Building a People-First Business with Heather Fujikawa of House Sprucing- 71

This is Creative Counsel Episode 71: Building a People-First Business with Heather Fujikawa of House Sprucing. Welcome to Creative Counsel with Brittany Rettell. I'm your host Brittany, an attorney for creatives who believes in solid contracts and cute office supplies, and who wants to empower you to be a more confident business owner. Whether you're a creative, influencer, maker, artist, shop owner, or content creator, you are not just a blank. You are a real bona fide business owner. So let's help you own your business and get you legally legit With Britt. Hi, this is your host Brittany Rettell here, and I'm so excited to have you join me for the podcast. I have to give a little bit of a caveat because this episode with Heather Fujikawa, who's tremendously talented and is a good friend of mine, was actually recorded more than a year and a half ago. And it's not because it wasn't an amazing conversation. It was. And it's not because Heather's not great. But chalk it up to COVID and a tremendous tech failure on our part. We lost a hard drive and had a— it took a long time to get it all recovered and get some of the interviews back. And this was one them. And so, um, and then I've just been embarrassed that it took so long to get it out. And so, um, anyway, it's taken a while to get to this point. But all of that aside, it's a great conversation, and I'm happy to report that Heather has just gone on to move from our conversation here about her working on Design Twins and the work that she was doing has now grown and expanded her brand. She took over a, um, a smaller local interior design studio in Texas called House Sprucing and has kind of exploded that brand and now has her own line that she's doing. She was just at High Point last week killing it, which if you know anything about the interior design home furnishings world, you know that being at High Point is a really big deal. So really excited to share this with you because the nuggets and gems as I reviewed this and put together show notes are still really timely and important, and I think, um, will really further your conversation whether you're an interior designer or a service professional or not. Maybe you're interested in working with family or knowing what kind of goes behind the scenes of getting a TV show and the highs and lows and truths about that, um, to, you know, managing being a working mom and it, you know, being able to shift through industries. Um, Heather's had a really great story in that she's worked in multiple things in her business and been able to bring talents and kind of navigate some of those arcs in her story altogether. And if you're interested in hearing more about her and seeing her, you know, fabulous work, her portfolio of work and the stuff that she's doing, her projects and her— some of her goods that she's selling, you can find all at House Sprucing is the most up-to-date way you can get a hold of her, and all of that will be in the show notes. So, okay, without further ado and talking from me and delay, which, sorry again, apologies to you, huge apologies to Heather, let's get to it and listen to this wonderful episode with the one and only Heather Fujikawa. Hello everybody and welcome back to the podcast. I'm so excited for you guys to chat with our amazing guest today.

This is Heather Palmer Fujikawa, who I have actually had the pleasure of knowing since college, but I'm just so excited to have her here today. And I know you guys are going to love hearing more if you're not already familiar with her amazing work, all the exciting things that she's doing. So welcome Heather to the podcast.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Brittany. It's so fun to be here and to be connecting with you. And I just love like our background with going to school together and all that you've done and created and built. It's really exciting.

Likewise.

So I wanted to have you give a little origin story, X-Men style, because You have been an amazing, talented entrepreneur, and I know growing up with some of that kind of creative design style in your household, but you're now in interior design, but you've taken a wandering creative path. So fill people in on where you started after school. We were both coming to communications program together at BYU, but what happened after? Where, where did you go from there?

Okay. Um, fun. Yeah, I'm definitely a hippie at heart and a wanderer. And after school I moved to LA and I was there as a newlywed and I was just discovering discovering what I wanted to do. And I just found myself in the beauty and fashion industry working for a small startup and realized I love to be an entrepreneur and I always had, and I really identified with the company I was working with and really wanted to build something of my own. And so I started building a hair accessory and jewelry fashion accessory business actually with my twin sister Heidi, who also lived in California. So we were there together physically, which is always an important part to live close to your business partner. And we started growing that and it just really And it kind of took off really quick. We got sold at Nordstrom and got into some fashion magazines. Some really great celebrities were wearing our things like Taylor Swift or Kelly Clarkson. And we were just, it was just like one of those fun things that was like, oh wow, this is taking off, this is fun.

And it was totally on trend. And in fact, I still have some of your hair accessories. I remember buying some and they were really cute with sequins and they had multicolors and yeah, they were just, they were beautiful. And they were about, you guys have to remember, this was the hot trend that everyone was wearing.

