# 96 | Growing an Interior Design Team with Gabriela Eisenhart
Welcome to the Designers Oasis podcast. I'm your host, Kate Bendewald. If you're tired of one-size-fits-all all advice to running your interior design business, you're in the right place. Join me each week as we dive into topics to help you run a thriving interior design business. Without the hustle. We'll talk about the business of design, but also mindset and mental health because I know when you thrive, so will your life and business. It wasn't that long ago that I stepped away from my corporate interior design job to build my own design business so that I could realize my own creative dreams, have more time with the people I love, and serve my clients at the highest level, while making more money than I ever could have working for someone else. It wasn't always easy, and I made my share of mistakes along the way. Fast forward to today. And I've learned a thing or two. Since then I've built multiple six-figure interior design businesses on authentic word-of-mouth referrals with many repeat clients. And I want to share it all with you the ambitious, inspired, and I get it occasionally overwhelmed interior designer who shares this dream of transforming lives through the art of interior design, You can do this. Thank you for letting me spend part of this day with you. Let's get to it.
Kate Bendewald
My guest today is Gabriela Eisenhart of Silo Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. She and her team help clients nationwide infuse homes with their fresh, modern esthetic that pushes boundaries while still being livable. Today, we're sitting down with Gabriela to learn about the evolution of her business and how she manages a team today that helps remove projects from concept to completion. You are going to love gabriella's honest and authentic candor about the realities of being at the helm of a business with a team to support. Gabriela shares how she gets to know her clients at the outset of a project, so she can design with them in mind every step of the way, we're going to talk about her design process, how she delegates and communicates with her team, including asking her team to help improve their processes. And finally, we'll hear Gabriella share her thoughts on the power of being quiet in times of uncertainty, so she can tap into her own inner wisdom to help guide her as a business owner, a designer and a leader of her company, you don't want to miss this conversation, so settle in, my friend and please welcome. Gabriela Eisenhart to the show. Hi. Good morning. Gabriella. Welcome to the show. How are you?
Gabriela Eisenhart
Hi, Kate. I'm great. How are you?
Kate Bendewald
I am wonderful. I'm so excited to be visiting with you today. I have been really enjoying digging into your website and your social media and your brand and learning a bit about you, and I have some questions that I'm very excited to ask you today to learn more about you and your company, Silo Design Studio. So thank you for joining me today.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Thank you, Kate. I'm excited to talk to you as well. Excellent.
Kate Bendewald
So okay, Gabriella, you have a your company is called silo studios, and you're based out of Atlanta, Georgia, and I want you to give us a bit of a backstory, because before you moved into the world of interior design, you worked in film and production, because your original background was in the visual arts. So I'd love to kind of look back at what that experience was like and how you've brought that into the work that you're doing today. And also hear a little bit about that transition of going from film and production into interior design, because in my mind, when I hear those two things, I can kind of see a connection between the two different fields. And so I'd love to learn more about that. So take us back a little bit prior to starting your first design business, because my understanding is you've had three, so we're going to talk about those. But prior to your work as an interior designer, tell us about your career, your first career before this.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Okay, well, I. Let's see. So yes, I have a Fine Arts degree with special specializing in film. And you know, when I graduated, or even while I was in school, I I was always the producer. I played the producer role. I had, I have a very strong business sense, and I was always able to really manage projects well. So I feel like those skills have helped me tremendously in the world of design. Because I run, I run my design studio the same as as I ran a production, timelines and deadlines are very important to me and my team know that we do a ton of construction. So I feel like, you know, construction is the equivalent of of a production day, you know. So, you know, you have pre production and I call, you know, in the design world, what's that like, the design phase and onboarding, and then we have, you know, the production days and the design world, that's construction and execution, so, and then, you know, we wrap it up. It's post production, and that's in our world, design world that's punchless, you know, never ending. That makes so much sense. Yeah, I don't want to say that we rush reward projects, because I'm trying. I believe in the world of slow design and letting things really happen organically. But when a client comes to us, I'm very straightforward with how long this is going to take and and we deliver. And I think that helps set us apart, because clients, you know, can plan their lives around their project.
