several other people had slept on; the bottom floor was rat and cockroach infested because the guys would leave the sliding door open. Yuck. Though it wasn’t glamorous, I was so grateful for the room. I got invited to church my first Sunday in San Diego and felt like I needed to go. I quickly gave my life to Jesus and never looked back. Ever since that moment, it has been nothing but healing, love, and a full community of other believers that thought a lot like me.
As I was in a year into solar, I started to dream of what else I could do as a profession, I knew I had a calling and purpose in this life, but what was it? I had to find out. After meeting the love of my life (at the time, we were best friends), Garrison, we went through a business apprenticeship that our church holds every year. Half of the applicants are accepted into this program, and coincidentally we both got in. Months later, we got engaged, and 3 months after that, after seeing me question my future often, Garrison told me to quit solar. He affirmed that he would do his best to provide so I could build the business of my dreams. Like I said earlier, I had always dreamed of owning an interior design business, but I thought you had to go to school or work for a firm in order to see success, so… I started an interior design course and went on a rampage trying to find a firm that would hire me, come to my surprise that none of them will hire you if you didn’t have multiple years of schooling or years of experience. I was left defeated and confused; how are you supposed to get experience if nobody will hire you to get experience?
This thought perplexed me, so over the next month, I reached out to some of my respected peers and mentors while continuously processing with Garrison, and they all told me, “Just start designing.” One specific individual told me to do it by “transforming people’s houses into beautiful homes.” This made sense to me, so I decided that day that I was going to stop waiting on others to make my dream come true and just start a business. One month later, I had five clients and was already debating hiring some help! Now almost a year in, I have offers for partnerships and am still designing people’s homes. It’s so exciting, and I’m pushing forward with excitement and anticipation for what’s to come.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For the most part, starting this business has been a smooth road; the main challenges were financial for us; my husband is also working at a startup company, and we are newly married, growing and learning as we go. Between paying bills, paying off debt, and paying for expenses of the business, we had too much month at the end of the money most months. It was incredibly challenging. But God is always faithful, and as we continued to pray, monitor our spending, and make our businesses a priority, they’ve continued to grow, and more opportunity has come our way in the recent months! For anyone out there who may be struggling, just keep going! You will get through it, and things will get easier.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in turning dark, lifeless houses into bright, airy, beautiful homes using timeless design techniques. Long term I desire to partner with multiple businesses that need design work to make their projects more beautiful and ultimately lead to a more beautiful San Diego. I am most proud of my design work and how fast we’ve grown this business. After only seven months, I am in shock and awe at how beautiful and seemingly fast this process has been. I believe what also sets us apart is our ability to partner with other companies to provide the most amount of services possible and the elegance, simplicity, and brightness of our California designs.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I can honestly say this business wouldn’t have been possible without my amazing husband Garrison; he helps me in every way possible, cheers me on, and continuously helps me with business strategy and accounting. He is truly amazing. I also must give credit to my best friend Sarah for getting me out to San Diego and showing me what true work ethic looks like. Of course, credit goes to my parents; they’ve always cheered me on and been there when I needed to believe in myself again, and loving support. My mentors and friends have all cheered me on, given me hope, advice, methods, and mental support when things get tough. And most importantly, none of this would be possible without God! The peace He’s brought me throughout the journey has been priceless. I’m truly so grateful for everyone in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mirandacollierdesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miranda_collier_design/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirandacollierdesign
Image Credits
Brenda Diaz