Some sort of hairpiece headbands.

Yes, this was very Gossip Girl 2007. So yes, oh, I love that you have these. Yeah, I do.

My daughters wear them now. They think they're great.

Oh, that's so fun. It's so funny because, and we can talk, we'll talk more about this, but the trend for hair accessories and that, that type of fashion that we were doing has come back now because it's been 10, 10+ years. And so it was really tempting for Heidi and I, my business partner and I, to think, oh, let's jump back in the game. We have all the contacts, we have all the sources, we have the manufacturing, but we're really like organic to staying true to our passions. And that was then, and this is now. So that's a fascinating part. But anyway, so we jumped from doing that and then we started, we, I always loved writing and we wanted to write a children's book, my twin sister and I. And so we wrote Fairy Birds and it's about where fairy godmothers come from. And it's just this really cute book that teaches kids how to just shine bright and help others. And so we did that. And once again, we got really blessed with great opportunities selling at Costco and through Scholastic Books and like Parents Magazine and things like that. So you can see my public relations background with going to school with you really played into the creation of these entrepreneurial businesses. I used those skills to get some great media attention, which also helped with getting in some really great brands and, and some stores. With retailers. So that was that. And then with—

and the book is really cute too. And I also still have the book. Yeah, it's, it's super whimsical. The colors, it's like high saturation.

It's a very cute book with the little cute little bird names. So for the characters, yeah.

You're so sweet. Thank you. The backstory on that is I was like just going through years of infertility. I'm like, I gotta connect with kids somehow because I'm just waiting on these babies. So that's where the heart of the book came from. And then so that was like 6 years, 6, 7 years ago. No, about 6 years ago anyway. And then so, but what I'm doing now, everything is really writing and telling someone's story and design. That's where I found my heartbeat. But I kept just going with organic passions that I was really into at the time and very much follow that type of vibe. And my husband and I, we moved to Italy and had a great experience. But when we came back, we were there for a couple of years. We came back and we moved to the suburbs of Dallas. Texas. And I was like, what am I going to do here? Because after college I was so inspired by Los Angeles and California. And then we went to Italy and so inspired. And that's where I did a lot of the writing for the book. And then we came here to Dallas and I'm like, what's there to do here? And I think I'm very responsive to my environment. And so I had noticed that a lot of people were really into moving to Texas for jobs and that everyone was just buying houses and that design was needed to be done. And the funny thing is I always wanted to go to school for interior design, But my mother is an incredible interior designer for 25+ years with just so much residential and commercial experience that I was helping and assisting with for years and years. And so she was always telling me, go to school for something else, you already know this trade. So I knew I was gonna dabble in it at some point and I always was helping, like whether our own apartment or home or other friends. But when I got here, I got serious about it. So for the last 5+ years, I've been doing interior design. And that has been something that I'm like, okay, I'm finally here. I finally followed what I originally thought I was going to do and everything else with the public relations, the writing and the design part of the fashion accessories has really built towards this opportunity of doing the interior design services. So that was a very long version.

But it's great.

What I think is really inspiring and what I think is, really cool to hear from another's perspective is like that you pursued your passions.

You were one, a person who was in touch with things that you were interested in, that you had a connection with, but you also weren't limited to say, oh, I don't know this business, or I haven't done this before. That doesn't mean that I can't move forward with faith and confidence and find out what I can. And I mean, for you to be able to jump successfully to be into fashion and then have a launch a children's book, where do you think you got the confidence to figure out, hey, we can do this, we can figure this stuff out, we can make the contacts, we can make the phone calls, we can move forward.

Such a great question, and thank you so much. I think confidence definitely came from being a twin. So I was always doing these businesses with my twin sister Heidi, and if we were just together, like, we just don't really see anything else. Like, we just feel confident in each other, and we don't really get too affected by all the nos and everything. And then another thing is my dad, he was in a line of sales. He still is in this line of sales, and he would make like 100 phone calls a day and get 99 nos, but there's always that one person that'll pick up. And that is where I think a lot of my grit came from where I was like, hey, there's the probability factor. There's gonna be a lot of nos out there, but someone's bound to say yes. You just have to keep going.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, eventually you will be successful. Yeah, you just got to have the grit and the determination and just say, oh, that's a no from this person, it doesn't mean that's a no for the whole project.

That's not, that's not a deal killer.