Kate Bendewald
Oh, my goodness. I'm very excited to dig into this a little bit, because I so slow design. You said I'm a believer in slow design. What is slow design to you?
Gabriela Eisenhart
It's, it's the opposite of fast fashion, right? Yeah, you know, it's, it's being intentional about the pieces and the things that you're curating and bringing into the home. It's giving you a moment, you know, to breathe, step back and you know, you're executing something. But then, you know, taking a moment to breathe, that back, going, okay, is this working? And that that's a hard thing to do with a client, right? Because they're wanting, you know, I get so many calls and they're wanting things done so so fast. And I'm not gonna lie, we deliver. Like, if you need your house furnished and there's this deadline, I'm going to do my best to make that happen for you. But I love it when I have, you know, the wiggle room with a client to let things organically happen. You know, can be back in the middle of a design project, designing what, whatever, in the house. And the clients, you know, gone for the summer traveling, and they come back inspired. And they want this and they want that. I want my clients homes to tell their stories. And what a better way to tell their story than like them bringing, you know, in pieces that they've discovered, or, you know, experience they've had,
Kate Bendewald
right that it can, that it can progress a little bit more organically what I'm hearing it I like, because it sounds like you are able and willing to have conversations with your clients about the benefit of lower design, which is really intentional design. We think about the things that we bring into our homes and the energy that they carry, and what kind of energy we want in our space, but that you're not so rigid that if a client, if it checks all the other boxes, but maybe they want it on a timeline, that wouldn't be something you would typically lay out, that it's a project you really want. You're willing to be flexible and say Yes, still within reason, I'm sure. Yeah, I think that flexibility is a really important aspect of creating kind of your standards and what you're comfortable with in your in your business, but, you know, still giving yourself some wiggle room, which I think is a really smart, smart way to run your business. Yeah, and
Gabriela Eisenhart
I think for me, it's about educating the client, right? You know, sure, we have deadlines to meet and life to live, and I get that, but let's talk about, like, doing that custom couch, or the custom Island, and waiting those extra few months for it, because gonna stay on the test of time and last so much longer, you know, I don't, so I will speak up if it's just not right. And I think my clients respect me for that, and they know that they can trust me, like I'm gonna say, Hey, this is, this is a bad decision. If it is a bad decision, I
Kate Bendewald
think you just mentioned something really important, and I don't want to skip over this. You know, I work with, I work with designers across all seasons, right? Some that are very new, and some that are much more. Experienced, and definitely the designers who have more experience, get this. But what you said was, clients, trust me more when you push back a little bit. And there's, I think, with younger designers, when we're there's still in this phase of building confidence on speaking up about what's going to work and what's not, and pushing back a little bit gently and professionally and all of that stuff with clients. I i Like I want to convey that what you just said really resonated for me, that when you can push back with a client and tell them, this isn't going to work because of X, Y and Z, of course, if you do it in a courteous and professional way that you will actually garner more respect from them, because that's why they hired you right what they could just go do it on their own if they didn't have your wisdom to help guide them and know when to push and pull and to say yes and when to say no. So I think that is a really wise way to approach kind of that communication piece with your clients. Yeah, it
Gabriela Eisenhart
is important. That's one of the first conversations I have with clients when we're getting to know each other is, you know, I'm going to be honest, I'm going to be straightforward about thing, and you're, you're going to learn, you'll be able to learn to trust me that way, right? And, you know, I have, I have good relationships with our client. I do, you know, it's not often we come to a personality clash, but it happens. But you know, again, you're right there. Hiring a design firm is such an investment, and that's another message I like to drive home it. You know, I get called all the time like, so am I going to save money by hiring a designer? No, no, you're not going to save money. You're going to save mistakes, right? Or you're going to save time, and you're going to save energy. Now, what sanity?