Totally. And also learning from the people that say no. Like, I remember my first cold call for an internship. In New York with public relations. Some— I was calling an editor to pitch something for a hotel chain and the editor was like, okay, can I give you some tips? I'm like, yes, my shaky voice. He's like, slow down and let's start here. Thank you for taking your time and not just being like, oh, what a waste, click. And so I think really just learning. I'll never forget that call. Learning, asking questions. I still to this day, I just had 2 consults with clients yesterday. I said, how can we, with my interior design consulting, like how can we improve? What are some pain points for you guys with our processes? How can we go into the new year with fixing any problem points? So I think being self-aware and also being okay to change really helps.

Yeah. Being humble enough to still be teachable from the moments, even if you're now, you're well-versed in experienced design and doing custom design services, but you're not above asking, is this process working for me, for you, for us as a team?

And going forward, are we making sure that we're, we're clicking and we're connecting the way we need to be?

Definitely. Definitely.

And so you launched your successful design business and you got your twin roped into it and you guys, you were even on a TV show.

So tell us about how that all came to be. Yeah.

Okay. So yeah, that's the fun part. And I also told a lot of background because one of the main points I want listeners to hear today is to move forward with faith and to build. You always have to be building something. And so just taking like these organic practices gets you to these different places, right? So we had a TV network reach out to us. This was a couple of years ago about doing a design and twin show because I'm a twin sister entrepreneur. They call us twinpreneurs. And my twin sister has a set of twins and I have a set of twins. She has twin girls, I have twin boys. And the whole story is just like funny. It's funny, it's cute. There's some interest there. And so this was actually the third time reached out by a production company and a network to look at doing a TV show. So the first time was like MTV in our 20s when we were living in LA. They brought us in to talk about doing this TV show with us and we were not a fit for them and they were not a fit for us.

And you had the savviness to understand that, that not, it's not always a yes flattering, but maybe not a yes.

Yeah.

Yes. We were like, okay, we'll come. They made a cold call anyway. So it was funny, but we learned a lot from them. We learned the questions to ask. We had started thinking would we want something like that? And the answer was no with that. And also we weren't a fit for them as well. And then the second time, some producers from TLC contacted us and that was right after I had newborn twin babies. I was like outside, just babies. And they called and I'm like, I'm not interested. This is like so comical. I can't believe someone will contact us again, but thank you. I would never put, expose my children on TV type of place. And so I was just like very much in that camp. And then the third time was so serendipitous when someone contacted us that I could not shake it. I had to see it through. And so the third time we were in, my husband and I were in New York City with our twins. A production company called or emailed and was like, we really want to look at your story to do a reality TV show with. Can, can you meet? We met with them in New York and we're never in New York. They're in New York, but just the whole thing and it just felt so different and I just felt really a huge pull. Once again, you can see my organic nature to just go down the road and be organic to what I feel like is next. And yeah, we started going down that path and it was like a lightning bolt. It was just a speed train. Usually those processes with like production companies and TV shows and things like that, there's a lot of roadblocks, but it's like everything had been cleared our way and we found a home with an amazing network that's all about faith and family and just safe. It's a safe boutique network called Up TV. And so we got greenlighted, which means they picked up our show, they wanted to run with us, and then we started signing contracts and legal stuff.

So fun.

And that's when it all started. So that's like the long story, but I wanted to share because once again, it wasn't just, oh, we got a TV show, someone called us and the next day it all happened. Things don't happen like that. Businesses don't happen like that. Products don't happen like that. Big opportunities don't happen like that. There's so much behind the scenes that was going.

So, oh, that's exciting. And when you guys, launching, started filming for it, your sister was actually moving to Texas and moving in with you guys for a while. So tell us about that.

Because I think that— talk about you having faith in the process, in yourselves, in your relationship, but also like in the network. Because I mean, that could be prime, like, gotcha reality TV show. Oh, let's see what happens. How many people can we get under one roof and how many children and throw a tinderbox in there and just watch it all unfold. We're just here for the popcorn in the comments to see. Yeah.

Yes, that is so— that was one of our biggest fears. The four of us, as in my husband, myself, my twin sister Heidi, and her husband Paul, were like, what are they gonna do? Like, are they gonna just drop in these drama pieces? Because we're not really dramatic people, especially the combination of the four of us. So it was pretty funny. So the comedy really had to come from just the natural reaction of being in a space all together and, and the kids and the chaos. Because my twin sister moved from San Diego and dropped— came, drove in on our doorstep, to our doorstep with So we had 7 kids ages 6 and under living under one roof, and Heidi, my twin sister, was pregnant. So, and we had about a production company team of about, the network had about 15 to 20 people in our home a day with mics and lighting and cameras and all these things following our life from feeding the kids to giving playroom rules with the kids upstairs and finding balance with the family and then following us with our interior design projects and remodels for each episode as well. So it was wild. There wasn't a lot of sleep. Kids were troopers. They were such good troopers. But just like anything, we had to set some ground rules with who we were working with, whether it was the camera people or the network, ourselves, our family, just to lay it down and be like, okay, we're okay with filming in these rooms, or we're okay with— this isn't our— the show showing certain things and elements.

So just putting some boundaries up for yourself and your family.

Yeah. Yeah. So boundaries help because then you knew you know, what the talking points were for the day in a sense. And it was all organic content, but we weren't going to be pushed to do certain drama points or—

Yeah, that were outside of your comfort zone and that were going to feel forced. So in terms of who you were, what your personality is, how you work together.

Yeah, definitely. And I, it was definitely one of those moments where you stand up for yourself over and over and again and who, what you believe, what you represent, all sorts of things. And it's to the point at the end where you're just like, oh, my answers going to be saying it's one of those knockdown— remember when we were kids and you had those inflatable punching bags? Yes.

And then you put like sand at the bottom or whatever.

Yes.

And you just knock it and then you'd come back up. I was like, we were just like, we're coming back up with the same thing right now. But yeah, it was a fun adventure, a good experience, learning moments of course, but just such a great opportunity. And we love the network and it went so well. We love the production crew and it was really, it was a great experience.

That's great overall. So that it was a, that was a good fit.

And then outside of that, you guys have now spun your and grown your your design business now that you're doing full-time, your husband's working with you, is your sister still with you or is she doing her own design business or how did that kind of evolve? Yeah.

Heidi, my twin sister, she and her husband, they moved back to San Diego. Um, they have some things there that they need to stay with in particular his job, Paul's job called them back and they needed to be there for that. But we still work together on Design Twins content. We still work with UPTV. We're part of their brands. And we just launched 10— no, 8 episodes with them for the holiday season.

I was gonna say your Christmas ones were super cute. Yes, I watched your tablescape stuff. And it actually reminded me a lot of my mom because my mom does the same thing.

She—

you talked about how setting the table early so you can enjoy it but have time. But my mom, I mean, she sets things up like weeks beforehand. I think she had Thanksgiving set up by like November 1st. Like she already had it all up, which is— it's just so beautiful. I wanted to see it like And she has the luxury of having a nicer dining room and so it can stay up and in a different room that's not being used for your day-to-day stuff. But yeah, that made me smile because that's totally something my mom would do.

That's so sweet. I love that. That's amazing. And so yeah, we still do the Design Twins and then we help each other with design ideas and brainstorms with our projects, of course, because we're used to working together. But physically she has clients in San Diego, like a really fun beachfront, like really different clients she's working on. And then I have my clients here in Dallas. It's just too hard to do the clients when you're physically not in checking on the remodels and things like that.

You guys are— there's a lot that e-design has evolved, but still when you're working in a one-on-one, that's a physical space. We're talking about, do the rugs work with this? Did they send the right drawer pulls?

It's very difficult if you're not actually by your installs.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. But yeah, we very much are a part of everything we do because that's just what we've always done. And so it's the best. I love having a twin. But this new endeavor, Habitat Studio, which is our design team here in Dallas, this has been an interesting and new feat for me because I've been working with Tyson, my husband, as my business partner, and we have really scaled it. We're all about scaling the design services. So we have a full design team, marketing, we've, we have just an assistant. We just are really, we're taking on 25+ clients at a time. So there's a lot to juggle and, um, we're excited about it and also being more in the service, um, industry versus selling products to Nordstrom or books to Costco or things like that. So that's been a fascinating place to be and we're, we're learning a lot and we are having some really great success and we're super excited about it. That's awesome.

So how have you liked the pull in terms of switching back to more, you know, services-based business rather than product?

Do you, did you like that direction? Is that just something you felt that it was naturally complementing where you wanted to take your business?