Kate Bendewald
How much is your sanity worth to you? Yeah, I hear you. I know the process is really important to you, and you have a team, and I want to, and I want to get in a minute to how you keep your team on board and on track. But you mentioned that one of the first things that you do when you talk to your clients is to kind of, in a way, set the stage for what it's going to be like working with you. So talk to me about your initial phases of working with clients. What does that look like? How do you get to know them? How do you how do you set the stage for them and what it's going to be like working with you, whether that's before a contract or after a contract? I don't really, I'd love to know kind of where those conversations fall, but give me kind of a little peek behind the curtains of those initial stages with with your clients,
Gabriela Eisenhart
yeah? So, all right, I'll kind of give you, I'll give you the actual steps we take. Yeah, do it. So it's funny, because I know, I think a lot of companies that are my size, you know, we're still smaller, but they're not. The Lead Designer is not necessarily taking the intake calls. I always do the initial discovery calls with the client. Did you know that's just something? After they fill out our form? If we feel that we're a good fit, we'll do that call from there, typically. Then if, if it looks like we're going to move forward, I'll be I'll schedule a consultation at their home so that I can see the property and get to know them. And I feel like my My sixth sense is I'm really good at reading people, so that's helped me a lot. I can tell so much, not always in the first phone call, but being in the person's environment and and just being with with them for an hour, it tells me so much so, so I'm taking all that Intel, right? And then, you know, once we're onboarding, we're asking, you know, I'm asking a bit about what's, what's the lifestyle you know, who lives in this town? What does your day to day look like? What's important to you, you know, taking some visuals of what's inspiring to them, and, you know, and then we go from there. But it's so important for me that, you know, obviously, I have my own esthetic, right? And people hire us because they're they're looking for our esthetic. But I don't push that on people. It's so important that my projects Tell, tell the client's story. So we do do a lot of digging as to who they are and lifestyle, because I want people to walk into their home when they're done and it feel like them.
Kate Bendewald
I love this so much. Last week, I did a presentation on client experience, and we hit on this a little bit. One of the pillars that I talk about is I want you to date your clients, and the idea, you know, we get to know them a little bit in that initial consultation, but once they're signed on as a client, a full service client, that sort of thing, contract, payment, all that's done. One of the initial steps is we have a deep dive, conversation, interview, chat, whatever you want to call it, where we ask some of those deeper questions. And it sounds like you do this as well, and it's a really important part of your design process. So how do you do that? How do you kind of dig into their personal lives? I mean, design is very, very personal, and I would argue that this is an essential step in in when you're designing people's especially primary home, where this is going to be a space where they're going to live and exist and host and grow cry, laugh, all the things you know. So tell me, tell me a little bit about how you do this with, with your client from, really Korean?
Gabriela Eisenhart
Well, I mean, we do, you know, we do have an intake form that I so we can have it all in writing, because that's just good for us to have, like, for the whole team to be able to go back and look as we're designing, or us to remember just little details about, you know, could be as simple as we ask, like, you know, are there allergies, materials, things like that, but I'm really getting a sense for the client by just human interacting, right, having those conversations and getting to know them in those initial meeting. Yeah, and I am, you know, I still call myself the lead designer, I spend so much of my time running this business, and it's begun, it's become a challenge to balance that. I'm still learning how to do that, but I still client facing in the sense that the clients are going to talk to me if it's design related, or if there's an issue, they're going to talk directly to me, yeah, so we really are in communication throughout the whole process. Wonderful.
Kate Bendewald
Yeah, you mentioned earlier that you know your sixth sense is kind of your intuition. So I understand how important that in person interaction is. You can see people's body language. You can see their warmth, their lack of warmth, whatever the case may be, and eye contact, and their demeanor and all of that. It's such an essential part of of getting to know them well. So you mentioned that you've got since a team of of folks that work with you, I noticed it's a very internationally representative team, which is super exciting, and I'm sure that that plays into some of your design work. So walk us back a little bit through some of the iterations of your company, because this is not your first company. You've steadily grown and built a couple of different companies over the years. So take us back a little bit to the first iteration, and then I'd love to hear from there how, in this, this new business silo studios, how you've how you're working with your team today.