Yeah, I think what I really leaned into was the demand. So from Design Twins, the TV show, a lot of the demand, we have a line of products, a product line called Joyful Living, and we sell like rugs and art, and we have a Joyful Living book we came out with, and all sorts of things. But people like the products, but they're loving and really requesting the design services. That's where the demand was coming, was for those design services. And so we just thought, you know what, one thing we learned from filming this TV show from our showrunner producer was to lean in on life. She would always say, Heather, just lean in. Because I was like, why are you so chill? What's going on? Aren't you stressed?

Because aren't you supposed to be high-strung? You're in the entertainment industry. Yeah.

I'm like, Wait a minute, I'm stressed out right here. She's leaning into it. You don't feel well today? Tell everyone you don't feel well today. You know, she was the best. Like she just, she, and I was like, I want to lean in the rest of my life. So instead of trying to push and pull in a direction that might not feel as natural, just lean into what is working, what people are wanting in terms of business. And so that's what we did. We leaned into the design services and it's really been leaning into back into us and been a good thing.

And I like that you are coupling that with, with the support. You're not saying, hey, we're going to try to scale this as if you guys could do it on your own or if that's a good use of your time or services.

But you are, like you said, you are built in that you have help, that you have the systems in place, the other expertise so that you can actually scale this to a business that you wanted to. It reminds me when I had Shay on Studio McGee, we talked a lot about like, how do you hire designers? Because design work is such an aesthetic base and people are hiring you, they want you to come and do their house. But when it— when they're getting you, but also through other people who are helping you, when you're onboarding and looking for people to join your team, how do you communicate that vision to make sure you guys are all on the same page?

That's such a good question. And that's something that I'm super particular about as well, because that's what people are going to be hired, they want to hire our services for. I, they, our designers go through lots of testing before they join our team. I give them the vision, what they're wanting, seeing if they're a really good match to what we gravitate towards naturally as a company. Also communication is key. Are they close to my, and similar in a way to my personality? Because I want everything to feel upbeat and fresh and positive. We're helping people's homes. So we're going to try to bring sunshine, not, not responding or cold calls or things like that. There's a big process with that. But the biggest process is that I really have my eyes on everything. So I lead creatively all the projects. I have incredible designers that really do a lot of the heavy lifting so I can still take on more projects, so I can still be a mom, so I can get dinner made and drop off at preschool and have a baby in a month or so. So that's—

You're just amazing.

Your fourth baby.

Yeah.

It's just incredible. I don't know about amazing, but we're trying. We are trying over here.

So you're leaning in, that's what you're doing. Yeah.

It's an exciting time.

Leaning into life. And now that Tyson is working in your business with you, what does that look like? Because I don't, I can't remember what he was doing in Italy, but I don't think it was a design background, correct? Yeah.

It wasn't a design background. So Tyson's really come in with a lot of operations and systems, which is really great. HR, finances, invoicing, all things I really don't like to do. To do. I like the HR part, but with finances and ordering and shipping and handling and all sorts of things for our clients, those are things I'd rather be focusing on our artistry and the branding of our clients and our company. And that's what he really enables, is really being able to take a lot of time off of me to get the other thing. But I did, I was thinking about this question because you sent it over, because I'm like, I want to address this one. And so I wrote some notes. And so I, because it hasn't been easy and that's why I wanted to—

It's an amazing reality, even with the best spouses. Of people who love each other very much. It's still, it's working with somebody.

You're, there are rough edges. They're going to come in working with close proximity to any human being, even your spouse.

Yeah, totally. And yeah, that, that is, that has been hard. But we also like, it's gotten so much better. We launched Habitat Studio about 4 months ago in September. And since then it's like gotten so much better. But I've realized the biggest things I have to do is see my own weaknesses. Which is interesting. So I think it's all about perspective. See where he's coming from on a conversation when we try to sit down and have a business meeting and value his perspective because my perspective is not the best. His perspective is not the best. It's the best when we see each other's perspective and we grow and build off of both perspectives. So doing that and then also seeing my own weaknesses, that's been like very humbling this year, but also so good. The more I see my weaknesses and I try to edit, the, I think the stronger our brand will be and myself individually as a person. So I think that's been good. And then just patience. I am so lucky because Tyson's such a team player. He's just such a, he's such a good dad and he helps out with, he does the laundry, he scrubs the floors. Those are, he's like more, if you watch Design Twins, you'll see all this come out in his personality and it's all true and it's very helpful for me and he really helps out so that I can have more hands to do some more things like help run this business that we're trying to build.

He's a true team player.

Yeah. In that respect.

Yeah.

Understands. This is the giant list of tasks that need to get done.

So how can we just make sure that it happens and not worry too much about what's on each other's plate? Yeah. So yeah. Oh, that's super cool.

Yeah.

And I think what you said in terms of this comes with emotional maturity, which nothing will make you self-confront as much as being an entrepreneur and having your own business because you have to figure out how are you going to handle problems and things that come up. And then now when you add more people and you're trying to communicate and all be in the same jet ski going in the same direction. Yeah, you're going to have to deal with what are you not great at and what are you dropping the ball at and what do you need to make sure that you are communicating and getting other people to help you with. And yeah, vice versa.

That's all said so well. I totally agree.

Yeah, definitely.

And on that same note, what has it been like working on and off with your sister in your various business pursuits?

What's worked with you guys in terms of making sure that you're having good boundaries and that your relationship, which I'm sure as sisters is the most important thing to you, but you also want to have a healthy work relationship as things ebb and flow.

So that is— I'm really real about this podcast. I'll be like, this was hard. That was this, that was that. And so when I say this, this is the truth. We've probably argued maybe 2 times. Maybe I can think of maybe through the 10 years. We just, we were born twin sisters for a reason. Like we just get each other. She is She's the best and we are just each other's yin and yang and she is so good for me. She is just so good for me and I just, she is just that balance for me and that has been easy. There's other parts that have been hard, like trying to get in a product somewhere or trying to do quality control on 10,000 jewelry pieces to TJ Maxx or whatever it is. But when it comes to our relationship, we have been very blessed there. So our friendship comes first and yeah, but I think a tip to make it that way, when we talk on the phone, it's not like we jump right into work. It's like, how are you? How are the kids? How are you feeling? What's going on today? Just we're sisters first and then we talk about the other stuff.

Right.

So yeah.

And yeah, making sure that it's a people-first conversation and perspective on each other and what matters.

Yeah.

I've learned that from my cousin Jessica. She is an incredible entrepreneur, one of the best, maybe the best I know with her, what she's built. And she just— what her and her husband, their thing is love on the people, just love on the people. That's like their motto to start with for any of their businesses. So that's true.

Yeah, very on point. That's just wonderful.

You guys are a shining example of that, and I like how you're honest about it, but that it's, it's a healthy thing for you guys to come together to understand and appreciate each other and just really be invested in each other's success in your life. And that shows in the, the energy and the warmth that you have towards everything you guys do together.

Oh, thanks. And I don't mean to say it's perfect. Nothing's perfect.

But no, no, nothing is.

You're part of my life, is that relationship.

But it is really important. I mentioned, I prompted you to see if there are any other kind of lessons.

You mentioned a couple other like roadblocks or challenges that you've had in your business, especially anything that's touched on the business system-wise or legal-wise that you've seen as you've grown and scaled these businesses that you would like to say, hey, here's something, a shout out if you can maybe avoid some of these lessons or know that you're not alone in some of these struggles that come with just starting and growing businesses.

Definitely. I think taking your business serious, that you start— I've heard this from Susan Peterson from Freshwood. Yes, love Susan. You don't apologize. Don't apologize, don't shrink, don't make yourself small when someone says, "Oh, did you start a business?" "Oh yeah, it's just a little website.

It's just a little book. It's just a little blog." Yeah, don't put it in some little box like it needs to take up less room.

Yeah. Totally, because your vision will shrink. That self-talk that you're telling the world it's gonna start filling your own head and then that's gonna limit your vision. So I think, yes, I love that, in this new year to just think big. So it's like with the Habitat Studio, we've tried to really think big. It's like long-term, okay, we need legal help and we got— we need to set up contracts in place for clients. We need to set up contracts with our employees, all that type of— all those systems we need to be in place. I've contacted you about your help with especially with starting to do more brand collaborations and things like that. So we're excited to use your services in the coming year. Really need help with that. And I think just realizing that we used to use, what's it, LegalZoom or the online sites for some of our other businesses. And I'm just like, I, yeah, it's always nice to take like the clean edited path of using actual legal counsel. And I think that's what we learned from doing the show. We had a lot of legal counsel throughout the show. We had a New York entertainment lawyer that was on our end that we had everything filed through and lots of other things. And so we learned the value there. And since that value, I'm like, it's all about using those. So I'd say use a lawyer, definitely. And I love that you're so dialed in, in what you do online and with small businesses that grow and bloom and with women entrepreneurs. And I know you're not the only one, but I just, I think that's so awesome. So I think your services are great.