Gabriela Eisenhart
So backtracking to let's see 20, 2011 No, sorry, took me a second 2013 I was working full time. I had a year and a half year old son, and I had just had my second son, and I just was not happy. And I I love being a mother, but I knew like, this isn't my life this, right So, and I'm not going to be working full time in an industry that's really not serving me. And at the time, we had just moved into a new home, and of course, I wanted my environment to feel amazing, so I I did what I do, and we're so happy, and I've always been so it my space is so important, like my environment is so important. I'm a bit of an anxious person, so I'm always lighting and the environment and how it soothes me is, is like number one. So it just happened organically, in the sense that people started asking me to do their homes, and a light bulb went off, and I can have a bit of a fake it, make it mentality and like I'm going to dive in head first. I don't know what I'm doing, but let's let's do this, and let's learn and let's grow. So I started Gabrielle Eisenhart interiors in October of 2013 so almost 12 years ago, and started that slowly. It was just residential. We weren't doing, you know? Well, it was residential furnishings. We weren't doing construction quite yet. And that slowly happened organically out. After, and then in, believe, a couple years later, probably 2015 under the umbrella of my escort, I partnered with someone on the West Coast, and we had a company, wake and loom design for seven years. And it was a great seven years. It was really lovely to design on a different coast. I learned so much more people live differently, texture, so different. So it was a great experience. But it, it was, you know, it was time for me to move on. And last year, in 2022, 22 No, sorry, I get my years mixed up. What we're in? Well, what
Kate Bendewald
is time anyway? At the point
Gabriela Eisenhart
a half ago, I launched silo studios against under the umbrella of my original company, but just a new direction. We're based here in Atlanta. We're still working all over I have, I have a project on the West Coast right now, Pennsylvania, so we are still being all over but, yeah, we're home, based here in Atlanta.
Kate Bendewald
That's great. And so about a year and a half ago, into the same company, you started silo studio. How is this iteration different from the first one?
Gabriela Eisenhart
I know so much more. Yeah, right.
Kate Bendewald
I don't know, a decade of experienced maybe
Gabriela Eisenhart
LinkedIn. No, we. I think all designers creative struggle with imposter syndrome on the daily. Yeah? But yeah, I, I, I know the formula. I know how to how to do things. I feel steady in our process, and I I'm always like, I'm always excited to grow and change and shift things and pivot when needed. Um, but I feel stabilized. I feel stable. I feel exactly where I'm supposed to be. Finally,
Kate Bendewald
Oh, I love hearing that. What a wonderful feeling. And I think it's such a good message for young designers to hear that from somebody who's as established as you are. First of all, you know this idea of imposter syndrome, or imposter feelings, whatever you want to call it. I mean, we have on the record, Viola Davis, Michelle Obama, all saying that they have experienced imposter phenomenon. So first of all, and here on the podcast, we've this is a conversation or topic that comes up a lot, and so I like to do whatever I can to normalize those feelings and realize, help people realize like, these are, these are just thoughts in your head, and everybody has them and they pass. But the important thing that I think folks take away from this is that you can get to a place in your career where things start to feel like I know what the I'm doing, right? I was I, you know, there when you're just starting out, there's so much you don't know, and you know that you don't know it, and you're always looking out for that next thing that's going to come bite you, not paying attention, you know? And sometimes it happens, and it's these really icky feelings of like, oh, I screwed that up, you know. But it does feel, I think, really hopeful to know that with each of those experiences, you're really building something that can grow into something like what you have today, which is a firm that is doing work across the country with a team to support you and with projects that you're excited about, and you can really put your shoulders back and feel good about what you've created. Yeah,
Gabriela Eisenhart
and I do, so thank you for that. I do. You know the imposter syndrome just keeps us humble, right? But it's you know, we were talking before we even we hit play on this, or live or whatever, raising children and same thing like, you know, you we we build something, and we have to trust it. We have to trust it. We raise, we raise children, and then we have to trust that our the work that we put in is going to pay off. And that's where I'm at in business right now, is like I built it, and now I just need to trust in it. You know, even when I'm having more day,
Kate Bendewald
Oh, I'm getting goosebumps this, it's for me on a personal note, this is really resonating, because I well for the for the folks who, before we recorded Gabriella and I, were talking about the fact that we both have kids that are similar in age starting middle school, it's a big time and a big season for us personally, in that way and that. And what we were talking about was, you know, we agreed that we both. Feel like we've raised good kids, and we're starting to let them out into the world in a way that is new and different, and that we have to trust that we've raised good kids and that they're gonna go, they're gonna be okay. And so it's the same idea here with with our companies. It's like just have to trust that the work we've done, we've put in is has laid a really good and strong foundation. We
Gabriela Eisenhart
learn from our mistakes. My whole design education, of course, you know, I have a fine arts background, but my design education was making mistakes and learning from it. And now it's hard to do this with my team, but they have to learn too as they as they grow as designers, and I'm starting to learn to take my hand off the steering wheel a little bit and let it have the reins, and with that means mistakes are going to be made, and mistakes cost money, right in this business, but there's no better way of learning than than than making those mistakes, right? Within reason, right? Of course, we don't want Sure, but within reason.
Kate Bendewald
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Kate Bendewald
This is a nice segue, because I want to talk about really growing and managing a team, because I think you are a good, great person to talk about this you have a team of three right now. Is that correct? Okay, so talk to me a little bit about their roles and how they support you on projects.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Yeah. So I've grown a team, slowly but surely, and I've even grown it up to five people last year, and it was not the it wasn't the right balance. And I feel right now for where we are as a company. The four of us is the perfect team, the perfect balance. I have wonderful employees. They're they're, I just have a great team. I'm so lucky. So our my first hire, though, was operations, um, you know, when it was early on, it was we called her design assistant, but it's really not her role. And so our operations manager really handled everything under the sun. Handles all of our you know, order management, order issues world, and has even fallen into a role of project management. I do a lot of the project management still, but, but she, as well, has been doing it, so she plays a lot of roles in the company. And I know some design firms run it, where the designers place their orders, and I'm sure that works well. But for us, it's been really nice to to have everything go through one person. It's a lot more organized for for me, and then I have two designers that are just wonderful, and so they work, you know, with me on all the projects and the the in the design
Kate Bendewald
phase of things, and you guys doing all of your own drawings in house, yes, unless
Gabriela Eisenhart
we need, like, uh, you know, an architectural drawing, um, then we'll, we'll outsource, but typically, for what we're needing you doing,
Kate Bendewald
yeah, do you mind? If I ask what software you use for your drawings?
Gabriela Eisenhart
Yeah, so you sketch up right now and then we do a lot of our design presentations, photo realistically, old school Photoshop, yeah, yeah.
Kate Bendewald
Hey, if it works, it works great. I love it. We've been
Gabriela Eisenhart
playing with like, maybe we should do this. I mean, there's all this, you know, all the AI generated crazy, like, it looks like a picture. There's these companies you outsource to, but I don't know. I'm not there yet, and I feel like our presentations are going really well, and clients are seeing our vision. I and that's the whole point, right? They need, if we can convey what we're trying to convey, and it's working, then I'll put my focus elsewhere. Yeah,
Kate Bendewald
it's smart, right? Because we as designers, just last night, I had something on my Instagram feed, a new software, right? There's so many shiny objects that we have to try to decide, like, Does this need my attention right now? Is this some a tool that could really help us streamline our process or grow or whatever. Or am I? Is this a shiny object, and I need to just like, keep keep on, keeping on, keep moving on. And that's something that I think as business owners, we're constantly having to think through those when they come up, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ashley, when it comes to like, software for sure. Um, okay, so you have these two designers do, do all? Do both designers help you with all of the projects? Or do you say, Hey, you're on this project and you're on that project? Is it a little bit of both? Yeah. So,
Gabriela Eisenhart
I mean, do you want me to talk a little bit about our design process and how that's executed? I
Kate Bendewald
would, yeah, walk us through your design process. I'd love to hear that from you. So,
Gabriela Eisenhart
sure. So it's funny, I've become, I would say, a creative director now, because my girls wonderful, and they get the vision of, they get the vision of of the work that I'm wanting to put out. So I'm really able to give them a lot of design autonomy to just go for it. So typically, again, right? I'm doing all the client, you know, communication so, and I'm getting all that Intel up front. So when we start a project, we'll come in, we'll have a meeting. Hey, this is the project. These are, this is the design inspiration. This is what I'm looking for. And then, you know, I'll probably riddle off like some some parameters to stay within Sure. And then, you know, I let them run with it. And then they present to me phase one. And then I drive them nuts for about, you know, a few rounds of edits back and forth. That's your job. And then, and then I present. So it's, it's great that we work really, really well together. And yeah, typically, a designer will get assigned on a job. I'm always the lead designer. And then we, we do like, designer one, designer two. So designer two is always the support. So everyone knows what's going on with every project that way out of town, we can step in for each other.