Thanks. I think it's a really exciting time and I think it's such a privilege and a beautiful privilege that we get to live in an age where businesses can grow.

We've got the barriers to entry have been lowered in so many ways because of of digital media, because of the cost to get entry into certain markets and to reach people, whether that's through information or physical products or digital products or whatnot, or one-on-one services that, yeah, what an exciting time to be able to go out and do your own thing and really chase your passions and to have that supported and grow in the right way.

I love that so much and I love how empowering you are. And so if you have, you just have all the like the great points It's really— And this is since you're such a cheerleader, so I love those thoughts.

I love it, I love that. I was a cheerleader, actually, but not a huge surprise to everybody.

Go Vikings! But so I love that I get to do that as part of my business, is to really be behind people and be like, no, we can do this.

We'll set up the contract, we'll send it over, you don't need to feel sheepish about it.

It's gonna be great. We're gonna move this ball forward, yeah.

Totally, totally. Yeah. That's so awesome.

That's so great.

Okay, and so I wanted to touch a little bit more about just design-wise, as you guys have grown, your business, what has worked for you and what would you say if there is some kind of listicle or other tips that you can give to someone else in terms of as they're maybe trying to grow a design business, whether it's interior design or something else that's like a kind of creative one-on-one service, what can help them really reach that next level of a real, air quotes, real business?

Awesome. I love that. And I love like hearing the 3 take-home tips or the challenge to leave with. I would say 3 tips to starting a business, whether you're starting or whether you're taking a new direction, or would be to start with the end in mind. I think that's really what's pushed me with different brands and the different companies we've created is just what could it be? What do I want it to be and what could it be? And having that clear vision, cause I walk towards that direction and if I don't have anything to walk towards, my passion's down, my, my work ethic is down. You have to have that goal in mind. And so having a big, fatty goal, like a 5-year-plus goal. Just make it big and bold and have that be what you're looking at down the road in your mind. And then with that, I would say the second thing is just to throw fear out the window. Just like you said, how did you not feel fearful? And I was like, well, I have my twin sister. And you like have to borrow someone else's testimony or belief until you find your own. I feel like just move forward. And that is something I learned this weekend too. I was listening to a talk and someone had gone through an experience and they were like, yeah, you just keep moving forward. Because I do have hard times. I do have hard days where I'm like, oh, this is a lot to juggle. But if you just keep moving forward in those micro steps, you're going to— those micro steps turn into huge steps.

They turn into a bigger deal. I think those are all such great tips. Oh, one more thing I forgot. I was jumping around my order, but talking about being a mama of littles, we're a podcast.

A lot of my listeners are women, and this is a reality that I mean, part of you could say, okay, down with the patriarchy. We don't ask guys how they balance at all. But this is the reality that a lot of us still, we are, we are mothers. This is a very important role to us in terms of how we mother and how we make it work also with our dreams and our passions and what we've been called to do. What's working for you in terms of balancing that, which I know balance is a terrible word, but it's all we have.

I know, I know. What's that other word for balance? Can we come up with it? Yeah. And no, I love that. And I love that you said that about we don't ask guys and I want to say I look at my husband as a great example because he does do the juggle also. And so I love that about him. He's very present, engaged when he is home, and then he tries to stay in touch with us when he isn't. And then he helps out whenever he can. And so I feel like those, that's like, those are, those are really big to me. They might sound small to someone else, but the consistency is the thing that takes it over the top for our family, for our kids, for myself. And so I would just say like being present when I am around my kids. Like, someone asked me recently, why don't you wear that Apple Watch? And for me, I can't because it feels too connected. So I try to compartmentalize, and that's for someone else, maybe they need to because they will feel anxious without it and they need to stay in touch that much or whatever. There's no right or wrong, but for me, wearing an Apple Watch right now doesn't work. And because I'm really into compartmentalizing when I'm working, I am working. And when I'm off, I try— I say try— to be off. I put my phone up and I just, I'm just there. And I think eye contact is huge with little ones. So yeah, I would say compartmentalizing and just being present and just embracing that joyful chaos because there's so much chaos whether it's in work or the in-between transition between work and family or with the family and just seeing it for what it is, which is beautiful and that we're living and breathing and we have these like healthy minds and bodies to work. And like what a blessing that is, like just stripping it down and just seeing it for what it is, which is so many blessings.