Kate Bendewald
Got it. Got it. How do you and your team, the four of you, stay on the same page in terms of communicating like, Okay, here's what I worked on today. Here's where things are. Do you have? How do you guys systemize that?
Gabriela Eisenhart
Slack, net, okay, great. I've failed at Asana. My call on Asana, and I'm just doing my own thing. Yeah, but our process. So that goes back to our process, and it's funny, because last week, I'm feeling like a few hiccups in our process. I'm feeling it's time to pivot and switch things up. So really, I'm the one to go. This is where I want change. But I feel like we're finally in a place where, in a company, where I've stepped it back a bit, where I want to tell me what we need to change. So I gave them a week, and, you know, this week we're going to talk about, like, where we want to make some shift in our process to make it better. But with that, all said is that we have, you know, an A, B, C, E, F, D, process, and we go through it fluidly, you know, with the project state or
Kate Bendewald
so, it's all documented, and they know exactly, I think, when I had a team that size, the main thing was that I had to ensure that people understood this. The end of this step triggers this step, you know, or this thing triggers that thing, you know, the end of a the end of a site survey, for example, what needs to be done when we're finished with that, where do all those photos go? Where do all those hand sketches go? Where do all those notes go? They're not going to do any good on your phone, you know, that kind of thing. So,
Gabriela Eisenhart
and we knew we have, we use a. Have we used the cloud, right? So we have a million Google files, and we have internal and we have client drives, and there's a folder for everything, and it's just like, you know, real it's on the driver. Here it is, and it's the team's often reminding me of my own process that I created. Yeah, yeah,
Kate Bendewald
exactly. That is a familiar feeling for sure. You mentioned a minute ago that you asked your team to develop the feedback and the adjustments and changes that need to be made. Why did you think it was important to ask them to do that, rather than from the top down?
Gabriela Eisenhart
So because they're in it every day, just like I am. And you know what, they're in it even more at time. Because, yeah, just No, trust me, I'm coming to the table with what I think needs to change, but I want to hear from them, and I think it's so I just think it's so important, because they're, they're the ones, you know, doing a lot of the hard work right now in the trenches and so and he's a happy place for all of us, for sure,
Kate Bendewald
for sure. And I think it gives them ownership too, and a sense of responsibility when they are in charge of sort of guiding that ship a little bit. But it's true. And I've had my team here designers oasis. Have you know they chose to switch to clickup from Asana, because they're the ones that are managing it every single day. And so I was willing to let that go. I can't say that I love it, but I'm I'm using it as we speak. I've got a clickup document open and, um, what was important to me was to listen to them for the same reasons was because they're the ones that are in it, and if they're going to be using it, it's important that they're using a tool that makes sense, and they have a process that they can follow too, even though I've got my own set of ideas, so I think that all makes a ton of sense when you're managing a team like that. Yeah,
Gabriela Eisenhart
absolutely. And like, you know, they everyone in on the team has a role, and they get to focus on a couple, you know, in certain areas every day, I have to focus on multiple areas in a day. So I feel like my mind isn't always as clear, you know, with what changes we need to make. So I'm excited for this week to hear about what they think, right? Yeah,
Kate Bendewald
so does that mean? It sounds like you've recognized that your role as the head honcho there, you've got your mind on a lot of different things, besides just the nitty gritty of the client, details within the project, and it would be almost impossible for you to be able to be thinking about that higher level stuff in your business, right? Where's our next client coming from? What is our social media looking like? What is our bank account look like? What are our next you know, where our next project's coming from. I think I said that, and to be able to move back and forth between that high level CEO mentality into the details of the design can feel challenging. And so it sounds like they understand that that's where your head is, and so their job to support you is to really dig into those details and present them to you, yes, yes, yeah, I love that. And that's, um, that's something that I have struggled with. Personally, when managing designers is at, my brain tends to go into the detail and I get in there, and then when we're done talking about it, and like, Oh, I am exhausted, and I cannot think about,
Gabriela Eisenhart
I know, I'm trying to find it's so hard being a business owner and then being the creative world, because it it's two different brain when I do my best design work, like at three in the morning, like, you know, like, not, I'll tell granted, it's just in my mind, you know, I'll jot it down, yeah, but my, I can't think clearly, you know, during the work day, when all these balls are being thrown at me. So my team that was like, You're, we're going to talk about this, you know, these, these times during the week, you know. And bear with me. I will get back to you. Bear with me. Yeah. Do
Kate Bendewald
you have a rhythm to your week that you like to keep that helps you to sort of organize how and when you're thinking about different things? And if so, what does that look like, even if
Gabriela Eisenhart
that's loosely organized? Well, no, I mean, I'm really trying to get better about it, because I often over schedule myself, but we have a wonderful communal office here in Atlanta and but we have like a hybrid system, so not everybody is in the office at the same time. So Wednesday is our team day, and that's when everyone's here together. We have. A big weekly meeting, and then I also have a design meeting with the designers on Wednesdays, Mondays in the office is just me and the designers. So that's like fresh start to the week. And I'm having meetings with the designers those days. Tuesday, everyone works from home, and it's a good day for me to deal with. You know, business in the business stuff is what I call it. And then do you like how I'm not going in the order of the week? Just jump.
Kate Bendewald
That's what it's all I see the things that light you up the most in the order. Maybe I don't know, walking day
Gabriela Eisenhart
Wednesday, so that's where my hat, yeah, Thursdays Thursdays I reserve for a lot of like my presentations or me getting around on site visits. Even though those end up sprinkling around throughout the week, I try to keep them all on Thursdays. And then Friday is just the designers work from home, and it me and the operations manager, and it's a time for us to kind of go through things and check on budgets and do more in the business stuff, wrap it up. Yeah,
Kate Bendewald
got it. That makes a that makes a lot of sense. I have been doing a similar type thing for myself in my week for years. And whenever my week gets off, I can feel it. I'm like, Oh, I don't feel like myself, like this week, for example, which is, was shot by Monday, but it's okay. We bounce back. But I love that rhythm, because it's predictable for me. And I know, you know, I don't have to think about that right now, because I'm going to do it on Monday or Tuesday, or whatever, so whatever. And I try to tell designers who want to implement something like this is like, my week workflow might not work for you, just like yours is different for you and your team. So you got to try to figure out what works best for you, and maybe take some iterations and be willing to be flexible as well, because that's just business and life.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Yeah, you have to be flexible. You have to go with the flow, which is hard for me to do, but I try. I really do, and I do better when I do go with the flow. I'm learning so
Kate Bendewald
I am. Forgive me if I'm jumping to conclusions here, making you know, gross generalizations about knowing you for this brief amount of time, but I get the sense that you're similar to me being a, perhaps a type, a creative Yeah,
Gabriela Eisenhart
it's a isn't it a special breed
Kate Bendewald
from the same Club. It's my, my best friend. So I'm a Virgo. And I used to say, I don't identify with Virgos. They are so uptight. And my for years, my girlfriend was like, You are such a Virgo they're like, No. And now that I've gotten older, and I realized just how particular I am about certain things, like, I get it fine, but Virgo whatever. But I'm also an Enneagram seven, and they're fun, but it's fun dichotomy.
Gabriela Eisenhart
I love working with the Virgo notes to turn every detail tended to,
Kate Bendewald
yeah, and you know what? Though, I think it's a great I think it's a great thing to have in a designer. If I was a client, I was thinking about who to hire, it's like, here's somebody who has creativity and has an ability to think outside of the box and to translate what it is I'm telling them into this beautiful space that's so special for me, and they're gonna get shit done because they have that rigor to them, and so I think it's a really great blend, and it comes through clearly For you just how much you care about your team and your clients and your projects, and I think that's why you've been so successful so well.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Thank you.