Yeah, seeing the wonder in all of that, really. Yeah, just what an incredible thing to have a family, to have a body, to be able to be here and present in this moment, whatever it is, this day, this season.

Yeah, such good things.

You can see why Heather is amazing and has such great joy for life.

You could see why Joy for Living is all part of her brand and is just infused personality and everything that she is doing. So if people want to connect more with you, if they want to watch you on your great little episodic, your little TV shows that you're doing, how can they connect with you? What's the best way to follow all the exciting things that you're doing?

Oh, you're so sweet. Thank you. So you can follow on Instagram @heatherfujikawa. Our website is www.thehabitatstudio.com. And that's where you can find us. And when then with our Design Twins TV show, it's on UPTV cable network. So you go to uptv.com. They actually have our season that was for 2019 on their cable network. On a lot of the episodes, they've listed online as teasers to get to watch some of the show. Not all 10 episodes are there, but a few so you can get a taste. And then we also have lots of webisode content that we do for them that's listed online too.

So great.

So you think you ever spread out and will do your own content? You want to be on YouTube or have your own kind of platform for video, or do you like having the help of someone else with stuff?

I, right now, I love having the support and the platform of the UPtv network. I just love them. They are so empowering and everything they do is uplifting. So it's really been a special thing for us. So I think for right now we're going to stick with them.

Yeah, you probably have enough on your plate with all your amazing work. Thanks so much, Heather, for coming on and just joining us and sharing some of your amazing spirit and journey about your work.

So I hope people will reach out to you and if they're not already in love with what you're doing, we'll just just be even more—

oh, you're so sweet. Thank you so much. Thank you for anyone listening. Thank you.

Thank you for tuning in to that fantastic episode. Um, if you're interested in getting the show notes, you'll find those in the links. Um, those go back to our blog at brittanyrotell.com. And if you're interested in figuring out more about how to move your business forward, um, navigating whether you're selling products, services, digital products, or a combination thereof, and just looking get some more clarity about starting, protecting, and scaling a business, we'd love to help support you with that. And so our number one resource for you that's free is our Legally Legit Workbook, and that is our free freebie that you can get if you can go to the link here in the show notes or getlegitwithbritt.com. And you can get— that's a 3-page PDF handout that walks you step by step on kind of the things you should maybe be thinking about as you're starting and scaling your to kind of give you a way to check off things on that list. It's kind of a super checklist, and also to get you started with some of the questions you may need to be thinking. If you're like, legal seems so confusing or overwhelming, how do I even know what questions to ask? That's what this resource is right here for you, so that you have that power in your hands and can really take on that CEO entrepreneur hat. And if you're looking for legal templates and are ready to move on some of those, if you need to get your website protected or if you are like Heather, you're an interior designer and you're like, gosh, it's kind of time for me to move forward and, um, you know, protect my client relationships and the way that I'm moving forward on these bigger projects. I have a client service agreement specifically for interior designers now that's in my shop at Creative Contracts. And I've taken this after working with tons of different interior designers and getting a look behind the scenes of their business and what's working and what is not working and putting together clear terms so that both parties can be protected and really concentrate on how do we make this a successful project for the designer and the client. And so that is a resource that I'd love for you to have, especially if you're an interior designer and, you know, don't really want to have the money or the time to get something custom drafted, want to make sure that someone understands it who's actually worked in the interior design industry and knows what it looks like to put together a proposal and timeline and to deal with everything from purchasing to warranties to what happens when the client gets that purple couch and it is way more purple than they thought it was. How are you going to handle that conversation? So, um, get all that on the website at creativecontracts.co. We'll have some links in the show notes for you. Thanks so much for tuning in and making us part of your day, your commute, your folding laundry, whatever it is that you're up to. We really appreciate your time and Let us know if there's other things that you want to see on the podcast, if there's guests you want to hear from or topics that we're not covering. Easiest place to get ahold of us is on my Instagram @BrittanyRettell is where you can give any feedback about the show. And, you know, drop us a line in the DMs. My DMs are open and I love to hear from you and hear what you're liking, what you'd like to hear more of so that I can make sure I'm creating the best resources that I can here for you. Thanks so much for giving us your time. And I hope that you have a great time in building, protecting your business, moving forward with strength and courage, just like Heather's told us all. And we'll catch you on the flip side.