Kate Bendewald
Well. As for wrap up, I want to ask you this last question. What are you excited about for this year ahead? Whether it's a project, maybe it's something that is something you're just starting, or something you would like to do, a certain type of project that you would get excited about, or whether it's something internally for your business or life, I just really want to hear what what's got you excited
Gabriela Eisenhart
so you know that this is going to be a really funny answer for me. This just popped up too. So I'm just gonna flow with it. But I am, and anyone who knows me who's listening to this is just gonna be like, what a cheap thing. But I'm actually really excited for the unknown. I am such a planner, and I planned every step of my life up until now, and I'm finally in a place where I go. You know what? Like? I've built this business. It's a happy place. I want to I want to thrive, but I also want to flow through it a bit and just just be flexible enough to shift when I need to, to change those places, and to just be quiet enough to. Listen to what I need and what the team needs. And I, you know, the last year was, for me, was all about stabilizing the business as I went into this big shift of rebranding. And so then, you know, December as I'm thinking, and I of 2024, is that the year we're in, and what I want for the business. It was all about growth. Let's keep growing. Let's keep growing. And it's so funny, because the universe had different plans for me. We're stable, we're growing. We're doing great. But, um, you know, things have turned out a little bit differently than I thought this year, and I'm all for it. So I just want to leave room for the unknown, and I want to continue to be authentic with our projects, and not have a scarcity mindset of taking in work that doesn't feel like the right fit for the company. And that's hard. That is so, so so hard, right? When you have built it's
Kate Bendewald
a tough one. I am nodding in full agreement for this. I've got some serious goosebumps, because I this resonates for me, personally, right now, in my own business. And it's, you know, that's how I'm going to get into on the podcast. But it is, there is something to be said about trusting yourself. In fact, I think it was the very first episode of the season at the beginning of this year, I talked about, here's something we're going to be talking about a lot this year on the podcast. And even without planning it, it has come up over and over and over again. And it's this concept of this idea of, especially as women learning to trust ourselves. And I think that we all have an innate wisdom inside of us that we tend to question and squash, and we tend to minimize our wisdom. And I think that you talked about this idea of getting quiet, and I think that's something I wanted to circle back to, because I have I'm learning for myself that that quiet space is where you really find that wisdom, and you find that inner voice that nudges you along and says you're right where you need to Be. You're doing it imperfectly, and that's fine. And leaving space for that unknown is scary. Nikki said, but,
Gabriela Eisenhart
but it is trusted. You gotta trust it, right? Yeah, and
Kate Bendewald
that, I mean, if we look back on our lives, I think most of us can point to how much of our lives already has been unknown how we've gotten through it. We're fine, fine, and that that's okay to live in that sort of vague space of like, I'm not really sure what's gonna happen next, and I'm okay not planning things to the nth degree. So I think you're on to something there, and I'm so excited to see how this all shakes out for you in the years to come.
Gabriela Eisenhart
Thank you. It's been wonderful talking to you. It really has.
Kate Bendewald
I've enjoyed the I couldn't agree more. I honestly, I could chat more about this for a long, long time. So we're definitely going to have to have you back. I'd love to if you would share with our audience, and we'll be sure to link to everything in our show notes. But let's start with your website. Where can people learn about you online?
Gabriela Eisenhart
So it's silo studio design.com,
Kate Bendewald
great and out of Atlanta. And then how about your Are you on Instagram? Is that your prime
Gabriela Eisenhart
spot? Yes, and that also is silo studio design,
Kate Bendewald
cool, wonderful. Well, it's been a delight listening to you. I think that this conversation is a real gift to the listeners, and they're going to enjoy it so much. So we appreciate you and your time and wishing you all the best in the years to come. Thanks. Gabriel,
Gabriela Eisenhart
coming today. Thanks so much. All right. Bye, for now. Bye.
Kate Bendewald
Hey friend. Thank you so much for letting me spend a part of this day with you. I'm so passionate about helping designers like you, and I believe in a rising tide that when one of us does well, we all do better. So if you share this attitude of abundance with me, I want you to do just one little thing. Please share this episode with someone you think might love it. And if you're feeling extra generous today, go ahead and take just 30 seconds to open your podcast app and leave us a five star rating and review. It's free for you to do, and it helps me to be able to keep making more episodes and resources for you. However you choose to help, please know I appreciate you so very much. Thank you, my friend. Have a wonderful rest of your day. I'll see you soon. Bye.
